Understanding Fundamentals of Intimacy with God (Part 4)

[Speaker 1] Church is a fellowship not only of individuals and families that constitute them. God did not design the government. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tents Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] [Background music] Everlasting to everlasting, I will praise thee from everlasting. Everlasting to everlasting, my Oluwa titi lailai. Titi lailai, titi lailai, my Oluwa titi lailai. Titi lailai, titi lailai, my Oluwa titi lailai. Our Father indeed we are grateful again for today. We worship you, we bless you, we thank you, we give you all the glory, we give you all the honor, we give you all the praise. We adore you, we appreciate you, we are grateful unto you. We say thank you for your love, preservation, provision, support, assistance, instruction, counsel in our hearts. Lord, we are really grateful. Lord, unto you again we gather today, not unto ourselves. Lord, we pray as we all come together again today, brethren on Mixlr, brethren on Telegram, as we all come together, precious Father, Lord we pray that God Almighty you will work in our midst. You will work within us. You will meet with us individually where we need you most. You will meet with us collectively as a people where you will bless us, where you will correct us, where you will instruct us in righteousness in the name of Jesus. Lord, you will give light into our darkness. Our confusion will give way for direction. Lord, there will be instruction to make us profit, oh God. And Lord, we keep praying and praying and praying. This year, Lord, there will be no loss. There will be no loss. There will be no loss. Rather, Lord God, we will make gain. We will profit by the Lord, the God who teaches us to profit. By you, Lord, we will profit in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Last week we were able to continue further with our Fundamentals of Intimacy with God, that was Part 3. And today we are in the Part 4, and trusting the Lord that we should be, hopefully and trusting God, that we should be able to conclude these Fundamentals of Intimacy with God today. The Fundamentals of Intimacy with God opened with the scripture, "Nobody has seen God at any time, but if we love one another, then God dwells among us. God abides in us and His love is perfected in us." It also opened with the other scripture in the other verse of 1 John 4, that if any man says, "I love God," but hates his brother, that person is a liar. He is a liar. He is a liar because he cannot love his brother whom he can see. The Bible says it is impossible to love God that he cannot see. Then we began to see that the more intimate we become with God, the closer and closer we get with God, the more we know God better and better and better, the higher we go in our walk with God, the deeper we go in our knowledge of God, the understanding, the more intimate relationship we develop in our walk with God, the manifestation of that intimacy is that it begins to produce goodness, godliness, faithfulness, truthfulness, lovingkindness, mercy, mercy towards fellow man. It begins to produce impact. You become light to people's darkness. It begins to produce character. It begins to produce brotherly kindness because the reality is that the ultimate of God's plan for anybody is connected with that person's relationship with fellow human. There is nothing God wants to do with any human being, there is nothing God has planned for your life, those eternal things that God has planned, it is in two ways. On one hand, you will be a blessing to somebody and somebody will be a blessing to you. That is the summary. That is the summary of whatever God wants to do with your life. Everything that God wants to do with your life is that you will be a blessing to someone and someone will be a blessing to you. That is the summary of it. It is so connected to humanity. And as I said, we will try and look into today, and look at very closely is biblical examples of some of these connections. We want to see how the great things of God, look at biblical examples, just to show that that life that God is bringing you to this year, the reason why in some areas you might have been in obscurity is that you have not seen that when God wants to visit you, it is about human beings. When God wants to visit human beings, it is about other human beings, and it is about people. It is about people. And my prayer, honestly, my prayer this year has been, God, God, I will not miss who you have sent me to. And Lord, who you have sent to me will not miss me. I will not miss who you have sent me to. Lord, by virtue of anything, I will not miss who you have sent me to because connected to who you have sent to me is in who you have sent me to. Everything is so tied together. If you miss who you are sent to, you will eventually miss who is sent to you. And that is just what we want to look at in the scriptures. We want to look at scriptures, some biblical examples. And I want to begin with a very, very simple story. A very, very simple story and a very, very familiar story. 2 Kings 5. I believe immediately I mention that scripture you already know the story we want to look at. The story of Naaman. Just want to pick something from that that happened with Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Look at what the Bible says here. It says, "Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but unfortunately he was a leper." Now the scripture says, "And the Syrians had gone out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel who waited on Naaman's wife. Then she said to her mistress, 'If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would heal him. He would heal him of his leprosy.' And Naaman went in and told his master saying, 'Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.'" You know the rest of that story. You know the rest of the story. Naaman was a mighty man. And as a mighty man, there was a, the Bible says that he was a very honorable man. He had won several battles. In fact, by him victory had come to Syria. Now