Following Peace with All Men - Pastor Tunde O. Omoniyi

The speaker begins by welcoming everyone to the house of the Lord and expressing gratitude to God. He emphasizes that they are lucky to be in a place where the true word of God is preached and that everything they do is to lead them to heaven. He then introduces the topic of following peace with all men, acknowledging that it may seem impossible and foolish in today's world. He explains that as believers, they are citizens of a different kingdom and have a different lifestyle. Following peace with all men is a requirement of this kingdom, even when it is difficult. He clarifies that following peace does not mean ignoring or condoning wrong actions. The speaker shares a personal experience of standing up against wrongdoing and encourages the audience to do the same. He explains that following peace requires love, humility, forgiveness, and self-control. He cites Bible verses and emphasizes the importance of living a life of the kingdom even in the face of opposition and ridicule. The sp Amen. Can we have a seat in the house of the Lord? I want to welcome everyone of you. It is a great privilege to be in the presence of the Lord and I pray as we've come to see and to meet with Him, you will hear a cry in the name of Jesus. Briefly, we don't want to waste much of our time. We want to thank God for helping us again. We tell to somebody beside you that you are very lucky. Yes, you are very. Every one of us here, we are very, very lucky. Do you know why? The word of the Lord is cast. It's what? It's cast now. We have so many places where the people make you feel okay. Hallelujah. They make you what? Feel okay. Hallelujah. You feel okay but heaven is not what? It's not certain. Hallelujah. But in this place, He takes a man of God that has had great encounter that will stand on the true word of God now. All those things He was saying this morning, the first time He told me about the 10 million cases, when I get to my room, I was asking myself, will I be able to stand? You have such experience that you have that goodness to come and talk. I was asking myself, God, give me, what did this man, what did he have seen? He raised to say no to such, the Lord will help us in the name of Jesus. So it is done on me that if even though I feel as if this place I am, I know I'm here to hear what? The true word of God. Amen. And the same thing has come to us this morning. What the Lord has prepared us to do in this place is to prepare men and women and children that has what? Heading to where? Heaven. Heaven is what? Is the goal. Heaven is where? The goal. Everything we do here is to lead us to where? Heaven. This kind of message you hear in our Sunday school this morning, they hardly preach it everywhere. In fact, in churches now, money is the major message. Hallelujah. And the Lord will give us understanding of the word in the name of Jesus. Let's open our Bible to the book of April chapter 12 verse 14. April chapter 12 verse 14. The topic before us this morning says, following peace with all men. Following what? Peace with all men. If you are there, April chapter 12 verse 14. I'm going to read from here. April 12 14. Please let's open our Bible. Verse 14 says, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Again, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. In a time like this, following peace with all men looks impossible. In a time like this, following peace with all men makes you look as if you are what? A fool. In a time like this, to follow peace with all men, it is hard to what? To do. Amen. Even somebody you choose to live peaceably with, have other mind what? Make it hard for you to what? To live in peace with them. How do we strive as a believer in such environment? In such toxic environment that we find ourselves now in the world. To follow peace with all men is very hard. But this is one of the requirements of the kingdom. I say it's what? One of what? The requirement of the kingdom. Brethren, let me tell it to you that me and you, we are not of this world. Amen. We are not what? Of this world. Now let me tell you an ambassador to Nigeria from US. Though he is living with in Nigeria, but his way of life is not of what? Of Nigeria. Hallelujah. It is important we understand the lifestyle of the kingdom. You may be from Nigeria, but you are not from the kingdom of what? Of this world. Me and you are not from what? The kingdom of this world. The kingdom at which we come from is far far different from what? Of this world. Then the expectation of our lifestyle, Are we together? Amen. So the lifestyle that is expected of me and you, it is not of what? Of this earth. It is important we understand the lifestyle of this kingdom which is through what? Jesus. We are part of the kingdom. We are part of what? Of a kingdom. So we will not wait till we get to heaven before we start living the lifestyle of