This Gospel of the Kingdom ( Foundation of the Gospel 3)

[Music playing] [Voiceover] Church and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home for you. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] [Chanting and singing in Yoruba and English] Olorun, Olorun to dahun oke igbagbe. Eyin ni mo fi ope emi fun. Our Father, we praise you. Almighty God, we worship you. To you be glory, to you be honor, to you be praise, to you be adoration. We say, "Be thou exalted, our Father." Thank you for your mercies. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for justification. Thank you for redemption. Thank you for salvation. Thank you for the hope of eternal life. Thank you, O Lord, for adoption, that we are adopted children of God. Thank you for your everlasting love. Thank you, our Father. Blessed be your name, our God. In the name of Jesus Christ. Unto you again we gather this evening. Lord, we are asking: work in our midst. Meet us where we need you most individually. Meet us where we need you most collectively. Lord God, establish us in your truth. Teach us your ways, that we may walk in your path in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, as we open scriptures, Lord, we pray, cause our heart to be open. Cause heaven to open unto us in the name of Jesus. Lord, we pray, in your mercy, there shall be bread for the eaters, there shall be seed for the sower in the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Please have our seat. We have been considering this matter of the gospel of the kingdom, and we are taking the journey gradually so that we will not rush anything. We can properly establish a lot of things about this matter. We saw that scripture says that this gospel abolished death and it brought life and immortality to us. It brought it to light. We have been looking at a lot of things about this gospel of the kingdom, and we have been looking at how this gospel abolished death and brought life and immortality. Last week, we continued in our consideration of the basis of the gospel. One thing that came out very clear last week is that the gospel is something that is eternally ordained. The ordination of the gospel is not in time. We saw in the scripture that Christ was crucified before the creation of the world, as far as eternity is concerned. And then we also saw that even our being chosen, the choice was made before time began. So we saw that the matter of the gospel is something that should make us stand in awe. Kinni yi, se bo se ri ni yi? And then we went on to look at some things in 1 Corinthians chapter one. That was where we stopped last week. In 1 Corinthians one, from verse 18, it says: "For the message of the cross—that is the gospel—is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.'" — 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 So, that was where we stopped. I noted last week that if you look at the gospel, the way the foundation of the gospel is laid, God intended that by the gospel, He is going to destroy the wisdom of the wise so that if anybody wants to prove to be wise, the gospel will never save him. If anybody wants to prove that he knows better, the gospel will not meet with faith in his heart, so the gospel will not profit the person. It will be of no value to the person; it will be foolishness. When we talk about the gospel, and I gave some examples last week, when He says, "If they slap you on the right, turn the other one," somebody says, "Iwa asiwere." If they slap this one, if it were not for God, I would have given him the other one back. Why? The gospel sounds foolish. The gospel is not sounding reasonable. Why should I turn the other one? Even if I will not fight, I will not turn the other one. So, the gospel sounds... but as you want to prove... and I think it's somebody who said, "Look, the Bible says we should even pray for our enemies." No problem. I will pray for them, but still holding to that pain, that grief. When you look at the gospel, we said that anybody that wants to prove to be wise... and you will see that clearly also in Proverbs. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." — Proverbs 3:5-6 Look at the next instruction in verse seven: "Do not be wise in your own eyes." — Proverbs 3:7 Do you see that the matter of trusting God has to do with men who will not be wise in their own eyes? Once they are wise, the gospel has been designed to frustrate their wisdom. Once you prove to be wiser than scriptures, God has also designed His scriptures in such a way that your wisdom will be confused. And we gave examples last week. Society, are we progressing or regressing? We began to look at a lot of things, and we said it's like we are confused. Because we run and run, later we come back again and say it's like this thing is not working. We come up with this, later we come back again, and this one has this side effect. It has this effect. Later we come back again and say, "No, this one has problems." It's like the more we seek to be wiser, the more we keep destroying the one that we have laid before and then lay another foundation again. So, that was what we were discussing last week. As I want to progress today, I want to ask if anybody has anything to say particularly from what you took home last week. Okay, you have something to say. Come and use the mic. [Speaker 2] Thank you, sir. Last week, we learned that there was redemption before creation. Now, I'm saved; that means I've been saved even before I was born. That's what I understood last week. Now, my question is, I know some people may go to hell. Is it that God did not have a plan for those that will not make it to heaven? [Speaker 1] Go to Ephesians chapter one, look at verse four. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." — Ephesians 1:4 So, when were we chosen? Before the foundation of the world. That is the question his heart is asking: that if we have been chosen before the foundation of the world, so some people will go to hell, does it mean that they were not chosen before the foundation of the world, or what actually happened? I was saying what I was saying last week for you to see that if you are talking about time, when exactly did Christ die? Over 2,000 years ago. If you are talking about eternity, when did Christ die? Before the foundation of the world. So, what I was trying to make you see is that don't you see that even human logic cannot understand the gospel? That when we say something is eternal, it is not something that you can logically deduce unless you believe. If you look at it logically, Christ did not die before the foundation of the world. Christ died 2,000 years ago. If you say He died over 2,000 years ago, you are correct. If you say He died before the foundation of the world, you are correct. You are talking about whether you are speaking from the point of eternity or from the point of time. But I'm now saying that because the gospel, the foundation of the gospel as we can see it, is something that was laid in eternity. Because for eternity, their reckoning and their looking of events is not the way you are looking at it. We were created in time. So, in time, if you are trying to look at the gospel, I was relating that to the way we think. When the Bible says love your enemy, do good to them that hate you, how does that sound in time? It sounds foolish. But if you understand that the gospel was ordained eternally, you will know that if you believe that, it will save you. Because it's not a matter of reasoning it still logically as in time. Do you get it? So, I was making you see something again very crucial: that even if you now look at that too, it will amaze you again that the Bible says that we were known before time began. Is that not a mystery? But you know that maybe it was two or three years ago that you said, "I surrender all." So, you'll be wondering, how can it be that time again? I did it some two or three years ago. I was making those things for you to see something very crucial: that the gospel is so designed by God to frustrate the wisdom of man. The gospel is not designed within time so that you can just reason it this way, this way, and then get it. The gospel leaves you at an amazement for you to believe what sounds so foolish. So, if I'm now to come back to your question, if you look into the gospel, it says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." — John 3:16 So, the gospel was offered to everybody. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." — Mark 16:15-16 So, the offer is to all. Again, the Bible is making you see that before we come into the kingdom, the offer of God is to all. But when you find yourself inside the kingdom, don't begin to boast against those who are outside. At this side, outside the kingdom, the Lord makes us to see that whoever believes will be saved, whoever does not believe will be damned. It means those who go to hell are responsible for their going to hell. Again, the Bible says if you find yourself now in the kingdom, it says: "With the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." — Romans 10:10 Now, when you come into the kingdom, and then you are looking at your life, how you have changed, how you have become a new person. How did this happen? How did this happen? Some people say, "Ah, I remember when I was small, I used to do this and that." No, that's not it. You have confounded their life, throwing away their own wisdom, choosing the wisdom of God. They find their marriages working. I hope everyone... so, what I'm showing you is that for you to follow the gospel, you must first see that this gospel in itself does not sound logical. So, don't get into the kingdom and begin to follow logical calculations and you want to walk with God. If you want to walk with God, you must not lean on your own understanding. That is what I was trying to say. Because there is no logic around the thing. You said whoever believes, and yet He says I chose you before the foundation. I came in three years ago, that's when I believed. God wants you to know that His plan was there before He created the world. He knew you. Then you begin to talk: "How? Where? When?" But as many as have believed that, you know what it has done to them? It has made them humble. It has made them realize that it is God that worked in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. That is the point. So that nobody can begin to boast with "Holy people." How did you get to that point? So you see God resisting the proud because there is nothing you become that is not by grace. Now, so that what I'm trying to make you see is that it's what you are already seeing. I'm magnifying that because when you look at verse 20 that I want to enter into, look at the first question: "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Let me read that for you in NLT. "So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters?" Somebody was debating, "You need to understand something. Mohammed is the son of God." He said if you look at it, there are several women that don't have