by implication, the Bible makes us to see that not only that Naaman had won several battles, but you see that he was the commander. He was the general. The army general. But you see as mighty as he is, as big as he is, the solution to a fundamental need in his life was connected to who? To a slave girl. A slave girl. Not even a Syrian, but a slave girl. And how did they get that slave girl? How did they get the slave girl? They got her from a raid. So she is actually a prisoner of war. They did not buy her at a price. But I want to make you understand something, brethren. I want you to get something. If in the house of Naaman, the relationship between that girl and the master's wife was that of "once I appear, you disappear," when she sees me she enters the ground, when I talk, I want to know the gap between the girl and the master's wife. I want to know the status difference. That is why I felt that she was just a prisoner of war that was brought into the house. But that woman must have shared some intimacy with this girl such that they could talk. They could discuss the problem of the master's husband, that she could discuss with mommy. "Mommy, this thing is a small problem. This is a small problem. All that daddy needs to do is he should just go to Israel and there will be solution." It was because these people were not repulsive. They so much related to the girl that the burden in the master's life became the burden in the slave's life. Am I making sense to you? What concerns a slave? Not even a slave now, a captive of war. Let him die in his leprosy because he is a prisoner of war. These people, if he gets well, what will happen to Israel? They will raid again. So the best thing is that, God, please just kill this man. This leprosy should just kill the man. That would have been the ordinary expectation. What we will expect that the girl will be trusting God for. "Aha, maybe that is why God even afflicted this man with leprosy because they went to Israel, the people of God, to do what they did and he is hit. He will die inside this leprosy." But what I want to make you see is that if that girl had not been brought into a family where their concern became her concern, where the burden, how many times the master will just come and they will just be talking, "Ah, we don't know this my husband's leprosy. We don't know." And the girl is able to have concern. She is able to have an emotion towards the people who took her captive, wanting how they will be set free. That tells me the relationship they had with that girl. What I am trying to make you understand, brethren, what I really want to emphasize today is that there are many things that prayers will not solve, no matter how much you pray. There are many things that anointing will not solve, no matter how much you are anointed. There are many things that power will not solve, no matter how much you are powerful. There are many things that money will not solve, no matter how much you are financially strong. There are many things that connection will not solve, no matter how much you are connected. What will solve them is character. Godly character. Character. Character. Character. It was the environment that this girl found herself that led to the miracle of the master. And look at the kind of miracle the master received. And if you look at that story, because I don't want to go more and more into the story, I just want to give biblical examples. You will notice that when Naaman got to Elisha, Elisha said, "Go to the stream, go and wash yourself." You will notice that Naaman was about going again. Who talked to him again? It was the servants. I want you to understand the kind of personality that this man is. You can understand the kind of person he is. As mighty as he is, there is this relationship with the subordinates that could make them giving him advice, that could make them talk with him, that could make them relate to him. And that is the point I am making. That many things you are praying, you are trusting God for, God has tied those miracles of your life to some fundamental things you will do with people. Some relational things you will do with people. While you are looking, looking up your head to the hills, you are waiting sometime for some things that will just happen. "It will just happen, it will just happen." Some things may not just happen. What may be blocking your way may just be your attitude of unfriendliness. Your attitude of hatred towards somebody. Your attitude of not caring for somebody. Your attitude may just be why you will not profit in 2024. It may just be the reason. It was the atmosphere of acceptance and love that took Naaman to a point where the Bible gives us the story. The Bible says his skin became like that of a what? Do you know what that means? Do you know what that means? I don't know how many more years that man will live. But if you change a man's skin, a full adult, back to like that of the skin of a baby. Do you know what blessing that is? Do you know what, I don't know what kind of stem cells that is. There is this thing my wife normally sells. They call it stem something. I want to remember the name. Please help me with the name, ma. This thing you are selling for restoration, rejuvenation. St- St- Stem... STC30! If you drink it, it will bring dead cells back to come alive. But I know no matter how much you want to drink STC30, it can't bring an adult back to that of a baby. But I'm going to make you see that that year, Naaman profited. And he profited exceedingly. Not because of his power. Not because of his might. Not because of his connection. Not because of his position. Not because of his money. Not because of his riches. But because of good relationship with a slave girl that was in the house. Look at where God connected the miracle of that man to. Please, where God will connect your miracle to, because of your attitude, you may never get it. You will never get it. You know Naaman also almost missed it when he said, "Go and wash in the river." And he said, "Who, me? To wash in which river? God forbid. I have better