Sc 7th Dec 2019 Son of Perdition

[Music] [Speaker 1] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home from family tent ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] We thank God again for to be the last Singles Club for this year. [Speaker 3] You said? [Speaker 2] Wow, this is your first time in Singles Club. Wow! Wow! Let’s welcome Aduwo, first time in Singles Club. Olubanke, this is your first time too? Oh! And interestingly, they are both pastors. [Laughter] So, we are saying that this will be the last Singles Club for 2019. The next time we’ll be meeting for Singles Club, it will be 2020. We trust the Lord to bring us into 2020 and beyond by His mercies and by His grace. Amen. So, as we commence today, we trust the Lord as usual. He normally meets with us in our gathering. We trust Him again to work in our midst in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. As we round up 2019 and everybody is looking forward to 2020, I thought it good again to call our attention to a trend that is in the church—a trend that is common among the younger generation of Christians. Younger generation of Christians. A trend is common, and what makes the trend to be common is because it is among the younger generation of Christians that, like I was telling my son two weeks ago when he just came home from Ife, we were just discussing. And I said, you know God works per dispensation. That is, in one dispensation, I mean a period of time, in that dispensation God will be doing something. And based on what God is doing, God will bring some level of revelation to that age. Some other dimensions of God may not be seen or known by that age until it is time again for another dispensation. Then God will bring something further which was not known in that initial dispensation. Are you understanding me? You know God works per dispensation. For example, there is nothing all the prophets of old, despite their prayer, despite their faithfulness, despite their holiness, despite everything they did, they could not have seen Jesus one-on-one. Jesus told the disciples that many righteous men desired to hear what you hear and see what you see, but it was not given to them. Blessed are your eyes for what you see and your ears for what you hear. You get the point I’m making? When we talk about the foundational apostles of Jesus Christ, it was given to some people. There is nothing anybody else wants to do because it’s not their dispensation. Are you understanding me? Now, if you look at it dispensationally, God is making some abandoned—I don’t want to say new truth—God, there is no new truth. I keep telling believers there is no new truth. There is no new gospel. Don’t let anybody say, "Ah, there’s that new gospel." No gospel can be new. Jesus said this gospel of the kingdom will be preached till the end of the age. So there is no new gospel. It will be another gospel. But what I'm saying is that there are hidden treasures of the gospel which at some point the church drifted away from them. You get the point? And then, it’s just like salvation is by faith. At a point the church drifted away from them. Then through Martin Luther at 91 theses, tenets against the Catholic Church, went to the door of the church and hammered it on the door—bang, bang, bang! Nailed it to the door. 91 ways in which the church is wrong. And then when everybody was to come to church, "the church is wrong, the church is wrong, the church is wrong," and Martin Luther was invited. But it was nothing, it was not a new gospel. But it was a revival of a truth. You understand? The same way I’m saying a trend common among youth. The same way what has been common, what has been the common gospel, what has been commonly preached and talked about, seems to be more like righteousness is by works. That is what the church has been preaching over the ages, until God began to make a truth that was abandoned popular. The truth that was abandoned popular is that, see, since Adam made us eternally dead, that there is nothing we do or does not do that makes us righteous. Once a man is born, no matter what he does, if he’s not born again, he’s going to hellfire even if he’s morally upright. That moral uprightness can never make him righteous because righteousness is no more by works, it’s by grace. It is not a new gospel. I don’t know if you get the point I'm making. It is what Apostle Paul preached. Do you get the point I'm making? It’s not a new gospel because Paul has already told the Romans that by one man sin entered the world and death by sin, so sin passed upon all for that all have sinned. And Adam is a shadow of Him that was to come. So there is nothing new. But that truth was abandoned, and people went into works, works, works. Somebody is righteous because of what he does, and then there was so much emphasis on obeying the law to be right. And then God began to bring, no, no, no, there’s a drift from the truth. God began to bring this, no, no, no. When we are saved, if anybody be in Christ, the person has been made righteous. It is not about what you do or don't do. It is on the finished work of Christ we have been saved. We have been and that saved means that we have been made righteous. We have been made acceptable to the Father. That truth came up and then it began to run that dispensationally we are saved eternally. This is true. And then the truth began to—but it’s just like again, the truth common now. God wants us to prosper. But again, the church took it further. And then unfortunately the total truth about prosperity was abandoned. And then it looks like the only thing about God is for you to make it. You are blessed. And it looks like you know when people are doing so much talk on we are eternally saved, a trend began to evolve and more among the younger generation. What is the trend? The trend is all those fathers who are saying that if somebody just commits sin and he dies, he’s going to hellfire. It’s not possible because it is not whether the person sins or does not sin that makes him to be righteous. He’s still going to heaven. I don’t know if you get the point I’m making. They should not use hell to intimidate anybody. Nobody, it will be difficult for a Christian to go to hell. It’s not possible because he’s eternally saved from hell. Now you see, it is not as though these things are totally wrong. I don't know if you get the point I'm making. They have the element of their truth. They have the elements. Let me use this illustration. When Satan came to Eve and said, "Did God say you should not eat this thing?" She said, "Yes." He said, "Come on, that is a lie. You will not surely die. If you eat this thing, your eyes will be opened. If you eat it, you will become wise. If you eat it, you will be like God." Four things were said: you will not