Walking With God 3102020

[Intro Music] Jesus, mountain of my victory, O mountain of my victory. He shall loose the chains of darkness, O mountain of my victory. He shall loose the chains of darkness, O mountain of my victory. He is our mountain of victory. [Speaker 1] Church's fellowship cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly homefront. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] Because of the season and the era that we are, you have to be diplomatic in your workplace. You have to have a sense of being—they wouldn't necessarily put it as being dubious, but they'll explain that oh, you have to be diplomatic. Diplomacy is explained. Abraham in the Bible was diplomatic about Sarah being his sister and not his wife, and so many many examples like that. But before I proceed, I'd like to explain some lay principle of our foundation basically on the scriptures. The Bible says all scriptures were given by the inspiration of God for correction, reproof, that the man of God is thoroughly polished for every good work. But the truth is that not every word of the Bible is prescribed. Some of the examples in the Bible only describe an event. So it makes those words descriptive, while some are prescriptive. They prescribe exactly how a believer should live their life. For example, the Bible talks about the story of Cain and Abel. There was a murder in the Bible. It only describes an event. It does not prescribe how a believer should live. Abraham took Hagar and Keturah, and it was a series of events in the life of Abraham. It was only describing the life of Abraham, not prescribing how a believer should live their life. When you look at things from all the angles of the scripture, you will have to understand that we are only to live on that which is prescribed. In the Bible, Abraham had more than one wife. Jacob, David, Solomon, they had a lot of wives. The Bible was only explaining how they lived their life. At the end of the life of Solomon, he came to say it is better to live with the wife of your youth, just one. So those events describe the Bible, describe the series of events. Romans 15:4 was talking about that all of these were for our examples and for our learning. So we are not to live our life basically on ideologies, principles, or philosophies that were coined out by men. Man, human in itself, a man has the ability to get an information and expose it, expound it to suit himself. Man is smart and wise, but the life of a man is not in his hands. The Bible says that we are bought with a price. So glorify the Lord in your body, even in your actions, in your deeds. So every of those things are just—I’m just trying to lay a background about character and the life of a believer. Matthew that we read talked about light and salt. One thing I understand about light is that as much as light is very powerful, at the dawn of every day, you don’t hear a sound. You don’t hear a major sound that announces the birth of a new day. It’s a noiseless effect. When light comes, it does not announce itself that it is here. "Oh, I'm here. I'm around. I want to—okay, you should identify that I'm here, I'm seated." Light does not make noise. His effect is felt because of his impact. So is salt. Salt is an additive for food to impact flavor, to impact taste. It’s a form of preservative. It gives essence and life to food. It preserves, it keeps. But with all the advantages of salt, all the peculiar characteristics that salt has in itself, its effect is noiseless. So if God in itself, that is Jesus, is now explaining that believers are synonymous to both light and salt, to me, it means that we are to live noiseless lives. I don’t mean I don’t have issues with your social media feed, I don’t have issues with you making impact. I mean your impact should be felt without noise. And he ascribed that God gets glory from the life that we live. He says that men may see your good works, not just hear about your good works, but see the effect of your life and give glory to God, to your Father which is in heaven. So the major question is how have you been living your lives? We are millennials, 21st-century believers, and we celebrate the grace of God upon people's lives. Sincerely, I appreciate men that are anointed. I appreciate men that are gifted. But the truth is, character and charisma are not synonymous. They are two distinct things. I have friends that are blessed. I have friends that have gifts. But the truth is, they are the gifts of God. They are without repentance. But the gift of God that is without repentance does not really define the man. The word charisma is from—not necessarily from, but I'd like to split it into two words, from the word "charis" and "man". Man means human. Charis means grace. It means a man that is graced. So a man with charisma is just a man that carry grace. It’s very simple. But if you look at the life of a man from the perspective of his workings, from the perspective of his grace, not the perspective of his intelligence, his character, and the totality of what makes a man. When Moses was going to deliver the children of Israel, he was asking God that, "Who do I tell the people that sent me?" He says, "Tell them that I am that I am. Tell them I am who I am. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am the God from the beginning. I am the God from the Garden of Eden. I am who I was. I am who I am now, and I am who I will still remain to be." It talks about the integrity and the nature of God. So looking at it all together, we are expected to live a life of Christ. We are expected to be like Jesus. And Jesus mentioned that, "He that has seen me has seen the father," meaning we are expected to be men and women of our words. It’s not just high-sounding revelations. The problem with youth of our generation is that we are people of knowledge. I don't know wherever you are listening from, but the truth is, if you mention grace, you know about grace. If you mention mercy, you know about mercy. If you mention the coming of Jesus, you know about the coming of Jesus. Name the topic that they want to mention as a regular believer, you might have one or two things to talk about. But sit down and now let's talk about grace for two hours. You realize that you really don't know about grace as you think you know, because it is a symptoms of this generation, it is being vast without depth. It is having a vast understanding about a lot of things but still not having an in-depth understanding about specific