what? Of heaven. Amen. Me and you as a believer immediately we give our life to Christ. We have signed a visa, a permanent residency of where? Of heaven. Meaning there is a difference in your lifestyle and one of the requirements of the kingdom is to what? Live peaceably with all men. Follow peace with what? With all men. Even when it is what? Hard. Brethren in this world it will be hard. So we should not expect it to be easy. And the way of the kingdom is different. One of the way of the kingdom is that if they slap you on your left, you should what? Did you see? It is the same thing of this world. This world will say and I for what? That is the way of this world. So if you are here, you say I will do him back. You are not part of the kingdom we are talking about. Amen. So these are measures, these are liquid tests that we use to see. See to know a person that comes from the kingdom of God or somebody that is heading to heaven is very easy to see. It is not about you speaking in tongue. It is the seed that your life is what? Producing. Amen. It is the seed that your life is what? Producing. Let us open our bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. We want to see Ephesians chapter 2 verse what? Verse 19. In that kingdom. Why? Is it true we are from that kingdom? Because we are on earth now. It is this earth we are from. So how come we are now talking about another kingdom? Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. I will read. I believe we are there. Verse 19 says, Now therefore ye are no more stranger and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the house of God. I will say it again. Now therefore ye are no more stranger and foreigner but fellow citizens with the saints and of the house of God. You are what? A fellow citizen. You are a fellow citizen of where? Of the house of God. In this house of God there is an expectation. There is an expectation from every one of us and one of it is what? Is to follow peace with what? Amen. Even when it is easy and when it is what? Not easy. It is our duty. How come Jesus on the cross of Calvary, He was crucified in pain, serious pain and He was saying, Father forgive them for they know what they are doing. What? Those guys know what they are doing. Hallelujah. He said they know what? They know. Jesus is, see the Bible, our pastor last week was saying that when we are talking about the ideal woman, the Bible is what? Is our standard. And when you see, remember I said we are a citizen of a kingdom. This is our constitution. This is what? Nigeria has its constitution. But in this constitution it is paramount for us to follow peace with what? With Amen. To follow peace with what? Peace with Amen. But listen, following peace with Amen does not mean you look away when you ask to correct wrong. What did I say? Following peace with Amen does not mean what? To look away when you ask what? Correct what? Wrong. We have so many believers in the church of God now, even in the house of God, we see the wrong thing and we say, we should leave peace with all men. Let them continue to do what? If I tell them they will be what? Angry. Hallelujah. I did that in Onitsha last week before I traveled. We pay for transport fare and immediately during boarding, you guys say no, this money we pay, we have to add money to it. After you have written ticket, you say you have a ticket for me. I say no, you don't do that. We have agreed the price. So why will you tell me to pay? And everybody was paying. They said this is how we do it here. But this is wrong thing. It is wrong. It is not as if I cannot afford the money. But I know so many of them inside the bus that cannot afford it. But these people force people. I say okay, I am not going. Give me my loot and give me my money back. He said no, we cannot give you your loot. You must go by force. I thought I was correct. Men are grown up men doing the wrong thing and they are proud of it. I said this is wrong. I go to the vehicle. I said this thing they are doing, it is wrong. I was shouting, correcting every one of them. He get to a stage, one of them come and meet me. He said, are you a pastor? Tell me the church you are going. I just look at him. I don't know what he sees that he make him to ask me, am I a pastor? I said no, it is wrong. So for us to follow peace with all men does not mean we look away when we have the opportunity to what? Correct wrong. Hallelujah. Now for us to live, to follow peace with all men, there are some steps and some things we need to know. First, I have established the fact that to follow peace with all men, it is the life of the kingdom. Do we get that part? So now, how can we follow peace? What are the propelling factors that make following peace with all men easy? What are the propelling factors, those things that we need to put in place that will make us, that will give us a place of rest even when anybody do not understand