Transcript: Growing Into Christ Part 1
Prepared from the audio, so small errors are possible.
Just like a soldier, going to battle, Garrett himself with every armor needed for battle and for winning. So believers must guard themselves with the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Join apostle Emmanuel as he teaches God's word to equip you for a victorious life on earth. This is believers equipped. On something that I have titled growing into Christ. And we're going to attempt... It's gonna be a series, really, and... Because we have a lot to unpack in this in this subject of this course. As God helps us. Because growth is not optional in the life of a believer in Christ Jesus.
Growth is not an advanced path for just serious Christians or pastors or leaders or just people in ministry alone. Growth is the expectation for every man who has truly received the life of Christ. That is what God expects for every man who has received his life, that they should grow. In the natural, anything that has life is expected to grow. When growth is absent, concern begins. If a child remains the same after year, year after year, year after year, everybody knows that something is wrong with that child because nobody celebrates stagnation as though it is normal. In the same way when a believer remains unchanged in understanding unchanged in character unchanged in appetite unchanged in consecration consecration, in discipline, unchanged in love, in purity, in his response to God, then something is wrong with him spiritually because life is meant to produce growth. And if if there is no change in the believer's life with respect to how he responds to God, how he responds to circumstances, if he's unchanged in love, in purity, in discipline, in his response to God and to situations around him, then it's obvious that he's not growing. That's why Peter says in first Peter chapter two and verse two, as newborn babies desire the sincere meek, the pure meek of the word of God that you may grow thereby. So notice that the assumption of scripture is that the one who has been born again must grow.
Because new birth is not your final testimony. It is a beginning of a process. The God who gave you life expects you to mature in the life that he has given to you. He expects your faith to mature. He expects your discernment to mature. He expects your obedience to mature. He expects your convictions to mature. He expects your prayer life to mature. Expect your understanding of scripture to mature. You expect your ability to resist temptation to mature.
You expect your ability to carry responsibility to mature. So growth is compulsory because the very nature of divine life is developmental. Grace does not make growth unnecessary. Grace does not make growth optional. Grace does not make growth something you can do without. Grace makes growth possible. So growth is compulsory because God's purpose for salvation is larger than escape. A lot of believers subconsciously treat Christianity like an emergency exit from destruction. We think that the reason why God brought the idea of salvation is so that the moment destruction of the old world is about to happen, you already have a guarantee of an escape. Because we paint it like...
The bible says in the latter days, perilous times shall come. And what that means is simply that the whole world will be judged and darkness will cover the whole earth. And the believer has a means of escape from this darkness, and the means of escape is salvation. And so we treat our Christian life as a preservative mechanism as though we are saying, just preserve the salvation you have received until you escape. In other words, try not to sin. Try not to do anything that will make you lose the salvation you have received until you escape. Do you understand point of salvation is also to escape hell. You know? Avoid hell, make heaven. But heaven's intention is deeper than that.
God is building songs. God is not just gathering converts. I have a teaching called Christians or converts. I believe that every believer should listen to that teaching. I really believe so. Every believer whom you love, whom you know, including yourself, should listen to that teaching. Or converts. I think it's a two part or a three part series that challenges nominal Christianity that makes you uncomfortable just being a convert, just being a born again believer without any kind of growth. That there is no difference between your life and that of an unbeliever because there has been no growth whatsoever. That's the case right now.
You can rarely tell the difference between a believer and an unbeliever. And when that is the case, it is because there's no growth. Growth in what's going mean is lying blurry between a Christian and a non Christian. Stay with me. Are you with me? Yes, sir. What God is raising is not just converts. God is raising sons. God is raising a people who can represent him, who can reveal him, who can partner with him in his agenda upon the earth. I told you on Sunday that you are extensions of God, extensions of the Christ, expressions Expressions of the Christ.
Do you remember this? Extensions of the Christ. Expressions of the Christ. It means we are meant to reveal Christ to the world, and representation requires growth. We cannot represent him well if we do not grow. It's not possible. A little baby is not a good representation of his father. It is true. He can't stand in for his father in a meeting. He can't stand in for his father in his office.
He can't stand in for his father anyways father's presence is required because he's still a child. Nobody would take him seriously. Do you understand what I'm saying? Apart from the fact that nobody is... Will take him seriously, he does not have the mental acumen to understand the complexities of the business world. And so he has to grow in understanding. That's the same way we misrepresent the Christ when we refuse to grow. It is in the same manner that we become ineffective ambassadors when we refuse to grow. When a believer does not grow, your life lacks the capacity to reflect the Christ in his full essence. Do you understand what I'm saying?
A spiritual infant cannot carry divine responsibility. And the reason is because of canality. A canal man cannot accurately review Christ. And when you are an infant spiritually, you are inevitably canal. You are a man ruled by your emotions. You are a man ruled by lust. You are a man ruled by pride. You are a man ruled by instability. You are a man ruled by self will. Unfortunately, man cannot be entrusted with the weight of kingdom purpose.
