Speaker 1♪ Praise the Lord. Alright, Psalm 19, let's start from there today. Today's teaching will be the most important you've ever heard in all of your life. Psalm 19, let's start from there. We're looking at how to be led by God's Spirit. Really what we're talking about is aligning with the Spirit of the Lord. Alignment with God's Spirit. How to be aligned with God's Spirit. Psalm 19 from verse 1. It says, Can we read verse 3 together? One, two, go. What does it say? No language where their voice is not heard. Can we read verse 4? One, two, go. Alright, let's jump to verse 7 quickly. Verse 7. It says, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired a day than gold, year than much fine gold. Sweeter also than by. Verse 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned or instructed. And in keeping of them, there is what? Great reward. Hallelujah. So you find David writing here. And we're just going to start from here. I mean, I'm not going to go through the things we discussed last week. David was speaking in what I call a generic sense. The generic sense to how God leads and how God instructs his people. And so he shows us two very important things. Number one is that God's voice to the unbelieving world is nature and creation. That his voice, he's put his witness in nature. He's put his witness in creation. I mean, if you look at the world today and look at the way and manner in which everything is structured. Just look at, I mean, somebody said it's big bang. I mean, if it's big bang, I'm wondering why we've not had another bang. And if it's such a powerful bang. Look at the, I mean, amazing way in which everything is structured. The orbit of the sun, the number of days. I mean, you look at all of that. And it takes some level of lack of integrity to attribute it completely to a bang somewhere. There must be an intelligent God out there. So the Bible says that God has not left himself without a witness. Have you read that before? He's not left himself without a witness. He's put witness in creation. Such that is. The eternal Godhead may be made known. Just looking at everything, there must be a God out there. He speaks through creation to the unbelieving world. But then you see that he then comes to talk about how he speaks to his children primarily. You observe that that psalm is divided into two halves. The first half talking about creation and the voice of God in creation. And the second half talking about the voice of God. Through the scriptures. So when you see things like the law of the Lord. You see the statutes of the Lord. When you see the judgments of the Lord. When you see the commandments of the Lord. What is he talking about? He's talking about the scriptures. Are we together this morning? In essence, the primary way that God instructs and brings guidance, counsel to the believer is through what? The scriptures. That's the primary way. Everything else is secondary. The primary way that God will lead a believer. And if you don't develop what is called proficiency in learning to be led by the scriptures. Every other way you think God leads you is subject to error. Prone to error. In fact, the chances of error are 99%. And I'm going to show you in just a bit. And so the first thing, you know, a lot of times people want a case where, you know, the Lord said to me. In fact, let me say this to you. Sincerely speaking, when people say several times, the Lord says. God said to me. And they use it as it were as a way to, what's the word? Validate their action. I'm usually careful of such people. I'm usually very careful of such people. I'm not saying God does not speak. But I'm saying for the most time, people use it as a way to validate their action. To validate the direction that they have chosen in their lives. I understand if you say I have a feeling in my heart. And I've shared this before. That when you say God said. And please learn this. Once people tell you. God said. Don't interfere. Never stand in the way of God said. But if you say I have a feeling in my heart. What you are now saying is that it's open to counsel. Are you following what I'm saying here? It's open to counsel. And then people can help interpret what is happening there. What God is saying. But once you say God said. I mean, I saw a vision and things like that. You don't interfere with it. The key thing is this. Is that the primary way God leads the believer today. And every believer. Not can be led. He's being led. I didn't say can be led. I'm not saying you can be led. Every believer is being led. In fact, I put it this way earlier on this morning. I said to them. I said, Jesus, John 10, 27, I believe. He said, my sheep know my voice. My sheep hear my voice. It's either of two things. When you say you don't hear the voice of God. Is it that it's a goat that is talking? Or Jesus is lying? Do you get what I'm saying here? So you have to choose one. So when people say that. No, no, no, no. Jesus. Jesus said, my sheep know my voice. They hear my voice. The voice of a stranger they will not follow. So we must question whether this is a sheep speaking. Are you following this? Or. Or Jesus is lying. And I mean, the way a lot of believers say that thing. I mean, I don't hear God's voice. You almost are saying that what Jesus has said is a lie. Everyone is being led. Everyone is hearing God's voice. I'm going to show you in scriptures now. That as you are seated there. You are actually connected to the voice of God. Clearly. And you are hearing. I know you are saying to me that I'm in a confused state right now. I don't know what to do about this. I don't know what to do about that. Pastor, if I were hearing, I would not be confused. Listen to me. You are hearing. I'm telling you the truth. You are hearing. Let me just quickly say. The only problem is this. Is that if. Daniela, come. Minister Daniela, since you are here now. Come. Okay. Can you come? Can you come? I mean. I mean. I just want to show you something very quickly. Okay. You. Oh, Jesus. Jesus. You can't speak a language. But did you speak Hausa? You speak a language. Really? What's going on here? This is a Hausa man. Oh, yeah. Come, come, come, come, come. Oh, yeah. Come, come, come. Come. So, tell him what I said is true. Since you can't speak the language, so tell him. Katie, please come this way. Pastor King, please come this way. So, you say it in her language. In her language. Why is Badri sometimes just looking very. He's too strong. Rema, come. What language do you speak? I want to show you something very important. When people say they are not hearing God's voice, it's a lie. You are hearing, except the person is a goat. If you're a sheep.
