GHEALEAD 5

Now I want us to understand that teachings around the healing of the mind is pivotal and, um, one of the integral aspect of the ministry of Jesus. And when I started this series, I showed you Luke chapter number 4, um, Luke chapter number 4 Verse 18. Now Jesus speaking here said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. All right. Um. If you mark the word the Spirit of the Lord, it will interest you to see places that that word appeared in scriptures. Um, you see that word in Ezekiel, all right, 37, in respect to the valley of dry bones. So I'm trying to give you a better context now because today we're going to have to enter into the warfare aspect of this teaching. And I began to prep you for that during PPC this morning. You follow PPC this morning? Did you follow PPC this morning?

Aha.

So That's me preparing your mind, all right, so we can— now you would see, number one, you must understand all scripture, all right. 2 Timothy 3:16 is given by the inspiration, all right, of the Spirit of God, of God, all scripture. So what that means is the flow of thoughts of scriptures is deliberate, very deliberate. There's no mistake. So it's not like the Bible use the word Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Lord interchangeably. The Spirit of the Lord is often referred to the moment God finds a man that is submitted under his lordship. For instance, Um, let me show you something. Turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter number 1. We start reading from verse 1 to 3. Genesis 1 from verse 1 to 3. In the beginning God created what? The heaven and the earth. Yes. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. What's next? And the Spirit of who? The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. What did God say? And God said, let there be— you see that there was no mistake there. The word used there is the Spirit of who? God. Why? Because there was no man that could be lorded over. Now Jesus submitted under the lordship of God. Spoke, and he was speaking as touching a prophecy that had gone ahead of him many years before his time. And I want to show you the real prophecy and how it was written. Isaiah chapter number 11 from verse 1. So when Jesus speak— because this was post-temptation, okay? This was post what? Temptation. So when Jesus speak, the Bible say he pick book of Isaiah and found where it was written. Now look at what Isaiah said. So this was the exact text Jesus was reading. Is that okay now? Good. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Yes. And the spirit of who? The Lord shall rest upon him. Okay, are you seeing that now? The spirit of who? The Lord. This is not even where I want to show you, but this is part of the prophecies. Where I want to show you is Isaiah 61. 61, please give me 61. All right, this is talking about the 7 dimensions of the Spirit of God. Spirit of wisdom, counsel, and might. Now look at it. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Sometimes, Spirit of the Lord Jehovah, because he has anointed me to preach good tidings. That's good news. Evangelion. The gospel unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of prison to them that are what? Bound. Now, all right, I'm coming. If we're going to pick these things one by one, and if the dimension of God's Spirit is released to attend to them, It means attending to them matters to God. Then it also means that if they are left unattended to, it will disrupt something. The Spirit of the Lord is not revealed or released for fun. One of the things I want us to look at is what will be the consequence of having believers that are brokenhearted. Let me show you something so you can get in context. Are you with me? Oh, glory to God. Still that same Isaiah chapter number 61. The word brokenhearted there is from the word lab, which is a condition that makes a person to be hot, or to rend a person or to quench a person. When a person is brokenhearted, the heart that can love is now quenched, or it can also be referred to as the scar of the soul. Sometimes the lies we lie to ourselves is that God is not interested in anything about the believer other than your salvation. Oh boy, he is. Why? Salvation is entering into the kingdom. When you get saved you become a new man. What does that mean? Come. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Do you mind I take your suit? You don't mind? Thank you. Can I have it? Old things. So the old nature is pulled off now. When you see this guy, he's new. But what we often don't pay attention to, and that's why many of us have questions and Christianity look like a scam, is that the new man is capable of the exact same things that the old man is capable of, because the place of that capability is not the spirit now, is the soul. That the same way an unbeliever can lie, a tongue-speaking Christian can lie, but the fellow ought not to lie. Have you seen believers lie before? I'm telling you, it happens. All right, why? This old man is pulled off now, but this guy— so the place of new birth is the spirit. He has a mind, a soul, the seat of his emotions, intellect, the seat of decisions. So in the days that he was in the world, whenever he was thinking about committing sin, the place where the decision is made, the courtroom, is the soul. There's been a lifestyle that that soul is now adapted to. And although this guy is born again, he must understand that in order not to do what the old nature was doing, he now needs to reckon himself to be indeed dead to sin. To reckon means to fasten yourself, to to this reality. What that means is that this is your new nature now. Catch up with the new nature. Romans chapter number 6. Romans chapter number 6. Let's start the reading from verse 3. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Yes. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into his death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in what? Newness of life. Yes. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also in the likeness of his resurrection. Yes. Knowing this, that what? Our old man is what? Crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Yes.

Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Death has no more dominion over him. Yes, for in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Yes, likewise, what? Reckon yourself. Can you give me this in Amplified Translation? Even so, consider yourself All right, just like when you get married, you don't feel married, you are married. When you go married, did you feel married? Or you must consider yourself to be married, true? You can't get up by 9 PM at night and say, I want to go to Mama Kechi restaurant. Reckon yourself.

True.

