WE REALLY CAN OWN NOTHING (Final Charge 2)

[Background music: “We Shall Overcome”] [Female Speaker] Shifting the focus from the more spiritual to the individual and family, Family Tent Ministry. God's Divine instruction in righteousness for Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you receive. [Male Speaker] He the Lord. Our God alone be praised. We thank Him again for the privilege, the opportunity to gather again this evening. We thank Him for life, we thank Him for preservation. We thank Him for how He has been helping us. We honestly, we are grateful to God for great grace and great glory. We cannot thank Him enough. As we gather again today to fellowship again around our most holy faith, to look into scriptures, taking the matter from where we left it last week, I trust in the Lord that as we all gather—we who are bringing the program to you, the class to you, we are here physically, our brethren who are joining us on Mixlr, our brethren who are joining us on Telegram—we trust in the Lord that in the name of Jesus Christ, it will be a time of visitation, a time of encounter, a time of refreshment in the name of Jesus Christ. We look up unto the Father this evening and we pray. We say, Lord our God, don't allow anything to prevail against Your purposes our lives. Let Your purposes for our individual lives cause this purpose to prevail in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes are on You. Our eyes rest on You, O Lord. Cause us that we may see the manifestation of Your hand, Your mighty hand, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Last week, we were looking at the final charge on we actually can own nothing in this life. We actually can own nothing. My intention, what I thought would happen last week, was that we would be able to round up. And so I said it was the final charge on that matter. However, as we began to look at scriptures together, we were not able to conclude the final charge. We were not able to finish up with the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 9 in relation to our text, which is 1 Timothy chapter 6 from verse 17 through to around verse 20-something thereabout. We noticed that we couldn't finish up last week. And so I'm tagging today's final, final rounding off as what we would call "Final Charge 2." Let's call it Final Charge 2 so that we know that we couldn't finish the final charge in the first meeting. We are able to finish the final charge in the second meeting. Meanwhile, while we are getting set to look into that, I just have this to tell you, this compelling burden that came upon my heart. We will still be looking at it in a more elaborate fellowship. I mean, we will elaborate on it in one of our fellowships. I don't know when it will be. Maybe after we are through with "we own nothing in this world," I don't know. We can truly own nothing in this world that we are considering now. And maybe not immediately after, but I just want to say this and I want to plead with you. Wherever you are and you are listening to me, see, if you are not realizing that this season, this season that we are in—darkness is covering the earth, gross darkness is covering the people. When I read through the highlight of the news of what happened to former US President Trump and the attempt assassination, the record, if I'm not wrong, said that has last happened in the last 43 years where a former president would almost be killed. What am I trying to make you see is that if you are thinking safety is somewhere, it is just trying to make you see that nowhere is safe. If you are thinking deliverance is in somewhere—"Ah, let me quickly run to this place, let me run to that place"—and you are putting your hope in some locations or in some jobs or in some connection. Dangote was so connected, but today he's being frustrated. If you are thinking it's about connection. I don't know what you are putting your hope in. The Bible says some trust in horses, others trust in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord. He says those people who trust in horses and chariots, they rose but they fell. He said, but we, we arose and we also stood upright. I want to plead with you, if it has not dawned on you that this season is a season to focus on living for eternity. The only thing worth living for now is eternity. If there's anything you want to do, consider eternity. Put eternity first in anything you want to do. This season, I'm just trying to make you understand the time. The time that we are in is a time to live with eternity in view. It is a time to see that ultimately, nothing in this life really matters. What really matters is whether or not we are living for God, whether or not our life pleases God. That's what I'm trying to say. The purpose of this time is holiness and godly living. I want to beg you, I don't know what you are exchanging, but the Lord said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world?" And I know there is no human being, there is no being that is called human that can gain the whole world. Even those who built America, they could only gain some of the wealth—maybe 50% of America's wealth—they could not gain the whole of America. When you look for the richest man in the world today, go and check. Some of the wealth in Nigeria they are still not part of his own. The richest man in the world does not own the whole world. He only owns... by the time you look at what he owns in relation to the whole world, it is infinitesimal. And whatever the richest man is owning as "it is my own," in relation to the rest of the world that is not his own, it is small. It is when you begin to compare him with what others have that you say he is the richest. But in relation to the whole world... let's talk about cars for instance. If the richest man have 200 cars in his house, how many cars are in