Speaker 2Is that an adrenaline rush? Yes. Thank you. did you hear what she said i
Speaker 1heard five thousand did you hear what she said i heard her yes sir you heard her so can you hear her so do what she said oh sorry it's only five thousand i understand do you see what's going on here can you hear her can you respond to her so when people say they are not hearing it's not a problem with hearing no believer if you are born again has a problem with hearing no in fact if she was saying what she's saying chances are that he will not even think that she's talking to him because as far as she's concerned that's not the language that i understand understand you But there's a difference between understanding and hearing. Is somebody getting what I'm saying here? So when believers say, thank you, gentlemen, you people just scattered my illustration. Just remind me never to use these four human beings again. Something that should not be this deep. Something that should not be this difficult. Glory to God. Are we still here? Every believer knows and hears the voice of God. Are you following me here? So the first thing to note is, like I said, he speaks to everyone, unbelieving world, through creation. But he speaks primarily to the believer through what? His word. Psalm 119 verse 105. The word is what gives witness to the children of God. The Bible says, thy word is a light unto my feet, a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my part. Have you read that? So the word of God is the primary means by which God leads the believer, the scriptures. That's the primary means. Now, there are other secondary means that he uses. Number one, which is what we are acquainted with, the witness of the Holy Spirit. That's the inner witness, what we call the inner witness. And many of us, if you're charismatic, you know that already, the inner witness. And then you have this one. I've now agreed with everybody. Dreams and visions. Dreams. You know, because people will say that God leads them through dreams. The primary way God speaks to me is through dreams and all the rest. And it's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. But once these next things I'm talking about, once you leave the inward witness, they are the most prone to error. Because they involve your senses for the delivery of revelation. Do you understand what I'm saying here? They involve your senses for the delivery of revelation. The inward witness is primarily. Your human spirit. That brings you that prompting and that nudging. That feeling. You get what I'm saying here. You just say, I feel like. I just sense in my heart. I know this. But once you move outside the operations of just your human spirit. And you start dealing with the flesh, the senses. You have to know that Satan is the God of the sentient. And so this is highly, highly open to manipulation. That Satan can easily manipulate any of these things. So you have dreams and visions. Now let me quickly say this here. Just to put in context. The last time God led anybody through a dream was when Jesus was born. Immediately after Jesus was born, there is no account in the New Testament that God gave a person a dream to lead them by dreams. Transits are there. Visions are there. No address. But in terms of dreams, there's no account thereof. Now what am I saying? Am I saying God cannot lead you through a dream? I'm simply saying to you that it's secondary. It's not. It's never going to be the primary way through which God brings information to you. Same thing with visions. Then you have angels and other supernatural means. That's number whatever it is there. Angels and other supernatural means. Then you have the prophetic ministry. And good enough, last week we spoke about the prophetic office. And what I call jurisdictions within the prophetic office. That the fact that somebody is prophetic is a prophetic vessel. There must be boundaries within. Within which they operate with that gift and with that office. And I won't go into all of that today. And then the last one is providential circumstances. Which means, yes, God can actually, you can design the direction of God. The leading of God through what I call providential circumstances. That you look at one, two, three, four. You say this is the pattern I've noticed in my life. How many of you understand what I'm saying? Have you ever heard yourself saying that this is the pattern I've noticed in my life? This is the pattern. And if you actually walk with the Lord, you will see patterns in your life. That when something wants to happen, there's a pattern to it. Again, like I said, anything that is within the centurion is easily, easily manipulated by the devil. The primary way God would lead his children is through the scriptures. It's through the scriptures. In fact, let me say this to us. That if we will actually learn to be led and align with God's spirit. Many of the things that are prayer points will not be prayer points. Let me give you a practical example. This is Old Testament. A king had a dream. Joseph had the interpretation of the dream. How many of you remember? Joseph said there will be seven years of famine, of plenty, and there will be what? Seven years of famine. Who gave that information to them? It was God. The vehicle God used in that situation was what? The dream of the king. Joseph came with his gift, interpreted it. Key thing is that God wanted to pass an information to a group of persons. Do you agree with me that if they missed that information. That during the years of famine, they will start confessing abundance. When what they should have done was to have taken instruction from the spirit of God to prepare for the years of famine. I've said it before and let me say it again. 90% of the prayer point of the church today is baseless. If we will follow the spirit of God. If you will align. With the Holy Spirit. 90% of the things believers actually pray about will not be a prayer point. You can imagine a believer in that day and that time. He would have said, oh God, my gates are continually open. We'll be making confessions. But then what you don't realize is this. Prayer cannot change what is predetermined. That what happens is God gives you access into that information and you prepare yourself for it. If they did not prepare, both the righteous and the evil would have suffered. So the guidance of God's spirit, it's a non-negotiable. Too many things can be averted. Too many things that are prayer points will not be prayer points if we simply give ourselves to learning to be led by God's spirit. Now the question is, how does God lead us through the scriptures? And we're going to fly here and you have to stay with me. There are three cardinal things that the Bible shows us in terms of how God uses. The scriptures to bring guidance and instruction into your life. Let me quickly state here that no believer by reason of maturity or growth or by reason of office or titles will ever outgrow being led through scriptures. Even if you are a prophet, are you following this? Even if you are a prophet and you say that, oh, you know, I am a prophet. I see visions. Even if you have been in the faith 20 years. Even if you are whatever office you stand in, no believer, this is not basics, this is lifetime. No believer ever gets to the point where the word of God is not sufficient for guidance. Never happens. And so what happens is this. We only become more proficient in learning to be led by the scriptures. Three cardinal things. Number one, let's start with that. It's what I've called the message of scriptures. The message of scriptures. If you're going to understand how to be led by God's spirit, these are three cardinal things. It's like you have a stool and it has three legs that gives you balance and ensures that there is no error. There is no mistake in your life. Number one is what is called the message of scriptures. Let's look at Hebrews chapter one very quickly. Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews the first chapter. And I need to say this to you. Led by God's spirit is not a pastoral thing alone. It's a life thing. If you're going to make good of your life as a believer, you must learn to be led by God's spirit. Now, I mean, for some reason, because my father liked it a bit, I was a bit interested. I was never. Let me just. But I was around someone who was interested in boxing. I've never understood the idea of, you know, I don't understand it. And I don't plan to understand. But, you know, and all the rest. And if you remember, most of you are football people. But if you remember, how many of you remember? If you remember, then you know I can. All right. Evan D'Aulifield. I mean, Evan D'Aulifield. Some of you are not even proud to raise your hand anymore. But Evan D'Aulifield. Now, he had four, I think, was he four or five heavyweights, I mean, belts and all the rest. He was the undisputed champion. And then there was this guy, Mike. Because my father used to follow it, I had an idea of these things. There was this guy called Michael Mora or something like that. He was what you would call an underdog. Nobody expected that this guy was going to win any matches. In fact, everybody said it's a waste of time for Evander Liffey to have even taken it up and all of that. Now, Evander said in the place of prayer, he was a believer, in the place of prayer that he could not shake away the feeling that don't go for this bout, don't go for this match. Now, because it's like saying that, you know, it's like saying somebody that everybody knows is an underdog, and then you turn down the challenge. So he said, I mean, how can I be looking fearful and afraid? So he said he was going to take it. Obviously, the promoters and all the rest, the money that was on it, they said go for it. Cut long story short, I mean, he lost the match. Nobody could believe it. It was an upset in the boxing world. It was so bad that Holyfield actually retired immediately after that. He just went straight into retirement. Now, within the, this was 1994, within retirement, he developed a heart condition. This is, I mean, lovely story, believer story here. Developed a heart condition by faith. Took word of faith. Faith messages and all the rest. He got healed by it. Doctor said, listen, even though you are healed, your heart is weak now. Tyson, Mike Tyson, who had become the world champion, and everybody knew that he was the most brutal human that ever, ever entered into the rings. Now, you are going with a weak heart. Holyfield came back and said, I'm going to take on this guy. He said every time he was in training, he kept hearing the words, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So much so that his gloves, he put it on his gloves. The shorts that he was going to wear when he was going to fight Tyson, he put it on it. This was all Holyfield said. He said when Tyson hit him, he said sometimes he's like he wanted to die. You can imagine now you are older. Have they ever punched you and you wanted to die? They will never punch you. He said there were times he would, bam, and literally his eyes would go, and he would say, I can do all things inside the ring. Cut long story short, he knocked Tyson out. It was a knockout, which was unbelievable. But the question is this, what was it that he entered into the place with? I can, a scripture. We are talking about boxing. Do you understand what I'm saying? We are talking about that you can punch with, I can do all things. Boxing. That a man had a weak heart. Doctor said even though you are healed, your heart cannot stand the strain of this thing anymore. You already overcame. But this guy is in his prime. Not only did he defeat him, he knocked him out with a word. And the one that was weak, the one that was an underdog, where he was strong, that one beat him. No presumption in life. It's his voice. Are you following what I'm saying? You don't say because of this. That's what happened. Do you remember when they were on the way there? And Saul said, listen, don't go ahead with this thing. They said, listen, look at the weather. Look at the climate. The meteorologist said. There is nothing, no storm anywhere. They continued. What happened? The Bible says, I mean, they had this massive shipwreck. Why was that so? Because they followed popular opinion against the voice of God. It's not a joke. Being led by God's spirit. Are you following this here? Hebrews chapter 1, very quickly. Let me show you this here. Hebrews chapter 1 from verse 1. So much that we have to cover today. It says, God who at sundry times, and the word sundry means diverse. Several times, on several locations. It says, and in diverse manners. Diverse means many without number. Varied ways. It says, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners, speak in time past unto the fathers by what? The prophets. So he makes it clear that the Old Testament, how did God lead his people? Through prophets. That was how he led his people. That he led, I mean, the fathers, the patriarchs, he led them through prophets. And that these prophets, the way and manner in which they brought instruction and guidance to God's people was varied. One of them, I mean, you take a man like Samuel, for example, he was more an auditory guy. I mean, he wasn't so much of the guy that had a lot of those kind of visions. If you take Moses, he was a lot of visions. He would see things in order. So several ways, several manners, God bringing counsel to his people, but there was always an intermediary. He was a prophet. Then he comes to us. Look at the next verse. Very important. And I need you to see what he's saying. He says, He says he had spoken with finality. Are you getting what's going on here? Please, this is important. Remember that he's saying that in times past, he spoke in varied ways, several manners and things like that. But he says unto the church in the last days, to the believers in the last days, he didn't say that. He's speaking unto us. He's saying that he has what? Once and for all spoken unto the believer, spoken unto the church. The question you then ask yourself is this. Are you saying God does not talk to us anymore? Are you saying God does not speak to the believer anymore? Are you saying that God is not speaking again? Well, stay with the word and let the word explain itself. He says, Had he spoken, and what did he say? He said, He has spoken unto us by what? His son, whom he hath appointed here of all things, by whom? He has made the world. Now, let me show you something very, very quickly. And you're going to see it here. Emmanuel, come quickly. And I want to show you this, how this works. He says, He has spoken unto us by his son. Now, Emmanuel, and I need you to take this as a fact. On the 1st of August, I dropped into your account a hundred million naira for whatever need shows up between now and the end of the year. 1st of August. This is how many days ago? Like some 10, 9 days ago, I dropped that. Now, if Emmanuel believes it and knows that, he agrees that is a finality. In fact, he can check his account balance and he can see it there. If Emmanuel comes then to me and says, Pastor, or maybe he says, Sir, can I pay my house rent? What am I going to say? The first time I may say yes, and you get to what I'm saying here. The first time I will answer him. Then he comes to me and he says, Can I buy a car? Then the next time he comes to me and then he says, Can I take some of the money to travel or to rent my house? Rent an apartment. By the 3rd and 4th time, what am I going to say to him? I have done it. I have given you what