Transcribed – DR2025-Message 4: This they do because they know not the Lord- Pastor Nmandi (Feel free to use the translator tools)
Opening Song
O protector of my soul
You will stand against the foe
In the dark you’ll be a light for me
O protector of my soul
Chorus:
You who created the ends of the earth
Guided me unto your throne
Offered your healing hand to me
Mercifully made me your own
O Holy Spirit, come
Show the world where life comes from
May they always see you alive in me
O Holy Spirit, come
Welcome Address
I want to welcome each and every one of us to this great occasion the 2025 December retreat of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement I am happy standing in this global stage to thank the Lord because if it has not been the Lord I will not be here today. My body will be in the mortuary and this assembly will be getting ready for my funeral but the Lord said no and so I am happy being here today appreciating the Lord and thanking Him for all that He has done.
I want to thank God because this December retreat of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement for the year 2025 promises to be a great time in the presence of the Lord. As we all know the team is entering and passing through the pool. It has pleased the Lord that this time around He will walk in us, He will help us, He will cleanse us and He will prepare us for the great event at hand which we all know about the translation of the church.
So today you need to be here with all your heart, you need to be here with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your spirit. You need to make sure that you pass through this program and at the same time allowing this program to pass through you so that at the end of the day the perfect will of God will be achieved in the lives of each and every one of us. Before we take the message we have this hour, I want us to join our music team as we sing from our hymn book hymn number 89.
Hymn Section
1 Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured–
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
2 Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater– yes, grace untold–
Points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross. [Refrain]
3 Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
All who are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive? [Refrain]
Call to Prayer
I want you to bow down your head now at His voice. Ask Him to speak to you today in the language. Ask Him to speak to you as an individual and promise Him that you will do exactly what He wants you to do.
Open your mouth and talk to the Lord. He is interested in those people who will hear and do His bidding. So ask Him to speak to you today and He will do.
Opening Prayer
Eternal in the heavens, the God of the spirit of all flesh, the possessor of heaven and earth, who rules and reigns in the kingdom of man and in the kingdom of spirits, the one that doeth as he pleases Him. And no man can say unto you, what doest thou? Precious Father, we come before you this blessed day to worship you. We come before you this blessed day to honor and to adore you.
We come before you as children and having gathered before you our loving Father, we want to hear your voice. For they all shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of the children. If the children must have peace, they must hear the voice of their Father.
And if the children must hear the voice of their Father, their Father must speak to them in the language they will understand. Therefore pray, Eternal Father, this blessed day you will speak to us as individuals. I know that you are not afraid of us, Precious Father.
You are not afraid of talking to us because we are not equal with you. We are creatures. You are the creator.
And so this hour, Precious Father, speak to us, walking us both to will and to do of your own good pleasure. And let it be that through this ministration, your people will enter and pass through the pool and appear at the other side cleansed, appear at the other side acceptable before you. Eternal Spirit of God, we look upon to you.
Come on board and do what pleases you. Let your name alone be glorified. Thank you for answering our prayers.
Blessed be God forevermore. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.
Transition
You can now be seated. And once more, I welcome each and every one of us to this great program. And the Lord will want each and every one of us to pay attention to his word and to listen calculatively so that we can benefit maximally from the ministration.
Scripture Reading
Can we please open our Bibles to John chapter number 16? John chapter 16. I want to read from verse 1 to 3. These things have I spoken unto you, that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues.
Yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God’s service. And these things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father. Nor me.
Go back to chapter 15 of the same gospel of John. And let’s read verse 20 to 21. Remember the word that I said unto you.
The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep you as also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake because they know not him that sent me.
Introduction to the Message
The Lord Jesus at this point in time was getting ready for his departure. And he looked ahead of time and saw what will happen to his disciples.
The kind of persecution that will come their way. And the persecution will be such that some of them will be killed. And then he said, that time is coming.
They will put you out of the synagogues. That time is coming when they will kill you. And even the people that will kill you will think that they are doing God’s service.
They will think that they are working for the Lord, you know. Paul, who was before Saul, did exactly that. Killing and hailing Christians into prison thinking that he was doing service unto God.
And the Lord Jesus said that these things they will do because of one particular reason. Because they don’t know the Lord. If they know the Lord, they will know that they are not doing him service.
If they know the Lord, they will know that they are offending him. If they know the Lord, they will know that this is not acceptable unto him. But because they don’t know him, that is the reason why they will do these things.
Message Title
So, it is from these verses of the Scriptures that we bring God’s word titled, This they do because they know not the Lord. This they do because they know not the Lord. Ignorance, they say, is a disease.
And multitudes of people in the world today are living ignorantly. They are doing things they ought not to do. They are doing things they shouldn’t do because of lack of the knowledge of the Lord.
