We That Are of the Day 3 ( Breastplate of Faith)

Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God waitly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May ye be blessed as ye listen. [Speaker 1] (Singing) Ope lo ye o, Baba o l’ore. Iyin ogo ye o, Olorun Oba. Hosanna ye o, ese o, Baba. Oluwa wa, ope lo ye o. Baba o l’ore. Iyin ogo ye o, Olorun Oba. Hosanna ye o, ese o, Baba. We just want to say, Baba o, ese. We just want to say, Oluwa, ese. We just want to say, Lord, we just want to say, Baba o, ese. We just want to say, Oluwa, ese. Our Father, we are grateful unto You. We thank You again for another time in Your presence. We worship You again for another time of our discipleship class. We bless You, we lift You high, we give You glory. As we fellowship together this evening, those of us that are here physically and our brethren that are joining us online, Lord we commit ourselves into Your hand. Baba, we pray this evening that Lord God Almighty, Your spirit will work within us in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that Lord, You will meet us individually where we need You most in the name of Jesus. Lord, You will meet us collectively as a people in the name of Jesus. Lord, we pray. Paul plants, Apollos waters. It is You that gives increase. Lord, give increase, O God, to our meeting this evening in the name of Jesus Christ. As we press forward in the topic we have been considering, "We That Are of the Day," Lord, we pray. Grant inspiration to our hearts in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. We thank our God again for another time again in His presence. We have been considering this very, very important topic, "We That Are of the Day." We that are of the day. Awa ti a je omo imole. We that are of the day. And honestly, it has been a time in His presence that has been honestly very, very refreshing. We started "We That Are of the Day" looking at a very, very important issue, and that is that the day of the Lord should not meet us unaware. Even though we don't know exactly when the Lord will come, we saw what Paul was saying in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. I'm just trying to do a small recap for the benefit of those who may not have been following us either online or physically. If you look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, that has been the text we have been considering for this topic. If you look at 1 Thessalonians 5, the Bible says something there. It says, "Concerning the time and the season," Paul was speaking to the Thessalonians, having encouraged them in the chapter 4 that they should not behave like unbelievers that have no hope. So in the chapter 5, he says, "But concerning the time and the season, brethren, you have no need that I should write you." Now he says in the verse 2, "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night." 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, I'm now in verse 2. He says, "For when they shall say, 'Peace and safety,' then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labor pain upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief." So we noticed in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 that the Bible is saying that the day of the Lord should not overtake us as a thief. The day of the Lord should not overtake us as a thief. That the people that that day—awon ti ojo Oluwa yen to ma ba lojiji—the people it's going to surprise, they are not children of light. They are not children of the day. Those who are of the day—awon to ba je omo imole niwa looto—the coming of the Lord will not take them by surprise. Even though we don't know the day and the hour, but it will not take them by surprise. That's what the Bible says. And that was what we looked at in "We That Are of the Day 1." That was our consideration. We were able to tell ourselves that we must understand that we who are of the day—awon to ba je omo imole niwa looto—the coming of the Lord will not meet us unexpectedly. It's not possible. Then the next thing we considered, that was last week, was what should be the response of men that are of the day. People who are of the day. Because actually we noted that we are in the night in the program of God. Because we noted that on the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, that in the latter days I shall pour out my spirit upon all flesh." Now, which means that the latter day began when? The day of Pentecost. So today, we are in the latter part of the latter day. So we said we are in the night. It's just like when we talked about the night. I have illustrated that before in our earlier discussion. That the night starts from 7:00 PM and it goes on till 1:00 AM, 2:00 AM. They are all night, but they are different degrees of night. So we said now that we are in the night, how should we that are of the day—iru igbe aye wo lo ye ka ma gbe? What should characterize our life? And the first thing we looked at last week was in the verse 8. We read between verse 6 and verse 8. That 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 from verse 6. It says, "Therefore, don't let us sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be"—what? Be what? [Background noise and audio distortion] We that are of