Yet, There is An End

[Intro Music] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] Today, as we try to move on this third Saturday in the month of December, we are considering the topic: “Yet There Is an End.” Those of us who are on the platform will have seen the topic, except those of us who are not on the platform. Those on the Family Tent platform will have seen the topic: “Yet There Is an End.” For those of us who may not be on that platform, please let us know so that we can add you on the platform. “Yet There Is an End.” You may be wondering where we picked the topic from. We picked the topic actually from Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 23. Let's take it from verse 15. Proverbs 23 from around verse 15. [Speaker 2] KJV. “My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” [Speaker 1] Another translation. [Speaker 3] Easy English. “My son, I will be happy. I will be very happy when I hear you speak words of wisdom. Do not want to be the same as very bad people. Obey the Lord during all your life. If you do, you will be happy in the future days, and what you hope for will not come to an end.” [Speaker 1] What you hope for will not come to an end. That is, yet there is an end. Another translation. [Speaker 4] “If your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed. My innermost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” [Speaker 1] And your hope will not be cut off. Please, another translation. Do we have any other translation in this house? Amplified. [Speaker 4] Amplified. “My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will be glad, even mine. Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak right things. Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all day long. For surely there is a latter end, a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.” [Speaker 1] And your hope and expectation shall not be cut off. Do we have another one again? These are beautiful renderings of this same verse. Another one? [Speaker 5] The Message. “Dear child, if you become wise, I'll be one happy parent. My heart will dance and sing to the truthful truth you speak. Don't for a minute envy careless rebels; soak yourself in the fear of God. That's where your future lies. Then you won't be left with an armload of nothing.” [Speaker 1] He said, "Yet there is an end." And I pray we won't be left, on the long run, with an armload of nothing. Amen. Yet there is an end. Yet there is an end. Yet there is an end. In fact, that is the matter. We will look at two lives in the Bible, but I just want to comment generally on the burden that brings today's meeting. The burden that brings today's meeting is in two-fold. The first fold is the general slogan of young people today. The general way people talk, the general slogan, the general way young people talk, people talk around. I am always among young people. At work, I am among young people. In church, I am among young people. Most of the time, I am among young people. Luckily for me at work, I am among two groups of a medley of young people. Since I work among students, I am among a medley of young people—those who are believers, those who are Muslims, those who are Catholics, those who are... your students will spread across all classes of people, all different kinds of faith. Because generally, there is this accessibility, my students can easily access me regardless of the faith, regardless of the kind of person, regardless of your personality. All my students can easily access me. So, there is this freedom to talk when I am around. So you hear all kinds of philosophy, attitude to life, perspective to life. If you look at that scripture that we just read, it says... let me go back to verse 15 again. Let me take NLT. “My child or my son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice. Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.” Are you seeing a connection? Are you seeing a connection between two things? What are the two things that are connected in those two verses? Two things are connected: wisdom and what you speak. Wisdom and what you speak. It didn't say, “My son, if your mouth is wise, my heart will rejoice.” No. It said, “My son, if your heart is wise.” If your heart is wise, then what will happen to his own heart? His own heart will rejoice. He said, “Yea, my reins shall rejoice when your lips speak right things.” I hope you know what is the reins. In verse 16, it said, “My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice. Everything in me, that is my reins, will celebrate when you speak what is right.” So you notice that there is a connection between the heart being wise and the mouth speaking wisdom. And you will also notice he said, “My son, I will be glad if your heart is wise. Then my reins,” that is the innermost part of the heart where the intent and the motive is, that is what we call the reins. When you say the “heart of hearts,” have you heard people talk like that? He said, “In my heart of hearts.” That is where you have the intent and the intentions. He said that place will rejoice if your lips speak what is right. Which means wisdom in the heart is commensurate to what a man speaks. That's why another says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” The utterances of a man tell you whether he is wise or whether he is foolish, even when he seems to be joking. The utterances, what a man says, what he speaks, the way he speaks, the manner in which he speaks, his attitude when things are happening and they say, “Ah, do you know that somebody did something?” It is what he has to say, his contribution, his perspective to issues, which we know from what he says, tells you whether a heart is wise or a heart is foolish. The only way the wisdom in the heart can be displayed is by the utterances of the mouth. That is why they say that the worth of a man, the true worth—when Jesus said that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of what he possesses. So, in what does it consist? You know the worth of a man by the integrity of his heart and the uprightness of his tongue. If a man has no integrity and his tongue is not upright, he is a worthless person. He does not have a worth. He does not have a worth. So, you measure worth not by what a man possesses—he has this, he has that—no, that is not how you get his worth. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of what he possesses. You can get the man by the integrity of his heart and by the uprightness of his tongue. Now, he said wisdom in the heart... I said the burden that brought this to today's meeting is two: what you hear young people say, what you hear people say, what you hear young people talk about. “Ah me, this is what I am going to do. Ah me, that one does not matter. Is it not Nigeria? Look, even God understands.” You begin to, by the utterance, you begin to know the state of the heart. You begin to understand how much the heart is wise. The level of reverence for God, the level of irreverence for God, the level of proximity to God, the distance a heart has with God, the relationship he shares with God can easily be perceived. That is why he said, “My son, if truly you become really wise, it will be displayed in what you say.” So he said, “My heart will be glad if your heart is wise. In fact, my innermost being will begin to rejoice when I begin to see that wisdom being expressed.” Because if it is there, I can still not know. But by the time I now see you express it, I will know that my son has gotten it. I cannot know that you have gotten wisdom if you don't express it. That is why he said, “In fact, that is why the ‘yea’ is coming with the lips and not with the heart.” Do you get what I am trying to say? Because with the heart, you are still not very sure. But when you now see the utterance, what