WEBVTT

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Hi there. Welcome to NECF. We're excited to share

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today's message with you. Don't go anywhere.

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Stay with us till the end for some valuable resources

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to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.

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Praise God. Turn to your neighbor and say, it's

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wonderful to be in the house of the Lord. It's

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wonderful to be in church today. I think I'm

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seeing someone I've not seen in a while. Nice

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to see you, Serge. Praise God. Praise the Lord.

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Praise the Lord. So we're going to, I really

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thank God for the opportunity to be here, to

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be able to stand before you, to teach. Thank

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you so much to the lead pastor. Thank you so

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much to the pastor for another opportunity. And

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we thank God for the Believers Conference. We

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thank God for what God... has stirred up in our

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hearts, and this is one week after. One week

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after. So I want you to look at yourself and

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say, with what you have received, are you acting

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on what you have received? Are you acting on

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the instructions that you have received? Ask

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yourself that question, and then we're going

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to look at what we're going to be looking at

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this morning, and we'll continue on Wednesday.

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And the topic is staying on fire for God. The

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topic is staying on fire for God. Staying on

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fire for God. Staying on fire for God. Staying

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on fire for God. And our key text is from Romans

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12 verse 11. Romans 12 verse 11. It says, not

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lacking or lagging. Indiligence. Not lagging.

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Indiligence. Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

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Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. I like the

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NLC. The NLC says, never be lazy, but work hard

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and serve the Lord enthusiastically. TPT. It

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says, be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping

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your passion towards Him boiling hot. radiate

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with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him

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fill you with excitement as you serve him. I

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like the last part. It says, let him fill you

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with excitement as you serve him. Are you serving

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the Lord with excitement? Are you, you know,

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there's something about when you come, you do

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something over and over again. Sometimes it becomes

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I think some people will say it gets boring.

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We're doing the same thing over and over again.

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There's no flavor, no spice. We're not doing

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it slightly different than before. There's something

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about when you come to something again and it's

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almost like you've never done it before. Because

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you're expectant that there's something new that's

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going to spring forth from it. And I want to

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start this with... I think this period has been

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coming to mind very strongly. I remembered, I

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think it was when Pastor Victor was sharing in

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the meeting, and I remember the whole, I think

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it came to me strongly, and it keeps coming back

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to me, the whole experience of the National Youth

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Service that we're doing back in my country,

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Nigeria. And for some people, it's just one of

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those things, compulsory things that you have

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to do to serve. And for me, I think when... Getting

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to the bus, driving all the way, those of us

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from Nigeria, driving all the way to Oshun State

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to go and serve is an experience that, you know,

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if you think about it, you're going to somewhere

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you've never been before. It should put some

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fear into you. But there's the excitement that

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I had that I'm going to somewhere to go and serve

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for one year. It doesn't come natural. You know,

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some people, there's no natural excitement to

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go. You're going somewhere. And it's very interesting

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because my dad had already worked out how he's

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going to work it out. And how my younger brother,

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because we served at the same time, my younger

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brother, how my younger brother is going to be

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here. And he's going to be here. I'm going to

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be here. And everything. And the way God rearranged

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the thing. And then it still looked worked out

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because I still think to today, you know, we

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don't know how it worked out, but it worked out

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beautifully. In the sense that I was serving

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in this state and my younger brother is serving

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not far from the state. But the experience for

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me was going there, I was excited. In the sense

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that the journey itself was somewhat supernatural.

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Just meeting people that you never met before,

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but they were just interested in wanting to see

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you move forward or wanting to see you do well.

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And then when I landed in the place, there was

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now calls coming in. Oh, we know somebody there

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that will help you to fix it here so you'll serve

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in the capital and all of that. I wasn't really

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interested. I just wanted God to do his thing.

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I didn't want me to work it out for God because

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sometimes we have a tendency to want to work

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things out. But that was the impression I had

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and I was not interested. In fact, I was dodging

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a particular man in the camp that they were telling

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me to see before the three weeks was over. I

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dodged the man until the day I received my call

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-up letter. And then I went and met the man.

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The man said, what is wrong with you? I've been

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looking for you. And I will see the man. I will

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just be. So I avoided the man until the day when

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I received my call -up letter. And I walked up

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to him. And when I walked up to him, I told him,

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I said, I've got him. I said, why didn't you

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come and meet me? I would have sent you to the

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capital. And I was like, I just said a lot of

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stuff and skipped the whole thing. And then I

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went to the place. And I think a friend of mine

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had walked. He paid. He did all of those things

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to be able to get to the capital. And the story

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was a sad story afterwards for him. Praise God.

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But for me, I went there with an excitement or

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a zeal, as you will, or commitment that is just

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for one year. When we're done, we leave. You

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know, when you know when something's going to

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end, you have understood that this thing is just

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one year. And one year will go very quickly.

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Those of us that have been in Cyprus know that.

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The years pass very quickly on the island. You

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will be thinking of when you came and where you

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are now. And before you know it, you're done.

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So the part I'm getting to is where five of us

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were posted to a particular school. Five of us.

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Five. One, two, three, four, five. I was one

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of the five. And once we arrived there, every

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other person went in front to see the principal

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and then states whether they're going to stay

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or whether they're going to leave. The first

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person went to the principal and then I think

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it was the guy. The guy said, oh, that I don't

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want to serve in a private school because a private

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school, I'm going to be stressed. He said, just

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give me a rejection letter. Second person, I

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think the second person was the person that said,

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oh, that he will be reposted out of the state

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to some other state that he has an uncle. Then

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the third person now said that, oh, you have

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an uncle. Can you please walk? it out for me

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too as they are working out yours. And then you

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just, then the fourth person now came. I think

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the fourth person's own was the one that was

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very interesting. He met the proprietor, the

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owner of the school at the side and told the

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proprietor that, actually, I'm a public speaker

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and I have speaking gigs. I stay in Lagos. So

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from time to time, I'll be wanting to come in

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and go out and all of that. And the man looked

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at him and said, I, I don't work with irresponsible

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people. I don't work with irresponsible people.

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I like people that know what their work is, know

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what they're here for, and they do it. And the

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man told him straight out, and then he collected

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rejections. So all these people have collected

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rejections. It was my turn now. So the principal

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said, should I write a rejection letter for you?

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I said, no, I'm not with them. I'm not with them.

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I came here. I know that it's one year. I'm just

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going. So she was like, wow. When the proprietor

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got back home that evening, he asked the principal,

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because the way it looked to him was like everybody

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was going to collect the rejection and leave.

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And then he asked and he was like, oh, why did

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you decide to stay? I told him, I said, I decided

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to stay because this is what I came for. This

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is the reason why I came for. And I'm excited

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to do what it is that brought me here for. And

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then when I'm done, I know that I'm done with

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it. And that itself was what fueled my passion.

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for that particular one year. And when it was

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time for me to leave, I was excited because I

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knew, and I knew that it wasn't just my teaching.

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There's a lot of sides that has to do with what

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God has called me to, because basically when

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they carried me from the camp, you know that

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was the work of ministry they were doing. You're

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going to go and you're going to serve in the

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Nigerian Coppers Christian Fellowship, and that's

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basically what you're going to do. And then in

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itself, prepared. me for the many things that

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came ahead. And what I want us to just pick out

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from all of this is that you don't want to get

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consumed by the crowd. There's what they refer

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to as a crowd mentality, where you put yourself

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along with the crowd, because where the crowd

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go, you will also go. And if you don't have a

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stance at that point in time, you will flow with

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the crowd. And that's very dangerous because

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what the crowd gets is what you get if you stick

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with the crowd. But you want to have an understanding

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of what you're called to do, understanding of

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why you're there. That in itself will tailor

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the things that you're going to do afterwards.

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And it's very important that we bear that in

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mind and it's going to help us in the things

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that we're going to be discussing. Staying on

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fire for God. Staying. on fire for God, staying

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on fire for God. So let's start with what does

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it mean to stay on fire for God? What does it

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mean to stay on fire or to be on fire for God?

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What does it mean to be on fire for God? What

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that means is that you're a person that is living

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with a passion, commitment, and a zeal for God,

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his work, and his people. You're living with

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a passion. You're living with a commitment and

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a zeal for God and his people. And this passion

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is not a half -hearted passion. This passion

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is a whole -hearted passion for God and his people.

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And how many of you know that when someone is

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passionate about something, it is evident. Praise

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God. It is evident. And it is even contagious.