rivers." If that man had gone with that mentality, he would have not received the miracle. But thank God he was a man that his servant can speak to. "Aha, oga." Not only say "oga," "Shasha!" "Who is speaking? And you are speaking? You must be mad. Next time you say that, you are fired. Idiot! I am making a point you are talking. Who do you think you are? Get out of my sight. Men, let's go back to Syria." He would have lost the miracle. I'm talking about humility. I'm talking about godly character. I'm talking about being able to relate with fellow humans. Many things God wants to profit our lives with this 2024, I'm telling you, because it's about, "I want to teach you to profit, become intimate with me." That intimacy that God is saying, "come and become intimate with me," what God is trying to make you see, to make you know, is that come to a point where your relationship with me begins to make you see human beings as human beings. Begins to make you value people as I value people. Begins to make you see people as I see them. Begins to make you see that for me, I have no joy that you are buying cars, that you are building houses, but I have great joy when a sinner repents. I have great joy, my delight is where? It's with the sons of men. May your greatest delight be how much your life impacts people. You can relate to people. People can touch you. The goodness, the character, the godliness, the friendliness, the brotherly kindness, the mercy. Oh, that is what makes God to be God. The Bible says God, look at one thing that makes God to be God. Look at something. Look at something. Look at what makes God to be God. When I read this of Naaman, it took me again to Psalm 103. Please let's see that scripture. Look at what makes God to be God. May that make you to be you in the name of Jesus Christ. Look at Psalm 103. Look at what the Bible says. Look at what the Bible says about the Lord. When you begin to become like God, look at how you will become in the name of Jesus Christ. It says, "The Lord is..." oh, I have not called the verse. Psalm 103 from verse 8. Are you there? Look at what the Bible says about God. May this be who we are becoming as we become intimate with this God in the name of Jesus Christ. It says, "The Lord is what? Is merciful and what? Gracious. The Lord is merciful and gracious." What did He say again? "Slow to anger." What did He say again? "Abounding in what? In mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever." And I want to tell you something. If there is something somebody has done and you are keeping your anger forever, you will miss God. If there is something somebody has done to you and you are keeping that anger forever, He says He will not keep His anger forever. Release people. Release people. Become like God. I'm showing you who God is. Merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor keep His anger forever. Look at the next thing. Look at the next thing. "He has not dealt with us according to what? Our sins. Nor punished us according to what? Our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so has He removed our transgressions from us. For as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth those who fear Him." Look at what I'm trying to make you see. Who are those who fear God? The believers. Is that not? Do you see that God pitieth believers? God is slow to get angry with them. God doesn't deal with them according to their iniquities. I want to make you see something about God. Something that when you start knowing this God, you start to become intimate with this God, something that will begin to characterize you. What I am trying to make you see is that what makes God to be so appreciated, what connects God with humanity? I want to ask you. Look at this. Look at this illustration again. The second one, the Holy Spirit was giving me the picture. Look at the fact we offended Him and He looked away from what we did and He came around, made the sacrifice for our redemption. Now I want to ask you, let's imagine that God did not do that. God was so angry for what we have done and He decided to wipe out everybody, and He decided to make a new one. Do you know that the mercies, the goodness of God will not be appreciated the way it is appreciated today? What I am trying to make you see, the best time and the best circumstance and the best situation that makes you to appreciate light is in darkness. If I put on the light of this building now, you won't appreciate it because there is already light. But if everywhere is dark and you just bring one flashlight, what happens? It is, you see the value of light in the midst of darkness. What I'm trying to make you see is that what makes God to be so appreciated, what brought out "How rich and pure, that ever no tongue can recite." I was just singing it, the love of God, "how rich and pure, that ever no tongue can recite." I was just, some words I was just singing it, singing it, singing it, singing it. This great love of God. The more God is loving, the more you find that He gets worship, He gets adoration, He gets been appreciated. Do you notice that? That is the point I'm trying to make. Your miracle is connected with people you may never think it can be ever connected to. Naaman would never have had any thought in his life when they took some captive that his miracle will be connected to that girl. There would have been no thought would have ever occurred to him. That is the way of God. Ọfọ kọ̀ sí, kò ní lọ mọ́ wa. It's about prophecy, kò ní lọ mọ́ wa. Where you are thinking God will come as maybe where he is. What you think, "let me neglect," that will be where God is waiting for you. You will not miss God in the name of Jesus. The second example I want us to see in biblical example of this connection is another very simple story again in 1 Samuel 30. Another very, very popular story again. 1 Samuel 30. It's a story again, simple but very, very popular story. Just joy lessons from these things that we have always known, reminding us again that this God wants us to profit this year and He is showing us the way to His profit. 