what we are doing? Let me tell you, when you follow peace with all men, people will see you as a fool. Amen. Your husband will see you what? As a fool. Your wife will see you what? As a fool. Because sometimes it will take you to go and say sorry when you do not want to say sorry. Hallelujah. It will take you to admit just for peace to reign. But those people you are doing it to, they will feel as if, yes, it is me that won. Let them keep winning. You, you are living a life of what? Of the kingdom. Hallelujah. There are few things we need to consider that will make us effective to follow peace with what? With all men. If you are with your note, please write it down. Open your Bible to the first John chapter 4 verse 7. I would want us to read it. Grandma, please give somebody a microphone. Let us read it. The first thing we need to consider to follow peace with all men is what? One is love. Say it out loud for me, love. He say, any peace you will follow with all men that did not come from the standing point of love is what I serve. It does not come from the inside. Even when we are sinner, Jesus did what? Died for our sin. Meaning it is not by works. He just love us. Who a man that your heart is so full of him? That is Jesus. He just what? Love us unconditionally and choose what? To die for us. So to follow peace with all men, it must come from the standing point of what? Of love. First John chapter 4 verse 7. I want a first reader. First John chapter 4 verse 7. Write. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. For love is of God. And everyone that love it is born of God. Anyone that love it, listen, anyone that love it is what? Is born of God. I know it God. I know it God. Anyone that love God is what? Born of God. Not only that, he knows what? He knows God. If you find it hard to love, that means you should go to your secret place and cry, God I want to know you. Because what? You do not know him. So in this kingdom to follow peace with all men, love is what? Is the first thing. Because our father loves. So we the children too, that love is a sign that we are born of what? Of him. Jesus sum up all the 10 commandments into two. Are we aware in Matthew chapter 22 verse 37 to 39, Jesus sum up the old 10 commandments. First he said, love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind. That's the first one. And the second one is love your neighbor as what? As yourself. Did you see the decree in the Bible? Our law in this kingdom, it says what? Which is what? Love the Lord and love who? Our neighbor as yourself. If you love your neighbor as yourself, see all this killing, all this hatred, you will not do it to yourself now. Even in church there will not be hatred, there will not be fighting, there will not be backbiting of each other. To follow peace with all men, it must be from the standing point of what? Of love. Hallelujah. It must be from the standing point of where? Love. So if you don't love me, you are not the son of God. It means you don't know God. Hallelujah. Love is a major decree in the law, in the kingdom. To follow peace with all men, it must be from the standing point of love. This is not because we want or choose, but because Jesus asks us. It is not by what? By choice. It is not by what? By choice. It is what? The law. It is the decree. Hallelujah. Most times our acts are different. It's not easy. It's not what? It's not easy. But because it is the law, Nigerian law, it is not because it is easy or but it is what? It's the law. Every one of us must follow it. Forget about your differences. Forget about, I'm not used to people. Yes, you are not used to people, but by the law of God, we must what? Love all men. So what we do when you notice you find it hard to love, ask for grace. That God will give you grace. Go to what? Enlarge your acts so that if you love your neighbor, if you notice there's somebody who hates your environment, go to yourself, go and hide and say, God, help me to love this person. And the law will grant you the grace in Jesus name. So the first thing is what? Love. To follow peace with all man, we must start with what? Love. All these teachings are not teachings of this world. They are teachings of what? Of the kingdom of heaven. The second one says forgiveness. Say forgiveness. Colossians chapter 3 verse 13. Colossians chapter 3 verse 13. The Bible says we should be with what? One another and forgiveness. Hallelujah. We should what? If you are there, read. We should be with what? One another and what? And forgiveness. Meaning there will be offenses. Hallelujah. I will offend Braheo. I will offend Momibe. I will offend, that's what I used to tell my wife. I say in this marriage, I will fight you every day. See, you can't remove fight from marriage. Hallelujah. There will be misunderstanding. That's what I tell her. There will be misunderstanding but I will forgive you. I will get to that point. I told