Transcription
In Genesis chapter 22, as we'll begin to close it up, in verse 1, he said, "I read from the Living Bible from verse 1." He said, "Later on, God tested Abraham's faith and obedience." This one makes it so clear. So, everything that was going to happen here was actually a test. But take note that the man in question did not know that this was what was going on. Even though the passage begins by saying this is a conclusion of what was going to happen from verse 1 to verse 18. This is a conclusion. It says, "God tested Abraham's faith," but Abraham didn't know he was going through a test. And what was going to be the test? It was not an easy one at all.
In verse 2, he said, "Take with you your only son, yes, Isaac, whom you love so much, whom you you see." When God will ask you to give up everything, give out everything, give up something you love so much, give out something you love so much, or give out everything that you have. Jesus had the experience with the rich young ruler. And the man was so, you know, he was so interested in the things of the spirit. And so he joined those who were following Jesus and listening to his teachings. And that day asked the Lord some questions. And the Lord was so impressed with him. He was so impressed with him and said, "It's okay, young man. I can see you have a good heart. I can see you have interest in the things of the kingdom. I give you one instruction: Go and sell everything you have and hand it over to the poor." That was the instruction. How many instructions? One. Only one. The Bible said the moment this man heard what Jesus said, the man became sad instantly. He became sad. He became depressed. And, you know, the next thing he did, he walked out on Jesus. And, you know, as he's going, you know, some, some other men would will join him. Yeah, this man is taking this thing too far. He's taking it too far. Is it because we respect him? Is it because we have been following him? You should. Does he know how? Does he know what you have? Does he know the magnitude of what you have? I, I, I, I agree with you. You should not have obeyed that kind of instruction. There will always be people that will, that will sympathize with you, stand with you when you choose to disobey what God is saying, especially when it's not a popular kind of instruction, something that is, you know, it appeals to the heart of many people. You are surely going to get a lot of people that will advise you to stand by your decision not to obey that God.
And what God is saying. And so the Lord told Abraham, "Take your only son, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will point out to you." Verse 3. Now, Abraham was married to Sarah. Abraham was in the same house with Sarah. Sarah was the joint parent with Abraham of this Isaac we are talking about. But Abraham knew. He knew that there is no way Sarah would allow him to obey God concerning this particular instruction. You know, sometimes, you know, when we, when we'll bring certain things to people to advise us, certain people to, we already know what they are going to tell us. So most times, when you don't want to do that thing, you would not look for someone that is very likely to advise you in the direction you prefer, in the same direction that you prefer. And there are people you will know that if I mention this thing to this person, he will never, she would never agree with me. In fact, Sarah would have prevented him from taking Isaac out of that house. It would have been a big fight because Isaac was the only child of Sarah. But Sarah, sorry, Abraham had more than one son beyond Isaac. There was Ishmael. But Sarah had only one child. And then the only child she has, Abraham is coming up now to say that God appeared to only him, only him, not only two of them, and said he should, if you want to sacrifice. You know, and there was no precedence of God telling, you know, people to sacrifice a human being to him. There was no precedence. I know that this is how God has always been telling our fathers, no. So it would have been God that, this is not God. God did not speak to you. God never told you to sacrifice Isaac. An evil spirit has come upon you, Abraham. It would have been a big fight in that house. Big fight. And then she will lock the door of Isaac's room, take the key to make sure that, you know, behind her, Abraham does not now take Isaac away. So Abraham knew all this.
And so what happened? Investigating the Bible says, "The next month, early morning, while she was still sleeping, early morning, Abraham got up early, chopped up wood, and took with him his son Isaac. He went up to sacrifice Isaac." And Isaac asked him on the way, "What are you doing? What, where's the thing, the, the ram or whatever the cat we are going to sacrifice?" And say, "No problem." He knew it was Isaac. And so when he got there, Abraham was ready to sacrifice him. In verse 12 of Genesis 22, the Lord spoke. Starting from verse 11, he said, "At that moment, the angel of God shouted to him from heaven, 'Abraham, Abraham!'" "Yes, Lord." "Lay down the knife. Don't hurt him in any way." This is the same God that told him what he was carrying out. He said, "And I said, 'For I know that God is first in your life.'" May a point come from today when heaven will declare that you are proven, you are proven beyond all reasonable doubt, that God is first in your life. Can the Lord hear your amen? [Applause] May you prove this with action that God is first in your life? You have not withheld even your beloved son from me. Then in verse 16, said, "I, the Lord, have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even that what, even your beloved son from me, I will bless you." Take note, God inserted a word deliberately. "I will bless you." Not with blessings. He said, "I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions like the stars above the sky." And then in around the top, he said, "And you will conquer the enemies. Your offspring will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth." All because you have obeyed me. Me. Your obedience to God takes you to unprecedented blessings in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus.
