The Foundations

[Intro music playing] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home from. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Life Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] Last week Friday we were here. We looked at some of the things we learned from the Upper Week. And as we were looking at those things that we learned from Upper Week, we had a burden to pray. So it was a time of praying. By the time we were through with the praying, we had exhausted the time for the fellowship. So we closed with prayer. Since last week, we have discussed some of the things we learned from the Upper Week. We may not have to— we will not be taking that again today. But for the benefit of those of us who were not around the Upper Week, the first Monday of the year, how many of us were not around the Upper Week? The first Monday of the year. For about three or four of us. For the benefit of those who were not around, we were looking at the focus God is giving us for the year. And we came to see very clearly that the Lord is setting out 2018 as a year of healing and deliverance to visit His people, the church. However, there is a duty on the part of the believers. We saw that the duties are diverse because God becomes ordinary, in very, very ordinary situations that you will not even see that it is God. We saw the example of Zechariah. He was at the place of duty when he was supposed to be there, and the angel of God met him there. We saw Abraham. He saw three angels— he saw three men. He didn't know that they were angels. He entertained them. And as they were eating, the Lord said, "Where is Sarah? By this time next year, Sarah will have a child." The long-awaited visitation came through hospitality. He just was ordinary. He didn't know that it was the Lord. We saw the case of Lot. He was just in his house. He saw three people. "No, no, no." And he was trying to defend them. He didn't know they were angels sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Eventually, they were his deliverer, while others were destroyed. So we are seeing that God will come in so much ordinariness. When we say God will visit His people, don't be thinking that you will see the sky will just rend itself into two, and you see Gabriel carrying a sword of fire. No, no, no. It will be so ordinary. It will be so simple that if you are not careful, the ordinariness will make you miss God. So we said there is a place of duty. We saw that there is a place for integrity. There is a place for character. There is a place of faithfulness. There is a place of not being weary in well-doing so that in due season we may reap. If we are weary in well-doing, in due season we may not reap. So those were some of the things we were looking at as a focus in that first Monday of the month. And we earnestly, we prayed. We prayed that Monday that the Lord would help us in every way, that regardless of our shortcomings, regardless of our limitations, we will not miss God. That was the prayer. And when we came last week, the burden was still there again for us to still pray for God to help us. So we were just praying again throughout last week for God to help us so that we will not miss the Lord. That's what we have done so far. And today we want to try to start taking the burden of the teaching one after the other as the Lord will be helping us to take them. What I want to begin with this year is something you may just title, because that's the only best way I could title it. I titled it: "Foundation." The Foundation. The Foundation. The Foundation. And when we are looking at the matter of the foundation today, the journey we want to take is a long journey about this matter of the foundation. But what we are looking at actually is that we are looking at the fact that everything we do, all our actions, they are actually seeds. And when a man sows seed, what happens to the seed? The seed germinates, and eventually, the man reaps a harvest from the seed. So the direction in which we are looking at foundation is trying to tell ourselves that as we journey through 2018, and as we journey in our Christian journey— because I want to look at characters and they are very, very many— but we want to compare things about these characters. It is impossible for a man to plant— I remember I gave an example in one of our meetings, I can't remember which of the meetings. Imagine that a man goes to the farm and he plants maize. And then he entered into a time of prayer and of fasting for 40 days, dry fasting, to seek the Lord's face, that this maize that I have planted, when I want to harvest, it should be yam. And the man continued with the dry fasting, and he did all the praying. What happens at harvest? Will it be maize or yam? [Speaker 2] Maize. [Speaker 1] Why? That was what was planted. You see what we are trying to look at is that while we must pray, it is important to watch our foundation. It is important to watch the seed we are sowing. It is so crucial to our Christian journey. Some of the things that come as harvest, it's not as if they are