BREAKING GENERATIONAL BACKGROUNDS

Welcome to an Encounter with the Spirit Word and Prayer through the prolific apostolic and teaching ministry of Apostle Femi Lazarus, Lead Pastor, Sphere of Light Church Global. It is his vision to raise God's end-time armies. God has not called you to prove you are the best. He has not. As a leader, you are a broker of gift and talent. So brace up for an experience. Thank you, Lord. Okay, I— like I said on Sunday, that I'm going to wrap up only to branch, then come back again. Is that okay? So I'm going to be doing that with a subtopic titled Breaking Generational Barriers. Breaking Generational Barriers. If the media can put that out so you can see it. Today we are going to be smashing those limitations. I need an amen to that. We are going to be breaking all the barriers, all the mental and spiritual barriers. I didn't hear amen to that. Amen. All right, um, I'm going to be starting with a story, um, and I need us to pay very keen attention. Let's turn our Bibles quickly, um, 1 Chronicles chapter number 4 from verse 9 to 10. 1 Chronicles chapter number 4 from verse 9 to 10. It's a very interesting story. And most times we, I think we have the tendency of missing some things. Most times because we read stories with a lens of familiarity. You know, the story of Jabez, I know his story. But there are things we miss. Anything you are familiar with, you can't learn from. All right, anything you are familiar with you can't learn from. So we learn to study stories in the Bible, um, with an approach that helps us to get more insight. Is that okay? So what I hope to do today is not just to teach but to also help you learn how to teach. Is that okay now? Good. So I want to take my teaching as not just a message but also a mentorship session so that you can see in between the lines. 1 Chronicles chapter number, um, 4. We start the reading from verse 9. 1 Chronicles 4 from verse 9. And Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. And his mother called his name, what? Jabez, saying, because I bore him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my coast, and that your hand might be with me, and that you will keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. Um, what's the meaning of Jabez again? What's the implication of that nomenclature? The implication is I call you a child of sorrow because I bore you in sorrow. So the manifestation of that word should be that his life is full of crisis. Talk to me now. Hello. Is that simple enough? Um, God brought different creatures to Adam, and whatever he calls them, that's the name. But there's also a principle. Things are sometimes named by their characteristics. For instance, you say it is orange juice because it is from orange, huh? And you say it is orange color because it reflects what orange looks like. Is that simple enough? So, um, I bore him in sorrow. The manifestation of that curse will be that there are traces of things in his life that indicate tears, sorrow, pain. One of the things curses do is that they form mental barriers. If I tell someone, you are blessed, the fellow just goes home, that it's casual, it's normal. In fact, it won't make news. Apostle said I'm blessed, and that's what an apostle should say. But God forbid I tell someone you are cursed. You won't believe what happened, though. I went to church only for Apostle to look at me and say you are cursed. You know, you know why we are agitated around curses? Because we are more conscious of its potency. We are more conscious of the potency of curses than the potency of the blessing. If an average believer would believe in the power of the blessing like you would believe in curses, you will break through. I've seen people complain about generational curses. What about generational blessings? What about the things that are possible in your lineage? Hello? What about generational graces? Come on now, it's our mind. Let me answer a very important question. Can a believer who is in Christ, a new man in Christ, be cursed? The answer is capital no. No force on earth, no force above the earth, no force beneath the earth can curse you. And that's why I need to teach what it means for us to be joint heirs, because we don't even know what it means. If somebody should curse you and the curse stays It is as powerful as you saying they cursed Christ. Even in Numbers chapter number 23, Balak had to tell Balaam, I want to curse them, but they can't be cursed. That is a generation that Christ had not died for. All the examples of individuals that were cursed and its state that you have is from the Old Testament. I say, what about Judas? Was he cursed? He wasn't. And Judas died more out of self-condemnation because what he did wasn't different from what Peter did. But one went back to Christ, to God, asked for forgiveness. The other went out of self-condemnation. Say it loud and clear: I can't be cursed. Ah, you didn't say it well. Say it again, another time. I can't be cursed. So Apostle, are you saying that all the prayers about breaking generational curses in the church is a waste of time? No. So let me tell you, no. So if a believer can't be cursed, how do you now say that the prayers of breaking generational curses is not a waste of time? It's not a waste of time because the one who needs to break it is the one who has ignorantly accepted it. We cannot change the fact that not all believers are informed and aware of the truth. So the one who doesn't know who he is, you can curse the person and he stays, because in the spirit realm, knowledge is what opens what you have. Hello, we're going to delve into scriptures. Somebody say knowledge. Come on, say it again. Come on, say it again. Okay, let's deal with one Let's deal with a— let's deal with a big one now before I open the scripture. All right, are you saying that, um, if a man is in Christ, even his parents can't curse him? Yes. What did I say? Yes, it can't be cursed. There are people who are under parents who have lost their ways and the devil has spoken through their mouth. It won't stay. I make bold to tell you, you can't be cursed the same way Christ can't be cursed. Let's turn our Bibles and check a few things. Let's look at what the Bible says, um, in the book of Galatians chapter number 3. Galatians chapter number 3. Let's start the reading from verse— hold on a minute— let's start from verse 12. Oh God, help me. Hello, if you're in church, shout a big amen. Come on, shout a bigger amen. Are you sure you're ready for Bible study? Okay, let's, let's check, let's check the waters. Okay, Galatians 3, let's start from verse 13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Now that's not the only thing. Being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree, that what? That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Let me tell you this: everything he became on the cross, it is so that you will not become. As a matter of fact, when he became what he became, we were in his loins. Now let's start the reading from the book of Romans, chapter number 6. Romans 6, let's start reading from verse 3. You see, the problem of the church is that if you get the full insight of what Christ did, you won't believe it. There's something called the scandal of grace. The provision of redemption is too much. Are you seeing how, how much you are struggling to believe that even your mother or your father can't curse you? You are still struggling to believe that, to tell you how much you believe you can be cursed. What do you want to do with a curse? The problem is Hello, are you there? Let me tell you what the problem is. The problem is there are things that we struggle to believe in this part of the world compared to the western part of the world because we see those things happening with higher frequency. For instance, it's very common here to see people cursing each other because there's frustration everywhere. You are used to pain. I was teaching School of Ministry students that even the heaven we are going, even after rapture, you are not going to the heaven, no, not at least not immediately. You are still going to spend 1,007 years. 