Service and God's Eternal Purpose

[Speaker 1] [music] 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. [Speaker 2] The month of June has brought us again to the first Saturday in the month of July. Our singles out there that are listening to us online, that are joining us, we say you are welcome again to another Singles Club. And we trust God again that as we gather together to hear the word of the Lord, as we fellowship together in the scriptures, I believe it will be a time of blessing again in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's have a word of prayer. Our Father, we are grateful unto you. We give you praise, we give you glory, we give you honor, we give you adoration. We thank you for today. We commit, oh Lord, this meeting into your hand, and we commit every heart that is linking up with us this morning to hear your word. Lord, we pray that you will grant unto us inspiration. You will grant unto us that we behold wondrous things out of your laws in the name of Jesus Christ. Let there be an encounter with Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Today, Singles Club will be considering a very, very vital topic. Very important for our young people today. Very important for you out there that is single. And of course, couples that may feel like joining us that are connected with us, we believe that it will be a time of blessing for you. The word of God is always a blessing whether we are single or we are married. So, as we fellowship together again this morning looking at the word of God, I believe it will be a time of blessing. We are considering the topic: God’s Eternal Purpose and Christian Service. God’s Eternal Purpose and Christian Service. Service. Now, before I go into the Bible to begin to look at various references in the scripture, I want us to try and do a brief conceptual clarification. Now, when we talk about eternal purpose, we are talking about the plan of God for a man's life. We are looking at God's eternal purpose and Christian service. I just want us to have a clear understanding of this concept before we begin to look at various biblical references. God has a plan for your life. That plan of God for your life is what we are referring to as God's eternal purpose. Now, God's eternal purpose touches every aspect of your life—that is for your spiritual life, your marital life, your academic life, your career life, your financial life. Just talk about any aspect of your life. Any aspect of your life, God has a plan. It is this plan of God that we are referring to as God's eternal purpose. Now, it is eternal because it is a plan by an eternal God. It is eternal because it has been before time, and it will eventually reflect when time is no more. By the time you come eventually to face your Maker, this God's eternal plan will still matter. Now, when we are talking about Christian service, we are actually talking about Christian duty, having a sense of responsibility. We are talking about being full of good deeds. We are talking about proper conduct. Service, being able to be available to serve others. Ability to be full of good works. To understand your point of duty. To know that this thing ought to be done and so I should do it. Or oh, this is an opportunity to help somebody, let me help the person. Oh, this thing is proper to be done, I am going to do it. Now, that's what we mean by Christian service. Because many times our young people don't understand that there is a strong connection, a very, very strong connection between how dutiful we are, how much we serve others, how much we are available to people, and God's eternal purpose and plan for our life. Sometimes we think that they are not linked together, but little do you know that they are seriously linked together. They are seriously linked. They are seriously connected. There is a connection between the two such that you cannot separate them. People talk about prayer and God's eternal purpose. That is very, very true. If you are not prayerful, you may not be able to bring the will of God to pass for your life. And in our Monday's meeting, it is a matter that we are discussing: the place of prayer and God's purpose. But what we want to look at today is the fact that that purpose again is connected. There is a connection between that purpose and how dutiful we are. Laziness, nonchalant attitude towards service, being negligent about duty and commitment to people can also make you to miss out of God's eternal plan. You can completely go out of God's eternal plan because you are not responsible, you are not living a very responsible life. Irresponsibility can be very, very costly. Laziness can be very, very costly. Negligence, nonchalant attitude to responsibility, to duty, they can be very, very costly. So, we need to be careful. And so as we look into the Bible today, I want you to be looking at all of these clarifications that I just made about the plan of God for your life and Christian service. Christians should be people—when we are talking about Christian, I said Christian service because we expect that if you are truly a Christian, if you are truly born again, if you really have an encounter with Jesus, it makes us not to be negligent. It makes us not to have nonchalant attitude. It makes us to be dutiful. It makes us to be full of good deeds. It makes us to be people who serve others. If you look at the book of Titus, Titus chapter 3. If you look at what the Bible says about good works, good deeds, the importance of