strange happenings. They are just harvest from the seed that was sown. They are just harvest from it. It's so much a burden in my heart what I want to be sharing with you. Even in our personal family altar on Friday, I had to discuss it with my children, that they should be careful about their foundations. They should be very, very careful. I want to start with this story, but it's a true-life story. A lady walked into the office. A lady said she wanted to see me. And I said, "Okay, no problem." I gave an appointment that we should talk. And what she wanted to see me for was about her life. She wanted to know what best she should do in the dilemma in which she found herself. I don't want to go into too much of the details. But I just want to talk about this matter of foundation and dilemma. So we talked extensively and then we came out. But she was in a relationship known to the parents— I mean both parents are aware. It's not as if it was a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. The parents are aware that "my daughter said she wants to marry." But along the line, the young man happened to not be working in line with her expectations. He somehow felt that sex could be a part of the relationship. The lady declined. But along the line, she consented. So somewhere along the line, the dilemma that she finds herself in is just that she has aborted the first time. These are believers. She aborted the second time, the third time. I don't want to mention the number of times, but it's more than three, severally. That was the crux of the matter and then we had to talk severally. But you know I said something? Do you know that for the devil to deal with Job— you know that was a man of integrity, was a man of uprightness— God had to do something. What did God do? [Speaker 2] God removed the hedge that was set around him. [Speaker 1] "Because you have set a hedge around him." Are you familiar with the scripture that says, "He that breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him"? That's exactly what I told the lady. I said there is nobody that breaks the hedge— there is an hedge God placed around us as His children. If you break those hedge or if you break the hedge, then there'll be trouble. She was looking at me. I said, "Look, let me tell you what the hedge is." I said, "Look at how it started. The first time there was this solicitation, you declined because that was not your upbringing. When you finally consented, do you notice what you did? Look at the story. It was hidden from your parents." I said, "That was where the hedge was broken." The Lord said, "Honor father and mother and it will be well with you." I said, "The point where you felt your parents will no more be honored, you can do things against their will, against their interest, and still carry on without them knowing. That was where you broke the hedge. And so it cannot be well with you again. That was where you laid the foundation for this dilemma." And I was speaking to another married person on another occasion again and there was a dilemma. The same dilemma again. I said, "Ma, look at our life. There is no time a man is free. Before a man marries, he's under his parents. By the time a man marries, the wife is under the husband. And the way God so did it, God so did it that the body of the husband too belongs to the wife." He said yes, the woman is of the man, the woman is for the man, but the man is by the woman. Have you read that scripture before? 1 Corinthians chapter 11. So in the same way, I said go and check it. Several things that married people get into— trouble, dilemma they fall into today— is because it came to a point where you could do certain things against the interest of the other person without the person knowing. What do you call extramarital relationship? What do you call— go and check all of these things. That was where the hedge was broken. There is always hedge. There's an hedge around our life. There was something that got me so excited. There was a discussion I was having in the church yesterday. We normally have, in the church I attend, we normally have Men's class, Women's class, singles, and then Brothers' class, Sisters' class, something like that. It's not that there is something peculiar about that, just for the essence of gathering people. There's nothing peculiar about that. So we were just in the Men's class and then we were just interacting. And then the familiar scripture, Deuteronomy 28, where it says, the Bible says this blessing: "And if thou shalt diligently hearken to my voice, these blessings they shall meet you and they will overtake you." And then the blessings were itemized. Then it got to the curses and then it said, "And if you disobey my voice, do not obey, these are the curses." Then for each blessing, there were three curses. Go and check it. Now, somebody just made a statement and because I had been looking at this matter of the foundation, the matter had been the burden I'm carrying. You know when you are carrying a burden and somebody says something, iron sharpeneth iron. Then