INCOMPARABLE PURITY 8th of September, 2006

James1v17 says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of light, with whom is no variableness neither shadows of turning. The Almighty God is absolutely pure.

As pure as light because He his light and there is no shadow at all in Him. He is absolutely pure light. No shadow at all. In Isaih6 v1-3 the bible tells us that the angel are always crying holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.

 Now everybody knows that God is powerful. Do I hear amen to that? So the angels would have been crying, powerful, powerful, powerful Lord God Almighty. Everybody knows that God is love. The angels could have been crying loving, loving, loving God. The bible says that God is rich in mercy, if you are talking of wealth as far as God is concern; God is rich in mercy; so that the angels could have been crying merciful, merciful, merciful Lord God almighty.  But instead God preferred to be called holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty nonstop. So that if you asked God, if there is one single word that is most crucial to you, what will that word be? Holy!

Habbakuk1v13 says the eyes of the Almighty God are too pure to behold sin; His eyes are so pure that he can’t even look at sin.

 That is why when Jesus was hung on the cross, carrying the sin of the world, his father had to turn away his face. That is why Jesus cried, my God, my God why have thou forsaken me? He could not behold sin. God is incomparable pure.

And what are the advantages of this to us; this God who is absolutely pure, what is the advantages to us?

 Num. 23 v19 says God is not a man that He should lie. A terrible testimony on men but a very good testimony concerning our God, because he is absolutely pure, absolutely holy, it is impossible for him to lie, it is impossible for him to lie. That is why the bible says in Pasm119 v 89 it says forever oh Lord, thy word is settle. That is why I have good news for somebody here today; every promise of God for you shall be fulfilled; because it is impossible for God to lie.

Absolutely impossible, if he said it, He will do it. It doesn’t matter how long you have been waiting, if he said it he will do it.

 I got a letter in my office yesterday, one of my sons said, Daddy I sent a prayer request in 1995 that I wanted a baby boy. You prayed and you replied, God has granted my request. He said I held on to your word, I waited eleven years and one day the baby boy arrived. If he said it he will do it. Because forever oh! Lord thy word is settled Because He is a God who is too pure to lie.  That is why I am confident that my tomorrow will be alright. Are you confident? And on what do I based the confidence? Because He said in Isaih3v10 say ye to the righteous it shall be well with him. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances may look like, I am sure my tomorrow will be alright, turn to your neighbor and tell him; my tomorrow will be alright. I know that for sure. I want to encourage you brethren if it is in the word of God hold on to it because it will come to pass; because, it is impossible for God to lie. I could share testimonies on you on that; I know how many miracles God has performed in my life simply because it is written.

My last two boys came into this world only because it is written that with God nothing shall be impossible with God. How many of you believe your own will not be impossible with God? Let me hear you say amen. I  remember one testimonies we heard about two month or so at the holy ghost service here brother and a sister came and said daddy we want children and I was led of the holy ghost to say okay what kind of child do you want? As soon as I said what kind of child do you want? The husband said a boy, the wife said a girl simultaneously and I as I was led by the Holy Spirit I said okay your request are granted and they had a set of twin, one boy, one girl.

So the husband got he wanted, the wife got what he wanted because there is a God whose word will not return to him void. This is one convention you will never forget for the rest of your life.

Now, what is expected of us?

If our father is incomparably pure, and like father like son. It follows immediately that as our father is pure, so must we be pure. In 1Peter1v15 -16 He says be ye holy for I am holy. How holy how pure. Matt. 5 v 48 he said be ye therefore perfect even as your father in heaven is perfect. Your perfection is not to be mentioned by one pastor somewhere.

I regret to say this but it is not every pastor that is going to heaven it is sad but it is written and if it is written it will come to pass. How do I know it is written? God said not everyone that is saying to me Lord, Lord that will enter into my kingdom, not everyone. Not everybody is going, not every bishop is going, not every General overseer is going, and not every evangelist is going. That is why you have to take a personal decision.

I was sharing with the pastor in minister conference; Joshua said as for me, me first, he didn’t say as for us, he said as for me, I will serve the Lord. As for me I will do the will of God, as for me I am going to heaven he didn’t say as for us. Listen it is written two people will be on a bed one will be taken and the other left. In other a husband may go the wife may remain, the husband may go and the wife remains. But if the husband and wife are one if they are united, if they are one, in their concentration to the almighty God they will not be regarded as two for the two shall be one.