Consider yourself that there's a new status. It will not wear you. Suddenly join yourself with it. Amen. Even so, consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it, what, broken, but alive to God, living in unbroken fellowship with him. In who? Christ Jesus. Now, what am I about— what am I showing you? All right, thank you so much. If you go to verse 16, read verse 16, King James. Go back to King James. All right, okay. We also read Amplified. Look at this: Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey is servant he at whom what you obey, whether of sin unto death, of obedience unto what You know, he was talking to those who are already dead in sin. That was his primary audience. So he was telling born-again people now that, hold on, it is the one that you yield yourself servants to obey. That's the person servant that you become. If you yield yourself to be a servant of sin, then you're gonna, you're gonna live in sin. You yield yourself to be a servant of righteousness, then you're going to live righteously. So now you understand that your will plays a role in the outcome of your life. Now this will is empowered will by the spirit of grace. Are you there now? It is no longer effort, but it is you cooperating with the flow. I, I showed who came on Friday, it is called the unforced rhythm of grace, that now there is a flow. So it takes swimming against that tide to live in sin. It is much easier to cooperate with the tide of grace. Are you there? What I'm trying to show you is, yes, you are born again, You are saved. For instance, if you look at what James was saying in James 1:21, Romans 12:2. James 1:21, look at what he was saying. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your what? Soul. Now this is talking about another form of salvation, but this is not new birth. There is the saving of the soul from corruption, from the exposure it has received, that as you see the things or hear the things you not hear, some of them hang around your subconscious. But you receive with meekness. That is, our posture towards the word is the posture of humility. The engrafted word, which is able to do what? Save that soul. So let's say, for instance, somebody's soul is scarred and you've been hurt so bad, you, you just want to vent. And you know, you can get to a point in life that you can't— you are waiting for the opportunity to revenge. But that's a kind of soul. But the Bible is saying that the engrafted word is able to what? Save your soul. All right, if you look at what John was saying, John 17:17. John chapter number 17, verse 17, quickly. All right, not Joshua, John 17:17. Let's have a quick one. All right, say something there. Look at this. 1, 2, 3, go. Sanctify them by your truth, your word. Now give me this in Amplified Translation. Sanctify them, purify, consecrate, separate them for yourself, make them holy by the truth. Your word is what? Ah, as simple as you think the word is, this is what the word does. It purges you. The things you don't think you can be aligned with, as you sit under the word, it begins to align you. You start becoming another man. You know, sometimes I come out to teach and I look at many of you and I see another man. I see someone evolving. I see transformations taking place because the word has the capacity to do that. The word will create and recreate. Are you following what I'm saying here? That's the word of God, that before you know it, it just occurs to you that, hold on a minute, I have more capacity to forgive. Yeah, that I, I have developed capacity to love. I just can love. Say it again, I can love.

I can love.

Say it again. I can love. I can love. Now I'm talking about agape here now. Amen. You get what I'm saying? Say it again. I can love. I can love with no strings attached. Glory to God. Turn to your neighbor. I love you. I love Now it occurs to you that the things you've been thinking that you can't do, as you sit under the word, see the capacity that you can forgive, you can heal. Let me show you what Paul said. In Romans chapter number 12, verse 2. Romans 12:2. All right, look at this. Can we read this together? 1, 2, 3, go. And be not conformed to this world, but be what? Transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may be able to prove what is that good and acceptable and what? Perfect. Will of God.

This—

you see, it is not just in your spirit that something is happening. Your spirit man is growing, but your mind is being renewed. Amen. Amen.

Amen.

Say it again: I am being renewed. In Christ Jesus, I am experiencing transformation in my mind. I make progress in the spirit. I am not the same anymore. Amen. We make progress. You get to a point that people you thought you could never forgive, you look at them and you just fall in love with them. That laughter was in disbelief. But you see, listen, listen, it's a journey. Let me tell you something. Now, this is not doctrine. And don't quote me out of context. How many of you have ever prayed to a point that you could no longer stand movies where they are hurting themselves? You prayed till you enter into tenderheartedness. Ah, you don't know. You, you pray to a point you can no longer hurt a fly.

Oh yes.

There are dimensions in prayer. You see, sometimes we— it look like spiritual realities are a lie because we have not taken steps to go farther and farther. Again I say, there is a level of transformation you experience that you see those who have hurt you and you just fall in love with them. How can you pray for your enemies if that doesn't exist? It's possible that your ex that hurts you so much that when you were breaking the relationship, the messages you sent to each other were so bad you had to delete the chat. You get to a point in loving God and journey with him, that the person becomes your prayer project. I bless him. What kind of ex did you have that is this serious? How did you get there? Are you there? Ah, why is this serious? Ah, wallah for Eto'o. But I'm telling you, see, see, I'm telling you, you get to a point that you begin to ask yourself, is this me? The people you have said we should never meet again, you meet them and you just go to hug them. I missed you.

Femi Lazarus.