die, you will become wise, your eyes will be opened, you will be like God. These four things, only one is not true. The other three, they are true. You get the point I’m making? They became wise. Their eyes were opened. And they became like God. But actually, in becoming those three things, they are dead. That is what was kept away. But what was kept away made those three things to be wrong in terms of their consequences because in the real sense of it, they are not actually wise because the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. In the real sense of it, they became like God, but not holy, but godless. Are you getting it? But they became like God that they became independent. They can make choices of their own. They can do things without—you know man can do things without depending on anybody. That is, God doesn’t depend on anybody to do His things. They became like God, they can now do things without depending on anybody. And you can see people today, they do things, they don't depend on anybody. "It's my money! I bought the car with my money, and I can do anything with it!" I remember a case between my father and my late dad, then when he was still much younger. We were driving in Lagos, and then there was rainfall everywhere. So everybody was trying to find their way out of the rainfall and at the same time avoiding the drainage. So my dad was somewhere trying to avoid the drainage, trying to move very slowly. And then there was this car behind us, "Honey, move now! Beep, beep, beep, beep!" My dad was like, "Look, we have to be careful. We don't know where the drainage is, we don't know where—" So, eventually everybody was trying to—so there was now hold up here and there. The man just came out of his car. He said, "Ha! Ordinary Beetle! Ordinary Beetle! I will beat you! I will burn it! I will buy new one for you! Get out of this place, Mister Man!" That was the level of—of course man became independent. He has so much that but ironically, in the actual sense of getting that thing, there was a problem. They’re actually dead. Now so when we talk about certain things today, I don't want to say that everything about them—that's why I said that there are elements of truth in some of these things. But what we want to address today, what we want to address today is around this thing and I will coin the topic for you. You see the trend now, the trend now that is coming out of this understanding is that when the Bible says "work out your salvation with fear and trembling," when the Bible says "behold the severity and the goodness of God," the severity of God is totally being underplayed. His severity—that is a consuming fire, that He can destroy—is being underplayed. And other aspect of God is being made to so much overshadow this side of God that believers are not in a balance. The life, the godly living is not in a balance. It is like a situation where people now feel that no matter what happens, we are eternally saved. And so somebody tells a lie, somebody commits fornication, he says, "Bro, anyway, we thank God for His grace. It's just a matter of just tell God you are sorry and just continue your life. There's nothing much." I don't know if you get the point I'm making. Do you get the point I'm trying to bring out? A trend is going on that is making grace, that seems to make grace a basis for ungodliness. Do you understand? It’s making grace a basis, grace a license, something that since this one is there, the other one cannot be there. Do you get the point I'm trying to bring out? It is that trend that I want—we want to address in this Singles Club. And the way we want to address this trend is in what I title "Son of Perdition." Son of Perdition. Son of Perdition. S-O-N. You will find that when Jesus was speaking about Judas in John chapter 17. John chapter 17. You’ll find it there. In John 17, Jesus said something about Judas. That’s John 17:14 or 24? Please somebody go there and read for me. John 17:14 or John 17:24? Ah, okay, maybe I’m missing my verses. But it’s in John 17. Maybe I missed the verse, sorry. Let’s let me get to John 17:12. [Speaker 4] "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." [Speaker 1] How was Judas described? That is what we want to bother our minds with today. What did Jesus say? Of all that you have given me, I have lost none. Is that grammar correct? Of all that you have given me, I have lost none. Let's look at the correctness of it. If it is correct, it means Judas was not given. Did you get that? Of all that you have given me, I have lost none. Except the son of perdition. The English says since you used "but the son of perdition," it ought to be, "Of all that you have given me, I only lost one. That is the son of perdition." But he said, "Of all—" We’re looking—let’s try other translations. We can try several translations of that. [Speaker 4] NIV: "While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled." [Speaker 1] None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction. That is the son of perdition, isn’t it? Yes, another translation. [Speaker 4] "While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the scripture might be fulfilled." [Speaker 1] So of what that the Father gave him, was any lost? None of them was lost, but the son of perdition was not lost. That is what we want to discuss this morning. That’s what I want to call your attention to this morning. But let's just look at Judas. Let's look at him a little closer. We are saying this so that—don't forget the background that I just given you—that today grace is becoming a license to sin. Grace seems to have become a license to sin. Grace is not, grace stands where grace stand. You get the point I'm making? But it seems to have become "After all, when I was a sinner, there's nothing I can do that can make me righteous. So when I'm righteous, there's nothing I can do that can make me to be a sinner. As we were all dead in Adam, we are saved in Christ. Somebody shout Hallelujah!" And that is it. And then you will find extravagant grace. "Jesus, you love me too much oh, too much oh, excess love oh. I no fit explain am too much." Now look, it is very true. Honestly, if we look at the love of God, it is so deep. It is something you cannot comprehend, honestly. The love of God is something—that's why the Bible said that it’s beyond knowledge. It says the love of God that passes knowledge. You cannot just—it is so difficult to trace the love because the love was even there when we were committing sin. He died for sinners. How do you love your enemies? How do you die for those who hate you? And that is why indeed, if He can die for those who hate Him, if they have become children, how much more will He save them? When they were wicked, He was looking for them to die for them. Now having