The Eternal Purpose and Prayer

[Speaker 1] [background music: choir singing] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly homefront. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Test Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] In that last month's discussion, that was the last month, the first Saturday of the month of January, we were saying that the summary of walking sure is to walk in God's fear. To walk in God's fear. To walk in God's fear. And a strong rider, a strong scripture that was so much a part of that meeting is this scripture in Proverbs 1. Proverbs 1. Let's just see it for the benefit of those of us who were not around last month. I just want to give a five, six-minute recap of what we did last month as just to be a blessing. If you look at Proverbs 1, the concluding verses of that Proverbs 1, if you read it from verse 24. Let me read KJV. "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." They will seek me early, but they will not find me. Why? It says, "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose what? They didn't choose the fear of God. They didn't choose it. They didn't choose the fear of God." Verse 30, 31: "They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way." They have not walked sure, so they are bound to fall. They are bound to fall. "They will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." They will think that they are going on well. Why? The next thing says, "For the turning away of the simple shall do what? Shall slay them." They don't know that they are slaying themselves. Won ma n so wipe awon bi won bi won ku. They are cutting down themselves. They think when they reject God's fear, they think they are building. They don't know that they are cutting down. Won lero pe awon n build ni. Every day, as you turn away from the fear of God, you are cutting yourself down daily. Cutting down, cutting down, cutting down, cutting down. Just like when the Bible says, "A little sleep, a little slumber, so will your poverty come." The same way, a little cutting down, a little cutting down. By the time you want to gather your future, there is nothing to gather because you have daily cut it down. So let's learn to walk sure. And look at how it concluded. Look at the verse 33, which was a strong verse for us that says, "But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall do what? Shall dwell safely, and shall be what? Be quiet from fear of evil." The person will be quiet from the fear of evil. That was something so much for us last month. Let's walk sure. Walking sure. Let's build to last. Let's be sure that we are walking sure. Other scripture we read was Proverbs. Let me add. That means anything you want to add from walking sure that we looked at last month? [Speaker 3] Yes, we emphasized Revelation 12:11 about the sacrifice for us to be able to walk into this holiness. In Revelation 12:11, it says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." So we have the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, that is the word which God has spoken concerning us, particularly for the year. That will always be like a reference point for us by time. Probably struggles, challenges comes up, we always have that word, "God said this." So we can confront that with it and not loving their life unto death also, that we must not compromise if we must walk sure. We must not love our life. [Speaker 2] Exactly. That is the strength for walking sure. What are the provisions of God for being able to walk sure? God made three provisions. The blood of the Lamb, Jesus has been slain. He has provided deliverance from sin. He has provided deliverance from the devil, from the curse of the law. By His blood, He has made a provision. The second provision is the word of our testimony. He's there to speak to you. You must be there to listen to Him because if you don't have a word of a testimony, you cannot walk sure. David said, "The God who delivered me from the hand of the bear and the land of the lion will deliver me again from the hand of this Philistine." And he marched forward and he got his victory. And the last thing was that if we must walk sure, we must not compromise. We must not love our life. To be able to walk sure, you must hate your life. Once you love your life, please see Mary, if I go and tell the truth now and they, if I go and say this and what if and once you love your life, you will not be able to walk sure. But if you decide to hate your life, that is ready to lay it down no matter the cost, to follow the course of the gospel, you'll find yourself walking sure. Praise the Lord. And I know not all of us are on the group. Myself and Brother Damilare, we are working to make sure that we want to reactivate the text messages. So many of our youths have graduated since we started. We have not, we want to update the data so that it will be more recent people that will be receiving the text now. That is why I have not been sending them. We are trying to work on that. But on the group, we place the WhatsApp group for the ministry, we place Singles' Club there. So how many of us are on the group? Okay, so I'm sure you saw the topic for today. Did you? Yeah. What's the topic for today? [Speaker 3] The Eternal Purpose of God and Prayer. [Speaker 2] Yes. The Eternal Purpose of God and Prayer. That's the topic we want to look at this first Saturday of the month of February. And actually what we want to do is in twofold. The first thing is to make us see that God has a purpose and that purpose is eternal. Just two sections. God has a purpose and the purpose is eternal. The second aspect of it is the mystery. The mystery is that that eternal purpose has a strong relationship with prayer. Even though it is God's eternal plan, yet we will see that there's so much intricacies about that purpose. The intricacies with prayer is amazing. The import of the second aspect of our discussion is to make you know that if your prayer life is weak, it's a sign that you don't understand what is at stake. You don't understand what is at stake. If you really understand what is at stake, you cannot have a weak prayer life. You cannot. So that is what we want to look at. God has a plan. The plan is eternal. We want to from the Bible look at all of that. And then two, the intricacies for the fulfillment of this purpose. You'll be thinking that since God has the plan and the plan is eternal, it's God's plan, let Him do it. But you will now see again that the thing is not as straight as you are looking at it. The ways of God, they are windy. Not just to be windy when something is just turning, turning, turning like a maze. It's like a maze. And you will see how prayer is like what helps you to resolve the maze. Prayer helps you to go through the maze of that thing and then the thing will now find fulfillment. Now, what is first important for us to see is God has a plan and that the plan is eternal. How do we know that God has a plan and that that plan is eternal? How can we know it? That God has a plan and that plan is eternal. That one is very, from Genesis to the beginning of the Bible, we can get those things. Let's see 2 Timothy 1:9. Let's try the various translations. God has a plan and the plan is eternal. Yes, King James. Let me read King James or let me read Amplified. Somebody else, King James is more common. I believe somebody else has King James here. So somebody else will read maybe NLT, then the Message. Just verse 9. Amplified says, "For it is He who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness, to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness; He did it not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further His own purpose and grace, unmerited favor, which was given to us in Christ before the world began, that is eternal ages ago." Other translation, KJV now. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." He called us with a holy calling according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us before the world began. Other translation. Message. "He chose us before we ever knew anything about Him. He gave us this holy work." Before we knew anything about Him. Long before we knew anything about Him. NLT. Nobody have that? Yes. "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus." That was His plan from before the beginning of time. Now I want you to note something about that. That God has a purpose and that purpose has nothing to do with, it was His own plan. It was not that, "God, please save me, use me for." No, it was His own idea. It had nothing to do with us. In fact, we have not existed. God alone existed then. When did time start? When was the beginning of time? Creation was the beginning of time. I hope we all agree with that. It was in creation that He set the sun and the moon to determine time and day, day. Formerly there was no time. Everything was timeless. And of course, God has not entered into time. God is still in timelessness. And like I was saying in one meeting, if God was for example, just for an example that God was 50 years old when He made the earth, how old is God now? How old is God now? Yes, how old is God? In addition to the 50. Okay, you just added the age of the earth to the 50. 