Look at you. You feel the same compassion that Jesus feels towards them, for them. It occurs to you that they were not the ones that ought you. They were just a medium through which the devil could accurately do what he did. You see, now somebody is saying, Apostle, balance it now, balance it, balance what? So I should say, but no, amen. I won't say what you want me to say. There is that point too, that that ex that used to lie, that ex that can lie and save different girls' name like family members. Auntie Jane, Mommy Ezra. You just, you get to a point in your own walk with God, it will occur to you that it takes a person living in captivity to do that. Then love effortlessly oozes out of you. You can get to a point in God that you no longer have the capacity to hate any human. You, you just, you can't hate. They ought you And let me share a story with you. I think I've shared it once before. We're on campus. My friend, who happens to be a pastor— who happened to be a pastor— the hostel where he was staying, they were tired of his pastoral shenanigans. So some boys decided that they wanted to teach pastor a lesson. So they made— can't remember what they made, whether jollof rice or beans, and they served him. And he objected and said, ah, you guys put vegetable in this? They say, ah, it's nice, it's nice. So he ate. All right, it's what your mind is telling you. It was weed they put inside, weed, marijuana. So Pastor ate it and just got up from the chair and roaah! What was strange was that he began to run after a particular lady in the hostel and say, ah, I'm the one that will marry you. You are this, you are fine. So those boys were laughing. People, they will be eat it and nothing will happen to them. You are the one that will eat and your head can't carry it. So when the thing, the whole thing settled, he slept. He slept for hours. Those who are experienced, you know what I'm talking about. So when he woke up, They told him what he was saying, he didn't believe. Actually, the weed they gave him can never bring out of him what was never in him. He liked the girl, then the weed only amplified You know, nobody is as bold like somebody who is high on weed. He looks at people and they feel small, like, ah, hi boy, that's so his boss, oh. Amen. In the same manner, ought can never bring out of you what was not in you. There's a point in growth that all you have to give is love. One of the, one of the schools you must master is the school of pain and recovery. You have no time to bleed out. You must heal fast. What did I say? You don't have the luxury of time to what? Bleed out. You must heal fast, heal fast. Praise God. Are you there? One of the things we want to look at today Is dealing with the lies of the devil as touching traumatic experiences. Dealing with the lies of the devil as touching traumatic or painful experiences. Now, you must understand that the devil uses pain as access to our soul. Wherever there is pain and unforgiveness, the devil has access. Amen. See, don't live in self-denial. Say, um, I'm not hot, I'm just not happy. You are hot. Okay, you are hot. Ah, I'm not hot, I know who I am. It's not like we don't know who you are. Amen. Are you there? Some people lie to themselves. To yourself, be true. So if you know that, okay, this thing is my weakness, um, when this happens, I don't know how to get over it on time. At first, know that is a weakness, that you can begin to deal with it. You can receive grace. There is no aspect of our lives that there is no grace to help us conquer. Amen. Let's say, for instance, um, what hurts you the most in life? Maybe when someone betrays you, someone that you expect so much from. Nobody enjoys betrayal. Betrayal is painful, true? Ah, is it not painful? It's painful. The pain of betrayal is deep, and that was why the devil wanted it to be so, that the person who will, um, give Jesus out will be someone close to his heart. Let me tell you this, one of the most interest— interesting areas that your attack will come from, or where the devil is interested in making sure your attacks come from will be from those who are close to your heart. So it is not enough to be on fire. Make sure your environment is trained. So Jesus told Peter, I said, the devil has desired you, that he will sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you. When you read your Bible, you will see how Jesus called other disciples. But you won't see how he called Judas.

Why?

Many theologians believe that because they were from the same place, so if there was anyone who saw him grow, it was Judas. And yet that was where the betrayal came from. Hope you saw that when they were arresting Jesus and taking him, he didn't say, ah, Judas, I swear, na die you go die, Judas. And then Peter was now begging, I say, bro, come down, say, ah, tell Judas, so as he reach Femi Lazarus, the Bible said he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. Let me tell you something. Deal with it in advance. In life, betrayal will come. Betrayal will come. Deal with it in advance. In life, pain will come. Deal with it in advance. People you don't expect to hurt you will. It's just a matter of when. Never put anybody in a place where you think they cannot hurt me. No, they can. So what do you do? You have two approach or two options. Number one is that you get into self-preservation. Oh, I feel this person is going to hurt me, don't let me give them too much, I will not be hurt. Self-preservation. Number two, I forgive in advance. One is easy, it's easier to hide. Forgiveness is work, but there's grace for it. Are you following what I'm saying now? That girl you are going out together on a date that can't hurt a fly, you say, thank you so much, you just like the way her voice sound of phone. Let me share a story with you. One man was deaf. He's been deaf before his wife met him. So they took him to the hospital to get hearing aid. So he was so excited when he heard the doctor's voice. Then the wife started talking, 'Hey, so you can hear this? What I wanted to tell you yesterday was like—' He said, 'Doctor, remove this! Remove! Remove! I can't!' He preferred to be There was another case of a man who faked deafness for about 50 years of marriage. We are talking about peace of mind. He faked deafness. There are people in this life. What I'm trying to tell you is that one day That girl say, I love you too. We say things, you look at her and the lion in you want to speak. That's where you know love. This love that the relationship breaks after every provocation, that's not love. Are you following what I'm saying here? Say it again. I can love. I can love. We read that scripture. Now let me show you again, Message Translation, Psalms chapter number 51. Psalms chapter number 51. Psalm chapter number 51. All right, let's read verse 16, Message translation. Going through the motions doesn't please you. Flawless performance is nothing to you. Yes, I learned God worship when my what? Pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's what? Notice this love here is not the— this is not the natural level. Let me tell you, let me just give you this as jarah, okay? You see, the event of the wedding of Canaan of Galilee is the picture of the way marriage looks. The first wine will always finish. Let me— you know the first one. Where my baby?

That first one.