saved them—you all get the point. So please, let us not under-emphasize the love of God. It stands as it stands. It is just that we need to look at the sons of perdition. But that should not make you think that the love of God therefore can be de-emphasized. No, you cannot, honestly. If you understand the total gospel, if you really understand the total gospel, that somebody was talking about enchantment and something, I said it’s like you don’t understand the gospel. I say oh, when people want to destroy people, they go into serious rituals to come out with serious enchantment. If you want to make an enchantment to be strong, you make it to involve blood. If you want it to be stronger, you use it to involve human blood. If you want it to be—you look for a virgin. That's why they use virgins for rituals. If you have heard, if you look at those traditional times, if you read some of these traditional stories, you know that they use—the gods will ask for virgins. If you want to make it to be that serious, you look for the blood of a baby. The reason is that the purer the blood, the stronger the enchantment. And I told the person, the blood that set me free is the blood of God. No enchantment can be stronger than the blood that sets me free. So I don't fear enchantment. Because what the blood that mediated it is not born of a woman. In fact, it was the blood that mysteriously shed. It was shed before the world was created. Ever before the devil was, before enchantment and enchanters began to be made when Adam fell, the blood that set me free has been shed. So if you look at the—the gospel is some—so by what we are looking at, don't de-emphasize the love of God. I hope you get what I’m trying to say. I’m trying to put something in a balance. But it is for for us to properly understand the love of God. Since as many as I love, I chastise. There is discipline in that love. That's what we are talking about. We are not—we are not saying that love doesn't—as it is being preached today, love me too much oh and all the things that people say about this love, honestly it is true. People may go into excess and do all kinds of things, sing all kinds of songs, do, you know, all kinds of gymnastic and all of that, try to emphasize the love. The love is real. And the anyhow it comes to our heart, people express it. Do you get the point I'm making? That's why I personally don't believe that it is only in solemn song that God can be worshiped. "Holy, holy," and then feel that means that you are holy. No. When a man shouts too, "Hallelujah!" It can also be a worship of God. I don't know if you get the point I'm trying to bring out. So I'm not saying that anyhow that love is expressed, as long as that love is being expressed, that is not what I’m having problem with. That's not what we are discussing. What we are discussing is this. We want to look at the personality, the role, and the person of Judas. The first thing that makes me afraid was that Judas has an office. He said his office let another take. Have you read that before in the Bible? That is in Acts chapter 1. It says his office. So actually, you cannot downplay Judas. There is an office. Number two is that Judas was numbered with the twelve. Do you understand what that means at all? Judas is not just anybody around Jesus. Jesus was somebody around Jesus. He was numbered with the twelve. The reason why I’m bringing these things out is I want us to understand sons of perdition. That's what I want us to understand. I’m getting more and more disturbed with the trend today in the church. I’m getting more and more disturbed because youth, the—as as we try to pass this baton of the the true gospel, because honestly that we are eternally saved is the true gospel. That’s the truth. If you really understand the gospel, you know that is the truth. Except you want to de-emphasize the gospel. The true gospel. But we’re looking at the whole gospel. There is the true gospel, there’s the whole gospel. Like I was talking about prosperity and that prosperity is the true gospel, that God wants us to prosper. But there is a whole gospel. That is not just all about God. That prosperity must be fixed, it must be fixed within other truths of the gospel to make it a whole gospel. That’s why Paul said, "I have kept nothing back from you from the whole gospel." There is a whole gospel. Now, we are saying that sons of perdition. One, there is an office for Judas. Are we together? It’s possible for them to have an office. Are we together? It’s possible for them to have an office. It’s possible for them to be mentioned with the brethren. I hope you get the point I'm making. That is, when you are mentioning the people of God, you will mention them. When you want to say, "Awọn ọmọ Ọlọrun da?" you will say Brother Judas. "Awọn ọmọ ti Ọlọrun yan da?" What will you say? Brother Judas. Are you following me? He was known with him. Say Judas, ah, don’t you know him? Ah, he is the—awọn ọmọ eyi gidi niyẹn. Those are disciples of Jesus. Ah, they are not among the seventy oh. No, you know the twelve inner caucus, the inner caucus. Oh mob Judas is gone. Ah, then you don't know Jesus. That brother that normally keep their money, that sign the cheque. Oh! Yes! Yes! Oh! He’s the one that normally sign the—ah, wait you were looking for where to stay other time, who signed the cheque? Don't you see oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They will spoil you for not knowing the treasurer and the man in charge of finance. But I'm talking about sons of perdition. Sons of perdition are not necessarily men who don't have office, men who are not named with the brethren, or men who are not known, renowned among the brethren. If some of you even check your life now, you will wonder whether you even have something like Judas. Do you understand me? When you check your life now, me, do I even have an office? Am I sure there is something God wants me to do for Him? Do I even know anything about what God wants me to do for Him? Am I sure that if Jesus is to mention names, He will mention my name? Am I—I hope I'm really born again sha. Anyway, I think I am, I think I am. Some of us may even be at that level. But I'm showing you sons of perdition. I'm showing you the kind of portfolio a man can carry and yet does not belong to Jesus. If that statement was not coming directly from Jesus's mouth, if somebody has just said it about Jesus, say the person he mistake in his statement, he wanted to say something else. John 17 was a solemn time for Jesus. Are you aware? That was the final prayer before He left. So it’s not as if Jesus was in an excited mode and He was just overtalking. He was pouring His heart to the Father, and He was raising matters with the Father. He was writing out the agenda, how they both agreed. And