COVENANT MINDEDNESS 3

Praise God! Lift your hands where you are and give Jesus praise for the opportunities given to us to learn in yet another Bible study. Let's give him all worship that is due to his name for the express word that is always sent into this house. Let's give him thanks. Let's give him adoration. Wherever you're watching from, lift your hands and give him praise. Let's thank him. He's so deliberate about us, sending his words to us in season and out of season. Let's give him glory and give him adoration. We bless your holy name. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' Mighty name we are praying. Amen. Praise God. All right, welcome to Bible study. Um, even though those of you in Abuja— God catch you— you're also watching me on screen now, so it's so good. But I'm excited, you know. And that's the reason why I said I have to do this. I'm excited when I look at what God is doing in your lives. And one of the ways you know what God intends to do with a person is when you see the quality of information and training that God has allowed to go in the direction of the person. So I make bold to tell you, Light Nation, that you are blessed, and I'm sure that you know it, right? You know that God has really blessed you. Praise God. All right, so I started the series on covenant-mindedness, and last week I, you know, we began to step in a bit deeper talking about covenant relationships, and of which I'm glad that we had a brief recap of this across all our centers in Light Nation on Sunday. And that's, for me, that's phenomenal. All right, because the reason for that is so that I can, we can be able to carry everyone along and no one is left behind, and we all can be up to date in learning. Praise God. All right, so I showed you some scriptures that shows that The God that we serve is a God that is mindful of covenant. Is God that is mindful of covenant. You read that scripture, Exodus chapter number 19, verse 5. Exodus chapter number 19, verse 5. Very interesting scripture. Now therefore If you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. Now God was saying something really important here, that if you will keep the covenant— that is, I said to you that a covenant is an agreement. Between two people as touching the matter. Okay, so if you will keep your own part, you are going to see the move of God like never before. You see him show up for you, and you will, you will now discover that there are many parts to God that is not available to one who have decided to dwell in the outer court. So don't just go about bragging about what God has said that he will do. A promise is not necessarily a covenant. The moment God says, son, daughter, be committed to this and I will do this, you have entered the covenant. Okay, and I told you, even in Light Nation, every covenant that we rejoice about is backed with practices. It's backed with practices. The covenant of life, God gave us practice, very important practice that we must pay attention to. The covenant of ease, he gave us practices that we must pay attention to. All right, so it is important that we learn that. And I said last week that to be covenant-minded is to be conscious of the weight of an agreement or vow. That is, when you make a vow or an agreement with either people or God, let the words you have spoken mean something to you. If you tell someone that I exchange this ring with you and I take you as my lawful wedded wife and I will cleave to no other but you till death do us part, that word should mean something to you. It should count for something in your heart. So, and we, we must go back and throw away the infidelity with our words. Where we are not light people, we are not fickle. Your words should be your bound. Amen. I also said to be covenant-minded, um, is to stick to your agreement. Both with God and men without breaking it or making it fail. Okay, and I raised a concern which is something very important that we need to look at. I've just observed that nowadays there are just very few people that understand the weight of their works. And that have the strength of character enough that when they say this is where I am, that's where they are. And they do everything humanly possible to do what is right because they are people of what? Covenant. Praise God. Amen. So I give examples of covenant relationships, and I mentioned number one, marriage. And Genesis chapter number 2 towards the end say, for this reason will a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they both shall be one flesh. And we, we, you see, we have to— we should not pattern our homes after those who didn't know Christ. So much so that the weight of our words and the vow doesn't mean anything to us. Nowadays across the world, women are cheating on men as men are cheating on women, with driver, with ex, okay. And the sign that you honor your vow, honor the Lord and honor your home, is that there are people who you cannot maintain close relationship with if your home must stand. It doesn't mean you are a bad person. It just means you've chosen your battles carefully and you are wise. The second relationship, covenant relationship I mentioned, is covenant friendship. Covenant friendship. And, um, um, praise God, I want to show you something. Are you still there? I showed you the example of David and Jonathan. Look at 2 Samuel chapter number 9. 2 Samuel chapter number 9, very interesting and important scripture. 