Finish. To finish. To finish. I'm telling you, it's a— it will finish. Marry Miss World, to finish. Say money is the fuel of romance, we're going to have money. I say to finish. As life begins to happen. But if Jesus is in the boat, water will become a better wine. The wine that will carry you through it is not feelings, it is the supply of the Spirit. While I was praying towards this meeting The Holy Ghost gave me a warning, and I want to give you the warning. But let me get into my teaching so I can teach it together. So the kind of love we are talking about— you see, there is the love that you have for people when they are flawless, but there is the love you have when you have seen their frailty. I understand this way and say, I still love you. You must master that kind. That's how you will last, and that's how relationships will last. This one is commitment, not a feeling. Are you following what I'm saying here? Anybody can carry a child, carry the child, carry the child, say, I just like your baby, your baby is so cute. But if the baby vomits That's where you will know the difference between the visitor and the mother. Can you still love when it smells? That's why many people do think marriage is about emotions. When the wife is pregnant, the nose is big. It's big now. The face has changed. It's like they pump the edges. Very yellow, fine sister is now what she is, and she's spitting up and out.

Cha cha.

And the guy will go and stand in one corner. I said, this is not it, oh Lord. This is not it. This is not what— it's total package. It's not for boys. Not— hey, not for what? The mistake we make always is that we think a male is a man. A male is a biological being. A man is a product of maturity. There are two different people. It's not the same thing. Yeah, are you— I'm saying many of the problems that destroy families when the wife is pregnant, the guy can't assist. Say, can you just help us get— let's get something outside. He looks at her and he feels she's pretending. There are men who always feel the wife is pretending. He's like, why is he exaggerating it? Have you— you— have you been pregnant before? I'm not balancing anything. Let's leave it there so that the devil will not go and stay there, because most of you will not hear the first one. You say, Apostle, what's the balance? Now say, okay, okay, I see, escape.

No. Amen.

Tell your neighbor, mature. I'm still prepping you from where I'm going, so we're going to get into it now. So we want to unveil how the devil take advantage of your pain, either from family dysfunction or from a traumatic past, how he seeks to bring in his lies to bring confusion into your life. And we want to look at some of the things it does, taking the occasion of your pain to get into something serious. The first one, which is a lie of the devil, is something called self-pity. Self-pity. Please write it in capital letter. Now, if you look at the story in John chapter number 5, The story in John chapter number 5, and that's the story of the man at the Pool of Bethesda. He had a mentality you probably have not paid attention to, and that was what kept him for 38 years. All right, John 5, start reading from verse 1. All right, after— yes, go to verse 2 now. There was— now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool. Just so you know, the pool is a dirty pool because this is a pool in the market. It's not like a pool in one 5-star hotel, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having 5 porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, I just want you to imagine what this would look like. This was not some tush-looking sick guys that have some nice duvet and bed and they brought them in in Rolls-Royce. They were the definition of sicknesses, right? Of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of what? The water. Yes. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there which had an infirmity 30 and what, 8 years. When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been there now a long time, in that case he said unto him, will thou be made whole? What was his next statement? Then the impotent man, the impotent man answered him, sir, I have no man. You see, that singular question, answer he gave was the reason why he spent 38 years there. You know, I am where I am because actually my father and my mother, they were not together when I was born. So, you know, some of us who were born in that kind of condition, we have to find a way to fight for our life, and that's why I ended up being on the street. 'And you know, I have suffered so much.' And all that— people have suffered worse and they fought for their lives. Fight for yours. Never have a narrative that eulogizes the past and takes away the sense of responsibility from you. Never let the past condition your future. Self-pity. People wallow in bitterness. You know, I wish my father was a rich man, and then, well, he was trying to be a rich man, and then his uncle in the village, somebody used charm to eat him, and that's how we ended up— we moved from Lagos, and then we ended up in Hey, there comes a time in your life that the stories that used to make sense will no longer make sense, because at this season you are expected to have risen regardless. There comes a time in your life that it will no longer make sense that what— you know, you can be so much in love with your past trauma that you are romancing it. You are carrying it like a child. Oh, what happened to me? Break it now and break the chain. Break the chain and tell yourself, regardless of this, I will rise. This was the most interesting part for me. When— and you heard the story of Dr. Chika, that even in the pool of her own blood that was so strong that had blocked the vent, she looked at everything and could have said, so this is how my life will end. Said, I will not die for a fool. When people wallow in self-pity, they allow themselves to be carried on by the calamity of life. They just, okay, I surrender myself, whatever comes out of this. You have a decision to make. You have a decision to make. That your parents had issues with their marriage doesn't mean you are now helpless, like you are now condemned or doomed repeat the past. You are not doomed by anybody's mistake. Can I come again? You are not doomed by anybody's mistake. Let me say this, and this might shock you now. I don't care what the mistake of their past was. God will never put you in a condition where their mistake can determine your future. He will never. I am saying this to you again and again. Regardless of where you are coming from, you can break free. And break out of the mess. Uh, you know, while life was starting, I had to leave school so that my younger ones could go to school. Now that they are settled, return back. One of the qualities you must have to become what God wants you to become in life is resilience. When you are a resilient person, even when life knocks you down, you fight and rise up. You must learn to fight. You must learn to fight. In combatant sport, you learn that what determines a person's victory or loss is their kind of heart. Do you have the heart for victory? Can you endure punches? Can you experience a case where life beats you down but you keep getting up? There are people who are all over the place, just jumping, and can't survive one punch from life. Ah, I didn't know. Nobody told me it's going to be like this. You see, we didn't prepare for all these kind of things. You see, I was just living my life. Wake up! I would have loved to do the things that God was saying I should do. This is November. Oh God, God told me it's 2024. I would have— but you see, these social media people, if you do all those kind of things, they, they will drag you. They, they will drag you. So that's why I've not done it. Yeah, only you. You know, it's because that my uncle that promised me that he's going to give me money, ah, that's how he has stroke. Yeah, he now has stroke. Now has stroke. So you know, in this life we face tribulation, but we should be of good cheer. Fight, if not tribulation will kill you there. Fight. Let me tell you, just so you know, nobody is coming to save you. If you didn't hear it, again, hear again. Nobody is coming to— what? Everybody is dealing with their own problem now. Nobody. It must be your decision. That what I have suffered ends with me. I won't let this water carry me on for my children to see me in a bitter state. It dies here. Sometimes you wonder, because self-pity is quite deep. You see people who were abused By certain individuals. Let's talk about some of the things we don't talk about in church. Maybe a girl that was abused by a girl. Someone say, why did you abuse this child? Say, you know, I was abused as a child. Abuse should not make you an abuser. That's self-pity. Are you there? Abuse should not make you what? An abuser. If you have gone through abuse and you saw what they felt like, you don't even want your enemy to go through it.