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It is evident and it's contagious. How many of

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you have been around someone that is passionate

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about something and all of a sudden you just

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start becoming interested in that particular

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thing? Because they are very passionate about

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it. They talk about it. They discuss. There's

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no conversation they will have and they will

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not bring it inside and then you will hear it

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over and over. In fact, you will end up associating

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them with that thing totally. Many of us have

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friends like that. And that in itself would influence

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your understanding, will influence your commitment

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to every other thing. And for some of us, I think

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I'll go back to this again just to establish,

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from Catartismus or from the Believers Conference

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till now, what has happened to your commitment?

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Has it increased? Or is it where it used to be?

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Or has it gone down? And when I was preparing

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my digital on this, I say for some people, their

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spiritual life is like this. It's like it fluctuates

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like a stock exchange market. It's like there's

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bearish trend. Then after a while, there's some

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bullish trend. I think those of us that do Forex

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will be able to understand. It goes up. After

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a while, it comes. It's almost like it's a circle

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of ups. downs, ups, downs. It's like you're just

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going up and down and that is basically how your

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spiritual life, if they were to show you a chart

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of how it doesn't stay, even if it goes, it stays

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there for a while, then it goes down a lot and

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then it now comes up and then stays. Some people,

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their own is down for a while until another believer's

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conference, then it will come up again. It's

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like the margin between the down and up is a

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lot further. than others. Praise God. I want

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to present it to you that your spiritual life

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doesn't have to be a chart, a up and down chart.

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It can be this. Even if it goes down a bit, it's

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still on the safe margin. Praise God. Praise

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God. That is basically why Apostle Paul will

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be saying, your spiritual life doesn't have to

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be dwindling or later to fade into. And when

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something happens, some spiritual experience

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happens, then you come back again. Maybe one

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hot prayer meeting or something like that. It

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doesn't have to be what would determine how your

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spiritual work goes. And Apostle Paul instructs

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us in this particular text to be fervent in spirit.

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Fervent in spirit. Fervent in spirit. And in

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all seasons we can be. In all seasons we can

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be. And it's our responsibility. Yeah, God is

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able to keep us, but we have a responsibility

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to ensure that we guard the things that we've

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received. And what we're going to be looking

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at in today's teaching is we're going to see

00:14:18.049 --> 00:14:22.029
reasons why we lose our fire and some practical

00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:24.909
biblical steps on how to maintain it. It depends

00:14:24.909 --> 00:14:28.269
on wherever we start or continue. And the word

00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:36.899
fervent is Z -E -O, fervent. Z -E -O -Z -O. It

00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:41.659
means to boil with heat or to be hot. And that's

00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:48.220
why TPT says to boil hot. To boil hot. Fervent

00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:52.399
is Z -E -O. It means to boil with heat or to

00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:58.940
be hot. It is used for utmost passion. Something

00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:05.480
that takes a lot of attention. or it sometimes

00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:08.740
connotes something that burns, something that

00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:13.419
burns. And we know that when there's heat, many

00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:16.139
of us become uncomfortable, right? When there's

00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:19.059
heat, many of us become uncomfortable. When it's

00:15:19.059 --> 00:15:21.179
warm, and there'll be a time that we prefer,

00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:23.240
we like heat. When the weather changes, we'll

00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.179
switch to a point where we'll now be needing

00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:30.779
the heat so that we can stay warm. But that...

00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:33.250
It's very important because we have a body temperature

00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:36.629
to maintain with regards to the physical physiology

00:15:36.629 --> 00:15:39.769
and all of that. But with your spiritual life,

00:15:40.110 --> 00:15:47.129
you're not regulating to maintain a warm temperature.

00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:51.529
And you see that in certain things that happen.

00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:57.350
And let's go to Revelation 3. Revelation 3, verse

00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:04.590
15 and 16. And in Revelation 2 down to 3, you

00:16:04.590 --> 00:16:10.710
see, it speaks of the seven churches. And Laodicea

00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:14.049
is the last of those seven churches. And Laodicea

00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:17.029
is referred to as the lukewarm church. It's referred

00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:20.309
to as the lukewarm church. You have the different

00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:22.830
churches. There's the dead church. There's the

00:16:22.830 --> 00:16:25.710
faithful church. And then Laodicea is referred

00:16:25.710 --> 00:16:28.750
to as the lukewarm church. It says, I know your

00:16:28.750 --> 00:16:33.019
works, that you are neither. Hot, no cold. Understand

00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:35.159
that if you're neither hot nor cold, it means

00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.259
that you're what? You look warm. Meaning that

00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:41.639
when we taste of you, you're not hot, you're

00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.019
not cold. And it's a problem because we can't

00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:46.059
place you in a particular, you're now in between.

00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.480
It's like, I used to say this in class, you can

00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.039
either be inside this building or outside this

00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.860
building, right? There's nothing like being in

00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:57.669
the world. But some people can do that when they

00:16:57.669 --> 00:16:59.590
are in the building, but their minds are outside

00:16:59.590 --> 00:17:02.389
the building. We can refer to it as, because

00:17:02.389 --> 00:17:04.609
you probably are here, but you don't get any

00:17:04.609 --> 00:17:06.150
information that's given. And for some people,

00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:08.170
that's basically where they find themselves.

00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:10.809
They are drifting out of the building, but they

00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:13.170
are physically in the building. Praise God. It

00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.910
says, you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you

00:17:15.910 --> 00:17:19.009
were one of those. Because, you know, when you

00:17:19.009 --> 00:17:22.710
are hot, we know where to place you. When you

00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:25.190
are cold, we know where to place you. When you

00:17:25.190 --> 00:17:32.670
are between all, like we don't know where. Praise

00:17:32.670 --> 00:17:37.910
God. 16 now says, it says, so then because you

00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:41.910
are lukewarm or neither hot nor cold, I will

00:17:41.910 --> 00:17:45.630
spill you out of my mouth. Note that there's

00:17:45.630 --> 00:17:50.289
the, this here goes to illustrate how it's very

00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:54.970
important that we are. because it would be great

00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:57.950
for us to be hot. Just imagine when you come

00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:02.390
into this place and then everybody is greatly,

00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:05.569
in fact, we're competing with ourselves on who

00:18:05.569 --> 00:18:09.930
is the hottest. Praise God. You know, I think

00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.569
one thing hit me very hard was during when, I

00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:15.950
don't know whether it was Pastor Fred or Pastor

00:18:15.950 --> 00:18:18.430
Koston that said, and that your listeners will

00:18:18.430 --> 00:18:21.390
be more than the pastors. I think it was you,

00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:26.279
sir. Everybody was like, ah. It was like radio

00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.000
silence. I was like, what is going on here? We

00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.240
don't want to outdo. No, no, no. We don't want

00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.339
to. The ones we can see and the ones we cannot

00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:43.700
see. Praise God. What are you expecting? That

00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:46.460
we give you and then you stay? You don't want

00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:49.109
to. I'll shine your master. This is funny it

00:18:49.109 --> 00:18:52.109
is. No. With the work of God, you want to be

00:18:52.109 --> 00:18:55.470
as hot as you can be because there's a lot that

00:18:55.470 --> 00:19:00.089
happens when you're hot. There's a lot that happens

00:19:00.089 --> 00:19:02.250
when you're hot. How many of you know that there

00:19:02.250 --> 00:19:05.269
are certain things that cannot stand fire? How

00:19:05.269 --> 00:19:06.230
many of you know that there are certain things

00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:09.509
that cannot stand fire? When you're on fire,

00:19:09.609 --> 00:19:10.849
there are certain things you will not even see

00:19:10.849 --> 00:19:13.450
because what fire does is that fire consumes

00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:18.309
anything. That is not meant to stand. Even gold

00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:21.730
is refined with fire. Because what fire does

00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:26.329
is that fire will destroy every impurity. And

00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:30.490
what will remain is the gold. Praise God. What

00:19:30.490 --> 00:19:36.349
will remain is the gold. So being on fire involves

00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:41.690
a heart that burns for God's purposes and for

00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:46.690
God's people. Being on fire involves a heart

00:19:46.690 --> 00:19:50.470
that burns for God's purposes and God's people.

00:19:53.769 --> 00:19:58.650
It's very important that we note that. And why

00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:01.809
is it important that we stay on fire for God?

00:20:02.049 --> 00:20:04.250
Why is it important that we stay on fire for

00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:08.970
God? The work itself demands it. The work itself

00:20:08.970 --> 00:20:14.220
demands it. And we say, fervency. is seen in

00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:17.579
our service to God. Fervency is what is expected

00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:20.640
in our service to God. God doesn't expect anything

00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.819
less than fervency. God doesn't expect anything

00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:27.539
less than our fervency. And first and foremost,

00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:31.880
the walk itself demands it, as I said, and in

00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.779
our weakness into the world, fervency, fire,

00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:38.880
is what ensures that we are effective in that

00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.960
walk. A passionate believer will shine brightly.