things, about the foundation of the life of a believer, about who a believer ought to be, about the character and the nature of God. Paul said in Hebrews that when you ought to be teachers, you needed people to take you back through the basics. So before I delve too much out of what we were talking about, we're looking at the character and the nature of a believer. Character, basically. Because we’ve been on character series for a while, character. And one of the symptoms of our generation is that we are known to produce things with glamour but lacks durability. You want everything to be glamorous. You want things to appeal to people. You want things to—some people like the idea of being in a relationship than being in the relationship. They want to be proposed to in the eye of the public. You want things to go glamorous. You want to always give an update on your Instagram feed about your relationship, but you really don't know what keeps a relationship, what will make your relationship durable. You really don't know. But you're so concerned about the euphoria of it. You're very concerned about the ceremony of a wedding than the preparedness of how you are for the marriage itself. I pray the Lord will give us understanding in the name of Jesus. Looking at Galatians 5 from verse 22 to 23, talking about the fruit of the spirit, the fruit of the spirit expresses who a believer should be, the character of a believer. When you talk about relationship now—let me come to this part of Nigeria that we are. You go to a parent and you tell them that you are persuaded about this person, especially if you don't have a believing parent, you're not privileged to have your parent to be believers. They ask you basic questions. "Who is she? Where is she from?" They will ask you, "Does she have character?" The definition of character in our setting means: Is she homely? Is she respectful? Does she know how to do some basic things? Is she a homemaker? But the truth is that the Bible is telling us here about character in the fruit of the spirit. It talks about gentleness, meekness, faithfulness, patience, longsuffering. The summary of all of those things are what makes a believer. [Glitch/Interference] Last month Daddy was explaining—power consistency is the ability to stay at it until it works. You're probably in a relationship and you're courting a young man that is not financially stable yet. I'm not saying you should marry a man that is not financially stable. It's important. Finance is key. Bills has to be paid. But he's probably struggling in some things and you don't see yourself as someone, okay, you have a plan that you want to do this, you want to do that. You have an idea of how your relationship should look like. I was discussing with a brother yesterday and we were talking about a lot of things. And he was expressing that he wants his relationship to go this way, he wants his life to go this way, he wants things—he had a lot of experience about a lot of people's relationship and he does not want things to go that way. That's beautiful. We all have expectations and desire and the way we want our life to turn out. But the truth is that Bible says that we are bought with a price. What God wants to do with your life, you might have an idea, but you don't know the pathway which God wants to take. So the experiences that comes your way are to be embraced. As you grow through the process, God places you in a place where probably you're not treated in the best way that you're supposed to be treated or you are under a boss that is not giving you the full value or the credit which you think you deserve. But one way or the other, you are trained to be patient. One way or the other, you are learning to endure. And those things transform you gradually. We read the Bible every day. The Bible says that as we behold him in a glass, we are transformed, we are changed. But the truth of the matter is that God places us in strategic locations where our experiences shape us. Knowledge is important, knowledge is good. But Bible says knowledge puffs up but love edifies. The fruit of righteousness and the fruit of the spirit, they are—how would I put it now? The fruit of the spirit is love. But that love, in love, you're now expressing patience. When you love someone, you will be patient with the person. When you love someone, you will endure. When you love someone, you will be faithful. So there is a need for us to understand that the essence of our staying power is important. Where you stay. Daddy was talking last month that sometimes God gives you a word that this and this and this. For example now, the Lord declares that in your career path you're going to do this, you're going to do that, and things seems as if they are not connecting. Things seems as if there is no connection between that which God has spoken and that which you are seeing. That is where the essence of your staying power is important. The power of consistency, you have to stay at it. The word of God transforms, yes. The word of God molds. But there is a need for us to understand. Paul said in Hebrews that he has learned to abound and to abase. But the essence of abounding and abasing of Paul was for the work to be done. What does it mean? It means I've learned to live life where there is much and when there is less. He has understood what God has told him and he has stayed by it. That is character. That is the essence of what we're talking about. But that character, how does it really comes? We have known about the fruit of the spirit, we have known about the gift of the spirit. You see someone that is born again today and he's in a meeting where there is the move and power of God. You hear someone that is prophesying, someone that just gave his life maybe two, three weeks, laying hands and all of those things. Those things are the gift. Earlier I explained about the place of character and charisma. Your charisma, your gift, your—you can have a gift of public speaking, you can do a lot of things. Those are charisma. But your character has to be built. That’s why when you see a believer that is—an acclaimed believer. Okay, this is a brother. But some things in his life are not really looking like—this person is an acclaimed believer, but his life is not the way it is. That's the truth, it's very possible. The Bible says in John chapter 1 that in the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was God. And in verse 3, it says that the word is light and the light is the life