the child says, what he speaks, attitude and lifestyle, you can say, “Wow, my child indeed has gotten wisdom.” Then the reins, the innermost part of the heart, can now begin to rejoice. Immediately he finished that, immediately that was ended, an issue was now raised in the next two verses which is bringing us to where we are going. Don't forget that wisdom in the heart is captured by watching what somebody says consistently, watching how he speaks consistently, what you will always hear him want to talk about, what he has to say when matters come up, his perspective to what he is saying. You can know if the person is wise. But in a bid to explain the wisdom, he now wanted to explain the type of wisdom that is in the heart that makes the reins to rejoice. That is where we come to the matter of “There Is an End.” He wanted to explain the type of wisdom. But please always note what I said. When somebody wants to chat on Facebook, somebody wants to talk on WhatsApp, somebody wants to make a telephone conversation, somebody is in the company of his friend, look at more what formed the substance of the discussion. If you spend one hour, the major part of the hour, upon what is it focused? It will help you to know if a young man is wise or a young man is foolish. Are you getting what we are trying to say? If we engage, if it has to be that, “Hey, friend, we have to talk,” and we have talked for two, three hours or one hour, at the end of the discussion, what is the impact of the discussion on your life? It can help you to know whether a man is wise or a man is foolish. You call a friend, “Friend, this is what I am thinking about this matter. What do you have to say?” When you listen to his contribution, you can know whether the heart is wise or the heart is foolish. A man, in the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, speaks out of the abundance of his heart. You know what is more there. You know what is really, really there. So there is a strong link between the heart and the tongue. It's a strong link. Now, but the link that is between them is a kind of wisdom. Having said that, in verse 17, he now says... he came back again to where? To the matter of what again? The matter of the heart. Are you seeing it? He has left the tongue. He is back again to the heart. What he said in verse 17? KJV: “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.” The other translation that time said what? [Speaker 3] “Do not want to be the same as very bad people. Obey the Lord during all your life.” [Speaker 1] What translation is that? Easy English indeed. And what formed the ordinariness with which he is saying it? Because how do we know bad people? He had concluded that bad people are sinners. So, he had helped us to know people that are bad, that sinners are bad. Or are sinners good? Are sinners good people? They are not good people, regardless of what you think they have. I hope you get what I am trying to say. No matter what you think they have, no matter what they possess, no matter what they gather around themselves, what are they? They are bad people. Even the Message said “very bad.” They are very bad people. That is what King James called sinners. That one said “bad people.” When you see a sinner riding in a Jeep, don't you want to be like the man riding in the Jeep? Or you want to have his wealth but not his life? Now, you see, of course, when the Christian sees the sinner with some good things, it is not as if he wants to be a sinner. You know that is not the focus. That is not the focus. But he likes what the sinner has. “He is enjoying, oh. Oh boy!” We are not talking about the fact that he too wants to be a sinner, but he is talking about the fact that, “Ah, this material thing that this person has, I wish I have it.” You know that is the actual thing. That is the actual thing. Now, having said that, why did the Bible now say, “Let not your heart envy sinners”? When it said, “Don't want to be like bad people.” And look at what we just said. We said not being like, not wanting to... what we envy in the sinner is not really that we want to be a sinner. Is that not? It's the things that they have. You see the sinner now make first class in your class. You say, “Ah, I wish I am in this first class now and not this unbeliever.” You get the point I am making. You are not saying, “Ah, God, make me unbeliever to make first class.” That is not what you are saying. You are... I hope I am clear. I want you to understand the practicality of this discussion. Now, when the Bible says, “Don't let your heart envy sinner,” so what is it telling us? He said, “Don't want to be like sinner.” We know ordinarily we don't want to... what we envy in them most of the time... nobody sees a sinner and wants to be like the sinner. But what we envy in them most of the time, what we seem to be saying most of the time is, “I wish I have these things that he has.” Now, when the Bible says, “Don't let your heart...” he came back to the matter of the heart again. “Don't let your heart envy sinner.” So, what exactly is the Bible addressing? You see, he had come back again to the heart. Because don't forget that wisdom in the heart can be gauged by the utterance of the tongue. Wisdom is not on the tongue. Wisdom stays inside the heart. That's where it stays. From there you collect when you want to talk. If foolishness is there, from there you collect foolishness when you want to talk. If rubbish is there, from there you collect rubbish. It is what is there. The tongue is just an instrument of expression to the heart. Now, he came back to the heart. He said, “Don't let your heart envy sinner.” My question is: what is in the sinner that the son is likely to envy? He said, “Don't want to be like them.” That is one. Another translation. Maybe we have several renderings of “don't envy” so that we know what “don't envy” means. Several renderings of “don't envy.” [Speaker 4] I want to check the meaning of “envy” from the dictionary, the Hebrew word *qana*. To envy, to be jealous, to be envious, to provoke to jealousy. Still “envy,” “jealous,” “zealous for.” That is the synonym to that word. [Speaker 1] Yeah. Of course, envy is a zeal. Envy is a passion. Envy is a drive. Envy is something that has to do with an intense emotion. But I want you to look at different renderings of the word. “Don't let your heart envy sinner,” “don't want to be like sinner.” Yes, another rendering. [Speaker 4] NIV, Amplified, all used the word “envy.” [Speaker 1] All the translations that you have? Okay. Only that one that said “don't want to be like sinner” is the only different one. Okay. What of the Message? Somebody read the Message. How did it use “envy”? [Speaker 5] “Don't for a minute envy careless rebels.” [Speaker 1] “Don't for a minute envy careless rebels.” NLT says, “Don't envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord.” Now, so when he says “don't envy sinners,” “don't want to be like sinners,” what exactly is it that we are not to... Envy talks about an emotion. Envy is an attitude. It's not behavioral. That's why he says it's in the heart. You get the point. It's an art attitude. It's not a behavioral thing, but attitude determines behavior. When you act out attitude, it becomes behavior. That state that made you to do what you did is attitude. What you did because of the state is behavior. Are we together? Now, envy is attitudinal. It is a level of attitude. Just like jealousy, it's talking about a strong passion that has to do with a desire that wants, that wants to possess, that wants to have what belongs to others, that makes you to feel that what this person now should have been yours. It makes you put yourself in the place of that other person. And sometimes, it also makes you to dislike the person in terms of... especially if the person is a mate. You