# Ministers And The Burden Of Maturity (Part 2)

An episode of [Apostle Lazarus Femi](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1824778006), 22 Sep 2026, 50 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75116988/ministers_and_the_burden_of_maturity_part_2.mp3

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## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: The International Ministers Conference is God's strategy to set your
[0:05] Speaker 1: life and ministry on course. Welcome to the International Ministers Conference.
[0:10] Speaker 1: God bless you and you may be seated. Hallelujah. Praise God. Hallelujah.
[0:15] Speaker 1: The burden of maturity, ministry and the burden of maturity.
[0:20] Speaker 1: And Apostle, I spent time in prayer just asking the Lord.
[0:25] Speaker 1: And I can show you maybe after the meeting, notes
[0:27] Speaker 1: upon notes, I had prepared. And Lord, I don't know
[0:32] Speaker 1: if this, I mean, every preacher knows what I'm talking about.
[0:35] Speaker 1: Last minute, God shows up and says, that's not what
[0:37] Speaker 1: I want you to talk about. And I'm like, so
[0:40] Speaker 1: why did you allow me all this? You could have
[0:43] Speaker 1: spared me the prayer and just downloaded this thing early enough.
[0:46] Speaker 1: So I believe that this is the counsel of the
[0:48] Speaker 1: Lord for you. The need of the moment. Thank God
[0:53] Speaker 1: for the move of God's spirit that was seen. But
[0:55] Speaker 1: the great need of the moment is for ministers to
[0:59] Speaker 1: rise up into maturity. That's the great need of the moment.
[1:04] Speaker 1: And yesterday we started along these lines. Ecclesiastics chapter 10
[1:08] Speaker 1: and verse 16. Let's start from there again. Ecclesiastics chapter
[1:13] Speaker 1: 10 and verse 16. Okay, I can see it. Alright.
[1:18] Speaker 1: Ecclesiastics chapter 10 and verse 16. Glory to God. God
[1:27] Speaker 1: is counting on you. Did you hear what I said?
[1:31] Speaker 1: God is counting on you. You are custom made, custom
[1:35] Speaker 1: prepared for this world, for this assignment. The truth of
[1:39] Speaker 1: the matter is there is what only you can do.
[1:43] Speaker 1: And he's counting on you. He expects you to fulfill
[1:46] Speaker 1: your ministry, to run your race, and to be the
[1:49] Speaker 1: best version possible. He's counting on you. I want you
[1:53] Speaker 1: to imagine for a moment that Apostle Lazarus isn't doing
[1:57] Speaker 1: what he's doing today. Would we be gathered here today
[2:01] Speaker 1: Absolutely not. God is counting on you. He's given you
[2:04] Speaker 1: a part of the puzzle. He's given you a part
[2:08] Speaker 1: of the assignment. And whilst we know that, oh yes,
[2:13] Speaker 1: people can be replaced and things like that, but there
[2:16] Speaker 1: is what you must do. We must give our best,
[2:19] Speaker 1: bring our best version forward to bring fulfillment to that
[2:25] Speaker 1: part of the job. Hallelujah. I said hallelujah. Now, but
[2:31] Speaker 1: let me mention as well two things you should note, please,
[2:35] Speaker 1: and listen very carefully to me. God has called you
[2:39] Speaker 1: to do something unique, something special. No other person can
[2:43] Speaker 1: do it. He's designed you, gifted you, graced you, especially
[2:48] Speaker 1: for that task and especially for that assignment. It's unique
[2:52] Speaker 1: to you. Are you following what I'm saying? Years ago,
[2:56] Speaker 1: I'd never forget it. When the Lord began to speak
[2:59] Speaker 1: to me about ministry, I was a Um, well, I'd
[3:02] Speaker 1: always known that I was going to, I mean, you know, um,
[3:05] Speaker 1: I mean, I was called into ministry and all the rest,
[3:08] Speaker 1: but all of my life, I never wanted to be
[3:09] Speaker 1: a pastor. Um, I grew up, I was really close
[3:13] Speaker 1: to my pastor. He's of blessed memory now. Um, and
[3:17] Speaker 1: so I saw what it meant to really pastor a church. And, um,
[3:21] Speaker 1: these was the days, I mean, I mean, a community
[3:24] Speaker 1: church growing up in a Paja Lagos. And I saw
[3:28] Speaker 1: how that people, um, I thought they were really nice.
[3:31] Speaker 1: They were not so nice after all from what I saw.
[3:34] Speaker 1: And so I said to myself, Lord, I want to
[3:36] Speaker 1: serve you, but not as a pastor. I'm not going
[3:38] Speaker 1: to pastor a church, you know, but I'm going to
[3:42] Speaker 1: do whatever it is you want me to do. The
[3:44] Speaker 1: Lord began to speak to me, to cut the long
[3:45] Speaker 1: story short about how that he wanted me to pastor
[3:48] Speaker 1: a church. In fact, I always tell the story. I
[3:50] Speaker 1: was listening to Bishop David Oedipo, and he said he
[3:53] Speaker 1: had this book, Following God's Plan for Your Life by
[3:55] Speaker 1: Kenneth Hagin. So many copies, he doesn't know how many.
[3:59] Speaker 1: He has photocopies in every car. So I thought to myself,
[4:02] Speaker 1: I said, if this book is that powerful, I better go.
[4:07] Speaker 1: So I took the book and I went to redemption camp.
[4:09] Speaker 1: So several years ago, I went to redemption camp and
[4:12] Speaker 1: I went on a three-day search. Lord, what are you saying?
[4:15] Speaker 1: What would you have me do with my life? I
[4:18] Speaker 1: got to the part of the book where Ken Hagen
[4:20] Speaker 1: was telling the story of a young man who never
[4:24] Speaker 1: wanted to be a missionary. He thought God wanted him
[4:27] Speaker 1: to be a missionary to Africa. So he ran away
[4:29] Speaker 1: from God, from church, from ministry, literally backslid and all
[4:32] Speaker 1: the rest. But one of those days in a meeting
[4:34] Speaker 1: like this, the power of God convicted him, came out
[4:37] Speaker 1: to the stage and said, Lord, I surrender to you.
[4:39] Speaker 1: And the Lord said to him, I never wanted you
[4:41] Speaker 1: to be a missionary to Africa. I only wanted you
[4:44] Speaker 1: to be whatever I want you to be. And God
[4:47] Speaker 1: raised him up to be one of the strongest evangelists
[4:49] Speaker 1: in America. So Apostle, I read it and I thought
[4:52] Speaker 1: to myself, I said, this is beautiful. So chances are
[4:55] Speaker 1: that God does not want me to be a pastor
[4:56] Speaker 1: as well. So I knelt down, I'll never forget it,
[5:00] Speaker 1: where I was. I said, Lord Jesus, whatever you want
[5:03] Speaker 1: me to be. I had not finished the prayer. That's
[5:06] Speaker 1: one of the few times I've heard the audible voice
[5:09] Speaker 1: of God. I heard that voice clearly. And the name
[5:13] Speaker 1: of the church shall be called. You know when they
[5:16] Speaker 1: are giving you name of church? It means you're a pastorate.
[5:21] Speaker 1: So I said, Lord, what did you say? Ha ha ha.
[5:25] Speaker 1: And the Lord spoke to me, gave me the name
[5:26] Speaker 1: of the church, told me where we were going to start,
[5:28] Speaker 1: what we were going to be doing in 10 years.
[5:29] Speaker 1: I mean, gave me the blueprint of the church in
[5:32] Speaker 1: that encounter. I remember I stood up from where I was.