The two shall be one and go to heaven together, the two can be one and go to hell together. Like Ananias and Sapphira. It is a matter of on who side you are on.  How many of you are on the Lord‘s side let me hear you say amen. Matthew 5 v 8 says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God in order words if you are not so pure right, right true, if your purity is on the outside not in the inside, you are not going anyone. I know some of you will jump at that and you will say what we have been telling these people that it is the inside that matters not the outside but whatever is in the inside will show on the outside. It will show.

When somebody is mad, he is mad on the inside those it show on the outside? Of course! Like I was sharing with the minster, maybe God wants me tell you before they come and tell you. In the old days, how do we know somebody is getting mad? The hair on the head will begin to look funny, that will tell you there are several mad people in your offices now, all you need to do, take a look at the hair on the head, they may call it style to deceive you, but it is what is inside that is reflecting on the outside.

There is a pastor somewhere here, I saw someone who was leading there choir in one of the countries outside Nigeria, I said what is this? Can’t you tell this boy to comb his hair before he comes to lead the choir? But they say that is the style, I said style!.There is something on the inside, it took them two years to discover what is inside, but it is there all the time! Let me give you another example, this is convention time and we are not going anywhere, we are here to enjoin the Lord and your life is not going to be the same again.      

I was telling the minister, some of you think in order to get the youth to come to Christ we must dress like them, we must behave like them that is rubbish! You can hear the youth shouting now, the youth want to come up to where you are and now you are going down to where they are and now they have nobody to copy, they have nobody to look up to.

They want to be decent people, let me tell you the truth, the real truth, when the youth dress the way they dress they are waiting for you to challenge them, they just want to show you; daddy I can be rebellious and they want you to say not in this house. The youth loved discipline! And now the people they want to be like the people they are hoping they will become like, those people now are coming down to be like them and the poor people say where is our future?, they want to grow up.

 Let me give you an example, I went to visit a family and I was asking the boy, are old are you he said I am going to be twenty and the mother said ah! He said he became nineteen only few days ago. But as far as the fellow is concern thank God nineteen is gone, the next thing is twenty. The youth are looking upward they want to go up not remain down, and you are climbing down, that must change. That is number one.

When I say what is inside will show on the outside. Because we to talk about purity, I mean incomparable purity. What kind of people do you see in the past wearing torn cloth? Mad people! But now what do you see you?  You see some trouser and some people will get scissors and cut some part of it and they say it is style, what is it? Madness! 

When you are walking in the street and you see a woman showing you half of her breast, what kind of woman is that? Harlot!

 That is why I pray for mercy at the beginning of the service. I shared it with the pastors I said listen; some of you, elders you fear your children more than you fear God, you will rather offend God, rather than discipline your children and I gave an example, I said I saw a girl and I saw the way she was dressed and I said my daughter!

 Were your parents not at home when you were coming out? She said there were, and they saw the way you were dressed, she said yes, in fact if I remember correctly she said mama bout the dress for me, I said I how can you walk the street like this? Your dress is saying to every boy passing by I am available and I am cheap. You know what she said? She said thank you daddy I have always know that my parent don’t care about me, they don’t care! So I can go to hell if I want to, she said thank you daddy at least you care.

What is inside will show on the outside, it will. And I gave an illustration to the pastor and I will give it to you because you are going to be a pastor too anyway, I don’t hear you say amen to that one, whether you like it or not, you are going to take over the world for Jesus Christ and Jesus needs you, and the time is short! I said years ago, I brought some Americans when we just started the bible college, to come and help me teach the bible. And I heard this man is too hard, he is legalistic, and the journey to heaven is not as difficult as that, God is only interested in what is inside not what is outside.

 when I heard that I said God am in trouble because I am the one who brought these people, so my children would say you brought them whatever they say must be true, I say God give me wisdom and God did, He will give you wisdom too. I went to Oyingbo and I brought two oranges, the same size, one is yellow on the outside, the other is green and I stood before the class and I show them the two  oranges, I said of these two oranges if I ask you to choose one which one will you choose? They are said the yellow one, I said why? They said because it will be the sweeter, I said how do you know, you haven’t tasted, it you don’t see the inside, they said the outside shows.