the day, let us be sober. Awa ti a je omo imole, let us be sober. We needed to be sober. That was what we considered last week. We that are of the day need to be sober. And we want to move on today. The first thing about we that are of the day is that we don't sleep. We are sober. The next thing he noted there, he said, "But let us who are of the day put on the breastplate"—let us who are of the day be sober, doing what? "Putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." We that are of the day, let us put on that breastplate of what? Of faith and of love and something again, he said, and for a helmet, we put on salvation. We put on salvation. And so last week, we considered that we should be sober. Today, we want to look at the next thing that he's saying there. He says, "putting on the breastplate of faith and love." Putting on the breastplate of faith and love. Another thing those that are of the day must do. The first thing I want us to do this evening before we begin to look at each of the matter is to look at the matter of the breastplate. The breastplate. What is the breastplate? What is the breastplate? The Yoruba translation says "igbaya." Something you put on the chest. Now, why is it that when the Lord is interested in instructing us about our response to this period that we are in? We are in the period of the night. The first thing he says: be sober. We looked at sobriety last week about being thoughtful, our thought life. Be careful the way you think, be careful what you think about. Let your thoughts be clear. Be clear in your thought. We checked Philippians chapter 4, that your thought is in whatever things are true, whatever things are pure, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think of these things. That was our consideration last week. Now, having made sure that your thought is clear, the Bible says go beyond your thought, come to the matter of your heart. The breastplate is dealing with the area of the heart. Area of the heart. And why are we looking at that area? Why are we looking at that area? The first reason why we are looking at that area is that the Bible says something. In Proverbs, the Bible says, "Guard your heart with all diligence." Guard your heart with all diligence. Why? "For out of it are the issues of life." Guard your heart. Guard your heart with all diligence. Gbogbo ohun ti o ba le se, guard your heart. Guard it. Guard it. Again, if you look at the matter of the heart, look at Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah chapter 17. We are looking at the matter of the heart. Why is it that the Bible is dealing with the matter of the heart? The matter of the heart. Look at Jeremiah chapter 17. Let's see what the Lord was saying something in Jeremiah 17 that is very, very important for us. Look at around the verse 9, 10 thereabouts. Jeremiah 17, around the verse 9 and 10. In the verse 9, what did the Bible say? It says what? "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it? In the verse 10, look at what follows. What did the Bible say? "I the Lord, I the Lord search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." So I want to ask you, the ways of a man, where is it? The ways of a man, where is it? It's the matter of his heart. The doings of a man—ise eniyan, to ba ni ise teyan n se, ise e—where is it? It's also in the heart. The ways of a man is in the heart. If you really want to know the ways of a man, it's not in what he says. If you really want to know the ways of a man, ise eniyan, if you really want to know where it is, it's in the heart. Inu okan lo wa. And so the Bible says because it is deceitful, it's in the heart and the heart is deceitful, it can be cunning. A man may be facing the north and the way he would be talking, you would think he's facing the south because of what? The matter of the heart. I give another example. Look at Herod and the wise men. Herod said, "Go, go and search out where he is. After you have found him, come back and tell me so that me too, I will worship." That was what he said. But what was in his heart? In his heart is that once they come back to tell him, what will he do? He will go and kill the child. So the ways of a man is not so much in what a man is saying. The ways of a man, the doings of a man, if you really want to know where it is, it's in the heart. I give another example. Look at the example of Judas. Judas. They brought—a woman brought an alabaster box of oil and then it was broken and then it was used for Jesus. And Judas said, "Oh, this is a waste. A kan fi nkan yi sofo ni. It's a waste. We should have sold this thing, a ba ta ni, and the money, we now give it to the poor. Awon alaini la ba fowo yen fun." That would have been very okay. That was what Judas said. But the Bible recorded quickly—what did the Bible say quickly after that statement of Judas? The Bible says he made this statement not because he loves the poor, but because he's a thief. So a man may be saying what is good, but yet the man is evil. So when God wants to deal with a man, ti Olorun ba fe dajo eniyan, ti Olorun ba fe de pelu eniyan, ti Olorun ba fe we eniyan, ko fun gege bi ise e—when God wants to give you according to your work, God don't look at what you say. Where will God