[5:35] Speaker 1: I sent a text message to about 12 people just
[5:37] Speaker 1: to hold myself committed, accountable. And I always tell people,
[5:43] Speaker 1: God deceived me into ministry. If I knew that he
[5:47] Speaker 1: wanted me to be a pastor, I would have gone
[5:49] Speaker 1: on that retreat. I would just have continued. Are you
[5:52] Speaker 1: following what I'm saying here? And I remember that I
[5:54] Speaker 1: stood up from there and I began to argue with
[5:56] Speaker 1: the Lord. Lord, what am I going to say that
[5:59] Speaker 1: Pastor Adiboye has not said, that Bishop Edipo has not said,
[6:02] Speaker 1: that Idahosa has not said. So I began to call
[6:04] Speaker 1: all the gospel grits. What am I going to say
[6:06] Speaker 1: that Rehat Bonke has not said? Where do you want
[6:08] Speaker 1: me to start out from? I remember I was saying
[6:11] Speaker 1: all of that to the Lord and I will never
[6:13] Speaker 1: forget what he said. He said, do you remember the
[6:15] Speaker 1: man at the gate called Beautiful? I thought to myself,
[6:18] Speaker 1: I said, yes, I remember. I mean, to cut the
[6:20] Speaker 1: long story short, you know, Peter went to the gate.
[6:23] Speaker 1: And the man said, give us some alms. And Peter said,
[6:25] Speaker 1: look on us. And the Lord Jesus said to me,
[6:28] Speaker 1: I'll never forget it. He said, that's the same temple
[6:30] Speaker 1: that I went to for three and a half years.
[6:34] Speaker 1: It's the same gates that I passed by. And every
[6:36] Speaker 1: single time he passed by that gate, he gave alms.
[6:40] Speaker 1: And the Lord said to me, he said, what made
[6:42] Speaker 1: Peter think he could heal the person I did not heal?
[6:47] Speaker 1: What gave him the audacity and the confidence to actually
[6:51] Speaker 1: imagine That you can actually, I mean, if Jesus did
[6:55] Speaker 1: not heal you for three and a half years, frequenting
[6:57] Speaker 1: this temple, I better go look for somebody else. Are
[7:01] Speaker 1: you getting what I'm saying? And the Lord said to me,
[7:03] Speaker 1: he said, the music is not over till your voice
[7:06] Speaker 1: is heard. I'll never forget it. There's a part to
[7:10] Speaker 1: play that only you can play. Is somebody following what
[7:13] Speaker 1: I'm saying here? There's a part to play that only
[7:16] Speaker 1: you can play. Now, but let me put that side
[7:19] Speaker 1: by side. And never forget this, that your part is
[7:22] Speaker 1: just a part. Say that with me. My part is
[7:25] Speaker 1: just a part. Say with me, it's not the whole.
[7:29] Speaker 1: Sometimes if we're not careful, we conduct ourselves, we conduct
[7:32] Speaker 1: our ministries almost as though our ministry and our part
[7:36] Speaker 1: is the whole sum. Your part is just a part.
[7:41] Speaker 1: It's not the whole. And one of the things you
[7:44] Speaker 1: have to learn is maturity when it comes to how
[7:50] Speaker 1: ministry is conducted, the relationships that you're going to have,
[7:53] Speaker 1: the kinds of relationships, the events that are going to
[7:56] Speaker 1: happen in ministry. Because at the end of the day,
[7:58] Speaker 1: I found out that as great as the anointing of
[8:01] Speaker 1: God's Spirit is, as great as the giftings of the
[8:03] Speaker 1: Holy Ghost are, I found out that for the most part,
[8:08] Speaker 1: you fulfilling your ministry and being all that God has
[8:11] Speaker 1: called you to do has a lot more to do
[8:13] Speaker 1: with your spiritual maturity. That's why we're focusing on that here.
[8:19] Speaker 1: I know that your people of prayer I know your
[8:21] Speaker 1: people give in to fastings. I know your people who
[8:24] Speaker 1: understand the move of the Holy Spirit. But one critical
[8:28] Speaker 1: aspect that we have to look into is ministerial maturity.
[8:31] Speaker 1: Ecclesiastics chapter 10. Let's quickly run through it there. Do
[8:34] Speaker 1: we have it? Ecclesiastics chapter 10. Hallelujah. Are you still here?
[8:41] Speaker 1: It says, walk to thee, O land, when thy king
[8:44] Speaker 1: is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning.
[8:47] Speaker 1: It says, blessed art thou, O land, when thy king
[8:49] Speaker 1: is the son of the nobles. And thy princes eat
[8:52] Speaker 1: in due season for strength and not for drunkenness. And yesterday,
[8:57] Speaker 1: we got to the three things that are evidenced by
[9:01] Speaker 1: a life of maturity. Remember I said maturity is not
[9:05] Speaker 1: a destination. It's not, you don't get there. We keep
[9:10] Speaker 1: growing into it. Are you following what I'm saying here?
[9:12] Speaker 1: We keep growing into it. And... if we're leading believers
[9:17] Speaker 1: into maturity, if that's our assignment as ministry gifts, to
[9:20] Speaker 1: bring people into maturity, Colossians 1, 28, 29, to present
[9:25] Speaker 1: them perfect before God, if this is what we are
[9:28] Speaker 1: striving after, then it must mean that we ourselves, we're
[9:32] Speaker 1: on that journey of maturity. Are you following what I'm
[9:34] Speaker 1: saying here? And I said to you that number one,
[9:37] Speaker 1: the first thing you see in a life given to
[9:39] Speaker 1: that journey, on that journey of maturity, number one is
[9:42] Speaker 1: the fact that you see a proficiency In the use
[9:45] Speaker 1: of God's word for themselves. A proficiency in the use
[9:49] Speaker 1: of God's word for themselves. In essence, God's word becomes
[9:54] Speaker 1: their worldview, determines their worldview, determines their life view. God's
[9:59] Speaker 1: word has taken the dominance over your thoughts, over your actions.
[10:04] Speaker 1: Are you getting what I'm saying here? And then you've
[10:07] Speaker 1: learned to produce results by the word of God. This
[10:11] Speaker 1: is important. You know, one day I was studying and
[10:14] Speaker 1: the Lord said something very powerful to me. and I'm
[10:17] Speaker 1: just going to run through this because what I want
[10:19] Speaker 1: to talk about is the third point today. The Lord
[10:22] Speaker 1: said something to me. What we call the temptations of Jesus,
[10:25] Speaker 1: really and truly, if you study it in our text
[10:28] Speaker 1: and in our day and in our time, they may
[10:30] Speaker 1: not pass as temptations. First one, for example. Let me
[10:33] Speaker 1: give you an example. I just want you to critically
[10:38] Speaker 1: think through the text. The devil comes to Jesus, obviously
[10:41] Speaker 1: not with horns, in his thoughts and says to Jesus,
[10:44] Speaker 1: I know you're hungry. If thou be the son of God,
[10:47] Speaker 1: turn this stone to bread. Now, can I ask you
[10:50] Speaker 1: a question? How's that a temptation? Was he hungry? Yes. Now,
[10:54] Speaker 1: how can Satan tempt Jesus to work miracles? Can I
[10:59] Speaker 1: ask you a question? Do you know that if I
[11:00] Speaker 1: came here and I touched this stone now and it
[11:05] Speaker 1: turned to bread? I hope you know you respect me more.
[11:09] Speaker 1: I hope you know you'll not be sitting down while
[11:11] Speaker 1: I'm preaching. You'll be standing, some of you hanging for anything.
[11:15] Speaker 1: Just speak on, preach, preacher. That's what you're going to
[11:17] Speaker 1: be saying. So imagine that Jesus' ministry started out with
[11:22] Speaker 1: turning stone to bread. He will pack out all the
[11:26] Speaker 1: auditorium with that. Are you getting what I'm saying here?
[11:30] Speaker 1: In a sense, was he hungry? Yes. He had the temptation,
[11:33] Speaker 1: what we call a temptation, was for him to use
[11:36] Speaker 1: power to meet his needs as it were. And look
[11:40] Speaker 1: at the next thing he says, jump down the angels.
[11:42] Speaker 1: Imagine he jumped down. And the kind of testimony that
[11:45] Speaker 1: he would have given. You know, I jumped down from
[11:47] Speaker 1: a three-story building. And I mean, I was coming down
[11:50] Speaker 1: with speed all of a sudden. I realized that, I mean,
[11:52] Speaker 1: I was just moving slowly. I didn't know, but obviously,
[11:56] Speaker 1: the angels bombed me in their hands. And they brought
[11:59] Speaker 1: me down. Imagine the kind of wave of fame and
[12:04] Speaker 1: publicity he would have gotten by that. But what was
[12:07] Speaker 1: the common thing through all the three of them? If
[12:09] Speaker 1: thou be the son of God. If thou be the
[12:12] Speaker 1: son of God. If thou be the son of God.