now that He’s completing the first part of the agenda, He’s talking about the next stage of the agenda. I hope you know that’s what happened in that prayer. So it was one of the most solemn times of Jesus and He said of all that you have given me, I have lost none. We have seen the office, we have seen he was mentioned with the twelve, we have seen he was known with Jesus. Now let's look at the life of Judas. Let's look at the life of Judas. We’re talking about sons of perdition. So sons of perdition, it’s possible for them to have a office. I hope you get what I’m trying to say? I’m trying to put something in a balance. But it is for for us to properly understand the love of God. Now let’s look at the life, let's look at the life of this sons of perdition. What can we say about the life of Judas? Brother Enos, what can you say about the life of Judas before we ask sister Despre, we ask Christie, we ask Olubanke, we ask Jester? What do we know about his life, not his portfolio now, but his life, his everyday life? What do we know from the various places we come across Judas in the Bible? Just one oh, just mention one. [Speaker 4] From when the alabaster box was broken and used for Jesus. Okay, Jesus was a man that liked—man of money. [Speaker 1] Okay, the alabaster box issue. Okay, Judas seemed to be covetous. He’s a covetous person. He loves money. He loves material things. He loves gain. "Ki n'kọmọ dọn, ki n'kọmọ dọn." He loves money, he loves material things. From that incident, we know that he loves material things. He loves material things. He’s covetous. Let us be noting this characteristics. Some of us are not writing. Let us be noting this characteristics. Number one, that he’s covetous. Okay. Despre, what do you know about Judas? We are asking everybody one by one. What do you know about Brother Judas? [Speaker 4] He’s a liar, a deceitful person. [Speaker 1] A liar? A deceitful person? Where did we get that? How do we know? We are looking at his life. Where, how do we know that he’s a liar? What incident? You tie it to the incident that will make us know that he’s a liar. You’re trying to remember? But you know that he’s a liar. You cannot—okay, think of the incident. Christie, what do you know about Judas in his everyday life? [Speaker 4] He was not trustworthy? Not truthful. [Speaker 1] Which incident makes us know that he’s not truthful? Okay, you just know that one too. You don’t know the incident. People, people now people just know Brother Judas from things they heard on the pulpit, what people said about him. They are not Berean Christians. They didn’t search the Bible to be able to confirm. Like somebody said, "In fact, Satan is a foolish man." I say show me in the Bible. He said, "Ah, mother we have been hearing he is not foolish." I say no, Satan is not foolish. I say show me in the Bible. He said, "No, Satan is smart." I say check Bible. You are just out of your imaginations of Satan. He say "stupid man," "mad man." Satan is not mad oh. In fact, you, you are more mad than Satan. Satan is not mad. Satan is crafty. And people who are crafty, they are very intelligent. Very high intelligent, people who are crafty. So madness ke? So you don’t know who the Bible—that’s why you you would have entered into his bakute, his trap before you know that you are in his trap. Anyway, let’s leave that. Despre and Christie, it is what they heard on the pulpit, what people said. Okay, she’s becoming a Berean Christian, she’s looking for it now. Okay. Let’s move to Sister Olubanke. I hope the sisters are not in the same category. Okay, let’s hear the third sister among us. Yes. [Speaker 4] There was no total focus on Jesus. No real total focus on Jesus. [Speaker 1] No real total focus on Jesus? How? [Speaker 4] Focus on what he’s picking in his pocket and all that. Alabaster box. [Speaker 1] Innocent mentioned that person. Okay, the alabaster box again. You know that ah, this thing is so expensive, they used it here, and money—okay, so another incident that you can use to refer to him, somebody who is not focused on Jesus but who is focused on money. Okay. And there are three things in that incident oh, but let’s just go on. Yes. [Speaker 4] From that same scene, scripture says he helped himself to the money bag. [Speaker 1] Okay, from that scripture we were able to see that he normally plays smart. He plays smart. You know, if I give you, if I give you a hundred Naira to handle, you now come tomorrow, you say it remains ten Naira. Ah, I said what did we buy? Because I can easily calculate a hundred Naira. But you know what Brother Judas normally do? He normally like gathered, you put a hundred, you put fifty, you put three hundred, you put—so you won't be able to trace how much was put there. That's why he said "You think you should have done that," they won't remember how much was there again because he's a smart person. He steals. He steals. Okay. Yes, Aduwo, what can we say about Brother Judas? [Speaker 4] I can only say Judas—he was not strong in the Lord. [Speaker 1] Yes, from that incident too. From that incident. There are different incidents of Judas in the Bible. Different incidents of Judas. We’ve only mentioned one incident. I can mention three different incidents of Judas. Three different issues about Judas. Yes, Chuwkomi. [Speaker 4] Judas also had a negotiation with the Pharisees when he went to them because Judas believed in Jesus but he didn't—maybe the money swayed him away. [Speaker 1] Okay, they can easily sway him away, the Pharisees. Pharisees didn’t sway him away. He was the one that went to meet them. He was the one that went to meet the Pharisees. The Pharisees were looking for how they would—how they would get him. He became aware that they were looking for how they would get him. He was the one that went to suggest to them, "Ah, you are looking for how you will get Jesus? Is that a big problem for you? When me, Brother Judas is here, I can solve that for you in a matter of just a moment." They say, "Heh? How?" "Oh, can you pay my price?" Can you pay my price? Olubanke, do you have enough money to pay my price? Your money may not be sufficient to pay oh. They say, "Ah, how much is the money?" "A hundred—" "Ah, we give you twenty." "What do you mean? Do you know who I want to betray? He’s not a small fish. It’s a big cash." "Okay, leave him there, let him be selling your works." They say, "Ah, no no no, don’t go, don’t go." That was the incident. Don't you understand? That was what happened. It was a bargaining and marketing, so he was not swayed. That's what I'm trying to explain. He was the one—they were looking for opportunity of how they would get Him. He was the one that showed them the way. And because he had to show them a way to get it, he needed consultancy fee. Do you get it