1,000 and what? 7 years marriage supper of the Lamb, then 1,000 years milli-numbering before the new heaven and the new earth will now descend like a bride. So it will take you 1,007 years to get used to the life you have lived, to unlearn suffering. You don't know how dysfunctional we have all become. That by yourself, if NEPA has not taken lights for 2 days, you are asking, 'Engonti, she wa se?' Something is wrong with us. By yourself, you are, 'Ah, let them take the light now, not Sunday night, take the light now.' Are you with me? Imagine driving for 2 months, the car didn't give you any fault. Ah, car, start the problem now, not when I'm on the road. You are looking for the trouble because why? You are used to it. You are used to it. Say it again. I refuse suffering. Hey, look at it. Look at the way they are saying it. Say it one more time. You won't suffer. Amen. You, you won't suffer. Amen. A new man in Christ can't be cursed. You can't. The major cause of bondage or limitation for a new man in Christ is mental issues. I'm telling you. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Say one more time: I can't be cursed. I cannot be cursed. Okay, say it like this: I am not cursed. I am not cursed. Now from today, it means let your knowledge so shift that if you're in a meeting and they call those who know they're under generational curse to come out, you are no longer a candidate for such altar call. You have left that WhatsApp group. Not like today you believe it. See, let me tell you what, what happens. The moment the devil uses affliction to bring new level of conviction in you. Let me tell you, look at the parable of the sower. Now, the seed that fell on the rocks, Bible says it's like one that hears the word, all right? Then the sun is referred to as affliction that came to scorch it. You have heard something, you believe, you get back home, the fellow you are owing just calls you. You say, what Pastor said in church, I was blessed, but that thing is still there. Are you following what I'm saying here? Say it one more time: I am not cursed, I am blessed. So the same way you have been running with that consciousness, just one time somebody said, you heard it, that there's a generational pattern in the family, you've been running with it. What about the pattern that Christ started? Say, eh, in my family, this one, Apostle, you can't convince me about this. I know this one. I know people used to die early. Let me show you a scripture. Revelation chapter number 1. Let's start reading from verse 3. Revelation 1. If you're there, say amen. All right, okay, let me just read from here so I can be sure. Oh, glory to Jesus! Oh, thank you, Lord. Okay, Revelation chapter number 1. Let's start the reading from verse 8. Um, oh, thank you, Lord. Let me start reading from verse 1 so we can get into context. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servant, all right, things which must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angels. Are you there? To his servant John, who bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things he saw. Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. John to the seven churches which are at Asia, grace to you and peace from him which is, which was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits, all right, before the throne. Okay, now I remember the— where I'm really looking for is Revelation chapter number 1, verse 18. All right, that's where I'm going to. Revelation 1:18. All right, look at what it says. I want us to look at it together. We Revelation 1:18. Let's read this together. 1, 2, 3, go! I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death. Pay attention, the one who is with the key of death now is Christ. It means that nothing should— I'm not saying can— nothing should take away your prime. One of the convincing ways the devil takes people away in their prime is to convince them. Look at, listen to what I'm saying. It's pride. It's pride. Pride convinces you. That you are an enigma. People like you are very scarce, and your time should be short. So when you go, the world will know a powerful man came. Never sign that deal. You can be powerful and have length of days. He said, with long life will I satisfy you. Never sign the deal. Never take anything that is less than the provision of grace. You will finish well. So this scripture already erases any generational pattern of early death. Oh Lord, help me. Let me show you a few things. Romans chapter number 6. Romans chapter number 6. If you're there, say amen. All right. Let's start the reading from verse 3. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by the baptism into his death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in what? Newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his— what? Resurrection. So hold on a minute. We are not in the image of the Christ that lived on earth for 33 and a half years. We are in the image of the resurrected Christ. Our species wasn't born until resurrection. What we are operating is still new model. So let me show you a few things, a few things. So in fact, you now understand that those who don't have Christ are already operating in what you call future. It was a miracle when Elijah said it will not rain. It was a miracle when he said it will rain. In Dubai, they are using cloud seeding to determine when it will rain or when it will not rain. The Elijah you want to be like, Muslims have become. In another 10, 20 years, our definition of signs and wonders will have to be adjusted. Israel has a technology called— is it the Rock of Moses or something? I watched documentary. This technology can bring, can bring water from air, from air, from the air. This technology Moses brought from the rock, they are bringing from the air. That's just science. Whatever Christ did in you is deeper than all these things. Hello. Do you know what it means for angels to be on standby on your matter, waiting for what God has to say? We are joint heir with Christ. Femi Lazarus. The devil wanted a slot. I told you, he wanted to be part of the Governing Council of the Godhead. There are three that bears record in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. These three are one. He wanted to be part of that council, but he reserved it for man. And that's— you are not even after the order of Adam, you are after the order of the resurrected Christ. That life is our life in quality and in quantity. That's the life we have. Zoe is the God kind of life. Say, that's the life I live. Say it again. That's the life I live. Say it again. That's the life I live. The God kind of life. Praise God. Now hold on a minute. How many of you, um, I want to explain something. I don't know if it's— yes, um, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, a show in those days by Frank Doe. Um, when you are starting the game, I want to be sure if I remember, um, it's like you already have certain amount, right? What you now go with is a function of your knowledge. Just like when you enter part 1 on campus, you enter with 5.0 CGPA. Whatever you leave there is what you go with. If you like leave 1 point, your business. But you came in complete. When