you need. Which means that everything you need to do is on the basis of what I have given you. Stop asking me questions about it anymore. As long as what I have done for you and given you covers what is going on within your life, you don't need to start. Are you getting this here? So I have spoken to you once. For example, again, I said to him, 31st of August, please make sure that you pay 50 million Naira into such and such an account and I credit you with the amount that he needs to pay the 50 million Naira. Imagine that he comes on the 11th or the 12th. Should I pay the money? And then he comes on the 14th. Have you changed your mind or should I still pay the money? Then he comes on the 16th and he says, Should I reduce it? Should I pay 40 million instead of 50 million? Then he comes around and he says, Are you sure you paid in the money? Do you see what's going on here? All of a sudden you are getting. What's the essence? I've actually. I've actually asked you to do this. It is settled with finality. Here is what Paul is saying. Please follow this. It's extremely important. He says that God has spoken in finality in his son, which means every hearing must take its bearing from the son. That means the standard for truth is the son. This is important. So a man comes here and says, God said this to me. The first question I'm asking you is this. How does it align with the person and the character of Jesus? No matter how powerful the delivery of that revelation is. If it does not align with the person and the character of Jesus, I am at permission to throw it away. Let me show you how this works. Do you know that the entire Bible is the word of God, but not everything written there is the will of God? I don't know if you understand what I just said here. Please don't. You know, because one pastor has now said, the Bible is not the will of God. You have your own. The entire. You know, people that are looking for nonsense. The entire Bible is the. The word of God. But not everything written in scriptures is the will of God. Once you understand this, you will see why people can read the Bible and validate actions that are not in line with God's will. Somebody can read that Moses, in approaching the presence of God, removed his sandal. So every one of us in approaching God, we should remove our sandal. Is it in the Bible? Yes. Is it God's will? No. Is somebody following what I'm saying here? Please, I'm building up to something here. That he says he has spoken to us with what finality, once and for all, in the person, the ministry, and the character of the son. So everything you say. Listen, this is where we start from. Everything you say God said or that you heard, the standard by which we judge, if this can be followed and believed, is does it align with God's revealed will in the person of Jesus? So the Bible tells us. Thank you, Manuel. The Bible tells us Jesus was on the way to Samaria. They were going to stop him from entering into Samaria. Two sons of Zebedee looked at him and said, Listen, you don't have to handle this matter. We will handle it for you. Give us permission to call fire down from heaven. And then what did Jesus say to them? He said, Listen, you shall not do no such, for you know not what manner of spirit you are. I hope you know there was a. The prophet that called fire down from heaven. And the people have built prayer lives on the basis of what that prophet did, not what Jesus said. Somebody says, is that not, are you now not saying that the Bible contradicts itself? That how will God allow Elijah to call down fire from heaven, and then Jesus shows us that that is not God's perfect will. I've given this example several times. One day my children were drawing, and then for some reason, my younger son was trying to show his sister that he draws better than her. And I felt like, well, what are you even drawing that you're saying you're better than her? Give me pencil, give me paper. So I began to draw. And I, I mean, I'd never drawn, they've never seen me draw, so they never knew I could draw. They were so shocked, and they were looking and all the rest. I finished drawing, put perspective, shade, I mean, did all the things, and all the rest, 3D, shading, and all the rest. Even me, see if you get, I want to put people up for exhibition. I mean, it was, even my wife, you saw it, and she was like, ah, babe, you drew, you drew this. I said, ah, you are not dating me in this house. Well, here's where I'm going to, you know why they were shocked. Every time my daughter would come to me then, she would bring paper, let's draw together. And what I would draw is stick drawing. I'll put a circle, I'll put a stick. And you know the reason why I was doing that? Because what I can do, she can't do yet. So I will come down to her level. To something. To something that she can appreciate. And something that she feels like, are you following what I'm saying here? There's some form of, because if I drew that other one, she won't be able to draw it. And the fellowship will be broken. So God came down from his level. In the Old Testament. There were several things that were done because God had to come down from his level to mankind that was spiritually dead. And so he did a lot of things from the sense realm in a bid to appeal to them from the sense realm. It does not. It does not mean that that is God's will. It was in the mercy of God. It's like somebody saying, you know, in the Bible, the Bible says that Gideon put fleas. And he said to God, let it be wet and everywhere dry so that I will know it's your will for me to go for this war. So he did it and it was wet. Then he said, Lord, Lord, Lord, please, I need, I need, I need confirmation. Let everywhere be wet and let it be dry. And God did it twice. So you carry that scripture. And you say, Lord, you know, this matter of who? To marry is a very serious matter. Lord, as I'm walking into church today, if it is your will, if it is your will, because these three sisters are, they are confusing my head. If it is your will, one is in choir, one is in ushering, one is in prayer. If it is your will, Lord. Am I speaking word of wisdom or word of knowledge? If it is your will, oh God, if it is your will. As I walk into church, let her be the first person to welcome me. Let, let, let her, let her be the one to meet me by the door. And guess what? Nine out of ten times, she will be the one to greet you by the door. Can I explain why? Because Satan is the God of the sense realm. He will organize everything. Not that he will tell the sister to be at the door. Let me tell you what will happen. One chair will just fall down. Then the sister, because she's a very kind-hearted sister, sister will run to go and pick the chair. That's when you will carry your own leg and enter church. And you will meet her by the door. And then she will just come down and say, oh my God. Then you now come. I mean, pastor, I say, pastor, listen, listen, listen. These things cannot be, you can't, you can't explain it. No, no, no, no, no. You can't explain. No, pastor. This, this is deep. Pastor, that's not even the door she mans. I mean, she mans and, ah, pastor. No, no, no. Ah, I found wife. Listen. I beg my leg. What am I saying to you? Hear me and hear me well. Satan is the God of the sense realm. Did God do that with Gideon? Yes. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Because Gideon was spiritually dead and there were no prophets at the time. The primary way God led them was through prophets. But in the book of Judges, there were no prophets. And so everybody had to concord a way and means to receive. Are you, somebody following what I'm saying here? So you now take that as a principle for guidance. Lord, if it is your will, let him smile at me. If it's your will, Lord, let it work out. Lord, I'm just going to call one last time. If it's your will, let them pick. If it's not your will, Lord, it will not ring. Let me tell you the truth. Most times, Satan will help you make it ring. Or you follow what I'm saying? Or help them pick. Most times. Why? So you have the entire Bible. This is important. That it is the word of God given to us. This detailing of God's, I mean, relationship with people. But it is not necessarily, I mean, everything there is not necessarily an account of God's specific perfect will for you. You know, that's why you'll find people who will say things like, even the Old Testament patriarchs, they were polygamous. Have you heard that argument before? They will say, Father Abraham, he didn't have one wife. They will say this and they will say that. And because you are not well-schooled in God's word, you say, Ah! And I'm following in the steps of Father Abraham. So you're following in the steps of Father Abraham. All of a sudden, you come at me, Pastor, and you say, Pastor, listen, I've had a visitation from God. This thing we are laughing about. Let me tell you this. These are things that happen. And because he looked so spectacular that an angel appeared unto you, Paul said, even if an angel appears to you and preaches another thing to you, let him be accost. Which means you are walking down your staircase, and an angel appears with a sword, drawn head into the heavens and starts speaking to you. And what he's saying is not in alignment with the revealed will of God in scriptures. He says, you can tell that angel you are cursed. That's what he's saying. Many times people think that it is true because it's spectacular. It's an unfortunate thing. We think it's true because it's spectacular. Are we still here? So when God speaks, this is important. When we say God speaks through his son, it means that God's revealed will, must align with the ministry, the character of Jesus has revealed in scriptures. Jesus, they asked him about marriage. He told us. It was not so from the beginning. This is the will of God. He was clear on these things. They asked, should we call down fire? He showed us. This is, are you getting what I'm saying here? That this is clearly the will of God. You cannot, let me tell you the truth. You cannot scripturally show me and tell me that you are praying and asking that God, God should kill people. You can't. No, you can't. Even in scriptures, when people were judged with that, it was not an answer to somebody's prayer. It was a sovereignty of God to judge a matter in that way. So we take our bearing from Jesus, and these are tough conversations, and they ought not to be. That's the truth. They ought not to be. We take our bearing from Jesus. We take it from the, the ministry and the character of Jesus. What he stood for, what he showed us, what he did. How he operated. That's where we take it from. What was Jesus' response to sickness every time? It was healing. Irrespective of the experience of a person, I look at Jesus' response to sickness in every situation. That must be my posture to sickness. Irrespective of my own experience. Are you getting what I'm saying here? Which means this is the experience, I've had in my life. But this is what I see Jesus doing. That's the standard for truth. Now go to the passion translation of that same scripture. I want to quickly show you this here. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1, the passion translation. Is anybody getting anything this morning? Remember, we're talking about the message of scriptures. What is the message of scriptures? It's Jesus. That's the full expression of God's will. Now let me just help you. Because some people now say, you know, that means that any other thing that we preach from the Bible is not true. That's nonsense. Do you understand what I mean? Jesus is the message, so there's nothing else. Hebrews chapter 1. Passion translation. I mean, because, I mean, I mean. Alright, Hebrews chapter 1. Look at what it says from verse 1. It says, Throughout our history, please follow this. God has spoken to our ancestors by his prophets in many different ways. The revelation he gave them was only a fragment at a time, building one, one truth upon another. Let's read verse 2 together. I want to go. But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly in the language of a son. Do you see that? Do we have the scriptures? I said, let's read it together. Do you have Bible? So let's read it together. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 2. It says, But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly God speaks to us how? Openly in the language of a son. And then it goes on. They are pointed here of everything. For through him, God created the panorama of all things and all time. He speaks to us in the language of what? A son. So he shows us that he's not outsourcing your guidance and your leadership to a prophet. If you can claim to be a son, then you can hear his voice. That's why Paul said in Romans, the eighth chapter, as many as I love you, are led by the spirit of God. What did he call them? They are the sons of God. So number one is the message. that anything that you say you've heard from the Lord, any instruction, any directive, whatever it is, must align with the person, the ministry, and the character of Jesus. God's revealed will to you, irrespective of the delivery manner and form, must always be in keeping with what Jesus said and what he did. Number two, number two, very important, is what I call the effect of the scriptures. Say with me, the effect of scriptures. The effect of scriptures. Maybe I should ask you very quickly, what language does God speak? Because many a times we think that God speaks Igbo, we think that God speaks Yoruba, we think that God speaks Hausa, we think that God speaks this and all the rest, and I hope you know that God does not speak your language. You are the one that hears your language. I hope you know. There's a difference. God does not speak your language. You're the one that hears your language. And this is important, this second bit, because it is through the scriptures that you are able to interpret and discern the voice of God. Let me explain in this way. Well, Sam, come. I mean, because Sam helped me earlier on this one. Oh yeah, yes, come. Actually, as I was coming from the kitchen and praying in the spirit, I saw you. So, yeah, the one that will do it. So, come. It's not that deep. I just, I just saw. So, because some of you are saying, praise the Lord and all those. Okay, so, no, no, please go this way. Go this way. And I want you to see something. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. What's the difference between both of them? One is a protocol. You don't come and give me a cup and bottle. Do you see what's going on? Do you even see how flustered she was, wondering where I should go? And then the next thing, somebody goes with all confidence, pours the water, and then he comes to give the water to me. What is the difference between both of them? I said the same thing to both of them. They heard exactly the same thing. Did he produce the same response? No. Can I tell you something? It is not what you are hearing that you do. It's what you interpret that you do. Do you understand what I just said here? That is not what you are hearing. Because people are saying, I mean, the voice of God. I established to you since that every believer hears the voice. It is what you interpret of the voice. And that interpretation is dependent on the state of your soul, the state of your mind. Which means, based on your mind, you will interpret it. Now, the moment I said, and I want you to be sincere, I said, I want water. What came to your mind?
Speaker 3I was wondering where I would get the water.
