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to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.
Praise God. Turn to your neighbor and say, it's
wonderful to be in the house of the Lord. It's
wonderful to be in church today. I think I'm
seeing someone I've not seen in a while. Nice
to see you, Serge. Praise God. Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. So we're going to, I really
thank God for the opportunity to be here, to
be able to stand before you, to teach. Thank
you so much to the lead pastor. Thank you so
much to the pastor for another opportunity. And
we thank God for the Believers Conference. We
thank God for what God... has stirred up in our
hearts, and this is one week after. One week
after. So I want you to look at yourself and
say, with what you have received, are you acting
on what you have received? Are you acting on
the instructions that you have received? Ask
yourself that question, and then we're going
to look at what we're going to be looking at
this morning, and we'll continue on Wednesday.
And the topic is staying on fire for God. The
topic is staying on fire for God. Staying on
fire for God. Staying on fire for God. Staying
on fire for God. And our key text is from Romans
12 verse 11. Romans 12 verse 11. It says, not
lacking or lagging. Indiligence. Not lagging.
Indiligence. Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. I like the
NLC. The NLC says, never be lazy, but work hard
and serve the Lord enthusiastically. TPT. It
says, be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping
your passion towards Him boiling hot. radiate
with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him
fill you with excitement as you serve him. I
like the last part. It says, let him fill you
with excitement as you serve him. Are you serving
the Lord with excitement? Are you, you know,
there's something about when you come, you do
something over and over again. Sometimes it becomes
I think some people will say it gets boring.
We're doing the same thing over and over again.
There's no flavor, no spice. We're not doing
it slightly different than before. There's something
about when you come to something again and it's
almost like you've never done it before. Because
you're expectant that there's something new that's
going to spring forth from it. And I want to
start this with... I think this period has been
coming to mind very strongly. I remembered, I
think it was when Pastor Victor was sharing in
the meeting, and I remember the whole, I think
it came to me strongly, and it keeps coming back
to me, the whole experience of the National Youth
Service that we're doing back in my country,
Nigeria. And for some people, it's just one of
those things, compulsory things that you have
to do to serve. And for me, I think when... Getting
to the bus, driving all the way, those of us
from Nigeria, driving all the way to Oshun State
to go and serve is an experience that, you know,
if you think about it, you're going to somewhere
you've never been before. It should put some
fear into you. But there's the excitement that
I had that I'm going to somewhere to go and serve
for one year. It doesn't come natural. You know,
some people, there's no natural excitement to
go. You're going somewhere. And it's very interesting
because my dad had already worked out how he's
going to work it out. And how my younger brother,
because we served at the same time, my younger
brother, how my younger brother is going to be
here. And he's going to be here. I'm going to
be here. And everything. And the way God rearranged
the thing. And then it still looked worked out
because I still think to today, you know, we
don't know how it worked out, but it worked out
beautifully. In the sense that I was serving
in this state and my younger brother is serving
not far from the state. But the experience for
me was going there, I was excited. In the sense
that the journey itself was somewhat supernatural.
Just meeting people that you never met before,
but they were just interested in wanting to see
you move forward or wanting to see you do well.
And then when I landed in the place, there was
now calls coming in. Oh, we know somebody there
that will help you to fix it here so you'll serve
in the capital and all of that. I wasn't really
interested. I just wanted God to do his thing.
I didn't want me to work it out for God because
sometimes we have a tendency to want to work
things out. But that was the impression I had
and I was not interested. In fact, I was dodging
a particular man in the camp that they were telling
me to see before the three weeks was over. I
dodged the man until the day I received my call
-up letter. And then I went and met the man.
The man said, what is wrong with you? I've been
looking for you. And I will see the man. I will
just be. So I avoided the man until the day when
I received my call -up letter. And I walked up
to him. And when I walked up to him, I told him,
I said, I've got him. I said, why didn't you
come and meet me? I would have sent you to the
capital. And I was like, I just said a lot of
stuff and skipped the whole thing. And then I
went to the place. And I think a friend of mine
had walked. He paid. He did all of those things
to be able to get to the capital. And the story
was a sad story afterwards for him. Praise God.
But for me, I went there with an excitement or
a zeal, as you will, or commitment that is just
for one year. When we're done, we leave. You
know, when you know when something's going to
end, you have understood that this thing is just
one year. And one year will go very quickly.
Those of us that have been in Cyprus know that.
The years pass very quickly on the island. You
will be thinking of when you came and where you
are now. And before you know it, you're done.
So the part I'm getting to is where five of us
were posted to a particular school. Five of us.
