The speaker examines 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 to argue that spiritual warfare isn't fought with worldly weapons but divine power against false ideologies. He identifies the devil's main tactic as seduction: the allure of wealth, status, sex, and convenience. Modern churches that adopt worldly marketing and entertainment trends dilute the gospel and invite spiritual defeat.
Chapters
Let me show you this scripture, 2 Corinthians. I want us to read in King James, then I want the media to help me with Passion Translation. 2 Corinthians 10, we start reading from verse 3. 2 Corinthians 10 from verse 3 says, for though we walk in the flesh, We do not war after the flesh. Yes, verse 4 now. For the weapons of our warfare are not what? Carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Yes, quickly. Casting down imagination and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Now let's read this. I want to also see it from verse 3. In what is called the Passion Translation, TPT. All right, look at what it says: For although we live in the natural realm, we don't wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our ends. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. So stay with me. So we are seeing something here that, contrary to maybe your perception of the basic things that you might feel spiritual warfare is about— when you were growing up, what were the things you think spiritual warfare was about? Battle against witches. Talk to me now. And wizard. You heard of Okukulepu, right? Oh, Gen Zs won't know that. All right, so you believe that? Oh yes, I hope you know it's— we are not dismissing that as part of, all right, the arrays of what we fight. Oh yes. Let me give you an example, all right, of what I mean. Um, Have you seen— there's this stinging ant like that. There's this ant that can sting. It stings. The soldier ant. Yes, yes. This, ah, the black tick. The soldier. Okay, that's the soldier. Yeah, it stings, right? But the stinging can't kill. Because of your size and the complexity of your own body. It is too small to kill you as human, but that doesn't mean that that same ant doesn't use that sting to kill creatures of its size. There are certain things that no longer matter to us because of who we are in Christ. Hallelujah! Not because they are not serious. You spend time outside Christ and find out how powerful they are. But I want you to know that in the scheme of things, in the attempt of the devil to achieve what he wants to achieve all over the world, witches and wizards are infinitesimal even for the devil. He can't do much with them. That's like the lowest keda of intelligence. That— see, listen to what I'm saying. Hey boy, look at what the Bible says. Please pay attention. Isaiah chapter number 60. Let's start the reading from verse 1. Isaiah 60 from verse 1, popular scripture. Let's say together, all right? Look, read King James please. Let them read that. Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is what? Risen upon thee. Yes. Verse 2 now. For behold, the darkness shall what? Cover the head. So the devil likes what has the ability to cover. Pay attention, any system that is one person at a time is not going to be effective enough for both God and the devil because the time is short. A witch can focus on a person at a time. A family at a time, but a system can grab a nation at a time. Yes, sir. So the devil, knowing that his time is short, needs to employ what can work, what can bring in massive harvest. You need to understand that. So I'm showing you now, darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people. So it is the intention of the forces of darkness to learn to cover So it means that believers who understand what the system, what the kingdom is, must also understand the ability to cover. The anointing for covering is called mimshak. When it says— when the Bible describes the devil as the anointed cherub that covereth, the word anointed, there is the word mimshak. It is the grace to cover. Sometimes people say things like somebody has gone to sing a song and has dedicated the song to the devil. And the devil has blessed some, whatever, whatever, whatever it is. It is that corrupted grace to spread, that sometimes somebody has mixed the beat somewhere and someone will be singing that beat even in Brazil without even knowing the language. It spreads. Pay attention. Now go back to the scripture we're reading. All right, no, um, 2 Corinthians chapter number 5. Look at it. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance to the true knowledge of God. So the idea of all the barricades, all that the devil is doing, the idea of all that we call warfare, the idea of his strategy is to oppose God's true knowledge. Why is the devil trying to oppose God's true knowledge? Because it is the knowledge that forms your orientation. It is your orientation that forms the culture. Let me give you an instance. The devil is doing what he's doing because he wants to— look at the way the Bible describes his operation in 1 Timothy chapter number 4. Let's start reading from verse 1. 1 Timothy 4 from verse 1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from faith, giving heed to what? Seducing spirits. So the way the devil distract people from the knowledge of God is through the system of seduction. What is seduction? It is to dangle something before people and make them go for it. Am I still in Light Nation? Yes, sir. There is no seduction without an appearance. If somebody wants to seduce you, the fellow will need you to see them. Seduction is not just what happened between a man and a woman. There can be sedu— there's a seductiveness of riches. Somebody can seduce somebody with money. And what's the fellow doing? He's flashing what money can do before the person because he knows— listen to this— that the fellow doesn't have it. So it means for seduction to work, the devil will look at an aspect of inadequacy, or that something is not available, and flash his own to fill that gap. He never brought food to Jesus until Jesus was hungry. So the idea of seduction is to take advantage of an aspect of your life that something is missing. You know why? You know why? Nothing makes us more anxious