Take Your Rightful Place Part 6

Okay, so we're on to take your rightful place six.

From now on it's easier to write TYRP.

Take your rightful place six, sixth part of the series.

And today we're going to talk about opposition.

When there's opposition, how do you take your rightful place?

When there is opposition, how do you take your rightful place?

And in 1 Corinthians 16, 9, for instance, it says that Paul is saying that a wide door

for effective work has opened to me, but there are many adversaries.

There's a lot of opposition.

There are hindrances.

So even sometimes when there is a wide door open for us from God, there can be opposition.

Opposition is not a sign of the displeasure of God.

Opposition is not a sign of the displeasure of God.

One has to figure out why the opposition.

And then we have to take our rightful place in the sense if there is opposition, how do

I position myself?

So even though he had a wide door for effective work, 1 Corinthians 16, 9, even though I have

for effective work, depending on the version, it says even though a wide door for effective

work has opened to me, there are many adversaries or there is much opposition or there are hindrances.

And so where does the opposition come from?

There are a few places it can come from.

From spiritual forces.

From spiritual forces.

From false teachers.

These are the ones mentioned in the Bible from false teachers and legalists as in those

that are farisakal in their outlook or religious.

From the culture and traditions of men.

From the culture and traditions of men.

As in the things that our culture, our tradition, the ones that and there are so many different

ways that we can look at it, we will later.

Culture and traditions of men.

From warped philosophies.

It talks about this in Colossians.

Warped philosophies of the world.

Warped philosophies and mindsets of the world.

This is where the opposition comes from and there are instances of this in scripture.

From warped philosophies and mindsets of the world.

Five, from the human agents of the devil which can be both institutions or individuals.

It can be both.

From sin and snarements in our own lives where sometimes because of sin and snarements as

it says in Hebrews 12, there is opposition to the progress that we can make.

And then finally, from God.

That's all they, but God sometimes opposes.

We are talking about believers, we are not talking about non-believers.

We are talking about believers.

God sometimes opposes believers when they behave a certain way, he opposes them.

So this is where opposition can come from.

Any questions?

These are some of the areas, there might be more, but these broadly cover most of the

areas in the Bible where there was opposition.

And the question is, how do we position ourselves rightly so that when this kind of opposition

comes we have a way to beat it or negotiate it according to the word.

So, yeah.

No, sometimes God just, like I'll, let me spill the beans early.

In Hebrews, sorry, in James chapter 4 verse 6, it says God opposes the proud.

James 4:6

And it's being written to the church.

And the word opposed there is the word resist, as in when an army resists.

So when I become proud and I continue in pride, God opposes the proud, as in he takes a stance

and resists you so that you get to the place where you can humble yourself.

And then immediately he shifts to the other part of chapter 4 verse 6 which says, but

he gives grace to the humble.

And we don't recognize this, but it often happens in our life.

Sometimes it's God, it's not the devil.

So that's just one example.

There are two other examples of how God opposes.

Any other questions?

Okay.

So we have to figure out, we have to figure out from the word, have to figure out from

the word and by the spirit, and by the spirit, the stance we must adopt, the stance we must

adopt to deal with the opposition.

Because there might be a tendency sometimes to have a set way of dealing with it.

And I'd like to say that given the different examples in the Bible, I have to figure out

in this particular situation, how do I stand up against this opposition?

Because sometimes you're not supposed to do something.

Other times you're supposed to do something.

So it has to be both from the word and from the spirit.

I should know the stance that I must adopt.

It can't be a blanket thing.

Which is why we can't, while it is pious and sometimes, and by pious I mean genuine piety

and sometimes genuine faith, it is to say that God will take care of it in the Lord's

timing or I'll just wait for the Lord to act.

While there are times when piety like that is godly and there are times when that is

an actual statement of faith, one of the things that often happens if you keep going down

that road is we really don't know the ways of God because it'll involve finding out.

Sometimes it's much easier to be lazy.

God wants us to find out what the stance is.

So be careful of that kind of piety and faith which at times is genuine but there are times

when it could be just laziness, dullness and an ignorance of God's ways.

So we've got to make sure that we may start with piety and faith but we have to figure

out, okay, Father, what do you want us to do?

This is why David was so different from the kings before him and the kings after him.

In every situation this question will be, what do you want me to do?

Other times it will be, you'll recover all, so go to Ziklag, get them back.

Other times it will be, wait till you hear the sound of marching about the mulberry bushes

and then go.

Other times it will be, this woman who just came to you, her name's Abigail, she told

you not to do anything, do nothing.

So it changed from situation to situation.

Other times it would be, run towards Goliath.

Don't even wait for him to come, run towards him.

Every situation was different.

Why?

Because he knew how to find out and after he found out he would have an approach.

So here are some of the stances that we can look at as we go down this road.

The first one is from Isaiah 53 verse 7.

Isaiah 53:7

Sometimes when opposition comes, sometimes when opposition comes in the form of someone

oppressing you, doing you harm, it doesn't matter whether it's at work or government

or institutions or a friend or someone in church or a pastor, it doesn't matter who's

doing it.

Sometimes when opposition comes, you have to follow Isaiah 53 verse 7.

Isaiah 53:7

And let's look at Isaiah 53, 7.

Isaiah 53, 7, and it says that,

in his mouth.

Not a word was said.

There was no fight back.

The two things about this scripture, on one hand this is sometimes the blanket approach

that people have when there's oppression or there's opposition.

On the other hand, it's also very difficult.

He didn't say a word.

It wasn't even he didn't say a word back to his oppressors.

It is that when Matt oppresses me, it's one thing not to say a word to Matt, but do I

go and talk to Sheldon and Sen and Tilna about the thing.

He was completely silent, like a sheep being led to slaughter.

There's one way of dealing with it.

These are Jesus' ways.

And so sometimes when accusations or opposition and oppression comes, we have to think of,

once we hear these different scenarios, the Holy Spirit will bring it to remembrance.

But it won't be a blanket way of dealing with it.

At work, anywhere, it doesn't matter where, it applies to life.

And some of it applies directly to the church.

So Isaiah 53, 7, he did not say a word.

He did not say a word.

And then if you look at Matthew 5, 11, and combine that with 1 Corinthians 4, 12, basically

here's what it says, blessed are you when reviled, blessed are you when reviled.

That must bring the walls down.

Blessed are you when reviled.

And then it says, bless those who revile you.

Bless those who revile you.

So blessed are you when reviled and blessed are those who revile you.

In 2 Chronicles 20, verse 15, 2 Chronicles 20, verse 15, it says that, hey, don't do

2 Chronicles 20:15 2 Chronicles 20:15

anything.

Stand and see what God will do.

So this is one approach where there is absolutely no fight back.

This is the give the other cheek approach.