Some—

have you seen people that will go to steal and burglarize people's shop and they say, why, why did you do it? Say, say, we're broke. Poverty is not the reason for stealing. Stealing is a decision. Can I come again? People steal because they decide to. Stealing is a product of greed. People steal because they are greedy. Look up now, because this is a problem. What I'm teaching now is a fundamental problem in Nigeria. You see people who are into internet fraud, Yahoo. Why are you doing this? Say, we remember that in the year 18-something when the white men came to Nigeria, they took things from Nigeria and now it's time to collect it back. Collect it back with correct brain. Do the brain work. Work be needed. Don't steal. Say, you know, in 18-something, so now is our time. I know. You see a boy pick the girlfriend and use the girlfriend for Nigeria. I say for Nigeria, yeah, use the girlfriend for ritual. Say, you know, Nigeria is hard. Okay, you are not the only one that is facing this thing. In some families, they are arguing. The wife just went to tell the husband that what we need to get upkeep in the month, like times 5 now. My, what do you mean? Don't, don't say that again in this house in this season. Don't have high BPO. Just calm down. Even, even those in the market itself They are tired. But see, that is not an excuse to do what is bad. People will organize a vehicle, arrange themselves, lie, one chance, ready to stab somebody. They catch them now with tires and petrol, they are here. And I say, please give me one more chance.

Ah.

Okay, it's one chance. Why, why, why have you been doing this? Say, you know, honestly, my wife, no money to eat. No, that's— if, if you know what the pain of lack looks like, you will not strip somebody else of their possession. Self-pity is a lie from the pit of hell. It's a lie. And if you hang around that thing for so long, it will mess you up. To mess you up. Are you still with me? To mess you up. Sometimes you see people, why don't you go to church? Say, um, you know, um, me, I, I don't do Nigerian pastors. Where do you want to go to? It's American pastors you do. Self-pity. You see, sometimes we— I'm not easy. You see, if you follow my teaching and the trend of my teaching, You know, I don't downplay anyone's pain, but I'm saying that the church is not the only place you get hurt. You get hurt at work. I've never seen any book on work hurt. It's not necessary. Last, last, I'll collect my salary. You get hurt in every, every, every other place. You get hurt in our families. Well, why is it that the moment we face one little thing in church, we dump the church in the dustbin? It shows the quality of our heart and understanding about spiritual family. For some people, um, this is my church because I like this series. Once I begin to teach on Kingdom stewardship. Say once those pastors teach about commitment, I don't like her, I don't like him, say I don't find another church now, so I close my house. How will you grow? Say 5 years ago, a pastor talked to me in a way I didn't like, I decided I'm done with church. You are not done with church. That's self-pity. All right, if you, if you know, if you understand the concept of spiritual family, it is God who sets the solitary in families. It is God who does that. All right, many things are happening. That's the reason why we have crimes everywhere.

Self-pity.

Ah, you know, now let me tell you this: once you get into self-pity, the next step from there is overcompensation. You will now begin to overcompensate yourself. Ah, with the kind of things I've suffered in life, ah, people like me must now enjoy life. Oh, then you enjoy without planning, and you are back to penury. Overcompensation.

Are you there?

You're with me, say amen. Self-pity is when you feel overly sad for the difficulties you've once faced. When you feel overly sad, you just begin to tell yourself, I don't deserve this, I don't deserve this, I don't deserve to be treated like this, no, I don't deserve to be treated like this, no, it shouldn't be me, no, why did they do this? If you keep asking those questions, the devil will lead you through a route that you may not come out. Oh, innocent me. Oh, young me. Well, see, what has happened has happened. One of the very important questions is, what's the way forward? Do you want to sit down here and cry about it, or you want to ask God to help your heart heal and then you move on quickly? The longer you stay around an injury, the more difficult it is to come out. Are you following what I'm saying here? Never sit down to lick your wounds. People will hurt you, and when they see that you get hurt, some will like to trample on you there. You must get up and receive grace.

You must.

There are people whose joy is to cause you pain. That's their joy. And why? Because they themselves too, they're in captivity. It takes the one who is broken to break others. I told you, I saw a story. A friend, a brother was sharing a story about a leper who held somebody's hand and oversqueezed the hand because the leper can't feel sensitivity, can't feel anything.

So what do you want to do?