So growth is compulsory because destiny requires stature. Representing Christ requires maturity. And that is our assignment. That's our mandate to reveal Christ to the world. Expressions, envoys of his presence. We cannot do this effectively if we'd not grow, if we remain infant. And there are so many people whose life has not made any tangible progress growth wise. Their life have not made any sustainable progress growth wise since they became born again. What they struggle with is still what they struggle with. And it can get to a point where certain believers, we think it is normal.
It can get to a point where we now substitute growth for activities, and we are comfortable because we come to church. And you can even be so diligent in service, diligent in in spiritual activities. You can be the first person to get to church. You can be the first person to open the door of the church, to sweep the floor and to arrange the chairs, and everybody meets you there. You can be the first person to finish assignments you were given in church. When they announce in departments, let's listen to this method and transcribe it. You are the first person. You are a diligent practitioner, but you are not diligent in maturity. Because all of this does not equate growth. All of this.
Are you with me, brothers and sisters? Because you will still see that that believer can still have a serious problem with lust. A serious problem with pride. A serious problem with greed, instability, regulated by his emotions, but diligent in activity. You understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. Strong premonitions for lust, but diligent in activity. And if we do not understand the metrics of Christ for genuine spiritual stature, what would happen is that we would look at the wrong templates because we think that they are mature. And the reason why we think they are mature is because we see them as very active believers. Because we are...
We think that activity means maturity. So you look at the believer who is most present in church, who never misses service, who is most diligent, who does assignments the most, Maybe who is even most responsive? Who has the appearance of spirituality? Who has the most spiritual lingua in his mouth? You know, when he's speaking, he can... He's fast to quote scripture. You can't be in a conversation with him, and he will not say a word or two or quote the bible or perhaps he's even gifted. And when it's called to lead prayer, there's energy everywhere. Everywhere is shaking. And we misinterpret that for growth.
We misinterpret this for growth. So what happens when we misinterpret this for growth? We make these kinds of people leaders. We make them pastors. We make them mentors so that people now begin to look up to them because we have a misconstrued ideology of what maturity is. So when they see that, ah, this person is... Looks as though he's serious, it must mean that this person is mature. So they start running to the person and saying, please, I think I need you to help me help my spiritual life. What led them there is an appearance of maturity, an appearance of growth. And before you know, from help me, help me, help me, the man that they run to to help them is touching their bum bum.
And now the guy is saying, if pastors can shut up your mouth, if you too were mature, you would know who is mature and who is not. Can the blind lead the blind? When you, a blind man... A blind woman, was running to a blind man to lead you and both of you fell inside the ditch and you were blaming... You should... You first blame your decisions. First blame the fact that your eyes were not opened yourself. And the reason is because we have not understood the metrics of growth and maturity. I expected so much from you. Based on what?
Based on the fact that the woman can lead prayer. Ah, if they see that somebody did this, I wouldn't think it was you. Based on what? Exactly. It's not based on Jesus. It's not based on Jesus. Because activities is what we use to measure growth. Uh-uh. You with the way you pray. You with the way you you with the way you...
And if these things are there, we just assume. So for many people, their maturity is an assumed maturity. Even themselves have assumed that they are growing. Let me show you a scripture. Thank you, Lord Jesus. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Maybe let's start from verse one. It's gonna be a long read. We're going to verse six. This is a faithful saying, if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
So we're talking about leadership in church. Is that not so? Yes, And Paul is saying that if you desire to be a bishop, a desire to be a leader in church, your desire is noble. There's nothing wrong with that desire. A bishop then must be blameless. Husband of one wife, temperate, sober minded, of what? Hospitable, able to teach. Next verse. Not given to one. Not violent.
Not greedy for money. Gentle. Not querrelsome. Not covetous. One who rules his own house well. Having his children in submission with all reverence. Verse five, for if a man does not know how to rule his own... All those all those characteristics can be surmised in one word. I will show you later. If a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
Verse six is where we are going. Not a No not a No No peace. Lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. So what kind of believer do you put in a position of leadership and it becomes proud? What does the bible calls it? A child, a novice, an immature. Give me anything. One, two, three. Go. So who is a novice?
What is spectacular about a new believer? He is not mature. He has not grown. So the question is, how can you put somebody who has not matured? Now when you think a new believer, you will not be thinking somebody that gave his life to Christ yesterday. You will now enter scriptures and you'll find that Paul is telling some people, when you ought to have been teachers, you are still peeps. It means you can be 30 year old and be a new believer. This thing of being a new believer has nothing to do with when you became new. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir.
It has absolutely nothing to do with when you gave a life to Jesus. As a matter of fact, somebody who accepted Jesus last month could have moved in one month. Watch somebody who gave his life to Jesus ten years have not moved. There are still babes, Napios, he calls them, still wearing Napi when you ought to have been teachers. Come on now. You've been five years in Christ, and you cannot even walk. There's no sense of maturity on your inside. So don't you think he was talking about people that became born again last year or yesterday or two years ago? No. He's saying as long as there's no maturity in a man, he is not fit for leadership.