2 Samuel chapter number 9. Now David was asking here, all right, he said, is there any left, any that is left in the house of Saul that I may show him what kindness for Jonathan's sake. You see, you may not know how brutal life is and how unfaithful people are with their words till you go to places. Maybe somebody has passed on to glory and friends will come around. Some of you have lost parents will understand what I'm saying and say, by the grace of God, we were responsible for these children, we'll do all those things. And just few weeks after, you call them, they don't pick calls. David was asking. Despite the fact that Jonathan was dead, David stuck with it. So you must understand that the shuwa mercy, the covenant of mercy that God made with David, is not for nothing. The first thing God spoke about was the quality of the heart of David. He said, um, I've found for myself a man after my heart. That is, whose heart is fashioned after mine. So he was asking, is there anyone left in the house of Saul? So now look at this, he extended his tentacles of generosity to the house of Saul. For whose sake? Jonathan's sake. Jonathan's sake. That I may show him kindness. For whose sake? Jonathan's sake. Look at this scripture, um, Proverbs 27. Proverbs 27:17, very interesting scripture. Proverbs 27:17. Look at this: Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Um, let me get you more translation so you can see it. Praise God. I wanted to show you Message translation. Look at it. You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens what? Another. Listen to what I'm saying. If you say that you are a covenant-minded person and you say, this is my brother in the Lord, this is my friend in the Lord, this is my— all right, my covenant brother, whatever it is you call yourself— you are simply saying, if this person should fall down, I will be there to pick this person up. See, life is brutal. Anybody can be around when things are fine. It is in the days of trouble that we know friends. Let me say it again. Anybody can be around. Oh, you know, oh, he just built this house. Oh, glory to God, we praise God for you. But what happens the days that things are not the way everyone expects things to be? You say, eh, you will even Call many of the so-called friends and they won't pick. And you know, it is amazing how the conscience of many believers are dead. And some will still go behind the back and say, eh, we've always known it's going to happen. That's not friendship. And the unfortunate thing, and what people don't understand, is that there is a God who sees all. And also bears record. He sees our unfaithfulness and our righteousness. If you are going to walk in this reality with God, you have to be a man whose words mean something. You learn to stick with people in the days of trouble, not just when things are nice. I was listening to a man of God Femi Lazarus recently, and he was sharing something very painful, and I could see the pain in his eyes. He said now that he's getting old, he said one of his biggest regrets was the fact that he did not realize that at the early phase of ministry, bulk of those who want to be around you are inviting you to come minister are doing so just to use you. And it's one of the unfortunate realization I've made that there are very few, few people who are inviting you because they understand the texture of your anointing. There are many who will say come because of your— because of many people who want to see you and be excited that we have hosted this person too. There are very few who have discerned that this is the kind of anointing this person carry, and this is what this person represents in the spirit, and this is what the reason why we want this person, and this is it, and this is that. So if you are a young minister starting out, you will build your esteem based on flyers, and you will fly from one meeting to another, and except God has called you there, till you discover That the future is not for those flying about, but for those who wait and build. And take this from me. In fact, let me tell you this. One of the ways I live my life is that I sit down to ask myself, what are the things people learn only when it is too late, or almost too late? I write down those lessons and begin to apply them to my life now. Let people call you whatever it is, but you must understand it is the reality of life. Bulk of what you have around that you call relationship are only in existence because you are being used. And I asked you, if you fall into trouble now, how many people do you have that will cover your nakedness and nobody will know what you have shared with them. That will— they— listen to what I'm saying. It was Noah that, um, um, yeah, Noah that got drunk and slept and covered and uncovered himself, and his son was there laughing. But the other one came and went with his back and covered the nakedness. This is— this is— our generation is too light. In fact, we are so fickle that the problem people should solve in people's life become the reason why they leave the people. Yeah, I can't, I can't have a, I can't, I can't, I can't have a spiritual father who doesn't have a Jeep. As if it is Jeep that will direct your life. It's amazing. And many have not been taught, and because of that, that's the reason why they are not even heavy. They, that God is not trusting them with so much. I'm asking you again, if the rain of shame is about to fall on you, who do you have in your life that will cover you? That will— they see, they will cover you, stand with you in prayer, and nobody— no, not people that will cover you and say, ah, that time, no be we help him. Nobody will know your reproach. And the question is, listen to what I'm saying, it is greed to desire such, because you can sit down now and begin to think you're a victim. But you too, seated here, how many people's shame have you covered? How many have confided in you with matters as touching their lives? That you go to places and sit down and discuss the matter. Anybody who talks too much and gossip cannot be a person of covenant, because what they are talking about are either things they saw in confidence or that they heard in confidence. And in some cases, those things