he was making reference to people in the early days of their Christianity, you know what he said? He said, remember the height. From whence you fell. The man who is new in Christ, he call where the man is an height. Are you following what I'm saying? If you know what Christ did, you will— you'll be angry at the quality of life you are enjoying. Maybe there are scarcely Christians who are even maximizing 20% of the dividends of redemption. But what is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you consider him? We— so you, you notice that even in Nigeria If a message doesn't beat you up, it has not blessed you. You must be a shallow preacher for teaching people something that edifies them. How should they come to church every time and, and feel good? Why are they not crying in that church? Who will know what Christ has done for him and cry? Huh? There is now therefore no more condemnation to any man who is in Christ. There's no more. The only one who can bring the condemnation is you in partnership with the devil. Even him can't condemn you until he sees that you have started it. Yeah, praise God. All right, are you learning something? So we are— we are now— look at what is taking us to, to deal with this. Still dealing with the fact that you can't be cursed. You can't be cursed. You can't be cursed. Say it again: I can't be cursed. No, you can't be. Lift up your right hand. Say it after me: I am the righteousness of God. In Christ Jesus. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Now let's read this story together. Numbers chapter number 23. We have to read this. If you're there, say amen. Numbers 23. My heart is bleeding now. If I come here now wearing suit and tie and I say, you are blessed in the name of Jesus, amen. If a man should wear black and red and tie some cowries around his head and enters from this door now and starts waving something, there are Christians here that may get up and run. What we have does not require costume. It doesn't. And listen, we don't have to feel to have it. We have it. Let me ask you, do you have a liver? Huh? Your liver is there. Are you sure? Do you feel it? That's the same way you should be conscious of power. It's, it's a form of knowledge called aodo. Hold on a minute, this is where it is serious. Toby is seated here. I don't have to look at Toby to know Toby is here. Even when I'm looking at that place, I am aware. Awareness is a deep form of knowledge. Yes, sir. To be aware of the fact that I am hidden in Christ and Christ in God, I am aware. This is my seated state. Hello, are you there? So you are in a place and Abalis is doing something, whatever it is, whatever it is, and maybe they even flog you with it. Say it again: I know who I am. Imagine all the Smelly things people have to do to breakthrough. Carry sacrifice, kill squirrel, put the head there, 3 eggs, palm oil. Oh boy, oh boy. We just have to be conscious of the blessings that we have. You don't have to walk in 3 AM, somebody thinking you're a thief and they shoot you dead. I am blessed and I sleep well. I sleep well. When I'm awake, I'm awake. When I sleep, I sleep. Some people can't sleep. One creature will come and flog them from 3 AM to 6 AM. You now meet the guy in the club, he said he should buy you drink. Abi, you have drunk drink ni. You know who the cane is collecting for that drink. That's why we rather say, let me show you, let me show you, so we can be together there. But I am blessed. That's my reality. It's my consciousness. Praise God. Look at it, Numbers 23. Let's have a decent reading, all right? We must get used to reading the word. Praise God. And Balaam said to Balak, build me here 7 altars and prepare me 7 oxen. And 7 rams. And Balak did as Balaam has spoken. And Balak and Balaam offered every— on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said to Balak, stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Peradventure the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me, I will tell you. And he went into a high place, and God met Balaam and said to him— and he said to him, I have prepared 7 altars. I have offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, return to Balak, and thus shall you speak. And he returned and stood by his burnt offering, burnt sacrifice, he and all the princes of Moab. And he took up a parable and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Haram, all right, out of the mountains of the east, saying, come curse me, Jacob, and defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied? From the, from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. The people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, lest, unless my end be like this. And Balak said to Balaam, what have you done? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them all together. And he answered and said, must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord put in my mouth? And Balaam— Balak said to him, come, I pray you, with me to another place from whence you may see them, and you— sorry, from whence you may see them. You shall see but the utmost part of them, and you shall not see them all, and curse them from there. It doesn't matter those gathering every night, you can't be cursed. Now let's jump to verse 16. And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, go again to Balak and say thus. And when he came to him, and behold, he stood by his burnt offering And the prince of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, what has the Lord spoken? And he took up his Bible and said, rise up, Balak, and hear. Listen to me, you son of Zippor. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Has he said, shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received a commandment to bless, and he has blessed. And I cannot reverse it. Look at it. He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is amongst them. God brought them out of Egypt, he, as it were, with the strength— where, sorry— the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no, no enchantment against Jacob. Neither is there divination against Israel. According to this time, it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, what the Lord has worked. Those were people that the blood has not washed. Amen. Amen. Do you know why we rebuke generational curses in people? Rebuking generational curses is curative treatment. You are curing something what ought not to be. But there's prophylaxis. We can prevent it. Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. Somebody can be there and hear somebody's mother place a curse on the person. Now pay attention. What I'm saying is to show you your seated state. If you understand that seated state, you too will not go and be doing things that will bring ripple effect. Are you following what I'm saying here? Yes, sir. Someone just goes home now and look at the parent and say, this, this, this, if you like, curse me, I can't be cursed. Are you following what I'm saying here? But I'm just letting you know, this is who you are. You are one with Christ. One, one, one, one with Christ. Sit down, because this example— The only way— please, Pastor Mimi, come. He's the best example. Okay, so marriage is designed to typify and exemplify how much the church is one with Christ. If anybody wants the biggest trouble in this life, touch my wife. Biggest trouble. That's when they will beg me and I will say I will not hear. If I as a man will fight for my wife, how much more Christ, his bride? You have been bought with a price. One 12-year-old witch Is now making you have sleepless nights. Stop the nonsense. I've told you. Thank you, Pastor Mimi. There's