Speaker 1I said, I want water. I knew where to get it. What was the difference between both of them? Because one has interacted so much with this, he understands the problem. He understands the problem. The moment I said it, it didn't look esoteric. It didn't look mysterious. He just stepped out and he knew exactly what to do. The other person was confused. The same thing that brought light to someone brought confusion to another. Same thing. Thank you. Oh yeah. Bless you. Exactly the same thing. So when people say that I'm the voice of God, it is not difficult. It is not what you are hearing that really at the end of the day. In fact, the reason many people are not hearing is because their minds are not attuned to the frequency of the Holy Spirit. And the reason why sometimes people hear things and they do sometimes exactly opposite what God has said is because their minds are not renewed. I always put it this way, that the human mind is like a step down transformer. You have power coming from Kainji Dam at its highest level. But I hope you know you cannot use that power in your house. If you like, carry your television and go and plug to the mains coming out of Kainji Dam. You and the television. Both of you will be lights. They will light you. Do you get what I'm saying? Why is that the case? Because you need a step down transformer that breaks it down into usable packets, usable portions. In the same way, when God speaks to the human spirit, it is the human soul that interprets what he has said. Now, on the basis of what the state of your soul is, that's what determines the interpretation that comes thereof. Let me show you a scripture, Romans chapter 12. Is anybody still here this morning? Romans chapter 12. This is important. You see that the reason why people say they are not even hearing God is that their minds have not been renewed to his frequency at all. And sometimes, when he's renewed to his frequency, there has to be a continual. Let me use a very simple example for you and see how it works. Do you realize that if you have not built your faith, you have not renewed your mind to possibilities, possibility thinking that anything is possible in God. And then God tells you to do something that looks very impossible. He tells you now, I want you to go and bid for this company. I mean, or bid for this building. You're going to buy a 20-story building. Do you realize that you will hear that thing, but you will shrink it to the level of courage or bravery that you have in your soul? You will say to yourself, well, it will take me 12 years to get to this point. I don't have to do it right now. You get what I'm saying? Then you say to yourself, maybe what God is saying is not a 12-story building. It simply means a 12 steps to the building. Now, why are you reinterpreting what God has said that way? Because your soul does not have the capacity to conceive what he has said. That's why, please listen to this. The same voice that they heard, go into the land and possess it. When two went there and they saw giants, what did they say? They are bred for us and their defense is departed from them. When 10 went there and they saw the giant, they said we were like grasshoppers in our eyes. Did they hear the same thing? Yes. Why was there different interpretation and different result in their lives? Because of the state of their mind. Look at Romans chapter 12. Very important scripture. Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. And verse 1. I know we quote it several times, but I want to show you something there. It says, I beseech you therefore by the brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Now, there's two important. It says, and be not conformed to this world, but be what? Transformed by what? The renewing of your mind. Now, he then adds something. Look at what he says. That ye may. So, renewing your mind is a means to an end. It's not the end. Which means when a man renews his mind, there is a goal in view. There's something that the renewing of the mind does. The flip side to it is this, that when a man does not renew his mind, there is something that will not happen. What is that thing? That you may prove, discern. What is the good? What is the acceptable? And what is what? The perfect will of God. Which means when I renew my mind, to the degree that I've renewed my mind, I'm able to discern the will of God, the voice of God, as against every other voice. And to the degree that I've not renewed my mind, I'm unable to discern it. So, the renewing of my mind is a means to an end. And to the degree that I've not renewed my mind, is actually a step. It's a means to an end. It's not the end in itself. The more that I renew my mind to scriptures, and I use the word of God to change my perspectives to life, change my view to life, change my ideology about life. The more I renew my mind in that way, it then becomes easy for me to discern what God is saying in the midst of the several voices that are in the world. Are we still here this morning? This is important. Because in teaching about hearing the voice of God's spirit, many a times what people are told is go and fast and pray. Set yourself before the Lord. Look yourself up. See God's face. He will speak to you. And as important as that is, God always speaks. It's your interpretation that matters. God is always speaking. It's your interpretation that what? Matters. So, the clarity we have in discerning voice is to the degree that our minds are transformed by his word. I've said it several times that man is not a tripartite being. I've heard people say that man is a tripartite being. which means he has three parts. That's not true. That's wrong. Man is not a three-part being. He's not a tripartite being. He's a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. That statement is extremely important for spiritual growth and development. You're not a three-part being. Uh-uh. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the message of God, that you present your bodies. Who is presenting the body? If I say present your phone, it means you are different from your phone. If I tell you present to me that handkerchief, it means there is handkerchief and there is you. So who is the me that is presenting my body? And then it says that I may be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Who is the mind that has a mind? Now, if you understand that, listen. This is extremely important. If you understand that, it changes the game completely. That you are a spirit, and because you are a spirit man, by reason of the new birth, you are life unto God. You have all the capacity and ability needed, dear Ruth, to hear God's voice. However, you are a spirit, and you have a soul. So I would put it this way, that your spirit is the receiver. If you're writing, your spirit is the receiver. Your soul is the interpreter. Your body is the executor. So it is your body that executes what your soul has interpreted. I mean, it's easy for us to understand this last two. How many of you realize that when you don't feel good, your face follows suit? You don't feel good all of a sudden. Why is your face so long? And the reason is this, because the body is simply a slave to whoever gives it signals. How many of you have picked up your phone before and you didn't notice? You picked up your phone and you read something cute, something nice, and you just start smiling. And somebody besides you, why are you smiling? Then you cut yourself. Because you did not know you were smiling, but your soul has sent signal to your body that there is joy in this place. And the moment your soul is joyful, what happens? Without any intentional effort, your body follows suit. So you have to understand that it is your spirit that receives from God. But whatever it is that your spirit has received, it is your soul that interprets it into your life. It is not your spirit. It's your soul that interprets it into your life. That's why, listen, two people can hear, thus saith the Lord, and what they will do will differ completely on the same word. On the same word. I hope you know that there were prophecies that Isaiah had, that Jeremiah had, as well. Same prophecies. And that when Isaiah was prophesying, he said, listen, you shall die. But when Jeremiah was prophesying, he would be crying. He would be crying. In fact, he has a book called Lamentations. He cried so much, they wrote the tears, the meaning of the tears. They wrote an entire book called Lamentations. Same