1 Samuel 30. I take it from verse 8. Look at what happened. We know the beginning of the story. We are familiar with the story. Ziklag had been burned, everybody had been taken away as captive, there was nothing again, people wept and wept and wept, there was a great loss. There was a great loss. So David inquired of the Lord in verse 8, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue. Pursue for you will surely overtake them and without fail you will recover all." Is this a sure word of prophecy? Is this a sure word of prophecy? What the Lord told me here, brethren, is that I don't know what sure word God has spoken to you. Maybe as the new year was opening, God gave you some word. My son, I will do this. My daughter, I will do this. This is a sure word of prophecy to David. "Pursue, for you will surely overtake them and without fail you will recover all." Life is an end. David entered into that journey of his life as you have entered into 2024 with that sure word of prophecy. David entered and he was to journey. David went, he and six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. But David pursued, he and four hundred men. For two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross Brook Besor. Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him. For he had not eaten no bread nor had any water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young Egyptian from Egypt. I'm a young man from Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite. My master left me behind because three days ago I fell sick. We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and the southern area of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire." And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this troop?" So he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master and I will take you to this troop." And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out all over the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all. He recovered all according to the prophecy that God gave him. And Amalekite had carried away all that the Amalekite had carried away and David rescued his two wives. And the Bible says in verse 19, "and nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them. David recovered all." But brethren, can we look at the prophecy? Was there any prophecy alongside that prophecy that told David, "As you are going, you will see one Egyptian. Take care for the boy because your miracle, this prophecy is tied to that boy." Was there any other prophecy like that? No. Goodness, profit to eternal life. I am showing you what connects a mighty prophecy to the fulfillment of that prophecy was brotherly kindness to a stranger. And listen, what brought destruction to the camp of the Amalekite was that somebody was sick. Your servant was sick. Please, I want to ask you, what does it cost them to treat that boy? Does it cost them anything to treat that boy? "Oh, because he was an Egyptian, oh, why would he fall sick now? What's going on? Throw him away! We don't have to carry him." That kind of attitude, nonchalant attitude, not caring for fellow human. That was where their loss was tied to. Their loss, the great loss of their life. I'm telling you, people have made great loss in their life because they failed to do one thing, and people have made great gains in life. What I'm trying to say, have made great gains because there was a, there was a specific prophecy. The prophecy was clear. You will recover all, recover all without fail. But there was no further instruction as to how he was going to recover. What he was told is pursue. And please, the brethren, listen to this. If God says pursue, you will recover all, delaying to take care of somebody that you found somewhere, is it not slowing you down? What should have been the right thing to do? Just keep running. Just keep running. Forget that boy. Just keep running. And they would have run in vain. You will not run in vain. You might be thinking you are pursuing what God told you, what God said, what God said, what God said. Listen, this thing is not just an ordinary illustration. I will show you where Jesus made a clear example of the same thing. You know where Jesus gave us the clear example of this same thing? The story of the Good Samaritan. When you look at the story of the Good Samaritan, it was a clear illustration of being of what happened in that place, to make us to see that honestly it is the way of God. God moves in a mysterious way. God move in a mysterious way, brethren. God move in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps on the sea, He rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill. He treasure up His bright design and work His sovereign will. Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. He treasure up His bright designs while He work His sovereign will. Luke chapter 10. Let's go to verse, the story began from 25 but I want to go more to where Jesus began to tell the story of the Good Samaritan from verse 30. That's where He began the story. "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho." Of course, ordinarily, if a man moved from Jerusalem to Jericho, what has happened to this man? He's taking a wrong direction. He should be moving from Jericho to Jerusalem. A man should not journey from Jerusalem to Jericho. Everybody that journey that direction will be attacked by robbers. But that's not what we are focusing on today. So there was a wrong direction for a man and every wrong direction always leads to casualty. So there was casualty. The casualty was that he fell among robbers and somehow, fortunately for him, they did not leave him dead. They left him half-dead. That's always my prayer that God, even when I miss my steps, let mercy speak for me. If they had left him dead, there would have been nothing to do again about his life. But he was left half-dead. That was mercy. Now while he was half-dead, what happened? I want you to note what the Lord Jesus said. This is the Lord Jesus making us to understand the ways of God. Please, listen to what He said in verse 