are not even true. Just busybodies. Let me tell you something. If you allow God help your heart to be a pillar for people, one who covers their shame and nakedness, it will make you heavy. It will plant you. There are— see, listen— there are many things we spend time praying. Lord, give me power, power, power, power, power. If you like, do power. You see what I'm saying? There are depths of what you cannot pray into. He entrusts you based on your heart. Listen to what I'm saying. Go to mountains, you will see people 3 years, 4— I'm not saying they are doing what is wrong. I'm not saying, all right, I'm not saying God is not going to empower them, but I'm saying that there are certain dimensions with God that are product of entrustment. God look at this person and say, I can trust him, I can trust her. We must go back to the custom of being noble enough to cover people in the days of their shame. I share this story with you. A young boy was living with me years back, and he was epileptic. And one time he had seizure. He had seizure. An epileptic seizure can be something. You have to hold him because he could hit his head on the ground and break the— injure himself. You see scars on his head. And it was on the road, so crowd gathered that day, and I was his pastor. I was the one with him, so we carried him somewhere and the crowd reduced. I cleaned him up, and, um, you know, after the crowd reduced And people were still there. It was in front of a shop. I can't forget. While he was still unconscious, lying, of course breathing, I just lay down beside him, and when he wakes up, we're good. You know, I'm a respected person in that environment, so, you know, I just— nobody really— some were surprised. Who? Who? Among them is epileptic. And by the time he got up, we covered it nicely. I didn't have a car, but I got somebody on standby waiting with a bike. The moment he got up and he was fine, he took the bike and zoomed off. Years passed. The young man began to evangelize. And yes, we had prayed. God had taken away the epilepsy. So he began to evangelize in the market, and you know, he will come back every time with fishes, oil. I called him. I said, have you observed me? You can see I'm doing up to about 5 jobs. I was teaching in a primary school, then Once I'm done from that class, I will go to a government secondary school to take mathematics tutorial for the day. And sometimes I straddle two government schools. I do 1 hour 30 minutes here, another 1 hour 30 minutes there, 30 minutes on bike, sometimes 20 minutes on bike. And then by evening, I will go to the joint where I was selling noodles. Oh yes, I've sold noodles beside the road. I said the reason why I'm working so hard is so I don't look up to people for food. Okay, we are doing ministry, I can't do it on empty stomach if I'm not fasting. That's why I'm working. So when our ministry started, accusations arose against me and some said he's doing the ministry because of money. Say he wants to make money, that's why he's doing ministry. And I said, this is not fair. And while they were saying all those things, I mean, a real face-to-face allegation, somebody among them said, we even heard from reliable source. Anybody that is talking to you and say, I heard from reliable source, be afraid. It means somebody that somebody thinks is somebody you can rely on is a bed of thorns. Yeah, we heard from Eli Abusos that he even said he cannot do ministry on empty stomach, so he's here to make their money. It was when they said that statement that tears dropped from my eyes, and I said, I know myself, I can count my words. I only said this statement to one human being. I've covered this guy's shame. I've been there for you through thick and thin. So I invited him to my house, and it was— you need to see when he came. Oh, how are you, sir? Thank you, sir. So I cooked rice and I served him the food, and he was eating. As he was eating, I was looking at him, and I said, sir, Did I in any way offended you? I said, God forbid. That's what he said. That was what he said. He said, God forbid. Ah, you are my pastor. Ah, God forbid. So I said, you backstabbed me. Some people were saying this, then you joined them. To backstab me. And he started stammering. He said, I was there and they were talking about you. He said, so I just said that. I said to him in my defense, ah, or to bash me the more. Then he couldn't talk anymore and he couldn't eat. It's bad. We must not be truce breakers. Don't be the kind of Christian that somebody thinks that I have this person in my corner, but it is better for the person to have an enemy than to have you there. It is one thing to desire that, oh God, I am always faithful, but that's why I'm asking you, because this is a training for you. You, are you faithful? Can you be trusted with words? Can you be trusted with secrets? What if you have the opportunity to know something about a person that is a part of the person's life that, that the person— that is a shameful part? Maybe the person's debt profile. Maybe— what will you do with it? What are the things you are capable of spilling? Train yourself to hold back and be a person of fidelity, enough to know that on the account of the fear I have for God, I cannot. One time, because the Philistines housed the father of David and allowed him to stay with them, David— and they also housed David at some point— David felt an obligation to pay back, and he wanted to join them in a battle. The Philistines said, we can't allow him. You know, that was the final battle that killed Saul. They said, we can't allow him. They said, when the battle grows sore, he will turn against us. They knew that David could not watch Saul die without defending him. They— how many people can testify of your own integrity? All the places you have been, you ended up saying something