this world? So, in relation to the whole world, what the richest person is saying is "my own" is just a very small fraction. But the Master said that what does it profit a man if it were possible for him to gain the whole world? If it were possible that that thing you will do in exchange for living for God, in exchange for pleasing God, in exchange for holiness, in exchange for righteousness, in exchange for godly conduct, in exchange for godly living—if what you are going to gain is the whole world, the Master said you are still gaining nothing. But sometimes we do it just to gain maybe $5 million. I don't know whether you gained that in the last few months or weeks. What I'm trying to say is that what is it that you are exchanging for your soul? I am bringing the charge because it was a charge that pressed so much on my heart in relation to this topic that we have been discussing. Even though we will still have time to come and look at it much more, but it was just impressed on me to charge us with this verse before we go into... maybe you still count it as part of the Final Charge 2, I don't know. But the Lord is saying it is time to live for eternity. The Lord is saying the Spirit of Grace, the Spirit of Truth is saying that listen, wherever you are, I plead with you, I beg with you: what are you exchanging for your soul? "Ah, Nigeria is hard, Nigeria is hard." You have begun to lie in respect to your business. You are lying about your age to get connection. Things are hard, things are hard, you are doing some sharp things to survive. Ah! It's better to die. If the only way to make it is to compromise, it's better to die. Because when we die, it is not the end, it's just the beginning of the end. But if we throw away the Master, if we throw away our confession, if we throw away our hope because you want to survive, the question is: for how long will you survive? For how long? How long is the survival? I am just able to remember my graduation day from the university. Graduating from different departments and the overall best from the whole school, the overall best from the whole faculty. As we were released to go and serve our father's land, he moved through, everybody move in different directions. I was on my way to Plateau State. Everybody in different directions to go and serve the father's land. He never returned from that journey. He had just gained a certificate that you say will earn him something, and yet he never used it. It is the same way: after you have thrown God away to gain something, for how long do you think you will hold it? What guarantees that after you have gained that thing, there will really be life to spend it? What guarantees it? What if as you are giving it up—you are giving up God to gain that—it's also your time is also up here? And then what you think you gained will pass again to somebody who never struggled for it, and you, you did it in exchange for your soul. Brethren, wherever you are listening to me, I just want to plead with you that the Spirit of the Lord is saying that the purpose this period, the best you can do with this period is holy and blameless life. When I mean the best, what I mean is that the purpose of this period is that you should be holy and blameless. I pray that the Lord would help us all, that in every way He will fill us with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we can walk worthy of Him in every way pleasing, fruitful in every good works and increasing in His knowledge in the name of Jesus Christ. And then we move to 2 Corinthians chapter 9, where we left the matter last week. Final charge. It says: [Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:15] As it is written: “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” And we said the way God have arranged it is that some will gather much, some will gather little. If anybody have told you that all of us will gather much, that person is a deceiver. He's not telling you the truth. Some will gather much, some will gather little. However, it will be as it is written: "He who gathered much had nothing left over." The person who gathered much who actually understand that prosperity is to minister to the body of Christ. That's the point I'm making. The person who gathered much who understands that prosperity is to minister to the body of Christ. God gave those categories of people... He gave the much so that God can give you to the body. He gave the evangelist to the body, He gave the pastor to the body for the perfecting of the saints, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith, unto the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ. Just the same way God gave all those ministry, when He's causing you to gather much, God is also giving you to the body the way He gave other ones to the body. If you are like that, the person will not have excess. But if you want to be rich, rich only to brethren who are not in the heart of the town, brethren who are in the rural area, who have nothing to do with them, you don't understand the purpose of the much that is in your hand. And honestly, you know what I want to make you see? This same foolishness that people do with material wealth, people do it too with ministry. Once you have been privileged to have one teaching grace, you have been fortunate to have God grant you entrance to see truths, to know truth. And the reason why God is making you to know all of those things is so that you can be a blessing to the body. You start classifying yourself as somebody that is above all. You find this same foolishness even with ministry gift. But I pray may the Lord help us to realize that whatsoever is much in our hand, the reason why there is much in our hand is not so that there should be excess. It is so that those who gather little will not lack. So, we go back to that Timothy that we were considering to begin to bring the matter gathering everything, to gradually start bringing everything to a close. Let's go back to that 1 Timothy chapter 6. We were reading last week from verse 17. [Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6:17-18] Command those who are rich in this present age, in this age, not to be haughty, not to be high-minded, not to be arrogant, nor to trust in uncertain riches. Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud, not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all things for our enjoyment. Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works. They should be ready to give. They should be willing to share. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works. They should give generously to those in need. Are you seeing it? Those who gathered much... God is also giving you to the body the way He gave other ones to the body. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works. They should give generously to those in need. Always being ready to share with others. What I'm trying to make you see is that if you gather much and you are not always ready to share, you are working against the purpose of God for your life. You don't understand the purpose of riches. You don't understand the purpose of the much that you gathered. You don't understand the purpose. The scripture says in Galatians chapter 6 that therefore as much as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men. It now circled something, the Bible says "especially to those of the household of faith." As much as opportunity avails us, let us do good to all men, especially from the household of faith. Galatians chapter 6 verse 9 and 10: Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. There is a command that everybody should do good. There is a command that everybody should make sure that they're not weary in well-doing. Because honestly, a lot of things can make you weary in doing good. You do good sometimes you're not appreciated. You do good sometimes you are not remembered. You do good sometimes you are even hated for it. Jesus was doing good to us and we were killing Him. You do good sometimes you are misunderstood. You do good sometimes you are insulted. You do good sometimes you're expecting the person to do you good back, the person did you evil. What the person did to you was evil in replacement for your good. And some might just make up their mind, "Tchai! I will never." You are making a mistake. That is not the position of the Bible. The Bible said, "Don't let us be wearied in doing good," because there is a due season. If you get wearied, you will miss your due season. Just as evil has its due season, good has its due season. So, he said don't let us be wearied. Let us keep on, let us keep on because in due season we will reap if we faint not. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, whether believers or unbelievers, whether we know them or we don't know them, whether they belong to our denomination or they don't relate to our denomination, whether they do us bad... let us do good to all men as we have opportunity. However, especially to those of the household of faith. Now, that is the general command to the body of believers. However, there is now a group of people among us that God particularly make them to gather much. Those ones they are much more the more commanded. If you realize that you normally gather much—you normally gather above what you immediately need, you normally have much in your hand—don't start piling houses upon houses. Don't start buying 20 cars, the one for Sunday, the one for Monday, the one for Tuesday. Don't turn a deaf ear because you are classing yourself. The Bible says let us identify with them of low status. Make yourself more ordinary that the ordinary men can access you. Don't make yourself a semi-god because of what God has helped you to gather. That thing that you gather, you are a gift to the body, God gave you to men to minister to men. You are a ministry to men, that is what you really are. When you begin to class yourself, it is a loss of identity or it's a displacement of identity, it's an abuse of purpose. May you not abuse your purpose in the name of Jesus. So, the Bible wants us, "always being ready to share with others." back to Timothy chapter 6 verse 18. To share with others whatever God has given them. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works. They should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. In moving forward, look at what is now said in verse 19. [Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6:19] Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future. Are you seeing it? The reason why God gave you all those things—just as the way God gave some to be apostles, to be pastors, to be prophets, to be this, to be that, God give different giftings to be used for good works that God has prepared beforehand—the same way we are seeing this category of people, the rich among us, the wealthy among us. God said, look, you need to do something. You need to lay a foundation against the time to come. Don't be like the rich man and Lazarus who was busy wining and dining and eating and getting fat and did not care what happened to those immediately around him. Don't be like the foolish rich man. It says the land of a rich man brought plenty. You know what that means? It happens in different ways. You may just be in one small business, suddenly the thing just blow up. Before you know it, you that was struggling to count 100 naira before, you are now counting billions of naira. The land of a rich man brought plenty. Your land can be anything. You may just be a student before who has nothing, suddenly something just happened. Your land can just prosper. Your land can just change. Things can just turn around. You may just be one