this, you will notice that the Bible makes it clear that the life of the believer is a life of good deeds, is a life of good works. If good deeds and good works are not there, then somehow there is a problem. Somehow there is a problem. Sorry, Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. If you look at that chapter 2 from verse 1, it says, "But as for you, speak the things that are proper for sound doctrine." Certain things are proper for sound doctrine, certain things are not proper. "That older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love and in patience. Older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may admonish younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, to be chaste, to be homemakers, to be good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." You can see duty. Duty: good, chaste, discreet, homemakers, so that the word of God will not be blasphemed. "The young men, exhort the young men to be sober-minded. In all things, showing yourself a pattern of good works. In doctrine, showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you." Look at exhortation to servant. I'm showing you Christian duties. Duties! Christian duties. Verse 9, it says, "Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering," that is not being dishonest, "but showing all good works, all good fidelity, that they may adorn the gospel of our Savior in all things." Why must all this be done? Verse 11, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." If truly you have received grace, you are supposed to be dutiful. Once somebody is negligent, you begin to ask yourself whether that person actually received grace. Once you see laziness, you need to ask if that person received grace. Once you see indolence, once you see all this kind of behavior that does not show a sense of service, a sense of duty, a sense of good works, a sense of being responsible. The Bible says we need to know that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, speaking to believers. And what is that grace doing? It's teaching us that we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Look at what the verse 14 says: "who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works." Anybody that Jesus redeemed unto himself, they are special people. What makes them special is that they are zealous for good works. I would like to read that verse 14 in a simpler translation just for the purpose of clarity, just for the purpose of better understanding of what the scripture is saying. I want to read that chapter 2 in two other translations: the Amplified Translation and the New Living Translation. Amplified Translation says, "who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us," that is, purchase our freedom, "from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people to be peculiarly His own, people who are eager and enthusiastic about living a life that is good and filled with beneficial deeds." How beneficial is your life to your parents? How beneficial is your life to your neighbors? How beneficial is your life to other Christians? Is your life really beneficial? Will people miss you when you are not there? Will people ever say, "Ah, when he was there, when she was there, this is what he normal—ah, oh, this thing would have been done were she to be here, was he to be here. Oh, we miss this brother. If he was here now, this thing would have been done. We miss that sister. If she was here, this would have been done." Life, when your life is not beneficial in your immediate environment, you are a useless life. You are a disgrace. It means there is no grace operating in your life. You have been disgraced. When grace is operating in a man's life, it makes that life to be beneficial. Grace makes a life to be beneficial to those around that life. Once your life is not beneficial to people, then we wonder where is the place of Christian service? Don't forget our topic. It is God's Eternal Plan for Your Life and Christian Service. I want to show you that if your life is not beneficial to people, you can possibly miss out of God's plan for your life. You may be very, very prayerful. You may look holy, you may look godly and upright. But when your life is not beneficial to people, you may end up missing out of the eternal plan of God for your life. There's a way God has arranged, he has arranged things this way. Because God is the one that also gives grace. Grace coming out of the love of God. God so loved the world that He gave His son. Grace came through Jesus Christ. It was the love of God that made grace available. And where grace is available, a man's life becomes beneficial. That life is full of beneficial deeds. God has plans for a man's life. So God has also made it such that his plan for your life, they are tied to that beneficial things you do to people. Once your life is not beneficial to people, then you will likely miss out of the eternal plan of God because grace and God's eternal plan, they are going side-by-side. And today, many young people, they are very lazy. Many young people, they are not enthusiastic about being beneficial to others. Some young people can be in an environment and they would have lost all their usefulness. And sometimes it can even be such terrible that such young person may just be on one stupid computer game. Or may just spend the day watching television. I'm not saying computer game is a sin or watching TV is a sin. I'm saying that sometimes these things, they make people not