bad against them like there was never a time they did anything for you. That's the mark of a dangerous person. Listen to what I'm saying. If you run an organization, an establishment, check the person's remark about where the person is coming from. Check the person's conclusion about the places the person has served. Anybody who tell others to you will tell you to others. It's just a matter of when. And we must not build the life where every door we have exited We are broken. Nobody will take responsibility for you at the end of your days. There comes a time that you are too old for frivolities. There comes a time that you are no longer young to jump everywhere. One of the surest way a man's future can be accounted for is that the person has a place that the fellow has been committed and they can reciprocate commitment back. And I've said it, even though It's a matter of time everybody will wake up to the reality. Just a matter of when. But listen and listen good. Nobody owes you anything in life. You cannot harvest where you didn't sow. You cannot. You cannot harvest where you didn't sow. It is in the places that your commitment is felt that they will hold you in the days that things are weak. Which relationship are you investing into? Which friend have you become a backbone to? How many people are you a support structure to? Who are the people who are praying now that nothing must happen to this person because we are connected? What is your connectedness? What is the profile? What's the weight of your structure. People have no sense of covenant. Here today, there tomorrow. You know, sometimes even as an employer of labor, because we have different establishments, who can you even employee. You recommend a Christian to get a job done, you'll be amazed. And we have so lost reputation. Someone says, this my sister, let her stay with you for a while, to abortion. And unfortunately Even among pastors. So much so that our words count for nothing. If I want to do something now and someone say I'm a pastor, I double-check because you'll be amazed that these people have the ability to cheat you in a way that even the devil is shocked. Even the devil will say, ah! Okoko Michael say, oh, shock me! Shock me! Shock me! They shock me! Oh boy, praise God! I said, praise God! We must learn to be covenant-minded. To be conscious of it, to walk in the reality of it. Not trucebreakers. And these are the things that it— but look at it, look at what the Bible says here in Psalms 91. I'm sorry, Psalms 51. Psalms 51. Before I read this scripture, have you seen people that— look at me— you can tell that this person is not perfect, okay? There are mistakes, you can see it. In fact, maybe sometimes they won't drag the person for mistakes here and there, but there is something God is honoring in the person's life. Have you seen that before? For some reasons, God is— God is just saying, I back this person up. He's a God of mercy, okay? But for some reasons Why is that? There's something the person knows. You see, you cannot pull people down whose heart you don't understand, whose depth you don't know. A righteous man will be as a rock in the midst of wind because God is seeing and honoring their heart, and it looks like heaven has vowed, I will help you. Look at this, look at the instruction. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall what? Obtain mercy. If when people are down, they make mistake, you shred them, you say you are running block, you come and do— listen to what I'm saying. In the day that you make a small mistake, nobody owes you mercy. It is what a man sows that he reaps. Look at this scripture. Um, Psalms chapter number 51. I read from verse 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else will I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God A broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart thou will not despise. That was what David saw when he saw Saul had slept off, even in the midst of his mighty men. They were fast asleep. The man that was sleeping was a man who was going out to hunt him. Fast asleep. In fact, what David did was that just to show Saul that, sir, I had the access to kill you, but I did not. And he cut the edge of Saul's garment. God dealt with David for cutting the edge of his garment. We are in a generation where people are not afraid. They will cut people to sizes and see say amen to their prayers. You should be afraid. I said something, PPC, last week that many of the people that say, who is this man of God? Forget all of them, they are thieves. Listen to what I'm saying. The day their trouble comes, their parents will take them to that man of God to pray for them. Because we've not been taught. We've not been taught. Let me show you a scripture, and I've shown you before. 1 Samuel. I've shown you before, and I want to show you again. Oh, we bless your holy name, Jesus. Look at this. In 1 Samuel 21, when David was running away from Saul, the Bible said he came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David and said, why art thou alone? And no man with you. And David spoke to Ahimelech and all that. And while David was there, he observed some things, that there was a man there when David was speaking to Ahimelech. The name of that man that was there is the name Doeg the Edomite. Okay, Dwek was there, um, in the house of Ahimelech. I wanted to show you, um, okay, let's, let's read from verse 6. So the priest gave him a load of bread, for there was no bread there. But shewbread, and it was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. Now a certain of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. Okay, the word there, detained before the Lord, I want to get you, is the word kept back before the Lord. In fact, The Saint Contemporary English Bible says that he was detained in the