EXCEEDING GREAT ARMY || WATERGATE CHURCH

down, sir. Let me— let's, let's— Lord help me. Who do you say you're at war with again? The devil. The only reason somebody like you can say that you are at war against the devil is because Jesus gave you victory. Do you know who the devil is? He was there when the first man fell, was the reason why Moses got angry. He inspired the thought that made Abraham sleep with Hagar. That's better than what we have today in Islam. Watched your heroes fall. He's been around. He has the advantage of time. He's an ancient being. You stand no chance in person against him unless God helps you. So we, we like quick things. We are instant noodles, um, instant stuff and all that. So somebody prays for 48 hours and then say, I'm ready for ministry. It doesn't work like that. Okay, because the one that you are fighting against can allow you win a battle for him to win the war. If the end result of waking the dead up is that he will get you on his side, he will allow you do it, and then you brag with it as your resume that, do you know how many dead will have raised back from the dead? And then you will not know when you switch side. Till you yourself, you are not better than the dead anymore. So you must understand that we are, we are dealing with a very ancient being. The first description of his appearance was a serpent, and that's so important to pay attention to. There's something called the law of first mention, that you have to pay attention to the first use of words in the Bible. It, it largely shows us the importance of that word. The first appearance, the first outing of the devil, at least in our own observable universe given to us in the Bible, is as a serpent. Not just a serpent, because you must understand, it was not described as— in fact, the devil was not even referred to as a poisonous serpent. It was referred to as Leviathan. That brand of serpent doesn't have poison, but what it can do is that it has the ability to coil around somebody to look like cuddling. Till it strangles life out of the person. So when you are dealing with strategy, you must understand that power is not strategy. Um, Yoruba will say, olo bo jo ala i baralo. Uh, the one who is strategic is more than the one who— it's not about weight and all that. I saw a very, um, funny comedy in passing, and then these people were going to fight, and two soldiers And then this one was somersaulting and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and then doing all those stuff. The other one just brought out a pistol and shot him. There's no time for drama. You somersaulting, do all those things, you do like this, like a cat, and do all those things. They waste you. Nobody is here for film. You must write it in capital letter: the devil you are playing with is not playing with you. He wants to knock you out of the race. And it doesn't matter whether you know what God wants to do with your life or not. As long as he can guess, he's coming for you. Is that okay now? You know what we do in church is that we are loud in the areas that we are strong and we are quiet in the areas that we are weak. You shout so much about consecration, but you don't even know that you can get to a point that you are saying it in pride. You can be proud about your humility. Oh yes. So the devil understands these things. He understands how to maneuver his ways. What God is preparing us for is long term. Say it again, it's long term. Say it again, it's long term. Say it again, it's long term. Now if you have spent this brief time and you know the number of time you have spent rising and falling Calculate 40 more years, 50 more years. Have I gathered the wisdom, the energy sufficient to last me that lifetime? You'll get married, for those of you who are not married, and your wife will offend you, your husband will offend you, okay? Unfortunately, many women's fire die when they say I do. It's like there's a way we program our women to make them feel that their destiny is marriage. Is that okay now? That you are either a weak wife of a powerful man or a weak one wife of a— you don't see people prepare for more, but you'll be different. I said you'll be different. They can't even say the amen. Well, so we are, we are looking at something really, and the battle that you are part of It's a long rivalry, long rivalry. I don't know if I have time to show you a few things so you can at least have theological framework for what we are talking about. Revelation 12:7. Revelation 12:7. Like I told you, there's going to be a lot of cautions here and there as I speak. Is that okay? Cautions, particularly carefulness with the way we use our words. Let's read the first statement there. 1, 2, 3, go! Talk to me now. Again, very important. Pay attention to that statement. There was what? War in heaven. The person that you are saying, Satan, where are you? He's the one who had your guts to fight and raise insurrection against God. God has never eaten all his days. You did 7 days dry. Say, Satan, where are you? He fought the one who doesn't eat. Bible didn't say there was riot in heaven. War. The war was so fierce that the Bible said he still drew one-third. You know what that means? That if you had 100 angels, the devil alone went with 30 plus. What kind of maneuvering was that? What kind of audacity? You look at the account of Isaiah and the account of Ezekiel, they gave more explanation to that. He said he wants to be like the Most High, he wants to sit in the side of the north. Said, but he will be humbled and brought low. That's what he wanted. I want to be like the Most High. All right, the Most High doesn't refer to the Father, is the one who is given a name higher than every other name. That's Jesus. You were