When I see you walking about, dressed like a harlot I know that is inside. When I see you walking about dressed like a hooligan I know what is inside. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God, how many of you want to see God, let me hear you shout halleluiah!

 When I see you walking about bush here looking like a monkey I know what is inside. Let me tell you the truth, when a man is in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, how many things become new all things, Right from the inside, to the outside!

The worst part of it is some husband who will allow their wives to dress like harlot, I can’t believe it! And I gave an example to the pastor, when a house is for sale; everybody is welcome to look into the bedroom, look into the sitting room, and look in the bathroom because it is for sale.

 As soon as it is sold you can’t come and say you want to enter into my bedroom, why? It is not for sale. And yet there are wives who dress as if they are for sale, you are already sold, you are off the shelf.

 And you see some wives dress showing what belong to the husband to the world. The problem is that some husband are so stupid, they don’t care, silly husbands!

And then you see some wives; one part of the hair painted red, center painted green, left side painted blue, what is that lady? Mad! As they call them in Warri “crazy woman” !

 Now what is the meaning of the word pure? Somebody said Daddy you are the only one who can say that! That is why I am daddy, too big to be canned.  big enough to tell you the truth, because you know; as the Lord lives, whatever it is going to cost me, I am going to many of you to heaven. If I have to tie a rope to your neck and drag you along, we are going to heaven together. How many of you are going with me? Let me hear you shout halleluiah!

Now what is the meaning of the word pure? It has two major meanings. Meaning number one means of a single content; like when you say pure cotton or pure wool, it means if I say pure cotton the only thing you will find there is cotton nothing less. When I say pure wool, you won’t find nylon there; you won’t find cotton in what I call pure wool there, of a single content. Meaning that; purity in Christ is singleness of mind, singleness of purpose. It means reliability. It means trust worthiness. When you say somebody is pure it means you can trust that fellow, he is not here today, there tomorrow. There is one passage in the bible that is so illuminating Gen.18 v17-19 the Almighty God said concerning Abraham, He said I know Abraham, I know what he can do, I know what he cannot do, I know Abraham. How I wish that God will be able to say I know you! I have always said that one of the reasons why I love dogs and I have many of them is because I know what they will do. When a dog is happy what doe s it do, he dances, when he is angry it will bark, we know what a dog will do unfortunately when is come to human being; they are planning to kill you and they are smiling!

To be pure means to be of a single mind, the bible put it this way James 5 v12 he said let your yea!  Be yea! And your nay! Be nay! That is purity. That when this brother says yes he means yes, when he says no he means no! There is no question of that is to say. Are you coming he said yes! Then you can go to bed because he will come, will you do it, he said I am not going to do it, so you know he is not going to do it. Purity, single content!

In  Luke 9 v 59-62  Jesus Christ gave us an illustration of this; when he said the moment you have lay your hand on the plow there must be no looking back, that is purity single content.

In Luke 16 v13 he said a master cannot serve two masters. So when we are talking about purity we are talking about singleness of purpose, one content?

I am serving the Lord Jesus Christ and am going with Him all the way. No addition, and I am telling you brethren whatever the name of Jesus cannot do, nothing else can do it. The reason many of us have not getting full benefit from our Lord Jesus Christ is because we are adding something else to Him, He is more than enough!

That is one meaning of pure, single content, but there is another meaning that I am sure many of us are not familiar with and that means no contamination. No contamination at all it come also from that first meaning single content, when something else comes in then it is no longer pure.

If I put a little cotton into pure wool, it is no longer pure wool, it has been contaminated by wool, if I put a little wool or even a little silk into cotton the cotton is no longer pure wool it has been contaminated by silk and every little contamination is dangerous.

 I gave a illustration years ago in one of the books that I wrote, “God as pure as light”. I said if there is a bucket of absolutely pure water that everybody has put there because they want to drink it and then the sister who just has a baby, discovered that the baby has defecated into her nappy and in carrying the baby out to go and change the nappy and just a little bit of feces dropped into the bucket of water, very tiny bit of faeces, how many of you will still drink that water?

Big bucket of water! Plenty of clean water with one tiny of feces in it, it becomes contaminated, no longer pure. In John14 v 30 Jesus Christ said the prince of this world cometh unto me and has nothing in me. In order words He sis saying the devil has come and he has examined me from top to bottom and discover that I am pure. No contamination.

