Minister: Pst. David Kilanko
Meeting: Sunday Service
Topic: Fighting the Good Fight of Faith
Concerning our dear Mummy, whom, by the grace of God, we are having a service to celebrate, we must know that Mummy laid hold on something. We must follow the same example to give attention to our building because, in the end, what matters is what has been built.
There is a way we have been greatly deceived concerning the work of Satan. Satan doesn’t care about our car or natural attainments. What he cares about is that a people are not built, because it is in our building that his descent will happen. As you are going up in the spirit, you are displacing his things. The upward journey of a believer is the displacement of powers in the air. As you are going up, things are coming down.
The adversary loves to be on top, and that was his failing even while he was in his first estate. He said I will exalt my throne; he said it in his heart. He is someone who just likes to be on top. When he shoots thoughts, imaginations, and high things in our hearts, it is so that they can stay above; that they can be the things that culture our lives.
When we do things, whatever we do is not actually innocent of influence. The influencers in the world are influencers because they have an edge. No one can influence from beneath. Influence comes from above. To know the why behind the things you do, look to the heavens over you.
Mummy Lillian was a building of God. My most recent memory of her was that every time I went to NOIC and prayer meeting was going on, she was there every day. You’d think she should stay at home and rest because you can see her delicateness, but she was looking for something, and she found it; because a lot of prophesies and testimonies have gone forth to confirm it. Daddy Emeka was saying last week when he was announcing this meeting that he doesn’t want us to come for the meeting to sorrow. He said he is not thinking of a typical service of song but a memorial service where we would rejoice and give thanks for a life well spent. When they say a life was well spent, it is that the building was raised.
Our Daddy, Rev Kayode, labored here last week. He and Pastor Olaide, who also ministered, said a lot of things concerning the essence of the church. The reason for the church is so that the building can be done. The person you are building for is not a being of haste. God doesn’t rush His building. What they do first is to send the earnest of our inheritance, who is the Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost is the creative being who supervises the building of God. They send Him, and they keep bringing materials so that the house can be built. Because of that, we must be patient. If we have an idea of the gap between God and us presently, we would be patient (Isa 55:9).
Pastor Tope was saying yesterday that you can’t build a rocket that would go from here to heaven. Where would you get the fuel to travel that far? Even to go to the sun, we don’t have the capacity. Now, the sun and moon are still within the constellations of the earth; they are not the heavens. If they measure the distance of “as far as heaven is from the earth, so are your ways from my ways and your thoughts from my thoughts”, you can’t expect that the work for you to be like God be done quickly; it doesn’t work that way.
The work of salvation demands a great deal of patience. God would make sure that He thoroughly does His work. There is a work that patience does; we see it in James 1:4 – “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing”. The reason why patience must finish her work is for our perfection. Pastor Emeka was saying that when the Lord leads us through trials and tribulations, we are like flour put inside an oven. If you remove the dough too early, it won’t get done. Salvation demands patience because God is never in a hurry. A day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and He is not slack concerning His promise as men count slackness. The reason why I’m saying this is that there will come things to come and sway us. There will come people who will tell us that what we are hearing is erroneous; but we have many witnesses.
Our dear Mummy Lillian is a witness of that Life. The day that our dear mummy went to be with the Lord was on a Saturday, around the early hours of the morning, around 1 am and the married women held their prayers around 5 am later same day. They were praying, not knowing what had happened, and someone brought forth a tongue, and there was an interpretation saying, ‘My Lillian, General, My General’. God commending a soul as a general. I don’t think that the person that was hearing heresy would be commended as a general. Our problem is that we always complain of not understanding what is being said.
The Lord began to say to us how that concerning the disciple Thomas, who when the Lord passed was there, He saw the way His hands were nailed and His side pierced. When the Lord resurrected, Thomas was not there. When he got back and was told, he said, ‘I will not believe until I have seen him with my eyes and touch the holes in his hands and side’; that was a heart disposition, and you can’t blame him. The things he saw at Golgotha were too real for him to believe that anything could happen afterwards. The Lord made sure that the next time He appeared, Thomas was there (John 20:27-28). The same is the manner with the word of God in 1 John 1:1. They heard first before seeing and looking upon.
Heaven expects that at the place of hearing, you believe. Don’t wait until that which you have seen. There is a blessing in believing before seeing. Many people don’t wait for that which you have seen before they leave because they can’t see it. What really is the business of the church is soul salvation and not the acquisition of properties. The validation of the work is that souls are changing. The work of the church is to build souls (Acts 2:47).
(1 John 3:2) – “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” – It doesn’t yet appear what we shall be, but what we shall be exists already in a person. When he said ‘now are we the sons of God’, it is a reality that is not yet there, but it is somewhere. We know this because we have heard it. After all, faith comes by hearing.