now? I hope you get the picture. I'm trying to create the picture well for you. That was why they needed to give him money. He was the one that demanded for the money. I hope you get the point? Okay. [Speaker 4] He was also possessed by Satan. [Speaker 1] Yes, in one incident. That was the final incident. It said, "And Satan entered into Judas." That was the final incident. Satan entered. But before Satan entered, I'm trying to make you see that it is a kind of life that is also available for Satan to enter. Before things become spiritual, they first begin as physical. Before you now get to a point that you can no more stop because spiritual things have taken over. You know man is a spirit. But that spirit life begin by a physical life. It first begin by an act. An act becomes a practice. A practice becomes a habit. An habit becomes a person. You see, that’s how it goes. So everything you find a man in—see Satan entered into him. Now let's look at Judas from those various incidents. Judas was a pretentious person, but not real. Very pretentious, but he’s not a real person. "Ah, if we had sold this thing, we would have been given to the poor so that the poor—" He’s a very pretentious person. People that will create, you know, seriously he has pretense and he’s highly pretentious. If somebody can be around Jesus, who knows that He knows all things and he’s like that, then there’s nobody that Brother Judas cannot deal with. He knows that Jesus knows the mind of people. And yet he was around Jesus and he was pretentious. He knows that He knows what you are thinking. Jesus said, "No, why are you thinking like that?" He knows Jesus knows the mind of men. And he still feels that even with this person, I can still corner him. He believes—he believes in himself. That’s why he’s a very pretentious person. And there are people like that. Very, very pretentious. You could never trace them that they are involved in something. The way they talk, the way they carry themselves, you will never know that this person is not a real person. If you look at what he said in that place, "Ah, this thing should have been sold now. Ah, let's sell this thing now. I beggy, mammon works." At least that person was not too pretentious. You have gotten his mind from what he has what he said. Ah, you mean you want to work? You need work that we are talking about? But look at the presentation. "Ah, there are a lot of missionary works. A lot of poor people are there. We need to reach out to them as a church. We need to minister on evangelism. There are orphans and orphanages. We need to reach out to these people. If we had put this money into the mis—into the church money, then we would have taken this money, we would have bought clothes, Christmas gift for them, the pignants would have been happy." That’s the kind of person that Brother Judas is. Very, very pretentious, but not real. I'm showing you traces of sons of perdition. Traces of sons of perdition. Sons of perdition, they will have an office. They are not mean men. They are not mean men. I'm still coming to the second set of people. Sons of perdition, they are not mean men. Sons of perdition are people who are—when we are talking about—we are not talking about the seventy or the one-twenty. Those ones are far. You mention them with the twelve. Ogbologbos. That’s who you mention the sons of perdition with. They can rise to such offices. They can be as high as that. Sons of perdition. They are not—they are not people that are not well known. They are renowned. But what makes them sons of perdition is that actually they don't belong to Jesus. It said, "Of all that you have given me." They were never given. They don't belong to Him. When they get lost, heaven has not lost anything. When we cannot find them, heaven has lost nothing. As great as they may be among us, it is just say, "Ah, we have lost our brother this," but heaven know that they have lost nothing. But I'm showing you things that you need to check, to know, to understand. One very strong one is what Innocent and Olubanke mentioned for us. They are covetous. They love gain. They love things they. "Ah, this your car. It’s fine oh. How much did you buy it? This one will be good for the pastor. The pastor has this kind of car." Covetous men. Covetous men. You know covetousness is—I hope you know that’s idolatry. Covetousness is idol worship. It means there is something you prefer to God. There is something that you prefer to God. In the same way, that is why when somebody is covetous, go and check it, they will be immoral. As they covet things, they will covet wives, they will covet female. Do you get the point I'm making? They will covet—immorality, they work—the word—they work side by side. Now another thing you find about this people is something that was mentioned in passing by others. People could not put say it’s dishonest, it’s that, but the real thing is that they are pretentious. They are very pretentious. That’s why they are popular among us. They are very pretentious. They have sweet mouth. They can talk intelligently, they can talk sensibly. When they dissect the Bible, ah, then go take, won gba. You understand? They can bring good reasoning to argue their point. And when they argue it, you can't—you can't fault it. Because the thing that they will put together, you say, "Yes, yes, you will agree with them." What I said, they are commonsensical. They are intelligent like their father the devil. They are crafty. Why do we know that they are crafty apart from being pretentious? It’s what he mentioned—craftiness. He went to these people to make a bargain with them. After they have bargained and bargained and bargained and bargained and bargained, they agreed for thirty pieces of silver with which he will betray them, he will betray Jesus. They have agreed on that oh. He left the place. For you to know that they have bargained on that before he left the place, I'm trying to save my time because I'm watching time. I want to make sure we don’t exceed the our regular time. That's why I'm taking some things off myself. But you can later go and read it. If you go and read Matthew 26, you will see the story fully. It was after Judas had finished bargaining with the elders that Jesus now called the disciples that they should go and observe the supper. Go and all of us in Matthew 26. When they got there and they were eating, they prepared the supper, they were eating together. They were eating like this together. Jesus now said, "One of you will betray me." "Ah, one of us ke? Kamari. One of us will betray you? Ah!" That was like a shocking news to the twelve. It was like a shocking news to the twelve. So what now happened? When Jesus said that, disciples began to ask, "Ah, Lord Jesus, is it me? Is it me?" Do you know after somebody had