Five. One, two, three, four, five. I was one
of the five. And once we arrived there, every
other person went in front to see the principal
and then states whether they're going to stay
or whether they're going to leave. The first
person went to the principal and then I think
it was the guy. The guy said, oh, that I don't
want to serve in a private school because a private
school, I'm going to be stressed. He said, just
give me a rejection letter. Second person, I
think the second person was the person that said,
oh, that he will be reposted out of the state
to some other state that he has an uncle. Then
the third person now said that, oh, you have
an uncle. Can you please walk? it out for me
too as they are working out yours. And then you
just, then the fourth person now came. I think
the fourth person's own was the one that was
very interesting. He met the proprietor, the
owner of the school at the side and told the
proprietor that, actually, I'm a public speaker
and I have speaking gigs. I stay in Lagos. So
from time to time, I'll be wanting to come in
and go out and all of that. And the man looked
at him and said, I, I don't work with irresponsible
people. I don't work with irresponsible people.
I like people that know what their work is, know
what they're here for, and they do it. And the
man told him straight out, and then he collected
rejections. So all these people have collected
rejections. It was my turn now. So the principal
said, should I write a rejection letter for you?
I said, no, I'm not with them. I'm not with them.
I came here. I know that it's one year. I'm just
going. So she was like, wow. When the proprietor
got back home that evening, he asked the principal,
because the way it looked to him was like everybody
was going to collect the rejection and leave.
And then he asked and he was like, oh, why did
you decide to stay? I told him, I said, I decided
to stay because this is what I came for. This
is the reason why I came for. And I'm excited
to do what it is that brought me here for. And
then when I'm done, I know that I'm done with
it. And that itself was what fueled my passion.
for that particular one year. And when it was
time for me to leave, I was excited because I
knew, and I knew that it wasn't just my teaching.
There's a lot of sides that has to do with what
God has called me to, because basically when
they carried me from the camp, you know that
was the work of ministry they were doing. You're
going to go and you're going to serve in the
Nigerian Coppers Christian Fellowship, and that's
basically what you're going to do. And then in
itself, prepared. me for the many things that
came ahead. And what I want us to just pick out
from all of this is that you don't want to get
consumed by the crowd. There's what they refer
to as a crowd mentality, where you put yourself
along with the crowd, because where the crowd
go, you will also go. And if you don't have a
stance at that point in time, you will flow with
the crowd. And that's very dangerous because
what the crowd gets is what you get if you stick
with the crowd. But you want to have an understanding
of what you're called to do, understanding of
why you're there. That in itself will tailor
the things that you're going to do afterwards.
And it's very important that we bear that in
mind and it's going to help us in the things
that we're going to be discussing. Staying on
fire for God. Staying. on fire for God, staying
on fire for God. So let's start with what does
it mean to stay on fire for God? What does it
mean to stay on fire or to be on fire for God?
What does it mean to be on fire for God? What
that means is that you're a person that is living
with a passion, commitment, and a zeal for God,
his work, and his people. You're living with
a passion. You're living with a commitment and
a zeal for God and his people. And this passion
is not a half -hearted passion. This passion
is a whole -hearted passion for God and his people.
And how many of you know that when someone is
passionate about something, it is evident. Praise
God. It is evident. And it is even contagious.
It is evident and it's contagious. How many of
you have been around someone that is passionate
about something and all of a sudden you just
start becoming interested in that particular
thing? Because they are very passionate about
it. They talk about it. They discuss. There's
no conversation they will have and they will
not bring it inside and then you will hear it
over and over. In fact, you will end up associating
them with that thing totally. Many of us have
friends like that. And that in itself would influence
your understanding, will influence your commitment
to every other thing. And for some of us, I think
I'll go back to this again just to establish,
from Catartismus or from the Believers Conference
till now, what has happened to your commitment?
Has it increased? Or is it where it used to be?
Or has it gone down? And when I was preparing
my digital on this, I say for some people, their
spiritual life is like this. It's like it fluctuates
like a stock exchange market. It's like there's
bearish trend. Then after a while, there's some
bullish trend. I think those of us that do Forex
will be able to understand. It goes up. After
a while, it comes. It's almost like it's a circle
of ups. downs, ups, downs. It's like you're just
going up and down and that is basically how your
spiritual life, if they were to show you a chart
of how it doesn't stay, even if it goes, it stays
there for a while, then it goes down a lot and
then it now comes up and then stays. Some people,
their own is down for a while until another believer's
conference, then it will come up again. It's
like the margin between the down and up is a
lot further. than others. Praise God. I want
to present it to you that your spiritual life
doesn't have to be a chart, a up and down chart.
It can be this. Even if it goes down a bit, it's
still on the safe margin. Praise God. Praise
God. That is basically why Apostle Paul will
be saying, your spiritual life doesn't have to
be dwindling or later to fade into. And when
something happens, some spiritual experience
happens, then you come back again. Maybe one
hot prayer meeting or something like that. It
doesn't have to be what would determine how your
spiritual work goes. And Apostle Paul instructs
us in this particular text to be fervent in spirit.
