Father Lord, we thank You for Your grace which is always available for us; we thank You for Your mercy, we thank You for Your love, for Your goodness, for Your compassion; we thank You Lord God Almighty for having our backs all the time, Father, we do not take these for granted, we say thank You Eternal Rock of Ages, all glory, honor and appreciation we have brought unto You this morning, in the mighty name of Jesus we have prayed.
Thank You Lord Jesus because as from today, we’ll continue to be His until eternity in Jesus name.
I want to appreciate the Pastor in Charge of the Province, I want to appreciate our Pastor and to appreciate everybody for continuing with us on this our journey for the training weekend; thank you Sir for the privilege and we are deeply honored that our PICP and Pastor are identifying with us today in our Sunday school t-shirt, we are very grateful Sir and we don’t take it for granted, we sincerely appreciate you, God bless you Sir.
Training weekend, this involves the Sunday School department, the Bible College and the School of Mission, so today is our grand finale and our topic is ‘Faith Comes by Hearing’; our text, we are going to read Romans 10: 14 – 17, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. That faith that we need to navigate all our issues of life, the Lord will establish and increase, multiply in our lives in the mighty name of Jesus.
What is faith? There are so many definitions but of course, the one we have in the Bible is Hebrews 11: 1; that chapter of the Bible, some people call it the Hall of Faith because it gives so many examples of those who lived in faith and the Lord helped them according to Hebrews 11: 1 & 2, it says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report”.
So what is faith? I gave one definition in my own way; I said faith is ‘it can happen and it will happen’, praise the Lord! Faith is ‘I can do it and I will do it’, praise the Lord! Don’t we have that assurance? Because faith, we have not seen it but we have that confidence that this thing is possible and it’s going to be possible for me; that faith that we need to be able to stand and to declare with all confidence in Christ alone, the Lord will give unto us in the mighty name of Jesus.
We know our Vision 2032 for this our ministry, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, says right now according to our records, we are about 3 million, but the aim by year 2032 is to increase the figure to 40 million. We have eight years, but we are talking about faith; we may think oh, can it be? Of course it can be when we have faith in Lord God Almighty who has positioned you, He has positioned me to do His work and for His glory, the Lord will help us in the mighty name of Jesus.
So as we go on with our teaching, what is faith? We are still talking about what faith is; number one, of course without faith, we cannot even say we are Christians, how? Because we are all to the glory of God as they were called Christians at the beginning at Antioch, we are serving, we are following Christ.
Has anybody here ever physically seen that okay, I’m standing here and Christ is standing here beside me shaking my hand, but because we believe, we believe in Him, we have faith in Him because He is, because even before we were conceived in our mother’s womb, He had been there; the story, the plan for our lives, the Lord God Almighty had it from the beginning of time, none of us is a mistake, none of us will say I don’t even know why I’m here; even some parents, maybe a woman gets pregnant and say oh, this is a mistake, I didn’t want to have a child, oh no, God had already planned that child to come, so that is why we need to know that in the first place, the foundation of your faith, the foundation of my faith is Christ, if we do not have faith, then we are not serving God, we’re just doing our own things.
And another thing is that the object of faith is the person and the work of Jesus Christ and that is why we are here, we are not just here just to do our own, (maybe) without appreciating that work of faith that we’re walking in, and when we are talking the foundation of our faith, if we can have faith in things around like we came to church this morning, our sister here came to church, she was told by the ushers please sit down, she did not first say am I sure? Will the chair hold me? She just sat down, so if we can have faith in the chair that I go to a party I just sit down, I don’t start thinking this chair is going to break apart, so then, we have no choice as children of God that this faith will carry us through the end in the mighty name of Jesus.
That faith is the mark that identifies you and I that we are children of God, that faith that when people are saying this is impossible, it has never happened, in this company, who is ever going to promote you? Besides, who knows you? That faith that I’m a child of God, I don’t have to know anybody, I don’t have to come from that part of the country, because I’m a child of God and I have faith that I’m going to get this position, I will get it, praise the Lord.
And another thing we need to know, faith is when we worship God even in difficult times. You know sometimes it’s easy to be dancing, to be jumping up and down when things are rosy, but what happens when you get that doctor’s diagnosis? What happens when you have taken that professional exam for the fourth time and you still have not made it? What happens when you have applied for that contract and you see people who are not qualified are just passing by?