00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.519
Because if you're communicating something that

00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:48.740
is able to change someone's life and you're not

00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.839
doing it with the passion that it... You know,

00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:53.900
how many of you have tried to sell something

00:20:53.900 --> 00:20:57.579
to somebody and then you just... The person will

00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:01.480
know... You see that this product is... This

00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:04.460
product is not... I don't think this product

00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:07.240
is legit. This person is not saying... There's

00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:11.259
no energy. There's nothing. They're just trying

00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:14.029
to... sell something. It's like they give you

00:21:14.029 --> 00:21:16.589
and they say, sell it. And then you're just doing,

00:21:16.710 --> 00:21:20.990
you're very complacent about it. And we need

00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:24.190
that to attract, we need that to bring people

00:21:24.190 --> 00:21:26.450
into this kingdom. And it's very important. And

00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:29.230
when our faith is vibrant, it's able to impact

00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:31.789
the people around us. When the faith that you

00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:34.210
have in the things, and that's why we hold on

00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:36.410
to the things that we're being taught. And we

00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:40.190
hold on to it faithfully. Because in our communication,

00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:44.759
it will, that, The energy that you put into holding

00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:47.259
on to it will be seen in how you dispense it.

00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:49.299
Praise God. And it's very important that you

00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:53.279
put that in mind. He says, our fervency is seen

00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:55.640
in our service to the Lord. Very important. And

00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:57.900
it's evident. And it's contagious. Remember,

00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:02.000
he told us about how when somebody that is very

00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:03.960
passionate about something comes around you,

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.500
you will catch that passion. Praise God. You'll

00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:09.940
catch that passion. And it's also very important

00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:13.500
for our spiritual growth. is very important for

00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:16.039
our spiritual growth. Because how many of you

00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:20.079
know that in all that you can receive in God,

00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:23.720
there is still room for more? There is no, I

00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.000
have attained it. There is no, if you come to

00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:27.819
that place, I will tell you, you are gone. That

00:22:27.819 --> 00:22:39.339
is the indicator that you need help. Praise God.

00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:45.059
Staying on fire and sustaining your growth and

00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:48.799
your resilience in the face of trials is very

00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.460
important. Because without passion, you will

00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:55.140
risk spiritual stagnation. Without passion, you'll

00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:58.279
be stagnant spiritually. You'll be the same place

00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:00.660
you were yesterday, the day before yesterday,

00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:03.940
a month ago, two months ago, a year ago. That's

00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:05.819
where you're going to be if you don't stay on

00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.609
fire for God. If you don't stay on fire for God,

00:23:09.750 --> 00:23:12.349
you're going to be the same place you are. And

00:23:12.349 --> 00:23:15.329
when he says, be fervent in spirit. How many

00:23:15.329 --> 00:23:19.849
of you, I think, let's go to Acts 18 .25. Acts

00:23:19.849 --> 00:23:31.890
18 .25. Let's see. Our brother Apollos. I think

00:23:31.890 --> 00:23:36.049
start from 24. It says, now a certain Jew named

00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:40.809
Apollos. Born at Alexandria, an eloquent man

00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:46.769
and mighty in scriptures came to Ephesus. He

00:23:46.769 --> 00:23:50.609
says, this man had been instructed in the way

00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:54.809
of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke

00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:57.990
and taught accurately the things of the Lord,

00:23:58.029 --> 00:24:04.710
though knew only the baptism of John. This man

00:24:04.710 --> 00:24:08.119
came fervent in spirit. eloquent, everything

00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:12.240
put together and he was communicating what he

00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:17.460
knew. Praise God. In our day and age, that one

00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:21.279
he knows, he will communicate that one. What

00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:24.039
he knew was the baptism of John but he was doing

00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:27.559
it and because he was doing it, Priscilla and

00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:30.900
Aquila were able to take him out and then sharpen

00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:34.359
and sharpen what he was. brought him and straightened

00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:37.920
him out and was able to train him and to bring

00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.759
him up because he's already fervent. How many

00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:44.099
of you know that when you are cold, it's going

00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:46.119
to be... In fact, the person that's trying to

00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:49.140
help you, where do we start from? Where do we

00:24:49.140 --> 00:24:51.279
start from? How do we put fire to the person

00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:55.839
that is not... So now we go to the second part,

00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:58.779
the other part, which is how do we lose this

00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:00.980
fire? This is very important because I think

00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.640
when I was preparing this, I... sense that a

00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:08.099
lot of us don't even see the ways and the things

00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:13.200
that causes us to lose our commitment, to lose

00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:17.299
our zeal, to lose our passion. And please pay

00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:21.480
attention to this part. Because what happens

00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:24.180
is that you don't come into that place of spiritual

00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:27.519
complacency by accident. You don't come there

00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:29.619
by accident. And what happens is that it will

00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:34.900
slowly calm, and it's not like there are specific

00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:37.019
choices that you can lay your hands on that you

00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:38.759
made that resulted to you. There are little,

00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:40.599
little things that get you to that point of spiritual

00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:44.279
complacency. And I want us to see one. The first

00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:49.039
one. The first one is exposure to dishonor. Right?

00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:52.539
Exposure to dishonor and keeping the wrong association.

00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:57.619
Exposure to dishonor and keeping the wrong association.

00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:07.359
And I use the word exposure because some of us

00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:09.539
will probably not, because now we're in the age

00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:13.059
where there's social media and people want to

00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:17.319
have subscribers. And they have figured out that

00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:19.380
there are certain things that we can do to get

00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:23.279
people's interest. And they now get a niche,

00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:27.200
right? They get a niche and then they will now

00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:31.299
put nice thumbnails and then you'll just be scrolling

00:26:31.299 --> 00:26:34.049
innocently. And then you click and then you say,

00:26:34.130 --> 00:26:36.450
ah, I like what this person is saying. And then

00:26:36.450 --> 00:26:38.970
you subscribe. And then what happens is that

00:26:38.970 --> 00:26:41.329
once you subscribe to the person, anytime, you

00:26:41.329 --> 00:26:42.769
know, they say subscribe, click the notification

00:26:42.769 --> 00:26:45.289
button when you come. So anytime there's a latest,

00:26:45.670 --> 00:26:48.170
it will pop on your feed. And some of us, we

00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:50.710
have, so I don't know how some people do it.

00:26:50.829 --> 00:26:53.390
There was a time in my life where I just, I did

00:26:53.390 --> 00:26:55.109
not know what I got myself into. I just clicked

00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:57.269
allow notification and then all of a sudden you'll

00:26:57.269 --> 00:26:59.740
just be seeing. And the worst is that you will

00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:02.000
not see any space again because some of us are

00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.279
subscribed to a lot of things because when we

00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:06.359
say, ah, I like this person, subscribe. I like

00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:07.460
what this person says, subscribe. And before

00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:09.500
you know it, you cannot see your screen again.

00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:12.599
You have your wallpaper, but you've forgotten

00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:14.220
the last time you saw it. Maybe when there was

00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:15.420
no internet, that was when you saw your wallpaper.

00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:20.140
Praise God. What happens is that it's one of

00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:23.299
the subtle ways where people lose their fervency

00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:25.880
because what happens is that they are exposing

00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:30.309
themselves to individuals. that dishonor ministers

00:27:30.309 --> 00:27:34.609
of God or dishonor certain things. You just subscribe

00:27:34.609 --> 00:27:36.609
and the person will be talking about how speaking

00:27:36.609 --> 00:27:40.250
in tongues is rubbish. And then you just, and

00:27:40.250 --> 00:27:44.490
then you believe in it, but you're hearing out.

00:27:44.890 --> 00:27:47.529
You're listening to the person. And just imagine,

00:27:47.609 --> 00:27:50.089
for some of us, we'll take our time and then

00:27:50.089 --> 00:27:53.890
watch like hundreds of those videos. And it's,

00:27:54.109 --> 00:27:56.150
you know, when I say hundreds of videos, you'll

00:27:56.150 --> 00:27:59.259
be like, ah, how about now? Just take, look at

00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:03.900
the year you subscribed till now. The year you

00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:07.079
subscribed till now. And then sometimes you check,

00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.180
sometimes, you know, now they have shorts. So

00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:11.960
shorts, you will not even realize that you have

00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:13.700
watched up to hundreds of the person's content

00:28:13.700 --> 00:28:16.880
because shorts is the summary of the main video.