no such thing as sex in the dream. Na lie. There's no such thing. It doesn't exist. What did I say? There's no such thing. What exists is rape. Oh yes, you know why? It is not consensual. A spirit is having sex with the bride of Christ. We're wrong now. A spirit— come on, be angry! What nonsense! A spirit with the bride of Christ! Say they were pressing me every night. You get up and shake the beast into the fire. I know who I am. I know. I'm going to show you the reason why some of those things are a reality in many people's life. The entry point is condemnation. Condemnation is legitimate because there's sin. Yes, that's the entry point. You can legitimize it because there is what? Sin. One of the things, one of the effect, or one of the things the devil achieves in creating a system of dysfunctional family structures is so that it can be able to attack people from their foundation. So that's, that's, that's, that's the reason why the devil attacking families is a master plan. It's a master plan. If you are here and God has called you into family life, counseling, and all that, never you let anyone Take light what God has given you. It's a very serious work. Take it serious. Guard your calling with your life. It's very important. Is that okay now? You, you are the gatekeepers that God has set there for families. One of the things I really want to deal with tonight is that when dealing with the effect of dysfunctional backgrounds, many times we deal with the emotional aspect, but there's also, there's also, and there's also the economic implication. Of coming from a dysfunctional background. There is what it does economically. There is, in fact, one of the most predominant traits or symptoms that you find in dysfunctional places is the pattern of poverty. Oh yes, and I'll tell you how that happens. Sometimes people are too busy living their lives that they forget to position their children for opportunities. They forget to position their children for opportunities. They forget to position them for the competitive world that we are in. They fail to give them the competitive edge. So, um, this one has gone this way, this one has gone this way. Some, in a bid to survive, had to pull out of school. And of course, anywhere there's promiscuity, there's poverty, most places. And sometimes it gets to a point, um, this one didn't go beyond secondary school, um, this one I have— can't go beyond this level because this fellow had to start fending for the Yorubas too early. And you see people that are— they have, they have not been carefully positioned. If all is well, people are doing things now. Sometimes people can decide to go to different countries, give birth to their children there so that they give them the opportunity of dual citizenship. If all is well, once the devil can distract the leadership structure of the home, the children will suffer for it. And some men are too busy with their girlfriends that they forget that their children is their future. Too busy. The girlfriend that if you die today will not be among those that will stand by your graveside to say this is who he is. If you die now, that girlfriend will have to hide because the fellow is not even legitimate. The children that God has blessed you with, and your wife. You abandon them in trying to save their lives. People lose it and say, let me just plan for myself. No, there is the Bible pattern. There is, there is the place of sitting down prayerfully God, what kind of children are you giving to us? Where all is well? Yes. Okay, this is there, this is who they are, this is what they are going to be, this is the grace I'm placing on them. Then you start preparing those children for that in a place where all is well. If a child starts singing or start getting, um, taking, um, likeness to musical equipment, you start putting them, positioning them there. When all is not well, I dare you to say you want to be a musician in the family that there's poverty. You are, you are going to become what they want to solve the economic problem of the house that you actually ought not to be the one to solve if those in front are done well. So people fail in school not because they are not smart, Or because they study the dream that the parents couldn't fulfill. Oh yes, if you are not careful, if you used to fail mathematics and you believe that those who used to pass it are smarter, you want your child to be smart because you have lied to them. Almost every parent in Africa used to come first in class. Apologies. Then we, we put some of the children. I think what is raining now is that my child must play ball. It must be Lionel Messi. What if the child doesn't pass agege? Allow children become what God has designed them to become. Your duty is to guide them prophetically. Your children are not supposed to fulfill your own unfulfilled dreams. They are to fulfill their God-given potentials. Many of you studied courses that you have no business studying. Science class. We're going to have our university. At Festival of Life, we're going to introduce our education wing in this ministry. We're starting with secondary schools this year. All right, we are going to smash all those nonsense. Will break the nonsense away. Oh, we will break it. We'll break it. You can't, you can't rate students by positions— first, second, third. It's nonsense. It's nonsense. You can't put a fish and a dog to run the same race. It's nonsense. Everything has changed over the years. Only our classroom has remained the same. We have to change the structure of learning. We have to change it. We have to change it. That's why there's unemployment. That's why there's unemployment. We have not built ourselves as a nation to the point that soil science has economic importance, but yet people keep studying it. Huh? What is the implication of zoology in Nigeria? Apologies if that's what you studied. Are you— what's the implication for now? I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm not saying it's not important. Even when you have a PhD now, you, you still have to queue for a job of 150K. That thing people are doing, fashion design and all that, why can't there be a degree on it? Oh yes, why can't there be a degree on it? I said yes. Quote me anywhere. Your problem is either illiteracy or neocolonization, because you are still somewhere in your mind still being colonized, because you still think it has to be those things they gave you. The curriculum they gave you will never make you like them. To never make you like them. Nigeria is still young. We are roughly just 100 and how many years now? 24, 20, 2014 we did our centenary celebration. 2014, that's 100. So now we are one what again? 