What happens when you have been waiting for the fruit of the womb, you have prayed, you have fasted, in fact you were born in the church, your parents brought you up in the church but you are still waiting? What happens, children of God, when you are believing God for a Godly spouse? That is when your faith and my faith are supposed to come into operation that ‘Father, it is now all about You, I have done what I think I should do, it may not be enough, in fact, it is not enough but I have faith that You are going to do it, I know that I’m coming to testify’, praise the Lord!
So another thing is we need to remember, because as children of God we are already conquerors; Romans 8: 37 says “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”. And you know we’ve read in our Bible text that faith cometh by hearing of the word of God, so when we are praying, it’s not just for us to be praying bless me Lord, bless me Lord; when we are facing those challenges and we need our faith to work for us, Father Lord, You have told me in Your word that I am more than a conqueror, so why should I be in this situation that I am? I am a conqueror and I know that Your words concerning me are words of good and not of evil, to give me an expected end, and I’m holding on to You because it’s going to happen. The Lord will make that to come to pass in our lives in the mighty name of Jesus.
You know we said faith comes by hearing and believing in the word of God, how does faith not come? Faith does not come by memorizing; we can memorize the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation, reading it like a story book, it does not mean that that person has faith, true or false? I said it that sometimes, people use this saying that ha, life no balance.
You can be in class with somebody and God will help that person, the person will pick only three topics, memorize it from beginning to the end and the person will come out with a first class; and you will see another person who will sit down and know it, so it does not mean that that person actually knows that subject, because the person just read it for the purpose of that exam, but the person that sat down and read the entire syllabus and which is what we are now talking about us as children of God, studying the word – the entire syllabus, that is when we can draw on our faith.
It is not let us start speeding and let us start running; there are so many things, when we need that faith to help us, there are a lot of things going round now, I’ve gotten the invitation several times saying that let us finish the New Testament in one month, of course it’s a good thing to want to read the word of God and know what He says, but another thing is it is not just for speed reading, it is for studying and to know what God is trying to say to us at that time. The Lord will help us in the mighty name of Jesus.
How do we hear? We need to study. You know we’ve talked about studying the word of God, 2nd Timothy 2: 15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. You know we gave the example of somebody who is in school and just wants to pass the exam and has one GPA that he/she has been chasing, but when it comes to the word of God, it says to shew thyself approved unto God, not approved unto man – ha, that sister tried o, do you know in two weeks she had read from Matthew to Revelation, but has it ministered to the person?
So as we are reading the word of God, as we are studying in a group, we should have those prayers for ourselves that as I’m reading this, as I’m studying Your word, please minister to my heart, give me a word as I am reading this, as I am studying it, to hold on to my faith, to help me, to strengthen me, to encourage me, praise the Lord! That is what we are called upon to do and when we have purposed in our heart that we want to know Him more, we will study and not just read, the Lord will enable us in the mighty name of Jesus.
Another thing, we need to fellowship according to Hebrews 10: 25, it says “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”, we need to assemble together; it is good for us to worship online, it is good for us to congregate online, but it is also good as the Lord enables us to see real and physical people, to share experiences, to pray with each other, to encourage each other.
You cannot have a relationship all by yourself, and this relationship we have with Christ, praise the Lord, we need destiny helpers on this our journey of life, so for some of us who say no, people have shown me, I do not even need anybody, let me just (like they say) maintain my lane, we cannot fully maintain our lanes if we don’t interact with others.
Sometimes people disappoint us, do we know why? To teach us next time how not to do things; to teach us next time how to know when to open our mouth and when to shut our beautiful mouth; to teach us next time how not to completely expose ourselves when we are not sure or we have not prayed it through, praise the Lord!
Another thing is we need to be intentional about our relationship with God; we cannot serve God anyhow, we cannot say we are serving God and say oh, if I don’t go to church now, they will start looking for me, they will start calling me, let me just go sha, we cannot serve God doing eye service, it is not ‘let me go sha’, we are going to serve the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Ancient of Days, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, we are going to serve Who He that He is and He Who is to come, we cannot be casual about it, we cannot just say I am going.
