Thy Kingdom Come Iii

[Singing: Battle Hymn of the Republic] [Speaker 1] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God waitly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May ye be blessed as you listen. [Singing: Medley of Hymns] Enter His gates with praise. I would say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for He has made me glad. He has made me glad, He has made me glad. I am so glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad. Oseun o, Baba. Ese o, Jesu. Oseun o, Baba. Ese o, Jesu. Ki la ba fi san ore re, bi won ti po to laye wa. Egberun ahon ko to fun yin re. Ese o, Jesu. Oseun o, Baba. Oseun o, Olorun adupe o. Ese o, Jesu. Oseun o, Baba. Ese o, Jesu. Ki la ba fi san ore re, bi won ti po to laye wa. Egberun ahon ko to fun yin re. Oluwa ese o, Baba. Eseun o, Olorun adupe o. Ese o, Jesu. Oseun o, Baba. Ese o, Jesu. Ki la ba fi san ore re, bi won ti po to laye wa. Egberun ahon ko to fun yin re. Ese o, Jesu. Oluwa, etobi, etobi o, etobi. Oluwa, etobi, etobi o, etobi. Ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o, etobi. Oluwa, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o, etobi. Oluwa, Oluwa, etobi. Baba, etobi o, etobi. Olorun wa, Oluwa, etobi, etobi o, etobi. Baba mi, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o, etobi. Oluwa, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o, etobi. Oluwa. You are the mighty God, the great I AM. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You are the mighty God, O Father, the great I AM. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You are the mighty God, mighty God, the great I AM. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. [Speaker 2] Our Father, we are grateful. Our God, we worship You. We bless Your holy name as we gather unto You again this evening, as we gather to learn at Your feet, to look into scriptures, to fellowship with scriptures, to fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. O Lord our God, we commit ourselves again into Your hand. Our gathering is not unto ourselves. We gather, O Lord, unto You. Lord, please come to us in the name of Jesus. Lord, please meet with us in the name of Jesus. Lord, please attend to our situation in the name of Jesus. Lord God Almighty, meet us at every point of our need. Lord, satisfy us out of the abundance of Your goodness from above in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, satisfy our heart. Lord, quench our thirst in the name of Jesus Christ. Instruct us, O Lord, lead us in the path of righteousness for Your name's sake. Thank You, eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Praise the Lord. We have been looking at this matter of "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done." We began trying to establish the implication of that two weeks ago. Last week, we came to a conclusion that when a man's life is not centered on the will of God, when a man's life is not an accumulation of God's will, then ordinarily, that man, Jesus describes such a man as a fool. We saw that the matter of the broad way and the narrow way has to do with doing the will of God or not doing the will of God. Today, except the Lord will be taking us in some other direction, then we'll be looking at some of the implications of when a man makes up his mind to do God's will. What are some of the implications? I want to use some biblical examples to point our attention to some important things in scriptures so that we can really properly see that, whether in the Old or in the New, this matter of the establishment of the kingdom and a people with a kingdom lifestyle is the whole essence of Christianity. In doing so today, we'll be looking at some familiar scriptures also, some familiar scriptures again, just to establish this matter. So, I want us to begin with this first scripture in Psalms, Psalm 1. Psalm 1 is a very popular scripture, very, very popular. I just want us to look at one or two things in that Psalm 1. Now, the Bible begins in Psalm 1:1, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful." I was trying to expand this scripture to the singles on Saturday. It says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Don't forget that we are looking at the third and hopefully the conclusion of this matter of "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done." Now, we have just read Psalm 1:1-6, and we notice that this Psalm is comparing how many people? The ungodly and the godly. And the Psalm is making us to see that actually, when a man decides that as for me, I'm not going to walk in the counsel of the ungodly. I'm not going to walk in it. As for me, I'm not going to stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. That is, as for me, I am not going to go any way apart from the way of the will of God. I'm not going to go any other way. The Bible says that man is blessed. Says, "Blessed is the man that is like that." Now, not only that. It says it's not only that the man made up his mind that he's not going to go the way of the ungodly. I'm not going to go that way. Also, there's another decision that the man is also making. What's the other decision? I'm going to delight. I want to know what God wants me to do. I want to know what is God's law. That is, when you say delighting in the law of the Lord, what does that mean? It means whatever is your law, that is what I want to do. So, we are looking at something that has to do with His will. He said it's not only that the man made up his mind that I'm not going to go the way of the ungodly. In fact, what gives me joy is to obey His law, is to do His will. He said that man is blessed. The Bible says such a man is blessed. Now, in recounting the blessing of the man, he says such a man will be like a tree by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf will not wither, and whatever he does, he prospers. Then he looks at the other man. The other man is not like this. He said the other man is