of men. So there is a transformational process between the who you are now and the who you want to see. So you don't just say, "Okay, now we've been hearing about character, we've been hearing about a lot of things and my life still does not paint that picture. You still cannot see it in your life." The truth is I myself that is talking, there’s some things I see in my life and I wonder, "Lord, help me. These things should not be." I'm a young man and I sometimes have serious sexual urge. And I'm like, "Are these—am I okay?" Yes, I am. It’s a proof that I'm medically okay. But am I supposed to pursue that urge? No. That is where the place of consistency and character comes in. And you find yourself, okay, you have a sexual urge, you fall, you rise, you fall, you rise. I'm here to announce to you that stay with the word of God and claim what God has said concerning your life. The Bible says as we behold him like in a mirror, we are changed. Character transformation is a process. That is why you are to embrace the experiences that God is taking you through. It is to build you up. It is to mold you. I’ve had the privilege of handling people's money, finance, huge sum of money, and I was broke. I’ve had the privilege of relating with young ladies, like beautiful young ladies, and I'm single. I'm attracted to these people sexually now, not just, "Sister, God bless you," like real sexual urge. Can I misbehave and I will say, "Oh, God forgive me," and come back to God? Yes, there is that possibility. But the difference between a man that wants to pursue God and see a substantial change is a man that chooses the way of the Lord. It’s simple. Paul said, "Can we continue in sin and expect the grace of God to abound? No." There's a place for the grace of God, oh, you have misbehaved. God can make arrangement for your sin, there's atonement for sin and all. But there's a place of you saying that no, we choose the way of the Lord. We choose to live our lives as an express image of the Son. The first scripture we read was about Matthew chapter 5, talking about that light and salt. Every single step you take keeps a trail. And your life might be hidden, your life might be open. The truth is that your life is before the Father as plain. You think that you might—there's some things that you feel that oh, if I do this thing I'm going to—I can get away with it. If I do this, I can—no, sincerely, you—I hear some people say oh, as a young man, you can walk with the Lord and not have issues. Some people just come with a bogus acclaim that oh, you can just live your life the way you want, you can just—some people talk about that because they really don't have the privilege to afford some kind of sin. You're living with your parents, you don't have privacy, you're still a student. You have the privilege of, oh, you can keep yourself. But you're living alone, you can afford a hotel room, you have a contact on your list, maybe on your WhatsApp, of somebody that you can call that, "Oh, let's spend the night together," as a young lady. And the person will respond. Those things are always available. But the place of character development is not just for yourself. The moment you realize that your life is beyond you, it helps you to put yourself in order. That men might see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Your actions, your steps, your decision, it either give glory to God or put shame on the name of God. People see you in the office, you're the one that is holding this one in an unlawful way. When you work in an office, in a corporate setting, everybody mingles together. We are all—you're in the office, oh, we hug each other, we—but there's a way you can live your life and portray yourself and there will be a clear distinction from those who know the Lord and those who does not know the Lord. In a way, you are ascribing glory to God. But if you live your life recklessly without a direction, without a focus, without the knowledge of God, it gives you the free will of living life anyhow. It gives you the free—you just want to live the free will of life. So that takes us to the basis of what can help you now to now live a life that can be consistent. If we keep saying that how can I be consistent? How can I live a life? How can I be patient on this? How can I do this? How can I avoid this? Okay, you're young, you have sexual urge. How can I avoid this? It’s by making a final resolution that you will take the word of God as your final authority. When you still have a perspective concerning something that—concerning finance, I'm not an internet fraudster, but I'm a procurement officer in my office. But I can change 10,000 to 20,000. I'm not doing yahoo. Am I? I'm just a procurement officer. It’s the way it should be. I can't come and die. I have to make money, my salary is not enough. There's enough excuse for that. There are a lot of windows for you to misbehave. But until you choose as an individual to make the word of God your final result—like if it does not align with the word of God, then I'm not going to do it. It’s simple. It’s simple, but not that simple. Until you have that resolute in your heart that—okay, concerning relationship. This is single's club, can we just talk about relationship? Now concerning relationship, you're not married, you're single, you're in a relationship with a lady. And it’s normal to hold hands, normal to do some—like in the setting that we are, she came to your house, she spent a night, you guys did not do anything, oh. You just spent the night and maybe you cuddled, sincerely nothing happened. But the truth that every of your steps keeps a trail. In your house that you're living, you're known as okay, Bro Innocent, this is Bro Innocent. And there is maybe somebody in your house that is a young believer and sees you as maybe a role model, and sees that you brought your fiancee over and nothing really happened actually. But how are you supposed to explain to men who are seeing you that they might see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven? That is what your life is supposed to be. It's as simple. Concerning life choices and decisions in life. I was to start a YouTube channel of recent, and a lot of people gave me ideas on what to do, what to do, what not to do. Those things were okay. But I actually checked my life as an individual that how does this particularly ascribe glory to God? Check question. When you want to make a move that really looks harmless, the question is in the moves