When we are going to prepare for an interview, when you say you have a visa interview, do you say when I get there I will see? Are you not taking any documents? It doesn’t matter, when I get there, when I get to the bridge; but some of us, God is showing us mercy, when we are serving God is when I get to the bridge I’ll know what to do, the Lord God Almighty will help me, will help every one of us in the mighty name of Jesus.
Let us please learn to call on God because He always is there to answer us according to Jeremiah 29: 12 – 14a, the Bible says “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (That is what the word of God says). 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. So it’s not a matter of ‘I’ve been praying, I’ve been doing this and I’ve been doing that’, are we doing it with our hearts or are we doing it to impress other people? Are we in our closet praying then when we hear the door open, maybe a visitor is coming then we start casting, binding, loosing, shaking our heads, so they’ll say ah, that sister can pray o, every time I go into her house, she’s praying, no, it is not pretense.
What is the source of real faith? We’ve talked about the word of God and the essentials, it says the word of God must be heard. You know we read our Bible text talking about faith coming by hearing, but how will someone have faith when the person has refused to hear the word of God?
You know sometimes, some of us refuse to hear the word of God, or sometimes even as believers, oversabi, ‘I know now, haha, I’ve been born again for 85 years, I know the Bible, front, back, so when they are preaching in church, no need to listen, no need to even take notes, what does the Pastor want to say that I don’t already know? In fact, I was born again before the pastor, there’s nothing; we have forgotten that it is the Holy Spirit that teaches every one of us, if we are actually studying the word of God, we’ll realize that every time we study the word of God, something comes up, true or false?
Yes, before we start reading our Bible, by the grace of God I practice it a lot of the times that Father, as I want to read Your word, open my eyes, show me something new, let me not just be reading it and continue; so there’s always something, so let us not think I already know, we are all work in progress until finally by the grace of God, we get to reign and rule with Him in Jesus name.
Then another is, we are talking about the essentials about things the word of God produces, faith in the matter of salvation. You know when we read 1st Corinthians 1: 17 & 18, the Bible says “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”.
When we read the word of God, even concerning our salvation, He gives us that power, so when we say we are going out, we are evangelizing, we are not doing it with our brain, how will I go? I can’t speak big English, you don’t need big English, what you need is that faith, what you need is Jesus loves me, what you need is Father help me, I repent of my sins, please forgive me, cleanse me, let me reign and rule with You.
Then what are we supposed to do? In Mark 16: 15, the Bible says “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”. The Bible is talking to all of us, it’s not just saying I’m not a pastor, what is my own, am I in prayer department? Do I belong to evangelism? Every one of us, and there are so many ways we are preaching this gospel to the world, we are using the word of God, we are using our lifestyle, we are interacting with people and saying ha, if this is how Christians behave, please, I’m not sure I want to be part of this one, no, we are preaching life, we are preaching Christ, we are not preaching denomination, we are not preaching ‘this is how we are supposed to be doing it’, we are preaching ‘that is what the word of God says we should do’ and that is what we will do. The Lord will enable us in the mighty name of Jesus.
Another thing we need to do, we need to testify about what we have heard based on the word of God, Acts 4: 20, it says, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard”. Those are part of it, while we are talking about the word, our lifestyle, when we should be able to share so many things that happened in our lives: to the glory of God one of our daddies in the house turned 70 and we had a service here in church on Friday and he shared a testimony which is very encouraging, he said he slept and woke up and found out that one part of his body has been paralyzed, of course, he couldn’t explain what happened but God knows what He’s doing at His own time, it may be tough but one lesson I learnt from it, he said by the time God healed him, that he had been wearing glasses from the age of 11, by the time God did His work, he did not need his glasses anymore, praise the Lord!
Is God not interesting that it would take stroke to correct his eyesight? And God healed him, he was standing, his hand, his feet, nothing wrong with him, that is what we are talking about, the power of faith, because if probably he had said ha, just forget it o, when somebody has stroke it is over, it is not over because God who created you and I has not said it is over, why do we want to believe the lie of the devil, praise the Lord!