look at? God searches—Bible says God searches the heart. Why is He searching? Because the heart is deceitful. The heart of man is complex. The heart of man is a complex thing that it takes also God to search. And so you see the Bible telling us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He says after we have made sure that we are sober, the next thing is to deal with the matter of the heart. The next thing to deal with in our life, honestly, is the matter of the heart. Ka ba mura, ka mu okan wa, ka mura, ka mu okan wa yi, ka make sure pe ibi to ye ko wa lo wa. Okan wa ma tan wa je. Your heart will be deceiving you. Your heart will give you a false impression of who you really are. That is why you notice what the psalmist say. What did the psalmist say? He say, "Lord, search me, know my heart. Try me, know my thought. If there be any evil way in me, lead me in the path of life." You may be calling, you may be thinking that you are okay even in your own heart. And yet you don't know that you are not okay at all. I give you a good example. You remember the Laodicean church? What did they say in their heart? They said they are rich and they have need of nothing. They are okay. But what did God tell them? He said, "You don't know that you are wretched, you are naked, you are blind." Are you seeing how even the heart of a man can deceive a man? Your heart can give you a false impression of your real self. You might be wearing another picture of who you really are, but when you come under the searchlight of God and Baba searches you, you will know that you are not exactly like that. I give another example of this matter of the heart. Why the Bible says put on the breastplate of faith. I want to deal with faith. Because sometimes we think we are walking in faith, whereas we are not walking in faith. Because there is something about faith and our walk with God. And Bible says that make sure that what you put on as the breastplate is actually faith. Not common sense, not philosophy. Make sure it's actually faith. And prior to addressing this matter of the heart, this heart thing, that the heart is such a complex thing that it takes also God to search. And so you see the Bible telling us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He says after we have made sure that we are sober, the next thing is to deal with the matter of the heart. And one important thing in that breastplate is faith. Faith. And I'm telling you, if you don't understand this dynamics of faith in this last day, in this end time, oh, can I just say that I don't see how your life can be rapturable? I can't see how. Now you will say how. Number one, in Hebrews 11:6, what did the Bible say? The Bible say, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." Without faith, no man can please God. No matter how the man try to live his life, as long as there is no faith, he can never please God. Bi igbagbo o ba ti si, ko si bi aye enikeni ti le t'Olorun l'orun. It's not possible. I want you to see that the Bible is addressing the matter of our life in responding to this matter of the night. Number one, he has said we should not sleep and be sober. Now he begins to address another fundamental thing again about our walk with God, about our life. And he's talking about faith. Faith. That something that should permeate your heart, something that should rule your heart, something that should guide your heart, something that should sustain your heart, something that should overwhelm your heart: faith. And the first thing I said about faith is that without that faith, you can't please God. But what is this faith? What is faith? How do we try to illustrate faith in a practical way, particularly in this end time? What is faith? How do we are we sure that we have the breastplate of faith? That our heart is ruled by faith? That our life is in faith? Now, we will try to look at what the Bible says about faith. Just a few things then we'll bring it back to our discussion. Now, in Hebrews 11, that same Hebrews 11, that's where faith is properly defined. In the same Hebrews 11, the Bible says in from verse 1, it says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Now, the first thing I want you to see about faith is that faith is something. As far as God is concerned, faith is not something that is abstract. It's not abstract. Faith is a substance. Faith can be touched, faith can be hold. Faith is a real thing. Faith is not wishful thinking. Faith is not guesswork. Faith is not that. Faith is not guesswork. And these are very, very important things that we must understand about faith. Because we must put on the breastplate of faith. And faith is not a guess. Faith is not, "let me just comfort myself." You know there's a way when something happen, you now say, "Anyway, the Bible says all things work together for good, sha. All things work together for good. Let me just take it that way." What's the person doing? What's the person doing? O fe mu inu ara e du. Is that not so? Trying to make himself happy. "Anyway, the Bible says all things work together for good. Let me just see it that way." That is not faith. Faith is not, "let me just console myself." Hmm-mm. Faith is not like that. Faith is a substance. Faith is something. Faith