to be beneficial to others. You may get to a place instead of being responsible to the immediate environment, you may just be busy on your own. You may just be there on one on your phone. And there you are just there, you are useless. Useless in the immediate environment. So it's so important for you to see that when the grace of God is operating on a man's life, that life becomes beneficial. That life is full of beneficial deeds. I would like to read that again in the NLT translation, New Living Translation, that verse 14. Look at what the Bible says here. It says, "He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to clean us up and to make us his own very people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Totally committed. Not partially, not with, you know, not grudgingly. Not doing things and [grumbling noise]. You know sometimes when you see some young people, some teenagers, some children, when you call them to good deeds, when you call them to serve, to do something, you start hearing all kinds of things. You start hearing murmuring and complaining. When grace is operating in a life, it makes that life to be totally committed to good deeds. Because the eternal plan of God for your life, they are tied to these deeds. Before I go to three classical Old Testament example, I want to show you an example—I will refer to two important examples in the New Testament before I will go to the two or three examples we want to study in the Old Testament. The first person I want to refer to for you is Dorcas in the Acts of Apostle. I believe you remember Dorcas. Dorcas was so beneficial to the widows around her. She was so beneficial to them such that when she died and the disciples went to call Peter, what moved Peter to the place of prayer was the report that the widows were giving. They were showing Peter, "See, if not for this woman, I wouldn't have had this. If not for this woman, this woman did this for me. If not for this woman, look at this thing she sowed for my daughter. Look at what she gave to my son. If not for this woman." And they were showing the beneficial deeds of this woman. And Peter felt no, this kind of woman should not go now. And Peter cries to the Lord, and Dorcas came back to life. God has a plan to bring Dorcas to life, but her beneficial deeds became part of that process. The beneficial deeds she did became part of the process. I will also remind you of the case of Jesus and this centurion whose servant was ill. You remember that when the centurion came to Jesus, it was the Jews—the centurion was not a Jew—but the Jews, they came and they were telling Jesus that, "Ah, you should please consider the man's request, that he has helped them to build their synagogue." He has been beneficial to their building, to the building of their synagogue. Jesus should please listen to the man. What I'm trying to make you see, I'm showing you a tie between God's plan for people and Christian service, beneficial deeds. Let's look at this classical example in the Old Testament because the Bible says whatsoever were written of former time, they were written for our learning. They are written for us to learn, for us to know how we ought to live our life. And I will take you to this reference. I want you to see them. Let's take the very first one. That one is in Genesis 24. Genesis 24. Let's look at that scripture. Genesis chapter 24. We want to look at a story. It's a very popular story. By the time we begin to read, you know that it's a very popular story. This was the story of how Isaac got Rebekah. The chapter opened up with how Abraham wanted to get a wife for Isaac and he called one of his servants. He told that servant that he doesn't want his son to get a wife from where he was. He want the servant to go home and bring a woman from among his own people. And he make the servant to swear that the servant will go. He said but if however the servant gets there and the woman refuse to follow the servant to come and meet Isaac, then the servant will be free of the oath that he is making him to swear. And then not too long, the servant started the journey to go and look for a wife for his master's son, to get a wife for Isaac. And the journey began. The servant traveled and traveled and traveled and traveled, and eventually the servant came to the city where the people of Abraham lived. I want to read from verse 10. "Then the servant took ten of his master's camel and departed, for all his goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor." That is where the people of Abraham lived. "He made his camel kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he came, then he said," please I want you to notice this. I want you to be attentive to this divine instruction here so that you don't live scattered life. Many young people today they are living very, very scattered life. They are living a life as if they don't have a future to live. As if there is no future for them. As if everything about them will end today. As if they are not thinking of becoming somebody later in life. As if they are not thinking of becoming fathers and mothers, becoming responsible parents later in life. They just live so scatteredly, so selfishly, so stupidly, so foolishly. And I'm warning you. You better wake up from your slumber and live a correct life. Look at what happened here. "Then the servant said in verse 12, 'O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the cities are coming out to draw water.'" Please note this