1 Kings 8:54-63; Matthew 6:25-34
We have gathered here today (3 December 2003) to dedicate the new Administrative and Education buildings to God. God saw it fit to allow us to occupy this premises, 47/49, Olufemi Road, Surulere, Lagos, in August 1992, after we had met, first in a home and then in a rented premises for over eight years (1984-1992). We dedicated the Church Auditorium that was built between 2001 and 2005 on April 8, 2006. Today, having completed the work necessary to fully occupy this premises, we can now dedicate these buildings and their functions to God. To dedicate something means to set it aside for use for a special purpose, and today we will set aside these buildings for worship of God, Christian education, and service to God’s people.
Before we go into the formal act of dedicating these buildings, I want to draw our attention to what I believe this occasion represents, namely, A Celebration of God’s Faithfulness. Indeed, God is and has been faithful. He has honoured His word to us just like He did to the children of Israel. In his prayer to God at the dedication of the temple that he built, Solomon said, “Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
When you think about it, those Israelites had no business being in that beautiful sanctuary in the presence of the Lord. Even Solomon himself had no business being in the sanctuary, let alone leading the assembly of Israel in worship. They knew that. Solomon knew that. Solomon and the Israelites had failed the Lord over and over, but the Lord had never failed them. He kept His promises. He brought them to the Promised Land. He allowed them to build that marvelous temple.
In a similar vein, we who started so humbly, meeting in the sitting room of a family, now have a premises that houses not only an auditorium but also the beautiful new administrative and education buildings that we are dedicating to God today. What have we done to deserve all of this? Or what have we done to deserve anything from the Lord? It’s all due to God’s faithfulness. Look again at Solomon’s words: “Praise be to the LORD . . . Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave.” It’s still true today. The Lord has never failed us.
But we surely have failed Him. We fail all the time. We make promises to our spouses and promises to our children which we break. We fail to show love to all of our neighbours. We fail to protect others’ good reputations as we gossip and slander and spread rumours (true and false) on social media. We fail to be honest. We fail to protect God’s good name in our speech, using His name as if it’s needed for emphasis. We fail to curb our eyes and our ears from the filth of the world around us in books and magazines, on the radio, on the TV, and on the internet. We fail to put the Lord first in our hearts. We squander our wealth on frivolous toys and tools or new fashions of clothing instead of putting it to better use. We make up excuses why we didn’t pray yesterday or why our Bible has been collecting dust lately or why we haven’t been to church in a while. Fail, fail, fail. Or as God would call it—sin, sin, sin.
Solomon mentioned in his prayer that, “not one word has failed of all the good promises [the Lord] gave.” Indeed. Just like He fulfilled His promise to send His Son into the world to become the once and for all sacrifice for sin, so also does God fulfill every other promise that He made in the Bible.
But what specific promise did God make and fulfill in our lives as a Church? In Matthew 6:33, we have one of the greatest promises that God ever made to man. He said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This is the promise of Jesus to believers in every generation, and it is meant to deliver them from worry and anxiety. The believer is not to worry about necessities, about food and drink, about body and clothing. This counsel is so needed that it is given three times (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34).
But we must be careful to understand what Jesus really means. Jesus is not suggesting that a man should not prepare for life—that he be lazy, shiftless, and thoughtless with a no-care attitude. Rather, Jesus is talking about being preoccupied with the material possessions of life. Jesus is talking about being so entangled with the affairs of this earth that we forget eternity. The charge is clear. We are not to worry. We are to be consumed with God and people, not things. We are to seek God first and serve Him and our fellow man first. Then the necessities, and in some cases the luxuries, will be given us (Matthew 6:33).
The believer’s life is not to be preoccupied with material things, as necessary as some things are. The believer is first of all to be seeking after the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He is to seek to become a citizen of God’s kingdom, and he is to seek others and encourage them to become a citizen of God’s kingdom. This is to be the first pursuit of his life.
The Kingdom of God is revealed in four different stages throughout history.