given that nature in Genesis 1, Genesis 2. God came down formed you. Genesis 1:26, let us make man in our own image and after our likeness. The devil wanted something like that. He didn't get it. You got it without prayer. You either don't understand the weight of what you have in Christ, or you are not reading your Bible. Why did you think that the Bible recorded at some point angels looked at the daughter of men and had affection for them. You think angels had hormones? Talk to me now, huh? Angels had hormones? They have seminal vesicles? Talk to me now, huh? So what happened to that? That's not lust, that's strategy. The devil wanted to mix human breeds, human race. Let me explain what happened there. Can I have 3 people again? Let's, let's I need you to understand the concept, what we are talking about, and put this side by side in ministry. The people are usually shy here, what? Come. This is, this is, this is God the Father. He's wearing native, so this is the Son. And I have someone that looks younger, but this will not look true. You, you are young like this. This is football age. You're taller than your dad. This is the Son. This is the Holy Spirit. This is the agitation of the devil. Let me show you. Let's read Ezekiel, Ezekiel 14. Um, just a moment. Um, just a moment. Okay, Isaiah chapter number 14. Let's start from that. All right, fantastic. Isaiah 14 from verse 12. Look, please pay attention to this. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! You know, there are still theological debates as touching the origins of demons and which nations were being talked about, um, when the devil fell. See, listen, when you read the Bible, you must understand that there is a framework of safety when reading the Bible. Don't be too excited about new things, okay? Um, questions like, um, if Adam gave birth to Cain and gave birth to Abel, who did they marry, blah blah blah blah, and all that, all right? For some reasons, those things were left for you to know you don't know much. Till we see Jesus, all of us will have questions. Do you understand what I'm saying here? When Cain killed Abel, he said, those who see me now want to harm me. Who are they? There are more things than you can imagine. But look at this, he said, for thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. All right, to understand the concept of the stars of God, you read Job chapter number 38. Said, I want to exalt my throne above the what? Stars of God. Job 38. This was when God told Job to prepare himself like a man that wants to ask him certain questions. Look at verse 7. Job 38:7, it says that the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. That referred to some angels. So when the devil said— can I have somebody else? One more person. Come. Thank you. And thank you for wearing black. When the devil said, I want to exalt myself above the stars of God, so he's saying simply that when we look at the— in the beginning, we look at the Father, we look at the Word, then we look at the Spirit, because Jesus was not there, it was the Word. The Word became flesh. That's why you have Jesus. The devil is saying to the angels, can you see that we are not represented here? So I want to be the representative above the stars so that the Godhead is not Father, Word, and Spirit. It is Father, Word, Spirit, plus angel. And he was going to fight for it and get it. So the Bible said that God humbled him. So at some point, yes, man fell. Men began to do all those things. He knew that God was going to get the plan of redemption. Before that time comes, what he did was to get his own fallen angels to look at the daughters of men and then mix up with them, mix their breed. And the Bible said in those days there was giant in the land. You read your Bible? What does that mean? Any attempt to save man now will also cover us in salvation plan. The devil was trying to present himself redeemable. He was looking for redemption. So God had a choice. They either spread like cancer and overtake all human race, or I close my eyes, save a few, then wipe them off. Wipe them off will mean I can be misunderstood for all generations, but that's mercy. So you must understand that the force that brought the flood was not just judgment, it was the mercy of God making sure that when you come, you are a pure breed that can be saved. Now look at it. So you understand that the being we are dealing with is very strategic, and they will look for anything possible. And that's why you see that once tribalism gets into it, you see that we are not represented here, you see that it's just them, it's just you. That is the spirit of Lucifer. It, it's, it, it goes for the head and try to hijack authority. Listen to what I'm saying there. Nobody who wants to hijack authority is worthy of it. People grow into it. So this is what God gave you. To now make matters worse, the word now became flesh until death. Jesus is still a man. It's in your Bible. Look at what the Bible said about it. 1 Timothy chapter number 3— um, chapter number 2, sorry. 1 Timothy chapter number 2, and I start the reading from verse 1 so you can have context. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men saved and to come to knowledge of what? The truth. For there is one God between— one God and one mediator between God and men. The who? The who? The who? The man Christ. That's the price he paid. So the devil understand that. He's always wanted that. So you who are now made in God's divine nature, please gather yourself again. I want to give you another illustration. Our problem is that when we read the Bible, we are too quick to move on. We study the attacks of the devil, but the most important thing is what we are not studying. If you understand military language, there's something called surprise attack. It is not enough that you attack, timing is important. You must get the enemies at the time they are not seeing you coming. Pay attention, it wasn't enough that Adam fell, that's not the gist. The gist was that he fell before he could produce a seed. So all the seed that should have been the seed of righteousness died. So every attempt the devil is making on your life has timing. If you feel it's just a random thing, you see, don't just pay attention to what he's bringing. If the attack is much, then you ask, why this time? And what is he trying to hinder? The closer you are to your breakthrough, or whatever you call it, the more intensified the attack is. The Bible could have described the devil with many metaphors, but one of the metaphors he used to call qualify him. He's also a lion. He didn't use a leopard. He said he's like a wounded lion who is roaming about seeking for whom he wants. And you must understand, no successful lion hunt alone. No successful lion. When lions want to hunt, they hunt in pack. They strategize themselves. A lion will stand here, I want to show you how it works. And now that one will stand here. There's a reason for all those positioning. Another one too will stand here. There's a reason. And this is the person, the creature they want to kill. The weakest lion is the one that will scare it. So he comes here and see this one, he responds in fear. They can predict where he might likely run to. Another one is waiting there. Having done all stand. The devil wants to intimidate you. He wants to— he wants to collect your voice through intimidation. Then you can now run and run into a more dangerous, fierce spirit, feeling of rejection, feeling of bitterness, feeling of hatred, and all that. You must stand. You also must understand that lion don't go for Animals in pack, they go for isolated ones, they go for the weak, they go for the injured. Hence the reason why God saved the solitary family. Know God for yourself is a strategy of the devil to finish you. How shall they know except they are taught? How shall they be taught except there are teachers sent to them? Know God for yourself is a language of frustration. It's what we conclude because of the disappointment we've seen in church. And so instead of just letting any pastor, he say, everybody just go and look for yourself. Whatever you say when you are frustrated, does that make it right? Have you seen women when they are giving birth before and say, don't come near me again, this is the last time, right? After a while they say, did I say that? Me? Was a language of pain. Anything said when there's pain is not necessarily wisdom. I've seen people in pain and in sickness beg for death and say, let me just go. Okay, so this idea will put you in a place where you now say, all this church, I don't even trust them again. You will be in church and you are suspecting your pastor. And I can tell you now, except We start regrouping. The devil is, is, is playing a very master chess game with us. And I'm going to say some things are very serious because I'm here to start. I'm laying the foundation. You want to see very serious stuff. The devil is a chess player. Recently I told my team, I said, stop live streaming our service live again. Don't cast our pearls before swine. Say, shut down, put the link only where we have communities, because both the enemy and friends are studying what we are saying to know how to counter, prepare themselves. No wise king prepares his strategy in the front of his enemies. He prepares a table for us, not strategy. Are you feel what I'm saying here? You read your Bible, you see that the devil too doesn't know prophecies until we say it. That's why I don't go for meetings and call somebody out and say what God wants to do. The person may not become, because I've just said enemy start attacking him now, that's what he's about to become. If the person doesn't have a prayer life, he won't become. And you can't force men into destiny. May our eyes be open to know what to do. May we arise truly as men of war. May our eyes be open to understand the strategy of the devil. In the name of Jesus. What I'm telling you is a very, very serious matter. The devil knows that his time is short. All the strategies that have worked over the ages, all the things he's been able to successfully do— he has very vicious and serious plans to implement on this generation. So it's not time for fanfare, it's not time to play around. Please sit down for a moment. If you know anything about human anatomy, cells, tissues in the body, you understand that actually medically one of the most difficult things to treat is cancer. And it's, it's so for many reasons. It is because the cells, or what you call carcinogenic cells, can spread throughout the body without any major announcement. By the time the body starts sending signals and feedback that there are things actually spreading here, most times they have already become too late. Okay, so there are things that, that we should be careful of. Those are the things that the devil is doing undetected. Wherever you see noise in a direction, that's not what the devil is doing. He's diverting your attention so he can do what he's doing. Even if you have not gone to military school, you've watched military films before. Don't waste the knowledge that the enemy can throw bomb in that area so that you channel your attention there, then it can now come through this place. I've seen it happen many times in the body of Christ. In fact, if the devil wants to take a minister out amongst us, he need us to do it. And nobody massacre their people like the body of Christ. We're excellent at it. And that's why I want to beg you