her that whatsoever you do to me, what you have not done and what you will do, I'm forgiving you. I will get angry at you but I will what? Forgive you. It is not a choice. Let me tell you, forgiveness is like giving. If I give you money and I forgive somebody, the same reward is what? It is the same reward. Forgiveness does not mean the person deserves it. Do we deserve to be forgiven before Jesus forgives us? Amen. Most of us, we are waiting. I want him to know that he offended me. He will not be waiting. One day, two days, one week, three weeks. That's not from the standing point of what? Of the kingdom. Be with one another and forgiveness. Who are you holding onto your heart? We forgive in what? In this kingdom. So if you find yourself two, three days, one month, you are holding somebody in your heart and Holy Spirit cannot tell you, go and forgive. Your citizenship is in doubt. Hallelujah. Forgiveness is also giving. I've talked about it. Forgiveness is a gift just as Jesus laid down his life on the cross and with all the pain and he asked the father to forgive them. The level of our forbearance go along with forgiveness. Are you the one that can't? You can't be it. Any small thing you escalate. Any small thing you can't be it. You can't be it. No, in this kingdom, we what? We forgive. We bear what? Do you know why I said bear? Do you know what the Lord says? When your brother offends you, forgiving what? Even when you count that time, only you, you will not want, you will just, immediately you will just put aside. And one of the sign of people that forgive is that immediately an issue happen, they call you and say, I'm not okay with this thing, but I'm saying it so that we can set you. That is men and women that want to forgive. Men that want to forgive, women that want to forgive, always find a way to what? To settle quickly so that they will not carry it what? In their heart. Hallelujah. So we've talked about what? Are we together? We've talked about what? The second one is what? Forgiveness. Now the third one says, reconciliation. What is reconciliation? Repairing relationship. Settlement. That is what? Reconciliation. What? Settlement. When we come, something we ask for, something is, the relationship is not come, let us settle. That's what? Reconciliation. And we cannot overrule reconciliation wherever we have people gather. When we have one or two people coming together, there will always be a room for what? Reconciliation. Because there is a need to always settle issue. But if you are here, you don't like to settle issue, any small thing you say, let me just be by myself, I will be okay, you will not be okay. In this kingdom, we don't stay on our self till we are what? We are okay. What if you stay on your own, that we are waiting for that anger to go by itself, and the third person, Jesus come. What will you explain? Do you think you will say, Jesus, he is the one that offended me. The person that offended you go to heaven. And the alarm just sound, Jesus come. And you, you hold offenses in your heart. So that is why reconciliation is very key. In the church of God, reconciliation is what? Is key. There will be crisis, there will be misunderstanding, there will be issues. In marriage, there will be issues. So if you are here, you feel the issue in your marriage, it looks as if it is only you. It is not only you. It's just that every marriage, it depends on the understanding of reconciliation that we have. Understanding of what? Settlement. This is the act of repairing broken relationship. In churches, we have members that are not in good terms with each other. Yes, we have members that are not in good terms with each other. We will call the two of you and we will what? Settle it. Are we together? We have husband and wife that are not in good time. If we know, we will call the two of you and what? Settle it. It is the lifestyle of what? Of kingdom. One, love. Two, forgiveness. Three, reconciliation. Don't forget, all these factors is what make us find it easy to follow what? Peace with what? Amen. When we love, when we forgive, when we reconcile, hallelujah. There will be offenses, there will be misunderstanding, there will be disagreement, but in all of these, reconciliation is what? It's paramount. Reconciliation is what? It's paramount. We will settle, hallelujah. We will what? We will settle. That we will not have issues, we will not fight the life. We are what? Because we are what? Human. We are what? Human. So, we will step on our toes, we will forgive each other because we love each other and we will what? Reconcile. If you have anybody you are having issue with, this is another opportunity for you to go and reconcile. Not because the person wants it, but because it is the life of what? Of the kingdom. Amen. We don't love because the person loves us. It is the life of the kingdom. We don't forgive because the person deserves it. It