[12:14] Speaker 1: What was Satan attacking? His revelation. What did God tell
[12:17] Speaker 1: him at the Jordan? This is my beloved son. What
[12:20] Speaker 1: did Satan come to attack? If thou be the son
[12:23] Speaker 1: of God. Are you following what I'm saying here? In essence,
[12:27] Speaker 1: you realize that the first place of maturity is in
[12:30] Speaker 1: learning to use God's word for yourself. Number two, I
[12:35] Speaker 1: said to you is finding, following and fulfilling God's plan.
[12:39] Speaker 1: staying on the plan what is it that god wants
[12:42] Speaker 1: done he has a definite plan for your life you
[12:46] Speaker 1: don't have to copy anybody you don't have to be
[12:48] Speaker 1: the clone of anybody he has a definite plan now
[12:53] Speaker 1: let me quickly tell you something every young minister or
[12:57] Speaker 1: every ministry has the responsibility two responsibilities continuation and change
[13:02] Speaker 1: please write them down continuation and change and what do
[13:04] Speaker 1: i mean by continuation and change You have to understand
[13:08] Speaker 1: that it's the same stream that flows from generations to generations.
[13:12] Speaker 1: One of the wisest things you can do is to
[13:15] Speaker 1: find your stream. Find the grace that God has established
[13:21] Speaker 1: over your life. In essence, you realize that this is
[13:23] Speaker 1: my stream. This is my tribe. This is the grace
[13:26] Speaker 1: that God has established over my life. And you connect
[13:29] Speaker 1: yourself to that thing. However, you have to understand that
[13:33] Speaker 1: whilst Joshua steps out, Under the grace of Moses, he
[13:39] Speaker 1: conducts his ministry in a completely different way from the
[13:44] Speaker 1: way Moses conducted it. Same grace, but a different manner
[13:48] Speaker 1: of expression. Are you following what I'm saying? Now, here's
[13:51] Speaker 1: the challenge with a lot of God's children, ministers of
[13:53] Speaker 1: the gospel. We don't realize that what you should receive
[13:58] Speaker 1: is grace. And receive the plan from God first. And
[14:04] Speaker 1: run with your plan with the grace you have received.
[14:07] Speaker 1: Are you following what I'm saying here? In essence, you
[14:10] Speaker 1: don't have to be a copy. You don't have to
[14:12] Speaker 1: be a clone. Are you following what I'm saying here?
[14:14] Speaker 1: There is what God has called you to do that
[14:16] Speaker 1: only you can do. Find your place. Find your assignment.
[14:20] Speaker 1: Find your job. And stay with it. Now, number three,
[14:24] Speaker 1: which is where we are going to this morning, is
[14:27] Speaker 1: a solid love walk. Can I tell you something? Please,
[14:31] Speaker 1: ministers of the gospel, if you'd allow me to be
[14:33] Speaker 1: very sincere and open-hearted with you. I have found out
[14:37] Speaker 1: that one of the people that don't walk in love
[14:39] Speaker 1: the most are ministers of the gospel. I found out
[14:43] Speaker 1: that the major challenge, one major challenge with ministry is
[14:48] Speaker 1: the fact that many ministers are not grounded in the
[14:52] Speaker 1: love walk. Now, before we talk about what the love
[14:55] Speaker 1: walk is in and of itself, let me establish that
[14:59] Speaker 1: that anything that is done outside of love has no
[15:02] Speaker 1: eternal value. Anything that is done outside of love has
[15:06] Speaker 1: no eternal relevance. In essence, irrespective of how great it is,
[15:13] Speaker 1: and irrespective of the accolades that men may give, anything
[15:16] Speaker 1: that is done outside of love, and it's one of
[15:18] Speaker 1: the most sobering thoughts, one of the most scary thoughts,
[15:22] Speaker 1: that you labor on the face of the earth and
[15:25] Speaker 1: do all the things that you do on the face
[15:28] Speaker 1: of the earth, And by the time he's passed through fire,
[15:31] Speaker 1: you realize that those things in and of themselves, they
[15:34] Speaker 1: do not survive the test. And the Bible says that
[15:37] Speaker 1: the man will himself be saved, but he shall suffer
[15:40] Speaker 1: loss of his work. My prayer for us here is this.
[15:45] Speaker 1: Is that not only are we going to receive the
[15:46] Speaker 1: applause of men, we are going to receive the approval
[15:49] Speaker 1: of Jesus. That's my prayer. And I think sometimes we forget.
[15:54] Speaker 1: Paul said to Timothy, he said that when a man
[15:57] Speaker 1: is enlisted in the army, he says he does not
[16:00] Speaker 1: concern himself with civilian affairs. He has just one vision,
[16:04] Speaker 1: to please his enlisting officer. One vision. He's not trying
[16:08] Speaker 1: to please everybody. He's not trying to get everybody's approval.
[16:13] Speaker 1: He has one vision. There's just one thing he's chasing.
[16:17] Speaker 1: He's waiting for that day when he stands before his
[16:19] Speaker 1: enlisting officer. And the officer says, you did everything according
[16:24] Speaker 1: to plan. And not just according to plan, with the
[16:26] Speaker 1: right heart. Can I tell you something? That it is
[16:30] Speaker 1: your heart that qualifies the works of your hands. It
[16:33] Speaker 1: is your heart that gives value to the work of
[16:36] Speaker 1: your hands. The eternal value of our work is not
[16:40] Speaker 1: based on the magnitude of the work. It's based on
[16:44] Speaker 1: the state of our hearts. Please never forget this. The
[16:48] Speaker 1: eternal value of our work is not based on the
[16:54] Speaker 1: magnitude of the work or the results that we get. Oh,
[16:58] Speaker 1: and by the way, if you know me, you know
[17:00] Speaker 1: that I believe in results. Oh, you know I believe
[17:04] Speaker 1: in results. I do not, listen, I do not under
[17:08] Speaker 1: heaven criticize any form of results. Hear what I said,
[17:12] Speaker 1: any form. It takes you knowing something to produce results.
[17:18] Speaker 1: Even if it is a bad thing you know. There's
[17:20] Speaker 1: a diligence that you have. I learn from everybody. Are
[17:25] Speaker 1: you getting what I'm saying here? There's a diligence that
[17:27] Speaker 1: you have that produce that result. It's like somebody said,
[17:30] Speaker 1: you know this wealthy man. The reason he's wealthy is
[17:32] Speaker 1: that his uncle gave him some money. And then the
[17:34] Speaker 1: government is giving him tax repaid and all the rest.
[17:36] Speaker 1: I don't want to mention names and all the rest.
[17:38] Speaker 1: That's the reason he's wealthy. Now let me ask you
[17:40] Speaker 1: a question. Is he the only person the uncle gave money?
[17:44] Speaker 1: Is he the only person that has had favor with government?
[17:47] Speaker 1: He knows something. And here's the problem with ministers. We
[17:51] Speaker 1: like to reduce people's results to our level. So you
[17:56] Speaker 1: are looking for a hole to poke inside their result.
[17:59] Speaker 1: The reason he has that kind of result is because
[18:01] Speaker 1: of this. Please shut up. Do you understand what I'm
[18:05] Speaker 1: saying here? Never be found to be criticizing what God
[18:08] Speaker 1: is blessing. You may not be able to explain it,
[18:11] Speaker 1: but never be found to be criticizing it. Is somebody
[18:15] Speaker 1: still here this morning? Listen, I don't think this is
[18:18] Speaker 1: the kind of message we are going to be jumping.
[18:20] Speaker 1: I don't think this is the kind of one that
[18:22] Speaker 1: we are all going to be screaming. But I can
[18:25] Speaker 1: tell you that if you take heed to the things
[18:26] Speaker 1: I'm sharing with you today, on that other side, you
[18:30] Speaker 1: will be glad. Are you following what I'm saying? Because
[18:34] Speaker 1: what we do, please listen to me pastors, what we
[18:37] Speaker 1: do in and of itself has no eternal value. What
[18:41] Speaker 1: gives value to what we do is our hearts. It
[18:45] Speaker 1: is not what you can sing fire from now till tomorrow.