Lord's presence, um, because he had obligations to fulfill. Good news, religious obligations to fulfill. Um, God's word says that Saul's servant who was obligated to stay in the Lord's presence, his name was Doeg. So the guy was being ministered to and attended to by the priest. So he saw David there, and later when Saul heard that David had escaped, um, from that place, he went— Saul went to the house of the priest. He went to the place where the priests were. To inquire that was it true that David was here, and the priest didn't lie. Look at that scripture. I feel like crying because of— it is the sad reality of what our world has become. People can be a blessing to you in prayer, fasting, teaching of the word, but when the time comes to hold the javelin the way an outsider will never do, we stab them through. There is a God who sees. I run them through the sword. These were the things that accumulated to the reason why God rejected Saul. So Saul was speaking here, and in verse 13, and Saul said unto him, why have thou conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread and a sword, and you have inquired of God for him? So that he should rise against me to lie in wait this day? And Ahimelech answered the king and said, and who is so faithful among all thy servants as David? So the priest said, I know all the people that are your servants. Who amongst them has the faithfulness of David, which is the king's son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding and is honorable in your house? Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me. Let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to the house of my father, for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, ahimelech, thou and thy father's house. And the king said unto the footmen about him— so the king said to those who are around him, the foot soldiers, He said, turn and kill him, slay the priest of the Lord, because their hand also is with David. And today they knew when he fled, I did not show it to me, but the servant of the king will not put forth their hand to fall upon the priest of the Lord. This is where the elders, Yoruba adage, got an adage. That is, if those who are within your vicinity don't have the audacity to kill you, those outside can't. All right, they can't. And, and that's, that's one thing that you must understand in building your life and in building— let me tell you something, what is not scarce around our world is gifted people and skillful people. You must understand this anywhere you find yourself. Your gift is not rare. Your skill is not scarce. What is difficult to find, the Bible said, is a faithful man. Everyone seeketh their own things, but the faithful man who can find? That's what the Bible says. So gift is not scarce, skill is not scarce. Don't overrate it. Don't overrate it, you see. And, and that's one thing, go check the people that are in the radar doing amazing, amazing things and celebrated around the world are not usually the most gifted, but they understand something. They understand commitment, they understand human relationship, They understand covenant. I want to show you something. May I get the time to, to show you. Proverbs chapter number 20, verse 6. Proverbs chapter number 20, verse 6. Proverbs chapter number 20, verse 6. And I'm going to read this translation. Um, let me first read in Good News Translation. It says, everyone talks about how loyal and faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is. Wow, wow, wow. God's Word Translation says, many people declare themselves loyal But who can find someone who is really trustworthy? Message translation says, lots of people claim to be loyal and loving, but where on earth can you find one? Are you seeing what really is scarce? That's what is scarce. Go to any establishment, you will not struggle. You see, if you think your kind is rare, you have not searched enough. In fact, you don't even need to search to find your kind. It's not rare, but that thing— and see, there are people who are— permit me to use the word— billionaires who have fantastic establishment, who are doing amazing things. Ask them this question: the most difficult quality to get in people? Is loyalty. Their question is, you can be saying these things now because you are broke. Am I even safe around you? I've seen people organize someone to kidnap a family member, not an outsider, their own family member. I was sharing a very painful story. A woman and her husband They've been saving all their life savings to build a house in their village, and they keep sending to the brothers and to this brother in the village. They could build. They came into the country from where they were, and guess what? The man hosted them and poisoned the both of them because of house. And they died. It is not who can we trust, it is really can we trust you. Listen, stop living life as a victim. Sit down and ask yourself deep down in your heart, who am I? All the friends who have trusted you in the past Where are they? All the people who once had you around their table and said, we had someone— what happened to it? You will not be this fresh forever. You will not be young forever to jump everywhere and break relationship and break truths and break people's heart and hurt them and say things about them. Let me tell you something, no organization lack people who are defaming them. None. No church. No church. That's the truth. There's no church in the world that somebody somewhere is not trying to pull down. There's none. Let me teach you wisdom. Anywhere you find yourself in life, never allow the environment become toxic for yourself. What you can solve with humility, solve it. You see, this thing we call church hurt, I've studied it. I've sat in the midst of it. I've written a book about it. Eventually, based on my finding, it