is the life of what? Of the kingdom. Hallelujah. Amen. You are here, you have issues with somebody, go and reconcile. If you find it hard to reconcile, that means you are not practicing the life of the kingdom. You don't follow peace with all men. It's like with what? With all men. Without holiness, no matter what, meaning after holiness, the next is what? Follow peace. With what? So, holiness and follow peace with all men are put in the same what? In the same cedar. We have people that claim they are holy. They don't wear trousers, they dress well, they can speak in tongues, they can pray for hours, but they have issues with men. They don't forgive, they don't love, but holiness, the holiness is there. Any holiness that does not make you have good relationship with your fellow men, it's not an holiness. Hallelujah. Amen. Let's open our Bible to the book of Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 verse 16 to 18. Please give mic. I want us to read it together so that we'll know all this thing I'm reading for us is from the law. It's from the law of what? Of God. As we are about to round up Romans chapter 12 verse 16 to 18. Please read for us quickly. Romans chapter 12 verse 16 to 18. Be of the same mind, one towards another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low ethics. Be not wise in your own conceit. Be not wise in your own conceit. Recompensate to no man evil for evil. Pay no evil for no evil. Provide things honest in the sight of men. Provide things honest in the sight of what? Of men. It sounds familiar to us on the squad. Hallelujah. So, the next thing is that we must be peacemakers. We must what? Peacemakers. But for you to be a peacemaker, there are things that have to show forth in your life. For you to be what? Peacemaker. What are those things? Number one is what we see in that book of Romans chapter 12 verse 16 to 18. You must be of what? Oneness of mind. Oneness of what? Mind. As a church, every one of us must be of what? Mind. Husband and wife, you must have oneness of what? Mind. Your husband should not have this particular mindset. You have this particular mindset. For the two of you to not come together, it will not be like, it's not working out. I can't understand him, he can't understand me. My pastor will say, understanding is coming under. Hallelujah. Am I the only one that always hears this? Amen. He says now, understanding is what? Standing what? Under. That is what? That oneness of mind. Oneness of what? Mind. So, for you to be a peacemaker, you must one, have oneness of mind. The second one, you don't see yourself better than others. You will keep having issues when you start seeing others below you. Amen. People that see others below them, they can't work with other people. When you come and see that these people are none, my level is more than them. You can't what? You can't work with them. You can't do what? Work with them. For you to be a peacemaker, first thing, you have oneness of mind. The second one, you don't see yourself better than the others. The next one is, don't be wise in your own self. Don't feel anybody does not have other things to add to it. In the compound, you act as if it is only you. When other people are talking, you tend to see them as if, when we are talking, you don't talk. No. People with such character cannot be peacemakers. Hallelujah. Remember, the topic says, following peace with all men, we've talked about one, love, two, what? Forgiveness, three, reconciliation, four, peacemaking. Peacemaker. And I said, for you to be a peacemaker, you must have oneness of what? Mind. Don't see yourself better than others. Three, don't be wise in your own self. And the fourth one, pay no evil for evil. Pay no evil for what? Evil. Because they will do a lot of evil to you. I won't like you. They will do you wrong. Even the Bible says, give food to what? The enemy. Give no good to them. By doing so, you are pouring what? Coal of fire upon them. This is the lifestyle of what? Of the kingdom. Don't pay evil for evil. The next one says, be honest. Hallelujah. Be what? Honest. Let me tell you, this one is very important. Wherever we are, wherever we stand, honesty is one of the signs that you come from a kingdom that is different. In a time like this, that is very hard. To be what? To be honest. So for you to live peaceably with every man, to be a peacemaker, your hand is like this. You are not like this. You have to be what? Honest in everything that you do. Are we together? Are we getting what I'm saying? In conclusion, remember I tell you that all these things I laid down are the way of the life of what? Of what? Of the kingdom. Because we are what? Fellow citizens of the house of what? Of the house of God. When you start seeing yourself that way, when you find yourself in a place whereby, let me use that right word, you want to misbehave, you will call yourself together that this