[18:50] Speaker 1: You can raise the dead. Oh, and by the way,
[18:53] Speaker 1: I mean, somebody says give scripture to this. 1 Corinthians 13,
[18:56] Speaker 1: 1 to 3. He says, though I speak in tongues
[18:58] Speaker 1: of men and of angels. And he says that, I mean,
[19:01] Speaker 1: I have all form of knowledge. I give my body
[19:05] Speaker 1: to be burnt and all the rest. He says, if
[19:07] Speaker 1: this is not done. And pastor, can I ask you
[19:09] Speaker 1: a question? How can a person give his body to
[19:11] Speaker 1: be burnt and is not done in love? Have you
[19:15] Speaker 1: ever read that scripture before? That it says you can
[19:18] Speaker 1: give your body to be burnt. And it says that
[19:21] Speaker 1: this thing is not done in love. And it says
[19:23] Speaker 1: it has no value before God. Why did you turn
[19:26] Speaker 1: yourself to suya? When on the other side there's no value.
[19:32] Speaker 1: Is somebody following what I'm saying here? So we have
[19:35] Speaker 1: to be careful every now and then. And there's a
[19:37] Speaker 1: scripture my pastor said to me years ago as a
[19:39] Speaker 1: little boy. I was walking out of his office and
[19:41] Speaker 1: he called me back. He said, Paul said to the
[19:43] Speaker 1: Corinthian church, examine yourselves. He said, one of the things
[19:47] Speaker 1: you have to do as you go on in ministry.
[19:50] Speaker 1: is to sit back every now and then and examine yourself.
[19:54] Speaker 1: Where is my heart? Where is my heart? Can I
[19:57] Speaker 1: tell you something? A thought filtered into my consciousness. Now,
[20:01] Speaker 1: and I can be open with you. A thought filtered
[20:03] Speaker 1: into my consciousness this morning. I didn't think it was
[20:06] Speaker 1: perfect before the Lord. I went on my, this morning,
[20:09] Speaker 1: not yesterday, went on my knees and I said, Lord,
[20:12] Speaker 1: please forgive me on this. And I said, Lord, correct
[20:15] Speaker 1: my thoughts and all the rest of the Lord. Now
[20:17] Speaker 1: the question is, did you know what entered my heart? No.
[20:20] Speaker 1: If I never said it to you, would you have known?
[20:22] Speaker 1: But I found myself thinking in a way that was
[20:24] Speaker 1: not perfect towards someone. And I know better than to
[20:28] Speaker 1: allow it to pass. Because every thought untreated becomes a
[20:32] Speaker 1: tree tomorrow. Is somebody following what I'm saying? So you
[20:36] Speaker 1: have to understand this. That at the end of the day.
[20:40] Speaker 1: Whilst we are striving to be all that God has
[20:44] Speaker 1: called us to be. On this side of eternity. The
[20:48] Speaker 1: qualifier of our works is our hearts. Is somebody still here?
[20:57] Speaker 1: And so you find out that. The love walk, I
[21:01] Speaker 1: said to you yesterday, nothing places greater pressure on your
[21:06] Speaker 1: maturity more than ministry and marriage. Nothing. On every side
[21:12] Speaker 1: and in every way, your love walk will be tested.
[21:14] Speaker 1: I heard what a person said yesterday. He said a
[21:16] Speaker 1: friend called him and he said, how do I manage
[21:18] Speaker 1: the envy and the jealousy that is coming because of
[21:21] Speaker 1: the fame and all the rest that God has given
[21:23] Speaker 1: to me? Oh, by the way, I hope you know
[21:24] Speaker 1: that's part of it. I hope you know that. And
[21:28] Speaker 1: I mean sometimes we don't like to say these things.
[21:30] Speaker 1: But I hope you know that the people that will
[21:31] Speaker 1: stand up against what God is doing in your life
[21:34] Speaker 1: for the most part are your brothers. And the question
[21:38] Speaker 1: is how do you handle that without allowing those kind
[21:41] Speaker 1: of events enter into your heart and corrupt your heart.
[21:44] Speaker 1: And at the end of the day corrupt your work.
[21:48] Speaker 1: Is somebody getting what I'm saying? How do you keep
[21:51] Speaker 1: your heart in the right place? That irrespective of what's
[21:54] Speaker 1: going on around you, your heart is perfect before the Lord.
[21:58] Speaker 1: The Bible says that he said the Lord, but not
[22:00] Speaker 1: with a perfect heart. In essence, you can serve God,
[22:03] Speaker 1: but not with a perfect heart. The eyes of the
[22:05] Speaker 1: Lord run to and fro the earth. And what is
[22:07] Speaker 1: he looking for? Those whose hearts are perfect towards him.
[22:12] Speaker 1: So there's something that's called a perfect heart in ministry.
[22:15] Speaker 1: Are you still here? Let me read you a few
[22:17] Speaker 1: scriptures here today. Okay. Alright. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, 20.
[22:27] Speaker 1: I want you to see something there. 1 Corinthians chapter
[22:31] Speaker 1: 14 and verse 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20.
[22:39] Speaker 1: And my prayer today is that really and truly we
[22:42] Speaker 1: will open our hearts and if we need to repent
[22:45] Speaker 1: before the Lord, we repent and put these things behind us.
[22:50] Speaker 1: I have not found people who gossip as much And
[22:54] Speaker 1: it's a painful thing. Who gossip as much as people
[22:59] Speaker 1: who are called into ministry. It's a painful thing. I
[23:02] Speaker 1: have not found people, listen, in the cult, in the
[23:06] Speaker 1: cult world. My protocol was a cultist. It was Kapon
[23:10] Speaker 1: or what were you? It was killing people everywhere. So,
[23:14] Speaker 1: one day I was hearing a story. I said, this
[23:15] Speaker 1: guy should be going now. Thank God he's born again. Now,
[23:18] Speaker 1: I've not found people, and you can ask him, if
[23:21] Speaker 1: you understand how it is that The fidelity that exists.
[23:28] Speaker 1: And the loyalty that exists. The love that exists amongst them.
[23:33] Speaker 1: It's a strange thing that your brother God is doing
[23:36] Speaker 1: massive things with your brother. And then you find that
[23:39] Speaker 1: it's the same people who are speaking ill. Can I
[23:41] Speaker 1: tell you something? There is no perfect ministry anyway. Everyone
[23:45] Speaker 1: God is using is flawed. So if what you are
[23:48] Speaker 1: looking is for the flaws you will find. If that's
[23:52] Speaker 1: what you are looking for you will find. But the
[23:54] Speaker 1: ability to concentrate on the good and the grace of God.
[23:59] Speaker 1: Are you following this here? 1 Corinthians 14 verse 20.
[24:02] Speaker 1: Let's read together. I want you to go. Brethren, be
[24:05] Speaker 1: not children in understanding. How be it in malice be
[24:09] Speaker 1: ye children, but in understanding be what? Men. He says,
[24:13] Speaker 1: be not children in understanding. How be it in what?
[24:16] Speaker 1: Malice be ye children. Have you seen a child before?
[24:20] Speaker 1: The child fights another child right now. He said, give
[24:24] Speaker 1: me my toy, give me my toy. They scream and
[24:25] Speaker 1: they are wondering how difficult. I mean, what happened right now?
[24:29] Speaker 1: And then the next moment, these two children, what happens?
[24:33] Speaker 1: They are acting as though nothing ever. Are you following
[24:36] Speaker 1: what I'm saying? Now read this again. He says, brethren,
[24:39] Speaker 1: be not children in understanding. How be it in malice
[24:42] Speaker 1: be ye children, but in understanding be what? Men. Let
[24:45] Speaker 1: me show you another scripture. We're building up to something here.