And the last one, Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. Are you still ready to obey God unconditionally? Are you still ready? Acts chapter 9. If God tells you to give out or give up to him that which is so precious in your sight, would you like Abraham obey him? Acts chapter 9. It's the story started in a very interesting way from verse 1. It's a meanwhile, New Living Translation. "Saul was uttering threats with every breath. I was eager to kill the Lord's followers." That's how the story started in verse one, introducing this man. The man was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill. The Bible was very clear about his mission. He was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So look at verse 2. "So he requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them in, both men and women, back to Jerusalem in chains." There's a man that the Lord was about to speak about. Then, as he was going, he had an encounter with the Lord, and the Lord struck him with blindness. And then that was the beginning of his encounter. Then in verse 10, the Bible says, "Now there was a believer." This time, not a prophet. There was a believer. This time, not like, uh, you know, some great or esteemed minister of God. There was a believer in Damascus. I'm just emphasizing this to show that there are no excuses as to your, the office you hold in the body of Christ, when it comes to obedience to God. That, oh, when someone is a man of God, now called into ministry, then of course, he should be ready to do anything God tells him. No. David, when God chose him to be king of Israel, was not serving as a priest. Was not serving as a man of God. But his willingness to obey God in all things was already in manifestation, even at that age. And said, "The Lord saw this man in Damascus, a believer in the name, Ananias." The Lord spoke to him in a vision and called, "Ananias." He said, "Yes, Lord." The Lord said, "When you are sure that it is God speaking, will you obey? Or is your obedience going to be determined by the content of what he will tell you?" The Lord said, "Go over to this, to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He's praying to me right now. I've shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in to lay hands on him so he can see again." Look at verse 13. And Ananias quickly informed the Lord in that divine encounter. He said, "But Lord, as clean Ananias, this it was indirectly telling God, 'No, hold on, hold on, hold on. We are on ground here. We are, we are fully on ground. When you want to, anything you want to do here, it's good to consult us so that we can inform you properly. We know who is who in this town. We know who is who.'" He said, "Hold on, Lord. But Lord," he said, "I have had many people talk about the terrible things this same man you are mentioning, in case you are missing it, this same man has done to the believers in Jerusalem. And he, he is authorized by the leading priest to arrest everyone who calls upon your name. This is classified information, sir." He said, "But the Lord said, 'Go.'" God did not dispute what he said. He didn't say, "No, he's a lie." "Everything you have pointed out about this man is true. However, should you still go or not?" The Lord said, "Go." So once God is saying, "Do a particular thing," it's not about whether you know the person deserves it or not. He said, "He's the one, you know, that causes rain to fall both for the wicked and for the good. He sits in heaven. And God, whatever pleases him, he said, 'I will show mercy unto whom I will show mercy.'" He's the same God that has said, "Even the lawful captive shall be set free." People who have used their own hands to ensnare and entrap themselves, God says, "In the day of mercy, he will set some of them free." Nothing will stop your divine intervention in the name of Jesus. May the voice of resenting voices, the resenting voices of men, not succeed in stopping your divine promotion in the name of Jesus. Because there was a man chosen by God, and at the same time, a man that God reckons with, a man that heaven will listen to. Said, "We advise you to think twice. Please think twice about this man you are talking about, based on what he has done so far." But the Lord said, "Go. For Saul, this same Saul is my chosen instrument. He is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel." Look at verse 17. This is where Ananias stood out in the sight of God. And at the moment, the Lord made it clear that, yes, what you have complained about about him is true, yet I have endorsed him. I have chosen him. And I'm saying to you again, "Go to him." The moment that clarification came from the Lord, no more argument. No more argument. No more argument. That man is a bad man. Very bad man. And the Lord is saying, "Yes, I know. Still go." Then at that point, you need not argue anymore. So the Bible says, verse 17, "So Ananias went." May you go where God wants you to go? May you do promptly, promptly, whatever God is asking you to do in the name of Jesus? May you not miss, may you not miss it in the day of your divine testing in the name of Jesus? Remember Genesis 22, verse 1, he said, "And the Lord decided to test the faith and obedience of Abraham." Your own day of testing will come. And God will test you. The greater the test, the more impossible it is for most people, most believers, to obey what God told Abraham to do. Most children of God, servants of God, would not do it. So Ananias went and found Saul. The moment he saw him, watching, he laid his hands on him and said, "Take note of what he said." He didn't say, "So." He said, "What, brother Saul?" The moment the Lord made the clarification, "I, from now, I have chosen him." He no longer addressed him as Saul. He addressed him as what? Brother. So, so didn't tell him, "And brother Saul, based on what God had told him." He addressed him, "Brother Paul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. He got up and he was baptized. Praise hear the Lord. Praise hear the Lord.