Show me again. One, two, three, go. Why? Might be on trial. Uh-huh. So have you helped him if you put him as a leader? What has happened is you have made him a prey to the devil. You've set him up. So even the believers who go and make a novice a leader by going to them and saying, ah, can you mentor me? Can you do this?
Can you do that? To people who themselves have not been trained, who themselves have not submitted to maturity and to growth. You are setting that individual up for the devil to cause him to fall. Is this making sense to you? Living the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ. Let us go on to perfection. That phrase, let us go on, reveals to us that heaven is not pleased with spiritual immobility. There are foundations, but you cannot live forever at foundational level. There are beginnings, but you cannot forever remain at the gate. There are the first principles, but you cannot spend your whole life repeating what should have become settled long ago.
God expects progress in your life. God expects movement in your life. God expects maturity in your life. Since when have you been dealing with the same pattern that has refused to break? Since when have you had the same behavioral crisis that you have accepted as a norm? Since when have you been struggling with that pride issue, with that lust issue? Don't you think it is time to move, to leave something behind? Because when have you been struggling with that intense carnality? That when people start knowing you personally, your life looks admirable on the outside until we start knowing you personally. And the more we move close to you, the more we realize that your life is a complete opposite of everything that Christ is.
But outside, you look glamorous. Outside, you look well. You look polished. You look good on the outside. Your life on the outside, your service to God, your gifting of the spirit, the way the You can't tell me this is what I admire from afar. The unbelievers are only pleasant when you know them from afar. The moment you come close, you would see everything that Christ is not. Everything that Christ is not. From the way they speak, the way they talk, everything. The way they joke even.
And you wonder what then is the assignment of the holy ghost. If you claim that you received the holy ghost in the day that you received, what is that holy ghost doing in your own life? Is it sitting down in one place? It's not moving. It's not burning. It's not copying the flesh. What is it doing? Where the man that needed to be carried can now stand on his own, can now even help others stand. Heaven expect advancement in your life. Since when have you been on the spot?
Since when have they been correcting you for the same thing? For the past three years now, when a single pressure comes, the first thing you will do is break down and cry. Are you not tired of that level? Can't you rise in maturity? You know, me like this, me, any small thing, I will just cry. And you think it's normal. At what point will you build stature in the spirit? At what point will you mature in the spirit? At what point will you grow? Ah, is it my own Achilles heel like this is women?
I have been sailing for four years now, six years now, seven years now. At what point will you grow? That hidden life you are living, at what point will you live it? Because when the light of the God's glory comes to shine, Every time you are hungry, it is always obvious that you are angry. You cannot control your mouth. Your words are always bitter words. You are as rude as can be. Grow. Your convictions are always shaken. Anybody can sway you to the left or to the right.
You compromise on your values so easily. There's no stronghold to your values. You can meet a man today who starts speaking to you one way, and then before you know, you are swaying off your feet. He already selling your destiny on your soul. For cheap talk. For cheap talk. Cheap talk, cheap communication, cheap conversation. There's no value that you have that is strongly held in your heart. Everything can be sold on the altar of compromise. Your values can be easily corroded.
At what point will you grow? At what point will you realize that you have been born again for quite some time? This thing should not remain. It's an abnormality. At one point, will somebody tell you that brother, brother, stop that thing. Also, you know, God is just helping us and has been helping you for the past eight years, seven years, seventeen years. Some of you were born believers. Some of you became born again when you were young. Shouldn't there be steps you'd have taken? Shouldn't there be things you would have dropped?
What then is your testimony? How do you meet an unbeliever and share with them a story of transformation? What will you say is transforming your life? God is compulsory because immaturity makes a man vulnerable. Ephesians four and verse 14, the bible says that we should no longer be children because who are toast to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness with deceitful plotting. It makes you vulnerable. A child is easily moved. A child is easily deceived. As a matter of fact, one of the one of the most important disadvantage of being a child is the ease at which you can be deceived. That's why children are easy to kidnap.
Somebody just comes to them, offer them sweet, and start acting like a good daddy, and they will follow the person. Easily deceived, easily sweet. I was watching a adaptation of a particular game that was an acceptance of a real life event. And when I went to go and study, I found out that it was a real life event that I was adapting that story. What was the event? The girl was playing in the field with his brother because their mother had sent them to go and get mushrooms. Then a man came when they were looking for mushrooms and offered to help them to look for mushrooms. And these two children started becoming excited as the man was helping them, lifting logs for them, and they would find mushrooms on their logs, getting logs because mommy wanted mushrooms. And when they were done, little child looked at the man and said, thank you for helping us with the mushroom. In fact, my mother will be so pleased that you helped us with mushrooms.