[24:48] Speaker 1: I want you to see that he connects our spiritual
[24:51] Speaker 1: maturity to a work of love. Are you following what
[24:55] Speaker 1: I'm saying? He connects our spiritual maturity to a walk
[24:59] Speaker 1: of love. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2. Popular text,
[25:02] Speaker 1: we all know it. But I want to connect something
[25:04] Speaker 1: for you. 1 Peter chapter 2 from verse 1. 1
[25:07] Speaker 1: Peter chapter 2 from verse 1. Can I have it? Now,
[25:10] Speaker 1: can we all read together? Everybody want to go? Wherefore,
[25:13] Speaker 1: laying aside all malice, all guile, and hypocrisy. You know
[25:17] Speaker 1: what hypocrisy is? I celebrate you. You know what I'm
[25:23] Speaker 1: saying here? I celebrate you. Wow, what God is doing
[25:26] Speaker 1: with you, we rejoice with you. But you know on
[25:30] Speaker 1: the inside of yourself that you don't rejoice. Neither do
[25:33] Speaker 1: you celebrate. I'm going to show you a scripture. It says,
[25:36] Speaker 1: let love be without dissimulation. In essence, let love be sincere.
[25:41] Speaker 1: Are you following what I'm saying here? Look at what
[25:43] Speaker 1: it says. And can I tell you something? You know,
[25:45] Speaker 1: many a times we are giving so much attention to
[25:48] Speaker 1: the power. We're giving attention to the gift. We're not
[25:52] Speaker 1: giving attention to our hearts. And at the end of
[25:56] Speaker 1: the day, I was speaking with my friend Pastor Nathanael,
[25:58] Speaker 1: and we're talking, and he said something to me. And
[26:01] Speaker 1: he mentioned something, I can't go into all of that.
[26:02] Speaker 1: And he said to me, he said, Pastor Ayo, somebody
[26:04] Speaker 1: wanted to say this, and I told him, don't say it,
[26:07] Speaker 1: I'm not interested. And then I said to him, I said,
[26:09] Speaker 1: why did you say that? He said, Pastor Ayo, he said,
[26:11] Speaker 1: my instrument of ministry is not the saxophone or my voice,
[26:15] Speaker 1: it's my heart. He said, if I allow that into
[26:18] Speaker 1: my heart, it will corrupt the saxophone. Too many people
[26:25] Speaker 1: are dumping grounds for everything save revelation. Are you following
[26:30] Speaker 1: what I'm saying? We're building up to something this morning.
[26:32] Speaker 1: Say we mean ministerial maturity. Come on, say we mean
[26:36] Speaker 1: ministerial maturity. Look at what he says here. He says,
[26:40] Speaker 1: we're for laying aside all malice, all guy, hypocrisies and
[26:45] Speaker 1: envies and all evil speakings. Now, does this look like
[26:48] Speaker 1: something that is common around us? Am I talking to us?
[26:52] Speaker 1: Do we understand what I'm saying? Does he look like
[26:54] Speaker 1: something that is coming around us? Malice? Kyle? Hypocrisies? Envies?
[27:02] Speaker 1: Evil speakings? Now, to what end does he tell you
[27:05] Speaker 1: to lay down? Look at the next verse. Please look
[27:07] Speaker 1: at it. Verse 2. Popular text. As newborn babes desire
[27:11] Speaker 1: the sincere milk of the word of God that you
[27:13] Speaker 1: may grow thereby. That means, hear this and hear this well.
[27:17] Speaker 1: Once you have these things in the mix... It takes
[27:21] Speaker 1: away the power of the word of God to transform you.
[27:26] Speaker 1: You may be preaching powerful stuff, but it's not transforming you.
[27:30] Speaker 1: You may be doing great massive ministry, but your own
[27:33] Speaker 1: life is not being changed. Can I tell you something
[27:36] Speaker 1: very important that you should never forget? Jesus himself said it.
[27:39] Speaker 1: You have made the word of God of non-effects. So
[27:44] Speaker 1: that tells you that the word of God, irrespective of
[27:46] Speaker 1: how powerful it is, can be made of non-effect by
[27:50] Speaker 1: your life. Peter comes here and tells us what makes
[27:53] Speaker 1: it of non-effect. You stand on the pulpit and in
[27:57] Speaker 1: that moment you stand in an office. People are blessed,
[28:00] Speaker 1: but you come down from that place and there is
[28:02] Speaker 1: somebody that you are speaking ill of. This is ought
[28:07] Speaker 1: not to be so. Remember where I started from. Your
[28:11] Speaker 1: part is an important part, but it's a part. Are
[28:15] Speaker 1: you following what I'm saying here? Irrespective of what God
[28:18] Speaker 1: is doing with you, irrespective of what God is doing
[28:21] Speaker 1: in your life, tell me my part is a part.
[28:25] Speaker 1: Say this, it's a part of a bigger whole. There's
[28:28] Speaker 1: a bigger whole. That's what Paul said, discerning the body.
[28:32] Speaker 1: It's a part of a bigger whole. That's not all
[28:35] Speaker 1: that there is to it. Glory to God. Are you
[28:39] Speaker 1: still here? So he tells us, he says, if you
[28:42] Speaker 1: are going to, and this is important, if the word
[28:45] Speaker 1: of God is going to have the effect that you
[28:46] Speaker 1: should have in your heart, if you're going to have
[28:49] Speaker 1: the word of God transform you like he should transform you,
[28:52] Speaker 1: there are things that must be laid aside and he
[28:55] Speaker 1: lists out those things. Now, can I tell you something?
[28:58] Speaker 1: He didn't say pray to God to lay it aside
[29:00] Speaker 1: for you. So everybody has a personal responsibility as it
[29:05] Speaker 1: were to do something about it. Look at 1 Corinthians
[29:09] Speaker 1: chapter 13 from verse 1 there. 1 Corinthians chapter 13
[29:13] Speaker 1: from verse 1. Hallelujah. Are you still here? Tell me
[29:18] Speaker 1: a love walk. Say this with me. The love of
[29:22] Speaker 1: Jesus is shed abroad in my heart. Say it one
[29:26] Speaker 1: more time, the love of Jesus is shed abroad in
[29:28] Speaker 1: my heart. Say this, no envies, no jealousies, no evil speaking,
[29:35] Speaker 1: no bone of bitterness, no offense, no strife. no malice
[29:41] Speaker 1: is found in my heart. I stand before God. Perfect
[29:46] Speaker 1: in my heart towards him and towards all men. Say
[29:49] Speaker 1: it again. I stand before God. Perfect in my heart
[29:53] Speaker 1: towards God and towards all men. I rejoice at the
[29:57] Speaker 1: progress of all. I do not look down on any
[30:01] Speaker 1: because of my progress. My heart is perfect towards God
[30:05] Speaker 1: and perfect towards men. Are you still here? 1 Corinthians
[30:12] Speaker 1: chapter 13 from verse 1. Just read one or two
[30:15] Speaker 1: more scriptures here, and then we close. Kenneth Hagin told
[30:19] Speaker 1: a very powerful story. He said, at the time, there
[30:23] Speaker 1: were two leading healing evangelists in the healing movement. Oral
[30:28] Speaker 1: Roberts and this other man. I won't mention his name.
[30:31] Speaker 1: And then he said, Oral Roberts had the largest tent
[30:34] Speaker 1: in America at the time that sat 20,000 people. This man,
[30:38] Speaker 1: because of, I mean, said it publicly. He said, he's
[30:41] Speaker 1: going to beat it. So he went to get another 2,000 sitar.
[30:46] Speaker 1: So he had 22,000 sitar, which was the largest at
[30:49] Speaker 1: the time. But he had said it publicly that the
[30:51] Speaker 1: reason he was doing it was because he wanted to
[30:53] Speaker 1: have the largest tent in America. One day, Brother Hagin
[30:56] Speaker 1: said he was praying and the Lord said to him,
[30:57] Speaker 1: he said, go and speak to this man to judge himself. Now,
[31:01] Speaker 1: I hope you know that the Bible says not to
[31:03] Speaker 1: judge any man, but it tells you to judge yourself.
[31:06] Speaker 1: Matthew 7, 1, he says, judge not. 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
[31:10] Speaker 1: he says, you judge your own self. And the problem
[31:13] Speaker 1: many a times is that rather than judging ourselves, we
[31:15] Speaker 1: are judging others. Are you following what I'm saying here?
[31:18] Speaker 1: He said, God told him, he said, tell the man
[31:19] Speaker 1: to judge himself concerning three things. Number one, comparison and
[31:23] Speaker 1: competition in ministry. Number two, money finances. And then number three,
[31:28] Speaker 1: about his health. I mean, that he was eating anyhow
[31:31] Speaker 1: and all dressed. But he again said, he sent the message.