put thirty pieces of silver in his pocket? It’s in his pocket. Who was asked, oh? Or quote it if he see bank account, it has been transferred. In our own time, they have transferred it. I don't know whichever one, whichever way, but he has collected the bargain was over. The money is in his possession. And they were asking "Who is it that will betray me?" He should have been so shocked that, "Heh! Heh! So this thing was discovered that one of us—heh, heh, heh, heh, let me go and return this money oh. Ha! Heh!" That is a man, that is a man who is not crafty. But when you have learned the art of craftiness, when your heart has become crafty, it is difficult for it to be pierced. When your heart has become crafty, that's why He said Satan not repenting. When the heart has become crafty, crafty heart, a heart—the conscience has become dead. It can just be been that "Heh! Ha! Heh! This thing was discovered that one of us will betray Him. Ha! Heh, heh, heh, heh, quickly!" He just say, "Jesus—Lord, as they leave that place," he just ran, "Please, I want to return the money. Ah, Jesus, o ti mọ pe ọkan wa ni wọle. He already knows, he already knows. Please I want to return the money. I don't want it again please. I'm not doing again, I don’t want to do again." Then he will go back. "Lord Jesus, I hope it’s not me." I don't know if you get the point I'm trying to bring out. But the man was sitting comfortably on thirty pieces of silver. "Ah, what Jesus? Is it me? Am I—is it me?" So he too want to outsmart just like all the others are asking so that it too will not be them. He too is among them and he’s playing it that it’s not—it’s not him. So they will still be thinking it’s somebody else. Crafty. I’m trying to make you understand the life, the pattern, the traces of the sons of perdition. These are things that if you find in your life, no matter the giftings and the grace that you are seeing, you may not be among us. You may just be around us, you may not be among us. You may not be among us. These are things we are seeing in the sons of perdition. We are looking at this man, Judas. And then other picture again that we saw of Judas was when eventually Jesus was taken and all of that and all of that. And then quickly, what did he do? He went to return the money. When he went to return the money, those ones they were—they were not—they were not taking the money. They poured it, he left it. Then now went and do what? You know something about them? Do you notice that Peter too denied Jesus but he could face shame? He could face shame. Peter repented. The story was written, but Peter did not kill himself. He could face shame. He could own up to shame. "I made this mistake, I’m sorry. I won’t do it but this is what caused it." But do you notice that brother? He cannot turn from that path. He cannot turn from that path. He went and killed himself. He went and killed himself. Now I'm showing you all of these traces. Look at the things that we have just mentioned about Brother Judas and what we have talked about about Brother Judas. Placing your hand—placing your mind on this background, turn your Bible to the popular scripture that we all know very well, that relate more to us in this end time. Second Peter chapter two. Second Peter chapter two. Are you there? Let's go very fast. Innocent, can you read for us? Second Peter chapter two. You read four verses like that, four-four verses quickly, everybody. Four-four verses. Yes. Second Peter chapter two from verse one. [Speaker 4] "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment..." [Speaker 1] We have read the Second Peter chapter 2:1 to the end. Now from what that we have read here, can you see similarities between these people and Judas? What are the things that we have said about Judas that tie—that tied them and this—and these people together? Yes, number one? [Speaker 4] Covetousness. [Speaker 1] Covetousness. He says they speak great swelling words of vanity. They promise freedom, they themselves they are in bondage. But the way they will talk, they will make presentation, it will look like they are free, they themselves are experiencing freedom. Yes. Eventually they will be judged. Yes, there's still something you have not mentioned. [Speaker 4] They left the right path. [Speaker 1] Which means they were formerly where? So they are not people who have not known the way of righteousness. Are you getting it? They are not strangers to the way of righteousness. Do you get it? They have left that way and they have gone astray. Yes, what again can you see about them? Three more things now. [Speaker 4] They allure through the lusts of the flesh. They lure people who were clean. They allure unstable souls. [Speaker 1] No, they are not unstable souls. Look at it very well. What do they do to unstable souls? [Speaker 4] They beguile? Beguile. [Speaker 1] Beguile? In another translation, what do they do to unstable souls? They deceive. That is they bring them to their side, they deceive them. They are able to deceive unstable souls. Uh-huh. But there's something about these teachers that you have not mentioned that relate to Judas. They are experts in being paid by—yes, yes. They have followed the way of Balaam. Yes, you are around the answer. Uh-huh. It says the dog had gone back—you know it’s only dog that does that thing? The dog has gone back. So when they were in the—in the right path, they were never sheep. They were still dogs. Judas was with them, but he was never among them. The dog only returned back to its vomit. They just vomit it. There was no change in nature. There was no change in person. They mixed up with these people, but they were still dogs by nature. So eventually they will return back to where they belong. So when we lose them, we didn't lose any sheep. It was just a dog among the sheep. Are you—are you getting it? The dog has gone back to its vomit. The next one you did not mention, I'm trying to link you to the background. I want you to understand sons of perdition. It says as there were false prophets among them, there will be what? There will be false teachers among you. They have office. They are teachers. They are people that are standing over others. They are among the twelve. They are teachers. They are not just followers. They are men of timber and caliber. They are renowned men. They are mentioned among the twelve. They are not just in the—in the multitude. No. They are teachers of the world. Are you getting it? So they are not just ordinary followers. They are people that have followers, and many will follow their immoral ways. You get it? They have followers. People following them. That’s why I said that they are men of renown. Judas was among the twelve. They are people of renown. They are people that people follow. People are following