is believers who don't have the emotional management to manage relationship that hurt themselves with sense of assumption, victim mentality. You are not a victim. If in any dispute you end up feeling you are the one that is being victimized, chances are that you're a narcissist. Because narcissists don't— a narcissist can never be wrong. Everybody wants to hurt me, they hate me, it's a politics they are playing, they don't like me. No, if you don't answer the true question that in what area is my own character betraying my rising, you keep falling everywhere and have the same excuse, and eventually at the end of the day you are spent, bitter, and you now start a blog to fight church. What I'm— you see, I am teaching you this from the depth of my heart, with every sense of accountability to God and every sense of love for you. And there's no guile in what I'm teaching. I'm carefully teaching so that if Jesus appears now, I can stand before him with pure conscience. The sermon is not weaponized, but with the sincerity and integrity of God's truth and sense of loyalty to his calling. Have I taught you this? You have to learn it. Faithfulness is cursed. Look at this. When Elijah was moving with Elisha in 2 Kings chapter number 2, The Bible said that, and it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went up with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, the Lord has sent me to Bethel. Elisha said to him, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down. Let me tell you something. When you meet a truly great man, they are used to people not going so far with them. So the moment you are saying, it is where I stop, okay, all right, in their heart they say, okay, as expected, everybody comes for the money. Elijah wasn't going to stress anybody, and there's a wisdom here. Sometimes the secret of receiving from a man lies in the things he doesn't allow anybody do for him, or the things he has stopped people from doing because his eyes have seen. Okay, I follow you. Look at verse 3. And the sons of the prophet that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master? They were sons of the prophet, but they have not admitted him into their heart. The reason why people say we served in this place— nobody's listening to what I'm saying— they never allowed the sense of covenant enter into the depth of their heart. Are you following what I'm saying here? Go and check. The only person that was around Elijah really was Elisha. They were saying, AFA, do you know God's about to take your master? Do you know God is about to take your master? And little wonder It is not enough to have a sense of covenant commitment and understanding in walking with the leaders God has planted you under. It is important to let your spouse know this is the way. You see, let me tell you something. If you are a person of honor and you marry a spouse who is a person of dishonor, that person of dishonor will rob the entire family of their inheritance. The material that life is made up of is very fragile. Stop overrating your importance. Stop overrating yourself. Stop thinking you are the next best thing after sliced bread. Stop thinking no system will move on without you. You are but a mortal man with breath in your nostrils that the one who put it there can demand for it at any moment. Let this humble you. I've seen people rejoice today, the next moment they are pouring sand on their head. It's easy to miss it. Let me tell you something, there is nobody who will enter the gate of destiny and ascend to something higher that you not need humility to open the most important doors. You will get to junctions where what you want to speak is your pride and ego. Do you know who I am? What? You are nothing. You humble yourself and learn and adjust. Destiny has a door that is too narrow to accommodate you and your ego. Let me say it again. The door of destiny is too narrow to accommodate you and your ego. Listen, I shared the story. I'd like to share this very well because it kind of did something to my heart. The woman that pastors went to eat in their house during the ceremony And she told her daughter, ah, can't you see your pastors? When they were watching the video, as they are eating like bed. Ah, few days later, pastors came to greet, and it was the daughter who opened the door and said, Mommy, the pastors you said are eating like bed has come. That's the way our world works. Go and read 2 Kings 4. The story of the gracious and the mighty woman. She said to her husband, I perceive that this man passing by is a man of God. May I beg you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I'm showing you something that is more spiritual than you can imagine. Make sure honor is a culture in your house. Be excited about it. Be gracious when doing it. Let it be with a sense of privilege. There Man, dear man, don't be full of contempt. The Bible said it is better to dwell in the corner of a doorstep than to live with a contemptuous woman. When people live with you, you will insult everybody from the kitchen. Food is not scarce. Sometimes what is lacking in you is not beauty but peace. Be peaceful. It is a sense of igboroism. To be ghetto-centric. Do you know igboism? Write it down. Femi Lazarus Contemporary English 2025. To grow up from ghetto, to talk people down before giving them food, that shows that in your mind you are a defeated person. Don't do that. The servant of Abraham prayed, let the woman that will feed both me and my camel be the wife you have chosen for Isaac. The one who can continue the legacy must carry the character. Everyone listening to me, make it a culture, write it down: in my house will be gracious. When people come to our home, even if they've not tasted what a family structure look like, they will feel at home. They will feel loved. Be a prayer