than the sense of inadequacy. Sense of lack. Imagine, think about it. And before we make jest of people, before we laugh at them, think about it. God has given you an instruction. That is what I want you to do in this season of your life, and you are faithfully doing it. And it looks as though from the moment you started doing it, you've been broke. Seriously broke. Not the one that, you know, there's brokenness and there's brokenness. Not the one that happened for 1 or 2 days and somebody is just— I'm talking about the one that is going on for a year, 2 years. Then you now look at those that are not necessarily doing the will of God, and they keep calling you, telling you how their life is interesting. And sweet, telling you that, oh, my boyfriend just gave me a Range Rover. And there you are. And you have guys who have been texting you and calling you, and they are saying, all you have to just do, you know what to do, just come for a night. And then there's somebody saying, look at it, that's my boy, he just bought me that. And then you are— what's happening there? Seduction. The devil is dangling something and is flashing it. And what was he saying? Come, leave where you are, leave what you're doing, I have something for you. The question is, is the devil ever truthful? Many people left the plan of God for their lives and followed after the enemy, and it became too late for them to know what they have missed. Let me show you a text in the Bible. You know, the devil wants us to believe that you are missing a lot being in Christ. That's what he wants you to believe, that you are missing too much. How about just flex a little? You know what to do, you know who to call. There can be seduction of loans, the kind of loan that you don't need, but suddenly in your office they are saying this loan is available, and then you pay that loan for 15 years and now you can't resign. Seductive. You don't need it, but it's good. Money is good, but this is not something you really needed like that. But now they're saying, all right, so guys, if you want to take loan, there's, um, 20 million depending on what you want. The range between 10 to 20 million and your salary is around 400k. And then you're going to be paying 50,000 every month. You paid that for 1 year, that's 600,000, and it's increasing. 3.5% interest. 1 year, 600,000. 10 years, 6 million. 20 years, 12 million. By the time you are done, your children, they're already tired of you. And what's the idea to flash before people something that looks good? Oh, when we're on campus, there was this boy in my class. It was a Yahoo boy. This— not this Yahoo now. Those— no, no, I needed to— I want to clear you. Not this one. Those were the days of Yahoo, okay? Proper one. I don't know what they are doing now. Those that time, real Yahoo. So sometimes when we're trekking on the road and these boys, and they carry, ah, are you even— because if he's not carrying a girl, that's when you carry. But if he's carrying a girl, you just zoom off. But when you sit down there, don, and the AC blows you like, ah, this is my age mate now. I know how to also— I mean, I'm even— I can even give you OT. That's seduction. Let me show you a text. Genesis chapter number 34. We'll start the reading from verse 1. Very interesting scripture. Genesis 34 from verse 1. Give us Genesis 34 from verse 1. Read this together. 1, 2, 3, go. And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her, he took her, lay with her, and defiled her. You are not missing anything outside the confines of God. I want to say that you are— see, you are not missing anything. That's why I'm begging you. The devil— I'm going to show you what the devil does. Have you seen, um, any company that is advertising beer? Don't mention name, any kind of beer. Talk to me now. Now, no company that advertises beer uses their faithful customer for advertisement. The real ones are their faithful customers. For the advertisement to work, you have to pick them from the gutter wash them because this fellow has cleared like 30-something bottles. Have you seen where they are clearing bottles? There's another set of people that does that. Forgive me, those who advertise skincare. I, I just, I I, I honestly, I just need— I'm just trying to give you an innocent word. That's why I'm not mentioning name. The product is coming out this year, and already you have somebody who is a prototype of what I will look like if I use it. Tell me that this fellow was not already fresh before. So you now start using it and discover that your skin is going south. Another company that doesn't use their real customers to advertise: cigarettes or tobacco companies. The real faithful ones, faithful to the core. Ah, by the time they lick the lips, it's first black like he kissed charcoal. What is the devil doing? He's bringing people that what he has brought them into has not— they've not entered the phase where that thing is now properly destroying them. He used those ones to advertise what you look like. Have you seen advertisement of beer and somebody drinks it and say, ah, That thing that I say, ah, is bitter. I saw the advert and saw the advert as a child till I wanted to try. And the only avenue for me to have my first taste was for someone to finish drinking and say, return the bottle. Tell me you didn't do it. And me too, I now post somewhere and I know, like, this thing is bitter, but look at the packaging and you ask yourself, how will somebody sit down and drink 15 bottles of that and can urinate 5 liters and everywhere smelling? Why? It's a system. It's a programming. That's the way the flashy advertisement touches your mind. You know, more like, this is King's beer, this is what real kings drink. And because the fellow who is watching the advert doesn't feel like a king until people endorse him that he's a king. He wants to pick bottles, and then, so that since this is what kings are doing, let me also be like a king. And he's doing it. So it's a system to lure you out of what is excellent into what will destroy. Why? Because the one who knows the advertisement is the one who takes the stage. The devil advertises his own things more than believer does. And we say, you know, good life doesn't need advertisement. It