Say, ah, look at the way life is treating me now. Or you get out. People are doing what is bad. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. Sometimes everybody complain, Nigeria is bad, Nigeria is bad, they are stealing our money, they are this. When was the last time you obey traffic law, traffic light? When was the last time you drive, traffic is saying red, move on? That's, that's you now, not Nigeria. If you were in London, will you do that? No, you won't. They will put a signpost somewhere, please don't dump refuse here. You, when they put don't, that's when you have invited them. They will come. But you put it there, dump and die. So we, we contribute to the decadence of the country. And then come back and complain. Let me tell you what I learned one time. I will say this thing in parable, but I will not explain it. One time I was pastoring and assisting an orphanage home, and I just noticed I get call, Pastor, please come, so-and-so child is sick. I will go there, pray for the child. Pastor, come, so-and-so child is sick. I'll go there, pray for the child. One time I sat down, I said, this orphanage home, it is when these children are sick that they call me. The owner of this orphanage, when our own children are sick, they don't call prayer, they take them to the hospital. Copy and paste. Let's pray for Nigeria, that hospital will be repaired. Okay, self-pity. Are you following what I'm saying? I didn't say anything. You can't quote silence. I didn't say anything. Let me tell you something. Nigeria will never rise until Nigerians forgive Nigeria. You have no idea of how offended you are at Nigeria. You are pained. So much so now, if care is not taken, if you have the opportunity of public office like this, like this, this version of you, public office, my God. If care is not taken, if they are going to write a curriculum for embezzlement, you may be the author. Because you feel they've taken too much from us, now I have the opportunity, let me too take. That is the reason why what has been going on is going on. Forgive. Somebody will have to end the pattern. Are you what I'm saying? Let me say, he said there's nobody in my life, there's nobody in my life I'm not forgiving, there's nobody in my life that I'm angry with. Do you like your president? You know, some people believe that if you're going to get repair Nigeria, bring all the elites, put them in one room and kill them, that you have repaired Nigeria. It will— you will be amazed to see that what you are capable of, what they are doing now, they are learning. You'll be amazed that there are Christians— you see, let me just keep quiet. But one of the reasons why the pain of this country is still lingering, if you— let me tell you, go and check what is number one problem of this generation: bitterness. Anger, anger. Everybody's angry. We've had several government officials come to church, ex-governors and all that. Say, Apostle, let's take picture. Take picture. I tell media people, don't post. Are you feeling what I'm saying? Let me not talk, because, because of the bitterness in people, it is difficult for the nation to recover. Because you cannot enhance a country you are angry against. Things are bad. I know myself, I'm pained, I feel it. But if the route is to cut people down, curse yourself— see, people are quiet now, nobody's doing anything. 2027, everybody's fighting themselves, cursing pastors, doing all those things. They still lose. 2031. Just calculate your age by then. Are you feeling what I'm saying? Because that's why you can japa from Nigeria. Let me tell you, just travel, all right? If care is not taken, you are just driving on the street. I'm just driving If care is not taken, the next statement that will come out of your mouth is that it will not be well for the leaders of Nigeria. See what you're enjoying here? Are they not coming here to see? That's— you are angry. An average Nigerian fortifies Nigeria with curses. You just read news, National Grid has collapsed. Say, Bifanko! Let me tell you something. Um, Pastor Jacob, come in boxing. You come to face each other like you are getting set to fight. So now, yes, now face yourself. Don't face me. Femi Lazarus, do I look like I have the energy? Face him. Yes. Now, in boxing, when two people are set to fight like this, what they are trying to do is to get into each other's head with words. They will say nasty things to each other. You wonder how that when they finish the fight, after all they have said, they will hug themselves. The reason why they were saying those things is not because they hated themselves, because they know that the one that allowed those words enter his head will not fight with strategy. Nigerians are not strategic because of anger. If you can take anger away from Nigerian youth, they are powerful, smart, and intelligent enough to collect the nation in one year. They are, but they cannot because, because of anger, those that should be those that should help them, they will curse them. What I'm saying now, I know it is a draggable offense. We have signed, we chop dragging for a living. Before, what the world would do? Are you feeling what I'm saying here? Sometimes I preach simple message, simple message. I'll just go and see my message, somebody say so-and-so party, that's who they are talking to.

I say, ah, from where to where?

