TRANSCRIPT

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‘The Witnesses’ is a theme for both the speakers and the hearers because God wants to raise His witnesses; men and women who can stand for His will in our generation. Satan intends to remove the name of God in our generation in everything. These days, men behave like women and women behave like men just to prove unreasonable points. However, it is actually the enemy pushing man against God because he does not want God to be seen. Nevertheless, God will yet recover all no matter what the enemy does. 

The natural always comes before the spiritual. Prophecies may have been given concerning a child but that does not mean they will be fulfilled, especially if the parents do not train up the child. This is because the child is still natural; hence, every parent has to do the work of raising the child to become spiritual.

No child is born spiritual. Children also bear the nature of the old man, and we see this in the disobedient nature they exhibit. This is why Parents must know how to train their children in the way of the Lord, which is the way they should go so that they can learn to put their body under the spirit. Parents must commit to labour over their children knowing that they also have their minds and they are not empty and they learn from conversations around.

God intends to raise witnesses for Himself in this perverse generation. Many will not repent until they see holy men and holy women raised in this generation and God is depending on us to show Him forth in our generation. When our lives portray God's life and we stand for God wherever we find ourselves, men will easily obey and follow, having seen witnesses of God's life.

We must know that God requires total obedience from us and we must be resolute in doing obedience. It is possible to attend so many meetings yet be unable to fully live/express all that we hear. We may not fully comprehend all that we have heard; however, it is expedient that we are faithful in keeping/obeying what we have comprehend.

Hebrews 5:8 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered…”

Though Jesus was the Son of God, He still learnt obedience. Jesus did not suffer from a lack of food, but the things which are not convenient (Matthew 3:15). Likewise, we must do the things required of us by the Lord no matter how inconvenient they may seem. In workplaces where bribery is the norm, we must be quick to refuse such tips even if we are in dire need. We must be discerning enough to know that not all blessings are from God. We should be able to wait on our spirit to know what to accept and reject. This is possible when we have done obedience well, even in the little things. 

Exodus 19:4-5 “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. [5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine…”

God desires that His children obey Him fully; we must hear His words and do them. What will raise us above all disobedience is total obedience. It is possible to be disobedient to the voice of God and yet be commended before men. A person can even obey partially, but we must know that this is worse than not obeying at all because, in the process, we lose something and gain nothing. Although obedience may seem like a tall order, we must know that it is possible, as God will not demand of us what we cannot do. Obedience must be learned even in little things. 

We must deny ourselves in doing obedience. The Lord may require that we give of our substances. In such situations, we must learn to look up to the Lord and yield to His demand; our trust must not be on our income. Yielding to the Lord is important in becoming witnesses of God; those who can be representatives of God in their everyday lives and wherever they find themselves. We must learn to obey the voice of God.

God can speak to us through different means; through the inward witness, our pastors and brethren, and we must be able to recognise His voice and obey. Sometimes such speakings are not always palatable to us, but we must know that God’s intention when His speaking comes to us, is to the end that we become like Him. We have a long way to go, but every journey starts with a step.

Exodus 23:22 “But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.”

The devil is our sworn enemy. God wants us to obey all that He is saying so that He can avenge our enemy. This can only happen when we do obedience; hence, we are expected to live a life of obedience. Obedience is not temporal; it must be continuous. As we obey, we make progress in God from one point to another. A man who will know Christ, the Father and God must be obedient. Our heart must accept and rejoice at God's words because if we do not accept His words, we cannot do them. 

Sometimes when the word of God comes to us through the preaching of the word, we excuse ourselves and instead focus on other people’s infirmities. We must know that we all need help at our different levels; we should always look to ourselves and not others when instructions come forth.

A single person may fall into the deception of thinking that they can suddenly hear God on whom they ought to marr,y even though they have never learnt to pay attention to God’s words on other matters. A man who has not learnt obedience per time will be misled when it comes to the issue of marriage. It is not difficult to hear God on whom to marry; hence, single people ought not to be agitated or consumed with this thought. Rather, every single person must be given to knowing the will of God on all matters by His knowledge being spoken to us.  