word that both of them were hearing. Different response. Why? Why? The soul. Are we still here? So, the renewing of the mind, is one of the first steps to ensuring that we can discern the voice of God's spirit. An unrenewed soul, please write down, is the greatest hindrance to being led by the spirit. An unrenewed soul. An unrenewed, no matter your prayer life, I'm stressing this, no matter the prayers and the fastings that you're engaging, an unrenewed soul is the greatest hindrance to being led by God's spirit. That's why, in Romans 8, where he speaks about being led by the spirit, verse 14 downwards, prior to that, he began to speak to us, he said, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is what? Life and peace. And it was after that, he then came to tell us that those who are led by the spirit of God, very quickly, just to help us in 30 seconds, for the sake of, for the sake of time around, this is not a subject, what does it mean to renew the mind? The word renew means that you have an old building and you are renovating the building. You are not pulling down the building, you are renovating it, so you are removing things that should not be there. And then you are replacing them with things that should be there. And what we are saying is that as you interact with God's word, you allow the word of God to challenge your ideologies. You allow it, listen, let me tell you something. There are too many believers who don't allow the word of God to challenge their ideologies. The whole doctrine to what they believe irrespective of what they've read. Irrespective. They will tell you and they will say, listen, this is what happened to my mother, this is what happened to my father. Nobody can tell me otherwise. This is what I've seen. This is what I know. This is what I've experienced. And yet the word of God speaks otherwise. For example, Jesus was there on the cross and I've shared this several times. If I were Jesus, let's just agree that we are all grateful that all of us are not God. I mean, because if you are God, I mean, even you, you will not survive. I mean, let's just agree and be grateful that God is God and we are we. Because I'm imagining Jesus is on the cross. They are kneeling you on the cross and guess what? Somebody was blind that you ministered healing to him. Now his eyes is open. Somebody was dumb and you opened his tongue. He's now shouting, crucify him. If I were, if me, I was on that cross, it's not, listen, it's not a bad thing. I'm just, all of you, just return, back to factory setting. I'll just return them back to factory. Let me tell you the much love and composure that Jesus had on the cross. He looked at his mother. He still made provision for his mother on the cross. You can imagine, I hope you understand, nails through your hands and your legs that they are beating you. You are going through so much pain. He still looks at his mother and he says, John, make sure you take care of this woman. Mother, look at your son. Son, look at your mother. Mother, in that condition, in that condition, he still had time to witness to somebody on his, are you following what I'm saying here? He witnessed him and said, today you shall be with me in paradise. How many people don't have money? Just, you don't have money for two days. The world will not rest. You enter the house and your son comes to you and says, Daddy, who is that in you right now? Is that the problem? You people don't even understand. You don't know that there are times your wife is trying to, she just comes and wants to peck you. Listen, there's a time for you. There's a time for everything. It's not every time. Love, I just want her to love on you. No, no, no, no, no. It's not every time. It's not, I'm not in the mood. I need my space. I need my space. When they nail you to the cross, tell me the space you will have. Tell me the space you will have. Glory to God. Are we still here? That you read those kind of things and you allow it to challenge your ideology. You allow it to challenge how you see life. Not just reading it and enjoying the story. Too many people read the word of God without renewing their minds. Let me tell you the point of renewal is when you are convicted. That's where renewal starts from. That point of conviction, which means you read it and you go, there's an adjustment that needs to be made. No, no, no. There's an adjustment that needs to be made. There's something that needs to be removed. There's something that I need to take out. That's where the renewal starts from. And until you renew your mind on a consistent basis, you will find out that it will be difficult for you to hear the voice of God. Let me put it this way. Can I again say it, but I'll paraphrase it. It's that the same voice that wrote the word is the voice that will speak in your heart. It says, if you have not acquainted yourself with that voice by reading the scriptures, it will be difficult for you to discern it when it's speaking in your heart. Are we still here? Number three. I told you there are three things. What's the first one? And what's the message of scriptures? Jesus. What is the effect of scriptures? Renewal. Lastly, is the prophecy of scriptures. Say with me, the prophecy of scriptures. Come on, say it again with me. The prophecy of scriptures. 2 Peter 1, verse 19. And we're wrapping up on this. It says that the word of God is prophetic in nature. Peter was recounting the experience they had on the mount and how that they saw, you know, Moses, Elijah on the mount, and all of that. And then he said to them, he said, even if you don't have all of these experiences, he says, we have what? A more sure word of prophecy, which means the word of God is surer than any vision. It's more bankable than any vision. But let me quickly show you something important there, that when he says a more sure word of prophecy, what he's literally saying is that the scriptures, in and of themselves, are prophetic in nature. Now, what do I mean by they are prophetic in nature? It means that they have the ability to deliver the specific counsel of God to you per time. They have the ability. The scriptures have the ability. The Holy Ghost can quicken the scriptures and bring to you the specific counsel of God. Let me give you an example. Jesus comes to the synagogue. They deliver unto him the book of Isaiah, the prophet. And the Bible says that he found, Luke, the fourth chapter, He found what he needed. it was written concerning him. I hope you know that if you go to Isaiah, where he was quoting from, there was no name of Jesus in what Isaiah prophesied. Isaiah just prophesied what he prophesied. But then the Bible tells us that Jesus comes into the synagogue that day. He finds that particular portion. He reads it out and then he makes a very powerful statement. Listen carefully to this. He said, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Do you know that there are over 600 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament? How come amongst the 600 of them, why was it that particular one that he picked up? And he said in that situation, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Why not another one? Why? I mean, because if you're saying that, oh yeah, why not another of the messianic scriptures? Why was it that particular one? Which means the Holy Ghost led him to the synagogue. Why? Because if you're saying that, oh yeah, why not another of the messianic to the portion of the scriptures containing God's counsel for him in that situation. Now, when we say the scriptures is prophetic, it means that you can look at scriptures. Your name is not there, but your life is there. You didn't hear what I said. That your name is not written expressly there. We are not saying David written there. Neither are we saying Fola written there. But by the time you read it, you are reading your life. You are reading your life. It is, listen, that's how prophetic scriptures are, that you will read a scripture and you would actually ask yourself, did somebody tell Isaiah about my life? Did somebody, listen to me, did somebody, to put it in a simple way, how many of you have picked up a message? Maybe we preached a message four years ago, five years ago, seven years ago. You pick a message and then I'm saying something, giving an example, an illustration, and you go, this is what I'm going through right now. Oh my God, it's, the illustration is too apt, my Jesus. And you are wondering why. Now, if what I said that