Follow us to our house. Let us show our mother the man that helped us with mushrooms. So they followed... The man followed them to their house. Upon getting to the house, the man killed the mother, the father, the brother, basically, in the family. It's one of the disadvantages of being a child. Easily deceived. You can put anything in his head and he will he will just fall. He will just be sweet. He will just be sweet.
That's what Paul is saying. We should no longer be children. We don't have a place to stay. We are unbalanced in our beliefs. Today, you hear something. Tomorrow, you hear another thing. You go on YouTube, you hear something. You go on Instagram, you hear another person standing in front of microphone. You see another one putting microphone on his table. As long as they they are are putting anything that resembles microphone in their mouth to speak, your mind is accepted anything that they say.
Anything that they say, your mind is accepted. So today, you're on this side. Tomorrow, you're on that side. You have no strong sense of value whatsoever. No strong sense of belief, strong sense of doctrine. A child is easily manipulated. That's another reason why it is easy for the devil to use very silly believers and ravenous beast beast and... You know that name follows kind of predators. To destroy the destinies of other young girls because they can be easily manipulated. And the reason they can be easily manipulated is because they are not maturing.
There's no growth in their lives. That thing is a testament of lack of growth. That is... You can just meet a man under the guise of anything. He wants to mentor me. He wants to lead me. He wants to guide me. He wants to show me how to get this, how to do that. And next thing you know, from mentor me, I started coming to her, you know, you look good. You know, you look nice.
I like the way your voice sounds. And the girl's heart too is getting sweet and sweet. And the girl is saying, okay. I wanna show you how to read a few things, how to maybe maybe create resumes, how to submit applications. So where can we meet? Okay. Let's meet in maybe mental one place. I don't know. I don't know that place. You know?
I I I don't... The way I am, I'm not an outside person. If you want me to really teach you well, come to come to my room and I will show you a few things. Ah, okay, sir. Thank you very much, sir. It's a privilege, sir. When you, that is... That's an immature person. Immature person. I mean, if they are not immature, they would have been idiots, but they are immature.
They can behave behave like fools because they are immature. And what that human being has done, he has discerned their immaturity, and he has preyed on it. That's what a predator is, a ravenous beast. Such people don't go after everybody. They pick their prey very carefully. Who is the most immature person I can find? Whose mind can I easily manipulate? Who is naive? Who's naive? Who can easily believe anything they are told?
Because they don't have a strong and solid foundation they are resting upon. Such people will never move close, people that are bold and portacious. They know that their money cannot sell there. People who have grown to some extent, who have solid fundings, a good sense of esteem based on how Christ sees them. They see themselves like that. Would not allow anything for many boy or for many girl. They will avoid those ones who can be easily prayed on. And first girl will now think as though, oh, I'm so special. This my mentor is revealing secrets to me. Such a privilege that I am knowing you.
I know not many people know you in this way. Easily distracted. Easily distracted. Easily manipulated. Not just in doctrinal, in emotions, in decision making, in life. An immature believer is unstable in convictions. Does not really know what she wants or what he wants. So today, he bonds for God. Tomorrow, he's cold. Today, he can say, my parents were angry with me.
I was angry with my parents, so I did not come to church. That's an immature believer. There's no other explanation to it. It's an immature believer. The question is how long will you remain there? An immature believer. Happiness in their life determines how hot or cold they will be. Events in their life that means how hot or cold they will be. I'm having exam tomorrow like this. I'm not coming to church.
One even said, I took a break from church until I'm done with my exams as an immature believer. As an immature believer. Because there is no stability in convictions. An usher can offend them and they refuse to come to church. They can be corrected and be angry and leave the church. Immature believers, there's no conviction as to why they are coming to church in the first instance. They don't have conviction on anything, Anything God. They can give when they have tithe, when they have excess. Pray when they have time because there's no conviction about prayer. So they only pray when they feel they should pray.
They can read the scriptures when it comes with their mind to read the scriptures. Maybe I'm supposed to come to church and speak a thing about a bible verse and revelation that is there or the advantage of studying scripture. And then the guy, hey, haven't read my bible in, like, three months old, opens his bible. And when he feels off it again, he leaves the bible because his life... There's no conviction on anything. Are you still with me? Yes, sir. Today, he makes bold declarations. Tomorrow is led by his appetite. Today is full of zeal.
Tomorrow is full of lust. Today sounds spiritual. Tomorrow, one offense like this will move in from his place. Such a life cannot stand the presence of destiny. So growth becomes compulsory because spiritual immaturity leaves a man open to deception, deception, to seduction, to confusion, to collapse. I was reading my bible today, and I found out that growth is also compulsory for a believer because your fruitfulness depends on it. I discovered... Let me tell you what I discovered. That that scripture that says be fruitful does not apply to every believer. As a matter of fact, every scripture that communicates that your life should bear some kind of fruit, I discovered that does not apply to every believer.
Are you with me? Yes, sir. Every scripture that has to do with your life bearing some kind of fruit doesn't apply to every believer. In fact, let me put it this way. I discovered that not every believer's life can bear fruit. Now this looks like an statement. It looks like a controversial statement. Is that not so? Yes, sir. Until you realize that fruits don't grow as seeds.