the way it becomes incorporated into the burden that you are carrying. The person said, "Just look at it, just look at this Deuteronomy again, just look at that. If you obey, these blessings follow you. If you disobey, so the problem and the danger is not something God will bring. It's inherent in the action." Do you get it? God doesn't have to say, "Curses, the body of..." He doesn't need to say that again. It has been said. So as you are disobeying, it is also meeting and overtaking you. It's like a program. When you press "on" on the TV, that's the action. And say, "In the name of Jesus, nothing will show on the screen, nothing will show on the screen." You're wasting time! If something must not show, you don't press "on." And that became something very big in my heart yesterday in the church. It became a very big thing. That you see, it is inherent. The blessings of God and His curses, they are not things He needs to be repeating. They are not things He needs to be telling you, He doesn't need to say you will die early. He doesn't need to say that again. It is an eternal decree. As you are doing it, something is just following you and it's overtaking you. As you are doing, it's meeting you and it's overtaking you. No matter the speed you want to take, the thing will meet you and it will outrun you. That's why you notice no matter how run the wicked, no matter how fast the wicked runs, their sin outruns them. They will look as if all is well, all is well, all is well. Then suddenly, it has outrun them. So as we are looking at this matter of the foundation in beginning this year, I'm just giving you a background. The background is: what seed? As we relate to one another, because that is where— you see— the practice of the Christian faith. If you really believe in God, I don't know whether you have noted that James 1:22, 23, 23 to 25. Where it says, "Be not a hearer of the word but a doer." Are you familiar with that scripture? Maybe we should look at that scripture. Let's look at that scripture. I just want to call your attention to something. It's possible you have seen it before and it will just be a reminder or an emphasis again. Are you there? Now, it says verse 22 downwards: "But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving who? Deceiving who?" [Speaker 2] Deceiving your own selves. [Speaker 1] Now, please. Does it look like somebody who does not obey God's word? Does it look like he's deceiving himself? I don't know whether you're getting me. If for example, now, I'm an usher. They have preached severally: without holiness no man can see God. That's the church I attend and I know the truth. As I carry the offering bag, I get to the chief usher where we do the counting. I see the bag where there are 1,000 naira. Hmm. Pack I don't know how many in my pocket, then I count the rest, give to church. Because I was the only one there. Does it look as if I'm deceiving myself? [Speaker 2] No. [Speaker 1] What does it look like? [Speaker 2] That I'm deceiving others. [Speaker 1] But look at what the Bible says. [Speaker 2] Deceiving your own self. [Speaker 1] He says you are deceiving— when you're not doing the word, you're not deceiving anybody. But you know when you're doing it, it doesn't look like you're deceiving yourself. It looks like that action is against others. If your enemy curse you and you curse the person back, does it look like you're deceiving yourself? No. What does it look like? You're punishing the enemy. Don't you smile? Ah, mo fun pada. Sho ro pe oni kan lo mo n shey. Is that what it looks like? But what is the reality? We are at loss. We are the one losing. At least sometimes we are at loss because we are laughing. When we ought to be crying, we are laughing. You smile to yourself that, you know, there's some self-satisfaction. And then you leave the place with your sense of— you get the point. But the Bible says your action is not against anybody. It is yourself. It has nothing to do with anybody. It is yourself. And you see, when that dawned on you as an individual, you want to find joy in becoming different. You need to call yourself back to order. If I'm entertaining myself and I'm deceiving myself and I'm rejoicing, am I not normal? Of course you can't be normal. Could you be normal? You know you cannot be normal. I'm only saying that when a man don't practice the word of God, you should know that his spirit is not normal. His spirit is not normal. Man is a spirit. His spirit is not normal. When his spirit is normal, when his spirit is normal, he will not be rejoicing. What will he be doing? He will be weeping. And that is why he will not be able to continue. He will seek to repent. Do you get it? Do you get what I want to say? Now, if you leave that, the Bible reads on: "If anyone be a hearer of the word and does not— not a doer, is like unto a man beholding his face in a glass. For he beheld himself and goeth his way, straight away forgetting what manner of man he is." Now, look at the verse 25. I don't know whether you have observed this too. He says, "But whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of what? Of what?" Is that the correct word? What should be the correct word? [Speaker 2] Doer of the word. [Speaker 1] But what did he say? [Speaker 2] Doer of the work. [Speaker 1] For which work? [Speaker 3] The work that the word tells you to do. [Speaker 1] Whenever you come to the word, the word of God, God always confers on you to do. That is the work that James was talking about. That faith without work is dead. That is the work. The obedience to the word is the work that once you can't see obedience to the word, the work, once you can't see the work, then the faith is not there. That is the work. So if we truly have faith in God, there is a work that faith confers. If the work is not done, then the faith is dead. The faith is not there. Now, the essence of this is to draw your mind back to something. That without faith, it is impossible to please God. Can you now relate what you just said to this verse of the scripture? Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And we have already said that faith without work is dead. Then without faith impossible to please God. Where is the meeting point? Can you see the meeting point? [Speaker 2] In doing the work. [Speaker 1] You get it. The act of pleasing God is faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith without work is dead. So when a man is pleasing God, what is that? That is faith. That is faith. That is faith. When a man is pleasing God, he's pleasing God, he's pleasing God. It tells you that something is operational in him. There's something in him. There's something going on in him. There's something living. There's something quick and active. His spirit is normal. His spirit is not dead. His spirit is responding correctly to the workings of the spirit of God. There's a normal relationship between his spirit and the spirit of God. Something is working correctly there. When that thing is correct and is working normally, you will see that there is a work. The man will be pleasing God. If a man is not pleasing God, no, nothing is working inside. If something is truly working in the inside of you, if truly there is a work of the spirit, there is a quickening, there is a working of the word of God because you must remember that the letter kills. The dogmas are not the issue. The regulations are not what makes a man to be a Christian. In our church we have this regulation, we have that rule. No. It is the aliveness. Because faith is something that is alive. Faith is what? How did he define faith in verse 1? [Speaker 2] The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [Speaker 1] So faith is a substance. Faith is something real. If the substance is there, if the substance is there, that's why the Bible says that the patriarchs, these patriarchs, they have not seen the thing. It said but they did what? It said but they embraced it from afar. Brother Emma, if you stand here and I am standing there, how do you embrace me? [Speaker 2] I walk to where you are and pull you to myself. [Speaker 1] He said they embrace afar. How do you embrace afar? [Speaker 2] By imagining it. [Speaker 3] Takes faith. [Speaker 1] No, it's telling you that what they were hoping for is a substance with them that they are with it. They are with it. They are with it. They are hoping for it, but the substance is with them. So they are not in doubt. That is why a man like Noah can continue to build something for over 40 years. Other commentators said 120 years. I don't know which one is really, really correct. But if let's take the 40 years. Can you be building something, an ark? Everybody is telling you, "When will the rain fall?" He said, "It's going to fall." For 40 years and you're on that thing, you live under that thing that you are doing. Rain is going to fall and you're building it. Who can do that for 40 years? And you're confident that the rain will fall. Who can be on a particular project for 40 years? That's the lowest estimate. Somewhere between 40 and 120 years lo fi ko nkan yen. But let me even take the lowest. How many of us can wait on a project for 40 years? You are building: "God is coming, God is coming. He told me to build a boat." And then you build it. Are you sure? "Ah, He is coming." After three years, so what do you say? "He is coming." And then you keep building it. Then 10 years, you keep building, 20 years. Do you understand me? A child born then, he's an adult. He's a name. The child too has grown. My father what are you doing? "I'm looking for rain." You are telling your child when he was a child and now he's 40. Do you understand me? And you keep building the ark. You keep building. At that point, do you not have substance to that thing? Is there not certainty in that thing? Can you do a thing like that for 40 years that you are not sure of? Who can be on a project for 40 years that he's not sure of? That's what it meant by they embrace it from afar. It was a substance that they were holding. What we are saying is that if there is a working of God inside you, you will please God. There will be a work