Dear Minister, don't build your esteem on flyers. Ministering from place to place, not necessarily a sign of success. Be careful, lest you just dissipate your strength and you feel you're on top of the world because you have been ministering from place to place. Let me tell you something, I don't overrate myself. Anybody who has done this thing for 30, 40, 50 years We should honor them. It is not easy to survive that old beast that long. I'm going to give you certain warnings and then maybe you're going to pay attention to it so you understand the reason why there's a fierce battle. Are you feeling what I'm saying here? If I'm talking now and you are feeling sleepy, it's because you are at war. You are oscillating between life and death. You're at war. Your head is falling, is falling. Is— have you ever seen a man sleep when he's eating the best food? So you must understand this. Warfare is not funny. There's, there's, there's an event that took place in the Bible, and maybe I need to call your attention to it so that you will know how to help yourself. And you must understand this while I show you this event. Fortunately for us, or unfortunately, depending on how you see it, being a good soldier is not enough. You also need the protection of the body. You either learn this one now or you learn it in the hard way. You know, you know why Samson— Samson died in Gaza. He died because he was living there. How are you killing the people and then you are living in their midst? It was his own people that bound him and took him to them. That strategy works where we bind someone amongst us and take the person to the enemy and say, we don't want again. And the devil said, that's exactly what I need you to do. And there will be reasons for that. So it is not enough to know how to fight. Once you fight in isolation, you won't come back. Don't fight alone. And I will tell you this in confidence: the greatest temptation you face in ministry is to fight alone. It's faster, but it's tricky. Iron sharpen iron. It's easier, it's peaceful. You are prepared for many things except disappointment, and I tell you, you'll be disappointed. You will see your heroes fall like pack of cards in your front like this. Look up. I was doing a research, conducting a research. I was touching the reason why— because we are, um, using an institute for something, I don't talk about it yet— why at certain age it looks as though children become prone to rebellion against their fathers. I'm talking about families now. A certain age, it looks like the boy who has always seen the dad as an idol starts seeing him as his hero, starts seeing him as a villain. And I, I started investigating why. Some look at it on face value and say it's because that's adolescence, that's the— this, this is the stage where they start becoming rebellious. But that's not what I found out. I found out because that's the phase where they are understanding reality.— that the things you have celebrated are the things you ought to fight. You can celebrate many things because you don't have much information. You will mature in the body to the point that you will now have information. What you do you with the information will determine whether you finish or not. Now you must understand, the information you find out, God knows it and is still using the men. Let me give you something in parable. Sometimes your heroes are villains with good storytelling skills, and sometimes your villains are heroes who can't tell stories. I didn't say anything. It is not everyone that died in the battle that the enemy killed. There are soldiers that their platoon killed because their own is too much. You must understand that the war front is a place of corruption, internal, not external. You've seen soldiers come out before the media several times and say this, this, this, they can't, they can't deal with this anymore. Maybe the money they're supposed to give them for food. I'm not saying anything, I'm just mentioning what I've seen. Okay, aha. Let's— they come and ask that, come and tell us who your father is in Nigeria. Is God. But listen to what I'm saying, because you don't, you don't brag any— I was in NYSC camp, a girl, they wrote in front of the NYSC Commandant Lodge that Don't walk slowly. For some reasons they wrote it there. We that we knew where we're coming from, only 3-5 entered camp with me. Someone like me can't be walking anyhow. That's how a boy went to sit in front of the commandant's house and then lapped a girl, and they were laughing and playing and all those things. Unfortunately for the girl, the camp commandant himself came out and saw her. We that we know where we're coming from say, eh, he was even trying to be friendly. The girl said, do you know who my father is? Honestly, I thought maybe a senator or— so the camp commandant asked that they should bring the girl out. And said the boy should go because the boy was just prostrating. Will you not date a fool? You are driving, somebody is telling the driver, raise him, raise him, raise him, raise him. Then he said, today you must tell me who your dad is. He asked that they should pour 100 buckets of water on her head. They did. Unfortunately, the mother showed up. The following day, she was just a very humble woman selling her own market, trying to survive, and there the girl was bragging. Please, let's honor our pastors. All right, are you following what I'm saying here? She was, she was just bragging more than measure, and, and she was disgraced and of course sent out of the camp. And that was how she was decamped. Listen to what I want to tell you, something very important. This is going to be one of the most humbling discovery you will make as you journey upward. The enemy is not just