00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:20.980
So in those shorts, they put the punch. You want

00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:24.420
the punch line and then you will not listen and

00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:25.920
then you will not know what he has done to you.

00:28:26.329 --> 00:28:28.210
Until later on, you'll be looking for fervency

00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:30.269
and you can't find it. You'll come and you'll

00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:33.730
be expecting prayer to recover what you spend

00:28:33.730 --> 00:28:35.589
more time listening to those people than even

00:28:35.589 --> 00:28:39.829
praying. Praise God. That is one. Remember we

00:28:39.829 --> 00:28:42.930
said it's not just the exposure, because I said

00:28:42.930 --> 00:28:45.809
it's an exposure. And the exposure is a subtle

00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:50.450
exposure. It's just a harmless, it's a YouTube

00:28:50.450 --> 00:28:53.289
video. Harmless and it's not, and the funny thing

00:28:53.289 --> 00:28:55.519
is, it's not pornography. You know, it's not

00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:58.119
any of those ones that you say, oh, this one

00:28:58.119 --> 00:29:00.079
is African as well. That one is there for some

00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:02.160
of you that are looking at me. That one is there.

00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:04.579
You cannot be watching pornography and then you

00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:08.240
think your spiritual life will somehow elevate

00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:14.279
to a particular status. You watch all of that

00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:16.380
and then you have them criticize ministries,

00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:17.940
you have them criticize all of those things and

00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:21.000
then you expect that somehow. And one thing about...

00:29:21.230 --> 00:29:24.210
criticism is that once you are given into different

00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:27.130
forms of criticism, it's just a matter of time

00:29:27.130 --> 00:29:30.529
you will shift that criticism to your own pastors.

00:29:31.529 --> 00:29:34.170
You'll be like, hey, I've heard it somewhere

00:29:34.170 --> 00:29:36.410
that if the person starts going in this direction

00:29:36.410 --> 00:29:39.869
and then you now end up, we don't know what you

00:29:39.869 --> 00:29:41.609
have received because we did not give you that.

00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:44.630
Praise God. Because you got it from somewhere.

00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:48.529
And it's very little because sometimes there's

00:29:48.529 --> 00:29:50.309
a place where you watch it and then you're like,

00:29:50.329 --> 00:29:53.180
ah. So people preach this kind of thing. Then

00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:56.420
when you now start talking about it, talking

00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:59.359
about it, it is slow. Before you know it, it

00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:02.799
will now enter a place of pride. Say, me, I cannot

00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.240
teach this kind of, how can I? You know, we were

00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:08.140
taught elsewhere. Then before you know it, you

00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:10.920
now enter a place where you are actually, but

00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:13.799
you know better. If the person had known what

00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:16.980
you know, it wouldn't be a different situation.

00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:19.220
Praise God. And some of us, we even do it to

00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:22.599
our parents. because you know. Then when your

00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:25.380
dad or mom say, oh, this is, he say, no, no,

00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:29.140
no, mommy, mommy, calm, calm, calm down. You'll

00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:31.640
be talking, you'll forget that it's the person

00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:34.339
that gave birth to you. The person taught you

00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:36.500
the smalls on the school that helped you to,

00:30:36.579 --> 00:30:40.839
you were not finding the club. Praise God. So

00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:43.740
understand that our parents had given us what

00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:46.559
they, so when you are doing that, do that with

00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:50.309
a sense of honor. I think when pastor, Victor

00:30:50.309 --> 00:30:52.309
was teaching us to say, honor is you seeing the

00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:55.490
person the way Christ sees the person. Because

00:30:55.490 --> 00:30:57.130
you're looking at that person and saying, okay,

00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:00.730
this is a person that is bought with a price

00:31:00.730 --> 00:31:04.049
as you are. So you don't dishonor them in that

00:31:04.049 --> 00:31:06.049
regard. And I want us to see something very,

00:31:06.130 --> 00:31:10.769
in the life of, in Miriam's situation. So let's

00:31:10.769 --> 00:31:13.589
look at Naomi, I said no Naomi. Let's look at

00:31:13.589 --> 00:31:20.339
Numbers 12. Numbers 12. Numbers 12. I want us

00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:23.900
to see a situation happen and you'll see it's

00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:30.799
subtle. Numbers 12, yeah. 1 and 2. Numbers 12,

00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:35.319
1 and 2. So it says, Then Miriam and Aaron spoke

00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:38.619
against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman

00:31:38.619 --> 00:31:42.180
whom he had married. Please pay attention. Because

00:31:42.180 --> 00:31:44.539
of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. For

00:31:44.539 --> 00:31:48.849
he had married an Ethiopian woman. It says, so

00:31:48.849 --> 00:31:52.589
they said, has the Lord indeed spoken only through

00:31:52.589 --> 00:31:56.750
Moses? Has he not spoken through us also? And

00:31:56.750 --> 00:32:00.089
the Lord heard it. Praise God. I want you to

00:32:00.089 --> 00:32:03.210
see how it transitioned from the woman he married

00:32:03.210 --> 00:32:07.809
to a thing of God speaks to us through, like

00:32:07.809 --> 00:32:12.230
God speaks to us through. It was the woman he

00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:14.750
married, right? That was the, because go back

00:32:14.750 --> 00:32:18.390
to one. He says, it's because of the Ethiopian

00:32:18.390 --> 00:32:21.690
woman whom he married. So that should be the

00:32:21.690 --> 00:32:24.849
problem, right? That is the problem. But now

00:32:24.849 --> 00:32:27.569
in verse 2, how did he move from the woman he

00:32:27.569 --> 00:32:32.789
married to whether he hears God? Whether God

00:32:32.789 --> 00:32:34.529
doesn't speak to them. So how did you move to

00:32:34.529 --> 00:32:39.089
that? You know, sometimes when you are arguing

00:32:39.089 --> 00:32:41.349
with people or there's a misunderstanding, you

00:32:41.349 --> 00:32:43.670
want to ask them, what are we arguing about?

00:32:44.600 --> 00:32:46.420
What is the problem? So that you can address

00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:50.720
a specific problem. Not the... You know, some

00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:56.299
people just want to... You say, you do too much.

00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:59.339
What is your problem? Before you know it, they

00:32:59.339 --> 00:33:01.400
are attacking every part. They are not telling

00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:03.059
you one thing, but they are saying, you, in fact,

00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:04.680
I don't like this one. I don't like this one.

00:33:04.779 --> 00:33:08.079
And then you end up... And I don't know how many

00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:10.839
of us will be very... We are very much aware

00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:14.049
that this is Moses' older sister, right? It's

00:33:14.049 --> 00:33:16.349
Moses' older sister, and Aaron there is the brother.

00:33:16.529 --> 00:33:20.109
So it's almost like it's a family situation.

00:33:20.410 --> 00:33:23.869
So it's like, and then Moses is not the... And

00:33:23.869 --> 00:33:29.750
I want you to see how Miriam, in Exodus 2, verse

00:33:29.750 --> 00:33:34.569
4, see how Miriam was very... You know when you

00:33:34.569 --> 00:33:37.349
have a sister that cares and loves you so much?

00:33:37.789 --> 00:33:42.750
You know, in Exodus 2, verse 4, we see that...

00:33:43.130 --> 00:33:47.390
This sister was the one that ensured that Moses

00:33:47.390 --> 00:33:51.049
was safe because she just had a baby brother.

00:33:51.690 --> 00:33:54.630
And then she's trying to see that this person,

00:33:54.690 --> 00:33:57.289
and then when you go to 7, verse 7, it says,

00:33:57.410 --> 00:34:03.609
she was observing, verse 7, 2 verse 7, Exodus

00:34:03.609 --> 00:34:06.230
2 verse 7. So then his sister said to Pharaoh's

00:34:06.230 --> 00:34:08.769
daughter, so when they had found, when they had...