like the chaff which the wind drives away. The man whose decision is not like this godly person. Now, I will come back to this place to establish some things later, but what I just want to say for now is that in the opening of the Psalm, the psalmist is making a declaration. Please, in approaching the Psalms, in approaching this book, understand that there are two groups of people: those who love the law of the Lord and those who hate the law of the Lord. And those who love the law of the Lord, their loving the law has consequences for their life. I hope you are getting what I'm trying to say. And those who do not love it, it also has consequences for their life. Now, I will come back to this place to showcase some issues later. But for now, I want us to look at something in Genesis. Genesis, a very familiar story also, very familiar story. Don't forget our concern today is: let us see some of the implications of this matter of the implications when a man decide on God's will. What are some of the implications? Now, look at Genesis chapter 37 and 38. You are familiar with the Joseph story. It says, now, taking from verse 1, "Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. This is the story of Jacob." Is it not interesting? The story of who? Jacob. But was it Jacob's story that was told in this place? Whose story was actually told in this place? Joseph's story. They want to begin Joseph's story, but they say this is the story of Jacob. In other words, the reason why we want to tell you about Jacob is because there was a Joseph. Are you following what we are trying to say? Please put at the back of your mind that the psalmist opened with that there are two categories of people: those who love the law of the Lord and there are consequences for their life. Those who are ungodly, who hate the law of the Lord, and there are consequences for their life. And the Bible begins that we want to tell you the story of Jacob. He says immediately he mentioned Jacob, he said, "Joseph, being seventeen years old," it will have been Jacob because it was the story of Jacob. I hope you are following me. This is the history of Jacob. "Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his father's brother, and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wife, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father." Did you get what the Bible is trying to tell us in this place? Why are they telling us who Joseph was going out with? Why is the Bible telling us that? I hope you remember the background story. That these two people, they have given birth, particularly Zilpah, she has given birth, even Bilhah too had given birth long before Rachel could give birth. It's trying to say that Joseph was among those who are not actually his equals in life. Joseph was among those who were far older than him. Even though they were far older than him, Joseph was a boy as young as he was who does not walk where? In the counsel of the ungodly. They could not misadvise him. They could not make him do what the father don't want them to do. They could not persuade his heart to go their ways, even though they were far older than him. That's why the Bible giving you that background. That Joseph was somebody who made a decision not to go their ways. And the Bible says, now Israel loved Joseph more than all the other children, because he was the son of his old age, and because he also made him a tunic of many colors. When his brothers saw that his father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably with him. Now, Joseph had a dream, and he told this to his brothers. I want to paraphrase it. You know the summary of the dream. What was the summary of those dreams? It was to make Joseph know what he would become in life. Please, is there any difference between this scripture, this scripture and John 14:21? I hope you know what's in John 14:21. John 14:21: "He who has my word and do it is the one who loves me." I hope brethren are checking that out. "He who loves me shall be loved by my father." He said, then, "I too, I will love him and I will reveal myself to him." I will reveal myself to him. Now, please, is there any difference between this scripture about Joseph and that verse that we read? Is there any difference? Do you see that when Joseph gave attention to the laws of the father, what was Joseph busy doing? He was busy honoring father and mother. It says "Honor father and mother that it may be well with you." And please, did God reveal Himself to him? What I'm trying to make you see is that when a man begins to resolve to do God's will, his life begin to attract revelations from God. When a man begin to choose that I'm going to do the will of God, I will do God's will. One thing that begins to happen with such a life, that's why I took you to John 14:21. One thing that will happen is that the life of that man begin to attract, says "I will reveal myself to him." You see God begin to reveal Himself to Joseph. And you will see that his brothers, they could not dream any dream in their father's house. But the point that I'm making is that I'm trying to make you see implication. That when somebody begins to make up his mind to attend to God... God was manifesting Himself to Joseph. Was manifesting Himself. May our lives enjoy the providence of mercy. May our lives enjoy the providence of mercy, not the providence of judgment. You know somebody whose life attract the providence of judgment? That was Haman. He came into the king that morning to ask for Mordecai will die. It was the providence of judgment. There is a way God arrange things either to show mercy or to bring down. He say God is a righteous judge. He bring down one and lift up another man. May that be your own providence in Jesus' name. That's the point. God arrange different providence, either of judgment of mercy. But when a man begins to center his life on God's will, he begin to enjoy the providence of mercy. I'm talking about