that you're making, how does this particularly ascribe glory to God? Because if you don't put that in check, if you don't have a resolute on the word of God—I hear some people that they say that they just live their life as far as they don't harm anybody, hurt anybody, they are good. Or they are not committing sin. But you should check your life as a believer. It’s not about—I don't know if you're not a believer, but if you're a believer, your life is not your life. Galatians 2:20 talks about that I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. The life that I live is by the faith in the Son of God who died and gave himself for me. So there is an exchange of life at this point that it is your life for the life of Christ. The you is no more the you. Look at your circle of friends. Evil communication they say corrupt good manner. You might want to talk that I don't have a wrong conversation with people, I don't have wrong communication with them. But okay, look at the kind of people that you hang around with after office hours. It is called communion. It’s a form of entertainment. But the truth is, anything that entertains you, it enters you. Anything that entertains you, enters you. Look at your line of music. You wonder why you lack the strength, the inner strength to really live this life that we are talking about. Look at what you have been communing with. Look at line of your music. Do I know what is happening on Instagram? Yes. Do I know the recent musics? Yes. Do I commune with those musics? No. I relate with young people and I get to talk to them about relationship, about life on every matter. So I know what they listen to. I know how they think. I know how they see life in a perspective. That is why I had to listen to some of the things they listen to so as to help them in a way to put balance. But when you wake up in the morning, you play the playlist, or you plug your airpods or your iPhone, you look at the list, the playlist on your phone. I'm not making a mention of a particular song now or a particular movie or a particular kind of thing right now. But just look at those things and X-ray them with the consistency of the word of God. You realize that some of these things, most of these things, saps your strength. The reason why my own opinion, why the children of Israel were supposed to feed on manna was because of the strength they needed for the journey. But the people had the news from the ten spies. They saw it, but it was only Caleb and Joshua that was able to believe the stand of God concerning the matters that was spoken ahead. You go to church on Sunday. Now there is lockdown, you only get to do online service and all you feed on in line with the word of God is just maybe a few streaming from a couple of people and you don't really get to sit down with the word of God. The word of God builds inner strength. And that is the inner strength you need to live a life. If by your own self, you can really not do most of these things that we are talking about. I understand the pressure we experience in our society, in our community concerning pressures, sexual immorality in our community, in our society. But what empowers you to live above sin and live a life of righteousness, to be able to have a stand and a life that can give glory to God in heaven is one, a life of communion with the word. Two, a life of prayer. Activities grew in the church and there was contentions for food and priorities were shifting for the disciples and they had to delegate that oh, we cannot leave the place of the word of God and prayer and be serving tables. Because they understood that there is a need for them to remain at the place of the word and prayer. Look at your life sincerely, personally X-ray your life. If you have been consistent with the word of God or not. I'm not here to talk about either you're consistent or not. I'm here to make you see that you can if you place it as a priority. And I pray that the Lord will help us in the name of Jesus. I trust God that the strength, the strength to live a life of integrity, the strength to live a life of consistency that the Lord will give us in the name of Jesus. And I really just want to pick a few things and we look at why our youth are experiencing the dilemma between our youth right now about some basic things. Okay, we're looking at the world versus the word view. World, I mean W-O-R-L-D, the world system, versus the word view. Looking at the word view—I mentioned earlier about having a final resolution of the word of God as your model for life. Anything that has nothing to do with the word of God, you don't indulge in it. And I explained about the descriptive portion of the scripture and the prescriptive portion of the scripture that some portion of the scriptures only describe the scenario of the Bible while some are specifically describe—the Bible talks in Philippians that the foundation of the Lord standeth sure having this seal, that those that nameth the name of the Lord should depart from iniquity. Iniquity begins from the heart. And by the time you don't see some simple, simple things as iniquitous act. For example, soft porn for example. Some movies are rated 18, some movies are rated PG, some movies are rated 16, some are just for the entire public. Some are children related and all. You know that this particular movie is generally accepted by the society. For example, they just concluded Big Brother Naija. It’s for example, oh, why not? Nothing happened in Big Brother, you're an adult, you have the capacity to watch. Who is holding you? You have a mind of your own and you can decide either to or not. But that is a form of communion. Proverbs says, guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it proceeds the issues of life. The issues of life. There are some things you will do spontaneously. Why? Because there have been building blocks that will facilitate that decision in your heart. Because you have been feeding on so many things. The internet is all over, you get a lot of things from the internet, from movies, from books, from even the community. But if you don't take conscious efforts to guard your heart, you will lack the capacity and the strength to take some major decisions in life. If you have had a world view of: as a sister, if you don't have a house, a car, you should have a job and what else? You have placed a standard in your heart that this is my standpoint of who a marriage partner should be. You have like, okay, this is what I want. I