But this is the same God who later on in Isaiah 54, 17 says that if someone accuses you, no

courtroom lie against you will stand and you will refute with your words the lie that has

been spoken against you.

So that's why we can't use blanket statements.

This is to give you a series of options and then you and the Holy Spirit get to choose.

So that's the first one.

Next one.

Any questions?

Okay.

Next one's from Jeremiah 12, 5 where it says, if you have run with footmen and they have

worn you out, how will you run with?

Horses.

Jeremiah 12, 5.

The context of that verse is that in Jeremiah 23, 21, it seems there were prophets that

were competing with Jeremiah.

They were giving a good run.

They were opposing him.

And in the context of that, God says to Jeremiah, hey, why are you so upset that you're facing

some adversity?

Why are you so troubled by your opposition?

If this opposition is going to wear you out, how are you going to run against the horses?

He's talking about footmen and comparing them to the prophets that were opposing Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had that throughout his life.

Every time he'd do something, some guy called Hananiah or some other guy called something

Ayah would come and he would stand and he would begin to oppose Jeremiah.

So God is saying, if you are tired and weary of running with his footmen, how will you

run against the horses?

And what's he referring to there?

The Babylonian military.

Because Babylon had put a siege around Jerusalem.

Part of the thing that we need to understand sometimes when there is opposition is God

will not do anything because he wants you to know that this is given to you so that

you can toughen up for the next battle, which will be far more worse or far more serious.

Sometimes God doesn't do anything, not because he does not want to vindicate you, but he

is hoping that by not doing something, you will muscle up.

Not a rah rah message.

The first one was stay silent.

The second one is, if running with men seems to be difficult for Jeremiah, how are you

going to come against the might of Babylon, the military might of Babylon in the face

of opposition?

Muscle up.

The present resistance must be seen as nothing because there are greater battles to fight.

Muscle up.

I am not going to rescue you out of this one because I want you to be seasoned for the

next battle.

Where is another situation where this happens?

Turn to Judges 3, Judges 3, Judges 3, verse 1-3.

Judges 3:1–3

These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced

any of the wars and canon.

He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not

previous battle experience.

The five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, the Hivites living

in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebol Hamad, they were left to test the

Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands.

So the idea was I'm going to leave opposition just so you are battle ready.

Any questions on that one?

That's the thing where we work with the word and the Holy Spirit.

That's the seeking out.

That's the part where it's so much easier to adopt whatever the Lord wants to do.

I'm his servant.

While that is pious and that may even show faith, it does not teach you the ways of God.

It does not teach you the mind of God.

So Ruth, what are you looking for?

The reference was, one was Jeremiah 12-5 and the last one was Judges 3, 1-3.

Any other questions guys?

Just going back to where you say let's go to the following.

How do you balance that obviously?

You take the desktop and you take the desktop.

You don't balance it.

Also when Jesus is out, you pray to the Lord.

Follow me kind of.

So you don't balance it.

You hold it in tension and you know which one to choose.

So in Matthew 13 there's this beautiful scripture which says,

Dhillonah can you be like a scribe who goes to his store room and pulls out of his store room new treasures and old treasures.

It's the idea of you've got a store now full of different aspects of how God deals with things.

And what we don't understand guys is if we deal with it correctly, a lot of people benefit.

So there are times when the person who oppresses you needs to be not touched.

You just have to be quiet even though he's oppressing you because your kindness and mercy may lead him to repentance.

And there are other times where you must speak up because if you don't speak up, that guy may go and beat up Tooney.

And if you speak up, Tooney may be spared.

So there's the orchestration of God is critical here.

And when he doesn't find that because I choose a certain way as my way.

So let's assume Matt's way is I will not say anything and Jacob's way is I'll slap you around.

Both ways are disastrous because God doesn't get to do what he wants.

And both Matt and I can justify it saying but the Lord says.

The reason we choose differently is so that God can do a greater drama through you and with you amongst a larger group of people.

That's the beauty of this. That's where we get to know the mind of God.

That's when he says, a friend of mine.

We'll come to that scripture that you mentioned.

So sometimes he won't do anything because he wants you to toughen up for the next.

Hi guys. Sometimes he doesn't do anything because he wants you to toughen up for the next battle.

So he'll say, if this is wearing you out, Jacob, come on, I have trained you for far more.

If this is wearing out, how can I expect you to run with horses?

If this opposition is going to bowl you over.

Then don't come to me asking for greater adventures.

Because you can't handle this one.

Reface the question.

Yeah, what is our response to it?

And it's little opposition in the eyes of God. For me, it's still painful.

God saying, but Jacob, bear up under it because I want to take you further.

There's bigger things coming. If this is going to make you cry, how are you going to deal with that?

It's like stop doing the owie thing. It's just an owie.

But an owie is painful when the owie is owie.

Next one, opposition from legalists.

Opposition from legalists.

In the Bible, there has always been opposition from legalists.

I don't, yeah. 2 Corinthians 3, 6 says,

The letter kills.

The spirit gives life.

Please understand, we can all be legalists.

The reason I'm saying legalists is so that we can avoid the word Pharisee for two reasons.

One, because not all the Pharisees were bad.

And somehow when we think of Pharisees, we always think of them as bad.

When we think of Pharisees, we always think of someone else.

So the word legalist may fit you better because it carries a certain legalist.

So opposition from legalists because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.

So how would you identify a legalist?

Legalists quench the spirit or they try to minus the things of the spirit.

They box the spirit.

They tell us what the spirit can do now and cannot do now after the first hundred years.

Legalists turn hearts of flesh into stone.

As you listen to them, from being highly receptive to God,

you begin to have a heart that begins to get more and more resistant to God.

Legalists impose externals.

Legalists regress and cause regression in love, joy and faith.

You'll see that in their lives, where they are, love and joy and faith don't usually blossom.

What blossoms is fear, not love, joy and faith.

Legalists lose out on the Father.

They know God as Master, they know God as Lord, but they lose out on Him as a Father.

Legalists persecute Isaacs.

As in, anything that is born unusually, anything that doesn't fit the pattern of the flesh, begins to get persecuted.

Because it says that Ishmael began to persecute Isaac.

Isaac was the son of promise.

Ishmael was the son of flesh.

And so what happens is any new move of God,

anything that is not birthed out of the usual church means will start getting resisted.

And so legalists bring up every church will face this at some point or the other, guaranteed.

Why? Because the Master faced this.

Christ was actually put on the cross by the Romans,

but the ones who fueled it were the traditionalists and legalists,

who could not see beyond what they thought was the right understanding of the word.

Which is why they put him on the cross.

We don't realize how wicked and how powerful a weapon legalism is.

A whole nation was not able to accept the one that went to them from heaven because of legalism.