thing I'm about to do, is it the lifestyle of the kingdom of God? Then you say no. Brethren, it's not easy. It's going to be painful. But you what? You take the pain. Sometimes you will cry. Sometimes you will know the response to say and you'll keep quiet. They will offend you if you are the one. If you give it to me, I give it to you. It's not the lifestyle of the kingdom. That's just the truth. And thank God for our pastor that we have here, our father in the Lord. I've seen him in so many cases. Jesus is what? Is the author and the finisher of what? Of our salvation. Even prophet says, follow them. So I can't see Jesus. I can see him. I've seen him in a situation whereby I will be boiling inside. Hallelujah. I will be boiling inside. I want to fight for him. But I'll see him saying, you know my brother, my sister, this is how I look at him. He's showing the example of the life of what? Life of the kingdom. That is the same thing that is what? Expected of every one of us. You will be ready for, but because of the kingdom you will. You what? And the Lord will fight for you. The Lord will fight for us in the name of Jesus. The Lord will give us grace to do all this in the name of Jesus. Conclusion, Jesus expects us all to be a good representative of the kingdom of God by following peace with what? With all men. He's expecting me and you. He will not come and represent himself. He has come. This is our time. To what? To represent him in our place of work. To represent him in our compound. To represent him in our streets. To represent him. Let them see that you are what? Different. Let them see that you are what? You are what? Different. The Bible, the last Bible verse we will read now, Matthew chapter 5, verse 4, you can write it down. Matthew chapter 5, verse 4 says, blessed are the peacemakers because they will be called the sons of God. Blessed are the what? Peacemakers because they'll become what? So any one of us that show peace, that follow peace with all men, that is a sign that we are what? We are the sons of God. Most people will not understand us. They will not do what? They will not understand us. It will be painful. They will not understand you. People will say, fight him, show him, but you just say I cannot do that. Why? It's not that you cannot do it because of the kingdom. Where you come from is what? It's far different. Let me ask you, are you living the life of the kingdom? You can only live this life if you are giving your life to whom? To Jesus. You cannot live this lifestyle if you are not sure of your salvation because it is that life that you receive that gives you the enablement to live what we are saying. To every one of us, are you truly born again or you are just church goer, you are just coming to church as a religion, you are just coming to church and you say, Mitch, I want to live this life but it's hard for me. Why? It will be hard because you have not surrendered your life to that man, to the God that can give you the grace. Without Jesus, none of us have the ability to live the life. Forget about it. If Jesus is out of it, none of us have what? The power to live that lifestyle. It takes the grace that comes from above to live the life of what? Of above. The life that is above all. Brethren, this is another time to check yourself. This is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. Are you living the life? Are you living the life? Even me as I'm preaching, I pick one. I'm picking the one that I walk on. Are you picking the one you walk on? This week, we have to turn a new leaf. And the funniest thing is that everybody knows, see, even in the church, we know the true christian. Even other religions, they know you when you are true christian and they know the ones that are not. Our ancestors, they know us. Even us within ourselves, we know those that are what? That are true. But we can live that life. We can ask God to give us the grace. Can we be on our feet and say, Father, help me to follow peace with all men. It's not easy for me, especially this particular person. He's always disturbing me. Lord, help me. Give me the grace to live in peace with them. Father, give me the grace to live in peace with all men in the name of Jesus. Are you praying? Ask for the grace. Talk to the Lord. You can't hear the sound word of God and not talk to the Lord in prayers. Say, Father, give me grace to live in peace with all men. Open your mouth and talk to the Lord. Are there people in your place of work you have not settled with? Are there people in your company, your neighborhood that you have not settled with? Is there anybody you can boldly say, I don't have issues with? And the Spirit of the Lord is pointing finger and say, Lord, and say, my son, my daughter, this year will not make you to enter the kingdom. And the Spirit of God is pointing finger and saying, my son, my daughter, this will not make you to enter the kingdom.