outside. If there is a working inside, if God is really working inside you, the evidence of it is that there will be a working outside. If we don't see a working outside, what is inside you is not God. You cannot please God. It's not inside you is not God. It may be religion. It may be church life. It may be denominational spirit. That is not faith. Now, please it is over and against this background that I want us to situate our Christian work. It is on this background. Now, within this background, I want to begin to build on the topic: The Foundation. I have first set a background for us. Note this background, what faith is. The evidence of faith. Understanding harvest. If you get all this clear, I want to call our attention to Genesis. Let's see Genesis. Genesis 27. No, sorry, let's begin from 26. No, sorry, it's 25. Not 26, 25. It's 25. Genesis 25. Are you there? Okay. I read from 26. From 27. "The boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." So what happened? Verse 28. "Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison. But Rebekah loved Jacob." Why do you think Rebekah loved Jacob? It's not mentioned. Revelation of the word. Look at— go back again to 27. "The boys grew. Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field." Who will always be in the field? Esau. Who will be in the field with Esau? Isaac. It is Isaac that will go to the field to work. Isaac and his sons. The other person will be at home. Don't forget the economy of these people. They go out to work to maintain the home. So by the law of association, Isaac tend to love Esau, while Rebekah love this other person. So somehow by the law of association, Isaac fell to love Esau while Rebekah love the other person. And so the boys were growing. But when we got to 29, haven't given us that background, what we got to 29. It says, "And Jacob did what?" What was Jacob doing in 29? What was he doing? He was cooking pottage. Esau came from the field and he was faint or he was hungry, whichever one. And Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me, I pray thee with the same red pottage. I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom." And Jacob said, "Sell me this day thy birthright." Are you following me? What is the background? What did the boy ask for? What did Esau ask for? [Speaker 2] Pottage. [Speaker 1] What did Jacob ask for? [Speaker 2] Birthright. [Speaker 1] What do you think is the background? [Speaker 3] Jacob must have been coveting the birthright. [Speaker 1] He must have been coveting that birthright. It tells you that the mother must have been telling Jacob, "I had a revelation that your brother must serve you. You are to be the head over him. You are to be this." So every time Jacob sees Esau, he has been framed into that thinking. Isaac don't have that revelation. So Esau was not aware that there was a strategic plans against his life. He was ordinary. He didn't understand. Do you get the point I'm making? There was a plan. Esau was living freely in the house. But those two people, they were conspiring. They were scheming and they were looking for opportunity to carry out their enterprise. At the slightest opportunity like this: "Give me food." Sell your birthright. To tell you that they were looking for an opportune time. And Esau, Esau just felt birthright— what is the logic between birthright and pottage? Give me food, birthright, birthright. Okay, oya, oya. Esau was casual. Do we not become casual when eternal things are being determined? Esau was casual. He didn't know it was a battle. It was a conspiracy and he was smiling. "Give me porridge, oya, oya, what is there, is it not to eat porridge, is it birthright, birthright." Did they collect birthright like that? Is it just by saying it that people get birthright? That was his own thought. But he didn't understand it was a strange battle. Do you see the Bible says, "Be vigilant. Be sober. For your adversary the devil like a roaring lion goes about seeking for who to devour." He said who you should do what? Do what? Resist how? Steadfastly. That is continuously in the faith. Do you see the connection? Be vigilant, be sober. Your adversary the devil. Be vigilant, be sober. Your adversary is going about. That adversary resist him. And look at— like the picture we discussed one time in the meeting. When Satan appears and says, "Sister Eve, hmm, sister Eve. Hmm, Eve. Did God say you should not eat everything?" No, God didn't say we should not eat everything around this place. God said that we should eat them but he said we should not eat this particular one and we should not touch it. She has an understanding, He didn't know what was actually said. This one did not even know what the word of God is. God did not say they should not touch. He only said they should not eat. So he saw a step to press further. "Ah, did He say you will die? Ah, you cannot die. Hmm, He knows that if you eat it, you will become like God. Your eyes will be opened and then..." Now, all that while, what did Eve, what did she see? An enemy or a friend? A friend. An enemy