So we are going to share some examples of faith that comes by hearing; we have Acts 14: 7 – 10, it is the story of the man who was crippled from the womb, “And there they preached the gospel. 8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed (the Bible says he had faith to be healed, was he the only one that was crippled? But he had faith), 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked”.
So we need faith, and when we are praying we need to say I do not care how many people are in that congregation but I have the faith; my own story is different o, I know why I am seeking God and He’s going to sort me out, so shall it be for every one of us in the mighty name of Jesus.
Another example, the woman with the issue of blood, that is in Mark 5: 27, 28 & 34, “When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole”. She had faith that nobody is going to stop me, my own is different, I want to be made whole, I don’t want to hear what – some of us listen to stories, it has never been done, it will never happen, in fact, some of the stories for some of us is that by the grace of God we have had children, you’ll hear stories of ha, when you are in labor, your head will be upside down, you will be jumping on the bed, you will be doing all sorts but no, when you tell God it does not have to be, I am different, I know that it is done, that will be our testimony in the mighty name of Jesus.
Then we have John 4: 28 – 30, that one is talking about the Samaritan woman – the woman then left her water pot; you know this woman went to the well to fetch water and she encountered Christ, meaning there’s nowhere that we cannot encounter Him. “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him”.
We’ve talked about it in Mark 16: 15, we’ve talked about our Vision 2032, come and see what I’m experiencing.
Then another is the demon possessed man who was emptied of demons by the word of Jesus, let us please look at Mark 5: 18 – 20, “18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee”.
Sometimes, some of us don’t want to testify, ha, that one is too small na; you know sometimes, we take a whole lot for granted, may God have mercy upon us, the fact that we slept and woke up and we are here, the fact for those of us that joined online that we even have the ability, is God not good? One thing we have to remember all the time that I remind myself that no matter the situation, it could have been worse.
If God would just peel off this our arrogant eyes that we are thinking we deserve more and show us what could have happened, we would have that ‘oh my God, Father, I am grateful, what? Is this what would have happened if not that You rose up for me?’ So let us please learn to appreciate God instead of complaining what I have not, we are not thanking God for what we have, that we are alive and we are well; they say when there is life there is hope, the fact that you are still here, God still has a purpose for your life, for my life; He still has what He wants to do because your time is not up yet, praise the Lord.
If my time were up, I wouldn’t be here, so let us continue with faith to hold on to Him that I know Father, if not for anything, I want to remember the fact I’m still here on earth, it means You are not finished with me, praise the Lord!
So what are the realities? When we are talking about faith cometh by hearing, we cannot force salvation on anyone, we cannot say ha, I’m the one that saved him, do you know it was the day I preached to him he gave his life, oh no, we want to take the glory that belongs to God, God forbid.
Our own is to do our part, to present the need and to share that wonderful gift of love which we ourselves have received. So it is not something for us (like they say) we will be carrying shoulder; do you know that sister is in church today because I’m the one that reached to her? The Lord will show us mercy.
Faith cometh by hearing is not a magic formula, it is an encouragement for every one of us to share the gospel, to live the life of Christ – the selfless life of Christ, to live charity, Christian live, not selfishness, not it has to be me all the time otherwise it will not be done, the Lord will help us in the mighty name of Jesus.
One thing that we have to do when we are talking about hearing and all of that is we need to encourage members of our family, we need to encourage our friends, our colleagues, even strangers that we do not know, encourage them.
For those of us that attended Arise Shine, there was a testimony; there was somebody who came for one of the services and that the person had given up and that what the person heard on that day was what motivated the person that okay, it cannot be over. So it is very important for us to listen, to share, to do all of those things; I have even had that experience before several years ago, it wasn’t in this assembly; I went for a midweek service and I heard somebody say behind me, ‘I leave tonight’, after service I turned round and I said I’m sorry sister, I heard you talked about something, anyway, we shared and we talked about it and to the glory of God, God restored her.
So we should be aware of what is going on around us, some people come, they are so discouraged, they are so burdened, they are so – ‘I don’t even know, let me just go’; those people who came into God’s presence today as ‘let me just go’, the Lord Himself will pray for you and minister to you for salvation, for grace and for destiny fulfillment in the mighty name of Jesus.
