KINGDOM PARTNERSHIP

Welcome to an encounter with the spirit, word, and prayer through the prolific apostolic and teaching ministry of Apostle Femi Lazarus, lead pastor of Sphere of Light Church Global. It is his vision to raise God's end-time armies. God has not called you to prove you are the best. He has not. As a leader, you are a broker of gift and talent. So brace up for an experience. This morning I'm teaching on the subject titled Kingdom Partnership. Kingdom Partnership. All right, Kingdom Partnership. That's the subject I'm teaching on this morning, but I need to walk you through step by step to understand, um, how the blessing works, um, and our response to it. Now, um, to start with, I want to show you the content, the content of the Abrahamic blessing. The what? The what? Content. Whether blessings or curses, they are conveyed through words. It is the content that determines the outcome in the life of the person. Amen. If a person is cursed, the curse is coming out as a word or a statement. It is what is inside that is about to happen. And if a person is blessed, the blessing is conveyed in the statement, and it is what is inside that will manifest. Sometimes the statement looks like it is going to the north and the manifestation look like it is going to the south. For instance, in Genesis 49, Jacob cursed Reuben and he said Reuben will not excel. In Deuteronomy 33, we found out that the manifestation of that curse means that the lineage of Reuben will die early. Elisha cursed Gehazi and said, let the leprosy of Naaman cleave to you and your lineage. And the Bible said instantly he became what? Leprous. And God blesses and also sends his servants to bless. We have received the commandment to bless. So the content is what determines the what? The manifestation. So this morning, I bless you and I speak into your life, excel. I speak into your lives, go forward. I speak into your life, experience stagnation no more. Now sit down. So I'm going to do a lot of blessings this morning. Amen. Oh yes. Do you believe that when words go out, the power of God is here to back it up? Oh yes. You will experience stagnation no more, and you go forward only. Nothing dies in your hands. Are you aware it's a big statement we say in Sphere of Light Church? That nothing dies in our hands. Say it again: nothing dies in my hands. When I touch anything, they work, they don't die. When I lay hands on things, they work, they don't die. Nothing dies in my hands. That's the blessing I have. Glory to God, we are blessed. Genesis chapter number 27. Isaac had called Esau and he said, Esau, I want you to go prepare me a venison. Although God had said before both of you were born that the blessing should go to your younger brother, but I want to give you. He said, I want to eat the venison, then my soul bless you, and then I die. So Esau went to look for venison, and Rebecca heard and prepared the similitude for Jacob. In verse 27, Genesis 27:27, I want to show you the content, not the story, the content of the blessing. So, and he came near— that's Jacob now— towards Isaac and kissed him and smelled the smell of his raiment and blessed him and said, see, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath Blessed. That's descriptive. If a man will be blessed, first there's an aroma he carries. I remember years back I was in a place and, um, there were hundreds of thousands of people there. And someone was so excited to see me in the crowd, and, and it was someone who was close to me somehow. So out of excitement, she just jumped on me. 'Save! So good to see you, sir! So good to see you!' She was excited, I was excited, but as she jumped, I perceived a deep smell. It was so bad I needed to leave that place to bath. And it was so bad it didn't leave me for more than a week. So occasionally I'd come around people, I say, can you smell anything? They said they can't smell. Hey, you, you, you! I just hug people I should not hug. Come, just hug. Hey, how you doing? You know, passive energy. I don't feel him. You don't feel him? What kind of smell is this that is customized for me? This custom-made smell The sister sent me a message, it was nice to see you. I didn't reply, it wasn't nice to see you. I've not recovered. I almost took my bath with Aizah, but anything in the category of what should be used, I used. I poured plenty Dettol into water. I almost poured perfume inside water. I— the smell was deep. Then when God saw my struggle, then God said, oh, that thing you have been praying for her about, this is the hindrance. It is a smell in the spirit. When favor comes around, that's what they hear, and it pushes them away. So command it to be canceled. Even me as the pastor, I didn't want to see her again. How much more somebody who— when Isaac came near Jacob, and when Jacob came near, he said, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. You are not yet there, but you smell like it. Then he said, therefore the Lord give you of the dew from heaven. That's a very weighty pronouncement, huh? I said that's a weighty pronouncement. Wow. On what account did he begin to bless him? On the account of this man. It was not on the account of the venison. It was on the account of something that stirred up the prophet in him. Said, give strength, give, give here, you Shepherd of Israel. You that sit between the cherubims, shine forth. You are the one who lead Joseph like a flock. You sit between the cherubims, shine forth. There are— there's something about this morning. Hold on. How many of you have walked before? And you, you maybe your cobwebs just came over your face and you feel this must be something demonic. It's nature, relax. It's nature, okay? It's nature. Don't see demon in everything, including cats. When, when we get to heaven, God will judge between Nigerians and cats. Um, sorry, when this thing comes like this, I lose my steez. There are clouds that opens over a man that from the moment that cloud opens over the man, the man is implicated. In Yoruba, they will say, "Oti fara kon kon." He has touched something, something that will alter his experience. He has entered something. This morning you have entered something and your experience has been altered. Sit down for a while. Sit down for a while. There are things you can't describe when they came, but you can know that everything changed. So when he said, the Lord your God give you, let heaven