Transcript: Living Beyond Yourself - A Life Larger Than You Part 2

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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 equip. That you break the bread that our eyes will open. Speak to each and every one of us. Communicate truth and communicate life to us. In the name of Jesus. Thank you because you've answered our prayers. In Jesus name, we have prayed.

Please be seated. God bless you. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to church this evening. God is making greatness out of you. I hope you know. Not too long from now, the story will be different. It will all make sense, Version. It will all make sense, Version. It will all come together, Harrison.

Personally, I say these things because I believe it. Please believe it. Please believe it. Matthew 21 verse 18 verse 19. You see, the time that you are giving to the word of God is not a waste. The time that you are giving to the making of your life, to the making of your destiny is not your waste. The time you commit to it, the time you ensure to practice, to listen again and again, to repractice, put it into application in your own life personally, that time is not a waste. Thank you, precious holy spirit. Matthew 21 from verse 18. The bible says, now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.

Please note, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he saw a fig tree by the road. Note again that he was hungry. And then he saw a fig tree by the road. He came to that fig tree and found nothing on that tree but leaves. And he said to it, having found just leaves on the tree, let no fruit grow on you ever again. And immediately, the fig tree withered away. Popular story. I'm sure that we know that story. I'm gonna pick up here as a continuation of what I began on Sunday.

So it's going to be the part two of my discussion with us on Sunday. Glory to God. That scripture that we read puzzles a lot of people because they think to themselves that why will Jesus see a fig tree and then cast the fig tree unprovoked. In fact, it becomes worse when you read the Mark's account of the story. Mark's account of the story in chapter 11 and verse 13 says that for it was not the season of the figs. And so you begin to wonder if it was not the season of the figs, why did Jesus curse the tree? Glory to God. Glory. Why would Jesus curse a tree? So at first glance, it almost looks unfair.

Until you understand something about fig trees, something about the biology of fig trees. But fig trees are unusual because when the leaves appear, early figs normally appear with them. So the appearance of leaves on figs is also the appearance of fruits on figs. Do you understand what I've just said? Yes, sir. So when figs bring out leaves, fruit also comes with them immediately. So what the leaves were doing was an advertisement. That's why I wanted you to pay attention to he was hungry. Because by displaying a full canopy of leaves from a distance, that tree was actively broadcasting broadcasting a message to everybody that was passing by who is hungry. And he was saying, listen, I possess enough internal resources to share.

I have exactly what you need to satisfy your hunger. Look at how many leaves are on me. That is exactly how many fruits are on me. It was an advertisement. It was saying, look over here. I'm a well of value. I have what it takes to satisfy your hunger. And when Jesus spotted that advertisement from afar, he approached the tree. So you see the issue was not just the absence of fruit. The issue was also false advertisement.

Because the tree had mastered the heart of appearance without usefulness. It knew how to appear as someone successful. It knew how to package itself and package its image. Stay with me. Now in the economy of the spirit, you have to understand what this means. The tree was alive. The tree had leaves on it, abundant of leaves. It was a canopy of leaves. And it was so obvious and so much that it was able to call the attention of Jesus. And not even only Jesus, anyone who was passing by at that point who was hungry, the tree could also call their attention.

Are you with me? Yes, sir. It was alive. It was flourishing. Now for it to be alive and for it to be flourishing and for it to have that much leaves on it, it tells you that it's actively drawing nutrients from the soil. Is that much so? It is absorbing water from the earth. It is soaking in the heat of the sun, ensuring photosynthesis. And it was incredibly successful as a consumer. It was incredibly successful receiving from the earth, receiving water, receiving nutrient, receiving from the sun.

And it was using 100% of all of those resources to exclusively decorate itself without producing any fruit for anybody to receive from it. That's the tragedy of the fig tree. It was an extremely decorated consumer. Every resources that he was getting from the earth, getting from the sun, he was spending it all on itself, on leaves, on looking beautiful, on appearance. And that appearance was calling people to itself. And when they came, they found that there was nothing beneficial to people on the tree. There was no fruit whatsoever on the tree. Are you with me? It spent all of its energy expanding its leaves to look beautiful, to look glamorous, to look prosperous, whilst producing absolutely zero fruit to feed the hunger of people, to feed the hunger of even Jesus. And Jesus cut that tree because it was perfectly healthy, perfectly vibrant, and perfectly comfortable being alive only for itself.

It means everything that that tree was doing was just for itself. Beautifying itself was just for itself. Eating from the earth, eating from the sun, but only to make itself more glamorous. Only to make itself more beautiful. Only to make itself have more abundant leaves. Are you with me? Yes, sir. So that you would understand exactly why this tree had to be caused. Because if it was left alone, it becomes a pattern. A pattern to show that it is okay to consume and to consume for yourself.