The World Hath Not Known Thee
The Bible have this thing to say even when the Lord Jesus was praying in John chapter 17 and verse number 25. He said, O righteous father, the world hath not known thee. Let’s stop there.
The world hath not known thee. And because the world hath not known thee, they will get into many things. They will live anyhow life.
They will do things that are unacceptable unto God.
Had They Known It
And in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, 1 Corinthians chapter number 2, we read verse 7 and verse 8. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew.
For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Had they known it, had they known the Lord, had they known the wisdom of the Lord, they would have not gone into that terrible thing they did, even the killing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And you remember that while on the cross, Jesus looked at the people and said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.
They don’t know what they are doing. If they know, they would have not gone into such a terrible thing.
The Church Is Not Better
So that is the situation in the world.
A lot of things are happening. A lot of terrible things are happening. But unfortunately, many people in the church today who profess that they know God are not better.
That’s an unfortunate situation. The church is supposed to be the light of the world. The world is in darkness.
And the church is supposed to be their light, to show them the way, to teach them the ways of the Lord. The church is supposed to be God’s witnesses, witnessing to the kind of life he has ordained that his people should be living.
But the unfortunate thing is that multitudes of people in the church who profess that they know God are not better.
They are not better because the things they do prove that they don’t know him at all. Many people in the church don’t know him. Some people who know him just have a little knowledge of him.
They don’t have sufficient knowledge of the God of heaven and earth.
They Profess, But in Works They Deny Him
In Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1 and verse 16. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good worker reprobate.
They profess. Professing is one thing, but possessing is another thing. Professing to know God is one thing, but really knowing him is another thing.
Because their lifestyle proved that they don’t know him. The abominable things, the disobedient lifestyle, and all those terrible things they are into prove that they do not know him.
You Worship Whom You Know Not
They are like the Samaritan woman.
In John chapter 4 and verse 22. Jesus accused the Samaritan woman. He said, you worship whom you know not.
You worship whom you know not. But this woman was claiming to be a worshiper of the Lord. But this woman said, our fathers worshipped in this mountain and that is where we are worshipping.
But this woman was talking about the Messiah. We know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes he will show us all things.
The woman was religious, but she had lived with five men. But she was living an adulterous life. And Jesus said, you are even living with the sixth person.
And the one you are living with now is not even your husband. Can you see her life? She was talking about God. Talking about God.
Talking about God. But her life was not agreeing.
These are the days when there is too much religion, but too little righteousness. Too much God, God, God, God, God.
But little good. Everybody is saying by the grace of God.
Everybody is having religious language. Everybody goes to church. But go and look at the lives of the people.
You see what they do. And the things they do prove that they don’t know God.
Old Testament Church Example
And as it was with the Old Testament church.
So it is with the church today. Where many people get into a lot of bizarre things.
Yet, claiming to be children and claiming to be servants of God.
Let’s look at what happened in the church of the Old Testament. And from there you will agree with me that that is exactly what we are seeing in the present day.
In Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter number 7. Let’s read from verse 1 to verse 11.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Stand in the gate of the lost house and proclaim this word and say, This is the word of the Lord, O ye of Judah, that enter in at this gate to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place, thrusting not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord. The temple of the Lord.
The temple of the Lord it is. For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your heart, then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.
Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense on the Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not, and you come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say we are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, said the Lord.
Remember, God sent Jeremiah, not to the marketplace. God sent Jeremiah, not to any other place, but to stand at the gate of the temple, in front of God’s house, and there he told him, proclaim these words.
Tell these people that I have seen their lifestyles. I have seen what they are doing, yet they are claiming to be my people. Tell them to amend their ways.
Why are you trusting in lying words? Why are you saying this is the temple of the Lord? This is the temple of the Lord. The temple of the Lord is this. We are children of God.
We are Christians. We are members of the household of God. But after saying these things, you live anyhow life.
You steal, you murder, you commit adultery, you get into all forms of immorality and abomination, and at the same time, you are saying we are God’s people.
The Same Problem Today
The same thing happened at the time of Jesus. John the Baptist rather, he accused the Jews.
All of you are claiming to be children of Abraham. All of you are claiming to be members of the household of faith. All of you are claiming to be covenant people of the Lord.
But look at your lives. Look at what you are doing. And that is exactly what we are seeing today.
A lot of evil in the church. We are not even going to talk about the world. Leave the world meantime.
Let’s talk about the church. Because the business of the Lord this time around is to raise the church and to prepare the church for their journey home. Look into the church today.
What you will see, the things you will hear, they will baffle you. And the evils we see today are among the clergy and the laity. The evil we see today, we see it among the leaders and the led.
We see it in the lives of the ministers and the people they are pastoring. And the reason why these evils are there is simply because they don’t have sufficient knowledge of the Lord. Some don’t have the knowledge of the Lord at all.