4,000 years before Christ then Christ came. Okay, then 2,000 after Christ. You add everything together. That will now give us something about His age. Okay. But the truth is that God is still 50 years old. Do you get it? Today, how old is God? He's still 50. There is no time. There is no tomorrow. There is no, you don't grow older or younger. All those growing old is in time. God is not in time. So we are in time. I want us to get that very clear. Now, when God was planning this thing, where did God plan it? Before time. Why? Because He was before time. So before He made time. Now why are they saying before He made time? Why is the Bible particular that before He made time, He had this plan for us? Why is the Bible particular about that? That God had a plan, it's a holy plan, to make us holy, to call us to holiness. It was before time. Why is He making us know that it was before time? Not because of what happened to us now. Not exactly. That plan still continues after time because it's not within time. Are you getting this? That is why won ni sebo sebi iwo lo wa, ki aye to wa, iwo ni yoo si wa nigba ti aye o ni si mo, apata ayeraye. So time is just in between. That is one major reason. Then what's the second major reason? Why is He making reference to time? That God did this before time, God did this before time. There is a second major reason. The second major reason is because He planned the thing in eternity, but He intended that the thing should have a manifestation not only in eternity, but also in what? In time. So that we that are in time, do you get, you know when we are in time now, we can have an understanding that even though this thing is just manifesting in time, but this thing is not about time. Don't think it's about time. It has been before time. Don't think because you are now here now, you think everything is about here. It's not about here. It was before time. It's making it a basic to us who are in time so that we can know that the matter was before time. The reason why that information is given to us is so that we that are in time should know how to live our life. In other words, He wants us to know that we are not essentially a product of time and our life will not end with time. It's to make us have an understanding that we are not products of time. And so the way you are spending time, be careful about time. Time is just a phase of your life. It's a phase. It's a phase. And so yet that phase is so significant. It's a very significant phase. Very, very significant phase. Why it's significant is when we come to the matter of prayer. Because the thing was in eternity, but the manifestation should be in time. It was in timelessness. So there is a way the thing must enter into time. Do you get what I'm trying to say? The thing is greater than time. The thing is longer than time. But it must have a manifestation. It must touch time. It must enter time and go through time and again come out of time. I'm talking about when we come to this matter of relationship with prayer. And I'm saying that if in time, in time, your prayer life is weak, you don't understand what is at stake. There is something about time. The plan is not in time. The plan is in eternity, it's in timelessness. But the plan must come into time and it must succeed in time and then go back again into timelessness. And that is what I say, intricacies of the life of our life. Even though we are looking small girls, small boys, 30 years old, 40 years old, 20 years old, let's have an understanding that God purposed something. He purposed it. It was His own purpose. So the purpose is His, it's not our own. It's about Him. He purposed it for us. He purposed it in timelessness. And the second scripture that confirms that is the very familiar one, Ephesians 1. We are very familiar with that one. Ephesians 1:3-4. Who can read that offhand? Okay, nobody. Let somebody open to it and quickly read for us. That one is we are more familiar with that one. Ephesians 1. Where are you? Ephesians 1. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Look at that matter in Amplified. It says according as He has done what? Chosen us in Him. Look at it in Amplified. I like the Amplified translation. The Amplified says even as in His love, He chose us. He now explained that meaning of chose, that chooses. He says He actually picked us out. Please when you want to pick something, are you deliberate about picking? Or you just pick at random? When you want to pick out something from something, something are on the ground, you want to pick out. What does it show? It's picking. Do you get what I mean? It says He picked us out of something. You want to pick something out of something. Do you get the point I'm making? Is it a thing that just happened? Or is it that you are deliberate about? When it comes to picking, when you have maybe several yellow color, green color, blue color, and you want to pick out. You begin to, okay no, leave that one, pick this one, that one. What I want to make chosen is that the picking was done when? Before time. So actually since when did we begin to exist? We began to exist before time. If we could be picked before time. Does that look strange to you? Does that look strange? Now the reason why this thing is important is so that we can understand that look, there's so much at stake. If God were a frivolous person, if God were a comedian, now if God could be busy picking before time started, picking, picking, picking, picking, picking, picking so that He can now make the thing show up in time. Do you get the point I'm making? I want you to see the greatness. There is a great thing about us. There is something great about us. There is something, there is something, there is something when God is busy working and He's busy picking, picking, picking, picking to make holy. Why is He picking to make holy? Why is He taking time to pick to make holy? He was busy picking, picking, "Okay this one holy in time, in time. Okay picking this one so that we make this one holy in time and make them holy." And then time began. And then eventually when time began, plans began. Immediately time began, what did we see? What came up in time as time began? That was when Adam and Eve were made. And then time began, and time began. What do we see again at the beginning of time? What began from the beginning? It began from the beginning, it began. There's something else again began from that same beginning. No, it began. From the beginning it began. 1 John 3:8. We know it, maybe I'm not asking the question correctly. You know sometimes the way you ask questions, it may not, but when you read, I know you know the answer. Maybe I'm not asking the question the way I should ask it. 1 John 3:8. "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." What again is at the beginning? Sin. Then the Son of God, we were chosen in who? In Christ. Then the Son of God now manifested to do what? To destroy sin. I'm showing you why He chose us to be holy. He chose ever before time, He has chosen because at the beginning of time, sin, sin will start. So He chose so, that's why I tell people that God's purpose is not to take us to heaven. That's not the purpose. God purposes to make us holy. Then part of the plan, heaven is part of the plan, we will now come to heaven. But heaven is not the purpose. Heaven was never the purpose. The purpose is sin will be introduced, but in time there will be holiness. The same thing that sin was introduced to will also come back to see, to destroy, to still reign over the devil. That was the purpose. That was everything for the selection. So why were you picked? Why holy? Why not to be loving? Why not to be gracious? Why not to be this? Why is it to be holy? Because it is directed against an interruption. When God began time, something also interrupted God. What was introduced? Unholiness. But God again showed that in time He will introduce again holiness by that same people that He chose in who? In who? In Christ. So when God was choosing us in Christ, so when Christ was manifesting, what would be happening? We will be manifesting with Christ. That is why Paul could say that we were crucified with who? With Christ. So when he was dying we were dead. Do you understand me? When he was resurrecting we were resurrecting with him. Are you getting the point I'm making? So that what can happen? We can destroy the work of sin. Once we can destroy sin, God's purpose has been fulfilled. But once you cannot conquer sin, God's purpose has not been fulfilled. Now it is when that purpose is fulfilled, go and check it. He said Christ will come for a church that is what? Without spot, without, so that he has fulfilled his purpose. He will now come to take them home. It's like you put some workers on the site to be working. Do you get it? So you went back, help me build this house, I will come back later. So you now come back, se e ti pari ise? Okay, you look at it, oh the house is okay. Oya, e wo inu moto je n ma ko yin lole. So the purpose is not je n wa ko yin lole. But today, a se fe so pe