A pattern to show that it is okay to eat and to receive of others and to receive of others solely for yourself, and this would be hand thy kingdom. It would go against the very law of creation. It would go against the very law of the universe, and I showed you this in scripture last week, Sunday, that we don't live for ourselves. So this fig tree has gotten to the point where it was living for itself. It was living for itself. It was working for itself. It was receiving nutrients from the ground for itself. Laboring for itself. Tapping it from the sun for itself. All its life cycle was entirely for itself.

There was not a single fruit on it, yet it looks so glamorous from afar. Looked so beautiful from afar. And all that glamour, all that beauty was for itself. And Jesus said this pattern is against the law of creation. This pattern is against natural order. If you have been fed, you are fed to feed others. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Yeah. That is the principle in creation that nobody... We don't live for ourselves.

And this pitiable state is the spiritual condition of many believers today. We are breathing a generation of lift heavy Christians. You are an exceptionally gifted young person. You have the intellect. Intellect. You have the skills. You have the business acumen. You have the creative talent. Your life looks beautiful from a distance. Your social media profiles are well watered.

Your corporate profile is expanding, and you are wearing the leaves of modern luxury, corporate success. You look like an advertisement of the blessings of God. But when heaven steps closer to your life to check for fruit, what does it find? Nothing but leaves. You use all the favor of God, the intelligence he gave you, the sound mind that he gave you, a sound mind that he preserved for you, the open doors that he orchestrated across your life exclusively to decorate your own existence. You build a beautiful cage of comfort for yourself. And whilst you are doing all of these things and building comfort for yourself and making yourself look beautiful, your church is lacking resources for kingdom advancement. There are projects that cannot continue. There are destinies that should feed off your life that are empty. Territories that are around you that are slipping into deep occultic and moral darkness because you refuse to evangelize.

To you are not not able able do do disciple someone. God has opened a door for you, and you beautify yourself with the benefits of that door whilst refusing to create entropies for others as well. Forgetting that your life is meant to serve others. Forgetting that your life is meant to serve people. But when heaven comes close, we realize that through the door that was opened for you, you have built mansions for yourself. But we cannot find any life that has benefited from the fruit of your life. And now we are wondering what exactly is the purpose of the door that was opened? What exactly is the purpose of the opportunity you received? What exactly is the purpose of the life you are building? I called one of my dear daughters and called her to my place and rebuked her very sternly.

I'd recommended her for an opportunity, and she did well and got it. Finances took a massive turn around. Went from six into seven... Multiple seven figures. God started blessing her, and it became obvious that God was blessing her. It became obvious that God was helping her. Life was becoming beautiful. Leaves everywhere. The leaves were coming. The leaves were appearing.

Bountiful and glamorous. But when I came close, I could not find anybody who was benefiting from that tree? It's as though there are several people who are hungry, and they are moving close to the tree. This glamorous tree. And the more they move close, the more they find out that it is empty. How can you be here and you are not thinking of how to open doors for all that as well? I said, you are here because someone opened that door for you. You spent how many months walking in this place? Has it ever crossed your mind to open the same doors for others? Has it ever crossed your mind that the kingdom of God has to spread in this place?

Look at how much evil is in this place. Do you think that you alone can bear the cross of that evil? Don't you realize that the mandate of the kingdom is that we are many? That if one of us gets access into borders of power, our thought pattern becomes how does my brothers and sisters get here? Those who are qualified to serve, those who are qualified to lead. What doors can I open for people in this strata? Even men cannot keep on taking position that belong to the kingdom. How can I open doors for someone here? What can this person do? What can that person do?

Because it is to the benefit of the kingdom if we are plenty. And I can see nothing. You are only enjoying your life, only benefiting from what is happening. That's a crime. Jesus caused the tree for that. Do you understand what I'm pushing you there? Yes, sir. Jesus caused the tree for that. To one of my young men, as you step into the corridors of power and God is lifting you, when you hear that, gates are open because the more you step up, the more you would have access to information. And information makes the difference.

You see, that's what is called privileged information. The difference between the rich and the poor are not always much. It is information. Get that information. Information that are so scarce. So scarce. It can't fall inside the newspaper. For instance, there are reputable industries and companies that are always hiring every single now and then, but you would never see them post their hiring links on LinkedIn, on Indeed, and on all these platform that you see. Yet they are employing people. Yet they hiring.

Are There are provisions in government offices across all sectors that needs to be filled. Yet you would not see them on LinkedIn or Indeed saying, if the federal government is looking for this person, apply. Do you understand what I'm saying? It is privileged information. It is flying across close circles. And there are times when God will put some of you there. The consciousness becomes, if I'm here and I'm benefiting from this, I've become like the fig tree eating from the earth. If I'm eating from the earth, the law of the universe states that I cannot live for myself. Do you understand what I'm saying? There must be fruits on this tree.