[31:33] Speaker 1: He said three years after that, they were in a
[31:35] Speaker 1: voice of healing meeting at the Angelus Temple. And then
[31:39] Speaker 1: Gordon Lindsay came up the stage and said to him, please,
[31:43] Speaker 1: everybody listen very carefully. Said to him, he said, please,
[31:46] Speaker 1: so-and-so's wife has sent us a message that he's sick. Now,
[31:50] Speaker 1: he was 38 years of age. At the time, Brother
[31:53] Speaker 1: Higgins said he was in a meeting where they brought
[31:56] Speaker 1: deaf-mute people from a deaf-mute school, and every single one
[32:01] Speaker 1: of them that came in, their ears were opened. He
[32:04] Speaker 1: said he saw hundreds of wheelchairs that were emptied by
[32:07] Speaker 1: this man. So you're talking about, I mean, ministry at
[32:10] Speaker 1: a massive level. And then he said something very powerful.
[32:13] Speaker 1: He said, they were in that meeting, Gordon Lindsay said, everybody,
[32:16] Speaker 1: let's pray for this person. And they began to pray
[32:19] Speaker 1: for the person. They began, I mean, all the ministers
[32:21] Speaker 1: there coming forward to the state to kneel by the
[32:23] Speaker 1: altar to pray for the person. Kenneth Hagin said he
[32:26] Speaker 1: was walking down from where he was. And then he said,
[32:29] Speaker 1: all of a sudden, God stopped him in his tracks
[32:31] Speaker 1: and said, don't go there, he will die. Kenneth Hagin said, Lord,
[32:35] Speaker 1: what does it mean he will die? He said he
[32:37] Speaker 1: stopped and he just turned white. He heard God, so
[32:40] Speaker 1: he turned back. All the other ministers had gone out
[32:42] Speaker 1: to pray. Then he saw his wife coming from another corner.
[32:45] Speaker 1: So she tapped him and said, what happened? I noticed
[32:47] Speaker 1: you just stopped and then you turned back. He said,
[32:49] Speaker 1: God spoke to me. And they said, what did God say?
[32:51] Speaker 1: He said, don't pray for him. He will die. And
[32:53] Speaker 1: Kenneth Hagin, I think, already said she had that witness
[32:56] Speaker 1: in her heart that he would die. So they went back.
[32:58] Speaker 1: All the ministers gathered together. Please, these were the voice
[33:00] Speaker 1: of healing revival ministers. Gathered together, prayed their heart out,
[33:05] Speaker 1: but he died. You know what God told Ken Hagen?
[33:08] Speaker 1: He said, I have delivered him up for the destruction
[33:12] Speaker 1: of his flesh so that I can preserve his spirit.
[33:18] Speaker 1: Can I ask you a question? Was that God's perfect
[33:20] Speaker 1: and best will for him? Absolutely not. But a perfect heart.
[33:28] Speaker 1: This whole idea of this person is doing this, I
[33:30] Speaker 1: have to do better than this. A perfect heart towards God.
[33:35] Speaker 1: That's the number one tool of ministry. Are you following
[33:38] Speaker 1: what I'm saying here? 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 1.
[33:41] Speaker 1: Let's read that very quickly. Read a few more scriptures.
[33:43] Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1. Do I speak with tongues
[33:47] Speaker 1: of men and of angels? And have not charity and
[33:50] Speaker 1: become a sounding brass or as a thinkling cymbal? Go
[33:53] Speaker 1: to the next verse. Do I have the gift of prophecy,
[33:55] Speaker 1: understand all mysteries and all knowledge? And do I have
[33:58] Speaker 1: all faiths? He says, so that I can move mountains
[34:01] Speaker 1: and have not love, I am what? Nothing. Are you
[34:04] Speaker 1: following what I'm saying here? How does God grant value
[34:08] Speaker 1: to us and to our work? By our hearts. Look
[34:11] Speaker 1: at the next thing he says in verse 3 there.
[34:13] Speaker 1: Do I bestow my goods to feed the poor and
[34:15] Speaker 1: do I give my body to be burned and have
[34:16] Speaker 1: no charity? It profited me what? Nothing. Now go to
[34:20] Speaker 1: verse 10, please. Of the same chapter, verse 10. Verse 10.
[34:24] Speaker 1: Can I have verse 10? Quickly. Quickly. Alright, verse 11.
[34:28] Speaker 1: Go to verse 11 just for the sake of time.
[34:30] Speaker 1: Let's read together. I want you to go. When I
[34:32] Speaker 1: was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood
[34:36] Speaker 1: as a child. I thought as a child. But when
[34:39] Speaker 1: I became a man, I did what? Put away what?
[34:42] Speaker 1: Childish things. So you see that he connects everywhere your
[34:48] Speaker 1: maturity in the faith to your love walk. Romans chapter 12.
[34:52] Speaker 1: Romans chapter 12 verse 9. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You have to
[34:58] Speaker 1: understand that as you conduct yourself in ministry, you will
[35:01] Speaker 1: be faced with offenses. How do you deal with offenses?
[35:04] Speaker 1: How do you ensure that offenses don't get into your heart?
[35:08] Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is that there is
[35:11] Speaker 1: no form of strife whatsoever, no form of offense in
[35:15] Speaker 1: your heart towards anybody, irrespective of what they said or
[35:18] Speaker 1: what they did. Are you following what I'm saying? I
[35:22] Speaker 1: hope you know that heaven will not justify your position
[35:24] Speaker 1: because you are right. God will not justify your position
[35:28] Speaker 1: and say, I saw what they did to you. No.
[35:31] Speaker 1: His word stands true that irrespective of anything, your heart
[35:35] Speaker 1: must be perfect towards him and towards men. Are you
[35:39] Speaker 1: following what I'm saying? And can I say something to you?
[35:42] Speaker 1: If you have not been offended yet in ministry, you
[35:44] Speaker 1: have not done ministry. I can tell you that ministry
[35:48] Speaker 1: and offense go hand in hand. They are twin brothers.
[35:53] Speaker 1: Are you following what I'm saying? The question is, what
[35:55] Speaker 1: are you going to do? Can I say this to you?
[35:59] Speaker 1: Most of the error and heresy that people preach is
[36:01] Speaker 1: from offense. When you find people who move into error
[36:07] Speaker 1: and heresy and start teaching things, many times, 90% of
[36:10] Speaker 1: the time, there's an offense that came into their heart
[36:14] Speaker 1: and they have to find a theological position to justify
[36:16] Speaker 1: that offense. Is somebody getting what I'm saying here? Can
[36:21] Speaker 1: I tell you something? Disciples left the ministry of John
[36:24] Speaker 1: the Baptist to go and meet Jesus. So people will leave.
[36:32] Speaker 1: Are you getting what I'm saying here? Are you going
[36:34] Speaker 1: to curse them? How are you going to treat them?
[36:37] Speaker 1: Are you going to vilify the next church because of that?
[36:40] Speaker 1: The next ministry because of that? Is somebody getting what
[36:43] Speaker 1: I'm saying here? And I have found that almost always
[36:46] Speaker 1: when these events are presented to us, there are opportunities
[36:49] Speaker 1: for growth for us. Opportunities for character formation and character development.
[36:56] Speaker 1: You cannot say you are not a thief until you
[36:58] Speaker 1: had one million and you were alone. One million dollars,
[37:00] Speaker 1: you were alone in the room and you didn't touch it.
[37:03] Speaker 1: Are you following what I'm saying? In essence, you can
[37:05] Speaker 1: be confessing love and love until you are presented in
[37:08] Speaker 1: that situation. And you say, I'm rising above this. I'm
[37:11] Speaker 1: not going to speak ill of this person. Are you
[37:13] Speaker 1: following what I'm saying here? My mouth will be shut.
[37:15] Speaker 1: All I'm going to offer before God is prayer concerning
[37:18] Speaker 1: this person. Glory to God. Look at what it says.
[37:22] Speaker 1: Romans 12.9. Can we read together? I want to go.
[37:24] Speaker 1: Let love be without what? Dissimulation. Above that which is evil,
[37:28] Speaker 1: cleave to that which is good. Next verse very quickly.