prayer. "'Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, "Please let down your pitcher that I may drink," and she say, "Drink, and I will also give your camel a drink"—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.'" Do you see the servant's prayer? It was a genuine cry to God. Abraham have prayed. Abraham prayed. Having prayed, he commissioned the servant. The servant gets to a point again, prayed. I'm showing you the importance of prayer. But I'm showing you also that as much as we pray, if you are a negligent person, if you are a lazy person, if you are not a dutiful person, you can still miss the plan of God for your life. Abraham prayed and trusted God for a miracle. The servant again is praying and trusting God for an intervention. You can see prayers, prayers have been going on. Now, verse 15, "And it happened before he had finished speaking that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder." Please I want you to get something very correctly. It—by this story, you must have a clear understanding that it was not only Rebekah that came to fetch water. The Bible says earlier in that scripture, the Bible says that in verse 11, that the servant made his camel kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. So it is not just a well where only Rebekah comes to fetch water. It is a well where women themselves, they come out to draw water. So don't be thinking that it was only Rebekah that was coming out. Don't be thinking that Rebekah is the only girl that was available to fetch water. And so having that background, the Bible says, "It happened that before he finished speaking that behold Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful." For those of you who think that beauty is the only thing, Rebekah was beautiful. But beauty was not the thing that solved the problem. You do all kind of pancaking and all kind of perfuming, all kind of slim-fitted skirt, and sometimes they become very, very indecent. They become tight-fitting instead of fitting. You do all kinds of that—I'm not saying it is wrong, it is good to make yourself beautiful. The Bible says Rebekah was beautiful. But it was not beauty that solved this problem. It was more than beauty. Character! The beauty of a woman is in her character. Not in the perfume and in the pancake and in the whatever. No, it's not in all those things. It's not in the skirt, the type of the hair, the bangle, the earring and whatever. No, the real beauty is not there. It transcends all of that. I'm not saying you should dress anyhow, you should dress shabbily. It is good to look good. There's nothing wrong about that. But be careful not to be indecent. You don't need to be sexy, there's no reward for being sexy. But the Bible says Rebekah was beautiful. So there's nothing wrong with being beautiful. This lady too was beautiful. So you don't say because it's just—maybe the lady knew that she was not beautiful, so she decided to quickly make herself available for anybody. No, Rebekah was a beautiful lady. The Bible describes her as beautiful. She was charming to look at. But I'm showing you something about how God connected this beautiful lady to her eternal plan of God for her life. How she was connected to that plan. How God connected her and brought her into her own estate. How God gave her a life partner that was a prayer partner. Because the Bible says Rebekah was barren, but Isaac prayed and God heard Isaac and God gave Rebekah twins. How God brought that lady to her real husband. How God connected her to his divine plan. That's what I'm showing you. Look at the connection. I'm talking about Christian service. You are there, you think it's just about being beautiful. You think it's just about having wearing thin skirt and putting bangles and carrying perfume and decoration all around. It's more than that. You think it's about your slim-fit suit, your shiny trousers and your color combination, your combed hair and whatever. It's more than that, brother. We are looking at a very important thing about how God worked in the life of people. Service! It's a pattern in God. Christian service, being beautiful, being serviceable to people, being responsible, being beneficial. And you know how the story ended. Eventually Rebekah went with the man and Isaac got a wife in Rebekah. Look at the connection. Good works. Can we see another similar thing again? This is a marital plan. Look at how God work out a marital plan. Good works. You say it's only good works? I say no, a lot of things were there. So that you don't leave and say, "Ah, Brother Wale have said that you don't need anything like prayer. Just be doing good you will get your husband." I showed you everything that was involved. I showed you the place of prayer, the place of believing God, the place of looking and expecting God, the place of trusting God. The place of a godly life—Rebekah was a virgin. She was beautiful, she was a virgin. And then I told you the place of duty. All of these things are there. They are all there. I'm only trying to make you see that it transcend just praying. You need to pray, you need to be careful, you need to trust God, you need to be in God's presence, you need to take step into the plans of God. All of these come into God's eternal plan. I'm only showing you an addition to it, that another addition, what you need to add again to enter into God's eternal plan is being beautiful, run away from laziness, run away from indolence, run away from selfishness, run away from being so