Understanding Fundamentals of Intimacy with God (Part 5) - Prayer Session

Church as a fellowship cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God deeply desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] I went to the tap office to quickly do something as I needed to quickly come back. When I got there, I was number three. Somebody was number four, somebody was number five, somebody was number six to be attended to. I was already in. So when the man was to attend to me, the number four came to meet me and said, "Please, I only have one student. It won't take more than three minutes and I need to get somewhere. Please allow me." I said, "Okay, follow me." We came to the man and said, "Please, officer. Although this man is number four, I am number three. But his case is not much. First handle his case, and when you have handled his case, you will now handle my own case." He said, "Okay, okay, okay." Not knowing that the person I was pleading for was the cousin of the man that wanted to attend to me. He now said, "Ah, he's even my cousin. I would have even seen how I would have pleaded with you to see how I would..." I said, "Ah, thank God, we just talked like that" and all of that. Eventually, when it came to my case, I was confused about something I was supposed to do. There was another man who understood what I was supposed to do better. The man now called the other and said, "Come, come and act as this man for me. Help him do the arrangement, do everything." Within, what would have taken me about an hour took me just 15 minutes because God led people to come and assist. When I was going, I said, "Ah, thank you, sir." He said, "Ah, big God, you have blessed somebody, God must bless you too." He just said that. But it made a lot of meaning to me. He said, "Big God, look at how you bless somebody, pity for somebody, big God must bless for you." What am I trying to say? There is a connection between what God—I pray God for speed. But I didn't know that it was connected to being kind to somebody. I didn't know the type things. I didn't know they were coming. You see, the more you made me see that, look, it's not a prophecy this year. We must understand that whatever God want to do with your life, the ultimate God want to do with that your life is about somebody connected to somebody, of somebody, from somebody, to somebody, for somebody, with somebody, from somebody. That is the reality of things. Whatsoever everything God have done in the history of mankind, it's about somebody was born, somebody went somewhere, Abraham married Sarah, gave birth to Jacob. It's about people. It's about everything God is doing is about people. We were able to come to a climax of our discussion last week and today is a time to go into serious intercession about these things. We want to take time to pray. We want to pray before we pick another series about this discipleship class. And I would not be the one leading the prayer. I have invited my wife to lead us in prayers. I just want us to pray about all of these things that we are looking at. Maybe there are people you have tied in your own heart that you need to forgive. Maybe there are people you have said, "God forbid, let the person die inside that well." If the person dies inside that well, the bridge of your life, you may never get that bridge again. The person may be the bridge. Maybe there are people you need to look at your heart again and look at how you have related to them. Maybe people you have not been true to, you have not been sincere with, you have been unjust to. I don't know whatever it is. But I know God want us to profit. And God, the way God is bringing that profit, is addressing our network with people. Because that thing that God wants to do for you is about somebody. And your connection, how you will connect, how all of things will connect, hinges on our character. Let's work on how we see people. The Shunammite woman, it was just character that gave her a blessing. It was not so much intercession and prayer, it was character. I want to invite my wife to come and take over from this point. Come and lead us in this prayer session. [Speaker 2] Praise the Lord. Praise Master Jesus. Okay, we thank God for this few minutes God will help us to pray. Based on what he has been teaching us from the beginning of this year. And Daddy has done justice relating it to us again from day one. And so there will not be any need talking about it again. It's just for us to pray. And for those of us that are just coming for the first time, I'm very sure with that summary, an excellent summary, you know what we have done in the past four weeks. Is that not? And we could see the needs for prayer. Because the demand of God, if you look at the demand of God and where he stands, you will know that we need God to put us into that place. We really need God. So the first thing I want us to do is to thank the Lord. Let's appreciate God for even revealing his mind to us. I want you to pray. Let's thank God for revealing his mind to us, that he want to teach us to profit. This is what every one of us desires. Every one of us desire to profit. In fact, all our life we've been seeking profit. We've been looking for how to profit. Only God knows, maybe we were using the drug for headache to treat stomach ache. And of course, there won't be any result. But by the grace of God, we have seen from this teaching God waking us to see how to connect. Let's thank the Lord that it is even the desire of our God. In that Isaiah 48:17, said he is the Lord who teaches us to profit. His desire is to make us profit. And we should bless God for that. We have a God that in spite of our inabilities, in spite of our imperfection, in spite of our level to Him and our inability to even become like Him in His entirety, thank God for what Jesus has done. Yet his desire is to see us profit. Lord, we are grateful. We thank You for