[37:30] Speaker 1: It says, be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love.
[37:34] Speaker 1: In honor preferring one another. Can we read that together?
[37:38] Speaker 1: I want to go. In honor what? Preferring one another.
[37:42] Speaker 1: Say that again. In honor doing what? Preferring one another.
[37:47] Speaker 1: In honor preferring one another. And I'm reading you these
[37:51] Speaker 1: scriptures so that you can look into your life and
[37:54] Speaker 1: ask yourself, what is the state of my heart? Are
[37:58] Speaker 1: you following what I'm saying? What is the state of
[38:00] Speaker 1: my heart? Offenses will rise. How do I deal with it?
[38:06] Speaker 1: Can I tell you something? There is nobody under heaven
[38:08] Speaker 1: that has not been tempted with envy and jealousy. Are
[38:12] Speaker 1: you here? You've never been tempted with envy and jealousy.
[38:14] Speaker 1: You saw what somebody was doing. You saw what had
[38:16] Speaker 1: happened in somebody. And you are saying that the thought
[38:18] Speaker 1: never rose up. And you're like, unhonest? Nobody under heaven
[38:23] Speaker 1: has never been tempted with envy and jealous. But the
[38:25] Speaker 1: question is, what do you do with it? Do you
[38:28] Speaker 1: sit down with people to explain that the reason why
[38:30] Speaker 1: this is happening in that person's life and this ministry
[38:32] Speaker 1: is because of this? If he did not have this
[38:34] Speaker 1: or she did not have this, then we will not
[38:36] Speaker 1: be seeing this in their lives. Can you simply give
[38:39] Speaker 1: glory to God for what is happening without an explanation?
[38:45] Speaker 1: Is somebody getting what I'm saying here? Envy and jealousy,
[38:48] Speaker 1: how do you deal with those issues? When they rise
[38:51] Speaker 1: up within your heart. Can I tell us something? Many
[38:54] Speaker 1: a times you don't realize that six hours of prayer,
[38:57] Speaker 1: the power that you generated there will be completely neutralized
[39:01] Speaker 1: by one minute of envy. Six hours of prayer where
[39:06] Speaker 1: you are declaring, you are pouring out your heart before God,
[39:09] Speaker 1: fasting before the Lord, will be neutralized by one minute
[39:13] Speaker 1: of envy. Glory to God. Pastors, ministers, it's time to
[39:19] Speaker 1: search our hearts. Are you following what I'm saying here?
[39:22] Speaker 1: And one of the biggest things, one of the toughest
[39:25] Speaker 1: things to do is to be brutally honest with yourself
[39:28] Speaker 1: and say, I mean. envy. God help my heart. That's
[39:34] Speaker 1: one of the toughest things you'll ever do as a minister.
[39:38] Speaker 1: This is pride. God help my heart. It's one of
[39:41] Speaker 1: the toughest things you'll ever do. You know something? Lucifer,
[39:49] Speaker 1: as great as he was, where did everything start from?
[39:52] Speaker 1: He thought in his heart. I will. He thought within
[39:55] Speaker 1: his heart. This is what I will. This is who
[39:57] Speaker 1: I am. This is what I want. And from there,
[40:00] Speaker 1: what happened? He lost the place that he had with God.
[40:05] Speaker 1: We can't afford these things. Hallelujah. Another critical area to
[40:09] Speaker 1: look at. I've mentioned areas we must look at. We
[40:11] Speaker 1: must look at offense. How do I deal with offenses?
[40:14] Speaker 1: Within the ministry and without the ministry. How do I
[40:18] Speaker 1: deal with offenses? How do I keep my heart right
[40:21] Speaker 1: before the Lord? You know, Moses was so offended that
[40:25] Speaker 1: God said, listen, I have to leave you at this point.
[40:28] Speaker 1: He was so offended that he went to the rock,
[40:31] Speaker 1: struck the rock, offended at the people that God sent
[40:33] Speaker 1: him to lead. Are you following what I'm saying? You
[40:37] Speaker 1: can become so offended in the people that God has
[40:39] Speaker 1: sent you to. Pastor, I heard the story of a man.
[40:42] Speaker 1: He had labored so much over the church. And then
[40:45] Speaker 1: I think it was his 12th year anniversary. An American preacher.
[40:47] Speaker 1: It was 12th year anniversary. And then obviously there's a
[40:50] Speaker 1: place of culture and training. But this is really what happened.
[40:54] Speaker 1: They said when they were going to celebrate him for
[40:55] Speaker 1: his 12th year anniversary, they gave him a portrait of Jesus.
[41:02] Speaker 1: Now these are people you have poured your life into.
[41:04] Speaker 1: 12 years. So he called, I think it was Kitmore.
[41:07] Speaker 1: He called Kitmore, Pastor Kitmore. And he said, no, Kitmore
[41:10] Speaker 1: went to preach for him. And he said, this is
[41:11] Speaker 1: the last Sunday I'm doing here. I'm tired. These people
[41:14] Speaker 1: don't appreciate me. So Kitmore asked him. Then he told
[41:16] Speaker 1: Kitmore what happened. And the man was so offended in
[41:20] Speaker 1: the people because he had labored so much over them.
[41:24] Speaker 1: And he was wondering, is this how you, I've never
[41:26] Speaker 1: asked you anything, is this how you will reward me?
[41:29] Speaker 1: I hope you know that you can be laboring over
[41:31] Speaker 1: people you're offended in. It's time to check our hearts.
[41:38] Speaker 1: And I'm sure that our hearts are in the right place.
[41:41] Speaker 1: Glory to God. How do you handle judgments? What do
[41:45] Speaker 1: I mean by judgments? I already told you. The scripture
[41:48] Speaker 1: tells us judge not. Does it mean you can't have
[41:51] Speaker 1: a position on a matter? Yes you can. Does it
[41:54] Speaker 1: have to be a public position? No. Are you following
[41:56] Speaker 1: what I'm saying? He says judge not. But he tells
[41:59] Speaker 1: us to judge ourselves. The easier thing is to judge
[42:03] Speaker 1: other people. But we sit back. To evaluate every now
[42:07] Speaker 1: and then. Checking within our hearts. To ensure that our
[42:10] Speaker 1: hearts is in the right place. Judge not. Are you
[42:14] Speaker 1: following what I'm saying? I remember years ago. We were
[42:18] Speaker 1: pressed for a venue. And I remember that, and I've
[42:23] Speaker 1: seen the funniest things happen. This is a minister's conference,
[42:26] Speaker 1: so I can talk. I've seen the, in fact, if
[42:29] Speaker 1: I tell our story, I was in prayer at 5 a.m.
[42:32] Speaker 1: one morning, and a son of mine in ministry, the
[42:34] Speaker 1: Lord brought his face to me, and the Lord said
[42:36] Speaker 1: to me, he said, tell him right now to go
[42:39] Speaker 1: and get a property. Now, the testimony is that for
[42:42] Speaker 1: the first five years of their ministry, massive property free
[42:45] Speaker 1: of charge. So you can imagine that they were in
[42:48] Speaker 1: this free of charge property five years. This is something
[42:49] Speaker 1: we had celebrated. I was in prayer. God brought his picture.
[42:52] Speaker 1: He said, tell him now quickly to go and get
[42:55] Speaker 1: another property. I didn't know why. So I called him.
[42:57] Speaker 1: He was even still asleep. I said, wake up now.
[42:59] Speaker 1: Go and get money and buy another property. I mean,
[43:03] Speaker 1: smart young man immediately called his leaders. This is what
[43:06] Speaker 1: pastor said. So they began. Within two weeks, they had
[43:08] Speaker 1: gotten money to buy property. But here's what happened. Within
[43:11] Speaker 1: those two weeks, without them knowing, another church had come
[43:14] Speaker 1: to buy their property. It's not expansion when we are
[43:18] Speaker 1: reducing somebody else. Are you getting what I'm saying here?
[43:22] Speaker 1: It's not. Where did we get these ideologies from? Pastor,
[43:26] Speaker 1: we were pressed for, this was years ago, pressed for venue.
[43:29] Speaker 1: They had told us you have to leave this place.