warrior. Tear the net and tear the roof with prayer. If you don't know these things, you just wonder the reason why God is not trusting you so much. Life is fragile. Missing it in destiny is not hard. People have lost seasons because they refuse to regard those that they should regard. Let me tell you something. Do you know that the weight of a person's word in your life, particularly when you say I follow this person, is a function of your revelation about the person and how you position yourself? The person whose words you didn't position your heart to receive as an instruction You cannot really dwell well under the blessing. You must carry the weight. Are you following? Have you seen people that they have— they are excited till you correct them once? They are not covenant-minded. And this thing is what is lacking in the body of Christ. Everyone is building transactional relationships. Transaktional. The relationship is actually because of something you bring to the table in terms of something that somebody is benefiting from. It doesn't last. It doesn't last. People have been blown out of the radar of life because of despise. It is not enough to work in acknowledgment and honor. Get the secret early. Let me tell you something. I, I thought that it will be when we are in our 50s that we'll begin to say, ah, this person missed it. You— in fact, the door of destiny can open for you in your 20s. And the remaining part of your life based on design will be a product of how you sow well this seed. The rest is the harvest. Your night phase is the consequence of what you did with the morning and afternoon. Your night phase, if there will even be a night— get my book that is upcoming, The Market Called Life. Sometimes you go to the market and something is so abundant in the morning and you trivialize it. You get there in the afternoon, it is kass. You get there at night, for any amount in the world you can't buy it because it is finished. You understand that? These are the things that God checks for in people. These are the things that make God trust people. The posture of the heart. Don't let anybody deceive you, that is, by trying to win some Guinness record about fasting and length of prayer. Now, I will never speak against fasting and length of prayer, okay? I will never. Even me, as I'm talking now, I will not. But listen to what I'm saying. It can never buy God's trust. You can never— it pays you more to— because part of your covenant obligation, if God has planted you spiritually under somebody, it pays you more to walk in honor. Dishonor is a trap. And guess what? Any form of despise you walk in is not a new trap. Actually, it's been there over 5,000 years, so it's old trick. What you are doing now, somebody has done it 6,000 years ago, 5,000 years ago, 4,000 years ago. Even demons are shocked that you are repeating it. Let me tell you something. I've shared the story. I wish I could ask them to put the picture online right now, the final moment of my mentor. I sit with him there, and one time he told me, he said, only God knows those that will be with us at the end of our lives. Are you covenantly connected and committed to those that you claim to be covenantly connected and committed to? Can you be trusted? Are you such that is there In the evil days, people praise you. Just look. Oh, want to thank God for this man, he's the next best after Femi Lazarus. They are the same ones that will hand the dagger and say, go kill him. We know this about him, we know that. In fact, I've lived with him. I, I can— so if I'm telling you, it's a reliable source. We must be wise. We must, we must be wise. Dishonor and despise doesn't even pay those who work on it, who work in it. It doesn't work for them. Dishonor and despise doesn't work for them. Doesn't work. You know, just as I continue my teaching, I want you to pray. Father, dig into my heart. Remove self. Remove everything called self till there's no me left. Break me free from myself. Help me. Heal me from the infirmity of the soul. That which gives me over-bloated sense of importance and lie to me about myself and deceives me. That which takes me away from the places I should have made marks. That which makes me confess love but is not deep and genuine. I see it. I see the root in my heart. I naked myself before you. Jesus, rescue me from the infirmity of my soul. Rescue me from the infirmity of my soul. Rescue me from the infirmity of my soul. Rescue me from the infirmity of my soul. Make me a person of covenant. In all the ways I've missed it, in all the ways I've lost it, in all the ways I've— heal me, heal me. Me deep inside. Repair me till I'm repaired. Repair me till I'm repaired. Jesus, repair me. Repair me. Repair me completely. Make me such that even you can trust. Make me such that even you can trust. Make me such that even you can trust. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let me begin to tie up. And I want to show you something, something really critical, something really important. And maybe after this, um, Pastor Mimi can come and release words over the house and maybe add something to it. I've listened, I've read stories, and in my walk through life I've seen people fall for the same tribe. I told you, let your heart be good. You don't know for whom God is lifting you. Be generous, be kind, be kind, be generous. Let God help you. People you swore that you'll be there for and you left them the days that things are bad. It's anti-covenant. People you pledged allegiance to, you're loyal to nobody. There's something Yoruba will say, Igida efo. The branch is broken, the bird will take off. Anybody you claim to follow, once there is a similitude of trouble, you have left. You like to go to where the grass is green, where everywhere is fresh. It's anti-covenant. Eloy! There's a God who sees. You go to a church, you say this is my spiritual family, but once something is not intact, instead of you to have the sense of responsibility to put it in place, You say, no, there are many churches in town. It even shows you that you don't even know what you are looking for. He said, let me go to that place, I like their AC, the way it blows. You've lived the life in a way that you are never a part of the building of anywhere. You only enjoy what has been built. It's dangerous. It's a bad way to live. It's a bad way to live life. There was a meeting in Acts chapter number 1, and, um, Peter was speaking in Acts 1 from verse 15. And pay attention to the words. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, men and brethren, this scripture must, need have been fulfilled. I will read in King James, then read the Message, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake concerning Judas. Which was a guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased the field with the reward of iniquity. You know what Judas did? He sold Jesus. It's anti-covenant. Don't sell people. You sell your boss at work. You sell even you. You know that anybody who is telling you is at risk. No conversation ever ends with you. You tell another best friend about what your best friend told you. You sold him. You betrayed him with a kiss, cold-hearted. He was calm in doing it. Calm. I was listening to Bishop Daguerre Mills who spoke about a very cold-hearted son that he had, and the boy requested to take him to an eatery, and they were eating in the eatery, and the cold-hearted boy was laughing and said to him, Papa, I just want to let you know that this is the last time I'm following you. I'm done following you. This is— he said the boy was staring apart from him. It was like a dagger was piercing through his own heart, but the boy was eating and saying it with smiles on his face. That's why I tell you, there are people you can't pull down because the forces edged around them, they paid their dues and stood their ground, stood with people in it. You must understand that life is deeper than your shouting. How many widows, how many people, orphans are taking from your sweat? You eat everything. That's the kind of person that you are. You don't understand the way life works. He said he was numbered with us. And had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field. When Peter denied Jesus, he cried and repented. Judas, ah, oga, he went to buy land. He used the money of betrayal to go into real estate. Cold. You know, the Bible said when you read the Gospels, spoke about when Peter saw that they were arresting Jesus, he went to return the money, they cast it back. So at what point buy field of iniquity, of blood? So mean, as they return the money to him, the park is still— if I've sold him, let me just go and buy land with this money. He bought a field with the blood of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers in Jerusalem, insomuch as the field is called in their proper tongue Akeldama, that is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his habitations be desolate, and let no man dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take. Wherefore these men have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us. Must be one— must one be ordained to be a witness with us. So you see that what actually happened is that Apart from the 12 who have the privilege to occupy that office, that one who didn't have revelation lost. There were others that Peter is now saying, these people have been following us even all the time Jesus was here. They were faithful. Listen to what I'm saying. There are certain opportunities that you have that is a sacred trust from God. When God called David, a man after his heart, at certain point David broke the covenant. He slept with Bathsheba and killed Uriah. The day David was going to kill Uriah, he called the guy from battle and said, you know what, I want to give you compulsory vacation. Go and stay with your wife. The Bible said that night Uriah slept at the tent at the entrance of the palace. He didn't go inside. The following day, David called him in, gave him meat, he ate, gave him drink to drink, he drank. He said, go into your wife. Uriah slept drunk outside. He said, Joab, my master, is in the field, the Ark of Covenant is in the tent, how shall I go into my wife? David, who is not the owner of the wife, has slept with her. So if you hear God saying David is a man after my heart, you understand he didn't aim it. It was a sacrilegious— between David and Uriah, who had a better heart? So the position Judah was playing with, there were people who are better but wouldn't have the privilege. I pray for you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Your position in destiny will not be vacant. You will not lose your position. You will not lose your bishopric. You will not throw it away. You will not waste it like filth. You will make Jesus proud. Ah, you will not waste it. You will not waste it. Let me tell you this: walking with covenant consciousness and faithfulness benefits you more than anybody. Learn it. Honor those you should honor, respect those you should respect. Don't despise people whether they are low or they are high. People are here today and dead tomorrow. Make sure you live in such a way that you can be a part of people's success stories. The people that you were not around them in the days that they were toiling— it will be difficult for the doors to be open when the palace is filled. We often miss opportunities. Don't do that. From the depth of my heart, I pray for you that God bless you with wisdom. He will help you that you live A life of faithfulness and fidelity to covenant. You will not miss God. You will not tragically destroy his plan for you. It is well with you, in Jesus' mighty name.