Your desire for us this year. And You are ready to teach us. It takes teaching. You know one thing that I could just also remember from this place is when you also look at that grace that brings salvation in Titus. Bible say the grace that bring salvation has appeared unto all men. That grace does something again: teaching. Teaching. It says teaching you to say no to ungodliness. Teaching you to say no to worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this age and in the age to come, waiting for the glory, the appearing of our Lord. It is this same method: teaching. Thank You, Lord. Lord, please give me a teachable heart. You will go nowhere if your heart is not teachable. You will not go far, I will not go far if I think I know it all. If my heart is not teachable when the method of God is to teach us to profit. Can you see that we need a teachable heart? Let's ask God. God, please give me teachable heart. Give me teachable heart. Call upon grace. Say, "Grace, teach me." Grace is a person, and that person is the personality of God. Grace, please teach me. Bible say the grace of God that brings salvation, that brings profit, that brings deliverance—salvation is broad—has appeared. When you come to Jesus, He has appeared to you. And that grace is still all over the world seeking you and say, "Jesus, here I am," so that He will appear. But the work of that grace is to teach you. Oh Lord, please give me teachable heart. Lord, please give us teachable heart. Please circumcise my heart. Please help me to learn. Oh Lord, help me to learn. What do you know? What is your level? What is your height? That you think you know something or you think you are something? You are nothing. Because when grace teaches, you will keep learning. You will never graduate from the school of God. Said the Lord, "Please I enroll in the school of God." Father, I enroll in Your school. Teach me. Teach me to profit. Please teach me to say no. No. We have seen a lot of things. No to ungodliness. No to worldly lusts. No to complex, superiority complex, arrogance. No to any form of evil relationship. Help me to say no. Help me to say no. Grace, please teach me to say no. Why the enemy is giving me different suggestions? When he is making me to walk based on things around me or whatsoever it might be done for me or done against me? Oh Grace, please teach me to say no. Teach me to say no. Call upon grace to teach you. Bible say this grace will appear to you. He has appeared to others. Ask the Lord, "Teach me. Teach me to say no to every ungodliness. Teach me, Grace. You are in the business of teaching. That is how I will profit. That is how we will make it. That is how we will succeed. That is how I will do Your will. That is how You will give me my inheritance." Oh Grace, please teach me. Give me teachable heart. Please give me teachable heart. Help me to learn. Ah, I want to learn. I know nothing. Please help me to learn. I submit myself to You. Grace, please teach me in the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. We also saw means by which grace will teach us this year. We know grace is God. It's God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. It's everything about God. And when He says He's teaching us to profit, His grace that will do the work. And that grace has appeared. It has appeared to us even this year inside this place. From January first to date, all the teachings that has been coming is grace. It's grace that has been appearing to us and He has been teaching us. I want us to ask the Lord even again this year. We learn again how to make. What are the steps to be taken? We saw through our obedience. Children's obedience to parents. Parents' obedience to the Lord. Obedience. Whatsoever God has committed into your faithfulness. We saw when the heart was lost. We saw how God, through obedience, Saul was able to obtain the kingship that God promised. We saw through obedience how the life of many children enter into God's purpose. The young ones here today, call upon the Lord. Do you want to profit? Ask the Lord. Check your heart. Where have you lived a disobedient life? Where have you done things that you think you are outsmarting somebody, or you outsmarting your parents? Are you somebody that submit to the authority of your parents? Think inward. Look inward. Think. Is there anything to repent from? God is ever ready. Are you willing to profit this year? Are you willing to profit with God? Ask the Lord to have mercy upon you. If you know you have blown it up at a time, there is always a grace. There is always a grace that appeared. And that grace is appearing now to you. Call upon the Lord that you are sorry and ask the Lord that, "Now Lord, I'm ready. Lord, I'm ready. Please help me. Please help me, oh Lord. Please help me to be faithful. Help me, oh Lord, to submit, to be obedient, to honor my parents. The best honor you will give your parents is to do their bidding." Not to live a hypocritical life. Not to defeat them. You are going towards the north, you tell them you are going towards the south. You are only cheating yourself. And for us adults, how is our obedience unto the Lord? How is our obedience to His instruction? How is our obedience to His ways? How is our obedience? Yes, call upon the Lord. Lord, please help us. Obedience to obvious command of God. Are you still waiting for God to come and speak through an angel for you to know what the Lord has said in His word? Obvious command of God. Obvious command and instruction of God. God, help us to be obedient. Help us to be obedient in the name of Jesus. We shall live obedient life this year more than ever before. We will submit to the word of God. We will live by the word of God. Oh Lord, please let us value, let us lift up the word of God more than our desires, oh Lord, in the name of Jesus. Pray. Ask the Lord to help you to live obedient life. We also learned that your heart