They grow on trees. And when you become born again, it is when you grow that your life can mature to bear fruits. That's the reason why John chapter 15, Jesus Christ showed us the principle. It makes it very clear that abiding is the pathway to fruit bearing. So you would see, it says abide in me and I in you. Because the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. So what happens is that as you abide in Christ, you begin to grow into Christ. And as you begin to grow into Christ, your life begins to bear fruit. Because fruitfulness is not a matter of activity.
It is a matter of maturity. A tree does not bear fruit the the day it is planted. There's a season of rooting, a season of nourishment, a season of development, and their fruit begins to come forth as a sign of maturity. So most believers want very visible fruits whilst neglecting the growth that happens within. They want impact without depth. They want fruits. They want results without of of the of thing fruit is a product part of a the grown life, a product of a matured life. Real patience, real wisdom, real discernment, real purity, real influence, real spiritual authority, real consistency, real power in prayers, real usefulness to God, real ability to carry kingdom burdens and to advance the purposes of God, they flow from growth. So growth is compulsory because without growth, true fruitfulness will remain shallow. It will remain inconsistent.
It will remain absent in your life as a believer. There are dimensions of God that only mature men can handle. First Corinthians chapter three shows Paul speaking to believers who were in Christ. Yet they call them canal. And he said they could feed them only with milk and not with solid food. This means there are things that belong to you. They are your inheritance in God that you might never be able to carry. And it's not because God is wicked. It's because your present state cannot sustain those things. Are you with me?
Yes, sir. There are revelations that demand maturity. There are mantles that demand maturity. There are levels of access that demand maturity. There are relationships that demand maturity. There are realms of influence that demand maturity. There are financial dimensions even that demand maturity. There even battles that demand maturity. And when a man refuses growth, he's not only delaying his progress as a person, he's limiting what God can safely commit into his hands. So the Bible says, yet I fed you with milk and not with solid food.
For until now, you were not able to receive it. Even now, are still not able. There are realms of revelations that you cannot receive without maturity. Remember what Jesus said that I have many things to share with you, but you cannot bear them now. I remember a particular fellowship I went to preach many years ago. And as I got there, I intended to teach them matters concerning the kingdom. And when I just saw how they were looking at me, it was obvious that they were not mature people. It was obvious they could not bear solid food. I said, can we begin to teach these ones? No.
They will not be blessed. So we hope on John chapter three and verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave... I'm serious. That was how we ended the service, teaching John three sixteen. And they thought I was joking. And I told the fellowship coordinator, I said your people are not mature. You haven't trained them well. You're angry with me, but it is the truth. The office I represent would not permit me to ignore the state that people are in. I'm beginning to assume that they are in a place where revelation cannot bless them.
So a lot of the things that I would share would be based on the the face and the level at which the people are. So when you meet a true apostle who is teaching babes, there's a tendency to think he is not deep. Until you see the same person teaching mature believers, and you'll be shocked at the depth of his spirit. Because when you are trained as a believer, as a minister of the gospel, you cannot just divulge information or revelation for the sake of the revelation. No. What you are sharing has to be able to bless the people you are sharing it to. That means there are times you must come down their level, having realized that milk is where they are. And dish out milk. And it is counterproductive to you as a believer because it means that you will never mature. If you don't mature, it means that you will never grow to that point where God can trust you with responsibilities.
Where God can entrust you with burdens of his heart. Glory to God. This is perhaps one of the most painful truth that many believers don't understand. We pray for open doors, but we resist the growth that prepares us for those doors. We ask God for greater influence, but we don't want greater discipline. We ask God for elevation, but we reject correction. And we think that there is wisdom in this. We are asking for power, and we are rejecting the pruning of the spirit. It doesn't work like that. We can't be asking God for more whilst we are being careless about the process that makes the most safe in our hands.
God is too wise to answer some prayers at the level of your current immaturity. There are things that his love for you will not release until your growth has happened, and it is because he loves you. So growth is compulsory because it is preparation for preservation. God grows you so that what he gives you will not destroy you. He matures you so that you are prepared to handle responsibility and even the blessings as well. So the question I want to ask some believers is, how long do you want to remain at that spot where to preserve you? God will not give you what heart desires. That is in your destiny that you know should be yours. For it's unsafe in your hands because it can destroy you now. So out of love, we keep it out of your hands.
Like a child that you so much love, but you will not give him a car. Despite the car is his inheritance because everything his father had has been signed to his name. But you love him so much that you will not entrust him a car until he grows because you know that a car can kill him. So it's out of love that you would tell him no despite the fact that that thing you are telling him no for is his own. Do you understand what I'm saying? It means there are people that God will not open the doors of nations to them because he cannot entrust them with nations. Think about it. If at the level that you are in, lust has so destroyed your life that no woman can get close to you without you exhibiting your ful desires on them. What if you have more money? What if you have so much money that you can be in different countries at every week?