is important you let people know that you are not suffering being in Christ. So don't pity me. Yes, sir. That's right. Yes, sir. You don't know what your life is, particularly if you don't have to be Let me, let me tell you the simple one, all right? If you don't— if you are not living the kind of life where you have to be checking for STI every month, you don't know what God has done for you. You're a young single lady, if your period comes late or comes early, you are not bothered. I just touched something. Oh, like after one day. Yeah, I, I, I didn't see it. Why are you even laughing yourself? Have you been there before? Imagine how David must have felt when Bathsheba came to tell him, 'I'm pregnant.' That life, that fear. That sense of remorse, that sense of regret, that pain. It is not part of the advertisement when the devil is dangling sin before our eyes. And I tell you this, if you have peace, you have more than riches. That you are a man and you are not shivering if you enter your bedroom and your wife is on WhatsApp. Somebody's heart just caught. Ah! Some men will just die. What are you doing? My phone, no, my WhatsApp died. The life that we have in Christ is a life of peace. If we live that life the way God wants us to live it, There's, there's nothing. My heart bleeds for people who think that there's something out there till their flesh is spent. Let me show you what seduction looks like and what the end looks like. I'll show you two texts. Proverbs chapter number 7, let's start reading from verse 1. Proverbs 7, let's start from verse 1. If you're there, say amen. If you're there, say louder amen again. Proverbs chapter number 7 from verse 1. Now this is, um, an admonition. I want to make sure I'm reading from here. My son, keep my words and lay my commandment within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of your eyes. Bind them upon your fingers and write them upon the tables of your heart. Say unto Wisdom, thou art my sister, and call on Understanding, thou art my kinswoman, that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the stranger that flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I look through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discern among the youths— are you still there?— a young man void of understanding. Passing through the street near a corner, he went the way to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot. That's what seduction is. And subtil of heart. Verse 11. Now she is loud and stubborn, her feet abide not in her house. Now is she without in the street and lieth in wait at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him, and with her impudent face she said to him, I have peace offering with me. This day have I paid my vows. Therefore I— therefore came I forth to meet you, diligently to seek thy face, and I found you. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry and caped works, and with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us make— let us take our fill of love until morning. Let us solace ourselves with loves, for the good man is not at home, for he's gone a long journey, for he taketh a bag of money with him and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway as an ox to the slaughter, as an ox to the what? Slaughter. Or as a fool to what? The correction of stocks, till a dart strike through his liver. Look at that verse 23 in Message translation. I want us to see the Message translation. Then, and then shot with an arrow like a bird flying into a net, not knowing that it's flying life. It's over. Let me tell you something. Let me beg you, you cannot live the full Christian life being neither hot nor cold. One of the strongest antidotes against the spirit of seduction You see it in life, you see it about money, you see it about the opposite sex, you see it in everything that you do. Is to be on fire is that your heart is aflamed for God. I am not talking about church activities, I'm talking about having a personal intimate relationship with God where it matters. When Paul said, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, he's saying be strong where it matters. You can be louder than your concentration and you'll be checked. Be strong where it matters. He said he didn't know that his flying life is over. So there are forces of seduction that makes someone look like he's flying and all of a sudden becomes too irrelevant for flight. There is something more beautiful than falling to the snare of the devil. It is living the life of purpose in Christ and for Christ. Hallelujah! It's beautiful. That when they are having conversation about people whose shame is on the street, your name won't enter. You can't stand by yourself. And that's why Jude admonished us, unto him that is able to keep us from falling and present us spotless. Having discovered my frame, I've covered how frail I am. The only hope I have is to hide myself under the shadows of the Almighty, daily receiving grace. Do you understand what I'm saying? Daily receiving grace, receiving help, daily. I can't do it by myself. I'm not strong in myself. I can't keep myself. Do you know what seduction is? It's real. It's flashy. It's real. Now, when you get to the place of compromise, it is the grace of God that keeps you, because that's what the devil does. He flashes it. And everything that is flashing, both in things and in men, it is to oppose the knowledge of God, so that— let me tell you what that means— so that you come to a point where you now believe that God doesn't have an answer for me in this area. Let me do what I'm seeing the rest do— doing. That's what it means, that you no longer see the knowledge of God in that area of your life, because everyone you see that looks loud and flashy in that area, it's the devil they followed, or they follow the pattern of compromise. So you just believe All right, God doesn't have an answer for me here, so let me help myself. That's where self-preservation comes in. Let me do it myself. God is not going to come. Heaven help those who help themselves. So the earlier I help myself, the better. The devil uses people that has bowed to him to lure those who are bowing to God away from God. You will see it. And you know what the devil preys on in your life is the need for validation. That's one of the biggest weakness of every human. And that's what makes it difficult for people to stand alone in the will of God. When Daniel decided in Daniel 1:8, and I will not defile myself with the king's portion— what's that? That's running against the wind. That's running against the norm. That's running against the culture. Let me tell you the reason why this is so important. What the devil pays everyone that follows him at the end of the day is death. See, All right, that— there is no better place in life than to be in the center of God's will. That's the best place. You will, you will be lured. Please. Give me King James of that, that text. 2 Corinthians, um, chapter number 10. I want us to see it now. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 5. It say, casting down imagination and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So what the devil is painting, what you see around, what you see happening, they are not there for, for fancy. No, they are standing in defiance that there's no God here. It's an antichrist system. Are there areas of your life that you think the wisdom of God is not sufficient? So let me do what the rest are doing. Let me tell you something, you will come back with nothing. Let me show you a text, the book of James chapter number 1. Is it James 1 from verse 23 now? 22 now. Laying aside all superfluity of naughtiness. All right. James 1. Yeah, it's James. Can you, can you give me that text? And embrace with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls. Let me show that text to you. James 1:21. James chapter number 1, verse 21. If you are there, say amen. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and what superfluity of what nothingness. Superfluity of nothingness. All right, and embrace with what? Meekness the engrafted word that is able to save your soul. All right, um, imagine a well. That you keep digging but you'll never find water. Let me tell you this: those who think they can do life by their own wisdom will later come to find out that although they felt they left those who are doing by God's instruction behind, they will meet them in front. If you listen to what I'm saying, though, if you will stay in God's plan, nobody can leave you behind. Your pro— listen to what I'm saying. Your problem is you have a competitive spirit. That's your problem. You, you, you want God to show somebody shaggy. You, you— are you what I'm saying? You want them to realize that when they miss you, they miss gold. God will never join you on the journey to prove a point to anybody. That's your problem, is competition. Ah, see, they will know that. Father, use my life to show them. Wrong prayer. Use my life to prove to them that they who wait upon the Lord— see You might even be in the center of that God's will, and the initial phase you will almost be tempted to ask those who are outside the will of God for money. Did you read it? Yes, yes, sir. Deuteronomy 8 from verse 3, look at it. 8, from verse 3. Look at this. So from verse 2 says that you remember the way which Lord your God led you 40 years in the wilderness. He said, all right, look at it. Go to verse 2 now, quickly. 2, 2. All right, to humble you, to prove you, to know what is the— see, the Christian walk that we have It's not a work of God making sense to you. God did not call you in to pamper you, and he's not going to break his principle because you are getting tired. He's not going to break his principle because you are getting confused. He's not going to break his principle and his method because now you don't understand. You will learn to strengthen yourself in the Lord and bounce back to his pattern for your life. Say, I'm getting tired now, Lord. You say, I'm getting tired. If you don't, if you, if you don't, if you don't bring a boyfriend for me now, I will go out and I will go and meet married men. Go. He's God. He won't come down to your level. You have to rise. When you were a child, you thought like a child and spoke like a child. You did childish things. Now that you are mature, put service and say, God, you know, if you don't do it for me now, I will go to— I don't know how they call those stuff. What's it called? It's your language. We sing it in our songs. It communicates shallowness. It's not communicating the old rugged cross. It's not communicating those who love not their lives unto death. It looks like that version of Christianity is becoming scarce. The kind that we have now, we have short attention span. Like, God, you know, I'm coming. We are, we are, we, we have built a culture of users that, you know, God, if you are, if 'You are not going to do this for me. I know what I'm going to do, so I'm just around for a while. So hopefully you do this. If you do it, I will serve you. If you don't do it—' Look at the kind of deals you strike with God. 'If you do this for me, I will serve you for the rest of my life.' Okay, if he doesn't do it, you won't serve him. That's not the way mature people speak. Though he slay me, yet will I praise him. And I'm telling you, as one who have things I've cried to God about and didn't get answer, but I found out I mature through the process of waiting. A family was here from Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago. They had a son that was sick. We prayed. I was locked up in my office one of those nights, cried my eyes out. Oh Lord, you will do this for us, you will heal him. We brought it on PPC. Oh Lord, do this for us. But he died. I didn't have an answer. They didn't have an answer. The only comfort we had was that despite the fact that this is painful, through that process, did you draw closer to God as a family? Did you pray more? Do to do all those things more. Even if the answer didn't come, something else came. You grew. What will you do if your prayers are not answered at your time? Now you understand why Sarah is to be respected. She was in her 90s, no child. What do we do? It looks like the Christianity of now— an average Christian has God plus plenty alternatives. And we've given God time, and he knows the content of our heart. And I've said it again and again, people come to churches and low-key have other