husbands. If men begin to take three, four, five like that, then they will now bring a balance in the world so that many women will not be outside there without somebody to cater for them. Don't you see God's love? Is that not a brilliant argument? Where was the person quoting from? He was quoting from record. You know, of the seven billion population we have in the universe, the population of females is staggered than the population of males. And of that males, a large number have already made monk that will not marry. Reverend fathers. That set, you take that number out. Of that male again, more die more than female because they are more adventurous. Men die faster than female die. Sociologically established fact. If you have the same number of male and female at 1970, check them after 20 years. You are likely to have, if you had 30/30 before, you are likely to have maybe 25/10. Because the male, they do a lot of adventure; they take risk more, so they die more. So, if you look at all of that, the few that remain are supposed to be taking seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven wives so that that way, everything is about equilibrium. You bring a balance, that God is a God of balance. So don't—you see, we need to—if we say we are saved according to the Bible, you know it was written by somebody with little education. Did it not make sense? I'm showing you philosophical reasoning. So, the Bible says, "Where does this leave the philosophers? Where does it leave the scholars? Where does it leave the world's brilliant debaters?" God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless and nonsense. You know what He is trying to say? That the wisdom of the gospel was designed to make brilliant debaters' wisdom to be foolish. Are you getting the foundation to the gospel? Now, look at what it says in verse 21. Let's read several translations for verse 21. "God in His wisdom made it so that the world would never find Him through human wisdom. He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe." God made sure that the world will never find Him through human wisdom. What did God make sure? Another translation, please. "For God's wisdom ordained that the world, using its own wisdom, would not come to know Him. Therefore, God decided, through the nonsense of what we proclaim, as the means of saving those who come to trust in Him." That is why you notice something that was said about Jesus. When Simeon came into the temple when they were dedicating Jesus, he came by the power of the Holy Spirit into the temple. He said, "This child is set for the rising and the falling of men." So Jesus is a rock of offense because Jesus, that which is the gospel concerning Jesus, is to the wisdom of the world foolishness. It's nonsense. And yet, look at where the matter is: is that God has decided—the decision of God—is that it is that nonsense, those who believe that nonsense, that He wants to save. So why are people not saved? Because God doesn't make sense. Why are people fornicating? God doesn't make sense. Why are people lying? God doesn't make sense. Why are you keeping malice? God doesn't make sense. Why do you pursue money more than God? God doesn't make sense. There is no sense in it. How many people will believe what does not make sense? Why will people go for it? Listen to what you have just said and get the foundation. It was because Eve wanted to be wise, to make sense, that she died. She wanted to make sense. The word that was offered her did not make sense. I want to show you that as often as God doesn't make sense, man dies. That is the truth about it. As often as God doesn't make sense, man dies. That is where we are today. And my concern—you see my concern? My concern why we are discussing this thing is not because unbelievers are even dying. That's not the reason. You know why we are discussing this thing among ourselves? It's because even to those of us who believe, like Thomas, we want to put our hand inside the side and be sure that the hole is still there. Because of that today, that is why we are discussing these things as believers. That, "Bro, are you bro?" You say yes. "Are you sis?" You say yes. Do you realize that what makes you a bro or a sis was first foolish? Why do you now get to a point that you now want to make it out of logic and philosophy? That is the matter we are discussing. That was why the other time we were discussing about who can make choice in marriage, and I was saying that the basis of making choice in marriage is divine inspiration. All other things, they are just as well as... and I said some people were asking me "But sir, you did, at least you are able to know, you are able to know the girl, all those dating help you to know the person." And I said after all your knowing, can you tell between two ladies which one will die first? Can you tell between two ladies which one will give you only male, male, male or female, female, female? Can you tell between two ladies which one will be a woman of the morning and which one will be a woman of the night? The one that will begin to give birth immediately you just enter within one year, the one that will not give birth until you are 70 years old like that of Abraham. They are all God's purpose. So, which years of dating want to answer those questions? And yet today, that is why because people cannot answer some of those questions, they have introduced sexual compatibility. "First check whether you can be pregnant." Have you not seen that today? Am I lying? Are you not