was captured on tape seven years ago can be prophetic now, how much more what he said that was captured on paper? Do you see how it works here? That you are not the figment of a man's imagination. God planned your life out and he put words in the hearts of men of years before you came, such that when you step on the scene, as you walk on with the Holy Ghost, he will quicken those portions of scriptures. All of a sudden you will read it. And let me tell you how it happens. You will read it and you will know without a shadow of doubt, this is me. This is me he's talking about. You will know. I mean, Paul, go and read Paul's story. Paul says that this is the mission of my life, that I've called you to be a light unto the Gentiles and to the ends of the earth. Do you know that when Paul said that, he said, God commanded us, to be a light unto the Gentiles. He's given us as a light unto the Gentiles and unto the ends of the earth. Now, if you read that statement, you will think that Paul meant that I was in prayer. Then the word of Lord came to me. The Lord said to you, Paul, you are a light unto the Gentiles. I hope you know that he was quoting Isaiah. He was quoting Isaiah verbatim. And yet what did he say? He said, God commanded us. So God can command you from scriptures. You know what I'm saying here? That the scripture is prophetic in nature and that as, now let me quickly say this. If you are not given to consistently reading the scriptures, don't expect any prophetic instruction to come from scriptures. This thing is not magic and you can't use and dump God. Because what happens is you have not read the Bible for one month. Then you now carry the book of Isaiah. That's me. Many at times it is not, it is from the abundance of your hearts. God is going to quicken something. You quickly go and find where it is written. You set your eyes on it and you know without a shadow of doubt, this is the voice of God to me in this situation. The scriptures are prophetic. What is number one thing? What do we mean by that? No matter what dealings you have in your life, it must be in alignment with the character of Jesus. Number two is what? As we daily continually give ourselves to the word and it's a daily thing. The Bible says the washing of water by the word. So he, he compares your giving yourself to the word to having a bath. Number two is what? The prophetic nature of the scriptures. Rise up on your feet. Number three is what? We are going to pray very briefly, quickly this, this, today, this afternoon. I want you to pray in the Holy Ghost for a second, for 10 seconds. Just pray in the Holy Spirit. Pray in the Holy Spirit. I personally believe that the first response to hearing the word of God should be prayer. I believe that. And I think that was one of the biggest things that we've seen today is people just hear God's word and we're not given the time to actually pray. So for the next 30 seconds, please pray in the Holy Ghost. Make sure you're praying in the Spirit. Close your eyes and make sure you're praying in the Spirit for the next 30 seconds. Make sure you are praying in the Holy Spirit. In the mighty name of Jesus. Now, Isaiah 25 verse 7 speaks about the covering cast that is placed over the minds of people and over nations. And by that, we mean things that causes you to misinterpret what God is saying. And by that, we mean things that cause you to misinterpret what God is doing. It could be ideologies, philosophies, demonic manipulations or whatever it is. We're going to spend time to pray this morning. Just a minute of prayer. We're going to pray. You're going to take this prayer back to your closet. You're going to say with me, lift your right hand towards heaven and say with me, Father, in the name of Jesus, every covering cast over my mind is rolled away. I see clearly and understand clearly what you are saying to me. Please, we're going to say it with a louder voice. You'll be shocked at the ideologies that stands in the way between you and revelation. You'll be amiss if God actually opened your eyes to see it. The big things God wants you to do, but your heart is, your mind is holding you down. Your soul is holding you down. Decisions to make, but your soul is holding you down. But today, that covering cast is rolled away. With a loud voice, declare it with me, Father. In the name of Jesus, every covering cast over my mind is rolled away. I see clearly and understand what you are saying to me. Open your mouth and begin to pray. You start out by praying in your understanding and then you flip over to praying in the spirit. You eliminate all distraction. You close your eyes and make sure you're praying. Father, in the name of Jesus, every covering cast, ideologies, philosophies, demonic manipulations that has created a cast over my mind and I'm unable to see, to discern, to interpret with clarity the things that you're doing and that you are showing me. I decree and I declare today that they are rolled away. In the name of Jesus, please we have just 30 seconds more to pray. Make sure you're praying. It's called scales over the eyes of men. The scales over the scales are dropping off your eyes and you will see with clarity. These scales many at times are ideologies. They are philosophies. Sometimes they are the experiences you have gone through. The things that you have gone through. Now you're going to pray with all intent. You're going to pray with all of your heart. And I want you to pray as though your life depended on this. Every major break in my life has come because I got a word. Every major break. I have done the craziest things because I heard the word. Got a word from God. You don't have to live life by assumptions. God said now go into like a second life. Go into like a second life. Go into like a top the tabernacle of my congregation amongst them he says and the land shall be subdued before you Joshua 18 1 we didn't come here because it's nice to come here the last place I would want to pastor is this place but I had a word clearly when I was going to Abuja a word clearly it says I will help you you shall not be ashamed it says you shall not be confounded therefore have you set your face as a fleet a word this day this scripture is fulfilled in your eye yes Jesus was clear on it they asked John who are you he didn't say I'm the son of the high priest he had a word he had a word I am the voice Of one crying in the wilderness. He had a word. Luke 4, 17. They delivered to Jesus the book. And he found where it was written of him. Please lift your right hand towards heaven. And shout with me. Father. In the name of Jesus. This week. I find where it is written. Of me in the scriptures.
Speaker 4Lead me to portions of the Bible. Carry lights. And guidance.
Speaker 1For my destiny. You have one minute to pray. Lead me to portions of the scripture.
Speaker 4Carry lights and guidance from my destiny. This week I find where it is written. I feel the need for us to pray a bit longer. A bit more. somebody wants to kneel before the lord somebody wants to pray their heart out this week i have encounters encounters encounters i find where it is written i find where it is written in the name of jesus we have prayed let your hands towards heaven may
Speaker 1this week be a week of encounters may it be a week of discoveries every moment
Speaker 4of the day discoveries light from every side in the mighty name of jesus listen to me please
Speaker 1pilot was in that place and they were saying all that they were saying then he said this he said what is written is written which means what is written cannot be changed what is written cannot be turned around can i tell you something the reason there's a lot of confusion anxiety is we have not found what is written but i lift my hand over you today as god's servant over this house i decree and i declare you will find what is written in the name of jesus in the name of jesus give the lord praise in the house this morning we hope
Speaker 3you've been blessed by this message to be a part of any of our programs or services visit our website www.petruscc.org for our different locations and service times we'll be happy to have you join our online community follow us on our social media handle on youtube facebook and instagram at petra christian's center you can also reach us via email at correspondent at petra cc.org or call us on 070-173-87222 petra christian center building jesus communities globally
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