vicious, there is also corruption in the camp. There are fake soldiers, there are those who jump ranks, there are many things you'll find out. What you do with those things determines whether you finish well or not. In fact, in the military camp, you find this, that two generals are fighting. It's not the business of a recruit. Huh? It is not every matter you need to have suggestions about, whether that you put on your WhatsApp status or you write online. You know, this energy that makes you feel you want to speak to the body of Christ, must be careful. There's a very painful story, 2 Samuel chapter number 11. I want us to pay attention to that story, and the reason why you must pay attention to that story is because it is still happening. And I'm speaking in terms of the entire world. Nigeria is not the only body of Christ. Aha, less I see YouTube caption and say what Apostle Lazarus said. If you post that as a blogger, God will judge you. And that's the unfortunate thing, our bloggers too have been won over. They say Pastor so-and-so reply Pastor so-and-so, and that, that blogger speaks in tongues because we have not discerned the body. And you must understand that people die for not discerning the body. Do you know the story of Jack Cole? You need to be a student of history. It was in the revival movement, the healing revival movement. Oral Roberts has his own healing revival tent, the biggest in America. Jack Coe also had his own, was building his own tent, but he needed it to become the biggest, so he extended it by a few meters. He didn't survive it. There were generations that jealousy didn't survive. That many things survive it now doesn't mean God is overlooking. You don't know who God will use for the generation when they are young. There are those that will come out from behind the crowd who will learn from both your success and your mistakes. If God is using you, humble yourself. Are you following what I'm saying here? Go and study the move of God in Nigerian church. Let me leave it because there's a way you just start gathering few people and say that you are in charge of your generation. You are not. It's a sacred trust, it's divine privilege. God gives you influence to see how you handle it. Once you start perceiving yourself as better than the rest, he can— the one who raised your voice can turn it down, so much so that people will soon forget you exist. But listen, prominence in ministry is not the same thing as success in ministry. I invited a man to my platform last week who spoke on stories, and people challenged me that why I said the man who was picking dustbin by the wayside and packing debt, I refer to him as the greatest man I ever met. And it's true. Greatness is not measured in number of cars or houses. If that's the version of ministry you are learning You will sell your soul to have it. People will want to force a message into your mouth as the reason why they will celebrate you. You must run. If you have not experienced what I'm saying, you will experience it, just a matter of when, except you drop out of the race. Because there's a way a minister of God can come to a place with a very fine car and security operatives, and now your focus is no longer service. It is when will I also appear like this? And you can pursue that doing 40 days fast. The heart of man is deep. Your heart is so deep that it can be revealed to you, and you too will say, wow. Have you seen a guy and a girl, they plan to touch each other, they planned it in their minds, they will go to each other's house at awkward time and touch each other and say, my God, how did it happen? Is the devil not surprised? This is a very critical matter in 2 Samuel chapter number 11., and I want us to pay attention to it. Have you opened your Bible there? Good. We'll start the reading from verse 14 to 17. 2 Samuel 11, from verse 14 to 17. This is the story of Uriah and what David did to him. And it came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of who? Uriah. And he wrote in the letter saying, set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle. If when Joab said you've been promoted, would Uriah not give testimony? But they about to kill him. This is— this text is humbling. Look at it. If you start from verse 1 of that 2 Samuel 11, at the time that kings go to battle, it was a very strategic battle. The sovereignty of the kingdom was at stake. That was when David didn't go, and he was looking from his house like, um, Nebuchadnezzar was looking at Babylon, and then he saw a very beautiful girl Look at the background of the story. Who is that girl? That's Bathsheba. In fact, there's a strategic reason why they were living close to the palace, in case you don't know. Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam. Eliam was the son of Ahithophel. Ahithophel was David's most trusted advisor. So, um, Bathsheba was the grandchild of David's most trusted advisor, hence the reason why they could get a place close to the palace. So she was like a grandchild to David. She was the one that David said, go and bring her. When she came, she was excited for the first time before the mighty King David. When he slept with her She came back, she called him David. May we not face shame. Whatever will happen in life that will make people start asking you, eh, who you? May you not put your hands into it. There are spirit of shame that wants to embarrass your calling, but you will not see it. So David slept with her, got her pregnant. Just to let you know how long the battle lasted— how long does it take a woman to know she's pregnant? Calculate. Then David said, I know what to do. Call the husband. What's the name now? Uriah. And he gave him food and everything, and he said, go, go and sleep