open to give water that won't make noise, then let the earth respond in fatness. He said, the Lord your God give you of the dew from heaven and the fatness of the earth. As long as there is dew, the earth will be fat. Listen to what I'm saying. The same way I describe how somebody hugged me and the smell was custom-made, dew from heaven can be custom-made on men regardless of location, regardless of the experience of people. It is a custom-made dew locked on a man. Something is locked in on you this morning. The heaven will give its dew. I said the heavens will give its dew. The heavens will give its dew. The earth will yield in its strength. Sit down for a while. Isaac didn't say the Lord your God give your land dew from heaven. It should be— that would make sense. He said he gives you. It didn't matter how dry it was anywhere else. It won't matter anymore. You will have water. That's the content. It won't matter. It won't matter. Where's Femi Lazarus? It won't matter. When Jesus was baptized— give me that scripture, Matthew 3. In the River of Jordan. The Bible said, and heaven was opened unto him. Heaven can be open over territories, but it can lock on a man that it becomes the spot on the earth upon which there is transaction between the spiritual and the physical. There can be custom-made window, it locks on him that when he goes to the right, the opening of heaven go to the right.. When it goes to the left, the opening of heaven goes to the left. When it goes forward, the opening of heaven goes forward. Hear me, when a man understands that there are no specific greener pastures for him, it becomes the spot on the earth that dew falls, where it goes becomes green. Again, I insist that the Lord your God give you of the dew from heaven, and he gives you of the fatness of the earth. Let the words from my mouth this morning rain like dew, that it will visit every thirsty ground. Can I give you 30 seconds to pray? I have the dew from heaven and the fatness of the earth. The Lord my God has given to me the dew from heaven and the fatness of the earth. The dew from heaven and the fatness of the earth. In Jesus Mighty name we are praying. Sit down. We all hear the sound when it rains, but when there's dew, you only see the effect. It is noiseless. It is noiseless. You wake up to discover everywhere is wet. There's rain, it is a blessing. But there's dew. No noise, just effect. No noise, no noise. That's, that's the content. The content of the Abrahamic blessing is the blessing of an heaven that is opened. You see, when you despise that that the supernatural controls the physical, you will work like men and struggle. But there's power in the blessing. So when we say the blessing, the blessing, let me show you the content of the blessing. Give me an Amplified rendition. I want you to look at the content of the blessing. In Amplified Translation, Psalms chapter number 1 from verse 1, Amplified. Look at it, Psalms 1:1. Give me an Amplified rendition. Can they do that? Now look at it. What does it mean to be blessed? Number 1, to be fortunate. Number 2, to be prosperous. Number 3, I'm favored by God. In fact, this is not complete. There's to be happy and to be enviable. There comes a time in a man's life that he's still doing everything as usual, but something now has landed. His skin tone has not changed. His dressing might not have changed, but all eyes that sees him pay attention. Have you seen people that you are wondering what changed? It looked like they moved from 0 to 100 in no time. See, the secret is the handled. When that hand comes, when the hand, when the hand comes Wendy. See, you will, you will sit down and regret envying anyone because what it has taken people 15 years to accomplish is happening in a week. There is a God that controls. Times are in his hands. He can shrink it, he can elongate it. Are you here? It shakes time. I've given you this illustration several times, but I won't stop till you get it. Can I have 3 people? Look at it. This is the illustration again and again. These are the seasons of man: the morning phase, the afternoon phase, and the what? The night phase. When a child is born, the child ought to be born in the morning phase, and that's the phase of beauty. Everybody wants to carry a new baby. They want to peck the child, they want to hug the child, they want to dance with the child. But once we enter into afternoon phase, there's no free hug. Nobody wants to carry you. You work. And at night, the night phase is the phase of consequence of whatever goes right or wrong during your day. In the morning phase, you have dreams, beautiful aspirations. In the afternoon, you execute the aspirations. At night, you retire on the aspiration. If you will have a roof over your— on your— on over your head, it depends on what you did in the afternoon. And what you do in the afternoon depends on the quality of your vision in the morning. Either of these phases can happen at any time. A man can the 80. And when the world thinks that his light is going down, then suddenly it sunrise again. When the world says that, ah, that fellow is over, all of a sudden God just gives him one new vision, and from nowhere he shoot out. This is the covenant of your days being renewed like eagles. And a man might be in the afternoon phase, and one medical report can show him that he's at night. And it is as though with this report, the doctors are saying you have few days, few weeks, few months, or few years to exit. And it is possible for a child who ought to be born in the morning to be born into the night if those who gave birth to the child didn't break into their morning before conception. A, a, a, you know, you get what I'm saying? A child can be born, although young, but is born into the night. He can't even dream. Because the harshness, the reality of the environment is choking him. Although he's young, but the pain, the sorrow around is showing him that you are at night. And you can have 4 generations at night, you can have 10 at night. Some of you, you are coming from places where it's night, and it's, it's looking like you are the one upon whom the sun will rise. That when they look back, they'll say, okay, there's a light in our lineage. At least someone that the Lord has decided to shine his light upon. It will be you. You will be that spot in your lineage where the light is shining. I say again, you will be that spot in