You'll be tasting different flesh. Jesus. How does a Brazilian woman taste? You don't know when the thing will arise in your soul. A brunette. I want to see one. How does... One with blue eyes, blue eyes, blue eyes. And now you have the means to make the visions come to pass. You can find one and send the person message.
So where are you? He said, oh, I'm in Casablanca. He said, I will pay your flight tickets. Come and meet me where I am. You have the means to awaken depth of the flesh. And God says no. Putting power in your hand will kill you. We can't... We can't... Let's protect this one.
We love him too much. So doors that are yours will be temporarily shut. Was it not god who told the people of Israel that the kingdom land was theirs? Was it not the same god who said he refused to take them through the shorter route because he knows that the moment they get there and they see battle, they will run away from what is their inheritance. So that same God took them through the longer route out of his love and mercy. How long do you want to remain on that route? That's the question I have for a believer. How long do you want to remain there? Don't do that to your destiny. Don't do that to your destiny.
Some of you, it's important that you get to where you are going fast. It's not just important that you get there. It's important that you get there fast. It is in God's mercy that he wants to give you speed. It's are. Are. How that was listing his benefits because his mercy endures forever. And you can... If I were to write it, I also had the... Who gives us speed for his mercies endures forever?
Who elongates our journey for his mercies endures forever? God is not in a rush. He's not in a rush. Sometimes he will check the state of your heart. You ministered in the front of 300 people and pride overtook your soul. He, in the day that you now stand in front of 500,000 at the experience, and your name is what they are chanting. I... Minister grace. Minister grace. No longer Jesus oh.
He's minister grace. Everybody brings out their phone like this. Is worshiping. All they have want is like, minister is in my front. And you'll see a whole show of crowd in front of you. And you will see like that foolish king said, my soul find rest. But now find out why some parts are intentionally elongated So that open doors will not become your undoing. Open doors not become your undoing. What is money that God cannot give us? Think about it.
Let's move fast. Fast. In the day that you get important for why you have to mature fast, you will stop playing with certain things in your life. You will stop giving excuses. You realize that excuse, you can't... I would always say that you cannot make both. You can either make excuses or make progress, but you can never make both. Many of you don't know how important God takes making, the making of a man seriously. Growth is important because the world is waiting for the manifestations of Christ through mature sons. Romans chapter eight verse 19, the bible says for the next expectation of creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
Creation is not waiting for believers. No easy believers at that. Creation is not waiting for religious performers. Creation is waiting for songs. Men and women in whom the life of Christ has matured enough to bring light into darkness. Not that we throw you into darkness and there's no difference between you that we throw inside and the darkness itself. Not that the light that is in you is so faint that darkness can overshadow it so easily. A corps member went to Kano and he was sharing his experience with me. What was Northern States? We were in a gangster of men of God and he was speaking.
He said in the school where he was sent, like this. Secondary school student, SST girls, will come to their room and knock on the copper's lodge. And when he opens, there was a uncle, make a show tonight. SS three student. Man of God. Mean, there is no accountability structure. No. No. Your mother is not there. Your father is not there.
Nobody is looking at you. Just hold one, pull out. He said one time, he was looking at the lady. I forgot what he said he was looking at the lady for. To correct something about her dressing, and the lady misinterpreted what he was doing as a seductive or an intention to sleep with her. The SS three students came by herself and said, uncle, this thing wey you they see so. Now only pack of Indomio. In other words, just give me a pack of Hindomi and take what you want. Just... However way you want to explore, explore.
Explore. So when the price of your destiny is a pack of Hindomi, will you fall on that day? You don't understand what we are saying here. Especially in the North. We have for 200 naira. Students, girls, and you can be preserved before you go and travel or go for NYSE because you have brothers and sisters around your life who keep watch over your soul, and I'll get there very soon. But if you're not growing yourself, in the day that the king asks a question and in the day that the king tells you, whoever does not bow will be thrown into the furnace of fire. That day, Daniel will not be there. You might have been promoted because the king knew the God of Daniel. Because when you were the king.
King. King the was was them nor their god. King. So if they are remained small and they have not built their own conviction on the god that they know and they only depended on the god of Daniel, don't worry. As long as we have Daniel, we are safe. Because that's somebody's mentality. Apostle is there. Apostle. Apostle. Apostle.
Apostle is there. And it's good because apostle is truly there. In the day that the king said, bow before this statue or be thrown into the furnace. Those three men said we will not bow. Hey. How dare you say such a thing that you will not bow? What gives you that much confidence that you will not bow? They said we know that our God is able to save us. And don't you think that our division do not abound is solely based on the understanding of the fact that we know he's able to save us? No.