went to Harvard, I have my Master's degree, I have a Ph.D. in law and nobody is saying you should marry a nuisance. But the truth of the matter is that you only have an idea of what your life should look like, you do not have the total template of what your life is. So building up a monument in your heart will not allow you to expressly express this life we are talking about. And how do monuments build? How do foot-holds become strongholds? How do all of these things—I'm from a kind of background where okay, and you like okay, if I tell my parents that oh, Dad, I want to get married and she's pregnant, the pregnancy is six months and we want to marry in December. "Oh, she's pregnant, o ti loyun, she's pregnant, that's okay, it's fine." It’s fine. That's my background from back, like who cares? Nobody cares that oh, she's pregnant, that's okay, it's fine. We just go on with the wedding. But that's the view from where I'm coming from. But what is the word view, the consistency of the word of God about that your decision? Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled. That is the standard of God on the matter. But if you don't see that there is a need for you to have a final resolution on the word of God, there's no bridge, there's no gray area on the matter on sexual purity, on abstinence, on integrity, on obedience, on faithfulness. It’s either you are faithful or you're unfaithful. It's either you have integrity or you don't. You might live a showman life that oh, everybody sees you as oh, this man is this and—I wanted to buy something from someone and I was telling another fellow that oh, I want to buy this from this person, it’s Pastor So-and-so. And the person was like, "Ah, is that guy a pastor?" And I was like, "Yes, they call him pastor." He's like, "No, he's not, he cannot be a pastor. Because of the way I've dealt with him over the years that no, dealing with this guy, this guy is a dubious person, he cannot be addressed as a pastor." So either you're a pastor or you're not, having a final resolution on the word of God is what can help you, what can aid and also facilitate living a life of integrity. Because you might be caught in corners where it really does not count, nobody knows, nobody is watching. Nobody even people might never be aware of the event or occurrence or scenario. But as believer that you are, that you have made your final resolution that I choose the way of the Lord. That will help you to make a decision. And I pray the Lord will help us all in the name of Jesus. So we'll just want us to pray. To pray few prayers. And those prayers will come in in line with life's alters, love for God. Many people's love are waxing cold. Sincerely, if you from this part of country where I'm from in Nigeria, as a young man or young lady, the pressure of the economy, you leave school and you want to get a job, you want to build a life for yourself, you want to start a home, start a family, you want to push for your career. There's a lot of pressure that can choke your walk and your love for God. And when your love and your work is choked, it you don't need an announcement. It is going to reflect in the way you live your life. It will reflect in your character, reflect in your relationship with others, reflect in your standard and core values. You want to leave the country, very fine, very beautiful. But how? You are a believer, you know, but you are really ready because of the pressure of the economy to doctor papers. They need three years experience but you have one. But you can connect from this person and this person to give you referral letters or whatever documentation you need to get out of this country because you just want to survive outside of the now. You want to live because of the financial pressure, the desire to start things, to be in a greener economy. But let me remind you, believers are not economic refugees running up and down from a location to another. We are people of who obey the instruction of the Lord and we plant in the land which the Lord has instructed us. We sow in the land either there is rain or no rain, we go as instructed. The Bible says Isaac sow in the land, in the land where there was no rain, but God instructed him and in that same year he reap a hundredfold. Result is important. But as much as result is important in life, we are not men seeking result. We are men only doing as we are bidden. We are men only doing as is instructed of the Father. We are not men that is we want to be recognized, we want to see things the way they are—won ma mo, let's know that we are following the Lord. No. All we want to do is do as we are told. The Lord might be raising in your heart as passionate as a missionary, but you believe that mission field, you can do it in Canada, you can do it in Australia, you can do it in Egypt, anywhere in the world but not Nigeria. And the Lord is calling your attention to your own town and you know there's no road to your town. You are concerned about the education of your children, how will your children go to school if you go and take a work of missionary in your community. I trust that the Lord will help our heart in the name of Jesus, that wherever that we might be as we behold ourselves in this word, wherever you see your life, wherever that the word of God is pointing you pointing your attention to, I trust God that we will embrace the word of God. And not be as a man just beholding himself and walking away, but a man ready to make proper adjustment embracing the call of Jesus again in the name of Jesus. Jesus was talking about that the Holy Ghost will teach us that which he has taught us. He will bring to remembrance. He says in verse 16, "I will pray the father, he shall give you another comforter that he might abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him and he dwelleth within you and shall be in you." The walk with the Lord is important. As you commune, as you commune with the Lord, you will get to understand the Spirit of God better. The Holy Spirit will reveal himself to you better via communion in the word and in prayers. Praying in tongues has been is like a thing of the now of this generation. Though not now since but this generation has become—you see, we had an experience then while we were on campus and I was with talking to a lady that fell into a sexual sin with a brother. And the brother the lady was a new convert, really did not know much. And she was—so she had to open up that this and this has been happening between