Fervent in spirit. Fervent in spirit. And in
all seasons we can be. In all seasons we can
be. And it's our responsibility. Yeah, God is
able to keep us, but we have a responsibility
to ensure that we guard the things that we've
received. And what we're going to be looking
at in today's teaching is we're going to see
reasons why we lose our fire and some practical
biblical steps on how to maintain it. It depends
on wherever we start or continue. And the word
fervent is Z -E -O, fervent. Z -E -O -Z -O. It
means to boil with heat or to be hot. And that's
why TPT says to boil hot. To boil hot. Fervent
is Z -E -O. It means to boil with heat or to
be hot. It is used for utmost passion. Something
that takes a lot of attention. or it sometimes
connotes something that burns, something that
burns. And we know that when there's heat, many
of us become uncomfortable, right? When there's
heat, many of us become uncomfortable. When it's
warm, and there'll be a time that we prefer,
we like heat. When the weather changes, we'll
switch to a point where we'll now be needing
the heat so that we can stay warm. But that...
It's very important because we have a body temperature
to maintain with regards to the physical physiology
and all of that. But with your spiritual life,
you're not regulating to maintain a warm temperature.
And you see that in certain things that happen.
And let's go to Revelation 3. Revelation 3, verse
15 and 16. And in Revelation 2 down to 3, you
see, it speaks of the seven churches. And Laodicea
is the last of those seven churches. And Laodicea
is referred to as the lukewarm church. It's referred
to as the lukewarm church. You have the different
churches. There's the dead church. There's the
faithful church. And then Laodicea is referred
to as the lukewarm church. It says, I know your
works, that you are neither. Hot, no cold. Understand
that if you're neither hot nor cold, it means
that you're what? You look warm. Meaning that
when we taste of you, you're not hot, you're
not cold. And it's a problem because we can't
place you in a particular, you're now in between.
It's like, I used to say this in class, you can
either be inside this building or outside this
building, right? There's nothing like being in
the world. But some people can do that when they
are in the building, but their minds are outside
the building. We can refer to it as, because
you probably are here, but you don't get any
information that's given. And for some people,
that's basically where they find themselves.
They are drifting out of the building, but they
are physically in the building. Praise God. It
says, you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you
were one of those. Because, you know, when you
are hot, we know where to place you. When you
are cold, we know where to place you. When you
are between all, like we don't know where. Praise
God. 16 now says, it says, so then because you
are lukewarm or neither hot nor cold, I will
spill you out of my mouth. Note that there's
the, this here goes to illustrate how it's very
important that we are. because it would be great
for us to be hot. Just imagine when you come
into this place and then everybody is greatly,
in fact, we're competing with ourselves on who
is the hottest. Praise God. You know, I think
one thing hit me very hard was during when, I
don't know whether it was Pastor Fred or Pastor
Koston that said, and that your listeners will
be more than the pastors. I think it was you,
sir. Everybody was like, ah. It was like radio
silence. I was like, what is going on here? We
don't want to outdo. No, no, no. We don't want
to. The ones we can see and the ones we cannot
see. Praise God. What are you expecting? That
we give you and then you stay? You don't want
to. I'll shine your master. This is funny it
is. No. With the work of God, you want to be
as hot as you can be because there's a lot that
happens when you're hot. There's a lot that happens
when you're hot. How many of you know that there
are certain things that cannot stand fire? How
many of you know that there are certain things
that cannot stand fire? When you're on fire,
there are certain things you will not even see
because what fire does is that fire consumes
anything. That is not meant to stand. Even gold
is refined with fire. Because what fire does
is that fire will destroy every impurity. And
what will remain is the gold. Praise God. What
will remain is the gold. So being on fire involves
a heart that burns for God's purposes and for
God's people. Being on fire involves a heart
that burns for God's purposes and God's people.
It's very important that we note that. And why
is it important that we stay on fire for God?
Why is it important that we stay on fire for
God? The work itself demands it. The work itself
demands it. And we say, fervency. is seen in
our service to God. Fervency is what is expected
in our service to God. God doesn't expect anything
less than fervency. God doesn't expect anything
less than our fervency. And first and foremost,
the walk itself demands it, as I said, and in
our weakness into the world, fervency, fire,
is what ensures that we are effective in that
walk. A passionate believer will shine brightly.
Because if you're communicating something that
is able to change someone's life and you're not
doing it with the passion that it... You know,
how many of you have tried to sell something
to somebody and then you just... The person will
know... You see that this product is... This
product is not... I don't think this product
is legit. This person is not saying... There's
no energy. There's nothing. They're just trying
to... sell something. It's like they give you
and they say, sell it. And then you're just doing,
you're very complacent about it. And we need
that to attract, we need that to bring people
into this kingdom. And it's very important. And
when our faith is vibrant, it's able to impact
the people around us. When the faith that you
have in the things, and that's why we hold on
to the things that we're being taught. And we
hold on to it faithfully. Because in our communication,
it will, that, The energy that you put into holding
on to it will be seen in how you dispense it.
Praise God. And it's very important that you
put that in mind. He says, our fervency is seen
in our service to the Lord. Very important. And
it's evident. And it's contagious. Remember,
he told us about how when somebody that is very
passionate about something comes around you,
you will catch that passion. Praise God. You'll
catch that passion. And it's also very important
for our spiritual growth. is very important for
our spiritual growth. Because how many of you
know that in all that you can receive in God,
there is still room for more? There is no, I
have attained it. There is no, if you come to
that place, I will tell you, you are gone. That
is the indicator that you need help. Praise God.