Fruit so much anybody who is hungry can come and eat. And when people come and eat from that fruit, the law of the universe also states that they too must find a way to bless those who are hungry. Are you getting me now? This is how kingdom spreads. This is the way of the kingdom. It's the law of the kingdom. It's the law of kingdom living. If you're a business person, learn what I'm saying. Sir. This is not an talking about competent individuals, excellent individuals, people who are good at what they do.

Because there's a major a major case of incompetence in the church. I do not sponsor incompetence. I was speaking to a dear brother who was about to start a business, and he was employing. And when I heard what he was paying, I said, my goodness. This is outrageous. But there are people in church who can do this same thing. Why would you be paying this to somebody is not in the fold? And by the way, it was about to let the person go according to him because the person was not delivering well. And the opportunity was open for someone else. This is a huge amount of money.

There are people that can do this thing. Quality and competent people within the framework of the church. Who this position will benefit? He said, oh, sir, I actually make it open to everybody. I just noticed that three people in church applied for the same position, using the same portfolio, the same resume, the same... What again? Case studies, they only change their name. Same everything. Same design, same companies, same job description, same roles, same everything. The only thing that was different was the name.

Sarah, give me their names. Let me know who they are. Mention the name. They said, my goodness. Door should open for people. What level of incompetence and stupidity is this? Just what level of incompetence and stupidity is this? Just the mental work to position yourself as a responsible individual. Even that was too much a task for somebody praying for open door to do. So I'm not sponsoring incompetence.

I told young man instantly, those three people are automatically disqualified from whatever process of entry into your organization. Automatically disqualified. You can already tell what they will become in that company. That is not what you're looking for. But there are people in the kingdom. You understand what I'm saying now? Yes. Is true. Let your mind think kingdom first. Let your mind do what?

Kingdom first. Let your mind think kingdom first. Especially as God begins to lift you in business and in different circles of influence, let your mind think kingdom first. Move outside the bracket of the kingdom by all means if you cannot find someone competent enough to do the same thing within the auspices of the kingdom, then by all means, go to Babylon. And there's nothing wrong with that, by the way. There's nothing wrong with that. If we wanna build a church... Are you with me? And I have a vision in my mind of what I want to build, and I cannot find somebody in the kingdom with the required level of expertise, required level of intelligence and competence competence to keep that thing with a portfolio that shows that they can build it. You're not gonna come and build for me with faith.

What have you done before? We're not gonna give you a contract worth billions of naira just because you're a Christian. Do you understand what I'm saying? If the next person that can do it is an Arab guy, that's the person that built. He will come and build a church for us, and we'll call him Mohammed. Mohammed, how is the pulpit going? Do you understand what I'm saying? We don't mind. But I'm sure and I'm confident that there are competent individuals in the kingdom. Yes.

There are. There are. The Glory Dome is an edifice that today still is an amazement to a lot of people in the world. Nations travel to the Glory Dome just to behold the wonder of that building. Largest auditorium, largest indoor building in the world for now before how it's gone. Largest in the world. And nations from around the world come there to come and see. But the architects behind the entire project is not only a Nigerian. It's a spiritual son of the pastor. There are people in the kingdom who are good, who are competent, who are vision driven.

We can't be the only ones pushing. We can't be the only ones who know what we are doing. Are you with me? Yes. They're the tag on church people. And when you hear church people, what comes to your mind is incompetence. What comes to your mind is zero integrity. What comes to your mind is an episode of pain, especially for those who have had to employ them, work with them. It's always a cascade of one bad story to another. Let me advise you.

Don't make your experiences with these so called church people destroy your mentality as to the product in the kingdom. There are real competent people in this kingdom. I'm one of them. I mean, the market is not a matter of, yes, I'm not saying it so you can shout. It's just a fact. Do you understand what I'm saying? Sir. If you are a good believer, you will be a competent believer. Same way if you're a good believer, you'll be a good husband. You'll be a good wife.

The point is this. The point is this. The point is this. There are still competent believers. There are still competent believers. And as God lifts us, as God helps us, we must learn to allow people who are competent but has not been exposed to as much opportunities as we have to feed from the fruits that God has placed on us. It's one of the responsibilities. It's one of the ways that our lives feed others. And you must consider it a responsibility. You must consider it the kingdom mandate.

You must. Let me also encourage those who are incompetent. Don't destroy your lives. That's my encouragement to you. Don't destroy your life. That's all. Your incompetence only seeks to destroy your life. It goes against the prophecy you are walking. It's a self sabotage. When prayers are being made, prophecies are being spoken, and you are destroying your life.