is a substance. That's the first thing I'm showing you about faith. Number two, he said faith is the substance of things hoped for. You are hoping for something, yet there's a substance for it. You are expecting something, yet there's a substance. How will I do it now? How will I illustrate that? If you take a check in your hand, a check is written in your name for you to go and collect it in the bank. While you are going to the bank, you hope that the bank will give you the money. Is that not? Is that not? Is that not? There is a hope that when you get to the bank, you collect the money. But as you are going, what makes you sure you will get the money? What makes you sure? Because of the check. That is faith. I'm trying to illustrate that faith is not guesswork. Faith is not wishful thinking. Hmm-mm. Faith is the substance of what you hope for. So if there is no check in your hand, you will be going, then you can be guessing whether they will give you or not, whether they will not give you. But you know when you hold the check, there's a way you are going. In fact, by the time you collect the check, how do you begin to feel? How do you begin to feel? You begin to smile. You're already happy. You're already rejoicing that ah, this money will enter hand now. That is what faith is. So faith is a reality. Am I trying to illustrate faith for us very clearly? So faith is a substance. Faith is not guesswork. Brother, just be—no, that's not faith. That's not faith. You will see why am I talking like this? Let me illustrate for you again in the Bible. You remember Abraham? You remember Abraham? What is particular about Romans chapter 4, let's read together. Let's read that scripture. Romans chapter 4. Let's see that together. Romans 4. Let's see that together. Romans chapter 4 to—let's go to around verse 17. That's where it has been talking about Abraham all the while, but where I really want is from around verse 17. Now, the Bible says, "As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he believed, God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which does not exist as though they did." Now verse 18: "Who"—what do you see? "Who against hope believed in hope." Please, is that not a contradiction? Is that not a contradiction? In the New King James, it says, "who contrary to hope, in hope believed." I want you to look at it in the NIV translation and see what the Bible say. The Bible says in that verse 18—what did it say for NIV? "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed." Does that make sense? Does that—is it something that makes sense? Look at the matter. I'm trying to make you understand. Let me use that illustration again of the check. When you are going to the bank and you have your check with you and somebody say, "Ah, me, I went there, they did not—they did not give me the money. They checked my check was this." Another person say, "Me they did not give me money." But if you carry your check and you are going, all are saying that they didn't give me money. Will it stop you from still going? You know you will still be going. What will make you to still be going? You know you will think back to the source of the check. Am I correct? Am I correct? You know when you look at the personality who gave you the check, or where the check came from. You know if, for example, it's an individual who gave you the check, you may begin to doubt. But if, for example, it's an individual who you have known very well—for example, maybe the governor of the state gave you your own check. Are you understanding me? Some people now said their own check were dishonored. Will you go back with your own check? You'll be looking at what? The source of the check. Are you understanding me? That's what the Bible is saying here. The Bible says, "Against hope, Abraham hope in hope." Now, why is he hoping in hope? He said he hope in hope that he should become the father of many nations as he had been promised. So what is the basis of that hope against hope? The source of the person who made the promise. Are you getting it? The source that made that promise. He says, "So shall your descendants be." Now look at the next thing, verse 19. It says, "And being—and not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body already dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God." So please, what Abraham was doing here, was it wishful thinking? It was not wishful thinking. His body was dead, Sarah's womb was dead. All of that he knew. But Bible say he was giving glory to God. He was giving glory—he knew that it's going to be. There was a check in his hand that made him sure. There was something—that's why I said faith is not guesswork. Am I trying to illustrate faith for us very clearly? So faith is a substance. It's not wishful thinking. Hmm-mm. The Bible is telling us something, you know, something very, very important. Number one, put on something by which we cannot please God. Describing this thing, he's talking about a substance. Number two, about that substance that faith is a substance. In that Hebrews 11 again, he says "it's a substance of things hoped for." Now another thing again we are seeing about faith is the matter of hope. Is the matter of hope. That there's a