00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:11.219
Gotting Moses out of the water, she came out

00:34:11.219 --> 00:34:14.360
and said, ah, shall I go and find a nurse for

00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:17.900
you from the Hebrew woman that will nurse the

00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:20.920
child for you? So, meaning that this sister,

00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:23.280
and then say, ah, let me go and find, and then

00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:24.820
you know that she ended up bringing the mother,

00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:28.139
her mother, which is his mother, to come and

00:34:28.139 --> 00:34:31.119
nurse the child. And then, also when this progressed,

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:33.820
you see in Exodus 15, I want you to see how,

00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:37.820
so that you understand where... where this person

00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:40.940
was at to where they are at in this point. Exodus

00:34:40.940 --> 00:34:46.380
15, verse 20, 21. Exodus 15, 20, 21. It says,

00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:49.579
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron,

00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:55.039
took the timbrel in her hand and with all the

00:34:55.039 --> 00:35:01.119
women went out after her and then timbrels with

00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:04.579
a dance. Then 21 now. It says, And Miriam said

00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:08.280
to them, Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed

00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:11.840
gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown

00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:16.699
into the sea. And this is what she was just echoing,

00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:19.719
what Moses himself has started in verse 1. Just

00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:22.340
go to verse 1. You'll see that this is someone

00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:26.239
that was leading the women in dance. He's a prophetess,

00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:28.940
leading the women in dance with what Moses had

00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:33.679
already said. So the question now is, you move

00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:38.059
from there. What would likely have caused the

00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:42.260
problem is a bit of, you know, during that whole

00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:45.920
time, the children of Israel were just complaining,

00:35:46.420 --> 00:35:50.179
murmuring, grumbling, and doing all of that.

00:35:50.360 --> 00:35:52.579
And there's a likelihood that that would have

00:35:52.579 --> 00:35:55.079
seeped in a bit of dishonor, and then there's

00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:58.719
a bit of jealousy, because verse 2 tells us that

00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:03.800
very clearly. Moses, God speaks to you the way.

00:36:04.090 --> 00:36:05.909
You know, some people, you come to a place where

00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:08.150
you say, ah, I hear God too now. What are you

00:36:08.150 --> 00:36:10.670
telling me? What are you telling me? Who do you

00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:13.909
think you are? Me too, I hear God. Do you think

00:36:13.909 --> 00:36:16.190
you're the only one that can hear God? Praise

00:36:16.190 --> 00:36:20.130
God. It's not about who hears better, right?

00:36:20.369 --> 00:36:22.849
It's about a structure of leadership that God

00:36:22.849 --> 00:36:28.769
has placed and that was addressed. I want us

00:36:28.769 --> 00:36:32.130
to go to 1 Samuel to see another example. Boy,

00:36:32.150 --> 00:36:34.230
different example. This one is on a positive

00:36:34.230 --> 00:36:39.510
note. 1 Samuel 1 verse 12. 1 Samuel 1 verse 12.

00:36:40.690 --> 00:36:43.849
And note that all we're talking about is exposure

00:36:43.849 --> 00:36:48.329
to dishonor and keeping the wrong association.

00:36:51.690 --> 00:36:56.789
So 12, it says, and it happened as she continued

00:36:56.789 --> 00:36:59.710
praying before the Lord that Eli watched her

00:36:59.710 --> 00:37:04.909
mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her

00:37:04.909 --> 00:37:08.590
lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore

00:37:08.590 --> 00:37:14.409
Eli taught she was drunk. So Eli said to her,

00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:18.409
how long will you be drunk? Put your wine away

00:37:18.409 --> 00:37:24.110
from you. 14. So Eli, okay. But Anna answered

00:37:24.110 --> 00:37:26.829
and said, no, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrow.

00:37:27.289 --> 00:37:29.789
of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine

00:37:29.789 --> 00:37:33.570
nor intoxicating drink, but I poured out my soul

00:37:33.570 --> 00:37:35.630
before the Lord. But I poured out my soul before

00:37:35.630 --> 00:37:39.050
the Lord. Do not consider your servant a wicked

00:37:39.050 --> 00:37:42.130
woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint

00:37:42.130 --> 00:37:47.110
and grief I have spoken until now. 17. Then Eli

00:37:47.110 --> 00:37:50.510
answered and said, Go in peace, and the Lord

00:37:50.510 --> 00:37:54.550
of Israel grant your petition, which you have

00:37:54.550 --> 00:37:59.989
asked. 18 now. Says, And she said, let your maiden

00:37:59.989 --> 00:38:04.309
servant find favor in your sight. So the woman

00:38:04.309 --> 00:38:07.190
went away and ate, and her face was no longer

00:38:07.190 --> 00:38:11.909
sad. Praise God. Note that the prophet had misjudged

00:38:11.909 --> 00:38:17.750
what was going on. Meaning that the prophet can

00:38:17.750 --> 00:38:20.230
make a mistake, that your leaders can make a

00:38:20.230 --> 00:38:23.170
mistake. But you don't want to use the mistake.

00:38:24.529 --> 00:38:26.829
to now give them a piece of you. Some people,

00:38:26.909 --> 00:38:29.289
they are waiting for any opportunity that they

00:38:29.289 --> 00:38:33.170
can to give you what is in your heart. And most

00:38:33.170 --> 00:38:34.969
of the times, you don't know what is in your

00:38:34.969 --> 00:38:36.210
heart because you don't know the things that

00:38:36.210 --> 00:38:38.030
you have been listening to, all those things

00:38:38.030 --> 00:38:40.070
you have exposed yourself to that will make you

00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:42.090
say certain things that you will end up regretting.

00:38:42.510 --> 00:38:47.170
And that's why, notice that she had a concern.

00:38:47.989 --> 00:38:50.050
And that brought her to the place of prayer.

00:38:50.230 --> 00:38:54.559
And then, She had every right to say, Yousef,

00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:58.579
you're not looking at somebody. See the way I'm

00:38:58.579 --> 00:39:02.880
crying. You're just there, just telling me that

00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:06.460
I'm doing this, I'm doing that. Is it fair? That

00:39:06.460 --> 00:39:10.179
was not what she did. But she made her plea and

00:39:10.179 --> 00:39:12.880
then got the result. And notice that after he

00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:17.059
had spoken to her, she went away different from

00:39:17.059 --> 00:39:21.960
the way she came. Commitment will make you stay.

00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:27.079
Keep your eyes on what you came for. Whatever

00:39:27.079 --> 00:39:28.920
the person says should not distract you from

00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:32.739
what you came for. Praise God. Some of us, we

00:39:32.739 --> 00:39:37.659
allow ourselves to easily be triggered by the

00:39:37.659 --> 00:39:39.880
things people say and feel and we end up missing

00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:42.760
what we came for. It's very important that we

00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:45.440
pay attention to that and trust that we don't

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:48.659
find ourselves in a place of dishonoring. the

00:39:48.659 --> 00:39:50.119
person that will help you. I think something

00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:53.420
that keeps on coming back to us is that God's

00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:58.559
method to meet your need is still this man. God

00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:02.900
used Eli to meet her need. If she had decided

00:40:02.900 --> 00:40:05.340
to destroy it, she would have left that place

00:40:05.340 --> 00:40:07.000
without what she had been praying and believing

00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:10.340
God for. So you want to trust God's method, even

00:40:10.340 --> 00:40:13.780
if sometimes they can misunderstand, they can

00:40:13.780 --> 00:40:18.489
be some form of error because we're not... It's

00:40:18.489 --> 00:40:20.150
by this grace of God that we're able to do the

00:40:20.150 --> 00:40:21.710
things that we do and do it well. Praise God.

00:40:22.170 --> 00:40:23.929
So it's very important that we put that in mind.

00:40:24.090 --> 00:40:26.570
And then let's stay a bit on keeping the wrong

00:40:26.570 --> 00:40:30.409
associations. I want to repeat it over and over

00:40:30.409 --> 00:40:32.829
again to your hearing. For those of us that got

00:40:32.829 --> 00:40:36.150
a word during the Believer's Conference, that

00:40:36.150 --> 00:40:43.909
you're going to be growing and because the way

00:40:43.909 --> 00:40:47.460
you are now and the way... you will see a big

00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:50.320
difference. But there's the associations that

00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:55.519
you need to end your relationship with. I think

00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:58.619
when I was praying and meditating on this, what

00:40:58.619 --> 00:41:01.179
came to mind was that I think we were taught

00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:04.079
in the Believers Conference. I think Pastor Victor

00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:09.739
had led us through what happened to Saul in his

00:41:09.739 --> 00:41:15.599
conversion. So just picture this. Acts 9. Saul

00:41:15.599 --> 00:41:18.559
had that encounter. Then what Saul decided to

00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:21.280
do, instead of seeing brother Ananias, he now

00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:24.420
decided to continue with his friends. Just like

00:41:24.420 --> 00:41:28.739
he still has contact. He's still WhatsAppping

00:41:28.739 --> 00:41:31.760
them, chatting with them, just like continuing

00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:33.219
his relationship with them. What do you think

00:41:33.219 --> 00:41:37.380
would have happened to his life? Huh? He will

00:41:37.380 --> 00:41:39.840
go back to the business now. It's just a matter

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:42.099
of time. They will just say, we miss you. You

00:41:42.099 --> 00:41:44.719
know, your zeal in this scene, nobody has matched

00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:47.679
your zeal. You need to come back. There are places

00:41:47.679 --> 00:41:50.460
we need to go to. You know, before you know it,

00:41:50.500 --> 00:41:54.119
that's it. That's the end of the call of God

00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:57.380
upon his life. But that was not the case. And

00:41:57.380 --> 00:41:59.880
I want to sound this and sound this very strongly.