We are not loving him nor knowing him nor compromising on values for the benefits even if it does not save us. Our conviction is more than the benefit we get from him. Even if he does not bless me, I'm still a believer. You know what that means? I will not sell my conviction for anything because I know God can get me out of this mess even if he doesn't get me out. I still will not sell my conviction for anything except for the fact that the price they had to pay was their own lives. And they were looking at the furnace of fire. The king said, are you sure? He said, I'm sure. Raise the furnace.
And they increased the intensity of the furnace such that the flame coming out of the fire could kill a man even before he gets to the fire. And the men still insist they will not bow. When they were pushing them into the fire, the people that were pushing them in, fire roasted them before they even go to the fire. Guess what? When the three of them stood inside the fire, Daniel was not there, but the fire could not burn them. The king who threw them said, hey. Hey. Hey. Ah. Ah.
I see one. Yeah. He first asked, do you want to throw three men into the fire? I said, With two, three men in the fire. But I see a fourth man. In the fire. He's holding my hands. Is victory. Abednego so much knew God that the God that they knew could plant a revelation of himself in the heart of a bigger king because of three men. When they brought them out of the fire, the king now said, there is none other than the God of Shadrach, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
The time that life will ask you, who is your God? The king said there is no other god that can deliver like this. He did not see the god of Daniel. He said there is no other god that can deliver like this. It means when he came to the god of Daniel, they said, this one is wisdom. No other god is as wise as this. But this one has decided to show god, the same god, but a different dimension of that god they have pressed into. That they now so much know. They came out of the fire unburnt, unscathed. The Bible says that not the strand of their hair was burnt.
The Bible bible says says that that they they were were not not even even smelling smelling roasted. Roasted. And it wasn't because Daniel was there. In the day that life tells you bow and there's no Daniel there, will you stand? That's my question to you. Will you stand? In the day that it is easy for you to compromise, that the easiest thing to do is to compromise, and there's no Daniel there. Pastor Isner is not there. Pastor Eli is not Let me say this. When a believer refuses growth, it's not only his spiritual life that suffers.
Suffers. It's not only his personal life that suffers. Other people suffer as well. Because families will suffer when a father does not grow. Families Families will will suffer suffer when when a a mother mother does does not not grow. Grow. As a matter of fact, many of the victimization you see in families today is because you have immature fathers, immature mothers. So you see why Paul was careful to He said that if you desire to be a bishop, it's a noble thing. But understand that you must be able to rule above your own family. You cannot rule your own house.
How can you rule the church of god? It then goes in context to see a new believer must not be given a leadership position. So, it means can not the one who do it. It. Who one also is the one that cannot submit to his own husband. These things are a reflection of immaturity. Because when Christ grows in you and you grow into Christ, that's not even gotten into my teaching. I've only shown you the danger of not growing. We've not gotten yet into the teaching. Is it serious?
When you grow into Christ, the character of Christ becomes your default. You won't argue submission. You won't argue. The character of Christ will be a default nature to you. You won't argue certain things will not look strange in your ears. It will be your default to give. The Bible says that for God so loved the world, not that he sang songs of love, Not that he wrote poems of love. That he gave. You would now realize that when the bible says, the love of God has been shared about our heart. If that love that so loved the world gave his only begotten son was shared abroad in your heart, how do you think it is difficult for you to give?
That's not grown. That's not grown. Because to grow in Christ is to grow in love. And you cannot grow in love and walk in offense at the same time. You find two people in relationships, and they are fighting for three days, fighting for four days. And marriages break and shatter because of things. And you wonder where is the place... You could tell that these are just immature believers. You are telling the husband forgive, and the old man is saying, hey. Can't you hear what he did?
Do you know what the world did? Do you know what you did? Yet the bible says why we were yet sinners. That's to grow into Christ, to grow into the character of Christ. And because we are immature believers, what do we have? Immature politicians. People that get into power and they're only concerned about their own self. How to siphon money. Touches suffer when workers don't grow. Touches suffer.
That's why you continue to hear scandal upon scandal because people are not growing. That's why you will see five people have become pregnant inside the church. And the person that you pregnant then is also inside the church because people are not growing. Society suffer and believers remain infants. Ministries suffer when leaders don't grow. There are people that should have found counsel through your growth, but they are still stranded because you are still childish. There are people you cannot bless because you are not growing. There are people you cannot bless because you are not maturing. God cannot send you on errands because you are not growing. Your life cannot bless people.
You can't make impact because you are not growing. There are people who should have found healing through your maturity, but they are still wounded because you are still unstable. Your words can wound them. Your actions can wound them. Your own regulated emotions can ruin them. Your inconsistent spiritual life can ruin them. Whereas your life is meant to preach a message to people. But today, they are not sure if you are okay. Tomorrow, you are on fire. Tomorrow, you are smiling.
Tomorrow, you are... So much is stability. And in the day that God will send you to go and minister to someone, that's one of your low days, and I'm just feeling low. There are time that should have advanced through your consecration, but they are still delayed because you are still wrestling with things you should have outgrown. You have to understand that growth is compulsory because Christ deserves to be fully expressed in the man that he died for. If he died for you, it should be seen through you. If he died for you, it should be expressed through you. It's not in none that Jesus rescued you from darkness. If after many years, your life still gives little expression to his nature. It's not enough that you claim his name while your appetite still reflects the old man that he died and crucified.