relationship between hope and faith. He's saying that everywhere you see faith strong, there is an assurance of a hope. Anywhere you don't see faith, the actual implication is that there is no hope. Faith and hope, they go side by side. In fact, I can call them two sides of the same coin. They go side by side. Anywhere you find faith, there is hope. Anywhere you don't find hope, there cannot be faith. Now what I'm trying to say is this: is that when a man is full of hope, hopefulness brings faithfulness. There's a correlation between these two. Once you are full of hope, you'll be full of faith. Now the Bible also say something there. He says to make us know further that faith is a substance, he said, "By it the elders obtained a good report." So faith is something that can give you good report. I've mentioned three things about faith in Hebrews 11. Number one is that without faith, you can not please God. Number two is that faith is a substance. And faith works side by side with hope. That's the third thing. Anytime you are hopeless, you cannot be faithful. Faithfulness is hopefulness, hopefulness is faithfulness. Once you are not hopeful, you cannot be faithful. Now, the other thing I now want to leave Hebrews 11, I want to go to Romans, Romans chapter 10. The Bible talks about how faith come. How faith come. He says, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Now, which means that substance, that thing that we call substance, that thing that we are holding, is actually something that is coming from hearing the word of the Lord. It's coming from hearing. It's coming from hearing God's word. Now, when you look at that, it tells you something very, very crucial. It means when a man cannot hear, he cannot have faith. Faith comes by hearing. And that is the reality of it. It comes by hearing. You know what Jesus said? He say, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me." He say, "The voice of the stranger they will not listen." Is that not so? They will not listen to the voice of the stranger. He says something very clearly: He says "my sheep they hear my voice." There is something about faith and hearing. Let me explain what I'm trying to say. The faith we are talking about in this last day, the faith that we must put as a breastplate, it's not Bible knowledge. It's not Bible knowledge. Maybe I want to explain it better. It's not Bible knowledge. It's not CRK, Christian Religious Knowledge. That's not what we're talking—that's not what we're dealing with. Because we see CRK, Christian Religious Knowledge. There are people who have their first degree in Religious Studies and they are not saved. Are you understanding me? So the faith we are talking about is not just Bible knowledge. It's not just the knowledge of the Bible. No. The faith we are talking about is a faith that comes by hearing. You see, what I'm trying to say is very simple. There is the place of the Bible as the Bible, and the place of the Bible as an encounter with the God of the Bible. There is a difference between Bible knowledge and encountering in the Bible the God who wrote the Bible. That's the faith I'm talking about. I am saying that the hearing is not just a physical hearing. The hearing is talking about a revelational hearing. It's talking about something that happens in the spirit man of a man. Something that happens not by intellectual hearing, not intellect. That's not what we're dealing with. There are many professors of the Bible, professors of theology, that don't have salvation, that are not on their way to heaven, that don't know holiness. So we're not dealing with intellectual capacity. We're not dealing with rational capacity of humans. We're dealing with something that has to do with a spiritual revelation, an encounter in the spirit man of a man, a hearing that transcends something that has to do with rational intellectual power. A hearing that has to do with a connection between the spirit of man and the spirit of God. That's the hearing we're talking about. That is something you must pray for as a Christian. Or else you are not different from those who go to theological school, or who go to do BSC Religious Studies in the university. You are not different from them. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about not just intellectual power, we are talking about something that is revelational, inspirational, revelational knowledge. Take time to look at how best I can—okay, good. Maybe this particular episode will help us to illustrate it. Let's look at John. Please, let's look at the book of John. John. "Put on the breastplate of faith." Put on the breastplate of faith. Look at the book of John. John chapter 20. I just want to try to see if I can illustrate that thing, what I'm trying to talk about. This issue of revelational understanding. We'll be very, very fast with the story, because the story will help us to know what I'm trying to say. The story here is about Mary Magdalene on the resurrection morning. I just want to illustrate something about what I'm trying to say. This issue of revelational understanding. Now, I'm reading from verse 1 very, very quickly. "Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they laid Him.' Peter therefore went out and the other