attitude to the obvious command of God will determine whether God will give you further command. What is your heart attitude to obvious command of God? Do you want to profit? Many believers, many of us, we excuse, we explain away. Bible is yours. That is the Bible. We want to do what is in our mind. You want to satisfy your whatsoever it may be—that is how I want it done. It may be your hunger, you just want to satisfy the flesh. Against the word of God. If you do not obey the obvious command of God, God will not give us further instruction. Further instruction. The steps you will take to profit. What you need to do to profit. The wisdom you need to profit. The people you need to profit. Call upon God. "Please help me. Help me, oh Lord, to obey the obvious command of God." Bible talks about loving one another. Anyone who does not love his father, the brother, the love of God is not in him. If you could not love the brother you have seen, how could you say you love God that you have not seen? This is clearly written in the word of God. And we are talking about profiting. God esteem relationship. God esteem investing into men, investing into human, as one of His major way of profiting. And that's the reason why we will not look away from obvious command of love, of forbearance, of forgiveness, of being kind. Let us ask the Lord, "God, please help me." Some of us are so low, we're so callous and wicked. So callous and wicked. We are only good when we get things from people that you know it's only what to get. But when it comes to just being good, you will look for every means by which you must be paid back. You are not sacrificial in anything. It must be what you are being paid back for. That is when your Christianity is being written. That is when... Love your neighbor as yourself. Even Bible say pray for those who hate you. Pray for those who despitefully use you. There is an express command of God. Let's ask the Lord, "Please help me. Help me, oh Lord, to obey You. Help me to live according to Your word." So that when You want to give instruction for my life, when I need further instruction, when I need further help, Lord You will find me worthy. Ask the Lord. "God, please help me. Lord, please help me in the name of Jesus." Every relationship you are into is a test. Is a test. He said if you are faithful in earthly things, who will commit to you your own inheritance, heavenly inheritance? Every relationship you are into is a test. Are you a brother? Are you a sister? You're into relationship with—maybe relationship of courtship. And you are taking advantage of the other person? Are you somebody in a subordinate? You are the boss, you are taking advantage of the person under you? Are you even somebody that is under? You are taking advantage of the one above you because in the name of pressure, taking advantage of one another? Not knowing the place of where everyone of us gets to. Ask the Lord. Such a thing will deprive you of your own inheritance. It will deprive you of your own blessing. Ask the Lord. "Please help me in every of my relationship. In everywhere I find myself. Oh, even if others are not faithful, please help me to play my part of faithfulness. Because You are sowing a seed. Because I am sowing seed. I will... whatsoever a man sow, that he will reap. In the name of Jesus." Help us to sow seed that will attract more blessings, further instruction for us to profit. Help us in our behavior, in our relationship, in our attitude, in our working with other people in secret and in open, that we will be true. So that we will not miss our own inheritance. You will not miss that which belongs to us. So that God will not deprive us of them. So that we will not miss God's command and how to profit. In the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, help us. In Jesus' name we pray. And lastly, the ultimate things God want to do with our lives is connected with our relationship with others. And if you look at life generally, where you are excelling, it will be you and the people you are selling to. Is it your workplace, is it school? You must have contact with others. What are you doing with your relationship? Undue advantage. This is just how to summarize it. Undue advantage. There are some advantages you take people for granted, you take advantage of them, that are sinful. Even if it is not known to anybody, search your heart. Search your heart. God's ultimate way, plan, His ultimate plan to do with any man's life is tied to your relationship. Are you true? Are you true? So true, so true. And that is the reason why we will call upon God. "Please help me." What makes man not to be true is selfishness. Selfishness. Ask the Lord. "Please help me to trust You enough and not be selfish." When we don't trust God and we think we want to get things by our own way, this is when we begin to misbehave. Lord, help me to trust You. Take away selfishness from me. Help me, oh Lord, to be true in all my relationship. Help me, oh Lord, not to be a betrayer. Who have you betrayed? Come upon God the Lord today. "Please help me. Help me that I will be more concerned. I will pay attention. I will be careful. I will be careful in my relationship with other people. I will be careful, I will be thoughtful. When I take steps, when I do things, I will do with thoughtfulness. Not taking the others for granted. No, please help us in the name of Jesus." Ask the Lord so that what God want to do with my life, I will not miss it. Oh, what God want to do with my life, I will not miss it. Are you a student? That your sister classmate? Ah, because you are very brilliant in class, they come to you for lesson. "Come and put me through for me." Because of that, you are looking for how to assault them. Begin to do ungodly things with them. Taking advantage. There are so many way people can take advantage of the other people. May God deliver us. May God open our eyes to