Staying on fire and sustaining your growth and
your resilience in the face of trials is very
important. Because without passion, you will
risk spiritual stagnation. Without passion, you'll
be stagnant spiritually. You'll be the same place
you were yesterday, the day before yesterday,
a month ago, two months ago, a year ago. That's
where you're going to be if you don't stay on
fire for God. If you don't stay on fire for God,
you're going to be the same place you are. And
when he says, be fervent in spirit. How many
of you, I think, let's go to Acts 18 .25. Acts
18 .25. Let's see. Our brother Apollos. I think
start from 24. It says, now a certain Jew named
Apollos. Born at Alexandria, an eloquent man
and mighty in scriptures came to Ephesus. He
says, this man had been instructed in the way
of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke
and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
though knew only the baptism of John. This man
came fervent in spirit. eloquent, everything
put together and he was communicating what he
knew. Praise God. In our day and age, that one
he knows, he will communicate that one. What
he knew was the baptism of John but he was doing
it and because he was doing it, Priscilla and
Aquila were able to take him out and then sharpen
and sharpen what he was. brought him and straightened
him out and was able to train him and to bring
him up because he's already fervent. How many
of you know that when you are cold, it's going
to be... In fact, the person that's trying to
help you, where do we start from? Where do we
start from? How do we put fire to the person
that is not... So now we go to the second part,
the other part, which is how do we lose this
fire? This is very important because I think
when I was preparing this, I... sense that a
lot of us don't even see the ways and the things
that causes us to lose our commitment, to lose
our zeal, to lose our passion. And please pay
attention to this part. Because what happens
is that you don't come into that place of spiritual
complacency by accident. You don't come there
by accident. And what happens is that it will
slowly calm, and it's not like there are specific
choices that you can lay your hands on that you
made that resulted to you. There are little,
little things that get you to that point of spiritual
complacency. And I want us to see one. The first
one. The first one is exposure to dishonor. Right?
Exposure to dishonor and keeping the wrong association.
And I use the word exposure because some of us
will probably not, because now we're in the age
where there's social media and people want to
have subscribers. And they have figured out that
there are certain things that we can do to get
people's interest. And they now get a niche,
right? They get a niche and then they will now
put nice thumbnails and then you'll just be scrolling
innocently. And then you click and then you say,
ah, I like what this person is saying. And then
you subscribe. And then what happens is that
once you subscribe to the person, anytime, you
know, they say subscribe, click the notification
button when you come. So anytime there's a latest,
it will pop on your feed. And some of us, we
have, so I don't know how some people do it.
There was a time in my life where I just, I did
not know what I got myself into. I just clicked
allow notification and then all of a sudden you'll
just be seeing. And the worst is that you will
not see any space again because some of us are
subscribed to a lot of things because when we
say, ah, I like this person, subscribe. I like
what this person says, subscribe. And before
you know it, you cannot see your screen again.
You have your wallpaper, but you've forgotten
the last time you saw it. Maybe when there was
no internet, that was when you saw your wallpaper.
Praise God. What happens is that it's one of
the subtle ways where people lose their fervency
because what happens is that they are exposing
themselves to individuals. that dishonor ministers
of God or dishonor certain things. You just subscribe
and the person will be talking about how speaking
in tongues is rubbish. And then you just, and
then you believe in it, but you're hearing out.
You're listening to the person. And just imagine,
for some of us, we'll take our time and then
watch like hundreds of those videos. And it's,
you know, when I say hundreds of videos, you'll
be like, ah, how about now? Just take, look at
the year you subscribed till now. The year you
subscribed till now. And then sometimes you check,
sometimes, you know, now they have shorts. So
shorts, you will not even realize that you have
watched up to hundreds of the person's content
because shorts is the summary of the main video.
So in those shorts, they put the punch. You want
the punch line and then you will not listen and
then you will not know what he has done to you.
Until later on, you'll be looking for fervency
and you can't find it. You'll come and you'll
be expecting prayer to recover what you spend
more time listening to those people than even
praying. Praise God. That is one. Remember we
said it's not just the exposure, because I said
it's an exposure. And the exposure is a subtle
exposure. It's just a harmless, it's a YouTube
video. Harmless and it's not, and the funny thing
is, it's not pornography. You know, it's not
any of those ones that you say, oh, this one
is African as well. That one is there for some
of you that are looking at me. That one is there.
You cannot be watching pornography and then you
think your spiritual life will somehow elevate
to a particular status. You watch all of that
and then you have them criticize ministries,
you have them criticize all of those things and
then you expect that somehow. And one thing about...
criticism is that once you are given into different
forms of criticism, it's just a matter of time
you will shift that criticism to your own pastors.
