In this article, we are going to be looking at something; And I believe the manner of our time together is going to be in the manner of conversation. I just want us to focus on the Holy Spirit, so that in the few Scriptures that we're going to be visiting this evening, we're going to learn something that is going to help us as disciples towards effective discipleship. And the short thing we want to look at is; ‘The Religion of the Fathers’. We want to see how it impacts our discipleship.

One of the things that becomes clear to us is that when we say ‘The Religion of the Fathers’, we are talking about things that people have been doing before we were born. One thing that our fathers share in common is that they were there before we were. So, the religion of the fathers are the things that our fathers had practiced. Many times in the New Testament, the Bible mentioned the tradition of the elders. That's something that is very close to it, you understand?

So, even though we are doing it, we didn't start it, we didn't originate it. Even though we were born into it, and we are identified with it, it wasn't necessarily our decision, it wasn't our choice. The truth is, each one of us was born at certain point in time, into families and into religious setups. People didn't have to choose their religion, whatever the parents were into, became theirs. Let's take for instance, the father is an alhaji or an imam. And the mother attains a cherubim, and seraphim church. We're talking about 70s and 80s. Not now, because things are bit difficult to find. Then it was much more easier. So, the father an alhaji, the mother, a cherubim and seraphim woman.

But, since the alhaji has many wives, the different wives also have different religion. And the alhaji systematically or technically allows the wives to practice their religion. So, when children are born to that alhaji depending on the disposition of the alhaji towards the mothers, the children are shown, or they are exposed to the religion of the predominant person in the marriage. So, it could be the Alhaji’s religion, it could be the woman’s cherubim and Seraphin religion. So, the child didn't necessarily have to say, I'm just a cherubim and serahim person, I am a muslim. The child didn't have to say that because the child decided to be, it was simply because the child was born into it. Many people were born into Catholic Church, many people were born into different churches, many people were born into Anglican, many people were born into different things. Some were not even born into churches, they were born into the worshipping of osun, worshipping of sango, worshipping of Amadioha; the worshipping of different things.

Now even though an adult could be saying, I am a worshipper of this or that, it wasn't necessarily the decision of that person, it is simply the religion of the fathers. So, we want to look at how does the religion of the Father's impact our growth? How does the religion of the father's impact, our discipleship? Does it enhance it, or does it draw it back? Does it aid us or does it pull us back? So, now let's look at the book of Acts of the Apostles. Acts of Apostles chapter 17, I will start from verse 16 and read until we get to the end of the chapter in our private moments, but let us just read a few verses there.

So, Acts of Apostle chapter 17, We will start from 16, and we will stop in verse 24. The Bible says; “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked; Another word could be his spirit was troubled within him. When he saw that the city was given over to idols.” He went round the whole city, he saw different things, he was not a member of that city, he only came visiting, he came passing by. But he observed that the entire city was given over to idol. So, there were different entities that they considered to be God and they were worshipping. They worshipped God so much so that they created a worship alter for a god they don't even know about.

Now, let's jump to verse 22. It says; “Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said Men of athens, I perceive that in all things, you are very religious.” Even though that looks like a compliment, but there is a challenge. Many people have said Nigeria is a nation that is highly religious. I was telling my wife while we were coming today, that it looks like at a point in time in Nigeria. Churches were springing up everywhere and even though churches were springing up, iniquity was not going down. And I told her that, that was what happened also till today in Nigeria that petrol stations spring up. Before you know it, a new petrol station has started. Stop passing a road come back next month, a new petrol station is already built. And yet we have never been with enough petrol. So, petrol stations are been built, but there is scarcity of petrol for almost a year or more in Abuja now there has been petrol scarcity, yet petrol stations are everywhere.

So, how can there be so much springing up of infrastructural facilities, that could aid supply, but yet there is scarcity of the product. In the same way in religion, there's so much churches, so much religious activities going on, but a little supply of faith, a little supply of growth. It is possible that even though there are many churches, there are many religions, and there are many faith? But we should be about the faith of Christ Jesus. And so even though it's about the faith of Jesus, we know there are many denominations of the church. So, why is it that there are churches, every street you go to, you will find churches, sometimes when you go to the same building you will find three or four churches? Why is it that even though the churches are increasing, the knowledge of God is not really increasing in people?

Apostle Paul said he has gone round. He said, it's like, the way I can say is that this people have so many religious centres. He said; ‘You are highly religious’. But if that was it, it could have been a compliment but Apostle Paul continued. He said; “For as I was passing through and considering the objects, the entities, the personalities of your worship. I even found an altar with this inscription; TO THE UNKOWN GOD. Therefore, the One capital letter O, whom you worship without knowing him, I proclaim to you.” This is a city that was highly religious, they worshipped many gods, many idols, and in fact, many of them still worship the unknown god, they pay obeisance to the unknown God, they offer sacrifices to the unknown God. But even though they do that, Apostle Paul said they did not know Him. Of course, we've said unknown God. He says, ‘Him I proclaim’. The one that you worship without knowing I proclaim.

Imagine I have an organization, or let's say, in my house, I have a need for a staff, a domestic staff. And the person is working so much and so hard for so long in my house, and the person does not know me. How can the person serve me acceptably, when the person does not know whom he or she is serving? So, when we talk about worship, we are talking about serving, offering services unto one. In those days, they will say offering sacrifices unto one. So, these people were offering services, they were so hardworking and committed, yet they didn't know whom they served. How would they know if their services or their sacrifices were accepted?

Now, when they don't even know God, how can they reflect God that they do not know among the people? Now, how do you know that somebody is a politician when the person is 30 or 40 in Nigeria today? The first thing among other things you're going to notice is that the person is going to look clean.