your lineage where the light is shining. Sit down for a while. No, both of you here, wait. When the hand of God comes upon a man, regardless of the season he is, his day begins. It is your day when your light shines. So when they start singing that song, ah, I got it. The man at the pool of Bethesda, we couldn't— we are not told the age he was when they dropped him there, but we knew he had been in a 38-year-long night. Imagine a man, 38 years of darkness, being at a spot And Jesus met him there. And regardless of how long the night has been, now it is important that the day begins. And all he had to say is, pick your bed and go. And his son rose. I told you about Joshua fighting with his men. They had not finished, then the sun began to set. He said, let the sun stand still over Ajaleon. Let the moon not hasten to go to his place till I finish. And God said, and the sun obeyed. If there's anyone here whose sun looks like it's beginning to set, Femi Lazarus. Uh-uh. Let your day begin. Let your day begin. Let your day begin. Sit down for a while. If a man is in his day, example, and another man is in his night, and the man in his night that light is not shining on begin to say prayers— how many of you have given beggars money and they are blessing In the name of Jesus, it will well with you. Some of you don't even say amen to that, because what's the benefit of amen to a man who is at night? You feel like if your prayer works, it should have worked for you. But the same prayer, another man who is in his day— they might be age mates— and say, in the name of Jesus, From today it is well with you. You will say that amen with fervency because nothing is valued until it is seen. I know the world is trying to reorientate you, but I'm— believe in the power of the blessing. Are you here? Believe in the power of what? The blessing. Your light will shine. You won't be locked in darkness. Please sit down for a while, guys. I've said it humorously that some of us were born into the night. Born into the night. You hear people's stories. And sometimes you want to ask yourself, who arises from this dust and this kind of dung hill? It is the man upon whom the Lord has established his hand. When that hand comes, is the one who lift the beggars from the dung hill and cause them to sit with princes. Ah, that one who lift men, his hand is over your head this morning. You say the amen as I pray. I say again, his hand is over your head. He's lifting you from the dust. He's lifting you from the gutters. He's lifting you out of the ashes. When the face of God shines upon a man, it looks like he's the one who knows how to do it best. It looks like it, but it's just the hand of God. I want to show you something now. Look at what the Lord said in Psalms chapter number 81. I just sense the burden to release blessings. Psalms 81. Are you there? Look at what the Bible says from verse 3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on a solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel. And the law of the God of Jacob. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony. When he went through the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I understood not, I removed his shoulder from burden, and his hands were delivered from pot. Do you know what that means? God is saying that I'm the one who made— he didn't become a laborer. Let me show you how we did it. Genesis chapter number 39, I think verse 3. Genesis 39. Yeah, let's start reading from verse 1. Faka tenne. And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, the officer of Pharaoh, Captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. Yes, let's read verse 2 together. 1, 2, 3, go. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master. Now look at this, every step of the way when they thought they were selling him God was moving him. Any other person could have bought Joseph, but God had to make sure that it was one— now this where it gets dicey— through whom he will get to the prison, because the route to the palace is the prison. And yet it was still the hand of God. And the Bible said— because pay attention, you will rate yourself based on what is in your pocket, but this is the rating of a man: the Lord was with Jacob and Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. And the master observed that from the moment this guy entered this house, things have been going well. Who entered? Who did we buy? It was observed. When that thing lands on you, when you enter places, they just know that, ah, this person came with something. That's why it is better to be blessed than to be cursed. When you are blessed, people around you, the same way you can tap into network Hm? When I have an hotspot on, you can tap inside. When a blessed man comes around you, things work for you. Things work. You just observe. The Lord is with this guy. Lift your right hand. Say, the Lord is with me. You are not saying it well enough. Say, the Lord is with me. The Strength of Jacob is my God. The Lord is with me, therefore I prosper in all that I do. Ah, I prosper, I prosper. What I do work, it works. Sit down. When I touch anything, it grows. Yes. Now let me tell you this, it is not enough to be blessed. You must have the consciousness. You must have the day the blessing— don't forget I told you that the content of the blessing is the substance of an heaven that is opened. The day that thing comes, you must be conscious. If somebody should look at you now and say this and release a curse, you start looking for who will revoke it, revoke it, because you can hear the word and it's ringing in your heart. That is the same way the blessing you carry must be ringing in your heart. One, I can't be stranded. Nothing dies in my hands. In this house, we have the Covenant of Ease. What needs to be done doesn't require struggle. Are you conscious of it? Huh? Are you conscious of it? I said, are you conscious of it? I'm asking, are you conscious of it? Now, this is what demarcates us from the world. Don't try to bridge the gap. We are different. When David looked at Goliath, he said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? As tall as he is, he's not under any covering. That's the covering of the Covenant. He's an uncircumcised guy, and a stone was enough. I'm covered. I'm wrapped in the Covenant of the Blessing. Oh yes, when I walk on the street, the Kingdom of God is on two legs. When I