It's not enough that you still attend meetings, but your heart remains largely untouched by the holy spirit. Nothing has happened to your heart since you have been attending. Christ did not die to improve your image. He died to reproduce his life in you. He didn't shed his blood so he can remain comfortable in spiritual infancy. He died so that through union with him, you would become a vessel through whom his character, through whom his beauty, through whom his truth, his power, his holiness can be seen. That's why he died. So growth is compulsory because anything less of a contradiction of the intention of redemption is contrary to his mandate. So hear this very clearly, brothers and sisters. God is not asking you whether you feel like growing.
He's calling you to growth. He's summoning you to growth. He's demanding it by mercy. Because every day that you remain spiritually stagnant, something is being postponed. Every day that you remain resistant to growth, something is being withheld. Every day you remain childish, something in destiny is vulnerable. So growth is compulsory because your life demands it. Your purpose demands it. Your destiny demands it. The agenda of Christ in you demands it.
The believer must grow. Not when it's convenient for him to grow. Not when all conditions are comfortable for him to grow. The believer must grow because that is the only way that Christ will be fully expressed and fully seen. So the Bible says in the book of Ephesians chapter four and verse 11 down to verse 13. And he of is And only we are the name of are the Jesus. Son of God until And we come until we come until we come to the knowledge of the son of God. That we will be mature in the Lord. Measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. The full and complete standard of Christ.
But if McGann did and said, I like their Christ, but I don't like the Christians. When you see an unbeliever speak like that, it is because he was surrounded by believers who could barely reflect the character of Christ. And the reason is because sometimes in the day you have influence, it's not the day that you will fall. Your fall is loudest when influence comes. The things you refuse to check now will eventually destroy your life no matter how easy you they are. The things you refuse to check now. The things you refuse to submit to the process of growth. And there are some of you that the holy ghost wants to help. He wants to help you. Stubborn.
Extremely. Extremely. That's the issue. Your heart is just extremely stubborn. Resistance to his help. Hear this saying, allow me. Allow me to break you. Allow me to help you. Allow me to break you. Allow me to break you.
And when he wants to help you, he starts leading you to be a helpless, but you are struggling. You don't want to go and share what you are dealing with with people that can help It's part of the stubbornness of the heart. You know that this thing this thing is destroying my life. And the holy ghost is coming, and they say, young ladies, go and speak out. Go and meet the pastor. Or you say not. I don't want to be embarrassed. And God says, listen, it can't work like this. You're either submitted to me or you are not. Do you care so much about your ego more than your destiny?
Would you sacrifice your destiny because of your ego? Which would you want to preserve? Destiny or ego? Stop joking with your life. Take this thing serious. Take it serious. So that shame does not eventually teach you. Have you not checked people of influence very well? What used to bring them down? Footballers, hackers, and actresses.
When they Moment the lady files a lawsuit, loses his brand deals, loses his football team, loses everything that he has spent years growing. Is that when you want to realize that you should have grown? Where the flesh takes over one day and you do what you should not have done, say what you should not have said in public. And say, hey. Who? Hey. And before you say, forgive me, maybe I will not forgive. They have spread it everywhere, circulated it everywhere. Don't let your heart be stubborn when the Holy Ghost reaches you. This is not all there is to the teaching.
I'm gonna be a lot practical in showing you how growth works. The systems that govern growth. And now a man submits himself to the process of growth. But today we end here. Today Ask God to help you. Come on. Ask God to help you. Ask your holy ghost to help you. Ask your holy ghost to help you. Ask God to help you.
Come on. I want to give you five minutes to pray. Just be sincere. Ask God this prayer to help you. For some of you, it will start showing you your... A true situations, true events, true characters. It will start taking you through processes and dealings that makes for growth. There are some people that cry is that I want to handle my responsibilities into your hands. You help... Tell him to help you.
Be sincere. Don't... You just I know that you are the one that can help. I have come to you to help me. When people know me, it is you that they should see. So when they know me, they they shouldn't be... They they become disgusted with Christianity because somebody became close to me. My life should spread glory. My life will be a reflection of your glory, of your power, of your influence. Will you help me?
Surrender all to you. I surrender I will not fail I will not fall down I will not disappoint my master Thank you for listening to this message. We trust you have been blessed. You can get more life transforming messages from apostle Emmanuel Boluatife on our Telegram page at DCN media channel. You can also stream the messages on Spotify, Ocho Mac, and Apple podcast. Connect with us via our social media platforms on Instagram at DCN underscore nations, on Facebook at disciples christian network, on X at dcm central and on TikTok at disciples christian network. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel at disciples television. If you have a testimony from this message, you can mail us at disciplecngmail dot com. God bless you.