where we are taking advantage of others. May God deliver us when we are not true to others. Open our eyes to see it. So that we will not rob ourselves of the profit God want to make with our life in the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, help us. And don't get weary. You want to do good when it is comfortable. When it is being acknowledged. When it's being appreciated. Bible saying, "Let us not grow weary in doing good." That means in your doing good, you could find situation that makes you grow weary. That once make you say, "Phew! Pack your thing. I'm not going to do it again." But Bible says do not grow weary. When you say you want to grow weary, you are sowing to the flesh. The flesh is making you to feel the heat. Though the heat may be there, though it may be a lot, but remember that the Lord says that you will not be weary. Ask the Lord, "Please help me not to be weary." There are situations that will make you grow weary in your relationship. There are relationships like—"Ah-ah! Ah-ah!" You know there's this thing we say generally, that it is we brethren that take ourselves for granted. We so much take each other for granted. Why you will not do to a stranger—"Ah, she's brother now. She's you now. She's you now." And with that, you make people to grow weary. No encouragement. No—nothing to fan the other people to flow. But the Lord said, "Don't look at that. Come upon the Lord." I want to make profit. Oh, Lord help me not to be weary in well doing. Even when my heart is so faint. Help me not to give in to the flesh. Help me not to sow to the flesh. I will not grow weary. Please help me not to grow weary in doing good. Because in due season, any time you want to go weary, remember due season. That due season will not come from the person. Lord, please help me not to grow weary. Please help me not to grow weary, because in due season I shall reap if you do not lose heart. Can you see that? If you do not lose heart. If you do not lose heart. Brethren, what we will guide against in your profiting this year and the rest of your life is that level of your relationship. Anything that wants you to lose heart and want you to stop doing good and be weary, confront the cross. Say, "No, I will not." I will not be weary. I refuse. God help me. Call upon the Lord. "I'm getting weary, oh Lord, please help me. I'm not receiving encouragement. Oh Lord, I'm dying. Oh Lord, I'm dying. Help me." They won't even help me. Call upon the Lord that Lord I will come upon You. I will keep looking up to You. Help me not to lose heart. Because it's important. My relationship is important. And any relationship you find yourself, oh ask the Lord, "Nothing of the person contribute to my weariness in well doing. Lord, You will teach me the formula to use. You will teach me what to say. You will teach me what to do. Please help me. The bottom line is that don't let me get weary. Don't let me be weary in well doing. Please don't let me be weary. Don't let me lose my heart. Because there is a due reward at the right time. I'm expecting reward from You and not from anybody. Oh Lord, help me so that I will keep looking up to Him." Ask the Lord. "Only You will help me. You will teach me because You are so so so good." So that I will not be weary in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. And many a times, particularly those we trust, give us the wisdom. Help me, oh Lord. Help me, oh Lord, in the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, ask the Lord God will help us. Teach us the wisdom. You are going to teach us to profit. One of the teaching You will be—You will give us Joker. You will give us the method making profit. Kindness. We saw this three examples. When David was to go, when the Amalekites came and took—and enemy like an army like—enemy of Israel. But later they discovered that, "Ah, don't let him go. He may turn against you." They came back. Getting to the camp, all their wives, children, property had been carted away by the Amalekites. They wept, and later Bible talk about David strengthening himself in the Lord. That is also part of God teaching us. And he told David, "Go. Pursue, you will overtake and you will recover." While he was going, he saw one of the Amalekite—slave or servant of all the armies of the Amalekites—and they picked up the man. They fed him, they gave him water. When he was his strength was revived, he started asking some questions: "Where are you from?" You must be in a hurry to go and recover all that belong to you and all His troop to go and recover. But he took time to show kindness to that man. And that kindness made the prophecy of God came to pass over their life. That kindness, that simple kindness... You know why David? They fed the boy. And the boy now told them, "Me and my people, my oga, we came from the Amalekites, and on that mission, we came to raid Negab by here." I can't remember the name of the place now. "And when we were coming back, because I was sick on the way, my oga just left me here. My oga just left me here to die." And on top of that, they left him there to die. That was an evil heart, from the boss, from the Amalekite. But for David, he kinded. He picked up the boy, dressed him, and he was the one that showed them, led them to where the people were. While they were jubilating, the troop of David came upon them unknowingly, wiped them all, recover all that belonged to them, and even had loot of war. Simple kindness. And for the Amalekite, what was their own? Simple wickedness. Inconsiderate. "Help him die there, nonsense." Not knowing that that thing they left would be what will trail them to their own destruction. Let us ask about kindness. About being kind. Being kind to other people. We also saw it on the Good Samaritan in the Bible. Everybody were just "vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom." The priest came, the Levite came. All of them were too