them. And if you look at it very well, this is where I want to call your attention to what Enos and Olubanke mentioned. Sons of perdition also have followers. But the followers they are among who? The followers are in the church. What is the category of those followers? How did the Bible describe them? Unstable souls. So within the church, you have the sons of perdition and you also have the unstable souls. And when you look at it, he said many will follow their immoral ways, which means within the church, unstable souls they are what? They are very many. They are very many. People who are among us, but they are not stable in the faith. They are people that have been carried around by every wind of doctrine. Everything that flies around, everything that is attractive, everything that sounds well, everything that looks good. He said they will deceive unstable souls. It means within the church there are souls that are stable and there are souls that are not stable. I want you to note, he said unstable souls. When you talk about soul, you’re talking about the level of the mind. People who are not stable in their mind. People whose mind have not been totally renewed. People who are partly the world and partly the church. People who are partly spiritual and partly carnal. People who are—people of God and partly of the devil. People who have not really understood the things of God. They didn't take time to understand the things of God. Unstable souls. Unstable souls. And so as we—as we round up this morning, we need to ask ourselves—we need to reflect on some things. Number one, when I look into my life, when I look into my life, do we find the lifestyle of sons of perdition? Their lifestyle. They are covetous. They are immoral. They love gain. They are pretentious. They are crafty. Look at how Peter described them. He said they are well without water. They will come and say, "Hey! Look at well." You know that when you put your bucket, you won't get any water out of it. So pretentious. They are cloud without rain. You know it happens sometimes. Everything just be dark, say it's going to rain, it's going to rain. People will be running home. Later the cloud will just—it's sweet! It will not rain. They are like that. They look, but they don’t have it. It reminds me—it reminds me of a story I was reading. Two newly married people. And then the wife discovered that the boy was smoking. Even though they both got—they both got married from the fellowship. She said, "But, what happened? I thought you are a brother." He say, "Me? I no be brother. I just come there so that I will fit marry somebody who weigh be Christian." Disaster and finish. "Me too, it's not as if I'm very, very strong. I wanted somebody who is a very strong Christian too. That was why I came so that at least when you marry a strong brother, they will not divorce, they will not be immoral, they will—" They were both pretentious. They look real inside the fellowship. Only later did you now discover that the two of them—anyway, what life simply said was that birds of the same feather will flock together. Deep will call to deep. If you are not pretentious and you are real, as you live real life, somehow—somehow, those who are pretentious will not be able to stay around you. You won’t be able to have them as real friends. You won’t be able to have them as people you can be led, you can work with. Something will just be separating you, because your life will not be the same. Light and darkness don't fellowship for long. When they meet they will part. That’s the truth about life. And that’s what I said. I said I'm not surprised about the marriage. It takes darkness to flock together and it takes light to flock together. I said if she had been truly light, it would have been difficult for the darkness to have come in. But what am I trying to bring out of this thing? Look at the life of these people. Pretentious, covetous. You know he said they are immoral. He said they have eyes full of what? Full of adultery. I hope you know what that means. You know immorality and covetousness and adultery, they go side-by-side. You have eyes—"Ah, see this sister! Ah, look at this babe!" They have wives at home oh. By time they meet another woman again, they are, "Ah, I wish this is the one that I married," they just say it in their mind. They begin to compare their wife with—it’s the same covetous practice. That's why Peter said they have eyes full of adultery. Their eye is full of adultery because that's what covetousness also is. Covetousness is a matter of the heart, but the eye is the means of expression. Now, look at all of these things. That is number one question we are trying to ask ourselves as we round up. The way of life of sons of perdition. I need to check my life. I need to check into my life. I need to go and look at these traces, these—these traits of sons of perdition. Look at their traits. Am I sure these things are not in my life? If they are in my life, I need to really check. Am I really—do I really belong to Christ? Am I sure I belong to Christ? That is one place to evaluate in our life. The other place to evaluate in our life is this. The sons of perdition, they have followers. Who are their followers? Unstable souls. Unstable souls. How stable is your soul? How stable? How much are you drinking into God? How much are you taking time to drink into God? How much are you taking time to drink into God? How much? How much are you renewing your mind? Do you get it? How much are you renewing your mind? Renewing your mind, renewing your mind, renewing your mind, renewing your mind so that your mind can become stable. Your mind can become solid. So that when you encounter what is not God, your mind will not be in it. Your mind cannot just stay with it. Your mind cannot just contain it. But when your mind is neither here nor there, you can be sure you will soon follow the immoral way. Because the Bible says that their craftiness, as crafty as they are, they will be with their sweet mouth that they will have today, with all the things that seems to surround them today, the Bible makes us to realize they will not be able to get stable souls. He said the people that will eventually go on the same path with these people are those whose souls are not stable. So it becomes important for me as a Christian. The soul is talking about the mind. How much am I renewing my mind? How much am I putting my mind, subjecting it to the word of God? So that when something contradicts the word of God, both in life and in practice, my mind will just—no. The Bible says, "It is written." That was how Jesus dealt with the devil. Is there any other way? "Turn this stone to bread." What did He say? "It is written, man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." They left that