Some have, but what they have is insufficient. That is the reason for all the mess. That is the reason for all the commotions.
That is the reason for all the terrible stories we hear here and there. Simply because they don’t know the Lord. And the Lord Jesus cried and said, O righteous father, the world has not known you.
But if he is here today, his cry will no longer be, the world has not known you. His cry will also be that your people have not known you. The people who claim to be your people.
The people who have drawn closer to you. The people who are supposed to teach others. The people who are supposed to show others your way.
They are blind. They are blind. That will be the cry of the master.
Look Inward
And in this teaching, we’re going to take a little time to show some of the things that are happening in the church of the present day. The things we see that prove to us that multitudes of people in the church don’t have the knowledge of the Lord. Listen.
It is one thing for you to say blood of Jesus. It’s one thing for you to shout Holy Ghost fire. It’s one thing for you to pray volcanic prayers.
It’s one thing. But it is another thing for you to know the God you are calling upon. The God you claim that you’ve come to serve.
It is another thing. Because after shouting Holy Ghost fire, after shouting blood of Jesus, after all those volcanic prayers, by the time they leave the sanctuary, and you see these same people, and you hear these same people, and you meet these same people, and interact with them, you will find out that of a truth that they don’t know the Lord.
And so what are those things that we are seeing? And as we are talking, I want you to look away from any person.
Look away from any other church. Let’s look inward. Let’s look at our own church.
Let’s look at our own lives. Let’s take time to check. You know this is the end of the year.
And we need to do some auditing. We need to look into our lives. People this time we want to check to know how far they went in the year.
And so we need to check. We need to look inwards to know whether we are still in the faith. Apostle Paul will say examine yourself, knowing not yourself whether you are in the faith, or have you become reprobate?
So I want you to relax, and hear me out.
Forget about your husband. Forget about your wife. Forget about that brother or that sister.
Just forget about any other person. Think about yourself as you begin to show some of the things the Lord is pointing out.
Secret Sins
Today in the church, we find out that many people who claim to be Christians are into secret sins.
The more they sin, the more they serve. They try to use their services to cover their sins. They hide their sins so much that nobody knows about it.
It is between them and God. And they come out in the public and they look so holy. They come out in the public, they look so wonderful.
They come out in the public, they speak Christian languages. You see them, as you look at the men, look at the women, they appear so holy.
But we are dealing with a being whose eyes pierces through the clouds, and he sees everything that is happening.
He can differentiate. He can see the blackest ant on top of the blackest charcoal kept on top of the blackest blanket on a blackest night. Imagine that.
The blackest ant on top of the blackest charcoal kept on top of the blackest blanket on a blackest night. He can separate all of them because darkness is light before him.
And he knows it, that many people in church are sinning and serving.
Many people in church are not sincere. Many people in church are not fully following with all their hearts. And as a result of that, they get into secret sins.
Ephesians Warning
In Ephesians chapter number 5, I read verse number 3, verse 5, and verse 6. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh saints. It should not be named. Let us not hear it that any person who claims to be a Christian is indulging in all these things.
But are we hearing it today? Is it happening today? It is there. And though some people, their own is still in the secret. Verse 5, for this you know, that no warmonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, only of God.
Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Let no man deceive you.
Let no man deceive you. And at the same time, don’t deceive yourselves. And many people have deceived themselves.
They indulge in these things. They practice these things secretly.
Pornography, Masturbation, and Hidden Defilement
But can you talk about people that get into masturbations? Women masturbate.
Men masturbate. What can you talk about the pornography of the present day? The handset in your hands have enabled you that you can watch pornography anywhere you want to watch it and whenever you want to watch it, as long as you have data.
And multitudes of people, many people in church that claim to be God’s children will go inside, hide themselves and in the night go and see what they are doing.
Polluting themselves. Defiling themselves. Rubbishing their minds.
Filling themselves with junks which the hosts of darkness have provided for them.
Immorality and Abortion
What can you say about those that enter into immorality proper and even get into abortions?
They go into abortions secretly. And nobody knows it.
Nobody knows it. They just realize that they have conceived and they go to somewhere and somebody will attend to them and before you know it, they have evacuated. Look at the word, evacuation.
They call it evacuation. They don’t see it as killing again. They don’t see that thing in the womb as a baby, as a human being.
To them, it’s just photos. We’ve just evacuated it. But you are a murderer.
You have spilled blood. The way the blood of Abel cried against King. That is how the blood of those innocent children are crying against you.
Today ministers go into their members, impregnate them, and abort the babies. And they continue preaching. They don’t want anybody to know it.
They hide it. They cover it. And they still appear in the pulpit because we are in the New Testament.
If it was in the Old Testament time, you try such and you enter the pulpit, God will send thunder. And thunder will bring the person down.
But these days, after all, they touch me, you touch me. After all the mess, they return to the pulpit and then they are preaching and they are calling upon the name of the Lord.