31. The Lord Jesus said, "Now by what? By chance." What is a chance? What is a chance? Can we check some other translation? What is a chance? It says, "now by what? Now by coincidence." Now by coincidence. Is there any other word? Please check your Bible. Is there any other word again? By coincidence, by chance. In Yoruba they would say "ọkọ ṣẹlẹ̀, ọkọ ṣẹ́pọ̀." Oh, luckily. Luckily, luckily. It sounds like lucky. It happened, "ọkọ ṣẹlẹ̀." Look, I'm telling you, many things will happen so ordinarily around you today that will look like chance, that will look like coincidence, and please don't take them for granted. Extend a hand of mercy. Extend a hand of lovingkindness. Extend a hand of goodness. Bring in good character. Bring in godliness. Bring in brotherly kindness. Act in the way of God. Act in the way of God. Don't say "unfortunate someone else," you might have missed your chances. You might have missed what God want to do with your life. You might have missed a door that God want to open for you. He say it was by chance. "Ọkọ ṣẹlẹ̀ pẹ́, ọkọ ṣẹlẹ̀" that a Jewish priest came along. He came along. But when he saw the man in there, he crossed to the other side of the road. He felt "what concerns me?" Nothing concerns. That's what I'm trying to make you see. It was Jesus giving this illustration. And you know when the Lord speaks, the Lord speaks because He wants us to learn. It's because He wants us to learn. Some things will be coming by chance. Some things will be looking like it's, it happened that it was you that was there. Remember, remember what Mordecai told Esther? We soon get to Mordecai. He said, "who knows whether this chance God has just put you here so you can deliver the Jews?" Did Esther take that time and eventually, was that chance not a divine program? It was not just light to Esther. It was just, "Esther, this is why God even put you in this thing." Esther has seen the different ways. It may just be your position. It may just be your presence, helping somebody else. It may just be you, helping somebody up. It may just be you, helping a neighbor, a brother, a friend, a stranger, by chance you were just there. Unknown that God want to lock and unlock the definite prophecy He gave you at the beginning of the year. At the beginning of the journey, David had received the prophecy. Very clear. Pursue! And it would look like, look, don't let anything delay you. Don't let anything. Just be running! "Sama lowo mola!" Unknown that within that journey, there's going to be a slow-down. A slow-down of mercy. A slow-down of goodness. A slow-down of kindness. A slow-down of brotherly love. A slow-down of forgiveness. A slow-down of giving. A slow-down of refraining from anger. A slow-down of being good to a stranger. A slow-down. Do you know there was not that at the beginning of the prophecy, but it was part and parcel of the journey? And I am telling you by the word of the Lord, as you journey through this year, there are a lot of things that will look like slow-down, but I am telling you, they are connected to your miracle. I pray you will not miss God in the name of Jesus. They may look like they are slowing you down, but they are things that God has programmed into your journey. It was by chance that the Jew, the Jewish priest saw the man. But he just felt "no no no no, someone else will do something." And the priest missed the chance of being described by the Lord as the correct neighbor. He missed it. And then it went ahead to say, "likewise that by chance again, a Levite also passed through that way. He also passed to the other side." He said he now said a certain Samaritan. A certain Samaritan. As he journeyed to where he was, and he saw him and he had compassion. A Samaritan. A Samaritan. Was the person the Lord now described? Look at how a priest missed the chance. Look at how a Levite missed chance. And I'm just wondering if the priest have just said something, "No no! I must pass. As a priest of God, what again? Nothing delays. I'm a priest." And then other one will be thinking to himself what? "We have been consecrated to God." And because of being consecrated to God, he must see a reason for duty. I'm just praying, I'm just begging, I'm just pleading, I'm just asking the Lord this year, may what you are familiar with not take you out of your familiarity that God want to put you into in the name of Jesus. There are some things you are familiar with. Ah, a priest does not touch. A Levite does not touch. I don't do this. I don't do that. I don't... I don't touch such things. Some unusual journeys, some unusual acts of kindness, some unusual acts of mercy. I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray again because I've been praying, and I want you can you just pray wherever you are listening to me, that God I will not miss you. Even in unfamiliar paths, I will not miss you. Even in unfamiliar paths, I will not miss you. May that which is familiar not make me miss the unfamiliar. May that which is familiar not make me miss the unfamiliar. Lord, I will not miss you. Lord, I will not miss you. Lord, I will not miss you. I will profit by you this year. I will profit by you. I will profit by you. I will profit by the Lord. I will profit by the Lord. I will profit by the Lord. I will not make any loss. It's going to be gain. It's going to be gain. I will gain by the Lord. I will gain by the Lord. By the Lord, by the Lord, by the Lord, I will make gains. I go forth in this year and begin to prosper in every dimension of my life. Spiritually, spiritually, spiritually, financially, maritally, in my work, in my business, in my marriage, in my children, in my home, in my life. I make progress, I move forward, I move forward, I begin to profit, I begin to go forward, I begin to go forward. I go forward. I go forward for behold. Brethren, brethren, I'm telling you something by the Lord. One thing the Lord have assured me this year is that look, behold I will do a new thing. Forget the formal. Forget the loss of last year, that's what I'm telling you. There is some unusual things, some unfamiliar simple, simple