with your wife. Uriah slept at the door. The other day, ah, David said, Uriah, you didn't go. I didn't go, I couldn't go, sir. Ah, they come, they sat down, they were jisting. Uriah was thinking it was promotion. Then he got him drunk and said in his drunken state now he will go to his house. In Uriah's drunken state, he slept at the door. When they asked him, he said the Ark of Covenant is in the field, Joab my master is in the tent, how will I go into my wife. Then David concluded, the only way forward— if you have a soldier like this in a battalion or in a squad, that's an asset. You can be an asset to the body, and the body can sacrifice you. Sela. David so trusted him that when he wrote a letter of his own death, he placed it in his own hands because he knew he won't open it. Listen. You will see people in the body of Christ that their integrity cost them a lot. That doesn't mean you should lose yours. Hmm. And Uriah took the letter and gave Joab. Joab looked at him. In his mind, he was saying, kill Elisha. They've said we should kill him, and don't kill him by yourself. Put him where the battle is fierce, where the mighty men are fighting. Let him feel he has arrived, then tell the mighty men that as the battle becomes hot, they should pull back. So they were fighting, they were fighting, and Uriah began to ask Where is Joab, my master? Where is the son of Iddo? Where are these men? They pulled back and they were watching him from afar as the enemy began to encamp around him and stabbed him to death because he was sacrificed. Ah, when God said, I found David, a man after my heart, che wisha know that where the likes of Uriah exist David was still learning. Anything God is doing with you, you are not the best choice, you're a privileged choice. And there's a way the second choice will look like the best choice. Are you following what I'm saying here? The devil's chess game with us is to get us to the point where we are the ones by ourselves sacrificing our own. Before I continue in this direction, I want to tell you this, that in every, every battlefront, soldiers sustain injuries. And some die. I'm careful what I say so they won't say I said what I'm not saying. Injuries are real, and I like to point your attention to one major area that the devil intends for you to sustain injury. Psalms chapter number 11, verse 2. Psalms 11, verse 2. Psalms 11, verse 2 says, for lo, the wicked bend their bow and make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may what? Privily shoot at where? The part of you that the devil is aiming at. Is the heart. The matter of the heart is the heart of the matter. Once you start bleeding, it will get you. You must pray, I will not sustain injuries. You know the danger about this injury is that even with it you are still fighting, but life is leaking. The one who sustain is still fighting, swinging the sword, but when they look at them and say, oh, fatiba. When we're on campus, God delivered me from a sister Hey, nice sister. I used to take them mathematics tutorial, so she used to escort me home. You understand what I mean? The one time my mom saw her and said, who is she? I said, it's just a friend though. She looked at me and said, Pastor, be careful. You know, you just fear nothing now. Ah, come on, come on, come on, trust me. She made food and traveled, and myself and the sister were eating. My hostel mate had come to fetch their own. I was left with just one meat and we ate. When it was time to eat the meat, I said, 'It is ashwita.' I said, 'You eat, don't worry, you eat it. I can buy meat.' Then she said to me, 'That is because you are not even— you don't know what's going on in town. Somebody who knows what's going on would have put the meat in his mouth and passed to her mouth.' I said, what did you say? Yes, now I said, in my house everybody eats meat with their own mouth. So I ate my meat, then she sat down, opened her legs. I was a fool. I sat down there, I was saying, Jesus, what are you doing? What are you doing? What did the Bible say you should do? Around me. But for some reasons, by the intervention of God, something strange happened. She began to shout fire, not because I was praying, not because I had prayer life. Maybe somebody was praying for me. And began to confess how she slept with her pastor and blocked the womb of the wife, how she killed this and killed— yes, Real life story. She ran out of my room, left her shoe behind and her wig. So I knew that that girl was a witch. My friend in the hostel, I had Muslim boys there, one of them came out and said, "Afana, omo eya, ah, omo eya, koburu lo." I said, "I'm not into all those nonsense." We know pastors that are doing it now. So I had to travel around that season. When I came back, the girl had been sleeping in his room for about 3 weeks. She touched his life. Uh, it's no longer balanced. I moved on to become the president of the Joint Christian Campus Fellowship, and we're preparing for a crusade. So we went for evangelism and to publicize the crusade. So they brought the list of the souls that was won, and a particular brother gave me the list of the souls he won, and the sister's name was there. Somehow within me, I wasn't convinced. That you have won this soul. Maybe it's this soul that want to win you. So I said, don't worry, Sister So-and-so, you follow up this list. And then like that, after a while, the brother who was even like my assistant, we stopped seeing him. He won't pick calls, he won't We just stopped seeing him in fellowship. So I went by myself to his house around past 10 at night. I wanted to give him a surprise, so I knocked his door. I said, who is there? I didn't talk. Hey, surprise! I was going to shock myself. So when he opened the door, he