purpose Olorun niyen. Did you get it? Ki wa ko yin lole is not the purpose. The purpose is that se e ti wa ni mimo? Se e ti segun? Se e ti fi ye pe even though he introduced sin, in Christ we have conquered him. E ti se gun, oya e je ka ma lole. That's the actual thing. So it is not really heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven. Because the truth is that when you pursue to be holy, the truth is this, when God's purpose is fulfilled in your life, you cannot but be in heaven. Heaven is planned for those who are holy. Without holiness, no man can see God. Se o ri be yen? Won ti pari ise yen, won se ma n bo nle. Do you get the point I'm making? Without holy, so the real purpose what I'm telling you is this, what were you programmed for? When God was programming you in eternity, God was writing the program, it's like writing a program. What were you programmed for? What were you programmed to become? To become holy. That's the program. That's the program. Now we need to get this clear. We need to get this thing very clear. God has a plan, He has a purpose, the purpose is to make us holy. Now, in making us holy, we will pass through what? We will pass through time. What will happen in time? A child will be born. Is that not? But actually, that child that is born, it's a child that that time when he was born is not really the beginning of his life, his actual life. I'm showing you the case of Jesus Christ. It was the same thing with Jesus. A child was born, but actually a Son was given. A child was born. The truth is that when you were born you were born. But the truth is that God has a, God is giving something that will come to become holy. Do you get the point I'm making? A child is born, but actually that is not the beginning of the life of that child. It began in time. Now the child will live through time. What has been introduced in time? What has been introduced in time? What was introduced in time from the beginning? What had been introduced also in time? Sin. So immediately the child is born, he's conceived in sin. Yet what is conceived in sin is supposed to be holy. Are you seeing something? Conceived in sin, but purposed to be holy. Conceived in sin, purposed to be holy. What I'm trying to make you see is very, very important. When we are born into time, we pass through different things. We'll be under our parents, we'll go to secondary school, we will grow, later we will go and some are entering, some are coming out. Some are graduating, some are picking a husband, some are marrying, some are having children. Now, what I want you to get clear is this. To stay in time, do you get the point I'm making? There will be a what? A plan. You are purposed to be holy, is that not? But when you are in time, of course you'll be given birth to by somebody. Is that not true? Somebody will be your father, will be your mother. You will go to one school, you will go to one this, you will go, you will go, you get the point I'm making? Now, because that life was purposed by God to be what? To be holy. So it means that from the point of birth, God begins to oversee what and what that child will enter into. The school, the parent, the, do you understand me? That is why we are saying that there's specific plan of God for everybody. Just like God doesn't just say, "Okay just any father should just give birth to," no, there's a specific father. Anybody else could not have been your father. There cannot be two fathers. There is one father and one mother. Me too I was programmed to come from where? A particular mother, a particular, she, anybody here. So you notice that there's a specific plan in that life we came to live in time also have what? A specific plan because of the eternal plan. Are you getting it? That life we want to live in this life has a specific plan. It has a specific plan. But the point now is this. When everything was planned, where were we? When everything was being planned, when they were drawing the drawing, when they were at the drawing board, where were we? We were in Him. Now, the point I'm making is this. Do you know that everything is whose idea? Whose idea? So it means the only way to find meaning and purpose in life is to keep looking into God because it's not your idea. You cannot think and by thinking find God's purpose for your life. It's not in you. I don't know whether you understand. It's like God drew a plan and the plan is with Him. How much thinking will you do to get what? If you want to, you want to follow these things systematically? I have a plan. How much thinking can you do to get the plan? Can you do anything that can be as specific as what I have here? That will be exactly, if I say, "Okay, Dayspring, I have drawn a building. Go to the site, go and build a house like that." You said, "Please can I see the plan?" Say, "No, I know you are an expert in building. Build it to be exactly this one that is here." Is it possible? Is it possible? It's not possible. What I'm trying to make you see is that why look as if you were born and you are living your life? Intricately, we will remain meaningless if we don't get to know for this thing to be open. We will build houses but it cannot be exactly this one. We will marry but it cannot be exactly the one that is here. You will go to school but it cannot be exactly the one that was prepared. Mind you, in the one that was prepared, you were prepared with that to be holy. Let me give you a good example. Let me see if I can bring it to some physical things so that you can understand. Lot was joining with Abraham. They were going together. When Lot was with Abraham, was there any problem with Lot? Lot was a righteous man. Am I correct? They both journeyed, they both journeyed. They got to a point, there was a problem. What was the problem? Their cattle have increased. Their land could not contain them. They needed to part. At that point, Lot made a wrong choice. But when he made a wrong choice, he made the choice not leaning on God. Bible says he looked out and said and he make whatever choice he made. Immediately he made that choice, he moved towards Sodom and Gomorrah. What was the first thing about Lot? There was a war, he was taken captive. The Bible says he was at the gate of Sodom. Later when the angels will come, where was Lot? He was right inside Sodom. Are you with me? Now, by the time things will continue, God was to destroy the place. The wife that used to be holy, that used to be godly as they journeyed, what happened? Was that holiness, was it preserved on the long run? What compromised the holiness? That holiness that they were supposed to be holy, that made God to want to take them out of that place. Do you get the point I'm making? That holiness, was it still preserved? You know gradually everything was going down. Was going down. Along the way the wife looked back. Along the line Lot have to, Lot, his two children, they deceived him with wine. You understand? They made him drink wine. But I'm wondering, how will a man drink wine to the point that he becomes drunk if he has not been drinking it before? If you have not been taking something before, can you take it to the point where you will take it too much? And these are intricacies. But what I want to make you see is whichever the case, anyway, things were going down. The daughter slept with the father, the first daughter. The second, "Oya, me too I've slept with my father, you too go." Now these were daughters that were virgins in a land of ungodliness. That tells you how they have preserved themselves before. You see that the holiness, everything was going down. What led to the loss of holiness? Was that decisions about career, what to eat, what to drink. Because you are designed to be holy, God has also designed which work you will do, which place you will settle. If you go out of that place, it will compromise the holiness. Are you understanding what I'm trying to say? Because God has a purpose for you to be holy. Yet you must eat, you must drink, you must live somewhere in time. You cannot just be floating, no father, no mother, and then you just come here as a spirit, you are just no, you must be human being. You will be born to somebody. You will grow up. You have to eat. If you stop eating you will die. Do you get the point I'm making? You have to sleep, you have to, you must do physical things to be here. Now, but because God have an ultimate plan that you must be holy, which is the ultimate plan, you were designed to be holy. God have to now make provision. It's just like, let me give another example. You are a producer. You want to raise your broiler. But you don't want the broiler to have stain. You don't want anything yamayama, any kind of dust or whatever to be on their body. So immediately you are ready to bring the broiler, you went to buy a cage. Within that cage, you will be bringing your food, you'll be giving them. Why? You say you don't want them to just be on the floor. So you see that because they must eat, you must also think of what they will eat. You can't put them inside cage and not think of what they will eat. You can't put them there and not think of what they will