110. We are young. While America was at our age, they were still failing woefully. There's hope for Nigeria. There's hope for Africa. Don't believe the nonsense. There's hope. This continent will emerge. Don't let anyone tell you any nonsense. We are still young as a nation. Relax, relax. There are two things that is going to happen. Number one, many of those who have traveled out will come back home because a time has come they will discover it is easier to succeed here. They'll come back and invest and do mighty things. And then those who are here will also do amazing things. Oh yes, oh yes, this nation is going to rise. Now we are still importing toothpick, importing all those nonsense. We will break and smash the mental barriers. We'll smash it. We'll smash the nonsense. Say amen to that. Who making amazing shoes and amazing— why should you make all those things? Why should test of English be the sign of literacy or illiteracy? You watch the Chinese and all of them speak their own language on TV. Lionel Messi can't speak a sentence in English correctly. They have to interpret for them. But if I come here as an Igbo man, you suddenly believe I'm an illiterate. But when you watch them, you believe they are smart. What's wrong with you? What's the color of our problem? What's the color of our problem? Let me tell you something. Education as we know it is about to change. With one microchip implant, you can have all the knowledge of anatomy and physiology. One microchip. What's the future of school? Where are those who are preparing for the future that we are heading for? Unfortunately, many families— family background has not given people the advantage to have that preparation, okay? Some of you did microbiology in school. You never saw a microscope until part 3. I don't know what is micro about what you study, but that's the case. They were teaching you the biology aspect and you were reading about the gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative, and you believe them. We are not trained to experiment. I remember while I was in secondary school and we're trying the first maybe experiment we do was titration. Every year they repeat it in my— and you come out with that thinking and you want to compete with the nations that at 7, somebody in China is already doing amazing things. The future is not the government. The future is here. People will rise from this place and change the system. The future is here. I didn't hear amen to that. Smash the mental barriers. Remove all those thinking, okay? You don't have to be a medical doctor to have the best hospital in Africa. Build it, equip it, and employ doctors. Okay, I know we're going to build a university and I know where it's going to be. Every time I pass through that property, I say, I'm coming to buy you. Oh yes, I'm aware, I'm aware. I've been saying that for the past 10 years. The day we buy it, I'm going to stand not here, our facility and laugh. I'm going to be laughing. We are going to rise as a people. Okay? And some of you are going to rise to say, the opportunity I was not given, I will give the next generation. Oh yes. Is that okay now? The privileges I could not enjoy, the next generation will what? Enjoy those privileges. Traveling out won't be something special. Anybody who is alive should have freedom of movement. Forget about the borders they put across different nations, okay? Basic. It's not news that you are going to America. It's not going to be the yardstick for defining success, okay? We'll break it. I didn't hear amen to that. And those of you who are here saying, oh, I wish I had parents, um, who gave me the opportunity, um, to do many things, I hope you know. Let me even say this, for those who talk about the idea of the mountain of influence— is this 7 you call it, huh? Ah, it's not a doctrine, but it's a reality. All right, I want— these are areas, these are core, um, strategic points in the society: family, government, sport and entertainment, religion, and so forth. Well, you know that it's not complete, it's not going to remain 7. AI has Who are those who are studying and preparing for the next? Now I told you, I lodged in a hotel in Scotland. From the point of entering the hotel till I checked out, maybe I only met one person. Everything was fully automated. You get there, you look at the class of room, you click, this is the class of room you want, it will generate, you pay, you swipe your card. And all those, um, UK guys, they know how to collect money, just swipe, swipe your card to deduct it, it will print out your key for you. You take the lift, locate your room, you have a tab there. The tab, you can order for anything you want, food change the lights or anything you want with your tab there. When it's time to go, get out of the hotel for them. The future of job as we know it. Hope you know that's where the world is going. Every organization now want to downsize. Yeah, so they want to reduce the load. And that's where we are as church. Oh Lord, provide jobs, provide jobs. And God is saying, I'm waiting for you to be the job provider. I'm waiting for you. Somebody is here earning $400— um, sorry, ₦400,000. Femi Lazarus will be about how much in pounds? £250, £250, huh? That's about the price for a suit, and that's for somebody who is even earning something. I don't want to get into this matter, okay? Let me leave it. Let me leave the matter. Um, some people were on their way to becoming amazing, um, to do amazing things in life until the established culture— you know, poverty is not just a reality, it's also a state of mind. There's nothing pleasant in poverty. There's nothing. It's not— you will not be poor. But the solution to poverty is not amen. You have to think. Is that okay now? You have to think. You have to be audacious. You have to make bold moves and be ready to take risk. You have to think. You have to change your mentality of saving every money in piggy vest. Piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy. Every time, piggy, piggy, piggy. Then you break it by December and then spend it again for Christmas, anything. Then you start again the following year, piggy piggy piggy piggy. You save again to December, then you break it, and then you start again, piggy piggy piggy piggy. You break it again, then you eat everything, then you start again, piggy piggy piggy. What circle of life is that? That's why the top guys are bankers. They are using your money for business because you won't use it. And some of them will even deduct certain things from you for saving with them. The best guys are not the smartest, they are just the audacious ones. Never train your child with so much respect that you beat audacity out of them. When they see visitors, they run like rats. They've learned how to see people as better than them. They're trying because visitors are more important. We cook the nice things when we have guests. That's the mentality we raise them with, and you call it home training. Then we have the pattern of small-mindedness. That must stop. That must stop. Are you here? Are you sure? There are people who are still running with the old model of parenting. An average home in Africa, we beat boldness out of children, beat courage out of them, spank them with the hand of Satan. Have you seen the case where A mother will say, yeah, pass, pass, pass. Ochuko, pass. They do like this. As the child passes, you wonder why the child is having trust issues. You taught the child. That's the training. No, that's the training. I discovered that I have problem when myself and my wife were talking in relationship before we got married, talking about idea of parenting. I said many things. I said it's not possible to raise a child without this, this, that, that. There must be a way to restore factory setting. I still believe in some of them. Yeah, of course, Apostle. Don't go there. The model we are running with, what kind of people has it produced? How many people can boldly say here that they learned boldness from their families? You have to pick it from outside. You have to start learning how to build your esteem. You have to start learning how to know that you are important. That's why I tell people, I'm a pastor. Oh yes, I have my children. Nobody can put my children under pressure and say they are Apostle's children, they should behave like angels. Are they your children? Say you are Apostle's children, you project so much pressure on pastor's children. A lie. This generation is different. It's different. We, we no go agree. Some of us were used as example in church, so we hated coming to church. I used to do my hair like Didier Drogba, palm