enter into a place small, because the Lord is with me, I prosper. When this ministry was still having barely 18 people— the messages are online, the services, they are still online, they are still online. Go back and hear. I was seeing the things we are seeing now. I've never come to church. I say, wow, we just so few. I see crowd. God said, I will give you a city in this city. I'm running with it. After Festival of Life, he said, you might want to consider your statement that you are a city in every city. How about a nation in every nation? When Mary was told that she's going to give birth to a child, the question she asked was, how shall these things be? There are things God said that it doesn't make sense to you because nothing is looking like it. Wondering, I say, God tells you that you that you are looking for rent by this time Next year you are buying houses. Say, ah, ah, ah, the strength of Israel has spoken. He said, I am the Lord God of all flesh. Is there anything to add? Let me tell you this, it is only in your realm that limitations exist, not in his realm. He is too big for hindrances. And let me tell you this, even your own belief can't stop you. Even your own belief can't stop you. That's the blessing. It is the blessing of an heaven— of a heaven that is consistently, what, open. I'm going to speak in higher terms. The blessing of Abraham is Eden. What did I call it? Eden. It's the blessing of the presence. Now turn your Bibles, the book of Deuteronomy chapter number 8. Let me begin to bring you into closeness. Are you there? Deuteronomy chapter number 8. We'll start the reading from verse 6. Deuteronomy chapter number 8 from verse 6. Look at what he says. He said, therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and to fear him. For the Lord thy God brings you into a good land. So he's saying that you didn't get that land by your strength. God brought you there. And let me tell you this, the ability to recognize God behind your effort is wisdom. I've taught you the balance. Paul plants, Apollo waters. None of them is enough. God gives the increase. Don't find subtle ways to delete God from your success. You might have to do it by yourself. Are you here? Hey, are you with me? I know you are smart, I know you are working hard. When the prophecy went to Abraham that by this time of life Sarah will be with a child, What did that mean? They are to get back to work, but who is giving it? God. But if you say your labor is what brought your result, how about those who are laboring and there's no result? Lift your hands, say, I acknowledge God. I acknowledge God behind all my success. I acknowledge God as the giver of success. Okay, now let me share a story with you. There was a man in the Bible. He sat down and he looked at his harvest and he said, ah, look at my harvest. I've worked so hard. Now my soul, relax and enjoy your own harvest. And he was saying many things about his result, and God was not in the equation. Then God said, I agree. If you believe I didn't give you all these things, I agree. Let me take the one I give you, and you enjoy the one you work for. And God took the one he gave him. Life. There are people who labor only for another person to eat it. Don't despise God. That won't be you. Ah, I said that won't be you. There was a king, a king stood on his chambers and said, look at this great Babylon. Which my hands have built. The Bible said, except the Lord builds the city, the laborer in vain that builds it. So look at Babylon. And maybe one angel must have asked, who speaks like this? Say, he's an animal. And the king became a vegetarian, compulsively, walking on his fours. He said, till sense came back to me, then he now began to sing praise. I recognize that the Lord who is the Most High is the one who set up kings and dethroned kings. Don't wait for a disaster for you to recognize God. Humble yourself. Are you here? It takes the highest level of pride to wake up in a day and not consult him. You must have prepared the day and you must have removed all obstacles from your ways. You must have seen the traps ahead and cleared them out. In all your ways acknowledge God. That's the protocol around the blessing. Lift your hand again. Lord, I acknowledge you. Lord, I acknowledge you. Some of you, they sing in church and you are like, ah, they've not sung my own song today. None of the song is your song, it is God's song. The song does not have to be sweet in your ears. Worship him, that's the commandment. Are you here? That, that that place of contriteness, that place of brokenness, that place of— you know, the place of acknowledgement is the place of stewardship. That there is nothing I have that I have not received. There's nothing they celebrate me for that I didn't receive. If there's anything that the Lord blessed about my life, it's because he gave me. He can withdraw it. God could have decided to make me as a cat, and now they would have been calling me a winch somewhere. Oh yes. Huh? What could God— what could he have decided to make you? Huh? A lamp. Oh yes. And you know, people don't have mercy when they want to slaughter ram like that. But that could have been any one of us. But in his mercy— the worst crime is for God to put you there and despise you. He told Saul, he said, when you were small in your own eyes, did I not make you a captain over my people? You will not lose your senses. You will not become arrogant. You will not become arrogant. You will not become arrogant. You will not become arrogant. Now look at this, that same Deuteronomy chapter 8 from verse 7 says, for the Lord your God bring you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths. That spring out of the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of fig trees, pomegranate, a land of oil olive and honey, a land where you will eat bread without scarcity. I didn't hear amen to that. And you will not lack anything in it, a land whose stones are iron, out of whose hill you may dig brass. Now verse 10 says, when you are eating and you are full, you should bless the Lord your God. For the good land which he what? Give you. He said, beware, beware that you forget not the Lord your God in not keeping his commandment and his judgment and his statutes which I command you this day. He said, lest when you have eaten and you are full and you have built godly houses and dwell therein, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied and your silver and gold is multiplied when all that you have is multiplied, that your heart becomes lifted up. With abundance comes the tendency for pride. That a man can be a better giver when he's broke. With plenty— now I'm telling you statistics now— with plenty comes the rationality not to give. With plenty— I'm telling you now. If God bless someone with ₦1,000, it can be very easy for him in a small state to say, Lord, I honor you with ₦200, because actually he's transacting. He has not seen giving as worship. Some won't give thanks. Won't praise. They calculate when praise and worship is over because they are people of the world. I just love the world. And you wonder why you hear it and it didn't become much. He said beware, be careful. There are demonic orchestrations that comes with abundance. That. That's when you feel like driving around town at night where some girls are standing and say, I just want to see them, I'm not carrying anyone. Then the following week, I just want to say hello. Then the following week, it's just one And before you know it, you have gone on a journey of no return. The things, the foolishness that are not possible in the days of poverty can be activated in the days of plenty. Beware that you don't forget the Lord your God. Beware, don't do Christ Sunday pastor more Christian. Be deep. Fear God, know him, seek him, acknowledge him. It is the blessing of God that makes rich. Yes, no sorrow. When we are seated in church, in God's house, we learn God's word, we become better, we go back to where we are coming from, we apply it, we are better parents, we are better spouses, we are better bosses, we are better employees. It is not foolishness. Be careful. The days you needed God desperately, Sunday was never a time you want to wash clothes. But now he has answered you, he has given you what you have always wanted. Now he has to start pursuing you, and you will act like you don't even know him. Sometimes the way we treat God is like a boy who is about to get into a relationship with a girl. He will call her in the morning, 'Hi princess, how you doing? Hey, how are you? It's so early in the morning.' 'Ah, I just want to hear your voice.' And he will call in the afternoon, 'Have you eaten today?' 'I said yeah.' You know, this is okay. I will send some dispatch guys to deliver some things. Then at night he's calling, 8:30. Are you back from work? Oh wow. So what are you doing now? Well, I'm just sitting, stretching my legs and all that. Oh, so that's good. Is there anything you want me to get for you? And he gets the girl, and she now— she's asking, when was the last time you said I love you? I say, uh, don't, don't you know I've been busy and things have been— sometimes you have shown God that you are better off left in the pursuing state, for his mercies endure forever. Sometimes that's the life. Some— there are people who may not rise beyond what they are because it has destroyed them. They will need to repent, then learn how to master their level. Some have not mastered their level. The level is shaking them, is rocking them. Somebody told me once, I said, I don't know whenever I have money I feel like marching on people. And he's a very honest person. I can't remember who told me again. I know it's years back. And I said, I know what that is. He said, what? I said, that's the spirit of lack. It's going to return you back to where you were picked from, because you'll understand that the greatest blessing is men. When God God gifts you, it gives you with men, men that money can't buy. You don't trample on people because you have— see, no we no man after the flesh. There are people that their season is ripe, it will take discernment to be a part of it. Master your level. If it's running you mad, you have not mastered it. You can't get insane with little. There are Christians who can't— they've not mastered 50 million. There's 50 million in their account, ah, they, they will be everywhere till that 50 million reduces to the level of their mentality. Oh yes, they'll be everywhere. They will go to supermarket and buy what they don't need. I say, hey, that my auntie in the village. Oh yeah, buy her that pot. Say it's non-stick pot. So let's— and, and the woman is cooking with firewood. Say non-stick pot. Auntie, it's me. I've said you non-stick pot. Till that thing reduces to his mentality, what his brain can handle, then it's good. When you see a man who— that poverty has mastered, he derives his essence from things. Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton. My people, they are watching me now in London. One time I said I want to buy nice suit designers. They said, let's go. Me, I know how to measure big things, but when you tell me the price, I say, hold on. So they took me to a store. Um, I never knew of that store, and the man said I should wear the suit. I mean, the way they were treating me, ah, the wise man say, ah, is it brother suit? I wore the suit. If I have picture with the suit, I said, guys, be snapping me, be snapping me. I wore the suit, it was, eh, it was like I was born with it. I said, I like this, I like, I'm taking this one, I'm taking this one. So I said, how much? And the man was punching something on the screen. I can't remember, I think he said either £8,000 That's about 16 million. I said, my— I changed from calling him brother. I said, my brother, my brother, does this suit come with air condition? Is it bulletproof? He said no. What is this? He said, this, that's the suit that they now— I now said, oh, I can't remember the name of the company. It was one designer. I say, is this what those guys wear? Please take it off me. Take it now, now, now. Take it off. I have people at home who need money. Take it off. As at the time I was pricing that suit, believe me honestly, I could afford it. That's the But it is not everything you can afford you buy. So when you buy that kind of suit and people didn't greet you, you'll be offended. Do you know what I'm wearing? I passed, you didn't greet me. I tried now. Usually you'll be forced to leave the label on it. Just leave it, leave it, leave it. Let them go and Google it. That's when the spirit of mammon wears a man. You, you do things not because they are needed, but for prestige. For prestige. Even things you don't need, for prestige. You see If you look bigger than your net worth, you have bad financial