Simple things. Because of what? Anger. Are you feeling what I'm saying? This nation will rise. This nation will rise. Listen, those who will rebuild the broken walls can't build in anger. Strategy, strategy. I see God giving you wisdom. I see God giving you wisdom. I see the spirit of creativity. I see the spirit of excellence. In the name of Jesus. Now copy and paste this same thing to families. Somebody was angry. What you have done, what you have done to us. I understand, but anger puts you in a position where you are more liable to repeat it, because in being angry you don't know what you avoid. It's being masterminded and service with self-pity. And then you're already making the same thing, the same mistake. Somebody's angry and then say, ah, I hate how that my dad was this, did that to us, was promiscuous. And in the process of being angry, the fellow is already pacifying himself too with women. Generation 2 pattern has started. You can never break free from anything through anger alone. You can't. Let me say this for the record. If the anger hatred and bitterness that is in this nation continues, either of two things will happen. One day they will set the nation on fire. Number two, captivity will be prolonged. The Joshua generations are not coming for revenge. They just want to get to the promised land. And let me tell you something, Christians, listen to what I'm saying. Those who are outside don't have the stamina for the work that needs to be done. You are the one to rise up. Listen, I know you don't understand what I said. When Moses got up in the 390th year of their captivity to set them free. It was one guy who spoke that— who has made you a captain over us? Moses ran for 40 years. God waited for 40 years. If you say you carry fire and carry the Holy Ghost and allow a wrong spokesperson, they will speak you into length of days in captivity, and there's nothing God will do about it. He will wait till you are ready. It matters who you allow. To be your spokesperson. Yes, sir. People are turning to justice everywhere else because those who know it are not doing it. Let me show you the scripture. Psalms chapter number 82. Psalms 82, let's start from verse 5. Psalms 82, look at it. They know not— in fact, let's start from verse 1. Look, look at God's attention to the word justice here. Luka, um, I will say this for the record, the next generation cannot do copy and paste. Cannot. There are many things that the church does not have answer to. For now, we have not built accurate wisdom perspective in dealing with many matters. For instance, you just hear somebody say that— I remember on Sunday workers meeting, we're talking about cultures that needs to be eradicated. Somebody said a culture of single parenting and all that. I said let's take that in context, all right? So a woman is in a place almost being killed. Somebody wants to kill her. The response of the church is God hate divorce. Does God like the death of his children? No. In that regard, we see that there is no accurate wisdom to handle contextual matters yet. Are you following what I'm saying? Okay, now here's a child. This child has been defiled. What's the response? Forgive and forget. Let me show you the pattern of God. Psalm 82, let's start from verse 1. Psalm 82. Look at it. God standeth in the convention of the mighty. He what? Judges among the gods. You see where they say God said— mark that word because he will show you who those gods are. How long will you judge unjustly and accept the person of what? The wicked. Defend the poor and what? Fatherly. Meaning that God wants you to be strong enough to defend. If you understand the purpose of man is dominion mandate, the church will not be arguing about God blessing people or not. You will discover that poverty puts you in a place where you can't respond to issues. Are you what I'm saying? If some— if somebody— somebody has just raped the child, you say we are going to take this matter up, it's because we have resources to do it. Now, if the person who has done— we are looking forward to the person to give us for breakfast, can we fight about the matter? You don't understand yet. Continue that same scripture. Defend the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and what? Needy. Verse 5 now, quickly. They know not, neither will they understand. They walk on in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are out of what? Because look at it, I have said you are what? Gods, and all of you are children of the most high, but you shall die like men and fall like one of the princes, because there is no understanding of what you are. Let me tell you something. People who left mark in the sand of time did so because one day they came to the awareness of their makeup. One day they just became dissatisfied with all they have been doing in their lives and changed. That can't happen in self-pity. Are you following what I'm saying here? The second, um, thing that the enemy tried to get you into, which are part of his lies, is bitterness. Bitterness. To be bitter is to lose sweetness. To become koas. If you read the story in Exodus— I'm sorry, Genesis chapter number 34 from verse 1, there's a very interesting story there that stretched down to Genesis chapter number 49. See the consequence of that story. Um, in Genesis 34:1, Bible says that, and Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. You know the story. Shechem, all right, the son of the king of the land, that's Ammon, saw that girl. The Bible said he took her, he lay with her, and defiled her. Now, this was the daughter of Jacob that reference was made to, and in that lineage, in the Abrahamic lineage, it's a very big deal. So Jacob gathered her brothers and went to see the father of the boy who had defiled the girl. Unlike the story of Amnon, and Tamar. This boy took responsibility, said, I did it, I did it, I, I love her. I'm sorry that was the approach, but I did it. Now Jacob said, I've heard, you can marry her, but we don't give our children to infidels. All the males in your kingdom must be circumcised at that age. You know what they did? They agreed. They agreed. While all this conversation was going on, Simon and Levi were there. They were watching. So when they saw that those guys couldn't do anything, they went out and took advantage of their vulnerability and killed them. In Genesis 49, when Jacob was speaking about them, he said, let the instrument of cruelty dwell with them. He said, cursed is their anger because with them dwells the instrument of cruelty. Now, anger is bad, but now he cursed it. Meaning that this anger becomes an accursed tool in your hands. That anger was what stopped Moses because it was a cursed one. Moses had tried. God had said that there is none on the face of the earth that is as meek as him. Just about the time One of these days I will take my time to show you the journey of the Israelites. They were close. They were so close, just at the verge of getting to the promised land. They were crying for water again. At that point, he's gotten enough. God said, speak to the rock. He struck the rock and water came out. And God said, you have not sanctified me before them. When I read that story, my heart sank. God said, take Aaron. So both of you, you are just— you are not going to get there. He said, take Aaron to the top of the mountain, strip him of the priestly garment of honor that I gave him, and I will take his life. And they removed the priestly garment of all the precious stones, and he dropped dead. Now God told Moses, now stand from where you are, look at the promised land there. You won't get there. Why? It gets to a point that the heart has faced so much, and you don't know that you have become bitter. You have lost taste. You are not giving the usual flavor. You said you are forgiven, but the taste has changed. Are you there? Bitterness is real. I showed you when I taught on dealing with the root of bitterness, so you have to listen to that teaching again. The story of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom. How that when Amnon raped Tamar, Tamar went to Absalom, and Absalom never said a word for 2 years. Kept quiet. They were seen at different feasts, didn't say a word. The Bible said he didn't speak to him good or bad. And after 2 years were complete— have you seen people that like to serve? They say vengeance is best served cold. He called for a feast. He said, let the sons of the king gather, I want to hold the feast. And he wanted his father to be there, but David couldn't make it. He wanted to kill that boy, but he wanted the father to see his blood spill. And he told his servant, he said, when he's drunk and he's merry, strike him dead. I've commanded you to do so. And they killed the boy. All right, then he ran. Then he called Ahithophel to join camp with him. He called Ahithophel David's best advisor. Why? Because he knew that Ahithophel was the father of Eliam, and Eliam was the father of Bathsheba. Bathsheba was the girl that David slept with and killed her husband. So he knew, he knew when people are bitter, they know those whose cases have not been settled and they recruit them. The bitter recruits the bitter. Let me tell you something, if you want to know those who are bitter, check those who are— check those that those who are bitter like to talk to. Anybody who is bitter will not talk to you until they see that there's something you have in common. Bitterness recruits bitterness. That's why we must not sweep matters under the carpet, because one day to be recruited. Are you following what I'm saying here? And what did Ithophel say? What did he say when, when, when that boy went to call him? Ithophel said, this is my counsel: sleep with your father's concubines. On top of his house there, that same place where he saw my daughter, my grandchild, and did it, do the same thing there. Okay. And then Ithophel gave a master plan. You see, go and read the plan that Ithophel gave Absalom. If he had done it, David will die, but God interrupted it. Because sometimes, you see, there's an unjust part of mercy. That mercy— he said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy on, and compassion on whom I will have. So once a man has found mercy, they are difficult to be fought. That the covenant of mercy will just speak for them, and whether they are guilty or not, regardless, for this moment you can't win. And that doesn't mean you are less than God's child too, but this is mercy speaking there. When David saw that, he said, God, please turn away the counsel of Ahitophel. David knew how strategic the man was, and when Ahitophel saw that they didn't use his counsel, he felt embarrassed. Me? Have I fallen this bad? He went to hang himself. Bitterness always lead people to early grave. At the end of the day, the bitter doesn't win. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how painful the matter is. The only way for you not to be cheated twice is to forgive. That's the only way. The only way for you not to be cheated twice is to what? Forgive. I want to show you something. Put your right hand on your chest today and say, I choose to forgive. Say it again, I choose to forgive. Now look at this, the book of James. James chapter number 3. 16. James 3:16. You know, there are people who currently believe that because of the magnitude of the hurts you have experienced, you can't forgive that person. Is a lie. You can. The reason why you think you can't forgive, because you are believing a lie. That thought is not your thought. Let's read this together. 1, 2, 3, go! Where envy and strife is— one more time— meaning that strife is the breeding ground for evil. Strife. Don't allow it. Not in your heart, not in your house, not in your domain, not in your organization. And one of the ways to prevent strife is to make sure there's justice. There must be a system of justice. People should be rewarded for their labor. There must be reward. There must be equity.