It was also legalism that put him on a cross.

This is why Jesus said, do not even tolerate the leaven of the Pharisees.

What is the leaven of the Pharisees?

Anything that reeks of these things mentioned here.

Stay away from it. Resist it.

Paul puts it this way in Galatians chapter 3, verse 3.

Galatians 3:3

Tell me you foolish Galatians, why is it that when you started in the spirit,

have you ended up working in the flesh?

And this must be examined because there's nobody here, starting with me,

that is free from, that should think they are free from this.

All of us have our pet legalistic ways, guys.

We just don't see it because someone else has to see it.

It's like a blind spot.

And it's affected by our denomination.

It's affected by our previous understanding.

It's affected by different things.

Any questions on that one?

What's the solution?

Philippians chapter 3, verse 2 to 7.

Philippians 3:2–7

Philippians chapter 3, verse 2 to 7, I'll read from the message.

Philippians 3:2–7

You could, on one hand, the message or the passion translation is not a version.

It is a paraphrased writing of the scriptures.

But it does explain it well.

So you can be legalistic in saying, I will only stick to the KJV or the NIV,

which, by the way, has its own problems.

Or you can say, sorry?

ESV.

Or you can say that the passion translation and the message should never be read.

Both are ways that are coming in.

Or you can say, remove the word from reckless love because God is not reckless.

Or you can say, we will never sing, so will I, because it has the word evolving.

These are minor...

Even Phoebe can understand this.

These are not where you...

This is not a mountain to die on.

Yeah.

How do you not go to liberalism?

By looking at the passion translation or the message or the KJV.

Here's a simple truth about the KJV, guys.

The NIV and the ESV were taken from scriptures that were found much earlier than what the KJV was taken out of.

I know people who won't read anything else but Di Dao.

There's nothing wrong with Di Dao.

Di Dao has its own power if you're over 50.

But the point is, how do I read scriptures with the Father's way of thinking?

It doesn't matter how much Hebrew you know, how much Greek you know.

When you look at scriptures, you will be able to see whether the scriptures are actually reflecting the heart of God

or whether it's sweetening Jesus more than he should be sweetened.

I sometimes read the message and I see scriptures and apostles, prophets, teachers, the fivefold,

and I read it and I think to myself, oh my God, I'll never read the message again.

Because it makes it so dilute that it lacks any meaning.

And yet you read other scriptures and it hits you so hard in the face, you want to wash your face.

Like Philippians 3 that I'm going to read now, if Dilna does not ask another question.

Philippians 3.

Dilna, I had left you alone for three weeks but you're back.

Philippians 3, 2-7.

I'm reading from the message.

Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite.

All they are interested in is appearances, knife-happy circumcisers, I call them.

The real believers are the ones that the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry,

filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it.

We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts and we know it.

Even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials,

you know my pedigree, a legitimate birth circumcised on the eighth day,

an astral light from the elite tribe of Benjamin, a strict and devout adherent to God's law,

a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting Christians,

a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law book.

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special,

I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash along with everything else I used to take credit for.

And why? Because of Christ. Wow!

You go read the NIV and you will see the same thing being said there,

but this sometimes carries power in terms of words.

This is not about NIV message or this thing.

I'm just saying, how do we come against opposition by legalists?

Guys, take a strong stance against legalism in your life, in the life of the church,

and in the life of your family.

Because we do not know the insidious power of legalism to always corrupt that which is pure.

The fear of going into liberalism exists,

but the fear of something should not prevent me from tasting that which is true.

The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is this,

the Old Testament would set up guardrails so that you don't fall.

The New Testament says, I have my spirit in you.

I will tell you if you grow with me.

I'm going to take off the guardrails so that you can run.

Churches today, including this one,

has a tendency to impose the guardrails back to prevent you from sinning.

In the process, you rob a person the freedom to follow the spirit because they're following guardrails.

And when someone goes astray,

then begins the painful process of helping them to get back and helping them to run proper.

It's more painful. Put guardrails and your job is easy.

No drinks and no edibles in the room.

Finished. Policy.

But what if Matt is like dying here because he needs a cookie?

You're sitting in the first row, man. What did you expect?

Another scripture, Colossians 2, Colossians 2, 22-23, Colossians 2, 22-23.

Here's what it says.

So then, if with Christ you put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you,

why do you let yourself be bullied by it?

Don't touch this. Don't taste that. Don't go near this.

Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?

Such things sound impressive if they're said in a deep enough voice.

They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic,

but they are just another way of showing off, making yourself look more important.

If you read the ESV as Dilna suggested, the last verse says,

verse 23, Colossians 2, 23,

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body,

but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

So that's how we deal with legalism. Any questions?

The entire book of Galatians and some of Colossians is dedicated to one thing only.

Do not allow those circumcisers, those guys who impose external things,

to come in and take away the freedom that Christ brought you into.

Increase in freedom.

Any questions?

No? Okay. Next one.

Go to Acts Chapter 13, Acts 13, 6 onwards.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

Now we see a different aspect of how to deal with operational issues.

Acts 16, verse 3. Now we're talking about a guy called Elimas, who was a magician,

Acts 16:3

and they are alive and present today, not in Asia and Africa, in Canada.

Yeah, Acts 13, verse 6 onwards.

Acts 13:6

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.

There they traveled to the land of the gods, the land of the gods,

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.

There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus.

The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

But Elimas, the sorcerer, for that is what his name means,

opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked straight at Elimas and said,

You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right.

You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.

Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

Now the hand of the Lord is against you.

You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.

Immediately mist and darkness came over him,

and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed,

for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Now it shifts, eh?

Suddenly it's not being quiet and not doing anything.

So here was a situation where the gospel was being opposed,

and truth was being subverted.

Truth was being subverted or distorted.

The gospel was being opposed and truth was being subverted.

Why? So that influence could be maintained,

so that the guy could maintain his influence.

And so in a situation like this, look what Paul does.

Paul pronounces divine judgment.

Paul pronounces divine judgment of what? Of temporary blindness.

It's strange that he pronounces that as a divine judgment,

because he had been struck of a horse, and he had gone blind, remember?

And he knows what that blindness did to him.

That blindness brought him to the light.

And so Paul pronounces divine judgment of temporary blindness,

something that Paul himself had experienced.

And one of the things he calls him is noteworthy.

That he says, you're a child of the devil.

And why does he call him a child of the devil?

For these reasons, that you do not follow the right ways of God.

You subvert the truth and you oppose the gospel.

Someone like that is called the child of the devil.

And so he calls him that, and then he pronounces divine judgment.

So the problem is, are we allowed to do this?

From a biblical precedent, yes.

But are we supposed to curse people?

No.

So these are situations which we have to approach super carefully.