00:42:00.300 --> 00:42:02.219
Whether you like it or not, your association

00:42:02.219 --> 00:42:06.599
is very key. The association is what will sow

00:42:06.599 --> 00:42:10.139
seeds of doubt. You know, none of you, you finish

00:42:10.139 --> 00:42:12.820
this month, and then you now, and the group of

00:42:12.820 --> 00:42:14.300
those friends, they are now sowing seed. You

00:42:14.300 --> 00:42:15.900
say, what are you talking about? This is not

00:42:15.900 --> 00:42:18.800
all this church. We have done it. We have done

00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:20.539
it. There's nothing inside. They just got you

00:42:20.539 --> 00:42:22.699
excited. That is all. Just give it one week,

00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:25.119
two weeks, it will be over. And then they would

00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:27.260
stir you up, and then you find yourself losing

00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:29.059
the favor that you have gotten already. Praise

00:42:29.059 --> 00:42:31.159
God. How many of you know that it's not, it's

00:42:31.159 --> 00:42:35.570
not, you, God cannot be blocking. He's not the

00:42:35.570 --> 00:42:37.010
one that will block them. You're the one that

00:42:37.010 --> 00:42:39.389
will block them. You will see the problem and

00:42:39.389 --> 00:42:41.570
you block the problem. And some of us are not

00:42:41.570 --> 00:42:44.230
using the block function. We're not utilizing

00:42:44.230 --> 00:42:48.369
it. Praise God. And I'm not saying, Pastor is

00:42:48.369 --> 00:42:53.969
telling us to block. See, you are here. And then

00:42:53.969 --> 00:42:57.150
in your WhatsApp contact, there are people that

00:42:57.150 --> 00:43:00.469
do drugs. And you are carrying them. And give

00:43:00.469 --> 00:43:02.440
me an example. There are people that deal drugs

00:43:02.440 --> 00:43:04.400
and then you know that you have a problem with

00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:05.920
drugs and then you still have them in WhatsApp

00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:07.480
contact. What do you think you're going to do?

00:43:08.800 --> 00:43:11.679
You, one day when something, you say, let me

00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:14.199
just, let me just forget about certain things

00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:17.019
and then you go there. Praise God. Know that

00:43:17.019 --> 00:43:19.039
your association with these people, and I remember

00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:22.480
I said that when someone has a passion for something

00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:24.820
and then you hang around them, it's contagious.

00:43:26.319 --> 00:43:29.099
It's contagious. Some of us came to this church,

00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:33.340
when they say pray, you just be looking. But

00:43:33.340 --> 00:43:36.260
from the time you started to now, at least you're

00:43:36.260 --> 00:43:39.480
making progress. Now when they say pray, at least

00:43:39.480 --> 00:43:42.960
you try to move a bit. Not look at us like, who

00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:46.679
got me? How did I find myself here? Praise God.

00:43:47.039 --> 00:43:49.150
So you want to understand that. That is very

00:43:49.150 --> 00:43:51.510
important that if you want to make progress,

00:43:51.650 --> 00:43:53.829
there are certain groups of people that you have

00:43:53.829 --> 00:43:56.429
to disconnect from so that you make progress.

00:43:56.590 --> 00:43:59.030
And then you know that we will get to that part

00:43:59.030 --> 00:44:00.989
when we see how to. You want to reconnect to

00:44:00.989 --> 00:44:02.389
the group of people that will help you to make

00:44:02.389 --> 00:44:05.250
progress in the direction that you seek to make

00:44:05.250 --> 00:44:07.409
progress in. So very quickly, we'll do the B

00:44:07.409 --> 00:44:10.650
part, which is distracted. The B part, the first

00:44:10.650 --> 00:44:12.150
part was what? What did we say the first part

00:44:12.150 --> 00:44:17.679
was? Exposure to dishonor and... wrong association.

00:44:17.940 --> 00:44:20.840
Then the second part is now distracted by the

00:44:20.840 --> 00:44:27.300
past and over familiarity with the present. Distracted

00:44:27.300 --> 00:44:29.099
by the past, put in brackets, distracted by the

00:44:29.099 --> 00:44:32.840
past, carnality. Distracted by the past, carnality,

00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:36.320
and then over familiarity with the present, with

00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:40.940
the present. So I want us to go back to the children

00:44:40.940 --> 00:44:43.630
of Israel in the wilderness. I want us to go

00:44:43.630 --> 00:44:45.309
back to the trillion reason or whatever. Let's

00:44:45.309 --> 00:44:48.289
just take a step back. Numbers 11. Numbers 11,

00:44:48.469 --> 00:44:53.769
4 to 6. Numbers 11, 4 to 6. And in Numbers 11,

00:44:53.849 --> 00:44:56.670
4 to 6, it ties in with what we had just seen,

00:44:56.769 --> 00:44:59.750
which will help us to make a segue into what

00:44:59.750 --> 00:45:03.070
we are looking at now. Note that it says, now

00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:08.079
the mixed multitude were among them. yielded

00:45:08.079 --> 00:45:10.500
to intense craving. Now the mixed multitude who

00:45:10.500 --> 00:45:13.039
were among them yielded to intense craving. I

00:45:13.039 --> 00:45:15.039
want you to understand what that mixed multitude

00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:19.239
is. The mixed multitude there in the NLT says

00:45:19.239 --> 00:45:24.059
foreign rabble. That's rabble. That's R -A -B

00:45:24.059 --> 00:45:28.280
-B. That's in the NLT. And then in the New King

00:45:28.280 --> 00:45:30.780
James it calls them the mixed multitude. And

00:45:30.780 --> 00:45:34.239
those mixed multitudes were non -Israelites that

00:45:34.239 --> 00:45:38.079
joined the children of Israel on the Exodus out

00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:42.139
from Egypt. Those were non -Israelites that joined

00:45:42.139 --> 00:45:44.300
them on the Exodus. And to confirm that, let's

00:45:44.300 --> 00:45:48.880
look at Exodus 12, verse 37. Exodus 12, verse

00:45:48.880 --> 00:45:50.960
37. I want us to look at this very carefully,

00:45:50.960 --> 00:45:56.360
and this will help us emphasize that crowd, that

00:45:56.360 --> 00:45:58.559
wrong association. It says, Then the children

00:45:58.559 --> 00:46:03.950
of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to Sokot. about

00:46:03.950 --> 00:46:10.210
600 ,000 men on foot besides the children, 38

00:46:10.210 --> 00:46:14.469
now, which is... See, a mixed multitude went

00:46:14.469 --> 00:46:18.610
up with them also and flocks and had a great

00:46:18.610 --> 00:46:20.590
deal of livestock. So that mixed multitude there

00:46:20.590 --> 00:46:24.150
is the non -Israelite that went with them. I

00:46:24.150 --> 00:46:29.230
want you to look at 39. 39, it says, and they

00:46:29.230 --> 00:46:33.719
baked... unleavened cakes, dough, which had been,

00:46:33.820 --> 00:46:36.500
which had, they brought out from Egypt. He says,

00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:39.260
for it was not unleavened because they were driven

00:46:39.260 --> 00:46:42.500
out of Egypt. It was not, it was only because

00:46:42.500 --> 00:46:43.539
they were driven out of Egypt. And they could

00:46:43.539 --> 00:46:47.360
not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for

00:46:47.360 --> 00:46:50.320
themselves. So, note that the point here is the

00:46:50.320 --> 00:46:52.860
fact that when you are with the misquot, go back

00:46:52.860 --> 00:46:55.760
to Numbers, go back to the Numbers 11. Four,

00:46:55.820 --> 00:46:58.360
let's go down to four, yeah, down. So, this,

00:46:58.780 --> 00:47:00.719
Mixed multitude of people that caused them to

00:47:00.719 --> 00:47:03.539
yield to intense growth. And I said, the power

00:47:03.539 --> 00:47:05.420
of association is that when everybody is saying

00:47:05.420 --> 00:47:07.059
something, if you don't define where you stand,

00:47:07.260 --> 00:47:09.619
you are together with them. Praise God. When

00:47:09.619 --> 00:47:10.940
everybody is moving in a direction, if you don't

00:47:10.940 --> 00:47:13.179
say, I am not going with them. Remember the story

00:47:13.179 --> 00:47:16.119
I told us about, because the principal easily

00:47:16.119 --> 00:47:19.559
assumed that if one went, two, three, four, the

00:47:19.559 --> 00:47:22.840
fifth person should just go. But because I said,

00:47:22.900 --> 00:47:28.650
I am not with them, she now quickly. signed my

00:47:28.650 --> 00:47:32.530
acceptance and I enjoyed it. I did not regret

00:47:32.530 --> 00:47:38.070
it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Praise God. I

00:47:38.070 --> 00:47:39.650
don't want to tell us the remaining part of the

00:47:39.650 --> 00:47:41.170
story, but if you want, those of you that are

00:47:41.170 --> 00:47:42.829
around, you know the remaining part of the story.