gods they serve, and they join different prayer platforms with their foot chest. I'm telling you, and they will not miss any. Once they are done with that, they do it. Once they are done with that, then open the calabash and still bring out some oil. Three-factor authentication. How did we get there? Because people didn't have their foundations laid. There are many who are in churches who have never heard the gospel. You know what brought them in? God can answer your prayers. They've never learned Christ. They've never been discipled. There's the core discipleship of a Christian, that what keeps us going is not answers to prayers. Even in pain, in sickness, in whatever it is, when you don't measure up when your heart is failing, when you have become a tool of ridicule, when even you don't have answers. Do you know what it means? Even you don't understand, and God is speaking. He's not talkative. Sometimes he says what he wants to say and allow the doubt and everything to pass through our soul, and we know we check and check. Say, let patience have a perfect work in you, that you may be whole and entire, wanting— that is what patience does. And in the middle of that, the devil is flashing things, showing us what he can do. He's showing you what he can make out of a man. David is standing, look at the height of Goliath. But Goliath will fall because one with God is the answer. You look at Goliath organizations, they've cut corners, they hide their tax records, manipulate systems, fraud. You have the option but you said no. They like they've gone, and you are not smart. That's why you are where you are. Many of you have friends who are still calling you till tomorrow. Let's help you now. The fact that you keep those contact is the proof that you soon fall. Don't hang around your temptations. How do you have a girl that you call bestie? Now I'm talking to girl now so you understand. And this girl is always bringing you, sending all the message you know how to send, is picture of different sugar daddy that is in Abuja. This one stays around me, Tama. I say, ah, last week I went there with the girl, so ah, you need to see what he gave us. He say, send my own too. You are not going, but every time he say, send my own too. Oh yeah, as people are going, don't forget to bring something for me. The day they will bring— what was it called, Femi Lazarus? Uh, all the different things, you sit down and eat. You've stuffed your mouth so big you can't preach the gospel to them again. Look at it. Friday night, go out. The people you see in clubs in all those places. They would dance from night till whatever. You say we're going to have video? Ah, who are those filling clubs? You'll see names like Mary, Janet, John. What's your English Bible name? Huh? Samuel. Your Bible name? Grace. Grace. No, you not see Femi Lazarus. You see, see, wait, go and check. Huh? You will never see any Femi. Okay, DJ, but you will not see Lazarus. You know, it's going to be more tough for you if you hang around those temptations. It's going to be very tough. Let me tell you something: light doesn't have any fellowship with darkness. We oppose So all this idea that you can be a born-again Christian and be in club, then you will change it from there— I say you will not change anything. What you are saying is as dumb as saying I can be a born-again Christian and be an apprentice at a shrine and then change. He's dumb. You know, when you say all those things, they will just clap for you. Say, that's my boy, that's my boy, that's my boy. You take the mountain of entertainment, that's my boy. You know what you're going to end up doing? You will learn from them and infiltrate the church with it. That's what you're gonna do. You don't have to become darkness to influence darkness. Stay as light. Stay as light. Stay as light. You know, um, because on, on Friday night I like to win souls around where those clubs are. So this Friday what I want to do is I'm going to go out with bomb shots so that I can preach to them. They will rape you. You cannot influence darkness using their method. If you're going to influence darkness, you show them what light is, not diluted darkness. And I've been saying it, the church is having so much pressure to look like the world. There are some fashion styles that even if you don't stand for LGBTQ, it makes your life questionable. As a pastor, your— the trouser style, we can't tell. Is this unisex or for women? Somehow, as a man, you've come to really like pink, and you seem to— the kind of shoes you're wearing, we can't tell if they are high heels or something. The— no, it's amazing that you're laughing, but that's the enemy infiltrating our camp. That's the enemy infiltrating our camp. All of a sudden, we're just fraternizing with strange things. Hanging out with people that we know— the people you are hanging out with, they never deny what they stand for. They make it very clear, this is what we do. But we hang out with them and use things like, was Jesus not a friend of sinners? Be careful. One of the things you must be careful of is not what you will do and go scot-free with, but what you will do and leave the pattern for a generation that will amplify it. Because the next generation always amplifies the mistake of the first. We may not— we may say many things, say Father's body of Christ. You see, let me tell you something, we may say all those things. Thank God that we don't have a template of Bishop Oyedepo going to all those stuffs, or he just come one day and he's on high heel. Thank God we don't. And I'm, I'm, I'm— quote me anywhere. Thank God we don't have pattern of Daddy Geo doing strange things. Yes, sir. Who are those that will be the examples for our children? Will there still be sanity, or will have completely mixed? Instead of countering the culture that is flashy, we are running into it, embracing it, and coming to introduce the church to it. Maybe one of these days you just see a guy come to church and he's wearing these nets, singlets, and you are seeing the chest, you're seeing the breast. You see a guy, I said, oh God, oh God, oh God. Walk straight. All of a sudden we are becoming compassionate. It looks like the people— pastors are being forced to be soft where