begin to feel that, “Hum, must have bribed the lecturer, but no wonder he is... don't mind him, he is making A in the class. Hum, does he read? Does he not read like me? Because the lecturer is his uncle.” That's envy. The fact that this thing should have been it. For mates, it brings competition, competitive spirit. But we are looking at something very, very important. He says, “Don't envy sinner. Rather, be thou zealous for the fear of the Lord.” Now, he is still talking about the heart, is he? Now, what is it? The question we ask ourselves is that if the Christian is not desiring to be a sinner, that is not what he envies in the sinner. I hope you know that. He doesn't desire to be the sinner. But if, for instance, the sinner has made 10 million, the Christian desires, “Ah, I wish I have 10 million too.” It's the material thing the sinner has. Now, since the Bible says “do not envy sinners, let your heart be zealous for the fear of the Lord,” what actually is the Bible telling us not to envy? [Speaker 4] Is it not to be zealous for the material thing? [Speaker 1] Is that what it's telling us? For one reason, I feel it is the point of the heart that feels the sinner is enjoying this benefit and there is a chance I might not because I am a Christian, because I am a believer. Because the following phrase says that we should continue in the fear of God. It's the feeling that makes the believer feel like because I am a believer and I refuse those bribes and I refuse... I try to live my life right that I am somewhat impoverished, that this person is better. And the feeling of thinking, “This is how I am going to be,” as if there is no reward for me, like this person is better off. I'm looking at it from the continuing phrase and clause that says that, “Yet if you are steadfast in the fear of God, there is an end, your own expectation will not be cut short.” So it's the point where we begin to lose focus on where we are going and begin to focus on the materials of the believer, forgetting that we have our own reward. I am thinking that's one of it. [Speaker 1] Yeah. I think you have helped us clear a lot of air in the matter, and that is the weight of the matter we are trying to bring out. You see, what it is talking about in that verse is clear. He said don't envy them, be thou zealous for the fear of God all day long. Don't envy them. Now, the statement you made that, “See, there is this feeling of the believer,” because the principles and the patterns of God is not quick-quick. It's not quick-quick. It's not fast-fast. It's not, “If you will bow down... if you bow down all these things will be yours.” That was the offer that they gave Jesus. Quick-quick offer. There is a way the enemy quickly offers because the purpose of the offering is to snare. But there is a way God doesn't quickly offer because the purpose of God is to train His own. You know, if you want to kill something now, you just carry corn. The knife is behind you. You are putting the corn, *gree-gree-gree-gree*. The thing is seeing that you are pouring more. The thing will be enjoying. *Kwa!* You now kill the thing. That is the way the principle of the world work. For you to understand it, look at Ephesians chapter 2. Let us read verse 1 to verse 2. Ephesians 2, read verse 1 to 2. Read to verse 3, sorry. [Speaker 2] “Before, your spirits were dead. You were doing wrong things and you were not obeying God. You were doing the same kind of wrong things as other people in this world do. You were like all the other people in the world who do not obey God. You were obeying the spirit who rules the spiritual powers in the air. That spirit is now working in everyone who refuses to obey God.” [Speaker 1] So, please, what is... what is the propeller? I hope you know what propeller is. Do you know what propeller is? What is the propeller of the sinner? You look as if they are deciding themselves, is he? They are doing their thing the way they want. It look as if they are free. But are they really free? Are they really free? That's why I tell people: man is never free at any time. Man is not designed to be free. He's designed to be influenced. It only depends on what is influencing you. By default, we were not designed to be free. You say, “It's my free will.” You are only deceiving yourself. What looks like free is not actually free. Let me help you out. When Eve said this thing is now good for food and all of that, was it not her decision? Was it not her decision? It was not her decision. But was it really, really, really about her? Was it her decision? No. Where is it coming from? The serpent. All the while she had been seeing that thing, it was never good for food. It was when a suggestion was made that, “Look, if you eat it you become wise, you will be like God.” And then immediately she left the first influence. The first influence was trust the Lord. Whatever He said is true. So immediately, inside her, when she doubted the integrity of the word of God, what happens to the heart? The heart, there was a change. So what looks like your decision is not actually your decision. There was a change. What she normally see and she see death, she begins to see life in it. But it was because first and foremost she doubted God. She first left God. Because it is by faith we walk with God. She left faith. She refused to believe that if you eat you will die. She agreed that if you eat you will live. So the foundation of human sinfulness is rebellion against the word of God. That's the foundation. He rebelled. She rebelled. Immediately she rebelled, what she used to see as sinful became normal. So what normally change human philosophy and thinking is first a state of rebellious heart that rebels against God. Then it now begins to affect their philosophy. “Ah, this thing, it's not really bad now. No, if you know I love the girl, we can express love now. Even when you are not married, there is a way you can express love since I didn't rape her.” You know, it looks correct, the philosophy. But it was first a rebellion against “don't commit fornication.” So that's the foundation. Man must first leave light to embrace darkness, then the thinking become darkened. That's why it said that their understanding became dark. Have you read that before in Romans? He said because they refused to accept God as God, their hearts became corrupt and their understanding... he is talking about their philosophy, their way of thinking. You know, formerly when he look at that thing, he says, “No, if you eat it you will die.” But gradually she looks at it, “It was something that will make you wise. She said, ‘No, you see when you eat this thing, there is a kind of wisdom it brings. And apart from that, you become like God and you know...’” You know, that become the philosophy. So it looks like it is their philosophy. It is because they are working according to a spirit. Somebody brought the suggestion. There is always satanic suggestion and imagination before the will of man begins to work. The same thing too for the things of God. He said God work in you both to what? Will. Do you see it too again? God works in you to will. So what looks like “I will,” it's also not free. You are work according to another spirit. There is no time that man is free. If you understand this thing better, you will understand why we must constantly be people that stay in God's presence, in prayer for help, for help, for discernment, for guidance. You get the point? Because we are beings that are easily swayed. We don't know that we have even swayed away. We think that we are still... we are easily swayed. The bad thing about it is that man by default was made to be... he was made not to be independent. Is he? Now, by sin, by default now, he's not to be independent but to be ruled by sin. That's the real problem now. First, it