You'll be like, hey, I've heard it somewhere
that if the person starts going in this direction
and then you now end up, we don't know what you
have received because we did not give you that.
Praise God. Because you got it from somewhere.
And it's very little because sometimes there's
a place where you watch it and then you're like,
ah. So people preach this kind of thing. Then
when you now start talking about it, talking
about it, it is slow. Before you know it, it
will now enter a place of pride. Say, me, I cannot
teach this kind of, how can I? You know, we were
taught elsewhere. Then before you know it, you
now enter a place where you are actually, but
you know better. If the person had known what
you know, it wouldn't be a different situation.
Praise God. And some of us, we even do it to
our parents. because you know. Then when your
dad or mom say, oh, this is, he say, no, no,
no, mommy, mommy, calm, calm, calm down. You'll
be talking, you'll forget that it's the person
that gave birth to you. The person taught you
the smalls on the school that helped you to,
you were not finding the club. Praise God. So
understand that our parents had given us what
they, so when you are doing that, do that with
a sense of honor. I think when pastor, Victor
was teaching us to say, honor is you seeing the
person the way Christ sees the person. Because
you're looking at that person and saying, okay,
this is a person that is bought with a price
as you are. So you don't dishonor them in that
regard. And I want us to see something very,
in the life of, in Miriam's situation. So let's
look at Naomi, I said no Naomi. Let's look at
Numbers 12. Numbers 12. Numbers 12. I want us
to see a situation happen and you'll see it's
subtle. Numbers 12, yeah. 1 and 2. Numbers 12,
1 and 2. So it says, Then Miriam and Aaron spoke
against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman
whom he had married. Please pay attention. Because
of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. For
he had married an Ethiopian woman. It says, so
they said, has the Lord indeed spoken only through
Moses? Has he not spoken through us also? And
the Lord heard it. Praise God. I want you to
see how it transitioned from the woman he married
to a thing of God speaks to us through, like
God speaks to us through. It was the woman he
married, right? That was the, because go back
to one. He says, it's because of the Ethiopian
woman whom he married. So that should be the
problem, right? That is the problem. But now
in verse 2, how did he move from the woman he
married to whether he hears God? Whether God
doesn't speak to them. So how did you move to
that? You know, sometimes when you are arguing
with people or there's a misunderstanding, you
want to ask them, what are we arguing about?
What is the problem? So that you can address
a specific problem. Not the... You know, some
people just want to... You say, you do too much.
What is your problem? Before you know it, they
are attacking every part. They are not telling
you one thing, but they are saying, you, in fact,
I don't like this one. I don't like this one.
And then you end up... And I don't know how many
of us will be very... We are very much aware
that this is Moses' older sister, right? It's
Moses' older sister, and Aaron there is the brother.
So it's almost like it's a family situation.
So it's like, and then Moses is not the... And
I want you to see how Miriam, in Exodus 2, verse
4, see how Miriam was very... You know when you
have a sister that cares and loves you so much?
You know, in Exodus 2, verse 4, we see that...
This sister was the one that ensured that Moses
was safe because she just had a baby brother.
And then she's trying to see that this person,
and then when you go to 7, verse 7, it says,
she was observing, verse 7, 2 verse 7, Exodus
2 verse 7. So then his sister said to Pharaoh's
daughter, so when they had found, when they had...
Gotting Moses out of the water, she came out
and said, ah, shall I go and find a nurse for
you from the Hebrew woman that will nurse the
child for you? So, meaning that this sister,
and then say, ah, let me go and find, and then
you know that she ended up bringing the mother,
her mother, which is his mother, to come and
nurse the child. And then, also when this progressed,
you see in Exodus 15, I want you to see how,
so that you understand where... where this person
was at to where they are at in this point. Exodus
15, verse 20, 21. Exodus 15, 20, 21. It says,
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron,
took the timbrel in her hand and with all the
women went out after her and then timbrels with
a dance. Then 21 now. It says, And Miriam said
to them, Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed
gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown
into the sea. And this is what she was just echoing,
what Moses himself has started in verse 1. Just
go to verse 1. You'll see that this is someone
that was leading the women in dance. He's a prophetess,
leading the women in dance with what Moses had
already said. So the question now is, you move
from there. What would likely have caused the
problem is a bit of, you know, during that whole
time, the children of Israel were just complaining,
murmuring, grumbling, and doing all of that.
And there's a likelihood that that would have
seeped in a bit of dishonor, and then there's
a bit of jealousy, because verse 2 tells us that
very clearly. Moses, God speaks to you the way.
You know, some people, you come to a place where
you say, ah, I hear God too now. What are you
telling me? What are you telling me? Who do you
think you are? Me too, I hear God. Do you think
you're the only one that can hear God? Praise
God. It's not about who hears better, right?
It's about a structure of leadership that God
has placed and that was addressed. I want us
to go to 1 Samuel to see another example. Boy,
different example. This one is on a positive
note. 1 Samuel 1 verse 12. 1 Samuel 1 verse 12.