herself and this so-and-so person. And the person that the other male brother that we know, we know him to be one of the brother just like Judas, sincerely he was amongst us but he was not one of us. It was at the end of the whole story while we left campus realized that he had he had a son outside already now. After outside of the wedding he's not married he had two sons already. And so many things, so many things. So she came out and was explaining that ah, this is what has been happening and I don't feel that this should be happening. She was a Muslim convert, she really did not know a lot. She was a very beautiful young lady, smart and all. But this brother was able to manipulate her telling her that this does not matter. Okay, we led her into Christ and she was baptized in Holy Spirit she was speaking in tongues and she the brother was supposed to follow her up and all and all the following up turned to having sexual relation with her and all. She he now told her after they had the sexual relation, she was he now told her that can you still speak in tongues? Oya speak. And she was still speaking and was like that nothing had happened, you're still in relationship with God, we're still this, we're still that. There has been in this experience that we are experiencing in this generation there has been we the youth of this now, even might not be youth older ones, this move of the spirit have been abused without the proper understanding of communion with the Lord. That you pray in tongues, some people just wake up in the morning and just open their mouth and pray in tongues abstractly without concentrating on anything, without a basis of the scripture, without an anchor on anything. The realm of the spirit is real. It's more real than the realm that we are because the things that are seen are made up of made from the invisible. But we have an anchor that holds and Jesus is our anchor. So you cannot have a relationship with the spirit in quote, Holy Spirit as they call it, without knowing Jesus. Because the spirit is supposed to open us up to that which Jesus has told us. Romans chapter 8 verse 28 talks about that we know not how to pray, that the Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmity. A man in himself is a bag of infirmity. We cannot do this work by our flesh. That is why the spirit helpeth our infirmity through communion. So the place of the Holy Spirit and our walk with Jesus is important. We are men of faith, we live not by sight. You know sometimes it looks as if some of these things are really not they are how can these things be really? In Exodus when they had an encounter with the snakes, the Bible says in John chapter 3 verse 14, he says that as Moses lift up the snakes in the wilderness, so shall the son of man be lifted up. The snake in the wilderness was an experience they had when they were bitten by serpents and Moses lifted up a snake and instructed the people to look at the snake. It really does not make sense. There's a venom, there's a snake bite, very real. You tell me you're now telling me to look at a snake, does not correlate. I am having financial issues, like real, I have to pay my rent in December and there is no where the money is going to come. And now I have an opportunity to make this money very fast and you're telling me to wait on the Lord? I have sexual urge, I'm burning with passion, I'm not married. There's a sister here we can quickly do something very fast and cool things down and go back to the Lord. You're telling me to what? To still wait on the Lord? The Bible says that those that wait on the Lord shall be renewed in strength. There is a strength required. You know, I'm not just going to tell us that okay, live a life of integrity, do this, don't do this, someone do this. There's a man that is owing me money, like business money. I'm supposed to buy something from him. And okay, we've been doing transactions for a while. And I gave you money, give me goods. Since February and he's not coming forth and I'm supposed to still be patient with him. Sincerely let's say things the way they are. By your own self, by your own self these things cannot be done. These things by your individual capacity, by my strength okay, I'm a disciplined person, I'm this, I'm that, no. You only believe you cannot take money because you have not seen enough money that will tempt you enough to take. Because you stole does not mean you are a thief. You are not thief because you stole. Before you stole you were a thief. It’s just that you have not had opportunity to steal. Not because—I mentioned earlier that there are some sin or practice that people don't indulge in not because they cannot indulge in it. Sincerely, you're broke, you can't afford a hotel room. You cannot. So it means you just stay away from that, you call it abstinence. You're under your parent, you don't have the privilege of moving the way you want or doing whatever you want. You know that by 4:30, 5, you're not at home, your phone is ringing already. You really don't have the luxury and the space. Not because you don't have that capacity to do them. But what we are really talking here is not all of that. We're talking about the strength to not even do when you have the leverage, the privilege, the opportunity to. We cannot overemphasize the place of our walk with God. The walk with God is not an abstract thing. Your walk with God is not that you serve in church. Your walk with God is not that you you you're a minister in songs. Maybe you're the next Dunsin Oyekan or Victoria Orenze, you can when you minister all of that. That has nothing to do with God. You know at the beginning of this, I tried to separate the difference between character and charisma. You might be talented and gifted, that has nothing to do with me. But your consistent, your continuous, and your intimate fellowship with the Lord cannot be exchanged. You know I pray that every altar that has lost fire will receive fire in the name of Jesus. Your walk might have been unstable before now, I pray that the Lord will give you strength to stay with him till you are endued in the name of Jesus. You know this our generation we like drama, we like to see people fall down, we like to see so many things happening. But beyond all of the falling down, when you fall down and rise, your life, your life is what we are talking about. This might really not apply to you if you have not committed your totality to walk with Jesus. You have not decided in your heart that oh, I