was not to be independent. When sin now enters, we now call it the total depravity of man. If God stand like this—if this is God and this is Satan—if man is here, if man stand like this... if this is God, and God, man want to go and meet God and he do like this, between him, he will be doing like this [stomps feet repeatedly]. He'll be going towards this one by default of sin. That is what sin makes to man. That's why they say that we are conceived in sin. That's what we call the total depravity of man, the total inability of man. That is why you notice that sometimes you say, “This is good, this is bad. I won't do bad. I won't do bad. Ah, New Year resolution, I will not do it again.” You will see him, by the time... “Ah, oh boy! Why?” Then another one will sing, “God forgive me, God forgive me.” Leave him again. After some time, “I won't do it, I won't do it.” You are saying, “Ah, ah, what kind of me is this? What kind of thing is this?” That was what Paul was expressing when he said, “The good I want to do, I could not do. The evil I don't want to do is what I am doing.” He said, “Therefore, if I'm doing the good, if I cannot do the good I want to do, but I'm doing the evil I don't want to do, it's no longer me that is doing it. It is sin that is in me.” So man is a slave to sin. So he is never free. What looks like free is not free. He's not free. So what Jesus actually did to Christians, listen, is that Jesus just freed man. He freed us from sin so that we can now choose. We are now back to the default, whether to follow God or to follow Satan. But for the sinner, he is not under any choice. He should be following Satan. So you now have the will again now to be able to choose back that, “Okay, I don't want to list to sin again,” and you will be able to say no. That is salvation. You now begin to work on that. That's why he say work out the salvation. You now begin to work it. You now begin to work on that. You now begin to follow... now that you have been freed, you are no more tied to the thing. Now walk right. So now if God is here and I want to go here, I can go [stomps feet] because I've been freed. That's the difference. But it does not mean that having been freed, you cannot still choose to go like this [stomps feet]. So the only difference is a matter of the will, a matter of the ability of man, which is brought back to where it was in Eden originally. You know originally they could choose to eat it or not to eat it. That was where they were originally. That was what Christ brought. That is what we call salvation. But you know the matter is not ended. You now begin to give yourself a living sacrifice by the renewal now of your mind. That is another process to begin to renew the mind, renew the mind. That's what we call Christian growth. You are growing, you are growing, you are growing, you are growing. The mind keeps getting renewed and renewed and renewed and renewed on and on from glory to glory you are moving on. But what we are... what is actually pulling me this afternoon, the burden for today's meeting, is this. He says, “Do not envy sinners.” Do not envy that. Be thou envious... do not envy sinners, but be thou what? In the fear of God. So you will notice that there is a matter because the other ones, they are on a track. On that track, somebody wish that they prosper, but not as their soul prosper. Our own track, he wish that we prosper but as our soul also prosper. You are seeing the diversity. So on that track, the sinner seems to move faster. On that track, because they are feeding them to do what? For slaughter. You just carry the corn, the thing is just... the knife is behind you. You are pouring more. The thing will be enjoying. *Kwa!* You now kill the thing. That is the way the principle of the world work. For you to understand it... he is just pouring the corn. The thing is just enjoying. *Kwa!* You now kill the thing. Have you ever been on a petrol line before? And as you queue one, there's another queue here. Or by 8:00 AM, as you are queued, this line is not moving. This one is going. Another person come again, rejoin. “Ah, oh boy!” You look again, that line... the other line had left. You are still number one. You look again, that person... that line had brought another... “Ah, ah, after some time... what am I doing here? Let me change my position. Ah, wait, let's come to this... ah, wait, let me change my position.” You quickly join. That's what he is trying to say here. You see, the two tracks... on one track you may be one hour in a position before there is a movement. On the other track, every second they are moving. Please, where will you stay? That is what he is trying to say that there is something about not fearing God that brings quick prosperity. There is something about not fearing God that brings quick progress. There is something about it when you don't fear God, you get the progress fast, *cha-cha*, you make it quickly. There is this quickness that comes with not fearing God. If you want to fear God, it's going to be a longer process. That's what he's trying to say. That's what he's trying to say. There is this fast-tracking... you see, these days they say you fast-track cash. You just put your ATM inside the POS, inside the bank, they just put there “fast-track.” There's a fast-tracking on that lane. You can fast-track prosperity. If you want to have sex today, instead of waiting till you are married, you can fast-track it. Do you get it? You just have a boyfriend and a girlfriend instead of wait... you now wait, oh... [stomps feet slowly] then [claps]. Are you understanding? You wait, oh... pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray... okay, you get to a point, say God lead you, God lead you again now. Go and meet your discipler. Say, “This is the brother.” You meet them again, say, “You know you must be pure.” *Hum!* You are still going to wait again with the relationship. And they come back to you questioning, “I hope everything is pure? I hope nothing *sha*?” You want to meet, “Don't meet in seclusion. Do you hear that?” Emotion is growing. “No, I don't understand you at all.” “Don't, *hm*? It's sin against God.” And then you continue, you wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, oh. And then the brother says, “Okay, okay, we'll settle down in four years' time.” Your relationship again is still waiting. What your mate have enjoyed and enjoyed and they are coming out and they are going in and they have changed some Top-Net to Boxer, to DC, and they have done everything about it, and you are still waiting. Are you understanding what I am trying to say now? There is a way you can quickly get if you leave the fear of God. There is a way. And you know why I am using that example is because you will notice that once you get to puberty, the boy begins to get attracted to the girl, which is just normal. They say no, this normalcy, it will be abnormal if you go beyond this limit. This normalcy is not for the purpose of sex. And yet everything about you... you get the point? When you get to a certain age, you start having particular interest in the opposite sex, which is as a result of biological changes in the body. And that is why I was dealing with... I was dealing with one case of, you know, one of our students over there who had aborted severally for the young man. I said why do you... he said no, no, I don't want to face the shame. I said this person is wasting you away. He said actually, “Uh, but you know one has to express love.” You get the point I am making is if you leave that, you know if you don't want to read too much, you can easily pass exam. You can fast-track it. If you don't want to write WAEC and get all the As, there is a way to do it. Have you seen what he's trying to say? These people can fast-track. You can fast-track on that other