 In 1Timothy 5 v 22 Paul was advising Timothy; and said don’t lay hands suddenly just on anybody, he said don’t be partakers of other people sin; don’t be contaminated by their sin. He said keep yourself pure. Don’t be contaminated, a little contamination destroy purity.

There are many of us, Christians who have believed the lie of the devil that as long as you are in this flesh you can’t be perfect, that is a lie of the devil. The Lord Jesus Christ will never ask you to be what you cannot be and he is the one who said in Matt. 5 v 48 be thou perfect even as your father in heaven is perfect.

 Let me tell you the truth, there are lot of great men in the bible that were destroyed by one little contamination. I will mention two of them quickly before I take the third one and look at that one in some detail.

Take Noah for example that great man of God, the one that bible said he found favor with God, so much so that when God was destroying the whole world he saved his house hold, but Noah had one little problem; and lead little problem is that he loves to drink  wine occasionally, just a little glass of wine. Just occasional! not all the time. then one day, he took one little glass too many, he was at home, he didn’t go to a party so it wasn’t that he embarrass him, he was in his own tent, and he took one glass extra and he became drunk and laid in his tent absolutely naked, the story is in Gen. 9 v 20-25 And his youngest son came into the room and saw papa, lying naked on the floor, look at papa, so he went out and told his elder brothers; papa is lying naked in the tent oh! But because the other two are adult they didn’t want to see the naked of their father, so they took a dress worked backward and covered the nakedness of their father.

When Noah woke up and heard what had happened, he pronounced a curse on his son. I don’t want to go into the detail of that curse because that curse is still working today; if I till you on who the curse is working you won’t like Noah. But you all know we have a certain nations of the world where they have all the resources and yet they are called poor. But that is another story don’t let go into that.

And then there is another man great man Lot, Lot was a great man of God but he had only one little problem just like Noah, he love a little glass of wine just once in a while. You know the story in Gen.13 v 30 -38 after God delivered this man from Sodom and Gomorrah because he love  just a glass of wine just in a while, the two daughters who were rotten; conspired and said let’s make him drunk.

Nobody can make you drunk if you don’t drink wine. So they make papa drunk the first night and he had sex with the first daughter, the second night they made him drunk and had sex with the second daughter and destroy his generation after him.

But then let me take the one that is most illustrative of them all Moses; that great man of God. Moses according to Num.12 v 3 the bible describes him as the meekest man, the most gentle of all men. But Moses had one little problem; and that is he get angry once in a while, not often maybe once in ten years’. I preached a sermon year ago called the “devils jokers card” I wish we can still get the tape. But I will tell you the story very simple, I use to be a boxer, I may not look one now, but I use to be one. When a boxer is fighting there are basically three kind of blows that we use, maybe they have improve on it now I don’t know, the first one is called the jab and the idea of the jab is that you keep point trying to hit the head of your opponent and as you are trying to hit the head and he is pulling his head back to dodge the blow, he will be pushing his stomach towards you.

Now there is something in the middle of the stomach called solar plexus, when you blow a man in the solar plexus, whether he likes it or not he must bend double. so you are jabbing, he his dodging his head and pushing his stomach towards you and at the appropriate time you go  for the solar plexus, you hit him hard in the solar plexus and he bends his head toward you. And when he bends he bends his head towards you before he can straighten upon you give him what we call the upper caught; it is a blow that doesn’t travel far and it has all your strength behind it and land under the jaw. It throws the fellow back and lands him on the floor and if it connects probably that might be the end of the fight.

 I am sure you are wondering what has got boxing has got to do with this? What boxing has got to do with this is that the devil is a world champion; I will show you in a moment because your life must change. Now when you want to fight a champion’ the first thing you want to find out about the champion is has he been wounded before.

Because almost invariably before you become a champion, somebody hit you in the head; probably just above the eye, caused a wound in one of the previous fight and the wound has healed but the scar remains. So when you want to fight a champion who is stronger than you, all you want to do is hit him at the scar, so that it can break open again.

If it does blood will cover his eyes and the referee will stop the fight and you are the winner. whenever the devil once to bring down a champion he looks for that single weakness in the person and he keeps on aiming at that point, aiming at that point, aiming at that point, until he lands his blow.