self-centered. Be beneficial to people around you. Run away from these things. Avoid them. Avoid them. Know how you ought to live and live properly. As a woman, as a man. Are you a virgin? As a woman, as a man, how do you conduct your life? How responsive are you, how beneficial are you? These are very, very important thing. That's why we are considering the topic: God’s Eternal Plan and Christian Service. There is a connection. I pray for you you will not miss out. You will not miss out. You will not miss out in the name of Jesus. May that which is yours not bypass you in Jesus' name. You will enter into all that God has planned for you in the name of Jesus. By the mercies of God, you will not miss God. But it is so important that we look into all of these things and live correctly. I'm appealing to you, I'm begging you, I'm pleading with you. As a young man, as a young woman, as a teenager, look into your life. Even as married people—Abraham was already married here. Couples, there may be some things you are trusting God for and you are waiting that God will do it. But the way God will come sometimes, God will come in form of service, and you will not know. All that is yours will come to you in the name of Jesus, and you will not miss any of them in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to take the third example so that we close for today. I've discussed a young woman, Rebekah. Now I want to discuss a young man. Let's look at 1 Samuel chapter 9. 1 Samuel chapter 9. This time around we are looking at Saul that became king. We want to look at how the whole thing happened. Just trying to make you see the place of good works and God's eternal plan. Now, before the story in chapter 9, you need to understand that in chapter 7 and chapter 8, Israel, they came to Samuel to ask for a king. And Samuel told them that if they want a king like other nations and God was telling them that look, they will not need a king, they are rejecting God as their king. After much said and done, they were told to go home. If you look at the chapter 8, verses 19 through 22, "Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, 'No, but we will have a king over us, that we may also be like all other nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.' And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So God said to Samuel, 'Heed their voice, and make them a king.' And Samuel said to the people of Israel, 'Every man go to his city.'" I want you to know that there was already a prayer. Somebody have prayed. I'm only trying to make you see some very important things in life. There was a prayer. Samuel had prayed to God to give them a king. The people have requested for a king. God has said okay, I've heard you, I will give you a king. Everybody go to your house. Immediately God answered that prayer, when that thing was done, when that had been settled spiritually, look at the next thing that began in chapter 9. The Bible says there was a man. It looked as if there was no relationship between chapter 8 and chapter 9. What happened? The Bible says there was a man whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. He had—look at what the Bible says again. Please, I took these examples because I'm trying to show you something very, very important. The Bible says, "he had a choice and handsome son." Rebekah was beautiful and was a virgin. Saul was a choice, [Yoruba: omo d'osho, omo natural, omo wa okay]—super, he was okay. Not just any type of brother. Correct one. He was a choice and handsome son. Saul was a choice son. When you say a young man is handsome, the suit is fitted, the hairstyle is something that attracts you. When he dresses and you see him you say, "Wow!" He was a choice son. So don't think that Saul too was any-how son. I'm trying to make you see this thing that the purposes of God, they transcend some physical things that you think they are. You think it's by wearing one fine suit and combing your hair well and having one good haircut that you will get a good sister. I'm not saying that is wrong, the Bible says these people they have it. But I'm saying there are certain things about you that transcend all these things. There are some greater things to focus on too. Some of you cannot see a stain on your canvas. You quickly dust it, you want to be seen, you want to, you know, have a sense of show. It's okay. But I am telling you that for you to enter the plan of God, it goes beyond that. Saul was a choice son. [Yoruba: Omo d'osho, omo natural, omo wa okay]. Are you understanding me? [Yoruba: Won ni omo d'oro d'ejo]. That is Saul. But look at what the Bible says about this man. He says having son, the son was handsome, his name was Saul. Look at what the Bible says again: "There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel." [Yoruba: Se n gbo?] If you're a brother like that, or sisters you would have slept with all sisters in the fellowship. Abi? But I'm showing you Saul. I'm showing you Saul. If you happen to be that brother that in the whole of Ondo State—let's leave Nigeria, let's just take Ondo State—you're just a local champion. In the whole of Ondo State, there is nobody like you. Some of you you become peacock. [Yoruba: Wa bere si n gako bi toki]. You become like peacock. But I am showing you divine things. I'm showing you divine wisdom. I'm showing you that certain things transcend these things. There was no one like him among the children of Israel. Look at what the Bible says about him again. It says from his shoulder upward, he was taller than any people. I'm showing you a young man. You can see that this young man, he's tantalizing. He's tantalizing. If you put him in his own time, he will be—how will you describe him? He will be maybe Mr. World, something like that. Now, look at what the Bible says. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, "Please take one of the servants with you and arise, go and look for the donkeys." So he passed through the mountain of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then they passed through the land of the Benjamite, but they were not found. When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, let us return, lest our father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us." Of course it is true. If you say, "My son go and look for my donkey," and if they left 7:00 a.m. and by 7:00 p.m. you have not seen them, you will not be thinking of donkey again, you'll be thinking about your children. So Saul said, "Look, before Baba begin to say, 'Ah, ah, I hope my children have not been kidnapped,' before he begins to get worried about us, let's start going back home. We can't find this thing." But the Bible says, and he said to him, "Look now," that was the servant, "there is in this city a man of God, and he's an honorable man. All that he says surely come to pass. So let us go there, perhaps he can show us the way that we should go." Then Saul said to the servant, "Ah, but look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessel is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?" The servant answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have here at my hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God to tell us our way," that is, so that he can tell them where they can find the ox or the donkey that they were looking for. Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go and see the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. Then Saul said to the servant, "Well said! Come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God is. Please be following this story. As they went up the hill, they met some young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, "Is the seer here?" And they answered them and said, "Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now, for today he come to this city." I want you to follow that word. Samuel don't stay in that city. That day was the day that Samuel will visit that city. Samuel normally stay in Ramah. From Ramah, Samuel will go round all other cities and then he will now come back again to Ramah. He does that in a circle. But this day was the day that Samuel will come to this city. So note the word. They said, "Hurry, for today he comes to this city." Tomorrow he will not be there. Or maybe in a couple of days he will go elsewhere. But for that day, he's in that city. Because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes off to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Afterwards, those who are invited will eat. "Now therefore go up, for about this time you will find him." I don't want to talk now about Samuel because we are going somewhere. But I will just say this in passing as a minister of the gospel: can people predict you in terms of your character, in terms of your appointment? Let's leave that. Let us face where we are going. We are not facing ministers today, we are facing young people. We are looking at a matter. So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, just as they said about Samuel. Around this time he enter—he was entering too, coming up towards them on the way. Please look at the verse 15. The Bible says, "Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before"—that is, we are talking of today that he came to this place for sacrifice. Yesterday, of this today that we are discussing now, God spoke to Samuel. What did God tell Samuel? God told Samuel, "Tomorrow, which is the today that we are discussing in this city, tomorrow about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You shall anoint him commander over my people, that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people because their cry has come to me." So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, "There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over my people." Are you following this story, brethren? Young man, young woman that is listening to me, friends, are you following this story? Are you following what we are discussing? Samuel was to anoint a king. A king God chose for himself. God listened to the cry of the people of Israel, and God felt it is time to deliver them. That was the plan of God, God's eternal purpose. God wanted to do something, he has a plan. And that plan is to anoint a king. And how did this happen? There was a man. This young man was beautiful, yet he was not any-how man. He was not using his beauty to be deflowering sisters here and there. He was not playing boyfriend and girlfriend everywhere. He was a youth that God could look at. I want you to look at the conduct of this man. He was a man again of integrity and character. I'm showing you Saul, a young man. Some of you don't have up to this and you are busy using what you think that you are, you are handsome, you are whatever, and you are busy playing boyfriend and girlfriend, doing all kinds of nonsense with your life that God cannot reckon with your life for anything, except on the project of mercy. Except on the project of mercy, like let's