Some married people, some husbands and wives have also gone into it because of family planning. We have got enough children.
We don’t want more. This one is enough. This one is a mistake.
To you, it is a mistake. And as a result of that, you kill a baby, an innocent and a defenseless child.
And you think that the Lord is not seeing that.
You are doing that or you have done that because you don’t really know the Lord.
Example Story
I know a woman, a preacher, a founder of a particular church. She came to me and was talking to me one day and was accusing her husband of this and that and that.
And then along the line, there was something she was talking about her husband and then she made me know, she said that the husband had even made her to become pregnant and to commit abortion. To her, I don’t want anymore child.
And because her husband is sexually insatiable, that’s how he got her pregnant.
And then because she will not want the baby, she committed and aborted the baby.
The preacher, a minister of the gospel. And she was telling me that I didn’t even see any sign of remorse.
Abuse Under “Deliverance”
What are we seeing? When people go on deliverance, many people have gone to deliverance ministers to attend to them.
And these deliverance ministers have ended up taking advantage of these people, messing them up. Touching where they shouldn’t touch.
In the name of deliverance. In the name of laying of hands. They touch where they shouldn’t touch.
And they are saying Holy Ghost fire. And they are saying Holy Ghost fire.
But they know what they are doing. Gratifying the loss of their heart.
Nobody sees that. Nobody knows that.
But the Lord is seeing.
Hidden Sin in Homes
Some men are doing a lot of sinful things with their maids in the house. When their wives are not around.
If we call the maid that is living with you in the same house and ask her to tell us what is happening in this house. In the absence of the wife. What kind of information are we going to get? Secret scenes.
Some who even come to church. Some who even sing in the choir. Some who even get into one ministration or the other in the church.
When you go and check, some of them are secretly into alcohol. They take it a little. They put the scriptures.
Take a little wine. Take a little wine. But they will not want to complete the scriptures.
For your stomach infirmity. Do you have stomach infirmity? Do you have stomach infirmity? So you don’t have all the medications you can take to take care of you?
It is until you take alcohol. Until you… You have not told us what we are looking for.
You want to… You want to enjoy. You want to return back to the life of booze.
And after you come to church.
After you come to lift up your hands in the holy temple. Calling upon the name of the Lord.
This is because you don’t know the Lord.
You don’t know the person you have come to serve. You don’t know the person you are relating with.
That is the reason for all these secret lifestyles.
Murmuring, Gossip, and Sowing Discord
There are many people that cause problems in the church. Through murmuring. Complaining.
Grumbling. Knocking heads together. Through gossips.
And the tail bearing. They murmur. They complain.
They grumble. They gossip. They speak against the pastor.
They speak against the pastor’s wife. They speak against the leader. They speak against the choir master.
They speak against the head of this department. Or the head of the other department. And say many unprintable things.
And say things that when you call them. And when you ask them to come and defend. They will not be able to defend.
They sow the seed of discord.
In the church. In Proverbs chapter 6. Proverbs chapter 6. We read verse number 16.
And verse 19. These six things that the Lord hath. Yeah.
Seven are an abomination unto him. Verse 19. A false witness that speaketh lies.
And he that soweth discord among brethren. He that soweth discord among the brethren.
They do that because they don’t know the Lord.
Marriage and Disorder in Homes
In some houses now, there is fire on the mountain. Because some wives and husbands.
Will not want to follow the scriptural injunctions.
That makes marriage what it ought to be. I want to tell you that somebody is the architect that designed marriage. And if you want that marriage to be what it ought to be.
You need to consult the architect. You need to look at his drawing. You need to look at what he specified.
When contractors go on site. They come with the drawing. They come with the architectural drawing.
And the technical drawing of the whole thing. If there is anything that is confusing to them.
They will call the architect.
They will call upon him. They will ask him to come and make some clarifications.
To let them know what to do at this point in time.
And at this other point. And that is exactly how it ought to be with marriage.
But you see today.
That due to lack of the knowledge of the Lord.
True knowledge of the Lord. Due to lack of it.
Our homes are on fire.
People are taking the positions that does not belong to them.
Wives, Submit
In Ephesians chapter 5. Let me show something.
In Ephesians chapter 5. Verse 21.
Down. Submitting yourself one to another in the fear of God.
Wives. Submit yourselves unto your own husbands. As unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife. Even as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the savior of the body.
Some wives will want these verses of the scriptures to be expunged from the Bible. They don’t want it. They don’t want this submission of a thing.
They don’t want to be under any person. They want to be on their own.
These feminists.
That teach this and teach that. Have succeeded in making some men. I mean some women.
To begin to see themselves that they are equal with their husbands.
And so the man will talk. She will talk.
And so the man will speak and the woman will challenge him.