drink, what they will wear, where they. Do you get the point? But why do you put them in the cage? It's so that they will be different from the other broiler. They will become big, they will be white, so yes, I've got what I wanted. But you cannot just do that and say, "Let them be inside the cage, they will think of what to eat. Let them begin to think." The broiler will be inside the cage and then begin to think, will he be able to eat inside that cage? No. So because that plan, if God don't put all the other things with it, what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, where, you cannot be there. What I'm therefore saying is that, so in time, because you are designed to be holy, there is a what? There is a plan for when you will be here, that time that you'll be here. There's a specific plan. That's why sometimes I will question somebody and I will say, "Have you asked God? Did God ask you to read this course?" "Yeah, I want to live." "Is it what God told you to do?" People will be saying, "Oh Brother Ola, your own is to be saying that what does God say?" It is because you don't understand what is at stake. What is at stake is that if you go out of what is provided, the holiness for which you are designed will be compromised. The holiness, the everything. That's why I'm showing you physical plan. Look at Lot. What happened to all the holiness? What happened? I'll give you another person again. Let's use Father Abraham. God called him. He showed him a land where he should stay. What is that land? The land of Canaan. At a point there was famine. He was thinking of what to eat. He ran away from that place. He ran to where? What happened in Egypt? You see the holiness had begun to go. He had to tell a lie. "Tell them that I'm not your husband, tell them." You see, the holiness have begun to go. Before you know, Sarah had been taken. You see that if God did not intervene, what would have happened to Abraham? All the holiness, all the plan? If Pharaoh have slept with Sarah and become Sarah's husband, and Sarah begin to have children and there, then Abraham remained there, he'll be taking the fat from Pharaoh's house, all the ketekete, all the malu and he's going far. "Ah, she's prosperous now." Is that not? No, I'm trying to give you an example. He's now the king-in-law. You know we have a lot of money, a lot of houses, a lot of cars, we'll be driving jeep, we'll be driving all those things. But what, that life, what has it become? That's the point where when people are inside jeep, it doesn't mean that their life have meaning. It doesn't mean. Driving jeep, being in fat house is not, it does, it still does not have the meaning except that thing is inside that purpose. Once it's outside that purpose, everything is meaningless. That's why the Psalmist said meaningless, meaningless, vanity upon vanity, all is what? Once you remove, once you come out of that place, what remains is vanity. And that is why you notice like we discussed in one of our meeting on Monday, if you still remember, I don't know which of the meetings, that we were saying that there are only how many classes of men in this life? Two. Those who have what? And those who are what? That's just the two. We saw that in 1 Thessalonians 5 where he said that we should not sorrow like those that have no hope. So you know that if anybody is not in Christ, he is what? He's hopeless. So the only thing that give man meaning is inside that thing. Now the reason why I'm saying this thing is so that you don't begin to think that, that is why Jesus was saying in Matthew 6 that why do you worry about what to eat, what to drink and what to wear? Look at this, look at that. Did they not drink? He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and what will happen? And these things will be added." Now he made a statement about our Father. He said, "Your Father knows what? That you have need." He knows. So with that holiness, he has purposed what to eat, what to drink. You are supposed to be fed as you stay inside that holiness. As you are feeding the broiler, you bring water, you bring food. Was Adam not fed? Who ran around to bring a wife? Who went to create the wife? Who brought the wife? Who made food to be there? He was fed. He was fed. It was when he left that holiness that what? That he began to look for what to eat. When he was inside there, everything was inside. Is that not true? Was everything not inside that place? Was there any thing that he needed in life that was not inside that holiness? There was nothing. So if man is inside there, there is nothing. Now, but the point, but the point I hope you get the point I'm drawing. There is an eternal plan. What is the plan? For you to be holy. Now for you to remain in that place of holiness, what did God have to do? He had to make specific plan of what to eat, what to drink, what to wear. And the earlier you start this thing, I was with somebody recently, she said she's just so confused as to who to marry. I began to ask her, no, I said when do you begin to get confused? Why are you so confused? She said it was about some few days ago. Why do you get this confused? I said the course you read, how did you know the course you are supposed to read? The place you settle, how do you know the place you are supposed to settle? I said that same way God spoke to you. That was when we now began to see that it had not really been like that. The reason why she's so concerned about marriage now is because everybody keeps telling her, "Hey! If you wrongly marry, hey you know, you know." So that fear was now making her to now want to hear God. But I'm trying to make a very elaborate but simple thing for you to see. God has a purpose. What is the purpose? That you be holy. That is the only thing that God is working towards. All other things is about that holiness. What you will eat is about the holiness. What you will drink is inside the holiness. Who you will marry is inside the holiness. Everything other things God wants to do is inside that holiness. I'm only trying to bring something clear to you why He says, "But he that fear the Lord will dwell safely." That's why I had to do some revision back to last month. He who fear will dwell safely, will be quieted from the fear of evil. The person who stays inside fear, the person who stays inside it, the whole plan of what you will eat, what you will drink, who you will marry, where you will school, everything is inside one thing. It's inside that you are holy. Once you go and look for anything outside that thing, once you leave that place, then you start providing for yourself. You'll be eating but it is no more God feeding you. You know if the broiler come out of the cage, se ko ni jeun ni? Se bi o ma jeun? But what will he be eating? O ma sado ti mo. That is the unrighteousness, the compromise, the unrighteousness. O ma jeun na, but together with that ounje, nkan mii ti n papo mo. Nkan mii ti n se mo, nkan mii ti n se mo, nkan mii ti n se mo. And that is it. That is I'm just trying to make you understand a life of a man. Now, if this is very, very clear to us, I believe I've been able to establish something very clear, have I? I believe it's clear. God has a plan and the purpose is eternal. So that what we must get out of this first section is that anything that compromises holiness is not, it's not in anything in the plan of God for you. Anything that compromises holiness, righteousness and godliness is not in anything that God has planned for you. I was talking with someone, said, "I'm in a relationship." Said, "Oh, how do you know? Is actually the brother is a Christian and." So, "Is it God's plan for you?" He said, "Actually I prayed about it, I thought about it and I feel, I feel, then I prayed and I have peace." That's the common language now. "I have peace about him." Okay. Don't you understand that if there's no trouble, there will be peace. Naturally, if there's no trouble, you will have peace. It is when there is trouble that there will be no peace. The peace of God is peace in the midst of storm. That is the true peace. She said, "I have peace about it." Okay. So along the line we began to talk, we began to talk, we began to talk. Then I got to realize that they've been sleeping together. And not only sleeping together, she has aborted once or twice in the relationship. And I asked her why. She said because she doesn't want that to be an embarrassment, she doesn't want to. She said but she said, "Do you still see the will of God, you still see somehow because of the way she prayed." I said you are confusing something. These are believers. I'm not talking of one, I'm talking of people inside our fellowship. And I said my sister, it cannot be. The husband that God is planning for you cannot be inside fornication. He cannot be there. He cannot be inside this immorality that you are doing. I said I can't see the will of God in this thing. I said then two, that he tell you to, he will tell you that he can always abort it and all of that. Let me show you something. And I took him to that John that we read now. He that is, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for the seed of