choose the way of the Lord. That's fine. We know where we pick that from. But I encourage you that if you're listening that you should take a walk with the Lord. Time and eternity are two different things. Your eternity is important. Even your time on earth is also important. Because your eternity is a reflection of your time spent now. How you live your life now will reflect in your eternity. If all God wanted for you was for you to get saved, why you were saved there will have been a technology to translocate you from time to eternity. But beyond your salvation, it is that you be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And the truth is not words that are true. The truth is a personality. The truth is an individual. The truth is the Godman, Jesus. That is why I encourage you this morning or whatever the time where you're listening that there is a need for you to come to a consistent walk with the Lord. And I pray that the Lord will help you in the name of Jesus. You know I just want us to pray. To pray few prayers. And those prayers will come in in line with life's altars, love for God. Many people's love are waxing cold. Sincerely, if you from this part of country where I'm from in Nigeria, as a young man or young lady, the pressure of the economy, you leave school and you want to get a job, you want to build a life for yourself, you want to start a home, start a family, you want to push for your career. There's a lot of pressure that can choke your walk and your love for God. And when your love and your work is choked, it you don't need an announcement. It is going to reflect in the way you live your life. It will reflect in your character, reflect in your relationship with others, reflect in your standard and core values. You want to leave the country, very fine, very beautiful. But how? You are a believer, you know, but you are really ready because of the pressure of the economy to doctor papers. They need three years experience but you have one. But you can connect from this person and this person to give you referral letters or whatever documentation you need to get out of this country because you just want to survive outside of the now. You want to live because of the financial pressure, the desire to start things, to be in a greener economy. But let me remind you, believers are not economic refugees running up and down from a location to another. We are people of who obey the instruction of the Lord and we plant in the land which the Lord has instructed us. We sow in the land either there is rain or no rain, we go as instructed. The Bible says Isaac sow in the land, in the land where there was no rain, but God instructed him and in that same year he reap a hundredfold. Result is important. But as much as result is important in life, we are not men seeking result. We are men only doing as we are bidden. We are men only doing as is instructed of the Father. We are not men that is we want to be recognized, we want to see things the way they are—won ma mo, let's know that we are following the Lord. No. All we want to do is do as we are told. The Lord might be raising in your heart as passionate as a missionary, but you believe that mission field, you can do it in Canada, you can do it in Australia, you can do it in Egypt, anywhere in the world but not Nigeria. And the Lord is calling your attention to your own town and you know there's no road to your town. You are concerned about the education of your children, how will your children go to school if you go and take a work of missionary in your community. I trust that the Lord will help our heart in the name of Jesus. That wherever that we might be as we behold ourselves in this word, wherever you see your life, wherever that the word of God is pointing you pointing your attention to, I trust God that we will embrace the word of God. And not be as a man just beholding himself and walking away, but a man ready to make proper adjustment embracing the call of Jesus again in the name of Jesus. Jesus was talking about that the Holy Ghost will teach us that which he has taught us. He will bring to remembrance. He says in verse 16, "I will pray the father, he shall give you another comforter that he might abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him and he dwelleth within you and shall be in you." The walk with the Lord is important. As you commune, as you commune with the Lord, you will get to understand the Spirit of God better. The Holy Spirit will reveal himself to you better via communion in the word and in prayers. You know, I'm not just going to tell us that okay, live a life of integrity, do this, don't do this, someone do this. There's a man that is owing me money, like business money. I'm supposed to buy something from him. And okay, we've been doing transactions for a while. And I gave you money, give me goods. Since February and he's not coming forth and I'm supposed to still be patient with him. Sincerely let's say things the way they are. By your own self, by your own self these things cannot be done. These things by your individual capacity, by my strength okay, I'm a disciplined person, I'm this, I'm that, no. You only believe you cannot take money because you have not seen enough money that will tempt you enough to take. Because you stole does not mean you are a thief. You are not thief because you stole. Before you stole you were a thief. It’s just that you have not had opportunity to steal. Not because—I mentioned earlier that there are some sin or practice that people don't indulge in not because they cannot indulge in it. Sincerely, you're broke, you can't afford a hotel room. You cannot. So it means you just stay away from that, you call it abstinence. You're under your parent, you don't have the privilege of moving the way you want or doing whatever you want. You know that by 4:30, 5, you're not at home, your phone is ringing already. You really don't have the luxury and the space. Not because you don't have that capacity to do them. But what we are really talking here is not all of that. We're talking about the strength to not even do when you have the leverage, the privilege, the opportunity to. We cannot overemphasize the place of our walk with God. The walk with God is not an abstract thing. Your walk with God is not that you serve in church. Your walk with God is not that you you you're a minister in songs. Maybe you're the next Dunsin Oyekan or Victoria Orenze, you can when you minister all of that. That has nothing