You literally have to know that it is God who is saying this,

because otherwise, like someone told me,

if you want to call fire down on yourself,

make sure you're wearing a asbestos suit, otherwise you get burned too.

So this is not something you want to jump into.

But does this happen? Yes.

Does this happen today? Yes.

So how best to go about it?

Perhaps as a church, when someone begins to,

someone who is in this case obviously not a believer,

begins to come and begins to strike against the gospel, subvert the truth,

it is, we'll come to that later, there's this fine point guys,

where if my battle is not against flesh and blood,

can I always have the person that I'm dealing with at the center of my heart

as one that needs to be rescued, but one that needs to be stopped?

It's a hard place to reach, but not in Christ.

As a human, our soul may scream out against the ones that do us harm.

I was talking about Graham Staines recently.

His son and he were burnt alive in a van,

but his wife had the ability to forgive immediately the next day.

But everybody, not everybody, six or seven of the guys involved

in burning him and doing harm to him got swept away in a flood in a couple of months.

So when it comes to these things, it's better to do it as a church,

where the church sits down and says, this needs to be stopped.

Oh God, what do we do?

This is what they did when in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

the disciples were thrown into prison.

And what did they do?

They come out back to the church and they say,

Oh God, look at the threats that they are bringing against us.

Would you now stretch out your hand and say,

Oh God, what do we do?

Look at the threats that they are bringing against us.

Would you now stretch out your hand?

Would you stretch out the hand of your holy servant Jesus

and begin to do signs, miracles, wonders and healings

so that you may be known?

And the place began to shake.

What did they do?

They didn't go around cursing after being beaten badly.

They came back to the church and they began to talk about it.

And in the process rose a principle that they began to use.

Because otherwise we'll have,

we'll end up being a community that goes off individually,

cursing people instead of blessing.

Every opposition will be seen as this.

We can go really trigger happy on this one.

Which is why it is best to come in,

look at it a different way.

But this actually happened in the New Testament.

And so he gets, look at the other thing,

he gets temporarily blinded,

hoping that repentance will come.

And Paul knows what happened to him.

At least Paul wasn't, at least this guy wasn't killing people.

Paul was killing people, struck off a horse, blind, and he changed his.

When people begin to subvert the truth because they want influence,

then that's another time when you have to become aware of,

hey, we've got to take a stance against this.

There's a guy called Diotrofus in 1 John 3, 9.

He was like that.

He would flaunt himself against authority and say no.

And Paul says, I'm coming and I'll show Diotrofus what will happen.

So this isn't something that happened in the book of Acts.

It happens later in the Bible too.

Remember those stories where a man was sleeping with his stepmom?

What does Paul do?

Throw him out of the church.

Where?

Into the hands of the devil.

Why?

So that his body may go through whatever discipline is required

so that he may turn and come back to Christ.

And then what does he do in 2 Corinthians?

I think it's time to bring him back.

Because the ultimate intent in all this,

should we have to ever go down this route,

either as a church or because you are absolutely sure

that God is saying a divine judgment should be pronounced.

What is important is to make sure that in my heart

I have to rescue the person because my battle is not against flesh and blood.

So every time we war for God,

I have to make sure that he is the one who is asking me to war for him.

There is a story in the Bible where the king of Judah won a couple of battles.

So he decides, let me go and fight Israel.

So he sends word to the king of Israel saying,

I want to fight.

And the king of Israel writes back to him saying,

there was a little Tissel who one day grew up a little.

Because he had won a few battles, he thought he could take on everybody.

I am saying to you, back off.

Do not take on this battle.

It is not from God.

But the king of Judah says, nope, I want to fight.

He goes to fight, gets beaten like crazy.

And Israel takes over all of Judah.

Why?

At the end of the day, the notation in that scripture is,

here is a man who picked a battle he was not supposed to fight.

So whenever it comes to warring,

which is an essential part of churchdom,

because kingdom implies warfare.

It is not something supernatural or super-Christian.

It is a duty of every believer.

And one day, maybe we will rise up to that.

So to answer your question, when I see someone oppressed,

I have to find out, father, what is my situation in this?

Should I go comfort the person?

Should I go speak up for the person?

Should I go fight the enemy this person is being oppressed by?

Should I leave it alone because you are sending somebody else?

Should I go ask for help?

What do I need to do?

But doesn't sometimes the situation may be immediate?

Then address it immediately and then run into your stronghold and ask God, now what?

Yeah, I am talking about prolonged battles.

Say if you see someone on the side of the road being beaten,

the Good Samaritan story comes to mind.

You can't walk past.

That's when you are not fighting.

You are putting your life at risk to help somebody.

Any questions?

This may sound a little heavy for the church, but it's not.

This was normal for the church.

All these are from scriptures in the church.

Any questions?

No? Okay.

In 2 Timothy 3, 8, so that we have another story,

2 Timothy 3, 8, Paul talks about two guys that we hardly hear about.

Their names were Janus and Jambrus.

These guys were actually magicians in Pharaoh's court that went up against Moses.

Paul is talking about people who troubled the church.

He says the same fate will fall them that fell Janus and Jambrus in 2 Timothy 3, 8.

What was the fate? You find it in Exodus 9, 11.

When the boils broke, till the boil plague,

the magicians seemed to be able to counter whatever Moses did.

But once the boils fell, the magicians were covered with boils too.

And so Paul uses them as an example to say,

listen, when there is opposition, there are times where divine judgment will be handed out.

The divine judgment that is not sponsored by God can take on the form of a curse.

And I'm not supposed to curse, but bless.

Because if it's not sponsored by God, the heart that utters it is not a heart that is from God,

but a heart that wants a pound of flesh.

Here's my question, guys. How come we don't talk about these things in the church?

I'm not talking about Acts 29.

How come we don't talk about all this?

Because Paul's writing this to fledgling churches, right?

He's not writing it to some old church.

He's writing it to churches that he just planted.

So as you sit and listen, don't think that this is not for me,

this is unnecessary in terms of like in a church.

It's not. This was written to small startup churches, not 17-year-old churches.

Next one.

Sometimes opposition must be aggressively combated

if the spirit or the power behind the opposition has the capacity to deform, wreck,

destroy what Christ has built.

So when the Bible says the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church,

part of the church's responsibility is to take the weapons that he has given to prevent it from happening.

So sometimes opposition must be aggressively combated

if the spirit or the power behind the opposition has the capacity to deform, wreck, destroy what Christ has built.

So certain spirits like Jezebel, these are some common spirits mentioned, Leviathan, Antichrist, sexual immorality.

These, when they begin to attack or spread in this church, strife and discord.

When these begin to, let's throw in one more, any idolatry of any sort,

of people of a particular way of functioning, if any of these happen,

it must be aggressively opposed by the church.

So how do we know? You'll know.