And when you start hearing them talk, there is a way they talk. Now, how do you know the person is serving a political party or a presidential candidate? Check the mannerism of the conversation, the attitude, the confidence. Some will be stammering because it's difficult to sell a bad product to the market. Are we getting the practical example? I will say it again; you must have been an apprentice, a mentee of a politician, you must have been following that politician for a long time, before you come up in the air and say I am speaking for so and so. And I want you to vote for so and so, these are my reasons. He is the best man in the world.

How effective can you talk about and describe a man that you do not know? Can Nigerians buy that product if you yourself don't have a personal encounter with the product. So, the genesis of effective worship, effective service is that you must know whom you worship, whom you serve. These people were worshipping many gods and in fact they began to worship the true God yet they didn't know Him. How can they represent Him when they didn't know Him? How can they manifest Him? They didn't know Him, how can they please Him? They didn't know him, how can they become like Him? What is the essence of discipleship when all these things are missing? You say you are a disciple of somebody, you don't know the person you are following. You do not understand the person, you cannot behave like the person.

Apostle Paul was telling Timothy that you have followed me, you know my trials; you know my purpose, you know my this, you know my that. Do you understand? Later Apostle Paul will send him to some people and he will say they should recieve him. He's somebody that shares in his spirit. And these things don't fall like ripe paw paw, you cannot reflect one that you do not know. That's the point. Now let's continue.

It says; “God who made the world and everything in it, He is Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is it worshipped with men’s hands as though He needed anything. Since He gives to all life, breath and all things and He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of all the earth and has determined their pre appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. Verse 27; so that they shoe seek the Lord in the hope that they might grop for Him and find Him. Though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live, and move and have our being.”

 ‘In Him we move’. Who is the Him? For them, ‘the unknown God’ but for us, we're talking about the Father. It is in Him the father that we live, we move, we have our being. Our lives are sourced in Him, our joy is in Him, our focus, our purpose is in Him. Everything about us; Our agenda is in Him. We don't know what to do, except He tells us what to do. That is why He is our Lord. See how the Bible says it; “So that they should seek the Lord.” The God that they were serving that they didn't know was the Lord. And as the Lord, He determines the direction of our lives. He dictates the mannerism of our lives. How can we worship the one that we don't know and yet we want our lives to be guided by Him.

Now, there's another Scripture I want us to look at. John chapter 4. That's where we would really build a sequence. We will read from verse 10 to verse 38. Now, we know the story. For many of us, Jesus was by the well, He was waiting for His disciples. He was hungry, so they all went to get Him food. Before they returned, a woman came to fetch water. And Jesus said, give me to drink, give me a drink. And the woman started drama. Just like many women, its just ordinary water. But we thank God for the drama. Because if all she did was just to give the water maybe there wouldn't be a conversation. Maybe I'm just speculating. But drama started, she began to toss Jesus like, your people don't talk to our people. Stay on your own let us be on our own. But let's look at how the matter got to a point; they've been discussing.

And Jesus was telling her how what He had to offer her was even much more important than what she has to offer Him. But at a point Jesus said in verse 16, “Go and call your husband.” And the woman says she didn't have any husband. And Jesus said yes, you have said well; “for you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband, in that you spoke well.” The moment Jesus did that, the conversation changed. And that's the focus of our conversation. The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive!  Because, it's always good to perceive people very well. I perceive that you are a prophet. Look at it. “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain. And you Jews say it is said that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her woman, believe Me! It is like woman, I've heard you, but believe me, like this is the truth. Whatever your fathers have been saying, put it like this.

But this is the truth. Believe me. The hour is coming when you will, neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.” For that woman, the goal was about worshiping the father. She said sir our fathers worshipped on this particular mountain. This is the mannerism that we worship. These are the Scriptures we normally teach in our believer’s class. When people come to our church, born again, we normally take them through this process. But in your church, they said this is what our people must be taken through for them to grow. This is our doctrine here. But your people said, there is another doctrine, and Jesus said believe me, and that is important for us to start with. When we are confused, we must choose whom to believe. It is Christ we will believe. People can say things, our fathers can say. Our mothers can say things too, but we will choose to obey and to believe Christ. It says; “It will No longer be on this mountain or in Jerusalem, where you will worship the Father.  It says, You worship what you do not know; just like the people of athens, who had an altar and they were worshipping an unknown God.

 Jesus said the entire people where the woman belongs to, they didn't even know whom they worship. Yet they were worshiping. They wouldn't come to Jerusalem, but they were worshipping on that mountain. And their goal was that even though we were at the mountain, we still want to worship the Father, we will still worship the Father in our own style, but we want to still worship the Father. And Jesus said, you have even been worshiping the one that you don't know. So, that is to help us to realize that if it was true that they didn't know whom they were worshipping then, and some of them had worship for many years. Who says that we all know whom we worship today? Do we understand what we are looking at? The religion of the fathers, how it affects our discipleship.

It says; ‘” You worship what you do not know’.  We the Jews know what we worship, for the salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is; and if it was now, then it is now. It says; “And now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father, in Spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit. And those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”

Now, let's quickly replace the word worship with follow. God is Spirit, and those who follow Him must not say yesterday, as I was passing that route, I saw God. So, if you want to see God, let's go and pass that route. The kingdom is not by observations. The kingdom is in you. Can you go about looking for what is in you? So, the Father is Spirit, God is Spirit. And if you must follow Him, if they ask you, who are you? Say I’m a disciple. Disciple of who?  If you say you're a disciple of a man, then that man, s<
Thanks for the gift of your time, We are Gboyega ADEDEJI and Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

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