to do with God. You know at the beginning of this, I tried to separate the difference between character and charisma. You might be talented and gifted, that has nothing to do with me. But your consistent, your continuous, and your intimate fellowship with the Lord cannot be exchanged. I pray that every altar that has lost fire will receive fire in the name of Jesus. Your walk might have been unstable before now, I pray that the Lord will give you strength to stay with him till you are endued in the name of Jesus. You know this our generation we like drama, we like to see people fall down, we like to see so many things happening. But beyond all of the falling down, when you fall down and rise, your life, your life is what we are talking about. This might really not apply to you if you have not committed your totality to walk with Jesus. You have not decided in your heart that oh, I choose the way of the Lord. That's fine. We know where we pick that from. But I encourage you that if you're listening that you should take a walk with the Lord. Time and eternity are two different things. Your eternity is important. Even your time on earth is also important. Because your eternity is a reflection of your time spent now. How you live your life now will reflect in your eternity. If all God wanted for you was for you to get saved, why you were saved there will have been a technology to translocate you from time to eternity. But beyond your salvation, it is that you be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And the truth is not words that are true. The truth is a personality. The truth is an individual. The truth is the Godman, Jesus. That is why I encourage you this morning or whatever the time where you're listening that there is a need for you to come to a consistent walk with the Lord. And I pray that the Lord will help you in the name of Jesus. I just want us to pray. To pray few prayers. And those prayers will come in in line with life's altars, love for God. Lord, Lord, you will help my heart that your love, the love for your word—the Bible says in Psalm that your word have I found and I've ate it. That Lord, you help us Lord, that our heart will keep burning for your word in the name of Jesus, that consistently that we'll have a passion, an undying passion for you, an undying passion for your word, an undying passion for that which you want to do in our lives in the name of Jesus. That we'll not be men that is tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. We'll be men that are consistent. We'll be men that is standing by the word of God. We'll be men and women that have chose only the way of the Lord in the name of Jesus. That you help us, you help our heart in the name of Jesus. You give us the strength of heart to to be able to to live life as light and salt, giving glory and glory alone to the Father in the name of Jesus. Let's open our mouth and pray as we pray, as we as we say those words. That Lord, you help us. Personally let's open our heart and pray. That Lord, you help us, except you help us. Except you help us, we can do nothing of our own. Lord, we choose your—we embrace your help. Lord, we embrace your help. We choose your way. We choose your life in the name of Jesus. We choose all that you have planned and earmarked for us. Lord, wherever we have been having been planning to go outside of your way, outside of your plan, outside of alignment of your will for our lives, Lord, you help us Lord, that we'll choose your way in the name of Jesus. Let's pray that Lord, you put fresh fire on our altars in the name of Jesus, fresh fire, fresh fire, fresh fire for a walk, for a walk that our the fire on our altar will not go down in the name of Jesus. We'll be consistent in the name of Jesus. We'll be consistent in the place of our communion in the name of Jesus. Let's pray, let's pray, let's pray that Lord, you help us. Lord, except you help us. You said that we know not how to pray, we know not how to pray but your spirit helpeth our infirmities, our infirmities in the place of prayer, our infirmities in everything that we are doing. Lord, you help us that the Spirit of the Lord will be more real to us, that your presence will be more real to us in the name of Jesus. It will go beyond the level of being an abstract thing like as a religious thing to a more practical fellowship, to a more interactive session. Lord, you help us that our hearts, our hearts will be connected to you. Lord, you will heat our heart on fire for you in the name of Jesus. That our altars will glow will beam with fresh fire. Our altars will beam with fresh fire in the name of Jesus. Lord, we choose your help. Lord, your help. Lord, your help in the name of Jesus. Lord, your help, Lord, your help, Lord, your help. Lord, your help as we pick up your word, it will be new to us. As we pick up your word, there will be a renewal in our heart. As we pick up your word, there will be renewal in our heart in the name of Jesus. Lord, as we pick up your word, Lord, renewal, strength, strength to go all the way, strength to go all the way, strength to go all the way in the name of Jesus. We'll not be men tossed to and fro. We'll not be men going trying to escape an economy in either in any way, either dubious ways, any any form. We'll be young men and women, that will be men and women after your heart in the name of Jesus Christ. That Lord, we can be sure that we are building to last, not building to fail in the name of Jesus Christ. We trust in you for the son that you have used this morning that Lord, let there be renewal Lord of grace of all in the name of Jesus Christ. That Lord God Almighty, you will keep and you will preserve him. That Lord God Almighty as we'll be gathering again for another single's club next month, it will be a time of blessing again in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, blessed Father. Blessed be your holy name. In Jesus' name we have prayed. Let's share the grace together. 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 lives, 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 marriage 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 PM. Adolescents and single's club every first Saturday of every month at 10 AM. Marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10 AM. Family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Elere community, opposite The Rejoice 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 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you.