Every single person must have a sole focus: God. A single person must be focused and whole. God’s commandment in marriage is not for two halves to become one, but a whole person join with another whole being to become one. Hence, every young person’s focus should be wholesomeness. 

Young people who are still in school should learn to be focused on their academics while in school, rather than being in a relationship. Young people should not be in haste; everyone must know that God does not work by our timing, and not be pressured into making hasty choices.

Single people must not be so consumed with the thought of marriage that they are unable to have healthy friendships with the opposite sex. It is good to know that not all friendships will lead to marriage. We should therefore make friends innocently, not with the intention of marriage. One who makes friends innocently will be whole, but when a person makes friends with the intention of marriage, they may eventually be offended and disappointed. Every single person must thus be whole and focused on being a witness. 

Jesus did not marry, yet He lived His life fulfilling God's purpose. 

‍Genesis 1:26-27 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

This shows that a single person can do the will of God, as the mandate of God’s dominion to man was given before marriage. 

Genesis 5:1-2 “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; [2] Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”

Adam is the name God gave to mankind not just the male man and that is why when a woman gets married, it is only appropriate that she leaves her father’s name for her husband’s. In marriage, the man names his wife just like Adam named Eve. A man must be careful to never call his wife anything negative. 

In marriage, a man and a woman must know that they only own their spouses, not their children; they belong to God and to their spouses, when the time comes. Children must see their fathers loving their mothers. Love must be expressed. It is easy for a man to love other people and not love his wife. The commandment of God to a husband is to love his wife; a man ought to invest his all in ensuring that his wife looks beautiful and never compare her to others. No man or woman has their complete desires in their spouses but they can groom one another to fit into their desires. 

A husband must know that a woman desires to be cared for and so he must care for his own wife and learn to speak positively to her; this is because words make people.

Unmarried sisters should not look haggard because they are burdened with the thoughts of marriage. An unmarried woman can remain beautiful, ever vibrant not because they are looking for a husband but because they are serving the one whom they love - God. Knowing that God is able to give them a husband at His time. Every single person must know that they must allow the Lord to choose who they marry. 

Everyone must be obedient in their different estates. Obedience to God is what makes us whole. 

Deuteronomy 11:22 “For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him…”

We hear God's voice through His commandment. It is our duty to love the Lord our God and to cleave to Him. One must cleave to God first before cleaving to a husband or wife. As we obey God, we become beautiful. We must make up our minds to do obedience.

The enemy of our souls will give us reasons to disobey God’s commandments. We must know that the enemy can never be our friend or adviser because his intention is to kill. We must thus learn to respond to him with the word of God when he comes to put pressure on us and move us to be hasty. 

Obedience is important in our prosperity in God. God is good; we must learn to heed His voice and do His commandments. 

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Round up by Pastor Thompson Ehima

Obedience is everything. It is a course that has to be learnt just as we have learnt disobedience. Our Lord Jesus also learnt obedience. 

The move of God is the move of obedience. The Lord is teaching us how to obey Him. We must never assume we know how to obey God, as we sometimes obey religiously. We cannot obey God without learning, which comes by the help of the seven spirits of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2, Revelation 1:4). As we cannot obey God without knowing His ways, which are doctrine. Doctrine here is not the belief system of a particular church denomination.

WOTH SMFLX’25 is a meeting of ways, where what we ought to obey is unveiled to us. We can only understand ways when we have knowledge, understanding and wisdom. We cannot know how to obey God without these. 

Men usually assume that obedience is doing the Ten Commandments, but it is beyond that. Obedience beats the intelligence of sin because sin is wise. 

Sin has taken over a lot of marriages, even Christian marriages; many use the wisdom of sin to run their home. Hence, it takes the learning of obedience for one to be made wiser than sin. 

Jesus learnt obedience through all He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). Suffering is not physical affliction but a regulation of one's life. Obedience regulates one's life. Jesus was constrained to do only the will of the Father. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”

Spiritual warfare is bringing everything (imaginations, thoughts) to the obedience of Christ.

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