And so the man will talk and the woman will tell him to sit down.
Because to her you are something.
I am something.
It is because you don’t know the Lord.
It is because you don’t know the Lord.
If you know the Lord you will know that in that house that somebody is the head. That somebody is in charge.
Husbands, Love
The same thing applies to man. What did the Bible say? Verse 25.
Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church. And gave himself for it.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the water.
That he might present it to himself a glory of church.
Not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
But that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
He that loved his wife loved himself.
You love yourself.
Let me ask you. Because one part of your body is diseased. Do you go and cut it off?
Don’t you care for that diseased part of your body? You want to get it healed.
You want to get it okay.
And that is exactly what it ought to be in a relationship.
Yes, your wife is misbehaving.
Yes, your wife is not doing.
Are you not now adding more fuel to the fire?
And now some men are cursing their wives. Some are beating their wives.
Hitting their wives. Saying things they ought not to say.
And the whole house is on fire.
To some of them their wives are like slaves.
Slaves are even better than their wives.
Because we have forgotten these principles.
Mother-in-Law Interference
Some mother in laws are not helping mothers.
Some mother in laws are not allowing their daughter in laws to enjoy their marriages.
And that is the reason why their sons are marrying them. Instead of marrying their wives.
Mother in law hear me. Hear me clearly. If this is your life.
If this is what we are doing is because you don’t know the Lord.
You have not allowed your son to marry his wife.
To you they must marry you first.
He must marry you first.
Before marrying his wife.
You have enjoyed your husband and now you want to come and enjoy another person’s husband.
Leave your son in law to marry his wife.
And leave your daughter in law to enjoy her husband.
In marriage there is living and cleaving.
A man will leave his father and his mother.
And will be joined to his wife.
A new family has been carved out of your family.
Allow this new family to thrive.
That because of lack of the knowledge of God.
Mother in laws and even some father in laws.
Are making the marriage of their sons and their daughters.
Not to be healthy as they ought to be.
Nakedness and Immodesty
Today we see that nakedness is becoming the order of the day.
Nakedness. As people who claim to be children of God.
Go on now.
Appearing Jezebelic. Women. Especially.
In the name of fashion. In the name of fashion.
You see people appearing Jezebelic.
Putting on immoral and immodest apparels.
Thereby polluting the sanctuary.
And defiling people that come to church.
In our churches today what you see people wear. Terrible.
Come to church nude.
The slogan now is if you have it, flaunt it.
And women are ready to flaunt it.
They want to show you their endowments.
They want you to know what they have on their chest and behind their back.
And then people some will appear naked as it were.
Some will appear nude or semi-nude.
Some it will not be that they are nude.
But the things they will put on will be so tight.
That the contours and the structures of the body will shoot out.
All the mountains and the hills and the valleys in the body.
All of them will be well exposed.
And men will look at you and they are dying.
It is because you don’t know the Lord.
Attire of a Harlot
Today people in church appear.
With what the Bible called.
Harlot’s attire.
Have you ever read about Harlot’s attire? The dressing of prostitutes.
That is what people that claim to be daughters of Zion are putting on.
The attire of Harlot.
In Proverbs chapter 7. Proverbs chapter number 7. I read verse 10.
And behold, there met him a woman.
With the attire of a harlot.
And soft of heart.
Attire of a harlot.
The dressing of a harlot.
What is the dressing of a harlot?
You should know the business of a harlot.
And the attire of a harlot.
Is that dress that the harlot uses.
Puts on in order to advertise her ways.
I don’t need to explain.
You understand?
And that is what they are now wearing.
That is what people who claim to be daughters of Zion are putting on.
And they come to the sanctuary of the Lord with it.
Modest Apparel
But the Bible said in 1 Timothy 2.
That women should put on what?
Modest apparel.
Modest apparel.
That is what women should put on.
You don’t look haggard.
And tattered.
At the same time you are not flamboyant.
You are not naked.
Church Rules and “Arranging”
Because of not having sufficient knowledge of the Lord.
Some church people despise and they break church rules.
They break church rules.
They say these are doctrines of the church.
Let me come to a particular area where they do so.
That is in the area of their marriages.
Here in this church, we know our rule.
We know the laid down standard.
How we get into our marriages.
But these days, multitude of people.
Many people will go behind and do what they call arranging.
Arranging.
They will go and discuss it.
They will go and arrange it.
They will go and plan it.
And when they come to the marriage committee and they ask them.
Have you discussed with her? They say no, no, no, no, no, no.
You have added another sin to the first sin.
You lied.
You lied.
Offense and Unforgiveness
Do you know that there are people in the church that find it difficult to forgive others?
There are people in the church that move up and down now in offenses.
They are offended.
Offended with the pastor.
Offended with the choir master.
Offended with this leader.
Offended with this sister.
Offended with the other sister.