forgive this one, let's look for a way to take him out of his darkness, out of his useless life. But look at this young man. He was handsome. A life that God could look at. He was not just handsome, he was handsome par excellence. Nobody in Israel was like him. But look at what God did to bring him into the plan of God. The donkeys that belonged to his father, some of them got missing. And his father called him, "Saul, go and look for them." Have you seen a child that is responsible at home? Have you seen a child that is submissive to parents? Have you seen a child that is zealous of good works? Have you seen a child that is beneficial? There will be several—I'm sure Saul is not the only child of his father. There will be some others. And he just say, "Who is there? Saul, okay, Saul come." I just imagine that this young man say, "Oh, Daddy, abeg, I can't go today, I will go tomorrow." If he was to go tomorrow, would he have met Samuel? What was the plan of God is that that day Saul must meet Samuel and be anointed. He must be separated unto God as the king of Israel. And look at how it happened. His father said, "Go and look for the donkeys." And he went. He was so dutiful. I want you to notice. He went through the whole land of Benjamin, the land of Shalisha, the land of Shaalim. He was busy diligently looking for it. Some children will just go to one place and come back home, "Daddy, I didn't see it." "Look for this thing!" [Yoruba: Ehn, a o ri, a o ri], and then they leave the job. But this boy was not like that. I'm showing you being dutiful, not being lazy. Not being lazy. A child left the house in the morning and was looking for something, searching for it until he got to a point that what is making the child to want to stop looking for that thing was that he was concerned about his father. It was not that the child was saying, "[Yoruba: Wo, o ti to mi jare, e ran elomi lo si lo wo, emi na ti mo ti gbiyanju.]" That was not the reason. It was because it was already getting late and he was concerned now about his parents. I'm showing you beneficial service, Christian service. And by the time Saul was thinking of going back, Saul, by diligently looking for the donkey, he was already in the town that God has appointed for him. How did he get there? By beneficial service. By not being lazy. By the time it was night, by the time it was evening when he needed to go back because he was worried about his parents, he was already in the city where God has appointed him to be. Can you see what diligence, what hard work, what not being lazy can do for a young man? So by the time he told the servant, "Let us go back," the servant said, "Ah, look, in this city we can meet a man," and of course they went to meet the man. And what did the Bible says? He said God had already told Samuel that around this time tomorrow—so by that time, that time when they entered, it was the time that God has appointed to bring Saul to meet Samuel so that Samuel can anoint Saul to become king. Look at how God's eternal plan was fulfilled by being dutiful, was fulfilled by being beneficial, was fulfilled by not being lazy, was fulfilled by not being negligent, was fulfilled by not being a murmurer, was fulfilled by not grudging duties. I pray for you again you will not miss out. You will not miss out. You will not miss out in the name of Jesus. So that as we close today, as we close this afternoon, I want you to see that there is a connection. Either for a young man, either for a young woman. It's not about beauty alone. It's not about being handsome alone. It's not about all these things you think, it's beyond all of that. It's not just only about prayer, it's not only about trusting the Lord. You can see all of that in this thing. It's also about being dutiful. Be dutiful. Be dutiful. Be dutiful. Don't miss out in Christian service because you will also—you might miss out also of God's eternal plan for your life. Let us pray. I want you to talk to the Lord this morning. I want you to pray. I don't know what you have learned from what we have discussed, but I want you to pray. God's eternal plan and Christian service. Maybe there's something you need to repent from. Maybe there's something you need to ask God to help you to correct. I want you to talk to God. Our Father we thank you for this morning again. We bless your holy name for this time again in your presence. Lord our God, we commit ourselves into your hand and we are praying. Lord, Lord, you redeemed us unto yourself to be a people that are your very own, full of beneficial deeds. Lord, may our life indeed be full of good deeds, of beneficial deeds in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray we will not miss out. We will not miss out. We will not miss out of your plans for our life in Jesus' name. Lord, our eyes are on you. Let nothing prevail against your purposes for our life in the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. We trust God again that we will meet again first Saturday of the month of August. [music] [Speaker 1] 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 heat. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class, every Monday 5:00 p.m.; Adolescents and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.; Family life seminars, regular school outreaches and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy Filling Station along Ijede 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 080-33-86-11-36, 070-33-61-38-48. God bless you all. [music]