And note that all we're talking about is exposure
to dishonor and keeping the wrong association.
So 12, it says, and it happened as she continued
praying before the Lord that Eli watched her
mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her
lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore
Eli taught she was drunk. So Eli said to her,
how long will you be drunk? Put your wine away
from you. 14. So Eli, okay. But Anna answered
and said, no, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrow.
of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine
nor intoxicating drink, but I poured out my soul
before the Lord. But I poured out my soul before
the Lord. Do not consider your servant a wicked
woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint
and grief I have spoken until now. 17. Then Eli
answered and said, Go in peace, and the Lord
of Israel grant your petition, which you have
asked. 18 now. Says, And she said, let your maiden
servant find favor in your sight. So the woman
went away and ate, and her face was no longer
sad. Praise God. Note that the prophet had misjudged
what was going on. Meaning that the prophet can
make a mistake, that your leaders can make a
mistake. But you don't want to use the mistake.
to now give them a piece of you. Some people,
they are waiting for any opportunity that they
can to give you what is in your heart. And most
of the times, you don't know what is in your
heart because you don't know the things that
you have been listening to, all those things
you have exposed yourself to that will make you
say certain things that you will end up regretting.
And that's why, notice that she had a concern.
And that brought her to the place of prayer.
And then, She had every right to say, Yousef,
you're not looking at somebody. See the way I'm
crying. You're just there, just telling me that
I'm doing this, I'm doing that. Is it fair? That
was not what she did. But she made her plea and
then got the result. And notice that after he
had spoken to her, she went away different from
the way she came. Commitment will make you stay.
Keep your eyes on what you came for. Whatever
the person says should not distract you from
what you came for. Praise God. Some of us, we
allow ourselves to easily be triggered by the
things people say and feel and we end up missing
what we came for. It's very important that we
pay attention to that and trust that we don't
find ourselves in a place of dishonoring. the
person that will help you. I think something
that keeps on coming back to us is that God's
method to meet your need is still this man. God
used Eli to meet her need. If she had decided
to destroy it, she would have left that place
without what she had been praying and believing
God for. So you want to trust God's method, even
if sometimes they can misunderstand, they can
be some form of error because we're not... It's
by this grace of God that we're able to do the
things that we do and do it well. Praise God.
So it's very important that we put that in mind.
And then let's stay a bit on keeping the wrong
associations. I want to repeat it over and over
again to your hearing. For those of us that got
a word during the Believer's Conference, that
you're going to be growing and because the way
you are now and the way... you will see a big
difference. But there's the associations that
you need to end your relationship with. I think
when I was praying and meditating on this, what
came to mind was that I think we were taught
in the Believers Conference. I think Pastor Victor
had led us through what happened to Saul in his
conversion. So just picture this. Acts 9. Saul
had that encounter. Then what Saul decided to
do, instead of seeing brother Ananias, he now
decided to continue with his friends. Just like
he still has contact. He's still WhatsAppping
them, chatting with them, just like continuing
his relationship with them. What do you think
would have happened to his life? Huh? He will
go back to the business now. It's just a matter
of time. They will just say, we miss you. You
know, your zeal in this scene, nobody has matched
your zeal. You need to come back. There are places
we need to go to. You know, before you know it,
that's it. That's the end of the call of God
upon his life. But that was not the case. And
I want to sound this and sound this very strongly.
Whether you like it or not, your association
is very key. The association is what will sow
seeds of doubt. You know, none of you, you finish
this month, and then you now, and the group of
those friends, they are now sowing seed. You
say, what are you talking about? This is not
all this church. We have done it. We have done
it. There's nothing inside. They just got you
excited. That is all. Just give it one week,
two weeks, it will be over. And then they would
stir you up, and then you find yourself losing
the favor that you have gotten already. Praise
God. How many of you know that it's not, it's
not, you, God cannot be blocking. He's not the
one that will block them. You're the one that
will block them. You will see the problem and
you block the problem. And some of us are not
using the block function. We're not utilizing
it. Praise God. And I'm not saying, Pastor is
telling us to block. See, you are here. And then
in your WhatsApp contact, there are people that
do drugs. And you are carrying them. And give
me an example. There are people that deal drugs
and then you know that you have a problem with
drugs and then you still have them in WhatsApp
contact. What do you think you're going to do?
You, one day when something, you say, let me
just, let me just forget about certain things
and then you go there. Praise God. Know that
your association with these people, and I remember
I said that when someone has a passion for something
and then you hang around them, it's contagious.
It's contagious. Some of us came to this church,
when they say pray, you just be looking. But
from the time you started to now, at least you're
making progress. Now when they say pray, at least
you try to move a bit. Not look at us like, who
got me? How did I find myself here? Praise God.
So you want to understand that. That is very
important that if you want to make progress,
there are certain groups of people that you have
to disconnect from so that you make progress.