strategy. Are you with me? Actually, people should be shocked when they see your net worth because you don't look like it. Let me tell you something. If you feel you have suffered too much in life and now there's money, there is tendency to overcompensate. And that's where people miss it, that, um, do you know what I've suffered? In the days I was suffering, in the— no matter how you want to overcompensate, you can't sleep in two rooms at once. Eventually you'll be in the parsonage, sleep in two rooms, put your head here, leg one— that's suffering. There are things God puts in place to show you that you are not as rich as he How many liters of water can you drink? It's richer than you. You drink your own and stop, or else you die. How many bags of salt can you cook with? It's a pinch and you are done. The wealth in it is more than what you can ever have. How many plates of food can you eat? When we were on campus, there were some very wicked boys in my hostel. One time they went to buy a bag of rice and they don't share. They finished the bag of rice, 4 of them, I think 2 weeks. Yeah. Oh, you don't believe? Ah, when— and they cook it, talking about overcompensation now, in a way that When you say you want to eat, they don't tell you don't eat, but you won't come again. It's certain, except you were born in the prison, you won't come again. They cook the rice with only pepper, only, and they'll be sweating, water is coming out of their eyes, their nose, and they will stand up till they finish it and they will mount the plate like this. Two weeks' time, they are That's the way many are in the spirit. They are stranded again. Now hear me, and I'm going to tell you this once. The way God made us, we don't need too much to survive. What did I say? See, the essence of the blessing is that a man carries what others may not be able to labor into, so that you can be an expression of God's mercy to them. That's the essence, the mark, the character that backs the blessing. Is generosity. Is what? Generosity. That's the character. Why do people struggle with generosity? Number 1, overcompensation. Number 2, lack consciousness. Lack consciousness. You can have billions and be lack conscious. That is, your mindset is it will soon finish, it will soon finish, it will soon finish. You just say if you remove 10,000 from 1 million. Now what you have is now 190. What's your problem? Is it the million that is deceiving you? That's the mind people have. But the man who is blessed sees resources as the resources and God as the source. There are two different things. I use resources, I maintain the source. There are two different things. Are you here? Now let me say this prayer for you. In the name of Jesus, you will always have. Through you, God will eradicate poverty. Now sit down. I did my 7— we just came back from Sukkot. I was lodged somewhere. I needed to buy something, a towel, and they said to me that they didn't collect money. So somebody in the hotel, the cashier, paid. Said they want me to pray for them. So I called them, 3 young people. How much do you earn? Said 30,000. And you? 20,000. And you? 30,000. And you, you bought me this? Say yes, we bought something more, a frame for you. And this for me? So I said, I'm going to bless the three of you. So I said, how much have you— what's the highest amount of money they've ever gifted you? So I said, this is— so I said, take my ATM, transfer this, transfer this, transfer this. Then they broke down on the floor, were crying. One was shaking. I was afraid. Is it money? Come down. Should I reduce it? So I said, transfer that figure. Send it to them. I know they've left this. They can't receive that in a small farm. Then I saw the joy and the tears of relief. If I finish building the house, gone, I should not have this kind of satisfaction. This is more satisfying than that. Let God use you to wipe tears. Huh? Let God use to wipe away what? Tears. My, I love to see people lifted. There are people who try to take advantage of your generosity. Once they see that you are a generous person, as you drop the mic, they wait for you. No, no, don't do that. Don't block the road for others. Don't do that. But there are genuine needs. There are families that 100,000 naira will wipe away the tears of about 7 people, sir. The essence of the blessing is for us to be a blessing. That's the essence. That's the essence. When a man is tight-fisted, he doesn't understand covenant. He doesn't. Are you here? See, Let me say it in code. You will get to a point that they will have to remind you of the number of bank accounts you have. Now there are people seated here who are already at that point. Yes, they say, you know, you have money in UBA. Say, ah, really? How much is that? By that point, there should be people who are glad that you are alive. Be the light that brings someone out of darkness. Are you here? The essence of what God has given to us is kingdom. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is on— where? In heaven. So it means that if somebody say, I have not eaten for the Past 3 days I've not eaten. The will of God being done on earth is not receive power. That's not the will of God. The will of God is you've not eaten, come take food for this month, but what can you do? That's the will of God, that there should be none that will come to church and have to go back home without food in their belly. How many bags of rice has been shared this month? Eh, 300 bags. 300 bags. We have 200 to go. Are they in church? Huh? So bring them. I met some of our teenagers one of those days. I like to gist with them every time. That's my call. I still see them after the service. I saw two of them. Hey, what do you do? Say, I, I work in a mechanic shop. You, what do you say? I work in a mechanic shop. Do you have your WAEC result? Say yes. You, do you have? Ah, you are going back to school. Some of us have gone to the point that you don't— you will not even feel it. You send 10 people to school, you will not feel it. Consciously become generous. Is that okay? Consciously. God plants you in a local assembly, you see that there's a need Don't say, I don't just like the church, the musical equipment. When they say you can't hear well, if you can trace the problem, it's because you have the solution. The person who has not eaten is not hearing sound. That's the truth now. True, true. The reason why you can't trace because you are the what? So you just solve it. Let me go to a place where everything is ready. You, you are not ready. Many of us are get to the point that we are shorting our bowels of generosity. Let me wrap up with this scripture, Agai chapter number 1, and this is a very scary scripture. Let's start the reading from verse 5 as I close. Haggai 1 from verse 5. Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Ye have sown much and bring in little. Yeah, please let's make this our official scripture. Is that okay? New King James. You have sown much and bring in little. You eat and but you do not have enough. You drink but you are not filled with drinks. You clothe yourselves but no one is warm. Please go back. Okay, yeah, no, yeah, verse 6. And he who earns wages, earn wages to put in a bag with holes. Verse 7 now. Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Verse 8, go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord. Look at verse 9, you looked for much but indeed it came to little when you brought it home. I blew it away. Why? Says the Lord of hosts, because of my house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. I have a standard. Anything I can't use in my house— I love quality. Should not be used in the house of God, at whatever price it will cost me. All right, we should— when we stay in good houses, we should not be convenient with overlooking things in our local assembly. One of the signs that you love God is that you are generous. An average Nigerian is glad. They say there's no time, there's no time. All right, we are going to do a teaching, comprehensive one on that, but hear me first. Well, what they won't like to hear is that the demand for the New Testament is serious. It's all That— what does that mean? It means that we are only stewards of what we have received. That is, when you give me something, I acknowledge that God is entrusting me with it. It belongs to him. If it belongs to him, it dictates what I do with it. If you struggle, you struggle with giving, you have not known God. Once you know him, it becomes a life. Are you here? Comes in life. He said, in fact, look at this, um, go read this. Haggai 1:9 in King James, then Message. The Message is quite brutal. Haggai 1:9 in King James. Okay, say, you look for much and lo, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? See, lovers, because of mine house. That a waste, and ye run every man to his own house. Now read this in Message yourself. You have great ambitions for yourselves, but nothing has come of it. The little you have brought to my temple are blown away. There was nothing to it. And why? This is a message from God of the angel's army. Remember Because while you have run around caught up with taking care of your own house, my home is in ruins. Let me tell you something. When we were constructing this place, there are few people here who work with us behind the scene. I told from the engineer to the architect to all the leaders. It is against the custom of Sphere of Light Church to put people under pressure for money. Everything you see here is in hundreds of millions. Less than 5% came from this house. Fact. Less than. I said, God, I won't cry to men, do something. I remember the day we were finishing this place to use for service. They were saying, Apostle, we need to buy. I said, relax, all the money will be sent now. Kobo. Somebody just called me who is not a member of this church. Are you in church, Apostle? I said, I'm in church. I want to come and see your facility. Welcome, welcome. I said, want to support the facility with this $50,000. That's how we clear the things. And let me say this to you, if you keep living a life where whatever is happening in your local assembly doesn't concern you, God will have to empower another person to get the job done. Your local assembly is your spiritual family. You are not just beneficiaries of the world, you are a blessing too. Let anybody bring any videotape of me manipulating people for money. I say, ah, everyone will my life. If you give me, I will even find a way not to spend it, just for the clarity of my conscience. Are you with me here? But we must set our heart to become contrite, that we are passionate. They bring buses to bring students from school, um, Uni Abuja. Say, how much do you guys How many of you even know the way things run in church? Some of us just come and just enjoy the ambience and sit. Even offering, Abuja Christians struggle to give. Fact. I'm sorry, but it's the fact. I'm also not sorry because there are days who bring correction. Just struggle and say, eh. All of you, God has lifted you level 1, level 2, level 3. Some have not given offering in this church since they've joined, for months, not once. They always forget. It's not the mindset of the blessing. That beyond even giving in church, you are interested in your siblings in church. Just observe that. Ah, how come this person has been wearing just one shoe? And you know, there is a way to give people and you shame them. That's not the way you give. You package it nicely and just look at it and say, hey, I just got you this gift. And the person will go home. Your light has now shone before men. They will go and glorify your Father who is in heaven, and your Father will in turn give you glory also. That's the way it works. That's the way it works. That's the way it works. I was in Sokoto, I was correcting them. There was a time that Northern Christians were tired. One of those days it was raining, rain was coming from the roof. I said, ah, you are in a church that is leaking and your bedroom is not, and you are convenient. Is wrong. It's wrong. Listen, Abraham only saw those men passing. There was no label on their head that they were angels, but it was the culture of generosity that translated the promise into the blessing. Build the culture. Get up on your feet, everybody. Now let me say this to you, and if you have followed me on PPC, now you see me bring corrective teachings every now and then. And if you, if you feel Apostle has taught this thing this morning because he wants to collect my money. Keep it in your pocket. But if you sit down here and you say, ah, there's a need for me to repent and begin to truly live a life of honor, then lift your hands to heaven and say, Father, help me to honor you more. Help me to understand the protocol of the blessing. Help me to understand the pattern of