 I will take Moses as my illustration. Moses was a gentle man, he doesn’t get angrily easily maybe once in forty years but that temper is there deep down. There and the devil discovered this one. In Exodus 2 v11-12…

He is stretching the hand of love to you today, will you accept his love? Or will you refuse his hand, he is saying to you those of you who have been abusing his love, he is saying time is running out, that is why tonight, I am making my first altar call to those of you who are not yet born again; the Lord has been speaking to you again and again.

 Come and give your life to him that is my altar call number one.

 my altar call number two those of you who claim you are born again and I don’t care what position you are already in the Lord, even if you claim you are already a pastor, or provisional pastor or general overseer and you know you are doing something contrary to the will of God, come to tonight, tomorrow may be too late, it is not everybody who sleeps who wake up, God has been patient till now. If you know, that you are not living according to His will, but you want to repent tonight, come to the altar now…

Those of you who are already in the front be talking to Him, you have not come to see me, you have come to meet the Almighty God at his altar you want to ask him to forgive you, to save your soul to wipe away your sins if you are a backslider say father restore me, I want to be your true child. Call on the Almighty God and say have mercy, have mercy on me, I know you love me I have seen it again and again in my life but for your love where will I be now. Please Lord since you have preserved me till this moment save my soul, open your mouth and call on him, it is not a joking matter, pray now with all your heart cry unto him give me genuine salvation oh Lord ! I don’t want to die in my sin and God to hell, please Lord have mercy on me save my soul, I want to do your will from now on no more joking.

 It is not the title that will take you to heaven, am an usher, am in the choir, am a pastor, no, no that is not the important thing, am I a child of God, am I doing His will, am I obeying his commandment, am I living holy, come unto him now, if you are a backslider call unto him now, ask Him to have mercy on you and save your soul…

In Jesus mighty name we have prayed. My father and my God I want to bless your holy name for your word. I want to thank you for those who have come forward tonight, I know they are sincere, I know they are serious. Father, forgive them in Jesus name.

Wipe away all their sins in Jesus name. Save their souls in Jesus name, let your blood cleanse them from all their sins in Jesus name. Almighty God I pray for them that true salvation; the kind of salvation that will cause people to run away from sin, release for them in Jesus name.

Every backslider that had come to you today Lord God Almighty receive in Jesus name, don’t let them ever backslid again in Jesus name. These your children my Lord and my God the grace to serve you in holiness give unto them in Jesus name and in you kingdom don’t let them be found wanting. In Jesus Mighty name we have prayed. Amen, praise the Lord!

There some serious prayers I want us to do tonight, now that God has forgiven you your sins He is going to answer your prayers.

Your fist prayer which you will pray with all your heart loud and clear, you will say father for the rest of my life don’t let me offend you. Go ahead and talk to the Almighty God…in Jesus Mighty name we have prayed.

Now I want you to lift your voice to the Almighty God and say father anything that is standing between me and my miracle , destroy tonight, open your mouth and pray… in Jesus name we have prayed.

Wash away my stain… (Worship)

Father thank you for the power that is in the blood of Jesus, the power in the blood  of Jesus that those not only cleanse from sin but also purges, tonight because these people has answered your call, father let that power in the blood, work in their lives in the name of Jesus. Lord let there be a cleansing in the name of Jesus, tonight let there be a purging in the name of Jesus. Lord, confirm your word in their heart, confirm your word in their life, and confirm your word in their situations. Let them have revelation of you tonight in the name of Jesus. Almighty God glorify yourself in their lives, father glorify yourself in their lives let every yoke of sin, of defeat, of captivity be totally destroyed in the name of Jesus. Father when you set free, you make free indeed. We therefore decree by that name that is above every other name that this people are free in the name of Jesus.

 We decree that you are free in the name of Jesus, you are free in the name of Jesus, and you are free in the name of Jesus. The Joy of the Almighty God fills your heart. The peace of the Almighty God that passes all human understanding feel your life, the Love of God which we cannot even understand which passes knowledge flood your life in the name of Jesus, there will be no going back in the name of Jesus,

 You will go from glory to glory. You will grow from power to power; you will grow from might to might. Everyday there will be a new revelation of God in your life and they shall so in the name of Jesus. For every one of us God, pour out your spirit in a special way. Lord let there be a surge of revival as you have answered our prayer tonight, Lord let there be a new surge of revival, let there be a surge of revival among us, God let there be a new surge of revivals in the name of Jesus, thank you for hearing us in Jesus name we have prayed! Amen!