God is in him." I said that person you are calling your husband is not a child of God. He's saying, "Actually he's serving in the church." I said look, it's not about that. It's not about that. It's about this. Bible says that whosoever is born of God does not make a practice of sin. Eni ba yi, e n se fornicators, e ti di prostitute. A Christian can fall, but he turn around, he repent completely and you don't find him there again. A Christian cannot continue. Te ba ti wonu ese, if it's actually a child of God, o ma gbe reverse gear ni. Ati se reverse. And it says that he who repent and forsake, that's something about a Christian. There is no continuity. I said, "But this people, I said for you have been relating for the past five years. Ai dekun ese po, o de n bimo pa omo je, o n paje, e de n se, o de n so pe Olorun wa nibe, e de jo n, mo ni eni yi o yi wogbon, o o bi born again. O o bi born again. To ba ti born again, o ni le continue ninu ese, ko ni se se fun e." These are spiritual things. Ta ba ja eja sinu omi, eja ma swim. Ta ba ti yo kuro ninu omi, eja ma ku. Am I correct? Ta ba gbe elede sori bed, ta fi AC si, ta f'ogo e ko mo. Atile, a fi rug si. Ki ra nle tele de? Elede, o se n bo mo ni? No, ki ra nle si taba je ko lo, a sa je ko wa nibe yen, won fun lounje, o n je lori dining table, a sa n bo unje fun, o n je loto. Sugbon ko n se ori bed ni yen. Because that is not the natural place. So I said no matter how convenient sin may be, the godly cannot stay inside. The godly cannot enjoy the pleasure of sin. If you are truly born again, ko n se se fun e. You will be restless. You will run. Ah! Ki lo se e? O ti da. People will know that something is wrong with you. You can't, it's not possible. But I was trying to explain something, that she thought that since she has peace, she prayed, he had told the pastor, everybody know about the relationship when it was starting. So maybe God is just have a way of, say maybe God is working something. I said sister, there's nothing God is working in this thing. If God is, I'm saying this because I want you to get something clear. The primary purpose of God is what? That you be holy. Other thing that God will provide is inside where? That holiness. Now, if this plan stands this clear, how the fulfillment of the plan in time? Let me show you a scripture, maybe read just one scripture, but the scripture actually gave me a high opener to something. Look at Exodus. Exodus 2. Are you there? Are you there? Let us look at verse 23 to 25. Is anybody carrying NLT translation? Okay, let's first read KJV. 23 to 25. Who is reading? KJV. "And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them." And God had respect unto them. Other translation, NLT. Read very fast. "Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their bondage of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered the covenant promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act." And He knew it was time to act. Is that not strange? Is it not strange? You are not seeing the strangeness. Look at Genesis, maybe Genesis will help you see the strangeness that I'm talking about. Look at Genesis 15. Genesis 15:13. KJV first. "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Did God have a plan? How come He forgot? I'm trying to show you the strangeness. I'm talking about now the intricacies of prayer and eternal purpose of God. I want to show you the connection between prayer and God's eternal purpose. If your prayer life is weak, you don't know what is at stake, honestly. Maybe you think what is at stake is something that is in time. Not at all. What is at stake is something that must be prayed into time. Something that must be birthed. Do you understand me? When a woman is in labor, she carries the child. Where is the child? Inside. For that child to become a manifestation, whether it's a boy or girl, what will the woman do? She will labor and labor. If she doesn't labor, labor, prayer is a labor. You labor to birth, that is to give birth, to bring into time what is in eternity. There is a labor that will bring it. There is a labor. Prayer is not just, you see, that's why I tell people, actually brethren, prayer is not about asking God for some desires. The real meaning of prayer is bringing to birth what is yours, what God has arranged. And that touches about two things. If you don't walk with God, you can't know them. If you don't know them, you can't pray them. That's why walking with God is very, very important. Te o ba ba mi rin, o le mo nkan to wa ninu mi. A jo ma n we, ah pele o, ha good morning o, you can't know my plans. You can't know anything. So eni ti o ba ba Olorun rin, aye asan lo ko wa. You just came, you will just be meaningless. You may achieve, you may but you are meaningless. There is something higher and greater that is at stake that you don't understand. That's why you can see prosperity without holiness. Have you not seen it? Riches without holiness, children without holiness, marriage you can see all, the broiler can begin to shayeje and do what he likes. He's still broiler, but it's no more the broiler that is within the purpose again. But what we are seeing is this strong matter. We can see that ever before the Israelites came, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jacob with his children, Joseph with his children, another Pharaoh rose that didn't know Joseph. That will have taken how many years I don't know. Before everybody who knew Joseph will die. I don't know whether you understand me. I want to show you how many generations, how many things, how many things have gone on, how many things have been going on, how many things have been going on, and how it went on. But eventually the Bible says that the children of Israel, they groan under their bondage and they cried out to God. God now heard their cry at the beginning of the bondage. He now remembered that He told Abraham something. Or He heard after 400 years? Read that thing in Message. Let's just have Message put down. Yes. [Speaker 4] "Many years later, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cry for relief from their hard labor ascended to God. God listened to their groaning. God remembered the covenant promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw what was going on with Israel. God understood." [Speaker 2] Se o ye tẹlẹ ni? Why is it that it was when they cried to Him? Ti o ba le bo sibe adura ko gbadura sori aye won. Sometimes people will be making mockery. Ah se o ni yen, o se je kin yen, ah m'aka ka ki ka ka, ki lo le to yen ni, ki lo. You may be making mockery of men groaning in prayers. Esu gba gidi lowo wa, o n gba gidi, o n pa re pelu, I'm modernized, modernized prayer. "Father, how are you there? Hope you are fine." Modernized prayer. You don't want to look like you have a problem. "Father, we see you are up there." You think, you try to bring guy, you don't want to look like there is a issue about praying. You want to look modern, you want to look refined. But I'm not that is not even my problem. What I'm trying to make you see is this intricacies. Now, God had said they will suffer. If you look at it, it says God now knew that it was time to act. Now, is it that God forgot that He said 400 years? Is it that, no, in the literal sense, could God have forgotten? Do you, I mean I want to be very literal now. Does God forget things? Why did the Bible, why did God record it like this? Why did God record it like this? I hope you know that God is specific about words when He want to put words down. He's specific with words. Why He allow, why the picture created like this, as if God forgot. I will show you another thing. God said told Abraham, He said through Isaac shall your seed become. Which means Isaac will reproduce and give more children. Look at Genesis 25. Because I'm just trying to show you something. I'm trying to use people's life so that we can get this thing clear. Look at Genesis 25. Are you there? I want to read from verse, please I'm coming. Okay, from verse 21. Are you there? I'm reading KJV. Just to strike a point. Are you there? "And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, that is God listened to Isaac, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy womb; and the one people shall be stronger than the other; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all over him like an hairy garment; and they called him Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was how many years old? Sixty, when she bore them." What age did Isaac marry Rebekah? Do you know the age? Please go back up. Go to verse 20. I want the Bible to be speaking for itself. Verse 20, please read. Can we all read together? "Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban." How old was Isaac? Forty. Did God not know that it is in Isaac that Abraham's seed will become? And Isaac was praying. After one year, ko s'omo. Pray. Rebekah too, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. And God was there. Is it that God forgot that, "Ah, ki Abraham seed?" Eventually after 20 years of waiting and praying and praying of laboring, Isaac entreated. Was that the beginning of the prayer? Was