seeing it today? Have you not seen where the brother will say, "You call him brother, even though you call him brother, we go to church together, I need to check before we fix the wedding. Let us check that you will be pregnant." After you are pregnant, then they fix the wedding. You know that that is happening? Another dimension to it is that, "You know, when the people are virgin, they will not enjoy their sexual life. Let us first experiment so that we can be sure we are compatible because I don't like virgins." Have you heard that before? You have not. Oh, you are not in counseling room. So you don't see a lot of things, you don't hear a lot of things. But I'm telling you the things that we are hearing. When a brother will say, "Look, that is why I don't like sisters that are virgins. I prefer the one that is experienced so that when we enter like that..." Do you see how men are reversing the order of God? They want to make God to have no sense. But they don't understand that they are the ones that are just foolish, that they are the ones that are senseless. They don't understand a particular factor: that only God is wise. We are going there very soon. That is one thing we must come to agree with: only God is wise. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So if you don't fear God, that is the beginning of foolishness. What it means simply is this: until a man begins to fear God, wisdom will not begin in his life. Until a man begins to fear God, wisdom does not begin. So, every man who disregards God can never be wise. He will look as if he is wise, but to you, he cannot be wise. Do I show you another statement that looks so serious like this again? Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." Is that really true? Think very well. Is that true? Have you not seen people who don't know Jesus and are making exploits? People who don't know Jesus and they are having their marriages and are giving birth, have you not seen them? Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." He didn't say you cannot do anything. He said you can do nothing. What is "nothing"? When somebody graduates from school and is an unbeliever, has he not done something? Are you getting something? So, the actual implication of that statement is not that in the actual sense you cannot do anything. But in the actual reality of it, all a man does without Jesus is nothing. For a man's life does not consist in the abundance of what he possesses. How can I display that to us? When the rich man died, you know the case of the rich man and Lazarus? When the rich man died, what happened to the rich man? They buried him. The rich man that died, when he died, what the Bible say about him? Bible says he was buried. When Lazarus died, what the Bible say about him? Bible says he was carried by the angels of God. So, when you look at the two of them, who has better things if you look at the two of them? The rich man or Lazarus? Who has better things so to say? The rich man. Yet, when the rich man died, nothing was valuable to carry. Nothing was valuable. All they could gather in his life was what can go to dustbin. What do you burn? What do you put on fire? What you set fire on. So, he was a waste material. Are you seeing something? Are you getting the reality of the statement? So, what I'm trying to say that a man will look as if he is wise without God, but in the actual reality of it is a foolish person. Because everything he does outside God, if you put them together, they will weigh nothing. There is a difference therefore, please get this truth: the reality of the human life is not something physical because actually man is a spirit. All those things he gathers around himself that you see physically, they are actually gathered for the building that he lives inside. You know where man lives? He lives inside the body. It is that body that is educated. It is that body that you put cream. It is that body that you dress, that you do like this. It is that body that you give food. All those things is for that body; it's just for the house that he lives inside. All that people do in their life outside God is for the house they live inside; they cannot do it for themselves. You know the end of that house that they live inside? What is the end of that house? You don't know the end of this thing? Food for maggots. That's the reality of it. This thing is food for maggots. And so, if all that a man does in his life is around the food for maggot, what did he do? He has done nothing. That is why a man's life does not consist because what he possesses is about the physical life, and man is not a physical thing. Man is an eternal being. That is why you can understand that in eternal time, he was chosen before time. These are realities of the gospel. These are things that the more you begin to want to know God in humility, the more you begin to understand it. But the more you want to turn it all around, what will happen is that we must appreciate that the basis of the gospel is that God has decided to save the world by nonsense. That is one thing you must appreciate. That is where I'm really going. That the thing that will abolish death and bring life and immortality to you is God described it as foolishness when it comes to you. Look at what the Bible said: "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block." Do you see that? If you are seeking for sign, what will the gospel be to you? To the Greek, what will it be to you? Foolishness. Verse 24: "But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, what