busy, too busy on legitimate things, and never paying attention to an injured person. And Jesus told us something. Said, "Who was the neighbor, the man's neighbor?" That Samaritan, a neighbor, someone that knows. He's someone that you will be looking away from to business. You will pay attention to people in their different situation. So we want to ask the Lord. You know many a times, we can be too busy to pay attention. You are so—we can be so engrossed by what we do. And many a times it comes of lack of trust in God. We believe that it's by our working, or it's by the amount of time, or "Ah, I have to do this, what will you do?" What have you done that can give you profit? It's God that brings increase. It's God who brings profit over your work. There's nothing you can do about it. Slog from morning till night, you may just be eating worms, you may be eating like an ant and you'll be working like elephant. That will not be our portion in Jesus' name. So in no matter what we do, we want to ask the Lord. We want to come from this passage again. Kindness is another way of making profit. Kindness. Kindness. I read this story of many of our—some of our past leaders in Nigeria, who was once a soldier. When his time of downfall came and he was kept in prison and he was to be killed, it was all the junior junior junior—all the corporal, maybe at that time, or sergeant. When he was their oga, it was those ones that had risen to high status arranged the connection and connected for his release. If he or I were in that shoe, are they going to look for my release or "Thank God, this is a good time to get rid of this thing?" Because he has always been a helpful thing to every man that connected. We also heard of what happened in Ondo State recently. Why the new governor solved the former cabinet. And when some people were leaving their office, one commissioner had to go and call mopol. He locked himself in his office to call police to come and whisk him out of the compound. How come and see how many of us watch the video or read the news? They wanted to stone him to death. "Aha! You are no longer our oga now!" The whole total rising up against the edge. And somebody else was going, they were crying. Can you see life? And who knows when you will meet these people. Every act of kindness of goodness, they are all seeds you are sowing. Every act of evil, they are all seeds you are sowing. And that is the reason why we have to... So when you had instruction of profiting, and what you are sowing there is evil seed, we promise ones? No. We want to ask the Lord, "God please create in me a new heart. Renew the right spirit. The spirit of kindness. A new heart, the heart of Jesus." Jesus is the one that told us to pray for our enemies. He's the one that told us we should pray for our enemies. He's the one we should pray for those who despitefully use us. He said we should bless in place of blessing—yes, we should bless in place of cursing. "Create in me a new heart." My salvation should not just be in the mouth. It's not only that I'm born again. Let's see it by my everyday living. "Please give me a heart of kindness. Help me to be kind." When you are being kind, you are doing for yourself. It is not for anybody. It is coming back. It's going to come back pressed down, shaken together and running over. The best way you sow seed, the manner, the amount, the quality, it comes back, it comes back fire. Ask the Lord, "God please give me. Give me the heart of kindness. Help me to be kind to everyone." Bible did not tell me for believer. Be kind, do good to everyone. Especially those who are in the household of faith. As much as lies in you, shine in your own little corner. Lord, please help me. Help me, oh Lord, in my relationship. Give me a kind heart. Give me a kind heart. Give me a heart that would not be selfish. A heart that will consider others in the name of Jesus. Help me, Lord. Help me, oh Lord. Help me in my relationship. Give me a kind heart. Give me a kind heart. Give me a heart that would not temperance—as you feel—doesn't tell me everywhere. Help me, a heart that is not convenient for me, oh it is not convenient, that is all. No, that is not the life. That is not the life. When it is not convenient, keep doing. When you don't have anything, keep doing. When you don't have anything, keep doing. Don't believe those instructions that somebody's coming and say, "Hey! Sorry. Ah, I did not save for..." That's grace. That's mercy. Some people, they will not be beaten as dead. Some people, there'll be an opportunity for the Samaritan to pick them. There will not be any opportunity to pick them. They will just package their carry and go down deep into the personality. Ah, let mercy speak for me even when I miss the road. Let mercy speak for me. We'll trace myself. Bring me back to my senses. Correct me. Help me to not to eventually destroyed. I will not continue until eventually destroyed. In the mighty name of Jesus. Let mercy find me. Let mercy help me. Let mercy pick me up. Let mercy indirect me. Let mercy nurture me and nurse me. Let mercy help me to eventually work for my wound to be healed. Ah, Lord help me. Help me, help me, help me to work for my wound to be healed. Oh Lord, let grace find me. Let grace help me. Let mercy speak for me. Let's begin to appreciate God. Let's thank God for answers to our prayer. May 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. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. 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 hit. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; adolescents 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 out-reachings, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp, by the first bridge, Elere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Ijegere 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 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.