was not before her as far as she was concerned. She wasn't seeing an enemy. She was seeing a friend. And then she took the thing and ate it and of course nothing happened. Because nothing happened until Adam ate it. And then she went to the husband. He too, he's told he should not eat it. He said, "See you. I have just come to understand something. If you eat it, nothing will happen, we will not die. Do you know I've just eaten the thing?" He said, "What? You ate it? Look at why are you shouting, see nothing happened. Did anything happen to me? Am I not talking to you? Did I die? Am I not standing here? What's your problem? See, let us be wise. We need to be smart as Christians." All this "holiness, no man shall see God, a modest life", you will die in Nigeria! Some of these things that are going on now. Is it not similar? The person looks like a friend, wanting you to succeed. So Adam saw she have eaten it. Okay, let me too taste it. And then they ate it. It was when they ate that suddenly both of them found that something happened. Eh? Ah. And then the matter goes on. When God now showed up, Eve now said, "The serpent, he deceived me." It was at the end that she saw the serpent as an enemy. So be vigilant. Esau never saw Jacob as a fighter for destiny. He didn't see that it was just a play-play thing. Just, he wasn't looking at— he wasn't seeing a fighter. He wasn't seeing that a battle was being fought and already the battle from that point, already the enemy is gaining ground. He thought it was just eat and he walked away. That's how several things in our life, we thought we just ate and we walked away. We thought we just... we thought we have walked away. We thought we have gone away. I'm talking about foundation. We thought we have gone away, but we never went away. The reason why I'm saying these things is, you know, we raised the matter the first Monday. Do not be wearied in well-doing. For in due season you will reap if you don't faint. Is it looking like you should faint now? Is it looking like you should change your seed that you have been sowing? Is it looking like... "it's not like all these, don't touch, don't touch, don't touch, let's eat the food, we will not die." Is it looking like that now? But I'm only showing you that Esau didn't see a battle. And a battle started. The first leg was won. He came again to the blessing. At the point of the blessing again, in Genesis 27 verse 1, it said now the eyes of Isaac were dim and he spoke to his son Esau, "Go and kill the normal meat," the okere, "the one we normally kill and bring something. Let me eat whatever we normally kill and bring something so I can bless you." And then the boy dash off to go and get that done. The conspirator was close by. It said, "And Rebekah heard what Isaac told Esau." Quickly they went into operation again. "Jacob come! Oya get this, get this, get that, get this, get that. Oya put animal skin." You see the battle. I'm showing you a conspiracy. What I'm actually drawing your attention to in this story is that note these people are the people of God. They are God's people. They are God's people. All the conspiring, all the conspiracy, they are God's people. And sometimes, it even look like even fulfilling prophecy. Because they had told her the elder will serve the younger. It looks like a correct thing that she was doing. Laying the foundation of deceit. Laying the foundation of conspiracy. Laying the foundation of insincerity. Laying the foundation of lie. Yet driven or carried on by a particular revelation that she thinks she had. What is pushing you? The Bible says the word have its own work. I made a statement in our own family altar. The Bible says: "be slow to wrath, be slow to speak, be quick to hear. For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God." I'm talking to you character, and I want to bring several characters for you in the Bible. I will show you people of God, both in the Old and in the New, so you can understand that as God's people, let's watch the seeds that we are sowing. Before any kind of seeds that we are sowing. Let's continue in well-doing. Let's— it may look like it is not profiting. It may look like it is not giving you a headway. But I'm telling you, it's better to die sowing the right seed than to for once sow a wrong seed. It's better to be there. That's why I'm bringing all these things to you for you to see certain things. Perhaps she was driven by a personal revelation, that revelation she received. And she feels that yes, it can go on. But if the Bible says, be slow to wrath, for the wrath of man, anger, cannot work the righteousness of God. I understand anger is not a sin. So that nobody gets angry as a sinner, as some people normally think. "Ah, kilode to n binu fun? O de pe ara re ni kristen?" A Christian can be angry. There's nothing wrong with getting angry. He only says be angry but sin not. A Christian could be vexed. A Christian could be provoked. A Christian could be... but love is not easily provoked. That's the difference. It didn't say love cannot be provoked. But what