is Christ? Christ is power of God and wisdom of God." Do you get that at all? Do you get what the Bible is saying? What is Christ when we preach it? When we preach Christ crucified to the Greeks and to the Gentiles, what is Christ? It's foolishness. To God, what is Christ? Power of God and wisdom of God. Do you get something? The gospel is the wisdom of God. The gospel is not the wisdom of man. The gospel is God's own wisdom. That God's wisdom. What is God's wisdom? The gospel. What is the gospel? Christ. Do you know what he is trying to say? What God defines as wisdom is the gospel. Anything that is not the gospel can never make you wise. I will stop there today. What God defines as wisdom is the gospel. Do you get it? Whatsoever is not the gospel is not wisdom. Do you want to be wise in your life? It is the gospel. Do you want to be wise financially? It is the gospel. Do you want to be wise in every area of life? It's the gospel. Once you set the gospel aside, you cannot be wise in that thing that you are doing because it is the gospel that God calls wisdom. That is why the Bible says in everything you do, whether you eat, whether you drink, in anything at all you do, do it in the name of the Lord. Anything you want to do, do it in wisdom. That is what it's saying. Anything you want to do, do it in cognizance of the gospel. Do it according to the gospel. Let the gospel be the basis of whatever you want to do because that is what it means to be wise in that thing. When you remove the gospel, you are no more wise. It is the gospel that God calls wisdom. And secondly, what God defines as the gospel is His power. Anything outside the gospel will not make you experience the power of God. You cannot understand why people are where they are. But those who understand it know that it is the ultimate power. There is no power that exceeds the power of the gospel because it is the almighty power. We are saying this thing for us as disciples of Jesus. The followers of Jesus. We are looking at this matter so as to help our life. I want you to talk to God. It is the gospel that is God's wisdom. What I want us to see is that the wisdom of God is the gospel. Anything outside the gospel is not wisdom. It was because Eve wanted to be wise, to make sense, that she died. She wanted to make sense. The word that was offered her did not make sense. I want to show you that as often as God doesn't make sense, man dies. That is the truth about it. We have people looking for sign, looking for something logical. If you tell them, "The integrity of the righteous will deliver them," they don't believe it. But let somebody just come and make some magical signs, and people believe. We are looking for sign. Some of you, I am with you always to the end of the world, you don't believe. But when one man just comes and says some sensational things, then people believe. I'm showing you how these things translate to behavior and attitude. It translates because they are looking for sign. A lot of prophets everywhere today, they don't offer salvation. These are the days where people think philosophy, logic, human reasoning is the way of the gospel. And that is why we are discussing this matter. The gospel is not a way of human reasoning; the gospel is not the way of logic. But let me tell you this truth: if you believe the gospel, you will see the logic of the mystery. The gospel is God's wisdom. When you remove the gospel, you are no more wise. It is the gospel that God calls wisdom. Thank you, eternal Father. Thank you, eternal Father. Our Father, we thank you for today. Our God, we give you praise. Lord, for ourselves, we are just asking for mercy, particularly for the body of Christ. Lord our God, that we may return to the gospel of Jesus. Lord God Almighty, that we may understand that we are not wise outside the gospel. The wisdom we need today, there is a wisdom that is required today to face the battles of this end time. The reason why several lives, several homes, several seemingly believers, several seemingly Christians are being swallowed up by the situation of now is because, O Lord, increasingly every day we are relegating the gospel. We are increasing rationality. We are increasing the seeking for sign. We are reducing the power of the gospel. We are making the gospel to sound foolish. It looks like the truth, the ancient landmark that the fathers have laid, it looks as if they are nonsense. It looks like things to throw away and not to agree with. And the more, Lord, we throw away the gospel, the basis of the gospel, the more we want to sound reasonable to ourselves, the more we die. Lord God, we are praying, revive again the sacredness of scriptures in the heart of your people in the name of Jesus. Lord, revive again in our hearts the sacredness of scriptures. Revive in our thinking, in our reasoning, the sacredness of the scripture in the name of Jesus. Thank you, blessed Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Can we share the grace together? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Voiceover] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's Word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission aid. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; adolescent and singles club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the First Bridge, Illere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Idanre Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 0803-386-1136, 0703-361-3848. God bless you all.