it when he was 60 that they began the prayer? That's why I showed that of Israel. You know they have been crying, they've been crying, they've been crying, but it came to a time that the cry now came up to God. The mother with the child could have been carrying the pregnancy. The day of birth has not come. You understand me? The pain, the labor, the stress to be there until one day when the pain will get to its climax and then the child will be born. I'm showing you something about prayer. I'm showing a connection. God has a plan. Did Isaac need to now come again and start entreatment? Oluwa, Rebekah o gbodo d'ago, ah baba! and Isaac prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed and it says God was now entreated. So t'Isaac o ba gba adura nko? What if Isaac did not pray? But what was God's plan? In Isaac shall your seed be called. What concerns Isaac again and pray? Can't the thing just happen and time Rebekah just, can't it just go ahead? You see, what is at stake is not something in time. It's something we are in eternity. The only thing that can bring it in time is prayer. Prayer is the means by which birth the eternal purpose of God. It's the means to give birth to it. You birth it, you bring, you birth it, you birth it by prayer. You labor, you agonize, you push, you push, you push, you push, just like the mother will push from inside something and bring it into time. That is why you notice every time Jesus is talking about purpose and time, what will He say? It's like a woman who's with a child, that when the woman is with a child, there is sorrow and pain, but when she gives birth, she forgets the sorrow because of the child that was born. The eternal plans of God, you see when they come on ground, when they land, they bring joy. But they didn't just land. Even though, even though, that is the mystery of this thing. That's why I'm trying to show you. Se Olorun ba ba Abraham so pe o ma da won ni? Mo ni gba t'on subu yen se ko ye pe won n jiya ni, se ko ri won ni? They were suffering, they were laboring, they were crying. You know they were killing them. Do you know how many died? Who threw every son that is born into the river? That was affliction. But the Bible says it got to a place of time, it got to a point that that king died. E si ye bere yen lo ku o, ko n se igba ti ise bere ni igba t'oba yen ku o. Do you understand what the Bible is saying? In other words, the one that wanted to kill Moses died. You don't want us to know that the one that wanted to kill Moses died. Moses fled. So e si ye bere yen, it came to pass won ti wa ninu e, iya ti ku. They have been suffering, they have been laboring, they have been crying. After the place of time, they now cried and cried, the cry was now able to get up. God now remembered, "Enhen, mo so fun Abraham pe his children, they suffer for a while then I will judge that nation." God now went to call the Moses. Suddenly the burning bush was burning. He said He came down and then all that Moses came to do, was it about Moses? Was it about Moses? It was because God came down, God remembered. That is why you must be careful when you see God doing things through you. You begin to think there's nothing about you. Everything is eternal. Don't begin to think, "Ah we are the rekoko, we are better than." There is nothing like that. There is nothing about you. Everything is about God. It's His idea. He was the one that arranged the way Moses was born, preserved him that way. He was everything was God. That's why He told the story. Who made the Pharaoh's daughter to favor Moses? Is it not God? Suddenly he will now come begin to, that's why the Bible say God resist the proud. If there is anything about pride, pride only, pride is destruction because pride is taking the place of God. Even you look at physical property, maybe you happen to have phone or one thing, one thing that somebody else does not have. The question that you should have thought about it, did you choose your own parent that was able to buy it for you? The parent that was, you didn't choose them. The one that the parent could not buy it for, did he choose them? So what is the, all these things that people do today, it's blindness. It's blindness. You say, "Ah me I can speak, it was very successful English," won ni, "He's running, He's come He come, He's then He went He go," so begin to laugh. Awon eranko won n ko ja lo ni yi. You begin to feel that you are something. But you need to go and check. That school that you went, if they change time and you were to be born to his own parents and he was born to your own parents, he will be in your position. Because the birth itself is the beginning of God's plan. The one that give birth to you is the beginning of the plan. So let's very simple thing, don't begin to come here, that's why when I see people who are proud, some people cannot relate with ordinary people. They don't find it convenient around ordinary people. You cannot relate, you begin to what is your problem? Has everything is of you? It's just an opportunity, just a chance. You could have been pushing wheelbarrow. Just that that child that was born by the girl Sogboju, one boy, one driver, just a girl went to sell orange and then the driver put her in the car, they slept with the girl and they gave birth. And then nobody accepted the child, the girl grew up and the girl was selling tomatoes to feed the boy and the boy could not get to school and they grew up and he's pushing wheelbarrow. You need to ask yourself question, if that boy was asked to take, to make a choice about who would be the mother, will he make that choice? So why do you look at it as importance and then you feel that "Awa better won?" Ki lo fi better? Better was just purpose. It was purpose. And these are things we must see. These are things that bring true humility. And that is why it says that, that is why they say that, if you look at even awon Yoruba gan, won bo won ni kini? Won ni igberaga ni igberaga n so nle. Pride go before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction. When a man begin to do this thing, God begins to resist him because you are taking the place of God. It's all His idea. Because you were never, you never, only Him existed before you existed. That's a very important point but we're just looking at something about prayer. You can see the relationship that, is it that, look at Isaac again. Look at the level of prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer for 20 years before Esau and Jacob now came. If you leave that, take your mind back to Jesus. At least that one is God Himself, maybe He should not pray. Se bi iyen gan ni Olorun? Se bi iyen gan l'Olorun? Olorun gan lo ko wa. If God Himself came down, did He need to pray? Is He not God that want to, is He not the same one God? He said was in the very form of God but He put down that form and came down. But you know He's still the same in Godhead. He was both God and man at the same time. Please should He be praying? To such a person too. But did His prayer life look like? See everything has been planned. It had been planned before time, it had been arranged. What was He praying about? What was He agonizing about? Praying, praying, so much so that disciples come to Him and said, "Boss, teach us to pray." Gan gan gan, early in the morning He had gone, at the night time He's still there. Ki lo wa loju t'ejo ko ba ti gbakida? Why is it that every before the morning you will say you go, you are still going, why go? Before He chose the twelve, what did He do? Bible says He prayed all night. Se Olorun o mo ibi t'oun lo ni? The issue is that there's something where? It's eternal. It must be birthed. And the only means in time is prayer. The means is prayer. The means is prayer. It's prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer. So that that is why you will see that prayer is meaningless without a relationship with God. You'll be praying about nonsense. What will you be asking God to birth? Why are you asking God to birth? O o mo nkan to wa loke. O ko pariwọ, "Oluwa, fun mi ni mọto." Se nkan to wa n'bẹ ni yẹn? "Oluwa, ah baba," ki lo n n'un? O o mọ nkan to wa l'ọun, o o mọ nkan kan, o kọ n yo. "Oluwa, se eleyi, Oluwa," because we think prayer is our desire. Prayer is meaningless without relationship. Let somebody read John 15:7. Maybe that will bring it a little clearer. John 15:7. Can somebody read that for us? "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." What is the basis of asking what you will? If you remain in me. If you remain in me and my word remain in you. En-hen. Now ask whatsoever you will. Why? Because what you'll be asking are things you got in him because all your program in life, they are in him. So ask any of them now. Anything inside that our togetherness. Ask if He will not do it. Ask anything, anything inside this togetherness. It must be done. Everything. That is why when a project looks impossible, like when I wanted to marry, just finished service, I was trying to pick a job, be the best rep for my department. I was picking a job with Chevron then. But the Lord was making arrangement and the Lord just said no. Go and