disciples and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he stooping down, looked inside, saw the linen cloth lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen cloth lying there. And the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the cloth, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple came in to the tomb first, went in, and he saw and he believed." What did they see? What did they see? What are the things they saw? Can we try to mention them, we that are here? The clothes? The napkin? The handkerchief? That's what they saw. And when they saw that, why did they believe the story? Because of what they saw. What they saw is on the basis of what? That which is rational, that which is intellectual. Are you following me? I want to go and illustrate this matter of faith. We don't need common sense today to live a holy life. We need a faith that comes by hearing. I keep telling people there must be a working relationship between you and God, not just religious activities. This, they believed the story of Magdalene that Jesus has been stolen, the body has been taken away. They believed because there was evidences. What were these evidences that work for them? The cloth, the napkin, the handkerchief. They saw all of that. When they saw everything, they believed, "Ah, Mary o to lo so, won ti gbe ara Oluwa lo, won ti gbe lo." They believed. Now, I said that believe is a function of rationality and intellectual ability. Are you understanding me? They believed. Now, they believed. But you notice that in the verse 9, the Bible quickly said says something. What did the Bible quickly says in the verse 9? Can you see what the Bible says quickly there? It says, "For as yet they did not know the scriptures." Are you following something? So there was an intellectual power. There was a rational power that gave them some kind of belief. But that belief is coming because something has not come. There was a knowing. That knowing is to be from scriptures. They have not known that one. That one has not come. Something has not come. They have not heard something. Listen, it's not as if they have not heard about that Jesus Christ will die. Hmm. Do you agree with me after all about what I've just said? If you go to Matthew chapter 15 and chapter 16, Jesus Christ plainly told them that they are going to kill him. Is that not? He told them plainly that they are going to kill him. He explained to them that after three days he will resurrect. He told them everything. So not they have not heard that word before. But Bible say they did not know the word that they were hearing. I'm trying to illustrate when the Bible say "faith comes." Faith comes. The type of faith that we need to put as a breastplate is what I'm trying to illustrate. That's where I'm going. That this faith is a substance. It's not guesswork. It's not wishful thinking. It's not consolidation. It's not like—no, he's not a—no. It's a thing, it's a substance, it's a reality. It's like a check in your hand going to the bank. That's what it is. And I'm trying to substantiate what makes it a substance: that it comes by hearing. So you see the scripture. They have heard before that Jesus will die. They have heard that he will resurrect. But they have not yet heard. They still don't know. Which means what they were hearing before was by intellectual hearing, rational hearing. There is a hearing that they have not heard. There is a hearing—that one has not come. And so because that one has not come, even though they have been hearing intellectually, they have been hearing rationally, the one I'm talking about—which is a spiritual reality inside a man, that one has not come. So when they saw a rational evidence that won ti gbe lo o—what happened? They believed. I'm telling you why many believers are believing nonsense today. When something looks prevailing and convincing, they believe. When something looks ah, oto lode ma je o—they believe. But they believe because something had not happened. I'm trying to make you understand when the Bible say, "faith cometh by hearing." I'm trying to make you understand that verse of the scripture. Not talking about common sense, not talking about reasoning—no, not talking about that. He's talking about a reality of the believer. Now, let's look at something. I want to go further to the matter of what we are talking about. Now, it says since they did not believe that he would rise again from the dead, so the disciples went away to their own home. They went to their own house. They went not excited. They went not jubilating. They went, "Oh, what do we do?" The way believers can live today, minding their own business, doing their own thing, the fact that we are in the night, we need to be sober, we need to be living correctly, we need to be watchful, we need to be preparing, our master is coming—that is not a living reality inside us. Going to our own homes, minding our own business, doing our own thing. "Jesus is coming, live for Jesus, be passionate, preach the gospel, be instant in season, out of season, do something about God." We are occupied with our business. We are occupied: kila ma je, kila ma mu, academic, this and that. That's our first and primary passion. Nothing really is exciting