And then you know that we will get to that part
when we see how to. You want to reconnect to
the group of people that will help you to make
progress in the direction that you seek to make
progress in. So very quickly, we'll do the B
part, which is distracted. The B part, the first
part was what? What did we say the first part
was? Exposure to dishonor and... wrong association.
Then the second part is now distracted by the
past and over familiarity with the present. Distracted
by the past, put in brackets, distracted by the
past, carnality. Distracted by the past, carnality,
and then over familiarity with the present, with
the present. So I want us to go back to the children
of Israel in the wilderness. I want us to go
back to the trillion reason or whatever. Let's
just take a step back. Numbers 11. Numbers 11,
4 to 6. Numbers 11, 4 to 6. And in Numbers 11,
4 to 6, it ties in with what we had just seen,
which will help us to make a segue into what
we are looking at now. Note that it says, now
the mixed multitude were among them. yielded
to intense craving. Now the mixed multitude who
were among them yielded to intense craving. I
want you to understand what that mixed multitude
is. The mixed multitude there in the NLT says
foreign rabble. That's rabble. That's R -A -B
-B. That's in the NLT. And then in the New King
James it calls them the mixed multitude. And
those mixed multitudes were non -Israelites that
joined the children of Israel on the Exodus out
from Egypt. Those were non -Israelites that joined
them on the Exodus. And to confirm that, let's
look at Exodus 12, verse 37. Exodus 12, verse
37. I want us to look at this very carefully,
and this will help us emphasize that crowd, that
wrong association. It says, Then the children
of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to Sokot. about
600 ,000 men on foot besides the children, 38
now, which is... See, a mixed multitude went
up with them also and flocks and had a great
deal of livestock. So that mixed multitude there
is the non -Israelite that went with them. I
want you to look at 39. 39, it says, and they
baked... unleavened cakes, dough, which had been,
which had, they brought out from Egypt. He says,
for it was not unleavened because they were driven
out of Egypt. It was not, it was only because
they were driven out of Egypt. And they could
not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for
themselves. So, note that the point here is the
fact that when you are with the misquot, go back
to Numbers, go back to the Numbers 11. Four,
let's go down to four, yeah, down. So, this,
Mixed multitude of people that caused them to
yield to intense growth. And I said, the power
of association is that when everybody is saying
something, if you don't define where you stand,
you are together with them. Praise God. When
everybody is moving in a direction, if you don't
say, I am not going with them. Remember the story
I told us about, because the principal easily
assumed that if one went, two, three, four, the
fifth person should just go. But because I said,
I am not with them, she now quickly. signed my
acceptance and I enjoyed it. I did not regret
it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Praise God. I
don't want to tell us the remaining part of the
story, but if you want, those of you that are
around, you know the remaining part of the story.
So, it says, the children of Israel wept again
and it says, give us meat to eat. Second, it
says, we remember the fish. We, which we ate
freely in Egypt. And the cucumbers, the melons,
the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Go to
6, yeah. But now, our own, our whole being is
dried up. There is nothing at all except this
manna before our eyes. This manna before our
eyes. I want you to understand that. Why did
you not... Who are the people that were in slavery?
Who are the people that are actually going through
slavery? The children of Israel. But not that
these people that were not... They are the people
that were enjoying all these things though. And
they are the people that are now protesting that
they need to go back to enjoy these things. So
when you are in a crowd, a mixed multitude, you
will end up... They will put you in a WhatsApp
group. You are not part of it. You will just
be there and be lost in the group. Because you're
wondering, ah, and you know, there's a way somebody
is protesting and then they will say, all of
us here, we are saying this, this is what, I'm
speaking for everyone in the group. And then
you, you have to tell them, say, please, sometimes
out of respect, you just keep quiet. But the
thing is that when you keep quiet, you're a part
of them. Praise God. And these people are looking
for what is in the past. They're looking for
what has. And then they are disregarding, there's
almost like you have seen manna, seen manna,
seen manna, and then you're fed up. Praise God.
And I want you to see it as manna was God's supernatural
provision. Manna was God's supernatural provision.
And I want you to not despise God's supernatural
in your life. Praise God. Don't despise the supernatural
things. Some of us in the believers conference,
we experience the supernatural, right? And you
want to stay on it. You want to keep enjoying
that manna. You don't want to go back to your
habits of the past because your habits of the
past is a habit. Praise God. And you want to
make that conscious decision to break away from
those habits because it's going to be dangerous
if you stay on that trajectory of disregarding
or saying you want the past. And you know how
you suffered in the past, but you still want
the past because of habits. And be weary of habits.
Be weary of old habits that is not allowing you
to make progress. into the new habits that God
has already designed. And it makes you make excuses.
Some of you know that excuses are one of the
things that extinguishes fire. Every time they
say, come for this, they say, I'm busy, sir.
Sir, you don't know I'm very tired. Sir, you
know, I have this to do. I have that. And that
is you going back to the hatch. And the funny
thing is that where you are at, you're not enjoying
it. But you want to stay there. You want to stay
there. So you want to be very weary of making
excuses. And excuses just simply means that what
you're doing is that you prioritize that thing
that you're doing over God. And it's automatic.