the Bible is strong. And those pastors are the ones with wisdom. When a Nigerian Christian tells you you are wise, ask God, because what they are calling wisdom might be you endorsing their sinful ways. Wisdom is staying in between. That's politics, not wisdom. The Bible is clear about things. And as we approach the coming of Jesus, you must understand attempt of the devil to infiltrate the church is going to be stronger. It's going to be— you will have temptation. Maybe somebody who is— anyways, we don't have any highest giver. Somebody who is the highest giver now is sleeping around with women, but you can't correct the person because before you found out, he's giving you money. Then the wife tells you, this is what is happening. Then you are now— you are telling the wife, let's just be praying, because your mouth has been sealed But because you want to compete with others that your church is doing fine, you are sitting down on the keg of gunpowder, lying about the truth so that, you know, if we talk now, these people will leave church so that by the time you take their picture, they will— there's a culture I'm seeing, a celebrity endorsement of churches. It will— you see, listen. Read my lips, it will boomerang, particularly when people whose life is not changing are the proof of apostleship. Beware, because I've seen influence. They come and try to project. There was a presidential aspirant that came here one time. You will not even know it was in the crowd. And began to ask questions about Life Nation and more, like he was trying to bully me into some things. And I said to him, when you guys were stealing government money, did anybody come to bully you? Leave the church for pastors. Thank you, sir. Leave the church for pastors so that we can take picture and say, look, see who we have. You will not even make it to the gallery. Photographers will be instructed from get-go, don't snap him, so we can all be brethren. We can all be what? I don't like that pastor, he doesn't show us off. Ah, I'm sorry, do you see yourself in the pictures all the time? We must be careful. The church is the most powerful display of God's wisdom, and the devil is flaunting the world for the church to see and embrace their culture and embrace their system. More like, you are looking at this thing we have and we're saying it's too holy, it's not is not going to move market. Because if care is not taken, church becomes marketing, becomes a business. And by the time you're looking at what you can do, it's all market strategy. People ask me, say— I don't want to get into some things. We must be careful. Jesus kept saying it again and again. Matthew chapter number 24. Matthew chapter number 24, verse 12. Look at that scripture. Matthew chapter number 24, verse 12. Matthew 24, verse 12. You were there, say amen. Can we read it together? 1, 2, 3, go. And because iniquity shall abound, what, what will wax cold? The love, the devotion of people to Christ will grow cold. Look at the way Message translation puts it. It says, for many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in. Nothing left of their love but mound of ashes. Spread of evil. Because the reason why I have to teach you is because if care is not taken, you get to a point you don't even know what the true church looks like anymore. There's going to be widespread that if care is not taken, you get to a point you Someone who is a famous stripper is a choir member. We say, you know, the principle is just come the way you are. But listen, to be a minister, there is a criteria. Let me tell you something so you can learn. I've shared this story with you before. We're on campus. So for everything going around, there is a type of it. We're on campus, all right? I send people, all right, let's start cell groups and all that. We're starting another— one of the guys I was sending was starting them in the name of a ministry he wanted to start, and he was betraying us behind our back. When time came to officially launch all those platforms and then pray for them, We're moving from hostel to hostel. Everywhere he went, we found out that we're not recognized. So he started this church, and I will tell you, people left the church I was pastoring, huh? People left. I mean, and I'm telling you, you know, pastoring young people— I came to church, and a church of over 400 people had reduced to 100 plus. Everywhere it was mass movement. Boom, went there from first service. You see things like, oh, that's DJ Makanaki. That's all the people who need obvious discipleship, obvious that they should be trained and taught. Oh, this one is This, um, Apostle, this Evangelist, all of them are titles everywhere. I will stand at the culvert of the church on Sunday morning like this and be looking at our members going there. God instructed me, he said, despite the fact that this guy has betrayed you, huh, go and beg him. So I went to his house, go to his house, saw people, our people. Some were cooking rice. I can't forget rice and chicken. Some— I said I wanted to ease myself. I met one of our brothers in the bedroom washing his boxers. I said, Pastor, you are within— ah, I said, say, ah, Pastor. When they finish cooking and all that, they say, will you eat? I said, we eat. It was a very awkward situation. You are the happening pastor now, so I will eat. I'm not saying this to mock, but that church didn't last 2 months. Everybody went back to their level. The one that is a DJ that Christ was not formed in, that you make technical called, went back to the club. It is discipleship first before projection. Don't promote what has not been processed. See, because, because let me warn, I want to warn, the church must be careful of identity Oh boy, identifying with people that will later bring shame. Some people are bold defrauding people, they are bold doing bad things because pastors unconsciously want to identify with everybody. You know, there's just— I might tell you, it's a weakness. I've seen it in people, it's a common weakness. It's you— everybody just want to— relevance. And people are in the hands of abusers because you as a pastor identified with the person indiscriminately in the name of he's popular. I have places I've been invited to and I'm not