And they are moving up and down with offenses.
They did me this.
They did me that.
They did me the other.
I was sick and nobody visited me.
My mother died.
They didn’t do for me what they are doing for others.
The way they treat others is not the way they treat me.
And then their heart is filled with, yes, of a truth somebody offended you.
Of a truth somebody didn’t do well.
Of a truth they didn’t treat you well.
But will it justify that offense in your heart?
The reason why you go up and down with these offenses is because you don’t really know the Lord.
If you know the Lord, if you know the truth of the scriptures, you will not go that way.
Warning From Jesus
Did you know that Jesus said that if you come to the altar to give your offering and you remember that you are having a problem with your sister or your brother.
He said what? Leave that offering. Don’t give it.
Go and settle the matters first.
Meaning, your offering will not be accepted.
Not that there is something wrong with your offering, but something is wrong with you.
And then when he was teaching us the last prayer, he said pray, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And then he said, for if you forgive not men their trespasses against you, you are heavenly father.
We will not do other, forgive you.
Which means from that moment, any mistake that you make, will not have forgiveness.
Because you refused to forgive.
Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
The parable that Jesus gave was of a man, a servant.
That owed his master a lot of money.
And the master said, sell him and sell his wife and his children.
And he pleaded and pleaded.
And his master forgave him.
He was owing millions.
Forgave him everything.
I said, go your way.
This same man went out and saw his fellow servant.
I was owing him a few thousands.
I said, pay me.
And the man said, please I don’t.
You must pay me today.
And before you know it, he carried out his fellow servant and went and dumped him in prison.
You will stay here until you pay the last farthing.
And when the other servants heard what happened, they went and reported to the master.
Look at the person who forgave millions.
He could not forgive this one of the little thousands he was owing.
And the master said, go and call him.
And they called him and said, you wicked servant.
I forgave you all the millions.
But you could not forgive your fellow servant of this thousand.
Now, carry him.
Bundle him.
And throw him into prison.
Throw him into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said, this is what my heavenly Father will do to anyone of you if you refuse to forgive others the things they did against you.
Ministers Monetizing Gifts
Do you know that today that there are ministers who monetize their God-giving gifts and abilities?
Ministers of the gospel.
Monetize their God-giving gifts and abilities.
Some of them throw wrong motives.
Preach on giving and seed sowing.
So as to enrich themselves.
Some of them visit and give more attention to the rich while despising the poor.
Some of them are offended with the people who fail to minister to them of their carnal things.
And the reason why they do this is because of what?
They are blind.
What are we hearing today?
Somebody will prophesy.
Somebody will give a word of knowledge.
And after prophesying and giving the word of knowledge and he will say the person you know yourself.
After you come and see me with pregnant envelope.
They come and see you with pregnant envelope.
So that you can now activate the prophecy.
You can now activate the word of knowledge.
Preacher.
You know not the Lord.
Freely You Have Received
In Matthew chapter 10 verse 8 it says Freely you have received, freely you give.
Why are you dividing your congregation into two?
The people that attend to you.
And the people who don’t attend to you.
Have pulpits become a platform for money making?
Have we become materialistic and we are after material things.
At the same time we are not interested in the souls of men.
They that do such things do such things.
Because either they don’t have the knowledge of God.
Or they don’t have sufficient knowledge.
Serving God Acceptably
God will want you to know.
That serving him is one thing.
But serving him while serving him acceptably.
Is another thing.
Many people are serving.
And serving in sin.
Many people are doing many, many, many things.
Because they don’t really know the Lord.
Did you hear about these two sons of Aaron?
Did you hear what happened to them?
The day they offered a strange fire unto the Lord.
You know what happened to them?
They gave God a strange fire.
And God sent fire back.
And consumed them.
Have you forgotten about the two sons of Eli?
Hophni and Phinehas.
They were in the sanctuary.
But they were messing up the offering of the Lord.
Messing up the women that come for night vigil in the house of God.
They were serving.
They were serving.
But due to lack of the knowledge of the Lord.
Knowing who he is.
What he wants.
What he hates.
Because it was not so with them.
They went into all those terrible, those bizarre things.
And God killed two of them.
December.
That is the God whom we serve.
And so, if anybody wants to serve him.
And serve him acceptably.
Try to know him.
Hebrews 12:28
In Hebrews chapter number 12.
Hebrews 12.
And verse number 28.
Wherefore.
We receive in a kingdom which cannot be moved.
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God.
Acceptably.
With reverence and godly fear.
Serving him.
Giving him acceptable service.
It must be with what?
Reverence.
It must be with what?
Godly fear.
And for that to be, you must know who he is.
David’s Charge to Solomon
David before dying spoke to his son Solomon.
In first Chronicles chapter 28.
First Chronicles.
Chapter 28.
I read verse 9.
And thou Solomon my son.