things. The way God will work this thing, the way things will come. God will move in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plant His footsteps on the sea, He rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill. He treasure up His bright design and work His sovereign will. Look at what He say. He treasure up His bright design while He work His sovereign will. Lord, we will not miss you. We will not miss you. By your help, we will not miss you in the name of Jesus. The second biblical example I am showing you in that place, just wanting to show you that the great things of God, they are connected. That prophecy that God gave, sure prophecy that God gave to David was connected to what looks very ordinary. A very simple thing. Care for one young boy. That great prophecy, it was connected to that. That is what I'm just trying to make you see. That if you look at the way God have been working, there's always this connection. This connection. Look at another one in 2 Kings chapter 4. This one we are very, very familiar, the Shunammite woman. I believe you are very, very familiar with the Shunammite woman's story. That's a very, very familiar story. That's a very, very familiar one. 2 Kings chapter 4. It's a very familiar one from verse 8. It's a very familiar story. You are familiar with the story of the Shunammite woman. The Shunammite woman. Look at that. In, it say it happened one day. You know what interests me in this story? You know what God just point my attention to in all of these story? David, it happened that they saw a young man. Abii? The Samaritan, what happened? By chance, a Jew was passing. That Samaritan got it right. Look at how again, look at how the story started again in this place. Now it happened one day. Like again like what? Like what again? Like a chance. Is that not true? Is that not true again? It happened one day. Let me tell you one thing the Lord is trying to make me understand. What I have been seeing this fast, the Lord began to sound this thing. It was when our minister in the service, was just ministering. Our chaplain. And he just made a statement and a lot of things began to form around that things in my heart. He said, evil normally begins one day. He say the same way the turnaround of a man also begins one day. Everything has a day of beginning. So it happened one day. What happened that one day was that a woman who have already given up childbearing for life, all the days of her life it has been happening that she could not conceive a child. And it's most likely that life is going to end. But it happened one day. And look at how it happened. The way it happened. What you have seen in that place is just a woman who had what? What did she have? Good character. What brought the miracle was not prayer. It was not fasting. It was not special deliverance. It was just godly character. God wants to turn around the life of this woman. God want to turn her story, I'm telling you. God want to reverse the story of her life and all that God just needed was just good character. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you how God works. I'm showing you that fundamentals of intimacy with God is that God begin to make you connect more properly with fellow human beings. Fundamentals of intimacy with God is that God begins to make you to be more properly connected with fellow human beings. Be able to properly connect with them. Be able to properly relate to them. The way you ought to properly connect with them. The way you ought to properly relate to them. The way you ought to... and the more you begin to do what you ought to do by the reason of your intimacy with God, I tell you by the sure word of God, this 2024 you will begin to profit. That's the reality of the matter. That's the reality of the matter. God is calling us to a deeper work. He's calling us to a higher work. He's calling us to a closer work. That deeper work, that higher work that He is calling us into is for us to begin to become so intimate with Him that we'll begin to behave like our Father who is in heaven, who make it to rain upon both the wicked and the good, who does not who, who is meek and lowly in heart. And as you begin to connect with that, He begin to unlock doors of miracles, doors of turn-around, doors of unexpected, doors of long-awaited visitation, long-awaited miracles. I'm telling you, God is set to turn around a lot of things in 2024. But the method and the procedure is what God is showing. He says, "come up, come higher, come deeper." Come up, come higher, come deeper. As the person begin to eat and eat and eat and eat, you know the rest of the story. You know the rest of the story. I'm closing by this story. Close me by this story. The familiar story of our father Abraham. Is it not the same thing? Is it not the same thing? Is it not the exact same thing that happened with him? Our father Abraham. Is it not the same exact same thing that happened with him? God was to visit that day. God was to get to him and turn around everything about what they had been waiting for all their life. And how did God, how did God go about that? Was it not that some people just visited, you know, Abraham? They just visited. And when they visited, there was discussion with them. And as they discussed, Abraham said, "Oh no, don't go now. You will come and eat in my house. Come and do this." And as they were eating and as they were drinking, what happened? The miracle took place. Abraham was told that according to the time of life by this time next year, Genesis chapter 19. The story is there. By this time next year, your wife is going to give birth. How did it happen? He said it's come to pass. He just saw people and they were just coming. He lifted up his eyes and behold, three men were standing by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them. He ran to the door and bowed himself to the ground and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in my sight, do not pass by your servant. Please let me have a little dish. Come and eat, come and drink, let's just wine and dine." Just ordinary