sure I can trust the life here, so I won't go. Even if it is where everyone goes that makes them look important, I won't go. And they will hate you for that. He's proud. You know, people hate people that they can't manipulate. He's proud. He's full of himself. Who does he think he is? If people are not convinced to identify with you, they are not convinced to identify with you. And you must learn how to stand your ground. If you are not convinced, identify with a person, stand your ground. Don't be bullied into it. Sometimes some of us don't know what taking picture means. So they say, okay, this guy is kidnapping now, but he's identified with many fathers. The people who are not friends of the church have found out that the church is the easiest place to penetrate. Why? There's competition among pastors. Very easy. A thief can come in now and give big amount. Next Sunday, that's my son in the faith. They found out that it's easy, so the church has become the platform for endorsement of robbers. We ought— hey, we ought to be the— you know why I am teaching like this? Trouble is coming. See, I have seen it. I have seen it, that there are people they will apprehend and they will look for their pastors. I have— I've seen— I have seen it. Trouble is coming. Call me a madman. Call me a fool. I will lift my voice and raise the alarm as God has— you know, God told me, he said a time will come that my wisdom will be needed to navigate tough times in the body of Christ. Then will I cause your voice to be heard. So when you see us do certain things, that nation is because we have seen what is coming and we hide our head. Yes, sir. Are you what I'm saying here? Yes, sir. You know, we want to run conferences for what it means to take over systems. We use people who are not formed but are doing fine. In the next coming days, all my assignment is Light Nation, purely, purely. So if I travel, it's Light Nation, because if care is not taken, you will leave your people and be busy building what doesn't exist. Till your people are deformed. You must be careful. This attempt as Christians to feel among, to belong, to be happening, because you are not sure, you don't want to be left out. You— that scares you so much. You don't want so much to happen and you are left out. Like, oh God, have I missed it? You know, more like, is my message still going to be heard? So can I just say what they want to hear so I can keep the traction but not the message? Can't trust you with obscurity for the truth. Please sit down. There's nothing you're missing out there. The devil is making plans and scheming, whether in politics. You see, that's even a serious one. We say, you know, um, these are Christians in our church who are going to take the mountain of politics. Aso de te kan. Mountain of politics. Do you know what money looks like? Real money. The kind that if care is not taken, this fellow may come back and tell you as the pastor of an opportunity that you know is not godly, but you have calculated the tithes, and you say, you know what, the Bible doesn't have a clear stand on this kind of matter. So, you know, in the case that the Bible doesn't have a clear stand, just do what seems right. But I speak as a man. I mean, if God is not stopping you from doing it, why not you just give it a try? But, but, you know, but you now not mention tithe at that point, it doesn't look like God tithe. Femi Lazarus now does it, 2 weeks he doesn't give tithe, pastor is angry. He calls the pastor and say, Daddy, say, who is your daddy? Many are stealing because they know that even their pastors won't recognize them without money. That culture of mammon. These are cultures. If I am in church now and I am going to leave this service without transport fare, is it a hard thing for God to not find anybody here? That will hear God and say, bless that brother. Because if you find out that he doesn't have transport fare, he loses his respect. So people would rather do anything just to have it, because nobody will respect you anymore. Now you don't have transport. Ah, I thought you were there. In our attempt to be relevant, in our attempt not to be left behind, in our attempt to be part of the move, part of the rave of the moment, to be part of what is happening, we must be careful what we trade on the table. You must be careful. Many of you need to understand that when we had to move here, Femi Lazarus was ready to do service with 10 people if they are the ones who know what church means. God is good because after 4 days we fix this place. What if we did not? What's your, your own gong gong? What's your own idea of church? Because if a pastor too doesn't have money, you people are the ones that will say he can't pastor you. I am saying the head gets corrupted sometimes. What the demand of the body. If your own uncle becomes the chairman of your local government and he doesn't start giving you millions, won't you fight him? Where was supposed to get it from? Still It's the kind of people that we are. It's, it's— the devil is playing tricks with us. He knows you don't want to be left behind. Do check your heart, see how much you fear it. He knows, oh, you don't like it. So anything, anything, anything, just do anything just to be seen, to be heard, to be around. Compromise, say rubbish. You know, when we wanted to come here, I realized that if I stood up that Sunday and I said, so now this is what is happening, and then if you want to give ₦50 million, come out, so I will lay my hands on you yourself. Then if you are giving ₦20 million, my wife will lay hands on you. Then if you are giving 10 million, PTA will lay hands on you. Do you know that— listen, do you know that there are people who love that kind of altar call just to show? And if you don't call that kind of altar call, they won't give. I'm saying they won't give. And you as pastor knows that. So are you not under pressure to call it? To refuse to and let God have his way shows you know God. Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord! If you're going to do it with God's wisdom, I'm guaranteeing you it will be slow, but it will last. The future is not for those doing it quick, but for those doing it right. Oh yes, it will be slow. Let me give you an illustration, then I start tying it up. Now look at this, both of you come. This man is building a skyscraper. You know what that means? And this man is building a 3-bedroom flat bungalow. While the both of them are starting the project, they start foundation at the same time. Then this guy seals up his foundation, then start raising the building. And this guy is still building foundation. You will say, ah, I have the grace of speed. And if care is not taken, this one will say, ah, I just don't know, there's something about delay in my life. But he's still digging the foundation. By the time this guy is roofing his house, this guy is still digging his foundation, because the foundation of that skyscraper will even be taller than his house. And by the time this guy is building his house and is now in the house, maybe that's when this guy is now building on the foundation. It is not about the initial accolade, it's about those who will be standing when all is said and done. Let— once you can build your life not for initial accolades, you will last. Because the initial applause— look at it now, look at it. Every Saturday somebody is getting married. Ah, this Saturday don't pass. Ah, talk. Hey, Jesu, sit down for a moment. And as I pray, preparing our heart for this teaching, I keep hearing God saying the dividing line must be obvious between my children and the children of this world, between the church and the world. You're not going to have it the same way. You're not going to have it the same way, and your mind must be made up. I am not following Jesus for things. Even if there's nothing to show for it, I will serve him. Once we reach that point, if you are trusted— are you following what I'm saying? See, oh, don't know, you don't— let me show you what righteousness looks like. That you are trusted with an organization that has billions of naira and yet you are living on your salary. Ah, that's discipleship in a world that pastors are winning naira bets and are quitting church. So it looks like just go and make it, then come back. Any method you use, we endorse it. No, it's not about making it. No, it's not. I said no, it's not. I want us to tell God to help our hearts to, to stay on love him more, to through your life display what freedom looks like. Tell him to help you out. Pray prayers of consecration. I rededicate myself to you. Use my life as a template of what your, your son looks like, what your daughter looks like. I don't want to deceive myself. I don't want to deceive myself. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I am decided to follow, to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. We cannot do it by ourselves. Ask for grace. Ask for grace. Ask for grace. Oh yes. Help me, Jesus. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Can we please be upstanding for a moment? Years back, I went to a church And what the pastor was preaching that day was a question. The title of the message was, "Is this what they died for?" And began to bring out names of individuals that were martyred, the disciples of Jesus, and what they went through. If we study church history, you will discover that the gospel has spread on the platform of sacrifice, including the life of some. I grew up in the north. I grew up in Kano. I was in Ekwa. I had the divine privilege to see many times that they will go for mission field. And whenever they are returning, many times they are coming back with coffins, including people who died on the field. You go to Gidan Maga, you go to Malufashi, you go to the creeks of the north. If we embrace showbiz Christianity and leave that hardcore foundation of missions— there are names you may not know, names like Baba Pandan. People, raw move of God in the north. These stories are not being told. Core revival. Why do you think there's so much killing in Jos, in Jos and Kaduna? Do you know the foundation of what was laid on the lives of many people who laid their lives down? And I can't say much about this if I've not been to those places myself. We must not embrace celebrity culture Christianity where we can no longer lower ourselves when it is required. All right, how many of you are aware that there are IDPs in Abuja? Oh yes. So if you want fast growing, there are IDPs now. It's about soul, souls. Let me leave it. We must lay our lives down, and I'm telling you that, all right, because we talk about this hardcore Christianity. That doesn't mean God will waste your life, but he will not dangle promises before you. Follow me, carry your cross daily. That's Christianity. That's the culture we bring. It is totally different from the world, totally different from darkness. We are not going to dilute it. Let those who are in darkness see the true light and come. Yes. Lift your hands and say, Lord, Lord, help my faith, help my faith in these last days, in these last days. I don't want to compromise, don't want to compromise. That's the prayer I want you to pray. Help my faith. Pray. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Father, I ask that if there's anyone amongst us who is already getting weak and tired, who is already getting weary, whose faith is failing, that Jesus, you will strengthen their faith. You will help their hearts. Amen. You will help all of us to embrace the cross. Amen. And go against the yeast of the devil. Amen. You will help us to earnestly contend for the faith. Amen. That was once delivered to us. Amen. You will help us not to water it down. Amen. You will keep us in perfect peace. Amen. That families will be built strong. Amen. The church will be stronger than ever. Amen. We will influence the world positively. Amen. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Have you been blessed tonight? Yes, sir. Let's give Jesus a huge— all right. Thank you, Lord. Amen. I just sense something strong. Thank you, Lord. Oh Lord, you give us fresh fire, fresh fire, that as it was in the days of old, where hardcore Christianity is praying without ceasing. Where we will pray not for things but for intimacy. We come back to those days again. Look up, everybody. If our— if we didn't have that exposure, we would not be here today. That's right. All right.
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