the providence of mercy. May our lives enjoy the providence of mercy. I want us to get these things clear. What your life is centered on determines the direction your life will go. What your life is centered on determines the direction life goes. That is why the psalmist began by saying that blessed is the man. The amplified is saying, "Happy, fortunate, enviable is the man." That man is enviable. Now, in this story, please, which of the story will you want to be your story? Which of the story? Is it to be a boy who impregnated his son's wife? Is that the kind of story you are looking for for your own life? But what brought them to all of these points? I'm talking about implication for a man in terms of God's presence in a man's life. Now, I go back again to that chapter 39. I go back again to that chapter 39. Please, look at something. The story went for us to know that Joseph was attending to God's will. Look at something that the Bible says here. The Bible says while he was there again, the Bible says in the verse 39:9, he says, "There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against... and sin against who?" So, I'm trying to make you see what was guiding Joseph from childhood. What has been his focus from childhood? God. When a man focus on God, he also becomes the focus of God. James puts it in another way. He said, "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." I keep saying that I don't know in which of our meeting I share this revelation of two ATM, ATM machines that people were withdrawing money. One ATM, the other ATM. One ATM, initially the number of people before this ATM and this ATM is almost the same. They were both queuing. But somehow, the other ATM, one of the ATM, it's like once you just put your card, tra, you just get out money, phyam phyam, it was going very, very fast. Gradually, people begin to jump from this line to the other line. They were jumping, they were jumping, they were jumping, they were jumping because this one was slow. And after some time, the people left before this one, they were no more than about three or four. People were just going that way, going that way to do that. And then what was the understanding that came after it was that because the way of godliness calls for endurance, men normally choose to go the way of sin. Because it looks fast. Just do three sharp things and make quick money may look much more better than working hard to grow money. But the point I'm making is this. You will notice again with Daniel, I want you to look at Daniel. Do you notice that Daniel lasted in that thing? He served the first king. That king was so blessed because of Daniel. What did he do? He transferred him to the next king. That king again, even when they change kingdom, from Babylonian Empire to Persian Empire, nothing happened to Daniel. He was transferred again to that empire, and he served all those monarchs that at the end of the day... look at what the angel said. Look at the last chapter in Daniel. I want to show something that the angel said about Daniel. Are you there? Look at Daniel chapter 12. Are you in Daniel chapter 12? Daniel chapter 12. Are you there? I want to read something. He says, the angel was speaking to Daniel. He said, "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase." Then I, Daniel, looked, and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and one on other side, on the other riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the water of the river, "How long will shall the fulfillment of these wonder be?" Then I heard the man who was above the water of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and he swore by him who lives forever and that it shall be for a time, times and half of a time. And when the power of the holy people have been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" Please, listen oh. And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many will be purified, made white and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly." Always want you to note that every time they are talking about the end, the end, the coming, the Christ, the kingdom, there's always the just and the unjust. But look at something. They will do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. "And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days." What did he now conclude for Daniel? What was the conclusion for Daniel? He says, "But you, go your way till the end, for you shall rest and will be raised to your inheritance at the end of the days." What am I trying to make you understand? What was the conclusion of the life of Daniel? He was still here when he was receiving the commendation of how he will end. He say, "No problem, no problem, no problem. You don't have problem. You will sleep, but we will wake you up to your inheritance." What I'm trying to say is this. While some men are busy qualifying their life for this kind of thing, some are at the other end of the pillar, saying if God is to mark sin, who will be justified? We cannot but sin. I'm trying to make you see two sides. These are human beings. These are heavenly commendation of saints that are still alive. And they were telling them while they were still alive. "Go your way till the end, for you shall rest and you will arise to your inheritance at the end of your days." Look at what some were collecting. Look at where some were receiving. But what brought these men to this point? As at this time, he was a very old man, but what did the Bible says about him from the days of his youth? He resolved in his heart not to defile himself. I'm trying to make you see what carry these people through. I'm trying to make you see what carry these people through. So, the point I'm making is that have we really come to your realization? When we say "Blessed is the man," indeed that man is blessed. Because a man who God permits to see ahead, a man who God reveals Himself to, a man who God is with, a man who