So we have found out three instances, three case studies. First, Hosea. Second, Abraham. And now Ananias. Now, into, if, if you go further, later, you look at that same Acts chapter 9. After this encounter here, this same Saul, now when he went to Jerusalem, the believers did not accept him. In that same chapter 9, they refused to accept him into the temple. That's to show you that the decision and the response of Ananias was not, was a distinct kind of response compelled to the possible response of other believers in Jerusalem at that same time. So I close by emphasizing to you that one of those things that touches the heart of God so much is obedience to his exclusive instruction to you. We are not even talking about general instructions. And always think of it, why you? Why Hosea? He was not the only prophet. He was not the only man of God at that time. Why him? Always think of it. Why Ananias? When they had a multitude of believers in the same location, why Ananias? He said, "On his," and he testified concerning David, that "I found a man after my own heart, who will do everything I tell him to do." That is where I stand. And that has always been my driving motivation. I will always make one thing clear. I want to be sure because there's a lot of deception in the spirit. So much deception in the spirit. Things that we want to appear as the voice of God, but it's not really the voice of God. But once I am finally clear that this is what God is saying, that is where I stand. That is where I stand. People will laugh at you. That is where I stand. People won't support you. That is where, as once I am finally convinced God is saying, "Do this and do it now," that is what I will do. People won't like this person. If this person is chosen, that's the person I would choose. The moment God says, "This is a man. This is the woman for this thing." Whether the majority like him, the majority don't like him. It's the person God told me that I will announce. It's the person God told me that I will choose. It's the person God told me that I will support. It's the person God told me that I will stand with. And take note of this, my obedience to God is not based on outcome.
Can you come forward, sir? Church, are you with me? The Lord says, "Support him and enjoy him to be the next governor of his own state." Take note of what I said. "Support him to be." Now, "support him to be the next governor" does not absolutely mean he will be the next governor. But one thing that is clear, God has told me clearly that I should not be passive about his governorship. That I must move from passivity to support. I must give him full support. However, my support is not based on whether he will win or whether he will not win. Do you know where we have a problem as believers? Many believers, including pastors, will not support him even when God tells them, "Support him." Why? They don't feel he would win. So if he comes out now, for instance, on the platform of the two major parties as of today, which is APC and PDP, many pastors will support him because they can see that with those two parties, there's a chance that he will win. But if he now comes out as, "I'm going to continue," which party? And he mentions one or no party, unknown party, even when God is telling the man of God, "Support him," the man of God would not because by his own calculation, he does not see how he would win. And then take note of this, by a week, two weeks to election, most of the time, you will know who is likely to win. Now, this is where God will be watching you. Even when it is clear that he will not win on Saturday, he won't win on Saturday with all we are saying. God will still expect you to do what somebody. My support to him is based on divine instruction. And it is not based on outcome. Whether he will win or he will not win. So whether you win or you won't win. And one man that will stand by you, sir. That is the spirit. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Is this clear? This is the spirit. This is the spirit. People that are ready to stand by you whether it works or it does not work. That is the essence of marriage. For better or for worse. Not that, well, if artists remain, okay, I remain. I remember your spouse. But if we get as conditioned be, and it goes on for too long, I will find my level. That's where we are today. Thank you, sir. May the Lord raise up great support for you in the path of your divine destiny in Jesus name. Shall we rise? [Music] You.