One, there is the spiritual kingdom that is at hand; it is present right now (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 12:28). The present kingdom refers to God’s rule and reign and authority in the lives of believers (Ephes. 1:18-23; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:13). The present kingdom is offered to the world and to men in the person of Jesus Christ, and must be received as a little child (Mark 10:14-15). The present kingdom is experienced only by the new birth (John 3:3).
Two, there is the professing kingdom that is also in this present age. It refers to modern-day Christianity in every generation. It pictures what the Kingdom of Heaven or professing Christianity is like, and what professing Christianity will be like between Christ’s first coming and His return. This imperfect state is what is called “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:1-52, esp. Matthew 13:11).
Three, there is the millennial kingdom that is still in the future. It is the actual rule of Christ or the government of Christ that is to come to this earth for a thousand years. The millennial kingdom is predicted by Daniel (Daniel 2:44; 7:18, 22, 27); promised to David (2 Samuel 7:12, 16; Psalm 89:3-4; Zech. 12:8); and pictured by John (Rev. 20:4-6).
Four, there is the perfect kingdom of the new heaven and earth that is in the future. The eternal kingdom is the rule and reign of God in a perfect universe for all eternity (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1). It is the perfect state of being for the believer in the future (1 Cor. 15:50; Rev. 21:4-5).
But how does this apply to us today? You see, the command “Do not worry, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” applies not only to individual believers but also to churches. Churches usually worry and fret about having a permanent site or a place of worship of their own. As soon as a church is planted, the next thing is for the search for a permanent site to commence immediately, even when the church cannot afford to purchase one. Many times, such a concern takes precedence over everything else the church does.
Soon after this church was started, the search commenced for a permanent site on which an auditorium can be built. A parcel of land of about eight plots, at the intersection of Babs Animashaun and Chief Natufe Streets in Surulere, was located, negotiated, and paid for in 1986. Unfortunately, we were duped by one unscrupulous woman land speculator. This was a very disappointing and discouraging experience for the young congregation which was barely two years old at that time.
What God used to encourage us is, first, the understanding that He gave us that the Church is not a building made of brick and mortar but the believers in Jesus Christ in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. The second is the reminder of His promise in Matt. 6:33, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We were persuaded that we needed to focus on the more important things like evangelism, missions, and disciple-making and leave the matter of having a permanent site entirely in His hands.
I stand before you today, along with many others, to testify that God has been faithful in keeping His promise. In the fullness of time, according to His ordering of the events of the life of the Church, God has, in addition to the Auditorium, given us the Education and Administrative buildings that we are dedicating today. In order to fulfill His promise to us, God gave us some very committed and dedicated individuals who have led the process of making these buildings a reality in the Church’s experience.
These are members of the Building Committee which was constituted on Thursday, September 22, 1994 (I want all those who have ever served in the Building Committee to please stand up for recognition). Working very closely with them are members of the Fundraising Committee (I want those who have ever served in the Fundraising Committee to stand up for recognition). Another evidence of God’s faithfulness in keeping His promise is His blessing upon all those who contributed financially to the construction of these buildings. He blessed the work of our hands and gave us cheerful and generous hearts that made us to give towards the project. God also blessed us with professionals in different fields who made the project a reality. May God continue to perfect all that concerns us all in Jesus’ name. Amen.
What, then, is expected of us individually and collectively? As a Church, since we have proved, by our experience, that God rewards those who seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, let us continue to place our emphasis on activities like evangelism, missions, and disciple-making.
As individuals, let us continue to prioritize the seeking of God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Let us make ourselves available for evangelism, mission, Sunday school, and discipleship programmes. Let us not be preoccupied with tomorrow and its affairs. Let us seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness today, and leave tomorrow and its needs in God’s hands. Let us be people who go about living and working ever so diligently and calmly, trusting God to take care of all that pertains to us. Let us do all we can about the necessities of life, both for ourselves and for others, but seeking God and His righteousness first (Ephes. 4:28).
Rev. Kayode Ilupeju,
Good News Baptist Church,
47/49, Olufemi Road,
Off Ogunlana Drive,
Surulere, Lagos.
Tel.: 0803-302-1008