00:47:43.210 --> 00:47:47.670
So, it says, the children of Israel wept again

00:47:47.670 --> 00:47:52.849
and it says, give us meat to eat. Second, it

00:47:52.849 --> 00:47:57.099
says, we remember the fish. We, which we ate

00:47:57.099 --> 00:48:01.579
freely in Egypt. And the cucumbers, the melons,

00:48:01.619 --> 00:48:06.920
the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Go to

00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:12.679
6, yeah. But now, our own, our whole being is

00:48:12.679 --> 00:48:16.980
dried up. There is nothing at all except this

00:48:16.980 --> 00:48:20.480
manna before our eyes. This manna before our

00:48:20.480 --> 00:48:23.360
eyes. I want you to understand that. Why did

00:48:23.360 --> 00:48:29.059
you not... Who are the people that were in slavery?

00:48:30.380 --> 00:48:31.980
Who are the people that are actually going through

00:48:31.980 --> 00:48:34.539
slavery? The children of Israel. But not that

00:48:34.539 --> 00:48:37.880
these people that were not... They are the people

00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:39.559
that were enjoying all these things though. And

00:48:39.559 --> 00:48:41.739
they are the people that are now protesting that

00:48:41.739 --> 00:48:44.480
they need to go back to enjoy these things. So

00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:47.780
when you are in a crowd, a mixed multitude, you

00:48:47.780 --> 00:48:50.099
will end up... They will put you in a WhatsApp

00:48:50.099 --> 00:48:51.440
group. You are not part of it. You will just

00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:53.530
be there and be lost in the group. Because you're

00:48:53.530 --> 00:48:55.849
wondering, ah, and you know, there's a way somebody

00:48:55.849 --> 00:48:57.949
is protesting and then they will say, all of

00:48:57.949 --> 00:48:59.909
us here, we are saying this, this is what, I'm

00:48:59.909 --> 00:49:02.650
speaking for everyone in the group. And then

00:49:02.650 --> 00:49:04.909
you, you have to tell them, say, please, sometimes

00:49:04.909 --> 00:49:07.409
out of respect, you just keep quiet. But the

00:49:07.409 --> 00:49:08.869
thing is that when you keep quiet, you're a part

00:49:08.869 --> 00:49:11.210
of them. Praise God. And these people are looking

00:49:11.210 --> 00:49:13.590
for what is in the past. They're looking for

00:49:13.590 --> 00:49:17.570
what has. And then they are disregarding, there's

00:49:17.570 --> 00:49:19.309
almost like you have seen manna, seen manna,

00:49:19.329 --> 00:49:22.360
seen manna, and then you're fed up. Praise God.

00:49:22.500 --> 00:49:27.300
And I want you to see it as manna was God's supernatural

00:49:27.300 --> 00:49:30.480
provision. Manna was God's supernatural provision.

00:49:30.619 --> 00:49:35.159
And I want you to not despise God's supernatural

00:49:35.159 --> 00:49:39.840
in your life. Praise God. Don't despise the supernatural

00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:42.980
things. Some of us in the believers conference,

00:49:43.179 --> 00:49:47.360
we experience the supernatural, right? And you

00:49:47.360 --> 00:49:49.519
want to stay on it. You want to keep enjoying

00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:52.150
that manna. You don't want to go back to your

00:49:52.150 --> 00:49:53.809
habits of the past because your habits of the

00:49:53.809 --> 00:49:57.309
past is a habit. Praise God. And you want to

00:49:57.309 --> 00:50:00.630
make that conscious decision to break away from

00:50:00.630 --> 00:50:03.010
those habits because it's going to be dangerous

00:50:03.010 --> 00:50:06.230
if you stay on that trajectory of disregarding

00:50:06.230 --> 00:50:09.610
or saying you want the past. And you know how

00:50:09.610 --> 00:50:11.510
you suffered in the past, but you still want

00:50:11.510 --> 00:50:15.070
the past because of habits. And be weary of habits.

00:50:15.710 --> 00:50:19.030
Be weary of old habits that is not allowing you

00:50:19.030 --> 00:50:21.710
to make progress. into the new habits that God

00:50:21.710 --> 00:50:25.369
has already designed. And it makes you make excuses.

00:50:25.730 --> 00:50:28.710
Some of you know that excuses are one of the

00:50:28.710 --> 00:50:32.309
things that extinguishes fire. Every time they

00:50:32.309 --> 00:50:34.730
say, come for this, they say, I'm busy, sir.

00:50:35.489 --> 00:50:38.929
Sir, you don't know I'm very tired. Sir, you

00:50:38.929 --> 00:50:41.489
know, I have this to do. I have that. And that

00:50:41.489 --> 00:50:43.349
is you going back to the hatch. And the funny

00:50:43.349 --> 00:50:45.710
thing is that where you are at, you're not enjoying

00:50:45.710 --> 00:50:50.280
it. But you want to stay there. You want to stay

00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:54.719
there. So you want to be very weary of making

00:50:54.719 --> 00:50:57.719
excuses. And excuses just simply means that what

00:50:57.719 --> 00:50:59.800
you're doing is that you prioritize that thing

00:50:59.800 --> 00:51:01.820
that you're doing over God. And it's automatic.

00:51:02.079 --> 00:51:05.119
You just need to look at it. That thing you're

00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:07.780
doing is more important than God. Praise God.

00:51:08.099 --> 00:51:13.039
And excuses will not allow you make... And many

00:51:13.039 --> 00:51:16.400
of us have gotten instructions. We have gotten

00:51:16.400 --> 00:51:19.760
instructions on what to do. But we are... making

00:51:19.760 --> 00:51:22.300
excuses. And most of the times we're making excuses

00:51:22.300 --> 00:51:25.980
because we're afraid. And I sense it that many

00:51:25.980 --> 00:51:29.920
of us are afraid of the things that we have received

00:51:29.920 --> 00:51:33.739
that we're going to do for God. God has shown

00:51:33.739 --> 00:51:35.940
us pictures. God has given us word. And they

00:51:35.940 --> 00:51:37.679
were like, ah, no, I don't think I'm ready for

00:51:37.679 --> 00:51:39.519
it now. Let's just keep it at the back burner.

00:51:39.679 --> 00:51:43.380
When it's time, we'll know it's time. I'm telling

00:51:43.380 --> 00:51:45.440
you that it is now. There's some of you that

00:51:45.440 --> 00:51:48.219
were prayed for. When I look at you, I just see

00:51:48.219 --> 00:51:51.139
ministry all over. But you're just saying, you

00:51:51.139 --> 00:51:53.559
know, we're just trying to take our time. And

00:51:53.559 --> 00:51:56.599
then you spend time complaining about the situation

00:51:56.599 --> 00:51:59.139
that you find yourself in. And you don't want

00:51:59.139 --> 00:52:01.420
to be like these people. They were murmuring,

00:52:01.420 --> 00:52:05.159
complaining. And they forget the miracles that

00:52:05.159 --> 00:52:07.059
God has done, the supernatural things. Water

00:52:07.059 --> 00:52:09.139
came out of rock, this and that. There's so many

00:52:09.139 --> 00:52:10.760
supernatural things that were happening and they

00:52:10.760 --> 00:52:12.820
were blinded to that because they spent the time

00:52:12.820 --> 00:52:15.619
complaining. And you want to ensure that you

00:52:15.619 --> 00:52:19.119
don't choke the supernatural things which you're

00:52:19.119 --> 00:52:22.800
complaining. Forgetting the miracles that God

00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:25.360
has done in the past. And I say this, Psalms

00:52:25.360 --> 00:52:30.190
10... 3 verse 2 says, Bless the Lord, O my soul,

00:52:30.329 --> 00:52:32.650
and forget not his benefits. We have a tendency

00:52:32.650 --> 00:52:35.750
to forget the benefits. We have a tendency. That

00:52:35.750 --> 00:52:38.429
is why we remind ourselves, remind ourselves

00:52:38.429 --> 00:52:40.989
of the things that God has done, remind ourselves

00:52:40.989 --> 00:52:43.690
of the things that God is doing, and not allow

00:52:43.690 --> 00:52:47.610
ourselves to stay in that place of, and I want

00:52:47.610 --> 00:52:51.550
us to just, we can look. Carnality will never

00:52:51.550 --> 00:52:55.360
please God. Dwelling in the things, the fleshly

00:52:55.360 --> 00:52:58.000
things or giving in to your fleshly desires will

00:52:58.000 --> 00:53:03.579
not please God. Understand that it takes faith

00:53:03.579 --> 00:53:07.719
to see past the physical. It takes faith to see

00:53:07.719 --> 00:53:10.039
past the physical and you must ensure that you

00:53:10.039 --> 00:53:13.920
engage, you engage, you engage the things that

00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:16.880
you cannot see. Engage the things that you can't

00:53:16.880 --> 00:53:19.659
see. And I want us to close here because we're

00:53:19.659 --> 00:53:22.280
out of time. But I want to leave you with this.