I mean, if you're the father of your house, won't you know the things that are coming against your house?

If you're the principal of a school, won't you know what's coming against the school?

If you're the governor of a state, wouldn't you know?

You know. You know sometimes because you have been put in this place because you learned,

or you know because you have enough information.

But there's always a way to know.

A guy who's rafting knows a wave, not a wave, whatever that thing is that comes against rafts,

knows it and he knows how to steer the boat, right?

Yeah. Turbulence, pilots know.

So once you know, these few have to be aggressively combated.

Show me from the Bible, let's turn to Christ himself writing letters to the church.

These are the letters written to the church. And see what he has to say.

So go to Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

We're starting at verse 18.

Revelation 2, 18.

And to the angel of the church in Tyatira write this,

The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze,

I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance,

and that your latter works exceed the first.

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel.

And you're not talking about a woman, woman, you're talking about the spirit behind the person,

who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality

and eat food sacrificed to idols.

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her,

I'll throw into great tribulation unless they repent of her works.

He doesn't stop there. I will strike her children dead,

and all the churches will know that I am he who searches minds and hearts,

and I will give to each one according to your works.

There is a violence that comes against some of these things,

because they are meant to destroy the very thing that Christ died to build,

and the Holy Spirit has put together.

And if this happens on your watch, it is required of you to take the stance and not shy back.

Unfortunately, when stances like this are taken, the people involved in this are not unscathed.

They get affected too.

But you must try and know that the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.

Yes, the person may be affected, but do everything in your power to keep the person safe,

to not strip the person of dignity, and every time you do that, fix it somehow.

Because it's the power behind that must be subdued, that must be crushed under our feet, not the person.

And only the Spirit of God can help us do it,

because it is so easy in the process of crushing a spirit,

that you crush this person through whom the spirit is working.

This should be a cry after this,

that Father, if you teach me how to war,

help me to make sure that it is always against spiritual forces,

and not against flesh and blood, because the heart is so deceptive,

that can easily extract a pound of flesh, or take vengeance, or want vindication from flesh.

These are realities. This has happened in this church multiple times.

And if we haven't necessarily made a big scene of it, then perhaps it means that we treated people well.

People operating under these powers won't go unscathed.

But we must do everything to protect them, because that is the heart of Christ, and that is when war is holy.

Sorry, go ahead.

Yeah, so one of the things that Leviathan is particularly known for at the end of Job 42,

is that he's the king over sons of Christ.

And that it is almost impossible to tame him, except by God.

That's the beauty of Job 41 and 42.

At the end of the day, Job is saying, none of you in this church can handle Leviathan,

but there is one who can handle him.

That was in the Old Testament, in the oldest book in the Old Testament.

And now comes the Christ who lives in the church,

and therefore it is something that begins to stir up trouble.

It's like, it's like a kind of a

crocodile's tail just waving in the water.

It says it stirs up the water.

It is king over the sons of pride.

It talks about it as a serpent or a dragon that occupies water.

Isaiah 27, 1, it's so specific.

Sometimes when you think of different things that are worshiped,

Isaiah 27, 1 will hit you.

Isaiah 27, 1.

I'll leave it at that. I won't go further with that right now.

Selah.

So, it's like, it's the same thing.

It's the same thing.

It's the same thing.

So, any of these things, when it comes against the church,

it creates stirrup trouble. It needs to be dealt with.

One of the things with the Jezebel spirit that we need to just mention in passing,

I don't know why it's important, is that the Jezebel spirit tries to silence

and sterilize the church from the prophetic voice.

One of the things the Jezebel spirit does,

and we can take it right back to Jezebel and Ahab in the Old Testament,

is it tries to sterilize and silence the prophetic voice.

And so it will raise up people to silence the voice of the prophetic

or to sterilize the church from the voice of the prophetic.

It's a bullying, intimidating, fear-inducing spirit.

It is a bullying, fear-inducing, intimidating spirit.

But the great thing with bullies is you stand up against them,

and it changes things.

And you will find them bullying, inducing fear, intimidating,

at home, at work, everywhere.

One of the guys who was brilliant at stopping this was Jehu.

Why? Because he had an aggression that very few had.

Next one.

Opposition from human reasoning.

Opposition from human reasoning.

2 Corinthians 10, verse 4 and 5.

2 Corinthians 10:4

Human reasoning, human ways of, human imaginations,

and the Jehu spirit.

Human reasoning, human ways of, human imaginations,

human ways of thinking.

This will affect us every day.

Every day when we begin to take a stance that is divine or that is supernatural,

there will be the appeal to reason that this is not how you should think.

This is how you should go.

God may be saying, but what if things don't work out?

And so Paul at one point begins to refer to things more stronger than that.

In 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4 and 5, he says,

2 Corinthians 10:4

our weapons are not human.

Our weapons are mighty and they are divine for the pulling down of strongholds,

for the tearing down of strongholds,

so that we are able to tear down every lofty thing, every imagination,

every philosophy that raises itself up against the knowledge of God.

We tear it down. How does he do it?

He uses scriptures.

This is why it's great when we have the ability to wield scriptures easily.

2 Corinthians 10, verse 4 and 5.

2 Corinthians 10:4

So in Acts chapter 3, Acts chapter 2, what does Peter do?

Acts 3 · chapter mention Acts 2 · chapter mention

Guys are speaking in tongues and there are people gathering around.

How is he going to explain this?

He doesn't explain it with human words.

He doesn't try to reason with them.

He knows that it's Passover, or Pentecost, sorry.

He knows it's Pentecost. He knows there are tons of people there.

He knows most of them are from a Jewish background.

What does he do? Take them immediately back to the Torah

and take them to the Book of Joel.

And out of the Book of Joel, using scripture,

he begins to explain what is happening.

And as he does, the resistance, the laughing begins to change

and 3,000 come to the Lord.

We use scriptures to tear down strongholds.

Those are our mighty weapons.

It's not in the name of Jesus Christ or the blood of Jesus Christ

that is the mighty weapon that he's talking about.

You see him in Acts chapter 19, Paul.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

He's at a certain place and the people are beginning to argue with him, refute him.

So what does he do? He argues brilliantly from the scriptures.

He talks about how I'm Paul. I'm a guy who studied under Gamaliel.

I'm a scholar. Let me explain this to you.

And then when they don't listen, he takes 12 of them out

and begins to spend days with them at a school called the School of Tyrannus

where he teaches the 12th.

And in less than two years, all of Asia Minor gets converted,

pulling down of strongholds.

We use scriptures.

The other method Paul would use is he would use church discipline.

In 2 Corinthians 12, I think, he...

In 2 Corinthians 10, verse 1, Paul would use disciplinary measures to confront situations.