it like this, palm it, and wear like 3 boxers and sag my trousers. We don't used to wear belt, wear belt. I buy G-unit, Tupac Shakur. Ah, I coming like this. I don't know why I was walking like that. And at school, they did not say, 'Allez!' They say, 'Oh boy, are you there?' One time everybody in school start walking like this. They walking like— I'm telling you, the principal came and say, 'All of you Lazarus disciples.' I didn't know they started working like that. God have mercy. We're trying to get our identity from the environment because we're not too aware who we are. Some of you have started raising children and you are not raising them affirmatively with love. You are not telling that child, I am proud of you. You have started now, you have started. You have started your own now. When was the last time you went out with your children and showed them that they don't need special days to be treated specially? Chicken is not for Christmas. Who even made chicken the official meat for Christmas? Who made the rule? Who made the rule? Like, we wait for that Christmas period to make the best meal in the house, then we teach them to wait for the following year, then wait again. Many of them can't sleep Christmas Eve. Are you aware that if a child is stealing meat, it is because you have communicated scarcity to that child? People don't steal what is— nobody goes to steal salt. People don't steal what is abundant. They steal what they feel is scarce. Every child in Nigeria is a potential surgeon, at least with fish. They would— one child, 5-year-old, knows how to divide one fish among 10 of them, will divide it well. Who made meat a reward? Who made fish a reward? It's the mindset. You were trained like that, and that's how you are training them. Period. Eat your food before eating the meat. Okay, let's leave the matter. If some children are eating together and one should go and touch the fish, the way with the bad okra in his hands, the kind of slap he will give the younger one. He will slap that child with Goliath hand like. Because we have communicated it is cursed. In the name— you see, listen, I hope you know that the solution to this is no more money. You can have more money and you are still poor in your mind. It's not more money. It's not more money. In the home where you were treated like that, it's not that they could not have bought more, but that was the way they were raised, and that's the way they are raising others. Apologies if that offends you, but I'm not apologetic. I'm not. I'm not. We are reshaping culture. So I'm not really— I'm not really sorry. I'm not. I'm not. Some of us are very calm, but, um, are you there? Say, I hear. I hear. Well, what I'm trying to say is that if you have not really learned, if you are not living the quality of life you should live, you may not have the capacity to empower anything or anyone. You may not know how to treat people better if you are not treating yourself better. It's just the cycle. Keep it on. If there's anyone here who is saying that, um, I wish I had the opportunity to be raised from certain background, to be raised by parents who understand this. I make bold to tell you, if you are in this room, there is no dream that is too late for you to chase. You can still get your degrees, you can still go for your master's, you can still go for your PhD, you can still study the courses you've always wanted to study. You can. Don't sit down at this level and say it is too late. It is not too late. You can still become the kind of man you've dreamed to become. You can still become a pilot. It's not too late. Well, there are certain things that I may not be able to tell, that you trying to start football at 30-something, I don't know how to help you. But if you walk through the Red Sea on dry land It's possible, but you play behind your house. Because there are certain things that are better early. Footballers will tell you, at 23, if you are trying to start, you are too late. Yes, I love football. It took a lot to get me to stop playing ball. But now I run around the pitch for 1 hour, you will carry somebody. This one is not what you do with Holy Ghost fire. This one, if you don't know it, you don't know it. Go and sit down. You can still do all the things God has designed you to do. If you have made mistakes, you can still get it right. Let me tell you this: the reason why it looks like we are failing is because we give up. If you finish the degree with third class and you believe you're a first class material, you can still get it. Oh yes, you have finished the ones— the one they made you study. Now go study the one you know you are designed to study. You can, and you will. Say, I will. Say it again, I will. You can still pursue those dreams. You can still pursue those visions. You can. You can. Tell your neighbor, don't give up. Don't stop believing. Don't quit on yourself. Don't throw in the towel. Don't give up. You can. Okay, one of the things poverty does is to try to redefine reality for people. Hey, poverty is a mindset. Poverty is a what? Mindset. Ah, ah, ah. Let me give you a million-dollar counsel. We don't give out our— no, no, no, we won't. As much as it will do you good, the world uses it as a tool against us, so we will not give it out. For instance, you have an organization You have money that you can use to, um, facelift your reception and your office. One of the signs of poverty is you keep saying, I'm not going to waste the money, because anything that does not bring immediate cash, you say it's not necessary. Poor people believe in instant gratification. Yes, sir. If you are going to go up there. Hey, you have to do things for long term. There are decisions you will make that will not bring anything instantly. When you go to airport, how much does it cost to go to, um, the private lounge? Most places, 5,000, 3,500. Those who are outside, don't they have the money? They do. It's the mind. They don't feel it's more expensive. They feel it's not for their kind. There are two different things. You get to a point you feel good things is not for my kind. Ah, are you there? I've had the opportunity of meeting different people. Sometimes maybe I'm trying to wait for my flight and I'm in one of the lounge and all that. Hey, what's going on, Apostle? I'm Senator so-and-so. My wife will not let me rest. I've been— thank God for those women who have been— oh, God bless them. They shared your video. I'm so excited. Can I take a picture with you? Oh yes, why not? Let's take a picture. Apostle, can I bless you? God bless you too. Um, you can. Let me leave it. Why do you feel good things are not for you? Why do you go to the market and see a shoe for 40,000, or let's say 50,000 And then see another one for 40,000, then see another one for 10,000, but they look the same. And then your conclusion is, since they look the same— hold on a minute— it means you are not buying quality, you are buying for the appeal it gives to people. Why do you feel good things are not for you? It's the construct. It is still— what I'm saying now is happening to the church. Ah, certain things is not for Christians. Then the same church will come back and pray. God touch their mind. The church is not about to have influence. No, no, no, we should not do all those things. Then God touched their mind. When a phone call can get it done, something is wrong with this model we are running with. We need to adjust it, we need to work on it. Most system in the country is designed to violate the Um, the— there's a word I want to use. Some customer reps are saucy. They don't feel there's anything important about you. Some people take certain flight and you see the way the air hostesses are treating you and they are surprised. They're asking you, what do you want to care for? Wine? You care for juice? You care for all those things? Say, eh, shoo. Have you seen that Nigeria Airlines that are now flying all those countries, they are now learning to treat Nigerians right? Meanwhile, locally, some of them don't. We don't treat people right for economic reasons. We treat them right because we know who they are. We respect people. Don't use your own money to buy disrespect. Get out of that mental barrier. Okay, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up. Wake your neighbor, say wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. No, tap the neighbor, tap the neighbor. Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. Hey, let me tell you this, there are certain things that if that is all you see, you cannot have competition edge with the world. You can't. Traveling is not prestige. Sometimes you need it so that your mind will break open. You can see from another perspective. 1 Samuel 17. Is it the one that want to change the world that is still eating groundnut on the road? One time I just told my friend, I saw that girl singing, I like her, can I talk to her? Say, well, in fact, she's even coming to your environment so and so time. So I said, okay, can I get her number? So chat up the girl, hello, how you doing, this, this, this, oh, I'm going to come do some things around this place. So I was waiting with my friend and she came down from the cab with roasted corn. Om, om, om, om, om, om. I said, oh boy, meet me. 1 Samuel 17. If you are there, say amen. Have you learned something tonight? Yes, sir. Are you sure? Yes, sir. So 1 Samuel 17, you know the story. Um, Goliath, um, the champion of the Philistines, um, came out and, um, the Bible said for 40 days He kept challenging the Hebrews, all right? He kept challenging them, kept releasing curses, and, um, and they were all running from him. 40 days. Both the king, the captains, and the soldiers— no one could confront Goliath, okay? And, um, like, I won't be able to go into the full story now because Time is against me. Um, so, but the reason why David was the one who could defeat Goliath was not just because he was anointed. No. Hello. That was not the reason why David defeated Goliath. David defeated Goliath because whatever it was the rest had been hearing for the 40 days, he didn't hear it. So he did not have the mental limitation and the mental construct they had about Goliath. Sometimes to break it, you have to be far from it. You cannot be hidden inside part of the problem. Every time this is— you will be too informed about the problem, you can't end it. So when David came, what he was concerned with was what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine. Said, this is— when his brother began to rebuke him and say, we know you are a subordinate boy, and he left them. He left them. Said, this because of this mindset, that's why you can't be celebrated, that's why you're not champions. He went again to ask questions. Are you seeing that now? You have to get out from the environment that communicate limitations. You have to leave the environment where that is what they speak, that is what they see. Don't be too traditional in your approach. The one who break barriers must be far from it. There are problems once you are too wrapped in, you can't end it. You are too conscious. Oh, in my family, um, people don't successfully marry. Oh, in my family, um, they used to die young. Oh, in my family— Detach yourself from those information. Detach yourself. Break it. Stop thinking like them. Don't allow yourself to be limited. Stop. The devil communicates transgenerational limitations through words. Sometimes you have not even seen the problem, but people have told you about the problem. And sometimes all the family meeting and the family discussion is just a way of convincing you that the reason why we are where we are is because this exists, and that might be the reason why you would also may, may not be able to pass this place. When you make excuse for mediocrity, you are making it legitimate. You are not the only one from Africa. People are coming out of this continent and they are breaking through. Say, ah, Nigeria is not a good place, um, things don't really work. People are doing well in this country. Oh yes, oh yes. Nothing is expensive. It's economic power that determines what is expensive or what is cheap. Okay. Uh-huh. Detach yourself. You know too much about sicknesses. Now sometimes you see that in the family there's a pattern, maybe a pattern, something like diabetes. Number one, don't, don't ignore. Okay, no, there's a pattern. The reason why you have to know is so that number one, you can avoid the lifestyle that can trigger it. Oh yes, there's wisdom. You want to live long? It's not a reward. Prepare your body for the journey ahead. Drink water, exercise, okay? Confess the word. Avoid the things that kills you bit by bit. Know what your— somebody with your blood group should avoid. Learn all those things. Go for medical checkup. I do medical checkup every time. Suppose you go for medical— oh yes, I do. Oh, you want to see now, you not do it. I'm not saying prayer is not effective, but you can die like foul. You— what you should have prevented can kill you. I have malaria. I believe in the word. Well, if you do, you should not get to this point. Well, now that you are here, let's help you so you don't die. I believe in the word. Gone. Say he died believing. People should receive— they are going through things that they need blood transfusion. You see, faith does not— is not anchored on fear. Don't confuse the fact that you hate injection for faith. That's not faith. You hate injections, period. Now we'll have to beg you and give you roasted corn while we give you injection. Prepare yourself. Know those things so that you can know what to avoid and so that you can know the area of confession of the word. But not— don't allow it form a cast of fear on your mind. It's not compulsory. Because somebody die young doesn't mean you must die young. It is not compulsory. Because somebody had cancer doesn't mean you must have cancer. It is not compulsory. Because somebody had certain sicknesses doesn't mean you must have it. It is not what compulsory. So break it from your mind. Lift your hands, everyone. Say, Father, I come out of those things today. We break the generational barriers. I break every limitation of smallness, of poverty, um, of lack. Um, I break it. I am different. I am different. I'm different. I am different. Now hold on a minute. Some of you, it took a while before your father built his first house, and some till now he has not built. You will break it at a very young age. You would have gone farther than that. Hey, don't let their limitation form a cast in your mind. You will break it. It took a while, and maybe the first time anybody bought SUV in your family, and it is an SUV that was 10 years before the year they bought it. Everybody rejoice. No, no, you are going to break that nonsense. You will come out. God is going to use you to change narratives. Your children will not have to suffer the things you have suffered. They will not have to go through the things you have gone through. God will use you to adjust the balance in the family. There is a generation rising that is thinking differently. Seeing things differently. They are the give me this mountain generation. Oh yes, there's a generation demanding for the mountain. Say, we are well able to take the mountain, we are well able to go forward. This might be the reality of the family, but not my reality. I am taking the narrative. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. It is possible that nobody is doing anything that um, and that is global. But you will. I said you will. I said you will. I said you will. For God to use Moses to set the Israelites free, he had to first take him away from the midst of them. Oh yes, there is the place of detachment to come back with full force. Is that okay now? You will remove the limitations from your mind and walk around and say it. I am different. I am different. The one that will change the narrative is here. The one that will erase the barriers is here. I am different. Oh yes, the spirit— you are not walking around. Say it like a king. The spirit of the Lord is at work in me. Oh yes, I am different. We are the generation that break the limitation. We raise every stronghold. I am different. In Jesus' name we're praying. Now hold on a minute. There are people in this room and those watching online that will change the narratives about Nigeria. Oh yes, you will, you will. For some of you, Nigeria is too small for what you are about to bet. You will move beyond this nation. Oh yes, you will. Many of you are going to become assets for this continent, for the world. They will need to be trapping your thoughts because your thinking are so deep and powerful. The generation is here. We might be born in the midst of this chaos, but we are not leaving it behind. We'll address it, we'll change it. People like me will not leave this world until we change the pattern. We will erase the pattern. Oh yes, we'll erase it. Start new things. Amen. Now, are you, are you aware that people have gone beyond global thinking? I was hearing PK talk about galactical thinking. They are now thinking interplanets, thinking about different planets, not Nigeria to Asia to America. Wake up and see what the Lord has placed in your hands. If you're a fashion designer, see how it can spread. Let your mind come to work. Let your mind come to work. There is a way you approach it, not as one who is suffering, but as one who is producing for kings. Oh yes, this is where I am. Somewhere in the books written concerning me, I am emerging. I'm rising from here. The generation that will come back with the head of Goliath. They are here. They are here. We are not going to leave these people behind complaining again. We will solve it. We will solve it. Oh yes, we will solve it. Not just by holding the microphone behind the scene. We will solve it. We will raise the people that will and will get to work also. Oh yes. Oh yes, praise God. Oh yes, oh yes. I see the hand of the Lord coming upon people. What took your parents 50, 60 years, you will do it early. Ah, you will do it early. You break the trends, you break the limitation, you will end the pattern. The hand of the Lord is upon you. His grace is at work in your life. Grace upon grace, strength upon strength. You are an asset. Men like you don't go down. You're an asset. You're an asset. Hold the hands of the person standing beside you. Let the person know how much you celebrate them. Let the person know you are so honored to be here. Oh yes, amen. Never reduce yourself to your background. You are more than that. The day God gave that family you, he has answered their prayers. Yes, he has. And while they are still crying and praying, God is saying, what do you want? I have given you my strategy. Oh yes, oh yes, you are the strategy of God for ending generational patterns. You are a strategy. He has answered. Yes, answer. Yes, he gave his only begotten Son. You are a pattern of that Son. So that you too can be given as a son. You have been given to your church, to your family, to your nation. You have been given. What will God do about Nigeria? No, he has done it. He has given Nigeria the generation that will think differently, that will change the narratives. He has. And I say, Nigeria, The strategy for your lifting is within your walls. Don't look to the east or to the west or the south. I have answered you. The answer is here. Amen. Hallelujah. Some people are sacked. It's a way to tell you that you are too big for that small organization. Not the one that you were doing rubbish and they sack you. Aha. You get what I'm saying? Sometimes God is saying it's time to start something. It's time to build something. Where did your courage go to? Build, start, command something, push it, see it go, see it work. It can't thrive. It can't build the business, build the organization, draw the structure, draw the plan, wake up, burn midnight candle, see nations while you are doing it. It can't. In 2020, this church was still holding meeting in my parlor. As at this time last year, they will see 30 people in church. God has blessed us. But I came with a mindset, and I was always telling them, watch me. Where is Muyi? How will it happen? I don't know, but that it will happen, forget about that. Put me in the desert, the church will grow. Yes, sir. I was coming here, I was speaking with someone who was telling me how difficult Abuja is. That was the last time I spoke with the person. I don't need that orientation. One thing about me is that I don't respect limitations. I have zero respect. I have— my wife knows, I don't sit down processing limitations. This is everything I'm doing. If I'm applying for a visa, I'm not saying what if. I don't have room for what if. No, I don't— I know, no, I fix programs before I get visa. Oh yes, and I tell them I'm coming. Say you have visa? I don't, I'm coming. Is that date? Forget about this one. I don't, I don't do plan B. Special Commandos, no plan B. I'm sorry, when we started constructing the site, hey, how will the money come? Did it come? Yes. Is it still coming? Yes. That's a temporary site. By this time next year, do you know what we'll be doing? I was watching Ambience TV and I said, Lazarus, your dreams are too small. It's nonsense. I told them, I told them, I told the people, I said, the amount we are paying per month for this TV to be on air, I said, I'm not sure I'm okay with it. I want to be a hosting platform. I want to be, yes, I, yes, I want to host other TV stations across Africa and Europe. That's what we are working on now. So we can have our own decoder. That's what I'm working on. That's what I'm working on. That's the thinking. Now, oh, we are happy, we are here, we are here. I am happy, I'm glad, but what's the next thing? Don't allow limitations form on your mind. God have mercy. God, we're in the world. Car, car, car, car right now is not luxury. You need it. The quality of what you should be doing now, what you should be doing now— car should not be something you are posting to use this to say, let's buff it, you know the way you say. Something is shifting in your mind. Something is shifting in your mind. Something is shifting in your mind. You are breaking through in your thinking. We receive grace for everyone in this house, and I plead the blood of Jesus over your minds. In the name of Jesus, let the hand of the Lord rest upon you. Grace upon grace, in Jesus' mighty name. Hi there! God is raising for himself an end-time army, and this is the mandate that he has given to us. Truly, the harvest is plenteous, but we need you on board as a laborer. This is a call to partner with what God is doing in this great house. To become a monthly partner with us at Sphere of Light Church and Femi Lazarus Apostolic Ministries Ecumenical, kindly reach us via the number +234 903 095 9735. To give an offering or to sow a seed, kindly make use of these account details being displayed. The Gospel of Jesus is spreading. Thank you for being a part of it.