came out in boxers, no shirt, and I looked over his shoulder and I saw the same girl there. And at that point My heart was broken. I said, what's she doing here? He said, she has accommodation issue. I said, sir, I will call Sister So-and-so now. She will take bike and come here now and take this sister to her house. Say she also need food stop. I said Count it on me. Who do you even think you are? Is it because we're in the same fellowship? That's how you think I talk to you because you are president? I made a costly mistake that night, a mistake I will never make again in my life. We began to argue. When the argument became so strong, I said a statement I should never have said. I said, sir, last question. Today, pick between this girl and this work. He said, you feel— because I want to win a soul. Jesus said, go and win souls and the fruit shall abide. Then he said, I will make sure I finish my work. I pick her. I left. The rest, they say, is history. We entered a major season of revival outbreak on campus. Powerful move, heavy. A lecturer was on fire. He joined the revival. Amazing deliverance. He ministered everywhere on fire on campus. So he promised us he was going to buy us some instrument that we needed, drum set and some things. And after he promised us, we didn't see him again. So I just felt maybe he had money issues. But to appreciate him, I sent the GenSec and a few other leaders. I said, take ampa. Buy everything— cornflakes, milk, and everything— put it inside and take it to his house. And let's tell him I sent my regards to him. God keep him. They went to the house. When they knock, he came out on towel. And when they looked inside, they also saw the same sister on towel. There are people who have taste for mighty men. Look at what the Bible said about that. You know, you can shout, ah, but you know you are leaking away gradually. Don't fake it where you can be healed. Look at what the Bible said in Ezekiel and Proverbs 31. We're going to read Proverbs 31. I want to be able to read in different translation. Are you tired of me? Should I be on my way out? Are you sure? Because I don't know when next I'll be here again. Proverbs 31, very important. Attention to this. There are stories we share. There is a very quiet agony and tears in our own hearts. Because when you hear the story of how great men fall, you don't end with ah, you pray. I look back and I remember some brothers that we could have been doing this together, but different things were set as trap that has taken people away one after the other. We that we are here, that doesn't mean there are no traps in front, but unto you that is able to keep us from falling and present us spotless. Proverbs 31:3 says— Proverbs 31:3: Give not your strength unto women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. Message translation is so brutal about that scripture. Can the media give us Message translation? Proverbs 31:3. Do you have? Thank you. Don't dissipate your virality on fortune-hunting women. There are also fortune-hunting men. All right, let me celebrate my brother Femi Lazarus. Promiscuous women will shipwreck leaders. Once you get to certain height, there are people who are in existence that they have taste for your new height. Influence is not something you laugh about. It should humble us, because there are forces that their assignment is to get the influential ones and shut them down by all means necessary. So the devil understand how to fight with the enemy and how to fight with the saint. He understands that. He knows your language, he knows your code. He will not give you food you don't have appetite for. You can brag about many successes and fail in other areas, he's still winning. Put your two hands on your head in a minute, and I want you to cry out. Lord, will you help me? The journey is far. I cannot claim to have the wisdom, to have what it takes to finish. Unless you help me, I'm finished. Pray that prayer like your life depends on it. Pray it like your life depends on it. Please pray, please pray. I beg you in the name of Jesus, please pray, please pray. Pray. Lions roar, eagles fly. Pray. It's in you, you were made to fly. Lions roar. The devil has taste for your blood. It is important to him that your kind doesn't rise. So you must pray for fortification, the help of the Lord upon what he's called you to do. Pray. There are no limitations here. Pray. Your king expects— there are no limitations here. Your king expects You shall spring back to life again. Ego. Bless you. In Jesus' name we are praying. Sit for a moment as I round up. I just want to call your attention to a few things. I know we are preparing for the warfront, we're preparing as a mighty army. You will see things, there will be arrows in your mind. At some point it may almost look like you want to run mad. You will know what it means to earnestly expect the coming of Jesus. You may blame Uriah for his death, but we must be careful of, as a body, not to put our men out for slaughter. Don't be naive. There are different kind of soldiers in the battlefield. Some are envious, some are bitter, some want you dead, and yet they are wearing the same uniform with you. Every military has corruption. So you will see and hear things. What you do with them determines how far you go. The higher you go in rank, the more opportunity you have to see and to hear. The fight between two captains or two generals, it's not your business. Fight. That's your assignment. Because anyways, even when you contribute, you grow to find out you were wrong. One time you are sounding smart, only to grow and see that you were so foolish. But we must never forget this as the bottom line. God doesn't bury his wounded soldiers, he heals them. I wrap up with this story. In Genesis 49, Jacob was going to pronounce words over his children and die. In verse 2 to 3, that's a man speaking with wit. He said, gather yourselves together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father. First statement: Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the beginning of my strength. That's a mighty army there. That's a nation God has given to him. The excellence of dignity and the excellence of power. What did he say? Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. He gave a reason: because you went up to your father's bed and defiled it. Then he told the rest, he went up to my couch and Don't forget, this was done before the whole camp of Israel. Levi heard it, Judah heard it, Ephraim and Manasseh was there, were there, because in Genesis 48 Jacob admitted them as his own. Joseph heard it. All the tribes can now tell their children There's a reason why Reuben is small, is his sin. So don't associate with them, don't marry from that tribe, their father failed in ministry. Until we saw Deuteronomy chapter number 33, then a man came in a very strange stature, and we read from verse 4. Deuteronomy 33 from verse 4 says, Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And there was King in Jeshurun when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men— God will always go back for both wounded generals and wounded soldiers. Don't bury them yet. You seated in this meeting, you are bleeding. God is preparing you. You look at your life. You know, it didn't end there with Reuben. When they were going to march into the promised land, Moses gave— Joshua now spoke. He said, if Reuben will be willing, he will march side by side with Judah. If you will march in first, then you can have certain inheritance. You know what Reuben said? We will. He gave them the opportunity to reclaim the firstborn position, and they did. You may stop your own lesson at when Reuben was cursed, but the story didn't end there. God perfected it. I don't know whether you've been embarrassed before because you failed, suspended in church because you committed a sin. You so much embarrassed yourself that you feel if you were God, you'll be done with you. There is hope for a tree even if it is cut down, and when the stump wax old in the earth, at the scent of water, it will spring back to life again. In Ezekiel 37, God took Ezekiel in a vision to the valley of dry bones. If somebody calls you to wake up a dead body after 2 months, will you not ask the person, are you normal? God waited till the bodies were completely completely decomposed. Not only was it bones that was left, there were many and scattered. And God asked him a question, can these dry bones live? He said, Lord, this kind, you are the only one that knows. He said, prophesy. If the word can reach them, life will. That the word of God is reaching you today. Ah, there's life. Bones are coming back to bones. Don't be tired of yourself. Sometimes you have a beautiful plan. Like Mike Tyson said, every boxer has a plan until they are hit. Till life eat you bad, maybe a bad marriage or a sickness. There's a question God is still presenting this morning. The army that is lying down that look like bones, can they still live? I'm going to prophesy simply, but I will tell God not to hold back. That anybody who observes that your strength is waning, you are beginning to see things are not consistent where you are going. It look like the energy level is dropping. You look at yourself and that contact point of life and power with God, you are looking for it and you can't find it. Are you hungry to get it back this morning? Maybe the people are not here. I can go home with it. This is just the commencement of the session. Particularly those of you who know that there's a need for another touch, lift your hands where you are standing. I'm going to pray very simple prayer. That the breath of the Lord— please, ushers, just help me help them. There are days in people's life, there are days and there are days. I don't know if today means much to you. If it does, good. If it doesn't, open your understanding now. Something that is transgenerational can touch you strong, and many things that you have been struggling— it doesn't have to be a struggle. You can gain mileage. Let those who particularly are among those who are saying, God, it is either today or never, raise that hand well. I stretch my hands across this place, Lord. Let the eternal power that has successfully flowed from generations to generation, that which has made men that we call strong, strong, the spirit of might, the anointing of the Holy Ghost, that ancient dimension, let it find expression upon your servant. Father, those who are here who have been bleeding, energy level is dropping, it look like tiredness has taken over for a while. From my right to the left, let the cloak of fire— particularly some of them who are called to prophetic ministry Either as minstrels, uh, apostolic voices, that the enemy is coming particularly for their candles. Fire, breathe upon them again. Let there be restoration. Let that anointing return. Let that utterance return. Let that clarity come back. Touch them. Rekindle their fire. Amen. Father, I know that even when the world waves goodbye, you are still not done. Please, please, Lord, please, Lord, restore again Amen. That's fresh fire. Amen. I want to particularly ask for the spirit of wisdom to help us navigate this treacherous path even as we await your coming, that nobody amongst us will be a victim. Equip us. That the least amongst us will be as mighty as David. If there's anyone who is treading on a dangerous path, restore them. We give you all the praise in Jesus' mighty name. God bless you, sir.