lane. You can fast-track things. You can bring what is to come in 20 years' time, you can bring it now. “Ah, how am I sure I will live till 20 years? What if I die before that time? Let me enjoy the thing now.” So you want to bring it forth. That is the other track, that if we remove the fear of God from our life, there is a way we can get some of the things you are looking for quick-quick. There is a way you can get it. That is the way he's talking about. There is a way you can get out out of a problem quick-quick by telling lie. If something happened, you want to quickly get out of it. You say, “Ah, no, I don't know about it. I don't know, I don't know what happened.” You have gotten out. Have you not fast-tracked your problem? You have fast-tracked your coming out of the problem. They will be looking for the person who did it. Ah, you have gotten out of it. Have you not fast-tracked it? You can fast-track it. You can fast-track it. Somebody say, “Who did this thing?” “Uh... actually...” the problem will remain. You say, “Okay, just tell lie. Just tell lie like this. Ah, God, tell them the truth. About one day they may sack me. Then they sack me, how will I get another job? And then, ah, *kai, kai, kai*. God forbid, I can't lose my job now, I can't lose it now. Ah, I don't know, I just came here and I made the thing.” You have gotten out of your problem. They will begin to look other ways and then you are free. Have you not fast-tracked your deliverance? Have you not fast-tracked it? You can fast-track it. He is saying that there is a way things can be fast-tracked outside the fear of God. That is what he is telling you, son, be careful. Be careful about about these people. The... what is peculiar about the sinner is that there is no regard for God in their decision. There is no regard. They don't regard God when they are deciding. They don't regard Him. They are on another track where they are moved by another spirit. And that spirit don't mind to give you... he can give you a child after marriage. He can give you everything as long as your life is ruined. He has achieved his own purpose. Is that not his purpose? That's his purpose. He can give you if you... you know, he can give you. You can see a boy of, you can see a boy of 16 having 30 billion, having kidnapped several millionaires, and you are still going through school. Why are you wasting time? Going through school, spend another five years. When you finish again, you'll be carrying file, you'll be looking for job here and there. Why not just do something like kidnapping and then you are already rich and you are controlling billion? Is it not the same end that you are looking for? Are you understanding? Are you understanding what I am trying to say? So you will see youth of your age, and in so many things, you will see the envy. It looks like, “Must we be on this track? It looks like it is not fast.” That track... you know what makes you to stand before kings? He said have you seen a man who is diligent in his job? That is why you will stand, on that other track of of the fear of God. The only way to stand, to excel, is to be diligent, is to labor, is to work. That is the way you can only shine. If you don't labor, there is no shine. He said there is no food for a lazy man. He that does not work should not eat, on this other track. On the other one you don't need to work. Somebody was singing a song, we were singing in class, *awon olomayesi won wa sise o, awa kowayewa gbadun*. What he's saying is that some came to this world to labor, we came to this world to enjoy. You know what he is saying? Labor is not correct. But what did God do? Your God work, work, work, work, work until He was tired and He needed to rest. God worked and told everybody should work. That is God. But you see, I'm trying to show you these two paths. That there is something... there is something we call stolen treasure, stolen riches. They come easily. They come quickly. They come fast. You can easily get them. Now, when... just look at the first example again that we can easily see the consequence. When two young people leave the way of waiting till marriage and they go out to have sex. Now, let's just... let's leave the consequence. Does it not look like they have enjoyed ahead? Let's forget the consequences that we know to be that. It looks like they have enjoyed ahead. Ahead of their mate who are still waiting. You look at that one, you quickly see the consequence. They drop out of school, they did this, they did that, they do all of those and those and those. But let me tell you, in every other matters of life, it's the same thing. What he is saying is that do not envy sinners. In this track where people fear God, in this track of fearing God, things follow divine principles. There are procedures. The vision is for a time. He makes all things beautiful in His time. He puts things according to His purpose. He works them according to His timing. It's not about the way you and He go according to His ways. It may be that to bring you to become a Prime Minister, you first have to be a slave. From being a slave, you become a servant. From being a servant again, you will be confronted with some kind of situation where you are supposed to choose again a track. Couldn't Joseph have fast-tracked his riches? If he had cooperated with Potiphar's wife, has he not fast-tracked the riches? What will happen immediately? “Honey, that Hebrew boy Joseph, don't you think that we should make him not to be just working, working without having a land of his own? He has been so faithful to us. You know it was because of him that God blessed us.” He says, “Yes, yes, darling, you are correct. I want to suggest, let's open an account for him and we let him have his own personal house too. From there he will be serving us. And when we bless him, that way God will further bless us. Don't you think so, darling?” So you are correct. You know we will be working things. But the God factor has left. He become human agency working things. You know, human agency, but actually, the agency is under another agency. And then human figure. And then everything begin to work. And before you know, within a couple of two, three months, he said begin to say, “DC, not madam again. DC, please.” and then when your Oga comes, you will be saying “Madam,” he said, “Uh.” and then will be smiling. Hallelujah! What kind of... what kind of enjoy... ah, this is... ah, I am fortunate. Ah, *orisun mi bare*. And then he begin to... do you understand what I am saying? He begin to get fast. But there is an end. But the other one... are you understanding what he is trying to say? That every situation in diverse situation in life, there is always this confrontation of the fear of the Lord and outside the fear of the Lord. Young people are constantly confronted today with these choices. They are always... stand, stand... and you see the kind of brightness that these fast-tracked ones without God's fear have. It is perplexing. The radiance will just go, “Where?” and then you almost confused. The brightness of the other one is not... is not blinding. While the other track where the fear of God is not, it's a blinding radiance. You know why it is blinding? Because quick-quick-quick you are seeing the sinners getting it. You are seeing them, *kwa!