Know thou the God of thy father.
And serve him with a perfect heart.
And with a willing mind.
For the Lord searched all hearts.
And understood all imaginations of the thoughts.
If thou seek him.
He will.
He will be found of thee.
But if thou forsake him.
He will do what?
He will cast thee out forever.
You know that David had experience.
He was talking out of experience.
He knew what he did.
He knew what happened to him.
He was a man after God’s heart.
But at a point in time he deviated.
And he knew what happened.
So he was speaking to his son Solomon.
Serve this God with a perfect.
First of all know him.
Know the God of your father.
When you know him.
When you know him sufficiently.
Then you will be able to serve him.
With what?
A perfect heart.
True Knowledge Regulates Life
Take note that the true knowledge of God.
Regulates the life.
And the activities of a true Christian.
That’s what true knowledge of God does.
True knowledge of God.
Regulates.
Did you see that sailing fan?
Look at the regulator.
The regulator determines the speed of the fan.
The regulator determines whether the fan will blow.
Or whether the fan will go off.
And so the true knowledge of God.
In the heart of a believer.
Regulates his life.
His actions.
His activities.
And everything about him.
And so if you see anybody living any how life.
The truth remains that.
The knowledge of God.
Is not really in the heart of that individual.
Call to Repentance and Cleansing
So today.
I don’t know who is here.
That the bullet of the world had caused.
I don’t know who is here.
That is into a lot of things.
It may be some of the things that I didn’t mention.
But you know that you are into something.
Things that God is not really happy with.
And I have said.
That the reason why it is so.
Is because you don’t have true knowledge of God.
God is asking you today.
To repent of those evils.
Repent of it.
And ask God for forgiveness.
And ask God for cleansing.
And ask God to wipe your sins away.
That is God’s plan.
That is God’s program.
That is God’s will for this December retreat.
That we should enter.
And pass through the pool.
Illustration: The Grinding Machine
You know there are people in church.
That come to church.
But they refuse cleansing.
They want to remain.
In their old lives.
Have you ever gone to the place.
Where women go to grind their corn.
And to grind their beans.
Which they use in preparing pop.
And frying this thing that they fry.
And cooking their moin moin.
Have you gone to see there?
You are going to see the woman.
With the grinding machine and that funnel.
Where they pour in the grain.
You are going to see the woman.
With a stick in her hand.
And when they carry the corn or the beans.
And pour it into the funnel.
And the grinding machine is working.
You are going to see some of these seeds.
Jumping up and down.
Some of the seeds will jump out.
The woman will use her stick.
And say enter.
Go back.
You need to be grinded.
Go back.
The seed will say me I no go.
Jump out.
Jumping up and down.
It will be struggle.
After the grinding.
You will notice that there are some seeds.
They didn’t pass through the grinding process.
They will not become pop.
They will not become moin moin.
They will not become akara.
Because they did not allow the machine to grind them.
The Lord will want you to pass through this machine.
This grinding machine.
So that you will be cleansed.
Influence and Authority
Women that try to rule their husbands.
But do you know.
That the wife has influence.
While the man has authority.
But the woman.
Through submission.
Can influence the authority of the man.
The man is a man of authority.
The woman is a somebody of influence.
The woman through submission.
Can influence the man.
All this gara gara gara.
You don’t want to be under the man.
You don’t want to submit under him.
Is because you don’t know the Lord.
All the secret sins that people are into.
Is because they don’t know the Lord.
All the aberrations.
All the bizarre things.
All the terrible things we see in the church today.
Is because the people lack the true knowledge of God.
Cry for Deeper Knowledge
But if you cry out today.
My father.
I accept that I have erred.
All is not well with me.
My life is not what it ought to be.
It is clear to me that I don’t have sufficient knowledge of God.
Now forgive my sins.
Cleanse me of all this evil.
And at the same time.
Lord.
Open my eyes.
So that I will do what?
Sufficiently know you.
Moses cried in Exodus 33.13.
Show me your way.
That I may know you.
Paul cried in Philippians 3.10.
Oh that I may know you.
Moses had known him all.
Paul had known him all.
But they are saying we want to do what?
We want to know you more.
We need more knowledge.
We need to know who you are.
Understand you.
Understand your ways.
So that we can serve you.
And give you acceptable service.
A Pastor’s Testimony
I want to tell you this story.
One of our pastors.
One of our senior pastors.
Sometime ago said this.
He said that he was praying to the Lord.
And he told the Lord.
And the Lord turned around to him and said.
Yes.
You are doing your best in ignorance.
But you can’t do your best in ignorance.
God told him that.
You are doing your.
I agree with you.
You are doing your best.
But you are doing your best in ignorance.
and ignorance.
but you can’t do You can’t serve God and There are things you must know.
Jesus prayed.
Oh that they may know you.