It was said concerning our mummy that when she was found, she was in the posture of prayer. You can’t act things like this. You don’t know the time because the time comes like a thief. What it meets you doing, the building it finds you in is the real you. If you are not assured and persuaded of what you are hearing, some people who are more anointed will change you. The antichrist, the man of sin, no preacher can beat him in words. Even apostle Paul encountered an orator who was a master at persuading with words (Acts 24:1-5).
There are people who will come and sway you with words if you are not built. (Matt. 7:25-27) We only think storms here are bad things, but there are people and situations that are storms that will come and check your building. What would really help is that at the point of hearing, you believe. (John 6:35-69) While others left because they did not understand Jesus, Peter and the other disciples, who also didn’t understand all that Jesus meant about being the bread of life, believed in His person, and that was enough to keep them. Even in the season where you don’t understand, believe!. There are many witnesses of people who have trapped this life, like our Mummy Lilian. Can you believe and wait until you understand fully?
(Luke 21:19) We can’t possess our souls without patience. What they do in church is to restore the soul from places where Satan has scattered us, and we must understand that the work requires that we need to sit down for it to be done on us. (Mal. 3:3-4) – “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” – The refiner sits to purify the soul. To do a serious work, you sit. (Isa. 28:16) Hastiness or haste is rooted in unbelief. You should wait. When it comes to salvation, you are supposed to wait. If you don’t wait, you will either be offended in yourself, with the brethren, the message, or with the Lord.
(Heb. 3:1-6) Just because they called you doesn’t mean that you have arrived or have become His house. There is a conditional statement in this scripture – IF. Indeed, we are the temple of the Holy Ghost, but to become a house of Christ, it requires we hold certain things firmly. As we are journeying, and our path which is as a shining light shining brighter and brighter, we begin to see clearer and clearer why we were called. There is a reason they kept salvation at the end so that we can get all that is required.
When God builds, He builds all things because when He is moving in, He moves in with all things. God builds all things so He can move all things inside the building. He wants to come and sit in our heart. Our building must be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. It must be ready for the master. That is something that takes patience. You don’t run away just because you’ve not understood. When you calm down, you’ll see that you are changing. You might not be yet where you ought to be, but you will know that you are progressing.
(Heb. 3:7-14) When a thing hardens, and water dries from it, it contracts or shrinks, but when it enlarges, it means it is healthy. A heart that is ready to receive the word even when understanding has not yet come is not hardened. A heart that is ready to receive the word even when understanding has not come is saying, Lord, I open my heart; if anything, I am the one that has not yet understood what you are saying, but this thing is true, help me to understand.
(Heb. 3:14) We are made partakers of Christ with a condition—if we are steadfast to the end. Because it is he that endures to the end that shall be saved. You must be able to follow to the end.
(Jam. 5:7-8) The level of patience required of us is as that of the husbandman. Our hearts need to be established to be able to wait for God (Psa. 62:1, Mic. 7:7). The work will be done indeed; I’m saying this to encourage our hearts because there could be some of us who find it hard to steady our hearts and come into an understanding of what heaven is saying. Sometimes, it is like they are scattering everything. Wait! You need to tell your soul to wait, as David said in Psalm 27:14. The heart is the problem why a soul can’t wait. You need to understand that the work of salvation is a work of patience. (Rom. 8:24) If you have not seen it, with patience you should wait for it.
Mummy Lilian was not hasty, and that’s why she came into the allocations she came into in her soul. Everyone who the Lord has shown mercy to catch a vision of her, talked about how she is in an indescribable estate of glory. Do not allow anyone to tell you you are hearing rubbish. Why? Because there are witnesses.
Sometimes your infirmities discourage you. Don’t let your heart be weary or faint. Consider our Lord Jesus who endured contradictions of sinners against Himself and understand that you need to strive against sin to the shedding of blood. You can’t give up. By the time the work is done, what they will see in your inward part is truth. Truth is not a statement of accurate facts; truth is a person; it is a law that would begin to run a soul.
When Apostle Paul was given the commission (Acts 26:18), he was asked to first open the eyes of people. The gap between turning them from darkness to light and the gap between opening the eyes is not small because there are things stored up in our souls. The malice we live by did not come in one day and will not go away in one day. You need to obey a contrary law very well. It is usage through time and experiences that makes sure a person handles life, so we can’t afford to be hasty. They talked about Job in James 5:11 as someone who endured the trying of his faith. Job lived and endured through patience, and he saw the end of the Lord, which is seeing that the work that heaven wants to do, heaven achieves it. We also must strive to see that the Lord also achieves it in our soul, that the work will not be truncated.
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses both on earth and in heaven who are cheering us on to carry on and use our lives for God. Even though it is a long walk to glory, our earthly itinerary and the whole duty of our life is to fear God and keep His commandments (Eccl 12:13). As we do that, we will open our eyes and see the Lord of glory; when we awaken in His likeness (Psa. 17:15). You may not preach, give tongues or interpret and God would say to you well done thou good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:21). God can build a person to a point of being made a servant. Servants are people who ensured that they did the work of departing from iniquity (Luke 19:17).
MESSAGE ENDS