marry and settle down. I said, "No Lord, you settle down to marry." He said, "No, settle, marry and settle down. Ah Oluwa! Sẹ o mọ pe o ba ti rọ nkan?" He said, "Go, marry and settle down." That was an impossible vision. And everybody thought it can never happen. And some said, "Okay, we will see. A ri. Oju aja." Some said, "Wo, e j'egbewure." I remember that one of my auntie, "Wo, e j'egbewure dandan. Se eleyi o ni gbo rọ ni?" And there was so many things here and there everybody, you know. And I carry on with the project. My elder brother said then, "Okay, go ahead." They quickly withdrew themselves. "Ah, we want to teach you a lesson. Ehn, ehn? Go on, go on." You know, being the major, being one of the major sponsors of my university education, He thought if he withdrew, maybe everything will collapse. And He withdrew. When I traveled down from Jos to Akure for the wedding, I only have my transport fare. The wedding was in two weeks time. Look, everybody was thinking this thing, how will it, how will the wedding hold? What? So I said, "Wait, what did you bring?" I said, "Nothing. I only have my transport fare and I'm here. The wedding will hold." "How?" I said, "I don't know, but God said." Literally, close friends thought I was mad because they could not see how the thing, they could not, they could not see ah! No savings. No baba isale. Who told you? And that is why I now told them something. If you are, you are jobless, you don't have a job, you don't have any, you have a work. If the president of Nigeria says, "Go and prepare for marriage," will people say you are mad? Will people say you are mad? They won't say so because they know the capacity of the president. But it is because people don't know God. That's why they thought I was mad. But I knew Him and I knew what He was telling me. "Son, go ahead." At a point I will become, I will go back again and say, "God, are you sure?" He said, "Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be strong. Go ahead." I was okay, okay, okay, don't worry. Maybe I said, "Okay, don't worry, we are bringing it." That was how we also bought this land. You know we come after I began to talk to God about that thing. He said, "Go and buy this land." We had 50,000 in the account. That was the money for the receipt. The land was 2.7 million. We only had 50,000 in the account. I told the family, said, "We are coming." In fact, when we brought money to pay, you know what they said? They said they never knew that we will come back. Se e ti so, ah wa gba dam wa ba won. They were looking at it, say "A mọ ile yi, won a k'owo wa." The family said that. You see what I'm trying to bring out is that people we have been so used to, you know, we don't know Him. The wedding held. This is the 20th year inside the wedding. But you see, why am I going to bring out is that, you see, what I was asking was not was not useless because it was inside. Anything inside Him, He said ask anything inside, you will get it. But if it's outside Him, ehn, ehn, I cannot guarantee. So the problem is not the nature of what you are asking. The issue is inside where did you see? That thing that you are asking, where did you see? What was God's problem with Adam? Who told you that you are naked? This "you are naked" we never discussed that one. That was the problem. When you come, "Oluwa, Lord, I am getting this thing now!" If God is asking, "Who told you?" you can never get that thing. Who told? Se iyen o si ninu ajo so wa? Bawo lajo so yen? Bawo la discuss e? I cannot have a plan with my daughter. She has been with me and we have discussed and we have talked. And the following day he said, "Enhen, okay Daddy, 500 naira for transport, 200 naira," and I will say, "Ah, which money?" Will I say which money? Once she makes the demand, she won't begin to say that, "Daddy, um, I don't know whether you will give me money for the Akure you said I'll be going. Um, Daddy, I don't know now, will you give me money or not?" Will that be what she would come to do? She would just come to make demand. "Daddy, we are resuming next week oh, and I will need, I will need." "Okay, what do you want to take? What of the transport fare? What of the?" And we'll be working together because it was we have agreed together. But if a thing just enter the heart, says "Enhen, Daddy, I am going to University of Lagos, the school fees." I will say, "Which one? Which one? There was no discussion." I don't, He said, "If you have," you see, the things of God are real. Kosi, some people, don't mystify God. Don't turn God to one thing people cannot understand. God can be understood. It is Satan that hides himself. God wants to be known. He want to be seen. And that is why, you know, Jesus will use simple parable to teach eternal things so that you can understand God. He said, "Abide in me, let my word abide, let us be talking." He said, "Then ask anything, anything, as long as it is in our abiding, you will have it." That's why I see people, many people add adura ose gba t'a ba b'Olorun rin. A ko waste time ni yen. A la n bo g'ori oke for the past 30 years, won ni e b'Olorun rin. These are people who go have a work. There must be a work. There must be a fellowship. There must be a talking together. And then when you now see something inside there, is that not the example of Elijah? You remember Elijah? I think I've given that example once in this meeting. There was a fellowship with God. Is that not true? He was in God's presence. He said, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand," is that not what he said? There will be neither rain nor dew. And there was no rain or dew. Later again, in talking with God, God told him, "Elijah, go and show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain." Is that not recently? When he got there, he killed all the prophet of Baal. He now went up on Carmel. He said, "Go and check." The boy said there is no rain. He said, "Wait, I can hear a sound of abundance of rain." Ojo na o ti ro. He said, "I can hear." Ibo lo ti n gbo? I'm showing you this thing, they are not, they are people have worked with God. Awa ma se Christianity bi eni wipe Christianity is something that just came out of the moon. Christianity we have, we have, we have, this thing are written for our learning. They are Christianity is a practical thing. Christianity is not, you can see people, you can trace people's life, you can tell their story. But then anyway, even then, there was no, He said, "No, go back again." He kept on pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, "Go back." And the seventh time, se ojo na o ro ni? The rain fell. Why? He said, "Abide in me. Anything you ask inside that abiding, you will get it." And the Bible said Elijah was a man of like passion. He prayed that there should be no rain, and there was no rain. Again he prayed that there should be rendered, and there was rain. For the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. Eni won qualify e. The effectual, fervent prayer. E lo wo ohun t'on n pe ni Greek. Effectual, fervent. E je ka ka Yoruba. Some of these things, let's read out something in Yoruba. Let me read Yoruba Bible. James 5:16. Eyin omo Yoruba te gbo Yoruba, hmm. E gbo Yoruba o, e jo o. Iwe Jakọbu, are you there? James, ori karun, ẹsẹ kẹrindinlogun. Let's see that place, verse 16. Hmm? "Ẹ jẹwọ ẹṣẹ yin fun ara yin, ki ẹ si ma gbadura fun ara yin, ki a le mu yin lara da. Iṣẹ ti adura olododo n ṣe ni agbara pupọ. Iṣẹ ti adura olododo n ṣe..." You see there is a work. There must be a work. Ko n se eni t'o n se eni ti o j'olododo. There must be a work. Iṣẹ t'o n ṣe ni agbara pupọ. Because it is iṣẹ yẹn lo mu wa ninu airi si riri. Eternity cannot be seen, it cannot be touched. But ohun lo ma mu wa, it will bring it. So there is something about this effectual fervent prayer. When prayer is effectual, fervent, when prayer comes before, you know, comes before God. And you saw it in Exodus. They cried, they groan, they sighed. What the Bible said about the Holy Ghost? Romans 8:26. "Helping our infirmities." Ibi t'a ba ti le groan, t'a ba ti e le sunkun, because we must, e rẹ ri, e rẹ ri eni ti o ti o le bọ bi ọmọ ni? Amọ, you know, that's why sometimes when people say that "the Hebrew women and give birth like the Hebrew women" ni kini kọ kini kọ. I said it's not biblical. I'm sure some of you are looking at me pe, "Ah, why do I say so?" No, there's nothing like the Hebrew women give birth without pain because giving birth with pain is not a curse. It was just an induction. It was a consequence of something. The Hebrew women, did they give birth without pain? Was there any Hebrew woman that give birth without pain? There was no Hebrew woman that give birth without pain at any point. Because the Bible said the women they fear God, so they lie. Am I? Am I exaggerating? He said the women, because they fear God, they told lie. They lied to Pharaoh that before they get there, won ti bi mọ. Nkan t'o ṣẹlẹ kọ niyẹn. Do you understand what the Bible is saying? He said the women, because they feared God, He corrupted ohun ti o ye k'ọmọ, and He blessed them. And God, because they were Egyptians, that's the only way they