You just need to look at it. That thing you're
doing is more important than God. Praise God.
And excuses will not allow you make... And many
of us have gotten instructions. We have gotten
instructions on what to do. But we are... making
excuses. And most of the times we're making excuses
because we're afraid. And I sense it that many
of us are afraid of the things that we have received
that we're going to do for God. God has shown
us pictures. God has given us word. And they
were like, ah, no, I don't think I'm ready for
it now. Let's just keep it at the back burner.
When it's time, we'll know it's time. I'm telling
you that it is now. There's some of you that
were prayed for. When I look at you, I just see
ministry all over. But you're just saying, you
know, we're just trying to take our time. And
then you spend time complaining about the situation
that you find yourself in. And you don't want
to be like these people. They were murmuring,
complaining. And they forget the miracles that
God has done, the supernatural things. Water
came out of rock, this and that. There's so many
supernatural things that were happening and they
were blinded to that because they spent the time
complaining. And you want to ensure that you
don't choke the supernatural things which you're
complaining. Forgetting the miracles that God
has done in the past. And I say this, Psalms
10... 3 verse 2 says, Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not his benefits. We have a tendency
to forget the benefits. We have a tendency. That
is why we remind ourselves, remind ourselves
of the things that God has done, remind ourselves
of the things that God is doing, and not allow
ourselves to stay in that place of, and I want
us to just, we can look. Carnality will never
please God. Dwelling in the things, the fleshly
things or giving in to your fleshly desires will
not please God. Understand that it takes faith
to see past the physical. It takes faith to see
past the physical and you must ensure that you
engage, you engage, you engage the things that
you cannot see. Engage the things that you can't
see. And I want us to close here because we're
out of time. But I want to leave you with this.
I want you to exercise your faith in the things
that you have received. Don't keep what you have
written down in your notes to your notepad. I
want you to take... We'll do this on Wednesday.
I want you to take time to decide that after
this church service, these are the things I'm
going to do. One of them is that I've written
it down. Is there written down? I want to break
it down into little things that I will start
acting on. Many of us don't understand that is
when you make the decision to act on something,
the zeal to take on that thing going forward
will come. Because your inactivity will ensure
that you don't even see the supernatural things
that God can do just through your activity. Because
the activity that you... What you do is what
is going to open you up to the supernatural.
But if you're not doing it, you will not see
the supernatural. You will not see the supernatural
provision of God. So what you want to do is break
it down into some little things. One example
is like, tonight I'm going to spend time. If
I've not been praying, if you've not been praying,
at least 15 minutes. Don't do too much because
most people want to stretch themselves. So when
they are saying one hour, one hour, if you can
only do 15 minutes, at least when they ask you,
you should have been doing 15 minutes consistently.
Then we will tell you when to up it to 30 and
when to up it to, and when to do one hour. Praise
God. So just give yourself actionable steps.
And then if there's someone that comes to mind
that you have not forgiven, you want to say,
after this service today, I want to. Call the
person, chat the person up. And then remember
we talked about blocking some people. After the
service today, you know that person that needs
to be blocked from your contact list and don't
unblock them after the thing wears off. Block
them and let them stay. In fact, to help you
to ensure that they stay blocked, tell your friend
that this person should be blocked on my contact.
That's how you hold yourself accountable. Because
this person is not going to help you to go. And
you know that this person is not going to help
you to grow spiritually. And then I said, then
the other thing which is very important that
we do here is after the believers conference,
you can't be here and you're not serving. You
can't be here and you're not serving. So what
you want to do is that after this service now,
an actionable step is that you will say, ushering,
who's the leader of ushering? You send them a
message. Prayer team, the leader of prayer team,
send him a message. Send them a message and say,
I want to be part of the team. That way, when
the team wears off, you have already committed
yourself. Praise God. And I'm looking at some
people. After the service, I want to see you
acting on one of these things. Praise God. So
that is how you hold on to what you have been
taught. You want to make an actionable... Don't
finish a meeting and then you don't have something
that you're going to do about it because you're
training yourself to be complacent. There's no
way you'll be on fire that way. Praise God. Let's
rise up to our feet and just thank God. Let's
rise up to our feet and just thank God. We'll
continue. on Wednesday. Please don't miss Wednesday's
service. Please don't miss Wednesday's service.
Some of us, our life is just Sunday, Sunday,
Sunday, Sunday. You're not going to grow that
way. Praise God. So you want to commit yourself
to Wednesday's service. Commit yourself to, let
this be another layer of commitment that you're
adding to your existing layer of commitment.
Praise God. Some people are looking at me and
looking at me like this to the side of their
eye. So open your mouth and just say, Father,
I thank you because I'm committed. I'm on fire
for you. I'm not complacent. Thank you for listening
to today's sermon. Your journey matters to us.
Let's keep walking together. Visit our website
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notes for additional insights. If today's message
was a blessing, share it with a friend. Till
next time, be blessed.