* They are getting it. So it's blinding because the result is almost immediate. You want to make money quickly now, you discuss with one Baba. He says, “No, all you need to do, just bring the... just get off the head of a virgin and then if you can also bring the... the skull of an old man. That settles it.” And then you just quickly make arrangement. One young mate, you induce a friend, a female friend, you kill. And when you kill, you carry the head, you take it there. You don't need to kill a whole person. Very easy. You look for that, you get that. A couple of things, you just push them together, push them together, push them together. They give you the thing. He said, “Okay, when you get to the house, just say *gosa, gosa, gosa*. There will be... every *gosa* you say is 1-1 million.” And then you begin to ride car all around. “Yeah, but we just thank God. Nigeria, God is helping us. Uh, God is helping us. Ah, just thank God, eh? It's not for God. <i>Hm</i>, we thank God, oh.” You know there is a way the sinner speaks. They look so insidious. They look they are not harmful. He said, “Ah, just thank God, eh? We just give praise to God. *Hm*, if not for God, <i>hm</i>. We thank God, oh.” And you begin to wonder, “Ah, ah! How? How? What is the track? Me and this brother, we were... how did he suddenly get to this point?” And it's not possible that a suggestion... say, “Ah, friend, I don't know. You... things have been so hard.” He said, “Ah, there is a way out, there is a way out. Say how? It's not ungodly. You know it's not ungodly. There is nothing that... my thing, you don't... at a point you get to know what it really... what it truly involves. And then you are left with the fear of the Lord or you change the track.” But the point we are actually drawing today about not envying sinner is that get it right from the beginning. That there is a track that we call the track of the fear of God. Things are not fast-tracked. They come in God's time. You cannot fast-track things in that place. There is order, there is principle. There are things... they are there. You cannot... you cannot turn it. You cannot. Once you try to turn it, you must leave that. If you want to turn it, you must leave that track. You must leave the fear of God. Like somebody was trying to get something, and I said, “Okay, what the decision now is that you need to tell... but, ah, if I tell them all this story, they won't give me.” I said, “But you need to tell them.” He said, “Ah, I'll just tell them part of it. If I tell them everything, they won't give me the amount that I need.” I said, “But it's better to tell them.” He said, “Ah, I will think about it.” What is the problem? Now, just a little lie will give you another 3 million to something. Just a little, not big lie, just small. That's why I said, I said we need to... that is the point he's pointing here. That he captured the... when he said it will look like when exactly will there be prosperity in the part of the fear of God? When exactly? Because in this part of the fear of God, you know what you are actually doing? You are living God to say in your time make things beautiful. In this part you are not saying that because I have done this I should get this. You are saying that God, I am following you. I am just following your principle. I'm just following it. And that is why when you look at what follows, when he said, “Be thou zealous for the fear of the Lord all day long.” Why is he saying all day long? I believe it's clearer now. See, what I've come to find out today is that some of us begin with the fear of God in the morning. By the time we get to the afternoon, we have left it. Some begin through morning to afternoon, as they are approaching evening, “Ah, ah.” And that's why I was showing you by the time you're on that track and it looks like the first table on this ATM went, the second time people went, you are only five on this place. You are still number four. When you came you were number five. Only one person has left. Four! You begin to reason why you should adjust. Ah, can't this thing be adjusted? Do you need a month to collect from that ATM? Imagine that somebody have told you in the mind that, “God said stay on this ATM, this is the best place to collect.” Imagine that he had said that and he had gone. And after four, five hours, I'm still counting my... “This thing that God said, is God really sure that? Maybe God... or is He that He wanted to point to that other one?” You know, there is a way you begin to adjust because I know that God don't hate me. God don't hate me. Maybe He wanted to point to that other one. That is where you will go to that person in front. “Say please, did God say we should stay on this line?” Have you seen believers say that? That's why you see believers seek counsel from another believer. You get the point? That's why you see sometimes you see the believer... there's a case of when a young man approached me and he said, “Uncle, these two jobs, oh. Ah! One job, the offer is 700,000. The other one is 120.” He said, “Uncle, you see why I came to see you is that... I said, ‘Go for the one for 500 now, is there any problem?’” He said, “That is why I actually came. You see that 500,000 job, actually, actually the age they need, I am above that age. But I'm just thinking that age is a number. But you know, sir, age is a number. So I've been thinking things because I am qualified. In fact, they have everything. It is when they now said that they want people that are not above 25. And, sir, I am only just 27. I am only just 27. So, and you know, sir, you know normally it is zero to five, five to 10... so 25, 26 to 30. So, sir, so I'm thinking that it's age bracket. So actually the spirit has been... the thing has been worrying me and I came let me seek counsel. Because you know the situation of this nation.” That's the kind of weight I'm talking about now. You now call the person in front. “Have we supposed to be here? 30 people have gone on that lane. It's very easy to just remain here.” I'll show you real-life, these are real-life situations. That's why I'm showing you a real-life brother who was asking me. And I said, “Bro, you are not confused. I know you are not confused. You are only saying that is it correct to be truthful? And you know the answer, so why are you asking me?” “So, uncle, you mean that I should not take that other job, abbie? Ah!” I said, “But you ought not to have come to me.” So I should not take it. Without what he also counseling. He wants somebody to... the number four person, you know, to say, “Let's leave.” That is the point where you want to leave righteousness, you will be looking for support. Except you are not a true child of God. You will be looking for somebody to tell you that that wrong is not really, really wrong. That is why he says, “Be thou zealous for the fear of God all day long.” Baba knows that it can be long. He knows it can be long. You may be there from morning till evening before you now move to get the ATM. That's what he said. Wait all day long, all day. All day. You may get there 5:00 AM, the collection may be at 11:00 PM. That is what today has pushed many young people to the other track. Making it and making it fast, that is the key. You will hear people... you will even begin to see how young people think. “Ah, Nigeria, who will sacrifice himself for Nigeria? Me, I go make it my own way. No, ah! This nation is not going anywhere. You better be... you better be wise.” You will see people talking in this way. You will see young men saying that, “Why are we seeing the politics of this country? We wish even we will come out and do it right.” They say, “Uncle, nothing can be right. Nothing can be right. That's how we will be saying it. People will be enjoying themselves. Nothing can be right, uncle. It's for people to get there and make it and leave the place.” These are... it will be this kind of pressure that has pushed men to the other track. I'm beginning to see it in the things they say, in their philosophy. In their philosophy, in their confession about life, in their how to make it. He said, “Look, we just be... we know that God has a way of doing His in His own time. Ah, sometimes God's time normally... normally stays, oh. Sometimes God... you know these things of God sometimes, the things of God. “Man, I believe in God's