2 Corinthians 10:1

Using scripture, he would discipline people

and his detractors would look at him and say, oh, he's too arrogant.

And yet in 2 Corinthians 12, he would weep.

With mourning, he would pray and then his detractors would say, oh, he's too feeble.

When it comes to these kind of things, guys, there's no winning, eh?

There's someone who will always not like what you do.

Questioner asks question.

Yeah, so discipline cannot be meted out except by people sitting together and saying,

what is being done?

You never discipline except for things that are contagious.

If we were to discipline for everything,

you would have to start disciplining me immediately.

But if what I'm doing is contagious, when it begins to spread,

then one should follow the Matthew 18 pattern.

Hey, don't do it.

Hey, the two of us want to come and tell you don't do it.

Hey, we as leaders met and said, please don't do it.

Hey, we now are going to treat you like someone who does not belong to this community.

Is your hand up, Bibby?

Okay.

No, you can put your hand up on your hat.

I just wasn't sure.

You also find Paul arguing in Acts 17, 3, 4.

Let me give you the scriptures where he uses,

tests of strongholds using words, Acts 2, 40 is Peter.

Acts 17, 3 and 4 is Paul before he goes to Athens.

Acts 19, verse 8 to 10 is at the school of Tyrannus, I think in Ephesus.

Acts 19:8–10

And then 2 Timothy, that's a beautiful word.

2 Timothy 2, 25 and 26.

Let's just read that before we move on.

2 Timothy 2, 25 to 26.

He says, guys, can you gently begin to persuade people using the word

or using scriptures so that they can escape the snare of the devil.

2 Timothy 2, 25 and 26.

The trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.

Written to the church.

2 Timothy 2, 25 and 26.

Beautiful, eh?

Next one is opposition because of our sin.

Opposition because of our sin.

Opposition because of sin.

We won't go into it because we've talked about this before.

In Hebrews chapter 12, Hebrews 12, 1 to 3,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Hebrews 12, 1 to 3, you see how sin can entangle.

How sin can ensnare.

And so once sin entangles and ensnares, life begins to oppose how we,

life begins to oppose us because sin has consequences.

We won't talk about it today, but when you read Hebrews 12, 2, it says,

listen, if you're caught up in sin and you're entangled in ensnare and sin,

remember, heaven is cheering for you.

Throw off the entanglements.

Identify the race marked for you.

Run with others who are cheering for you.

Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Fix your eyes on he who lifts you up and perfect things concerning you.

Endure.

Remember the joy of Christ and the cause that lies ahead of you.

Let go of these entanglements.

You can read it yourself.

I won't go into it because it's a teaching by itself.

Sometimes, guys, I love what it says there.

Just that bit I'll pick up.

It says, and run the race that is marked out for you.

The question is, do you know the race that is marked out for you?

Again, it goes back to, it can't be whatever the Lord has for me.

That is too nebulous.

God is not nebulous.

He says, I do not speak in riddles.

I'm not nebulous.

Before the foundations of the earth, I prepared works and paths and seasons for you.

If you identify the race you can run, you will find that purpose gives you focus that prevents you from going into detours,

both of the world and of the sin and of the flesh and of the devil and of pride.

There came a time in Matt's life where he had to submit his paper.

No wife, no kids, no toothache, no COVID could stop him.

Because now it was do or die.

It's good to find that.

It's good to find that.

Again, it's good to labor to find that.

I think one of the things that I might genuinely be learning as I get older is it's okay to wrestle with something.

You don't need an answer by tomorrow.

It's okay for the process of wrestling to take place where you're shaped in the process,

where you give up in the process, you get up, and that a time will come when you will get there.

So wrestle through it.

You don't want it by tomorrow.

If it comes tomorrow, great.

There's value in wrestling.

Next one is God.

God opposes.

So here are the things God opposes.

He opposes the proud.

He opposes the proud.

James 4, 6.

He opposes the proud.

How would you define proud?

Someone who's proud.

If I'm proud, then here's what it will look like.

A person who has an exaggerated opinion about himself,

combined with a disdain for others,

combined with scornful,

scornful speech is usually a person who's proud.

A person who has an exaggerated opinion of himself,

combined with a disdain for others,

combined with scornful speech.

When you see this consistently,

perhaps know that you have a problem or I have a problem with pride,

and if you have this problem, then know that God opposes you.

He'll resist you.

You won't understand why it's hard going.

It's not the devil.

Another thing God opposes.

God opposes me.

God opposes me when I try to tear down others.

God opposes me if I go out to tear down others, humble others,

strip others of their dignity, curse others.

Where do we see this?

Balaam, Numbers 23.

He opposes.

He'll come and stand in the way saying,

I will not let you go.

Your donkey will save you because I will not let you go.

And the third one, there might be more,

and the third one is God opposes me when I create.

When I say when I create, it means a habitual way that has gone on for a while.

When I create or cause division or strife in the body, he opposes.

Where do we find this?

1 Corinthians 11.30.

He opposes with discipline, and it's the kind of discipline that ends.

Because you're saved.

He says that because you have been causing this,

some of you have fallen sick and some of you have died.

Crazy, eh?

Sometimes you don't expect these scriptures to pop up.

Pop up.

1 Corinthians 11.30.

Any questions?

Okay.

Last two.

Opposition from culture.

Opposition from culture or tradition.

Guys, this is a rite of passage in the kingdom.

Rite of passage in the kingdom, meaning there's hardly anyone in the Bible

who did not have to take a stance against their culture or their family.

Gideon had to, Jesus had to, Moses had to, Paul had to.

There's almost David had to, Joseph had to.

There's almost nobody in the Bible who makes it into Hebrews 11

who did not have to take a stance at some point against family

that desired things for them out of their well-wishing

but against the principles of God.

Psalm 45.10.

Sorry, did you have a question, Jill?

Okay.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Sorry?

11.30?

No, it's not with regard to taking communion.

1 Corinthians 11, we think it's about communion,

but it's about strife and discord in the church.

And communion was a symbol that shows the unity of the church.

And so Paul is using that to say, you guys meet together

because they used to meet for meals.

And he's saying, why is it that this group of people are eating chicken

and these group of people are eating crackers?

Couldn't you have eaten at home and come?

Why do you discriminate this way?

And if you continue not to recognize the others as the same as you,

then know that you're creating strife and discord.

And if you create strife in the body, then know that over a period of time,

some of you will fall sick and some of you will die.

Crazy, eh?

Psalm 45.10.

Beautiful verse.

Psalm 45.10.

Psalm 45.10.

Learn this verse, eh?

Psalm 45.10.

It applies to men too, so don't confine it to women.

Psalm 45.10.

Look at what it says.

Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear.

Forget your people and your father's house.

The king is enthralled by your beauty.

Honor him, for he is your Lord.