about the other things. The problem is that faith had not come. And so we are just going to our own home, minding our own business. But look at something. I want to show you the difference between this faith that comes. They all saw cloth. They all saw napkin. They all saw handkerchief. That's what they saw. And they went. It say, "But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels." Now, what was inside the tomb before? Clothes. After His resurrection, what did they see inside—the people that went inside? They saw clothes, they saw napkin and they went. Mary Magdalene now looked back into the tomb after they had said, "Ah, Mary Magdalene, sorry o. We have checked what you said. We saw the cloth, we saw the napkin, but we didn't see the body o. So definitely, they have stolen away the body. Won ti gbe ara Oluwa lo o. So—a n lo le o. Gbogbo e—gbogbo e kuku ti baje bayi." "Something great has happened. Something mighty has happened." For them, everything has scattered. Are you seeing—may we not be religious? Ah, may you not just be a religious person. It's something that—it's destruction. May you be someone that has a spiritual reality inside you. Someone that has a walk with God beyond all the religious thing, religious—just following the story, following the—no, no, beyond that. Now, they have given that matter up. This time around, Mary Magdalene look inside again. What did she see? She saw angels. So is that coming from intellectual or rationality? That's not what I'm talking about. They were both—they all start looking inside the tomb. All they could see was cloth, napkin, handkerchief. This person who stood there, weeping and weeping and weeping, now looks inside again—she saw something in addition. She saw angels. You will know that is beyond intellectualism. It's beyond rationality. Do you know that when—do you know that when she went back to Peter to tell them that she saw angel, you know what they told her? "Baba, that's nonsense!" Go and check the story in Mark. When Jesus appeared to the disciples, you know what he first did to them? Who know what he first did to them when Jesus appeared to the disciples in Mark? Bible say he rebuked them for not believing the woman. "Woni po lo s'Olorun, ewa o. It is not just handkerchief o, asola ti ko lo wa mbe. Awon angeli! Won d'e mbe!" "What do you know? What do you know? Ojo ni o ma bere gbagbo? You this small girl? Stop telling heresy. What angel? The tomb that I entered, I saw with my own eyes handkerchief and cloth!" Some people can argue. I want to make you understand some thing about intellectualism, rationality and revelation. They are two different world. They are two different world. So when they say, "put on the breastplate of faith," he's talking about the living faith. He's not talking about a guesswork. It's not talking about a wishful thinking. He's not talking about—no, he's not a consolation. It's not like—no, he's not a—no. It's a thing, it's a substance, it's a reality. It's like a check in your hand going to the bank. That's what it is. And I'm trying to substantiate what makes it a substance: that it comes by hearing. So you see the story. Magdalene saw angel. Was it wishful thinking? It was a reality. You can not over-persuade Magdalene pe hi-ii, ko si angeli mbe yen, because beyond seeing the angel, what did the Bible say? It said she saw two angels, one at the head and at the feet where the body of Jesus had been laid. And they said to her—how do you convince Magdalene that Jesus did not resurrect? How do you tell her? What will you say to Magdalene to tell her that no, there's nothing inside that place, just cloth, cloth, cloth? He said they said to her, "Woman, why are you crying?" She said—then she said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him." Now, when she said this, she turned around and did what? And saw Jesus standing there. Please, is that intellect? Is that rationality? And she did not know that it was Jesus. He said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing him to be a gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said, "Rabboni!" which is "Teacher." And he said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, 'I'm ascending to your Father and your Father, and my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene came—ma gbo o, Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples these things, that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her. That was when they rebuked her. That was when they shouted her down. Jesus now came back later to rebuke them for shouting her down. But who can convince that lady? "Rabboni!" Won ti gbe ara e lo. Tell me how you convince her. "No, he is risen!" Can you convince her otherwise? That is the breastplate we want to put on. Peter cannot convince her otherwise. None of the disciples can change her mind about that matter. But it is not something that has to do with what? Rationality and intellectualism. It has to do with something revelational, inspirational. It has to do with a connection between the spirit of God and the spirit of man. That's the hearing we're talking about. That is what we need today. That is what we need today. And that is why I tell believers, unlike Peter and the other