timing, oh, but me, I also believe that things should be fast.” You see people... have you seen Christian young Christians talk like that? “I believe in God's timing, but I also believe things should be fast.” You will be seeing this kind... I am just trying to make you understand how to pick the heart, how to read the heart. Many young men... you know the revelation they just showed me? The revelation he showed me is what I'm telling you now by those two ATMs. And I saw several young men on the part of godliness changing to the other ATM and they were moving. “Ah! For how long will we be here? For how long will we be on this? Maybe God meant that one.” and they were changing. And we see believers who started well on the track. Some by 12:00, they change the track. Some they waited, did... do you know that the one that pained me most are the ones in the revelation they have wait all through the afternoon sun. They have bear the heat of 12:00, 1:00, 2:00 in the sun. By the cool of the evening, *hm*, it looks dark, nobody is seeing me. They change track. Who will know that I have changed? I'm no more here. It's not people seeing me because it is dark. They change track. They change track. And the line before that was excessively long, by the time we get to the breaking of a new day, by the time we break... because the darkest part of the night is also the closest to the beginning of another day. 11:59 is the darkest of the night, but it's also close to what? To 12:00 AM. As the thing was getting darker in that revelation, the number was reducing. They were changing to the other ATM. They were moving to the other ATM. They were moving to the other ATM. They were moving. They were changing. Mind you, you know you are moving towards the break of a new day, but they were changing track. They were changing track. They were changing track. See, young people, there is a light at the end of that tunnel. It's getting darker and darker and darker and darker and dark, but it's also getting closer and closer to the break of another day. Yet there is an end. There is still an end. There is an end. There is an end. It will end. And by the time it ends, your expectation will not be cut off. What you think that, “Ah, hey, oh, ah! They have been... these people, they have finished since morning, they have gone, they will be doing some other things, they would have read, they would have done so many other things. I needed to go and do this, I needed to go and do that. Let me leave this godliness.” All what you need to do will still be done. All what had to be done will still be done. There is an end. There is an end. There is an end. But if you choose the other way not to wait till the end, the Lord gave me an example to show you, and then we will pray. Let's look at the example. We will not waste time on that example. Genesis. Genesis chapter 13. Are you there? Genesis 13. Are you there? Let's go quickly to the story from verse 7. I am reading the NLT translation. Genesis 13 from verse 7. “And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, ‘Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take to the left, I will go to the right. If thou wilt go to the right, then I will go to the left.’ And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plains of Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves one from the other. And Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.” Are we looking at what is happening here? A very, very simple story. All his life, Lot had been joining with Abraham. They have been journeying, they have been journeying, they have been journeying. Who was leading the way? Abraham. Who received the voice of God? Abraham. Who was taking Lot along in that journey? Abraham was taking him, and they were going on that path with God. They were going on that path with God. When they got to Canaan, Shechem, the Lord said, “This is the land.” Abraham still built an altar. Along the line, Abraham went to Egypt, came back, and then there was this time they had so much and they needed to part, get to part ways. And Abraham said, “Lot, there is no need for us to fight. If you go like this, I will go like this. If you go like this, I will go like this. Just choose, and I will go the other way.” There was an opportunity before Lot to take a decision. What decision? What was the decision that was open to Lot in that situation? To choose which side he wants to go. But by default, had Lot been choosing a side? Had he been choosing a side? He had been following who? Abraham. When Abraham said, “Choose to any side, if you go this way I will go this way,” what should be the response of Lot? He should have an advanced... to choose before... is that? What was the pressure there? He should have asked Abraham where to go. He should have asked Abraham, “Baba, this point that I get that I increased like this, I am never been going my way. As I'm following you, I have been increasing. My cattle have been increasing. My herdsmen have been increasing. Now you are telling me to separate from you. Okay, please, which side again should I go? Because I want to keep increasing.” But he felt that if he asked Abraham to tell him to choose, Abraham might go and choose the good side and tell him to go to the side that is not well-watered. So when he looked up and he saw it, he said, “This is an opportunity. He is the one that said I should choose now. After all, I am not the one that said he's the one.” He had a justification, doesn't he? We already have an excuse even for our selfishness. What was the excuse? It was him that asked me to choose. And so, when he was to choose again, what did he do? Bible says he chose where? All! He didn't leave any. He begin to look at that land. He looked, both of you are cattle rearers. This side is watered, this side is dry. And when he want to choose, ordinarily, this man helped you to prosper to the point that you got to. What will you ask him? “Dad, I can see that this side has water, this side is dry. Dad, can we do it like this? Maybe I take some of this wet side and like this and then would it not be better so that your own cattle too can... so that we can both have...” That would have been... And we were discussing in the family altar this morning, that is in John. He says, “He that walketh in love walketh in light. There is no occasion of stumbling in him.” He that walketh in love walketh in light. There is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that works in selfishness walks in the dark. There are diverse occasions for stumbling on him. Because of the selfishness, you know they are both cattle rearers. He quickly calculated that his cattle will do far better if he chose... if he is the one that takes all the water side. So he was thinking of how things will be better for him, no concern with how it will be better for the other person. So the Bible says, and he chose all the plain. Is it in your Bible? In all the plain? Is it in your Bible? Any different translation? All! The whole! What is all? Everything. But can you imagine that from such a man? Can you imagine such a thing? Some of us are like that. When it looks like if I... if I walk in love, ah, I will not get more. Let me... you put selfishness. You consider only yourself. If I do it like this, ah, maybe my own will reduce. Let me get more. So he decided. So two things came to play in that place. Number one: selfishness. Number two: what was it? If I choose all the water side, my cattle will do what? Prosper. There was seemingly a good judgment there. Let me read something to you, what the Lord called my attention to. I'll read this here, the note is there. He said, “Son, we need to be very watchful about decisions that are driven by self-centeredness or door of selfish opportunities.” And mere human, mere immediate human sound