place. Satan said, "Ah, he got me in that one." This time around, he now brought Scripture. "Jump down from this place. It is written, he will give his angels charge over you." Then that is a twisted scripture. But Jesus understood that "Yes, it is written. It is written that he will give his angels charge. But God doesn't expect me to jump down because if I jump down, it means I want to confirm whether he will actually protect me. I need to believe that if I mistakenly fall, he will protect me. I don't need to try it—let me see if God will protect me, let me fall first to be sure." No. Since he has said it, he has said it. Man said, "It is written, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God." He left that one again. He now tried covetousness. He showed covetousness. Say, "Look at all these things I will give you. All these things I will give you if you can just bow down and worship me." What did Jesus told him? He said, "You shall worship the Lord alone and Him alone you must serve. Get thee behind me, Satan." What did he say? "Get thee behind me, Satan." Just get thee behind me. Covetousness. So as we—as we close the meeting, I'm just trying to make you look inward. Look inward and ask yourself, how stable is your soul? How stable is your soul? These are the questions we are asking ourselves. How stable? Because if your soul is not stable, if you don't—if you don't take time to renew your mind and get your soul stable, you can be sure there are people—there are—the sons of perdition, they have their followers. And they pick their followers from souls that are not stable. Souls that are not stable. It’s important for us to note these things. So that as young men and as we are growing, let's get into this thing. The grace of God, the grace of God in a man’s life does not promote ungodliness. It doesn’t. It doesn’t. The grace of God teaches us to say no to worldly lusts. Titus chapter 2. So if that grace has been encountered and men as they grow in that grace that they are talking about are becoming covetous, are becoming pretentious, are becoming crafty, are becoming immoral, are becoming unrepentant, are becoming men who cannot face shame—the shame that comes with "I have been wrong, I want to be right." When we begin to see this involving a life, and the man is also growing, seems to be growing in ministry, seems to be growing in the church, seems to be growing in grace, it seems to be expanding. But this thing is expanding with them like it was expanding with Judas. We need to check. Is this not the—the traces, the life of the son of perdition? Let's go ahead to pray this morning. Let’s talk to God this morning. Let us pray. I don’t know what you have gotten from what we have discussed, but I want you to talk to the Lord, I want you to pray. Sons of perdition and unstable souls. These are all people that are in the church. We are all in this same church together. The false teachers, they are among us. They have first been in the way, but then they left the way. The unstable souls, they are among us. It is you that will make a choice of who you want to be. It is you that will make a choice of who you want to be, where you want to stand. Make a choice. Look at—look into your life and evaluate it. The command, the instruction of God is clear. The book of the law should not depart from your mouth, but you should meditate on it day and night so that you can observe to do according to all that is written in it. God doesn't want us to do according to some of the things that are written there. He doesn't want us to do according to many of the things that are written there. He wants us to do according to all that is written there. You cannot do according to what you don't know. You must take time to know the Lord. The book of the law must not depart from your mouth. You must deliberately and consciously, deliberately and consciously begin to subject your mind to the book of the law, to the word of the Lord, to the—to the scriptures, to the words of life. Begging God on a daily basis, "Lord, open my eyes that I may know you. Open my eyes so that my soul can become stable. Open my eyes, open my mind, Lord, like you did with the disciples." The Bible said he opened their minds so that they can understand Scriptures. You need to daily pray, "God, open my mind so that I may understand scripture. God, open my mind, open my mind." It ought to be a daily—something of daily humility, daily humility. Coming before the Lord daily. Isaiah said morning after morning, you open my ears like—you know, and speak to me. Morning after morning, every time you come before the Lord, "Baba, open my eyes to see, open my ears to hear, cause my heart to perceive. Lord, cause me to know you. Lord, that my—that my soul may be stable in the Lord, that I may know the Lord, that I may know the truth, that I may know the truth." And then you begin to check your daily living. You begin to check your daily living. Look at Judas, having fellowship with sons of darkness. I wonder how did Judas know that those people want to betray Jesus? How did he get to know if he’s not fellowshipping with them? The Pharisee, they form a different camp. Judas is in a different camp, in the camp of Jesus. Yet he was able to get the information that they need a consultant that will help them on how they will betray Jesus. How did he get to know? Neither here nor there. Men of unstable fellowship. They are just here, they are there. They are not—they are not—they are not—I was describing something yesterday in our family fellowship. I said someone that walks by—three people are walking. One is to the left-hand side of the road, the other is to the right-hand side of the road. Somebody is at the middle of the road. I was asking, who is likely to be knocked down by a car almost immediately? It’s the person at the middle. People who are neither here nor there. "I would that you are either hot or cold." But when you are lukewarm, you are not—you are—we cannot place you. You are—we cannot really place you. We cannot say whether this is a child of God, fervent, ever increasing in the understanding of God, growing in grace, serving the Lord. We cannot say you are an unbeliever because we think we see some—you are just neither here nor there. Such people, they are more—you know, you know, vulnerable to destruction. They are more vulnerable to destruction. Vulnerable to destruction. I want you to pray. I want you to talk to the Lord. "Lord God Almighty, deliver me Lord from a vain mind. Unstable soul so that are not stable. Vain mind, empty mind. Lord deliver me from a—from a vain mind, from a mind that is not stable, a soul that is not stable. Lord deliver me. Lord deliver me. Lord deliver me. Thank you Father." In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.