What's it saying?

Listen, I know you were born in your family, in your father's house.

I know he may have been a good man and a good family,

but you must know that now you belong to somebody else.

You belong to somebody else.

You belong to somebody else.

You must know that now you belong to somebody else.

Therefore, forget, as in make secondary,

that which you were and the traditions and the background you came for,

because you belong to somebody else.

So important, guys.

Because this is what I mean by a jealous God.

God is love, but it's an intolerant love that does not share you with anybody else,

because you belong to him first.

And so every other allegiance has to become secondary.

So if you're a Pentecostal, that is secondary.

If you're Indian, that is secondary.

If you're white, you're black or brown, it is secondary.

You have zero allegiance to that before Christ.

After Christ, those things are important.

It is not that it becomes insignificant.

It becomes less significant to the primary allegiance.

You're no longer a Republican or a Democrat.

You don't swear by Trump or Biden,

both 80-year-old men who are forgetting their lives.

Forget.

This is why every time I read it,

it actually still hurts me to think that David marries Michail or Michael,

and she is referred to.

I mean, Jesus took David's name and said,

Son of David, and yet through the blood of David,

he was a son of David.

Jesus took David's name and said, Son of David,

and yet throughout almost everywhere in the scriptures,

it talks about Michail as the daughter of Saul,

not as the wife of David.

How many of us are daughters of Saul and not the wife of David?

When you say goodbye, as in this is not as important as this.

A new king, a new kingdom, a new Lord,

I will forget the house of my father because it's no longer as important.

It's almost a rite of passage.

Identify where your culture is contradicting the spirit and the kingdom,

be it New Year or marriage or memorials

when people die or some holistic method of healing

or denominationalism where you learn something and now you can't let it go,

or nationalism where you belong to a particular nation

and it comes with a certain spirit.

In Genesis 11, Nimrod tries to do this.

This is very old.

Nimrod tries to build a culture, and here's the slogan of the culture.

We will stay together, be united in purpose, and defy God.

And then along comes God, and he breaks them into many different languages.

And then what does he do?

He says, out of this group, I'll call out one man,

and he will leave clan, country, family, father's house,

and I will take him and with him form what you see today under this building.

We are the result of one man saying, I will leave.

Sons of Abraham, right?

True sons of Abraham.

Last one.

Kingdom implies warfare.

Opposition will come from the other realm.

Kingdom implies warfare.

Satanic realm.

Will oppose the church, which is you and me.

It will oppose me, as in Jacob,

because if we can strike the shepherd,

the sheep will scatter.

And so this has been happening forever.

From Pharaoh to Herod, through time,

three things that always oppose the kingdom.

The lust of the flesh, the devil, pride,

have always opposed and will continue to oppose.

As long as we say we belong to a kingdom,

it absolutely implies warfare.

The differences, and I know I've said this before,

but it's good for our refreshing.

The differences in the Old Testament, war was simply about,

can we prevent the seed of the woman from being born?

So every attempt was about, can Israel be destroyed?

Because from Israel will come the seed of the woman,

and if the seed of the woman is born,

the serpent's head is crushed.

So can we destroy the seed of the woman?

Herod's and Pharaoh's have been trying that.

Haman tried that with Esther.

It's been going on.

Once the New Testament comes, the battle changes.

Can we prevent the seed of the woman,

who has now risen into the church,

from proclaiming the Messiah?

And everything will go into stopping that,

because every time the Messiah is proclaimed,

either through healing or through the healing of the woman,

or through opening blind eyes or setting prisoners free,

every time it is done,

someone is transferred from the power of darkness

into the kingdom of the sun.

And it will be a post.

And if you do not think this is a reality,

you will still make it to heaven.

But you will miss out on joining the commander of the armies of heaven

in what is waiting here on earth.

And that is how cities are taken, one by one.

Ephesus was like that.

I mean, you can go back to the Old Testament.

Jericho.

You know how that story went.

Jabez.

What's Jabez?

Jabez was Jerusalem.

David took it by entering through the shaft, water shaft.

Ephesus.

Paul goes up against Artemis the Great.

One by one, through a few people, places are taken.

You go to Jesus' letters in the book of Revelation.

I know where you dwell.

You dwell where Satan's throne is.

Reality.

This might set the platform for future teachings on things that are not yet known.

I want us to realize that this is for all of us.

It's not for a few of us.

The church.

But for us to go there, we just have to learn the things he wants us to teach.

We'll stop there.

We're going to have a dedication now.

So I'm going to ask Nei and Yemi and David to come forward.

Nei and Yemi and Jean, if she wants to come up with Adunai.

Can you put the picture up?

Come, guys, come up.

Sure.

Can you stand here with us?

Come up.

Sorry, guys.

So that's Adunai anna adevuji.

Am I saying it right?

Do you want to say it different?

And Adunai means pleasant to hygiene.

I asked Nei what Adunai means.

And he said Adunai means pleasant to have.

And so her name is Adunai anna.

I'll leave the last name out.

And so it's our day.

Today is the 39th day since she was born because she was born on Jan 2nd.

Okay.

Sheldon, can you just move that thingy?

Oh, you guys can come here.

Sheldon, it's okay.

It's much easier this way.

Oh, no, still move it because they can't see it.

Okay, we could all move here.

But Sheldon, you can still move it.

So thanks, Sheldon.

So today is the 39th day since she was born.

She was born on Jan 2nd, right?

Yeah.

Usually even by Old Testament standards, it was on the 40th day that this kind of a dedication would happen.

The first seven days would be a purifying rite.

And then three weeks later or thereabouts, yeah, 30 days later, 32 days later, they would have a dedication like this.

And so there are reasons why we are dedicating Aduni.

Is it Aduni or Adunai?

Adunai.

Okay.

So why are we dedicating her and why are we not baptizing her?

Because we believe that baptism should take place once Adunai makes a decision to follow Christ and is old enough to repent of sin and confess Jesus publicly.

So why dedicate her?

Just a few of these reasons, you guys, and it's so worth remembering them.

It's a refresher.

We dedicate her because it's an acknowledgement of where she came from.

She, in this entire church, she was the last one who saw him.

She may not remember, but dedication is an acknowledgement of the source, where she came from.

Two, it's a declaration of our intent and their intent to steward her, to take care of her on his behalf.

On his behalf, he created her.

Nobody loves her like him.

Third, it's an open acknowledgement of our dependence on the Holy Spirit and on the church.

It's an acknowledgement that, okay, we'll depend on God, but we also need the people of God to depend on.

Look at these guys.

Four, it's an occasion for God's voice to descend and speak over her.

For God's voice to speak over her.

Five, it's agreeing every time we dedicate anything to God, leave alone a person,

it's agreeing that the first belongs to God, that she belongs to God first.