somebody before that the largest crowd you have preached in your life they are just 10 people. Something may just happen, you find yourself doors open and you are preaching to people that are over 3 million at the same time. You see, your land can just prosper. But look at the stupidity of the rich man. Look at the foolishness. He said a rich fool. What made him a rich fool? What made him a fool? Is it the riches? No. He said, "Now, I'm going to break my barn. I'm going to build a bigger barn. Then I'm going to lay up my things there. Then I will tell my soul, 'Arise, eat.'" But the Maker said, "You fool, tonight we are taking your life." The implication of that thing is trying to make you understand that if your land suddenly prosper, if your land suddenly have expansion, if you are having a breakthrough financially or in anything materially, academically... are you having a breakthrough in ministry? Are things expanding for you? Don't be a fool. What you needed to do is to lay a foundation against the time to come. How do you lay that foundation? Willing to share, ready to communicate, giving to the poor. "Ah, I have gathered much. Lord, open my eyes. Where are those who gather little? Where are the people You have sent me to? Where is that brother, where is that sister? Where is that needy?" because He said we do good to all men. "Where is that neighbor, where is that person in need? Where is that Nigerian, where is that student?" You begin to ask the Lord to open your eyes because there are already lives that is attached to that land that brought forth plenty. Life has been attached to it. And as you trust the Lord, the Lord will open your eyes to see those lives. Just the same way, you will see those of us in ministry. Lord open our eyes to say, "Look, go to this place, preach here. Go to this, minister here." In the same way, God begin to open your eyes. But if you become self-absorbed and begin to say, "Heh, let me now develop my own potbelly. Now they will know in this street. In this street, they will take notice." If that's what you want to do with your land that brought forth plenty, then you are a fool. You are a fool. That's what the Bible is saying. When your land happens to bring plenty, the Bible says it is time to lay foundation against the time to come. You begin to lay foundation. You begin to lay foundation. What is that foundation? You begin to lay hold on eternal life. You begin to convert earthly riches to heavenly riches. You begin to convert those riches to heavenly riches. You begin to lay a foundation against the time to come so that they may take hold of life that is truly life. Real life. Real life is when the person who gathered much don't have excess, and the person who gathered little did not lack. That is when your life is real. If those who gather little lack, ah, you are living a false life. You are living a foolish life. You are living in vanity. You are living a vain life. You are living in delusion. You are deceived. In this way, they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. Your own treasure... may you not lose your crown in the name of Jesus. So that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. That life that is truly life is when the person who gathered much don't have excess and the person who gathered little did not lack. You remember Barnabas? They call him son of consolation in the early church. He said the one he had so much, he sold everything. He said let this thing be given, let them distribute, and they call him son of consolation. That is a ministry. See increase as a grace, and you are a steward of that grace. Live solely for the Lord. Let us live with eternity in view. Let us live only and only unto God because on the last day, on the last day, only true believers will be raptured. [Singing: On the last day, on the last day, only true believers shall be raptured.] Wherever you are, let us pray this evening. Talk to God. Are you living the life of a true believer? In secret, in open, in your orientation towards life, in your orientation towards riches? Are you living the life of a true believer? Are you laying hold on real life? There is a real life. Is that life that brings glory to God? A real life is a life that brings glory, thanksgiving, honor to God. Don't forget, He created all things for His pleasure. If you are not serving the pleasure of God, you are not serving the purpose of your creation. He created all things for His pleasure. You are supposed to give pleasure to God. You are supposed to bring glory to God. You are supposed to bring honor to God. You are supposed to bring adoration to God. That is what you are created for. Almighty God, we thank You for this evening. We thank You again for this time of fellowship. Lord, we commit ourselves into Your hand. We are just praying that, Lord, beyond the voice of the speaker, help every one of us individually to again hear Your own voice. In the name of Jesus. Lord, Lord, don't leave us until You are through with us. Lord, break us where we need to be broken. Lord God, rebuke us where we need to be rebuked. Lord, correct us. Lord, instruct us. Lord, open our eyes. Lord, make us, for You are the one who makes. Lord, make us. Our eyes on You, Lord, make us. Thank You, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Let's share the grace 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 forever more. Amen. [Female Speaker] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission aid. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; 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 outreaches; And everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ile-Ife community, opposite Heritage filling station along Ilesa road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are: 0803-386-1136, 0703-361-3848. God bless you all. Amen.