the blessing. Help me to live the lifestyle of the blessing, that I will not— I will not be a Christian whose eyes of understanding is short. I will not be a Christian whose bowel of generosity and understanding of this core kingdom Principle is short. In Jesus' name we're praying. Now look at this. If you read the story of Cain and Abel, okay, number one, we understood that God accepted the offering of Abel because he first accepted Abel, okay? But if you look at the story, and I've taught this, is a teaching, is a series online You see that when Abel gave, there was description. When Cain gave, it was general. If you truly honor God, whenever you appear before him, be intentional and see your giving as an act of worship. That is, be intentional. Don't give God what is left. Make room for him in your heart. Anywhere the man's treasure is There his resources will go. Are you with me? Now I'm teaching you intentional Christian living. If I have taught you other things and you believe God sent me, if I teach you giving, know I'm talking to you from the Lord. Unfortunately, the Nigerian Christians deserve the predicament they have. You know why? They love things that gratify their lust. When they see messages that goes in the direction that is convenient for them. Oh, he's a man of God. But you teach them to give, mind them. That church, that's why I come for the first time. I also giving the man they talk. I also giving all the things I've been teaching since now. So giving in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Now listen, Jesus said, if these ones will not praise me. God will raise stones. There will be no need for anyone to replace you. I didn't hear that. Amen. Well, because that which God has called you for, you will do it. You will not lose your prophetic positioning. Now, if there's anyone who is seated here who wish to have to to give whenever there's room, but doesn't have— the Lord will open the windows of heaven for you. He will give you the fatness of the earth. The gospel will advance to your account. Now look up, everybody, and I, I tell you this simply. I'm gonna drop the mic one day. So we are going to stand before God, right? And it will no longer be about the kind of shoe I wore or the quality of suit. It will be about my stewardship, what I did with what God has given to me. It will not be about the quality of schools my children attended, but how faithful have I been in recognizing God as God. The Bible says that because they, they refuse to retain in retain him in their knowledge. He gave them over to a reprobate mind to do what is not convenient. Let's go back to being generous believers. Let me tell you something. This is what separates the Islamic world from Christianity. They are taught— they— you see a Billionaire malam will sit with 6 people eating from the same tray, but Christians, when they touch 100,000, they build fence. How can you win people who are ready to die? I told them, I'm going to be more frequent in the north because they need encouragement. They said people don't like to come here. Because they are afraid. I will come. November, we're in Kano. We are doing that meeting again on a larger scale. Christianity, that one day so Jesus will come. And I won't take anything to heaven. Naked have I come to this world, naked will I return. Understand what God has given you in context. You are blessed to be a blessing. If you are not a blessing, you are not blessed, period. That's the context. So from today, what is beyond just your mouth, you will receive and you will be able to distribute. Through your life, somebody will be existed. And somebody will be— sorry, through your life somebody will know that God exists. Through your life somebody will survive tribulations. Through your life the gospel will advance. Many souls will be saved because you are partnering with the gospel. It is done in Jesus' mighty name. God bless you. Many have asked, how do I give my life to Christ? I want to make it very, very simple and introduce you today to the person of Jesus. Paul, speaking in 1 Corinthians chapter number 15 from verse 1, said, I deliver unto you the gospel that you have received and also believed, and wherein you stand, how that Christ came and died for our sins according to scriptures, and he was buried according to scriptures, and he rose on the third day according to the scriptures. When he died, he died for our sins. When he was buried, he was buried, and the Bible said he went into the lower part of the earth and set the captives free. And when he rose on the third day, he rose for our justification. And now we are seated with Christ far above principalities and powers. It is believing in his sacrificial works and his resurrection that gets us saved. So you believe in your heart unto righteousness, and you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior unto salvation. The moment you do this, whether you feel it or not, according to scriptures, you have been saved. So today, if you are giving your life to Christ today and you want to give your life to Jesus and accept him as your Lord, I'd like to lead you to Christ. And that is exactly why I'm here this morning. You want to say these words after me. Lord Jesus, I believe that you came into this world to die for my sins. Lord Jesus, I believe that you died for my sins. I also believe that you arose on the third day for my justification. Today I confess you You as my Lord and my Savior, and I accept this gift of eternal life. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, if you have said that prayer, I can tell you for surely that there is so much joy in heaven right now. There's so, so much joy. You have made the right step, and I want to encourage you. There is a barcode on the screen. I'd like for you to scan that barcode so that you can be drafted to my discipleship platform where you can be trained in the rudiments of scriptures and you can be groomed so you can grow in the power of the salvation that you have received this morning. And I want to advise you that you keep watching Ambience TV. You can follow us on YouTube. Kindly go on your YouTube and search for Ambience TV. You can also get Ambience TV that you're watching right now, and you can also search for Femi Lazarus on YouTube. And keep following very edifying content that will help you grow in Christ. I look forward to seeing you again. God bless you.