And if she belongs to God first and we dedicate her to Him, then He will rebuke the devourer,

He will bless her roots, and He will produce good fruit.

Because whatever is dedicated to Him, He knows how to take care of.

That's why we do this.

So it's a pretty significant occasion in the life of this child.

And we all get to be part of it. That's the cool thing.

And so normally what would happen if she was a guy and she's not, is that there would be circumcision,

then there would be naming, then there would be purification, then there would be consecration.

But that was in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we just dedicate.

So I'm going to first ask Nii and Yemi to say anything they want about this baby,

and then after that we'll dedicate her.

So, Nii, you go first.

Anything you want to say about this little girl you have?

Praise God.

Is the mic on?

Yes.

Okay.

I don't know.

I think we want to say thank you to God for everything, from conception until she came.

Being away from home, back home we get all the help that we need.

I think the whole process made us stronger.

And setting times, she did a whole lot.

While we were expecting, she wrote all the exams, she needed to write,

and we moved a couple of times in between.

But God has been good to us.

What's that?

Okay, yeah.

And when she was, it was almost time for her to come.

We had a due date, she was over, and she for whatever reason just wanted her to come out,

but it wasn't exactly happening that way.

So we had our concerns, but in all, God saw us through.

And thank you guys.

We had amazing people calling to check up on us.

Awesome.

And we really appreciate that.

We had a family, people checking, calling, and even while we're not around in church.

We want to say thank you to the body and to everyone who was a part of the whole process,

because we couldn't have done this in between cries here and there.

Sometimes when you thought you had everything all figured out,

but God has been good.

And she came, even when the baby was delivered, some kind of terminologies.

There was this epidural thing like to help with delivery, how to check what the implications were.

Some people tell me days after you're still not getting yourself, prayed over everything,

and the delivery was smooth.

Thank you.

Awesome. Go ahead, Yemi.

You want to share anything?

I just want to say thank you to everybody.

Thank you for the support, for the encouragement.

It really did make a difference.

And initially there was a time when we had his care,

and there was a possibility that she would make it at the initial stages.

And we prayed about it, and we just believed that the best was going to happen.

And surprisingly, she pulled through.

Awesome.

That was the first big sign that this was all good.

Let's just sing.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him, above the heavenly host.

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

So let's ask these questions of them before we dedicate Aduni.

Do you, Ni, and Yemi pledge with God's help and in partnership with the Church

to provide Aduni a Christ-led home of love and peace?

Yes, we do.

Do you pledge to raise Aduni in God's truth, in God's fatherhood, and in God's discipline?

Yes, we do.

Do you pledge to encourage Aduni to trust Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord and walk in her destiny?

Yes, we do.

Okay, Church, your turn.

Church, do we pledge with God's help to be faithful in our calling as members of the Body of Christ

to keep Ni and Yemi faithful to God?

Yeah?

So it's our responsibility to make them stay faithful to God because that affects how they raise a child.

And then the next one is will we help teach and train Aduni in the ways of the Lord

so that she might one day trust him as Savior and Lord and walk in her destiny?

Amen.

So let's dedicate this baby.

I'm going to try and hold her, but I might quickly give her back to you.

So, Father, we bring Aduni to you right now.

Thank you, Abba, for sending her.

We stand with her parents and we receive her.

You have beautiful plans for this child, Abba.

Amazing plans for this child.

Father, right at the back, one of the things you want to say about her

is that out of her belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Out of her belly shall flow rivers of living water, oh God.

Very early, Father, very early, Father.

Very early she will know the Holy Spirit.

Very early she will begin to speak in tongues, Father.

I'm just saying that out right now, not because it's some, it's the most prized gift,

but because people will see that they'll know,

it'll be a sign that the Spirit of God is on her.

Father, I thank you that this child will know what the Feast of Tabernacle means,

to be able to enter into rest at an early age.

Father, we bless Jeanne right now, and yet this girl will be so different from Jeanne.

While Jeanne is running around and getting things done, she will rest and get things done.

She will do in two days what it takes other children ten days to do.

Such restfulness, Father.

Father, I thank you that she will build an ark for people to enter into,

that she will be a lifesaver.

This afternoon when we started, you said, I'm a life giver.

You're saying over her, she's a lifesaver.

She's a lifesaver.

Father, this is amazing that you begin to say things about children when they are 39 years old,

39 days old.

You begin to talk about what they will be when they are 39 years old.

You're saying this child shall be a lifesaver.

Father, if she was a boy, you would have given her the name Noah,

because he would bring people into rest.

So I thank you, Father, for this girl.

We as a church lot lift her up to you.

We remember why we dedicate her to you.

Father, she came from you.

We dedicate her back to you.

We say she belongs to you.

The first belongs to the Lord, and you will bless her root.

You will make her fruitful.

You will rebuke the devourer from touching her.

And with her parents, Father, who love her immensely,

we as a church want to, desire to, will, oh God, do our part in helping Nehemiah and helping this girl.

Know this Christ and know the Spirit of Christ early,

embedded in our hearts that this girl will know the Spirit of Christ early.

So Holy Spirit, even though she's not born again and doesn't know what that means,

but has grace upon her, I ask that even as I hold her now in front of the church,

we as a church ask that would you just come upon her,

as you did on John the Baptist,

as you did on certain other children, would you just come upon her?

You may not dwell inside her, but would you come upon her now?

Thank you for this champion, Abba.

Thank you for this champion.

Thank you for this champion.

Look at her, Ro.

Look at her. I don't usually get moved, but look at her.

This is the first time a baby has been through an entire dedication

in my arms without crying.

Trust me.

John, could you please come up?

Joan and Ruth and Karen, could you please come up?

And Mohini, could you please come up too?

And Anne, could you please come up?

And we've got a small gift that I'm going to ask these mothers.

Lorian, please come up.

Lorian, come.

I'm just going to ask these mothers to come up on stage

and just bless this baby and give her this small gift.

Come, guys.

Sue, please come up.

Heidi, please come up.

Diana, please come up. Quickly.

And Anne, can I just ask you to pray?

Could someone give her a mic?

Heavenly Father, we just come here today to give you thanks for this baby.

Father, you're a life giver, and you have given this parents this beautiful baby.

We ask that you bless her, Father, that you keep her.

Father, we bless you.

We bless this little baby.

We say the Lord bless you.

The Lord keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Thank you, Father.

Thank you for this beautiful child.

Amen.

Thank you.

I know there are more mothers here.

I forgot to call Don and Derek's mom up.

And I wanted the moms who are over forty to come up.

So if you didn't come up, know that you are young.

And if you need prayer, there will be people here to pray for you.

And if there's a relatively long line, we'll have two teams praying so that you don't have to wait forever.

And yeah, bless you guys.