judgment in relation to the future. I take it again. He said, “We need to be very careful, very watchful about decisions that are driven by self-centeredness or door of selfish opportunity.” The door opened for him, but it was a selfish one. He should have said, “No, no, choose for me.” Ah, opportunity, before he will quickly choose. The door opened. It was a door that opened, but it was not a correct door. He should have refused the door. Sometimes it happens, diversely. Somebody gives you change, and he give you instead of 300, 400. He said, “Take your change.” You can decide to walk away. It was a door that opened. I remember one day I went to cash money in the bank and when I was cashing in the bank, as I was cashing the money in the bank, the teller, they paid me excess, the cashier. I didn't even know. I've gotten home. Normally I just decided to count and I saw excess. “Ah!” I said, “No, this money...” I now went back. I couldn't go back that same day. I went back about two days later. I was looking for that cashier. I am not sure. I said, “I want to see so-and-so this-so this-so time, this...” and I gave him back the money. That's a door that opened. I didn't steal it. It was a door. You can say, “Ah, after all, it's not traceable, he gave me tomorrow.” A situation where something just... a credit alert in your account. You get the point? And then, “Ah, this person has given me 50,000 instead of 100,000.” He didn't come to cross-check. But like yesterday, somebody was to send 5,000 for us to do something. But when I saw 10,000 alert, I said, “Ah, what happened?” I had to make a call. I said, “Please, what we discussed was 5,000.” He said, “Yes, said yes, I know, I know, I know. I decided to add another five.” He said, “Okay, I now understand.” But you know some of us would say, “Ah, don't let us talk about it, maybe he meant to give me.” Door of selfish opportunities. Sometimes it may open, that's why I'm giving you how it can open so that you can understand it. It opened and he grabbed it. The other one was that human judgment, immediate sound judgment. “Ah, with this watered place, wow, the animals will grow, they will be...” You know, that was the immediate in relation to the future. We saw the sister, she spoke in tongues so wonderfully. She looks so godly, consistent in fellowship. You say, “Wow, she is a barrister. Oh, you too you are a lawyer. She is from your village, close to your mother's town.” They say, “Wow! This is perfect.” Bro, have you prayed? “Look, I am certain, I am certain.” Bro, immediate human judgment in relation to the future. Let us be careful. Some things, they look very real. They look very real, but they may not be true. Even he was looking at how watered... sometimes we see it many times. “Ah, if as a doctor I marry a nurse, that sister is a nurse. Now when we open the hospital, we don't need to get a nurse. She would just be the nurse. That way, we just come out with our own hospital. Ah, *kwa*! No, it must be Sister Toyin. Father, I receive her!” So many... I'm just showing you this so many weighty things open to us. Human immediate sound judgment in relation to the future. He never knew that just a few days after, it's going to be devoured by fire. Just a few days. What is looking so watered will become a desert. Let us pray. Be thou zealous for the fear of the Lord. Be zealous for the fear. Be zealous all day long. Be zealous all day long. Don't follow human immediate sound judgment. Don't follow it. Don't follow human, human seemingly immediate sound judgment. The judgment looks sound, the judgment looks good. Be careful, be very, very careful. Be watchful, be watchful. Be zealous for the fear of the Lord. As I look at that track, people were changing from the fear of God to the other side. It looked as if your friends, ah! They are enjoying something. Let me quickly so I can enjoy. There are still time to enjoy. There are still time to enjoy. Stay on that track. Stay on that track. You know, I was discussing with somebody recently in a situation where the person started a relationship and the parents were aware of the relationship. They gave them to start. But at a point, the young man begin to ask for sex. The lady, instead of refusing the young man, decided to act against her own parents. He didn't tell her parents what was going on between the two of them. So she cooperated with the young man because she wanted the relationship to continue. The parents were never aware that that such a thing was going on. But eventually, when the immediate consequence and everything eventually came and the whole thing became so dark for her, we were both discussing and I said, “Look at what the fear of God says: honor father and mother that it may be well with you and that you may live long.” I said, “If you had just been zealous for that fear of God, if you had told your parents that look at what the person is asking for, you know this is contrary to what the word of God says.” I said, “But you decided not to honor your parents, you decided to honor the young man. Look at now you are weeping, you are crying, you are doing all of those and those and those.” I said, “Do you know that that singular fear of God will have saved you from this calamity that you are in now? Look at the calamity that you are in. If you have chosen to to honor your parents, ‘No, I cannot do this, my parents will not want it.’ The brother said, ‘I want to go,’ go. I can't dishonor my parents.” I said, “You know you will have saved all this trouble.” Be thou zealous for the fear of God all day long. Be zealous for that fear all day long. Be zealous all day long, all day long, all day long, all day long, all day long. Don't leave that place. It may look as if you are not going where your mates are going. Don't worry. Yet there is an end, there is a reward, your expectation will not be cut off. Your expectation will not be cut off. There is an end. You will not wait there till you die. There is an end, it will end. And by the time it ends, your expectation will not be cut off. What you think that, “Ah, hey, oh, ah! They have been... these people, they have finished since morning, they have gone, they will be doing some other things, they would have read, they would have done so many other things. I needed to go and do this, I needed to go and do that. Let me leave this godliness.” All what you need to do will still be done. All what had to be done will still be done. There is an end. There is an end. There is an end. Yet there is an end, young people. I'm telling you there is an end. Stay where the fear of God is. There is an end. What you think you will miss, you will not miss it. What you think you will lose, you will not lose it. What you think, “Ah, if I take the fear of God, I will not get this, I will not get that, I will not...” Hey, Baba said there is an end. Eventually you will get to the point at the ATM. You will withdraw. And everybody that seems to have gone... hey, what you think that you are missing, you will see that in His time He makes all things beautiful. There will be nothing about your life that will not be beautiful. There will be nothing. He said in His time He makes all things beautiful. Everything you are thinking will not be beautiful... “Eh, this thing will not be beautiful if I wait, this thing will not be beautiful if I fear God.” In His time He will make all things beautiful. Pray to the Lord. Make up your mind today. There are so many attractions, one thousand and one attraction. This will attract you, that will attract you, that will pull you, this will pull you. But make up your mind for the fear of the Lord. Stay contented in that place. Stay there, rest there. Don't leave there. Stay in that place. Stay there. Stay there. Thank you, Father. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.