God focuses on, a man that God decide to arrange around his life, providence of mercy. Do you say that man is not blessed? I'm talking about the implication of being a wise builder. Why we must be wise builders, people who center their lives on the will of God. No matter what, I said that last week. It is not how it seems. It is not how it looks. It is not how it feels. It's not even what you think. It is what is the truth. What is the truth? That should be the overwhelming thing, guiding and ruling our life. Look at Psalm 97. Psalm 97. Psalm 97. Are you there? Psalm 97. It says in the verse 11, what did the Bible says? "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." May that be our portion. The NLT said, "Light shines on the godly, and joy on those who do right." Light shines on the godly. What is it that you are looking for in life? And that is why the psalmist, said in Psalm 112. Psalm 112. Look at what the psalmist say again in Psalm 112. "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. Who delights greatly in his commandment." What are the consequences? Let's see if it is different from what we have been talking about. "His descendants will be mighty on earth." What happened to descendants of Judah? Were they mighty on earth or they were cut down? They were cut down. But the man who delights in the Lord, "descendants will be mighty upon the earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed." What do you see again about them? "Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever." I'm showing that these are the men... the rain will fall, the wind will blow, the storm will beat against the house, it will not fall because it is centers on God's will. Look at what it says again, the same scripture emphasizing it. "Unto the upright there arises light in darkness." May that be our portion. He's gracious and full of compassion and righteous. "A good man deals generously and lends. He guides his affairs with discretion. Surely," what do you see there? "he will never be shaken. The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established. He will not be afraid until he sees his desires upon his enemies. He has dispersed abroad. He has given to the poor. His horn will be exalted with honor. The wicked will see it and be grieved." When Joseph's brother came to Egypt, and eventually they saw the whole story, what was their situation? What was their situation? Even after their brother died, after their father died, they came back again. "Please, I hope you will not kill us, now that our father is dead." The wicked shall see it and be grieved. He will gnash his teeth and melt away. Desires of the wicked shall perish. So what are we saying, brethren? What are we trying to establish? It's this same thing that we are saying, that for those who focus their heart on the will of God, they shall be like trees planted by rivers of water. They will bring forth their fruit in its season. They will design their season, they will know their season. Their leaf will not wither, and whatsoever they do, they prosper. May the Lord let us pray tonight. Implication of focusing on God's will. I've just told you. It makes a man to know that which is to come. It gives a man revelation and insight from God. A man begin to understand... God begin to manifest Himself to the man. God was manifesting Himself to Joseph. Was manifesting Himself. He brings a man to enjoy the presence of God. It makes God to focus on a man. It brings a man into the providence of mercy, not the providence of judgment. When we focus, when we set our heart on God's will, providence of mercy, providence of mercy. I want us to make up our mind to see these matters as they appear and have correct value and make correct decisions for our life. Thank You, eternal Father. O blessed be Your holy name. In Jesus' name we pray. Sister Comfort, please come and close this meeting. We want to have another brief section again after the prayer. [Sister Comfort] Eternal Father, we are grateful to You for Your words to our hearts today. Thank You for bearing Your mind to us and giving us understanding that the righteous have the righteousness of God as its implication in our lives. When we focus on the will of God, we thank You for instructing us in this way. Father, accept our thanks in Jesus' name. Amen. Lord, we pray. The grace to always focus on You and Your will in spite of the wind and the storms of this life, give unto us in the name of Jesus. Amen. Help us to be resilient. Help us to be consistent. Help us to continue to follow You irrespective of what men say in the name of Jesus. Amen. You showed us in the life of Joseph, how that he was following his elder brothers, he would have believed that they would know better than him and follow their evil ways. But yet, by Your grace, he stood out. Father, we pray, in this dark world, help us to stand out for Your will in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank You, Lord, for hearing us pray. Your son that You have used again tonight, we are asking that Lord, You will refill him to overflow. That he will continually be refreshed before You in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank You, Lord, for hearing us pray. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Praise the Lord. [Speaker 2] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen. [Background noise] [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 heat. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 p.m.; adolescents and singles club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.; marriage forum, second Saturdays of every month at 10:00 a.m.; family life seminars, regular school outreaches and everyday counseling. For further counsel, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Idire community, opposite Everjoy filling station along Ijede Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 080-3386-1136, 070-3361-3848. God bless you all.