I'm saying is that even the one that the Bible says is not sin, that is clear to us, it says it shall not work the righteousness of God. Now where deceit, insincerity, conspiracy now work God's righteousness? Don't let anybody deceive us. You get the point I'm making? We want to be making observations. Please make observations. [Speaker 2] There's this thought about holy anger. [Speaker 1] Who said holy anger? [Speaker 2] Like some... the righteous indignation, like what Jesus had in the temple when they were exchanging money and selling and buying in the temple when they turned the house of God into a den of thieves. [Speaker 1] You can be angry, you can be vexed at sin. He says be slow to anger. He's not talking about that anger. If he's talking about that anger, he will say be quick to that one. You should be quick to be angry at sin. When you see evil, it should not be slow. I don't know that I should be angry with evil. You should be quick. When you see sin. "Somebody said I should just come but he's my pastor. Hmm. Even now now. He's a man of God. I don't know that I should be angry with him. I don't know." That's foolishness. When you see evil, there should be something that should jump inside you against evil. That was what happened with Phinehas. God was dealing with us, somebody came with a lady and passed before the elders going to sleep. He just took his javelin and pinned the thing down. You get the point I'm making? But if you look at that scripture, follow the context of that scripture: "Be slow to speak, be quick to hear, be slow to wrath, for the wrath of man." He's talking about the wrath of man. Does not work the righteousness of God. Be slow to it. He didn't say don't have wrath at all because there is no human being that cannot get angry. But you must be careful, he said don't let the sun go down on your anger. Something may make you get angry. Because there have been some kind of preaching that says that when a believer is angry, he's a sinner. You see, the more you grow in love, the more you become not easily provoked. But it never says it cannot be provoked. We should not have certain things that we say around Christianity that makes us so look as if— that make us to begin to describe certain things and when somebody says "ah, omo yen sho shey kristen?" But what a man does when he's angry is what— that's what we talk about control. He said the fruit of the spirit is what? Is self-control. When you get angry, what do you do? When you get angry, can you begin to curse? When you get angry, can you tell yourself it's better not to say anything? That's control. When you get angry, can you tell yourself no, I'm not going to revenge evil no matter what this person has done to me? That's control. That's Christianity. You can bring yourself together. You can gather yourself even in your anger. That's maturity. "Inu bi mi so mo shey." That's what people talk like that. Actually, I didn't want to say it was anger. It's like you are said that you don't have control. Yourself don't have control. You don't have control over your spirit. You should have control. That's why it said that he that is slow to anger and that has control over his spirit is better than a mighty man that take over a city. Have you read that scripture before in Proverbs? He said he that hath control over his anger, over his spirit is better than the mighty. There should be control. That's what is important. But if we cannot— if somebody is saying that a Christian cannot get angry, I can't find it in Bible. I've checked, I can't find it. But a Christian can control anger. That's what the Bible says. A Christian can be slow to anger and a Christian even in his anger, he cannot sin. "Be angry but sin not." It's possible. You can be angry and yet you're not sinning. You can be angry even in anger, you are still doing good. Somebody slap you. You have not done anything wrong. Or maybe you mistakenly mash on somebody in the market and he just slap you. "Ori e o pe ni? Abi o ri na? Ode, o gponu." At that point you can't be feeling love. You can't feel love! At that point, what comes on you is "Ah! What?! Ah, but but I didn't mean to mash him. Ori e o de, o n kan to n so." Now, those are the kind of things we are talking about. "Ode o n kan to n so. Shey iwo foju ni, oju e fo ni? Your eyes are blind you cannot see?" Then what do you do in such a situation? You then say, "Hehe, Jesus Apa." Today, "Christianity Apa." Ah! Is that what you will do? But at that point, the feeling cannot be a feeling of... you get the point? It's a different feeling. Yet, you are hurt! But yet, in that, it is possible for a Christian not to sin. The Christian can still look and look and as he's looking, he's regulating himself. He controls himself and he looks. He says, "Anyway God bless you," and he walked away. That's Christianity. The person himself will marvel because he would have been expecting a fight. He would have been expecting: "O n t'eniba mo l'olori, o ri ode o n kan to n so." Any way God bless you! And you walked away! You have already shined your