[Altar call]
Let us say Father Lord, I thank You because I know Lord God Almighty that You are my Father and My God; Father Lord, I acknowledge You, I appreciate You, You are my Father and My God, I thank You oh Lord for my life, I thank You for the privilege of being called Your child.
Let us thank the Lord Almighty for that privilege of being called His own, that privilege of being identified with Christ, that privilege that we can still live, we can breath, we can go around and serve Him. Father I thank You, I honor You Lord, I appreciate You, I do not take Your grace for granted, I do not take Your love for granted, it is not just for me to assume that I am in right standing with You, Father Lord, I say thank You blessed Redeemer, so shall it be in the mighty name of Jesus.
Let us say Father, please let me never give up because I know You have not given up on me. Father, You have not given up on me, so I will not give up concerning that marriage, concerning that child, concerning that business, concerning my finances, concerning my ministry, concerning rising and falling, I will never give up; concerning my accommodation issues, concerning whether I will never build my house, concerning whether I will never own anything of value, concerning whether that child will ever come, concerning whether I will ever get married, Father Lord, I will never give up, because You have never given up on me, I can never give up; Father Lord, I hold on to You in faith, I will not give up because You are my Father, You are my God, You have not given up on me, so shall it be in the mighty name of Jesus.
There are many temptations sometimes that may even shake our faith; you know sometimes you pray about something, we are purposed that I will wait – that’s what the word of God says that I will wait until my change comes, then somebody comes, wait ke, you have been there for 8 years, do you know that while you have been there for 8 years, I done this, I have achieved this, I have done that; but when we are hearing from God, when God says it is not yet time, can we outrun God? When we learn not to compare ourselves with others, that’s what the Bible says that when we compare ourselves with others, that that person is not wise.
So we are going to say Father, please make a way of escape for me from every temptation which is shaking the root of my faith; that temptation that is attacking the root of my faith, it is shaking it, it is making me wonder that God, are You still there? Every temptation, every trial, every tribulation, Father Lord, please make a way of escape from every trial of life, every tribulation of life, everything that is shaking at the root of my faith, that I’m beginning to doubt, God, is it You I’m hearing or am I just deceiving myself? Father Lord, make a way, let me escape from every temptation that is shaking at the root of my faith, that does not want me to stay with You, to hear from You, in the mighty name of Jesus we have prayed.
We are going to say Father, please increase my faith; the level I am is at the very foundation, because You are the One that knows me, You know all about me, I may think I have faith but when those challenges come, I start thinking, so let us say Father, increase my faith, I have not even started, I need You to increase my faith so that all those things You have spoken into my life, I will not lose them because I ran away before the manifestation, so shall it be in the mighty name of Jesus.
The word of God says that be anxious for nothing; it says by prayer and supplication, so we are going to say Father, I will not be anxious and I will not get weary, I will not get tired, I will not be that this is too much for me, where am I going to start from? How am I going to do it? Father I will not get weary because I know Your plans for me are plans of good and not of evil, so give me an expected end, so shall it be in the mighty name of Jesus.
We are going to say Father, I will not lose the blessings You have spoken into my life because of lack of faith. The Lord has spoken some blessings into our lives already, they are there, and it’s for us to claim it so that we do not get discouraged before we step into the blessings that the Lord has spoken. Father Lord, I will not lose any one of the blessings that You have spoken concerning me in the mighty name of Jesus.
Then we are going to say Father, I desire to reign with You, please strengthen me physically and spiritually, strengthen my faith, help me to serve You to the place of reward in the name of Jesus. Help me physically, no organ of my body will fail me; my brain will not fail me, my eyes will not fail me, my hands, my legs, nowhere that I will not be able to preach the gospel, any situation, any condition that will not allow me to manifest, that will not allow me to do the work that You have placed in my hands, Father Lord help me, so shall it be in the mighty name of Jesus.
Father Lord we thank You, we give You all the glory, we give You all the honor, we give You all the adoration, we thank You Lord because You are a good God; Father Lord, we thank You oh Lord for that faith with which we believe in You, Father Lord we pray that You strengthen us more than ever before in all things oh Lord, concerning us, concerning our loved ones, concerning our nation, concerning Your church at last that everything shall end in praise to the glory of Your name, in Jesus name we have prayed. Praise the Lord!