person—I'm just illustrating that using that story to say something—because you know that Peter later understood the whole thing later. But I'm just using that story because I'm using that as an illustration. That unlike Peter and the other disciple that just looked here and there and go home, you better tarry. You better sit with God. You better sit with scriptures. You better stay in His presence so that you can have an encounter. Mary Magdalene stood there weeping, "Ah, ah, where is the body? Where is the body? Ah, no, what has happened?" Then she had an encounter. But if Peter had just got there, just do some things with God, then he had—he had quiet time. He had just gone to church, he had just gone to church, "alleluia"—it won't pay off for him. That is how we reduce the thing. That's how we end. It will be about rationality and intellectualism. There will be no reality, spiritual reality in your life. And that is what is major thing today about the end time. We need men who are passionate. We need men who are convinced. We need men who knows. We need men who have seen. We need men who have met with Him. Oh, when they saw the boldness in Peter, what did they say? They knew that he had been with Jesus. We need men who are doing with Him. That is what we need. That is the breastplate of faith that we are talking about. We need men like that. God also—God always will—spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. I'm telling you this stuff. Faith comes by hearing. We need to put on this faith. We need to put it on, brethren. He say, "putting on this breastplate of faith." Take time to encounter God. Take time to move beyond rationality and intellectualism. Take time to come to the place of what? Revelation, inspiration, revelational knowledge. Take time to enter into that place and encounter the spirit of God. Take time to have an intercourse with the spirit of God. That's the reality. That is the faith we are talking about. It's not a religious statement. It's not a religious belief, not just going to church and coming back from church. Not just some religious activity. It's a reality inside the spirit of a man. This faith that we are talking about. Bible say it comes. And I pray, whatever level you must have been experiencing, may you go to greater height in this matter in the name of Jesus Christ. Look at what I'm trying to say. Say they went to their own home. They went to their own business. Same way believers can live today, minding their own business, doing their own things. The fact that we are in the night, we need to be sober, we need to be living correctly, we need to be watchful, we need to be preparing, our master is coming—that is not a living reality inside us. Going to our own homes. Jesus is coming, live for Jesus, be passionate, preach the gospel, be instant in season, out of season, do something about God. We are occupied with our business. We are occupied: kila ma je, kila ma mu, academic, this and that. That's our first and primary passion. Nothing really is exciting about the other things. The problem is that—faith has not come. And so we are just minding our own business. Why not talk to the Lord wherever you are? I don't know what measure you have been receiving. Why not pray for more measure? If you have not been receiving this kind of thing we are talking about, if you have not been hearing the Lord, why not pray this evening that God, grant me an encounter? Oluwa, b'okan titemi na pade. King gbagbo mi ko le duro. Why not talk to the Lord? God Almighty, meet with me. An encounter, an encounter, an encounter, an encounter, an encounter, an encounter in the name of Jesus. Oh, Lord, putting on the breastplate of faith. Oh, we meet next week we be looking at of love. Of love. We're looking at faith today, we'll be looking at love next week by the mercy and the grace of God, the Lord keeping us. Oh, let us pray. Let us talk to the Lord. Let us talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Thank You, Blessed Father. Thank You, Almighty God. Our Father, we thank You for today. We commit ourselves into Your hand that Lord, You will carry us. Lord, You will carry us. Lord, You will carry us. You will carry us, Lord. We need to put on this faith as a breastplate to mark our doings, to mark our ways. Our ways will be the ways of faith. This faith, our doings will be doing in faith. The Bible say the just shall live by faith. If any man draws back, my face has no pleasure in him. Bible say we are not of those who draw back, but of those who continue in faith. Oh, Lord God Almighty, we pray this evening that we'll not be of those who draw back, but of those who continue, of those who remain steadfast, who remain bold, who remain courageous, who remain strong in the face of what is happening today in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 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. [Speaker 2] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission heat. Our regular activities are the 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 counsel, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Idore community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Igbara 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.