The only true God and the only true God is Jesus whom thou has sent for that is life eternal.
And so today, the lord has shown that some of the things we do, some may be sincere, but sincerely wrong.
Some of the things we do, many of the things we do, those things that are not acceptable to us, but all unto him, we do it because of this particular reason.
What is it?
We don’t really know the lord.
So, if you will repent today and ask god to cleanse you and to wash you, he will do and at the same time, you will ask him to open your eyes so that you will know him better.
as well as to give him acceptable service.
That will be our prayer today and as the music ministers return to give us the song on him.
Song and Prayer Transition
You will be asking the lord today.
to cleanse you.
You will be asking the lord today to purge you.
You will be asking the lord to wash you.
You will be saying to the lord, lord, I jump into this pool.
I jump into this pool.
I want to be cleansed.
I want to be washed.
I want to be sanctified.
I want to be made a Christian and a Christian indeed.
Jesus, you even pray the prayer that the Lord will say, you know not what we are doing.
I am one of them.
I don’t know what I’ve been doing all this while but you have opened my eyes to know and now I’ve come to see that I’ve not been doing well.
Now, lord, forgive me.
Now, lord, cleanse me.
Now, lord, wash me.
Now, Lord, make me every with hope that I might serve you indeed.
At the same time, open my eyes to know you more than I’ve ever known you before.
Number 176.
near the cross.
Let’s join the music ministers as they sing and then we pray unto the Lord.
Hymn 176 and Worship Flow
into the Lord. I want to be cleansed. I want to be washed.
I want to be made with all sins of omission and commission. All the secret sins, all those cover sins. I repent it.
I’m ready for O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Rests beyond the river. Hear the chorus, hear the chorus, Be my glory ever.
Till my soul shall find, Rests beyond the river. Hear the chorus, hear the chorus, Be my glory ever. Till my ransomed soul shall find, Rests beyond the river.
Jesus, I want to be perfect. Cast out every foe. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Jesus, look down from your throne in the sky And help me to make a complete sacrifice. I give you all I have, whatever I know.
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow. And I shall be whiter than snow, singing Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow And I shall be whiter than snow, whiter than snow Yes, whiter than snow, now watch me, and I shall be whiter than snow Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow Now watch me, and I shall be whiter than snow Once I wandered in blackness of night Once I struggled alone far from God and right But I lifted my voice, and a crying Jesus heard my humble prayer I was wedded to my God I was wedded to my God And I shall be whiter than snow, singing Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow And I shall be whiter than snow, whiter than snow Once I wandered in blackness of night Once I struggled alone far from God and right But I lifted my voice, and a crying Jesus heard my humble prayer I was wedded to my God I was wedded to my God And I shall be whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow Once I wandered in blackness of night Once I struggled alone far from God and right But I lifted my voice, and a crying Jesus heard my humble prayer I was wedded to my God I was wedded to my God
Brief Prayer and Handover
The ministers around will continue from where I will stop now to pray with the people I will just make a brief prayer and then you continue from where we stopped
Closing Prayer
Lord of glory, Lord of might and majesty We come before you, we want to thank you for this revelation We want to thank you for the insight you’ve given Because it is clear to us that many of the things we do Many of the things that people do, especially in the church Things that are not acceptable unto you Lord we went into them because of not knowing you Or not having a sufficient knowledge of who you are And this blessed day you have opened our eyes to see clearly And then we have come with repentance We have come with broken hearts We have come weeping and crying unto you Asking for your mercy, sir Daddy remember that on the cross Our master Jesus requested that you should have mercy on us Because we know not what we are doing We are ignorant people, Lord forgive our ignorance And as many as have cried unto you this day Asking for mercy, let your mercy flow now You are the father of mercy, sir Show us your mercy and let each and every one of us Experience your saving grace today in Jesus name
Lord you know that we went into these things because of ignorance Because we don’t really know you But I want to ask you Lord Is it possible to buy your knowledge in the supermarket? Is it for sale Lord? It cannot be, if we must know you Then it is you that will open our eyes And Jesus said that they may know you Only through God and Jesus whom thou hast sent And so Lord I ask you to open our eyes Cause us to know you Cause us to understand who you are Cause us to know the way you want us to live Lord you can’t hide yourself And at the same time you are asking us to know you If you hide yourself nobody will know you But if you reveal yourself we will know you If you appear like the sun in the horizon Lord we will know you And so I am asking you Appear to each and every one of us Open our eyes to see what we ought to see That we might now know you Only through God and Jesus whom thou hast sent This is my prayer for myself And my prayer for the entire congregation Thank you for answering these prayers Blessed be God forevermore In Jesus mighty name we pray Amen
Closing Acclamation
To my Lord and every being I am praying to Jesus That he be exalted And may he reign Amen O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave Jesus, to Christ alleluia Amen