[43:31] Speaker 1: I told my people, go and look for venue. They
[43:33] Speaker 1: found a venue. They came back and they said, Pastor,
[43:35] Speaker 1: we have found a venue. I said, okay, what's the venue?
[43:37] Speaker 1: They said, oh, you know, there's a church that is
[43:39] Speaker 1: using it, but they can't pay again. So the management
[43:42] Speaker 1: are even happy to let them go and that we
[43:43] Speaker 1: can come in and pay an address because they've been
[43:46] Speaker 1: looking for how to chase them. So I said, wow.
[43:48] Speaker 1: I said, how much are they owing? They told me.
[43:50] Speaker 1: It will interest you to know that it was 1,000,
[43:51] Speaker 1: either less or more than what we had in the
[43:54] Speaker 1: account at the time. I said, take all of that money,
[43:57] Speaker 1: go and pay their debts. I remember the pastor said, ah,
[44:00] Speaker 1: he said, pastor, you know, you know, we don't even
[44:02] Speaker 1: have any to use. I said, I will not be
[44:05] Speaker 1: the reason a church is thrown out. I will not
[44:08] Speaker 1: be the reason. If somebody listens to what I'm saying here,
[44:11] Speaker 1: you have to come to a place in your heart
[44:14] Speaker 1: where you don't care who God is using. All you
[44:18] Speaker 1: care is that God is moving. You know, many times
[44:20] Speaker 1: we are praying for a move of God. No, we
[44:23] Speaker 1: are praying for a move of you. If you check
[44:25] Speaker 1: your heart, it's not necessarily a move of God. It's
[44:28] Speaker 1: not that you want God to move and get the glory.
[44:30] Speaker 1: You want God to move through you and let the
[44:33] Speaker 1: glory be gotten to you. I have found out that
[44:35] Speaker 1: the men who don't care where the glory goes, at
[44:38] Speaker 1: the end of the day, they are the ones he uses.
[44:40] Speaker 1: Is somebody hearing what I'm saying here? A heart perfect
[44:45] Speaker 1: towards God and towards men. Paul says, hearing do I
[44:49] Speaker 1: exercise my conscience. To have a conscience perfect towards God
[44:53] Speaker 1: and towards men. Let me end by saying this, my
[44:55] Speaker 1: time is up. Whatever you do, make sure you love
[44:59] Speaker 1: the body. Did you hear what I said? Whatever you do,
[45:04] Speaker 1: make sure you prioritize the body. Now, when you start
[45:08] Speaker 1: out in ministry, the pressures of trying to do what
[45:11] Speaker 1: God has told you to do, The pressures of giving
[45:14] Speaker 1: expression to what God has shown you, many a times
[45:17] Speaker 1: can keep you within an enclave and you forget that
[45:21] Speaker 1: what you are doing is simply a part of the whole.
[45:24] Speaker 1: Whatever you do as a minister, make sure you prioritize
[45:29] Speaker 1: the body. What do I mean by that? There are
[45:32] Speaker 1: things you will say that are beneficial and can bring
[45:36] Speaker 1: you some form of honor and glory, but it affects
[45:40] Speaker 1: the body on the long run. I was in a
[45:43] Speaker 1: meeting and then the pastor came out. And I couldn't
[45:47] Speaker 1: believe what I was hearing. He said pastors are selfish people.
[45:50] Speaker 1: And it took 10 minutes. Over 10 minutes to bash
[45:54] Speaker 1: pastors in the meeting. A pastor. Because of something you
[45:58] Speaker 1: felt that another pastor did not do. I sat where
[46:01] Speaker 1: I was. I said I don't understand. You have the
[46:03] Speaker 1: body of Christ seated in this place. Who will have
[46:06] Speaker 1: to go back to their churches. And now have to
[46:09] Speaker 1: labor under your words to look at their pastor. And
[46:12] Speaker 1: say oh my pastor is not like what this man
[46:14] Speaker 1: of God said. Do we understand that what we are
[46:18] Speaker 1: doing is just a part of the whole? You read
[46:24] Speaker 1: what he said? He said in honor preferring one another.
[46:28] Speaker 1: Let me tell you something though. If we are not
[46:30] Speaker 1: ready to hold our hearts to the standards of love.
[46:33] Speaker 1: We are not ready for longevity in ministry. If we
[46:36] Speaker 1: are not ready. If we are not ready. And my
[46:40] Speaker 1: prayer today. Is that God will do a work in
[46:43] Speaker 1: your hearts. You have to say that amen well. God
[46:47] Speaker 1: will do a work in your hearts. That you will
[46:50] Speaker 1: stand up and look at what God is doing with someone.
[46:54] Speaker 1: And genuinely you are rejoicing from the depth of your heart.
[46:59] Speaker 1: Are you following what I'm saying here? You even send
[47:01] Speaker 1: a seed and say let's join what is happening here.
[47:04] Speaker 1: Glory to God. Wherever you are bow your heads. If
[47:07] Speaker 1: you know you need to repent before the Lord. You've
[47:10] Speaker 1: opened your mouth. Concerning one pastor. You know some people say.
[47:14] Speaker 1: All this prayer altar that they are praying. All this
[47:16] Speaker 1: prayer altar that they are praying. Pray. Just pray. Just pray.
[47:25] Speaker 1: Just pray. And here's the problem with many of us.
[47:29] Speaker 1: The teachers will criticize the evangelists. The teachers will say
[47:33] Speaker 1: the evangelists are not deep. Are you following what I'm
[47:35] Speaker 1: saying here? And then the pastors will say that the evangelists,
[47:40] Speaker 1: they are not discipling people. You have to understand that
[47:43] Speaker 1: what you have is a path. Say with me, a path. Everybody,
[47:47] Speaker 1: please stand up. I want to show you something. Go
[47:48] Speaker 1: back to that 1 Corinthians 13 as we close verse 10.
[47:51] Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 10. Say with me, what
[47:54] Speaker 1: I have is a path. Come on, say again. What
[47:57] Speaker 1: I have is a path. 1 Corinthians 13, 10. Please,
[48:00] Speaker 1: very quickly, if I can have it. So we pray
[48:03] Speaker 1: and then we close this morning. Have you been blessed?
[48:07] Speaker 1: It says, but when that which is perfect is come.
[48:10] Speaker 1: Can I have verse 9? Go back to verse 9.
[48:13] Speaker 1: And let's read that entire text. Everybody read one to go.
[48:16] Speaker 1: We know in part and we what? Prophesy in part.
[48:19] Speaker 1: Say what I have is a part. Come on, say
[48:22] Speaker 1: it again. What I have, as glorious as it is,
[48:26] Speaker 1: as phenomenal as it is, is a part. Say with me,
[48:30] Speaker 1: it's a part. It's a part. Now look at what
[48:32] Speaker 1: he says in the next verse. Run with me, verse 10.
[48:35] Speaker 1: But when that which is perfect comes, then that which
[48:36] Speaker 1: is impartial will be done away with. Next verse. Look
[48:39] Speaker 1: at it. When I was a child, I speak as
[48:42] Speaker 1: a child, I thought as a child, I understood as
[48:44] Speaker 1: a child. But when I became a man, I put
[48:46] Speaker 1: away childish things. One of the marks of mature men
[48:50] Speaker 1: is they know that what they have is a past.
[48:52] Speaker 1: It's just a past. Glory to God. Please bow your
[48:57] Speaker 1: heads before the Lord. And I want you to pray. Lord,
[49:00] Speaker 1: help my heart. Lord, help my heart. Lord, help my heart.
[49:05] Speaker 1: Let your love, let it consume every fabric of my being.
[49:11] Speaker 1: No envy, no jealousy, no malice, no offense, no strife whatsoever,
[49:16] Speaker 1: no pride whatsoever. In the name of Jesus. please pray
[49:21] Speaker 1: from the depth of your hearts please pray from the
[49:23] Speaker 1: depth many of you know you need to repent before
[49:26] Speaker 1: the lord evil speakings against other ministers and other ministries
[49:30] Speaker 1: evil speakings against other works you know you need to
[49:34] Speaker 1: repent before the lord i need you to pray from
[49:37] Speaker 1: the depth of your hearts Thank you, Father. We bless
[49:50] Speaker 1: your holy name. 2215-00-5289 UBA

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