Very important.

The God that we serve is a just God. Amen. Is a what?

Just God.

He sees everything done in secret and he rewards men openly. Never knows bitterness. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. It's a bad strategy. It's a bad strategy. It's a bad strategy. Place your hand on your chest and please rise on your feet, and I want you to say this loud and clear: Tonight I receive grace in Christ, and I choose as one empowered by that grace to let go of every issue and every pain, every hurt in my heart. I choose to respond in love and forgive. I renounce bitterness. I renounce vengeance. I renounce strife. I renounce hatred. I'm a love being. I walk in love. I speak in love. I move in love. I'm a love being. I'm not hateful. The life of Christ at work in me. In the name of Jesus, this is my reality. I refuse to live a life that is not my own. I live the life that I have in Christ. It is the life of grace. And love and forgiveness. This is my life through Christ who helps me. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Lift your hands where you stand. We're going to pray two prayers. First is for your own heart. That God will empower your heart. Okay, then secondly, we'll pray for Nigeria, that God will heal the source of this nation. Is that okay? Now lift your voice and pray for your heart. He will help you. He's your Father. He knows the areas of your struggle, so don't hide them from him. Don't hide them. Femi Lazarus. Let's raise that song 3 times, Age to Age. Come raise that sound 3 times. Oh yes.

Oh Lord, you took my place. You showed me grace at the cross where you died for me. to the sky. Hear the angels cry, singing, oh, he is the Lord, and his glory appears like Sing it, holy is the Lord, and his glory appears like the light from the sun.

Thank you, Lord. Amen. I sense strongly that I haven't prayed the prayer you have prayed, that now there is a room for you to receive the blessing. So I decree tonight, in blessing, I bless you. Now that you have let go, hot in your heart, carry the right anointing you should carry, carry the right grace you should carry. Breakthrough on all sides. To the right, to the left, breakthrough on all sides in the name of Jesus. Now get up on your feet, everyone. We're going to release grace over Nigeria and just release life, release life. Nigeria, you become a nation where everything works. Now listen, as you take that posture, one of the things that happens that you, you pose Position yourself to receive the wisdom to be among the builders. There are some of us who will be alive and be part of the hands that will rebuild the walls of this nation. We have been sent for such a time as this. Is that okay now? We will not cower at the back and insult anything and everybody. We will build and work. Speak life to Nigeria. Let the source of pain in this nation be healed. We speak to the root of Nigeria. Nigeria, be healed in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, life be, life be, life be, life be, life be, life be. You have 2 minutes, quickly pray.

From the sun, Femi Lazarus is shining. Oh, look to the sky, he is the sun sinking low. Leaves. And his glory will be like a light from the sun. Thank you, Lord.

Amen.