simple act of hospitality. Just simple act of hospitality. Just simple, simple things. Simple act of hospitality brought a turn-around for Abraham. Just a very simple story. And I want to take you, I want to take you quickly to the book of Esther. To the book of Esther. It's a very familiar story too. The story of Mordecai. You know that story. You know how it happened. You know all that happened in that story. You know how it happened. God wanted to turn around the conspiracy of who? Of Haman. And how did God, how did God turn that conspiracy around? That conspiracy. How did God turn the conspiracy around? God turned that conspiracy around by what? The faithfulness of Mordecai to who? To the king. What was the faithfulness of Mordecai to the king? The faithfulness was just that at a time, I'm talking of Esther chapter 6, that night the king could not sleep. From verse 1, so one was commanded to bring a book of records of the chronicle, and they were read before the king. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh's plan to kill the king. And then the king just said, "What honor or dignity have been bestowed upon Mordecai for this?" And the king's servant who attended to him said, "Nothing has been done." I want to ask you, brethren. I want us to be very, very practical about this. Can God not deliver Mordecai in several other ways? Could He not? God could have just made the king see an angel. God could have, but look at the way God did it. Look at the way God did it. How was this done? God knew that Mordecai had been faithful. You may think that God will not, a book of remembrance will not be opened for the good that you are doing. You may think that it will just go like that. Brethren, let us be careful. Every piece of what we are doing, for in due season we will reap if we don't faint. The man did it. He was not even remembered. And the man did not even protest. He didn't even say, "Kabiyesi, ah you, ah you only you, you just left the thing." And he still remained faithful. Still serving the king. He was there. Why is it that when God want to work, God wanted to work, God wanted to work, it was the good behavior, the good character? What I am trying to make you understand, there are things God will want to do in your life, but because of your godless character, Baba will not be able to effect it for you. Because there are things of God that God will connect with well-doing, because God has said, "Don't be weary well-doing, in due season you will reap." There are some miracles in your life that God has tied to your well-doing. That's what I am trying to make you understand. And if you don't do well, you will not get those miracles. There are miracles that God has attached to your brotherly kindness. There are miracles that God has attached to your showing mercy. There are miracles that God has attached, and that is why God wants us to live like Him, because His visitation for our life, many of them have been attached to these things. And the more you don't live like Him, because your allocation is attached to just living like Him, you begin to miss those allocations. The allocation for Mordecai, if point being this didn't happen, Mordecai did not see anything. There would have been no record. Would there be any record? There would have been no record. My prayer for you this evening is that where your records are needed, they will be available. Where records are needed, yours should be available. That miracle in your life that needs records, when the time to open those records come, there will be records. There will be records. There will be records in the name of Jesus. There are deliverance for your life. There are turn-arounds for your life that God have attached to records. Turn-around for your life. And when the hour comes, the hour was going to be in the night. And that night the king was not sleeping, because that is the hour for the record. So they began to find the king the hour to open these records. There's a record, there's a record, there's a record. And they went to check the record. And that record became a turn-around of the whole. Look at how ordinary a doorman turn around the whole conspiracy of a prince that was attached to the king, and all he needed to do that was what? A simple record of faithfulness. There are miracles in your life, there are visitations in your life, there are turn-arounds in your life that have been attached. What I'm trying to make you see, brethren, is that people think everything is about anointing. You're missing it. People think everything is about prayer. You're missing it. People think everything is about connection. You're missing it. Mordecai was not connected. He had no connection to that palace in this matter that delivered him. People that think it's about how prosperous you are, how powerful you are. People that think no, there are things that God have arranged for your life, that the way God have arranged those things, they are in simple, simple everyday life. And if you miss those things in life, you would have missed a great visitation of God. And what is the tie? They are simple, simple things that God has told us, God expects us to be, which should be our normal Christian life. Simple, simple things. Simple, simple things. Brethren, as we close tonight, as we close tonight, I'm giving it to you and I'm telling you by the word of the Lord, that God, the programs of God, the divine, the eternal plans of God, they are tied to man. What did I say? The eternal plans of God, they are tied to man. That's what I want you to conclude this evening as we read from Ezekiel chapter 3 and Ezekiel chapter 22 verse 30. Ezekiel 22:30, please if you are there, quickly read that while I go, somebody open to Exodus chapter 3 verse 7 to 10. Exodus 3:7-10. I read that, somebody quickly go to Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 22 verse 30. I'll read Exodus chapter 3 verse 7-10. Want to show you that the things of God, they are attached, the eternal plans of God, they are attached to men. I read Exodus. "And the Lord said, 'I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry because of their taskmaster, and I know their sorrow. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, to bring them to a land, to a good land, a large land, flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, and the Jebusite. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians have oppressed them. Come now therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh.'" Please, I want you to see something in the verse 8. What did God say in verse 8? Verse 8 the first line, what did we read? "So I have come down to deliver them." Who came down to deliver them? God. Verse 10, what did you see? First line in verse 10. "Come now therefore and I will send you to Pharaoh." Who did they see? They see Moses. The eternal plan of their salvation, God came down, but it's man that they will see. That eternal plan of their salvation, it was God that came down, but it's Moses that they will see. Please listen, the Moses they will see was a murderer. The Moses they will see was a man that they despised. The Moses they will see was a man that ran away and they say, "Don't come and kill me, oh Elisha too." That's the man that they will see. Please, can't God have come in that man? If God want to visit you, is that the best person that God should use to visit you? Please, is that the best person? I'm just trying to make you know a lot of things. Let us be careful this year. Let us be careful. God came down, but the man they will see was the man they sent packing. But was God that came down. What I am trying to make you see is that the eternal plans of God is connected to a man. Ezekiel 22:30, let somebody read that for me. [Speaker 3] "So I sought for a man among them." [Speaker 2] "So I sought for a man among them." [Speaker 3] "Who would make a wall." [Speaker 2] "Who, who would make a wall?" [Speaker 3] "And stand in the gap between me on behalf of the land." [Speaker 2] "To stand in the gap between me on behalf of the land." [Speaker 3] "On behalf of the land." [Speaker 2] "On behalf of the land." [Speaker 3] "That I should not destroy it." [Speaker 2] "That I should not destroy it." [Speaker 3] "But I found no one." [Speaker 2] "But I found no one." What did God now do? In verse 31. [Speaker 3] "Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them." [Speaker 2] "Therefore I poured out my indignation on them." Thank you. Please, what did God want to do in verse 30? He wanted to show them mercy. What was He looking for? A man that will say, "God come and show the mercy." God did not find a man that will say, "come and show the mercy." What did God do? He poured His anger upon them. What am I trying to make you say? Can't God do what He want to do without a man? He can't. He can't. Can't God do what He want to do without a man? I'm just trying to make you see something. All that God, the eternal plans of God is about human beings. That's what I'm trying to make you see. Everything, everything that God will come down, God will do this, God will do that, those things that you are crying to God, Baba, kekeke, makaka, those things that you are waiting for, things that you are standing with God, it's about human beings. When the Lord want to do them, somebody somewhere will pray for you. Somebody somewhere will intercede for you. Somebody somewhere will come to you. You will show the person favor, the person will do something. Somebody somewhere that you don't even count to something will just do something and the person just give one information that will open the door. While you are saying, "Baba, Baba," somebody will do something, somebody, it's about somebody and somebody to somebody with somebody, from somebody to somebody. That's the point I'm trying to make you see. It's about somebody. It's from somebody. It's to somebody. It's about somebody. It's from somebody. It is to somebody. Everything that God want to do with your life from start to finish. [Sermon continues but fades into music] [Speaker 2] All that God want to do with your life from start to finish is about somebody, from somebody, to somebody, with somebody, for somebody, from somebody, it's all about that. Character is a strong thing. Character is a strong thing. Character. Character. Character. Character. Character. Ah, a lot will be lost. Brotherly affection, brotherliness, this thing that God is making us to be, this character that He is giving us, to be like me. Be like me, be, be, be like me. Be like your Father who is in heaven. Don't be a spiritual bastard. The reason why He is saying these things is because it is about somebody. It is from somebody. It is to somebody. For somebody. It's to somebody. When God is coming down, it's about somebody. A murderer ran away from them that they sent away, and there, God has come to take them out of Egypt. Hey! Hey! Hey! Brethren, brethren, brethren, may you live as God want us to live. Talk to the Lord this evening. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Enlarge our heart. Enlarge our heart. Enlarge our heart. Enlarge our heart. Enlarge our heart. Thank you Father. Thank you Father. Thank you Father. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Lord please help us. Thank you Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Let's share the goodness together in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Speaker 1] This message has come to you from Family Tents Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and marriage through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission work. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM, adolescents and singles class 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 prayer outreaches and marriage counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by First Bridge, Lekki Community, opposite Very Joyous Fuel Station along Ijesha-Awo Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles familytents@yahoo.co.uk, familytentsministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentsministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08038611136, 07033613848. God bless you all.