light in the— light is good in the midst of darkness. You have made the light to shine at a point that you don't even tell them you're a Christian. They will say, "Ah! Onigbagbo ni!" Eh? Ah! Emi Olorun n shey ninu e! He's a Christian! "How do you know?" Ah! Eh! That day ni mo ti mo r'aja. But I was surprised. He only said God bless you. O de lo. Ko gba, ko gba nu. Ah! And point of holy— you know they will be wondering. They will be surprised. That is Christianity. That is what the fruit of the spirit can do in the face of anger, in the face of provocation. That's what the Bible says. So that the Bible is not justifying the fruit of human anger. That's why he said be slow to anger. For the anger, whatever you do with that anger, can never work God's righteousness. So don't think that because you're angry, so if whatever you have done in anger, so you have done what is right. So you may— you can sin in anger. It's possible not to sin. But the point I'm even drawing out for you is that look at how we look at anger, that sometimes you're acting because you were provoked, you were annoyed. Which sometimes we may want to justify. "Tani o ki n binu? Ewo, ah, we are human beings." But still God says it cannot work God's righteousness. Don't let anything deceive us. You get the point I'm making? We want to lay correct foundation. We are God's people. Rebekah, Jacob, Isaac, all these are God's people, people that we pray and God will hear their prayer. These are God's people. And look at what they were doing. What are you doing? What are you doing? Thank you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Now may I please stand up for us. Foundation. I want you to talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Foundation. Without faith you cannot please God. If any man do the work, faith has a work. If you're believing God for this year, you're trusting the Lord for a visitation, there is a work. There is a seed to sow. And it is the early part of the year. And the Lord is bringing to us the type of seed we need to sow. Why we need to be consistent in godliness, in uprightness, why we need to be consistent. Under whatever— don't sow evil under whatever guise. "The person did that. He did this. You see after all the word of God says that..." as some people will say, "it says an eye for an eye." "Omo shey fun pada." We come with all kinds of justification. Rebekah may have her own. "I had a revelation. God said the elder will serve the younger. That's why I'm conspiring. That's why we are— that's why I'm hypocritical. That's why I'm— that's why I'm— that's why I'm..." you may have several justifications. But remember, you can't sow, you can't sow maize and harvest yam. It's not possible. Seeds. Do not be wearied in well-doing. What God wants us to sow is well-doing. Don't be— it is well-doing. That is the command of God. It said Jesus went about doing good. He was provoked, He was that, He was battered here and there, but He went about doing good. The Bible says: "who can harm you if you're a follower of what is good?" Who can harm you? Make up your mind about this matter. It could be your next door neighbor. It could be your colleague in the office. The evil, the provocation may be coming from whatever direction. It will be coming whichever way. But make up your mind. I must continue in well-doing. There is a well-doing. The opportunity may open up in several ways. Jacob got an opportunity to quickly steal into his brother's life. Some opportunity may just open up. There is a— there's an amount of money that was kept in your custody, nobody was asking about it again. You too just kept quiet about it. Plan... "Ah! Shebi gbogbo won ti gbagbe." It has become my own. Opportunity may show up in different ways. Opportunity to, you know, to practice unrighteousness. It may show up, open up for Jacob and he keyed into it. Don't key into it. And he says, "After all it was my mother that told me. My mother told me that I'm to be the elder. My mother told me that what my mother told me. My mother said I'm— I'm to be the elder. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing." What justification are you giving for evil? What justification are you giving for evil? What justification? They drew the sword after Jesus and they said, "Look, let us let us go, let us kill them too." Jesus took— Jesus said, "Look, take back your sword. He who live by the sword will die by the sword." And he and He healed the man. He healed the man, took the ear and He healed the man back. What is your justification for doing evil? What's your justification for evil? What have you used to justify wickedness? What have you used to justify injustice, deceit, hypocrisy, lie? There's no justification. There's no justification! Let us let us lay correct foundation. We are God's people. Rebekah, Jacob, Isaac, all these are God's people, people that we pray and God will hear their prayer. These are God's people. And look at what they were doing. What are you doing? What are you doing? Thank you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.