00:53:23.469 --> 00:53:27.789
I want you to exercise your faith in the things

00:53:27.789 --> 00:53:31.590
that you have received. Don't keep what you have

00:53:31.590 --> 00:53:35.610
written down in your notes to your notepad. I

00:53:35.610 --> 00:53:40.570
want you to take... We'll do this on Wednesday.

00:53:40.829 --> 00:53:44.150
I want you to take time to decide that after

00:53:44.150 --> 00:53:46.369
this church service, these are the things I'm

00:53:46.369 --> 00:53:48.670
going to do. One of them is that I've written

00:53:48.670 --> 00:53:52.670
it down. Is there written down? I want to break

00:53:52.670 --> 00:53:54.809
it down into little things that I will start

00:53:54.809 --> 00:53:58.050
acting on. Many of us don't understand that is

00:53:58.050 --> 00:54:00.570
when you make the decision to act on something,

00:54:00.690 --> 00:54:05.050
the zeal to take on that thing going forward

00:54:05.050 --> 00:54:08.349
will come. Because your inactivity will ensure

00:54:08.349 --> 00:54:10.449
that you don't even see the supernatural things

00:54:10.449 --> 00:54:12.789
that God can do just through your activity. Because

00:54:12.789 --> 00:54:17.030
the activity that you... What you do is what

00:54:17.030 --> 00:54:18.690
is going to open you up to the supernatural.

00:54:18.849 --> 00:54:20.710
But if you're not doing it, you will not see

00:54:20.710 --> 00:54:22.929
the supernatural. You will not see the supernatural

00:54:22.929 --> 00:54:25.550
provision of God. So what you want to do is break

00:54:25.550 --> 00:54:28.989
it down into some little things. One example

00:54:28.989 --> 00:54:31.650
is like, tonight I'm going to spend time. If

00:54:31.650 --> 00:54:33.170
I've not been praying, if you've not been praying,

00:54:33.210 --> 00:54:37.230
at least 15 minutes. Don't do too much because

00:54:37.230 --> 00:54:39.869
most people want to stretch themselves. So when

00:54:39.869 --> 00:54:41.869
they are saying one hour, one hour, if you can

00:54:41.869 --> 00:54:44.170
only do 15 minutes, at least when they ask you,

00:54:44.210 --> 00:54:45.889
you should have been doing 15 minutes consistently.

00:54:45.889 --> 00:54:49.030
Then we will tell you when to up it to 30 and

00:54:49.030 --> 00:54:52.630
when to up it to, and when to do one hour. Praise

00:54:52.630 --> 00:54:55.789
God. So just give yourself actionable steps.

00:54:55.929 --> 00:54:59.150
And then if there's someone that comes to mind

00:54:59.150 --> 00:55:01.929
that you have not forgiven, you want to say,

00:55:01.989 --> 00:55:05.380
after this service today, I want to. Call the

00:55:05.380 --> 00:55:07.679
person, chat the person up. And then remember

00:55:07.679 --> 00:55:10.079
we talked about blocking some people. After the

00:55:10.079 --> 00:55:12.679
service today, you know that person that needs

00:55:12.679 --> 00:55:14.840
to be blocked from your contact list and don't

00:55:14.840 --> 00:55:18.599
unblock them after the thing wears off. Block

00:55:18.599 --> 00:55:20.719
them and let them stay. In fact, to help you

00:55:20.719 --> 00:55:23.019
to ensure that they stay blocked, tell your friend

00:55:23.019 --> 00:55:25.519
that this person should be blocked on my contact.

00:55:25.579 --> 00:55:28.039
That's how you hold yourself accountable. Because

00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:29.599
this person is not going to help you to go. And

00:55:29.599 --> 00:55:31.659
you know that this person is not going to help

00:55:31.659 --> 00:55:34.769
you to grow spiritually. And then I said, then

00:55:34.769 --> 00:55:36.429
the other thing which is very important that

00:55:36.429 --> 00:55:38.769
we do here is after the believers conference,

00:55:39.130 --> 00:55:42.710
you can't be here and you're not serving. You

00:55:42.710 --> 00:55:44.769
can't be here and you're not serving. So what

00:55:44.769 --> 00:55:46.449
you want to do is that after this service now,

00:55:46.510 --> 00:55:50.409
an actionable step is that you will say, ushering,

00:55:50.510 --> 00:55:52.369
who's the leader of ushering? You send them a

00:55:52.369 --> 00:55:55.369
message. Prayer team, the leader of prayer team,

00:55:55.510 --> 00:55:58.369
send him a message. Send them a message and say,

00:55:58.429 --> 00:56:00.349
I want to be part of the team. That way, when

00:56:00.349 --> 00:56:02.230
the team wears off, you have already committed

00:56:02.230 --> 00:56:05.369
yourself. Praise God. And I'm looking at some

00:56:05.369 --> 00:56:08.030
people. After the service, I want to see you

00:56:08.030 --> 00:56:10.849
acting on one of these things. Praise God. So

00:56:10.849 --> 00:56:14.150
that is how you hold on to what you have been

00:56:14.150 --> 00:56:16.869
taught. You want to make an actionable... Don't

00:56:16.869 --> 00:56:18.949
finish a meeting and then you don't have something

00:56:18.949 --> 00:56:20.550
that you're going to do about it because you're

00:56:20.550 --> 00:56:22.889
training yourself to be complacent. There's no

00:56:22.889 --> 00:56:25.329
way you'll be on fire that way. Praise God. Let's

00:56:25.329 --> 00:56:28.570
rise up to our feet and just thank God. Let's

00:56:28.570 --> 00:56:29.809
rise up to our feet and just thank God. We'll

00:56:29.809 --> 00:56:32.079
continue. on Wednesday. Please don't miss Wednesday's

00:56:32.079 --> 00:56:34.340
service. Please don't miss Wednesday's service.

00:56:34.440 --> 00:56:36.980
Some of us, our life is just Sunday, Sunday,

00:56:37.039 --> 00:56:38.639
Sunday, Sunday. You're not going to grow that

00:56:38.639 --> 00:56:41.019
way. Praise God. So you want to commit yourself

00:56:41.019 --> 00:56:43.719
to Wednesday's service. Commit yourself to, let

00:56:43.719 --> 00:56:46.199
this be another layer of commitment that you're

00:56:46.199 --> 00:56:47.719
adding to your existing layer of commitment.

00:56:47.860 --> 00:56:49.679
Praise God. Some people are looking at me and

00:56:49.679 --> 00:56:50.880
looking at me like this to the side of their

00:56:50.880 --> 00:56:52.900
eye. So open your mouth and just say, Father,

00:56:52.900 --> 00:56:55.440
I thank you because I'm committed. I'm on fire

00:56:55.440 --> 00:57:00.760
for you. I'm not complacent. Thank you for listening

00:57:00.760 --> 00:57:03.940
to today's sermon. Your journey matters to us.

00:57:04.260 --> 00:57:07.760
Let's keep walking together. Visit our website

00:57:07.760 --> 00:57:10.900
for more resources and follow us on social media

00:57:10.900 --> 00:57:14.440
to stay updated. Feel free to check the show

00:57:14.440 --> 00:57:18.000
notes for additional insights. If today's message

00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:21.340
was a blessing, share it with a friend. Till

00:57:21.340 --> 00:57:23.079
next time, be blessed.