could fear God. God still blessed them in that level to which He respect, only to Him He respect. They are idol worshippers. But because they feared God, He ko pa omo di ti omo ananla si. So they will do, won a bi, won a bi. "Ah! iro e, k'ato de bẹ won ti bi mọ." Hebrew women, ah, won a duro bi awon Egyptians, won a yara to bẹ bẹ bẹ pẹpẹ. Before we get there, they've had their children. So they already knew you cannot take it from there. "Okay, okay, I see." Phenomenal thing is that they were telling lie. So mi mọ ibi t'a ti ri "Hebrew women to give birth without pain." No, where we got that prayer point from, but people love to pray it. "Oya pray now, the Hebrew women who gave birth without pain." It was never in the Bible. Oun ni wọn n parọ ni, awọn alaboyun ni wọn n parọ ni. I'm saying this thing not to make a caricature of anybody, but to make us understand that prayer is about enforcing God's will. Nkan t'o ba ri n bẹ, whatever you get from that relationship, if you ask, you will get it. Prayer birthed the eternal purpose of God. That's the relationship. What is at stake is something eternal. E ni ti o ba le gbadura, "Adura ni ọpa Kristẹni lati b'Ọlọrun rin." There's that place, there's that place of prayer, that relationship. The plan is eternal. It is prayer that birth it. It is prayer that birth it. What did the Lord Jesus said? Sorry, what did He say? He said, "Men ought always to pray." Se Jesu wa ni o n tell e? Which Jesus are you following? The Jesus that me I'm following, He said, "Men ought always." Not that men should pray oh. Ki lo so? "Always." Men ought always. What is always? Kini itumo yen? What does that mean? Hmm? That's the weapon. Everything as that, like that, you are birthing. Some you know, some things will require strenuous labor, some require small labor. If you look at the birthing of the child, the ultimate bringing requires real labor. But a lot of other things we are, the conception of the child may not involve that kind of strenuous labor. It involves some level of pleasure. Is that not true? Intercourse is pleasurable. That's the conception. You know, some people, if you look at the whole thing, it has different parts. So oriṣiriṣi adura lo wa. That's why He say supplication, prayer, intercession. There are different manners of prayer. Anna prayed quietly. She was there, her lips were just moving but you were not hearing anything and she was touching God. O sọri o, she was touching. That's one kind of prayer. Jabez was another kind of prayer. You know Jabez? Go and check the Hebrew word. He said, "And Jabez cried unto God." That word is kalao. Jabez kalao God, the Jabez that was born dishonorable. He said, "And Jabez cried unto God." That word is "Kalao". That word means k'eyan f'ibe-ta. "Daddy! Ah!" And God heard him. It's another kind of prayer. So they are different manners of prayer. The Holy Ghost Himself knows that igba mi a ma sẹ mu sẹ mu. Ah! God gave Holy Ghost, "Oya help them." This one requires serious groaning. Oya help them to be able to groan. That's why sometimes he will burden you. Have you experienced it before? You want to stop praying, but your your spirit will still be heavy. Who has experienced that? Your spirit will still be very heavy. "Wa tẹnu m'ole ni bẹ, oya tẹ titi titi ko to le jade." And then He begin to push. I'm showing you even the work of the Holy Ghost. Enikan wa de ni, "Ohun ni ifẹ Ọlọrun fẹ ṣẹ lai s'adura." Itan jẹ ṣa. The will of God cannot come to pass, there must be prayer. That's why sometimes, did God forget? There are issues about your life, there are plans. Hang there, the eternal plans but they must be birthed. Praise the Lord. Can we pray this morning? Can we talk to the Lord? I don't know what you have learned, but I want you to talk to the Lord. I don't know, you know how your prayer life look like. I don't know whether you have a relationship with God, whether you have a walk with Him. Ati b'Olorun rin. There are so many plans about your life. O ni lati mo nkan ti aye o ri. The things that are planned, they are not things that are seen. Say, "What eye have not seen, what ear have not heard, what have not entered into the heart of man, God had prepared for those who love Him." The things that are prepared for you, your eyes have not seen them, your ears have not heard them. It has not even, it cannot enter your heart by your thinking. He says, "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit." I fihan ni, i fihan ni. God reveal them by His Spirit. I fihan, won a fi han e ni. They have to show you. You have to show you which course to read. They have to show you which place you will settle. They have to show you who you are to marry. It has to be shown. Ati lati fihan e ni, i fihan ni. It has to be a revelation. I fihan ni gbogbo nkan. The things that God has planned, they come by revelation. They come because they are eternal things. They are not things that eyes can see. They are not things that ears can hear. They are not things that your thinking can comprehend. There must be a walk with God and you must give birth to those things. You birth it, you bring, you birth it, you birth it by prayer. You labor in prayer and begin to bring them. You begin to bring them. You begin to pray until something happens. You begin to push. You are bringing them out. You are pushing them out. You are bringing them every time, always praying, bringing them out in prayer, bringing them out. And people will be wondering, "Ah, who gave you this idea? How do you know this?" They won't know it's a revelation. They won't know it's a revelation. Where we are today, it is by revelation. Where we are today, even this hall that you see that we have built like this, you can have joy, you can have peace. All the whole thing started when God began to speak to us, "Go to the site, go to the permanent site." We begin to think, how will we raise money? How will people come? We were confused, but we trust God saying, "Go on." Look, there are things God must speak. It is by revelation. I fihan ni, a ma fi han e ni. Oluwa, emi naa fẹ ba ẹ rin. Emi naa fẹ ma ni awọn ifihan, awọn n t'o ti pese fun aye mi, awọn n ti o ti pese, awọn ipese fun aye mi. Oluwa, emi naa fẹ ni ibalọpọ ati ibanilọ ati ibasẹpọ ti n o ma ni awọn ifihan. I want to have revelation, revelation for my journey, revelation for my work in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. The eternal plans, eternal plans, I must walk in all of them. I must enjoy all of them. All of them must come to pass. They will come to pass. Lord, Lord, Lord, draw me nearer. Lord, as I draw near, Lord draw me. He said, "Draw near to God and He will draw near unto you." Lord, I make up my mind to draw near. Oluwa, bi mo ṣe n sọ mọ ẹ, Lord sọ mọ mi. As I draw near, Lord draw nearer. As I draw near, Lord draw nearer. Thank you Father. Thank you Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. You want to pray. See, you are still quite young. Some of us are still quite young. Some of us are older. You know, we are at different levels in terms of our age. But in all, for most of us here, we have not gone, our journey is still far. That's what I'm trying to say. I want you to pray God. You see we said the primary thing is holiness and all other things they attached, they are attached to it. I want you to pray, I want you to pray that God, my life will not enter into meaninglessness. I will not enter as I'm growing older. Some men, they grew outside the purpose. They became rich and became great, but they are meaningless people. They are hopeless life. Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless professors. Hopeless medical doctors. Hopeless engineers. Because they became those things outside the divine purpose. It was not, it was not, it was not within, they achieved those things outside the holiness. They achieve it outside righteousness. They achieve it outside godliness. The divine purpose of God is for us to be godly, to be holy, then everything, everything, righteousness begins to exalt us. I want you to pray that God, my life will not enter into meaninglessness. E o ni t'aye asan. Every wisdom that is outside the sphere of God is meaningless. Everything that is outside the sphere of God is meaningless. Whatever we want to become must be inside the sphere of God. Inside godliness, inside holiness, inside righteousness. Then in that space we are not hopeless. In that space we are not meaningless. I want you to pray, my life will not enter into meaninglessness. You do not enter into meaninglessness in the name of Jesus Christ. My life will not enter into meaninglessness. My life will not enter into meaninglessness. Thank you blessed Father. Thank you blessed Father. Thank you Almighty God. Thank you King of Glory. Lord, our life will not enter into meaninglessness. Thank you Baba God. Thank you Jehovah. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Damilare, please stand up for us. [Speaker 3] Our Father and our God, we thank You for today. We thank You for today because You are the teacher. There is a purpose, there is a course to follow. Lord we thank You for today because You've opened our eyes. [inaudible] amen.