I mean, the last manifest conference we had, people gave clothes to tailors in church. It was a painful thing for many workers who did that. There are many people in church who can sew. Unfortunately, none of them sew for me. Or perhaps fortunately, never can tell. Last time I tried that was when? 2019 or '20? I think 2021, I told someone who could sew to sew for me. And I give the person an amount of money to go buy materials and to just come up with anything and bring it to me. The first set of samples that he brought could not even enter my neck.

I I can't even tell whether it sized me or not because it would not enter my neck. Stopped at my head. And I'm wondering, did you not measure me? And he was looking as though, apostle, you have medicine. Are you not my pastor? Are you not my pastor? How can papa be angry? But it's a level of excellence that I am after. Level of excellence I'm after. My wife was pushing one of our sisters in church and says, oh, do you know if she sews nice clothes for men?

She said, okay. Let her sew nice clothes for me. And then we are given her a cloth to sew so that since she sews for men and sews for women, that becomes one of the first clothes that myself and my wife would have that would be uncle. So, yeah, let's give her the contract then. Go make it. And then she makes it. And whatever it is you call this thing, what's what's the name of this this thing? In in a in a native clothes. What did you call it? Embroidery.

Is that it? Atin. Yeah. Wait now. I've not even spoken. Calm down. I think went this way. I'm not I'm not kidding you. I'm not kidding you. Listen.

Listen. I'm not I'm not kidding. It went it went this way. And then I I asked, is... Was this the intention? Was this what you were trying to do? Now it would have been an amazing thing if she was... If she had said, oh, it's a mystic. You know, she came and she saw Almost as though I can't believe this. You mean I did this?

You see, I don't need to talk much, but then you just imagine I put on the cloth like that. Would you be proud if I told people that this thing I'm wearing now, you made it. You made it. Let that not be the tag associated with church people. You need to see people gave clothes to people, church members. During the last manifest conference, and it was a tale of tears. I mean, we were dancing on the pulpit in this place. Praising God. For the success of the manifest conference on Sunday. And I just came to church, arrived at church, and I saw about five, six people outside.

They're on Moffties in deep sorrow as as still there. Somebody had died or something. You could see all over their face, just deep sorrow implanted on their faces. One of them, their eyes were so red. I became particular about them. So I went there. Are are you okay? And while I was going there, the protecutor said... I said, no. Let's check on them.

Their cloth has not come. Oh. Oh. Okay. Alright. Alright. Just branched off, not even border. So that you don't now say because I'm supposed to have said it's your kingdom responsibility. You find somebody who is clearly incompetent, and then you say, I'm to have said we should... No.

No. No. No. No. No. I just told you that we would have some one without the pulpit is. So you don't think that I am use... I'm endorsing by any way incompetency. I am not. If somebody is incompetent, by all means, avoid them.

By all means, skip over. Is that okay? Yes. Yes. And what you do as an incompetent believer is that you close the doors for others. Because by the time I walk with you and you scar me with trauma, I would not want... I would close my heart to working with anybody in that circle. I just heard that, ah, sister, you make hair. Come and make my hair. And you make my hair and you turn my hair into something that is irreparable.

And by the time I'm looking at myself, I'm wondering, what is this? The truth is it is painful, but we are church brothers and sisters, and so there's a limit to how much we can be hungry. But we are hungry. You understand what I'm saying? I was speaking to one of the tailor that is appointed when they manifest conference, and she was offended at how people treated her because some of the people that she was wearing clothes, two days, three days before the conference, she had not even they tracked that down to our house, demanded for their materials, and they saw the materials done just left there, and they started shouting and took... Took their materials away trying to look for what I mean. And then had she some level of offense in her head. And she said, I didn't... I don't blame them. I don't blame them.

I said blame them. You blame them. If they point you, I blame them. Incompetence is the fastest way to sign up for poverty, especially when you make it a thing appreciated with your name and your brand. What you've done is that you have closed doors of men to yourself, and men are the ones who buy from you. That's not my teaching, by the way. Glory to God. So when God lifts us in different ways, we must remember again and again that our life is meant to feed others. Our life is meant to feed the kingdom. Listen to me.

Listen to me. Let your mentality about finances be this. My life first feeds the kingdom. Let me not go ahead of myself. I'm getting there in a moment. In the economy of the kingdom, appearance without contribution is an offense, is a capital offense. God causes any system that consumes his raw materials purely for self beautification. In Luke chapter five, you read from verse one to verse three. The bible says the crowds were pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. And he saw two boats standing by the lake.

The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Then in verse three or so, it says, then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. Look at the progression. Peter had fished all night with all his top tier professional skills. He caught absolutely nothing whilst he was fishing. At that point, his finances were grounded. But the moment his empty boat that he had used to fish all night and catch nothing was ir that. To We structural spiritual laws of the kingdom were activated instantly. It was after the boat served the kingdom that Jesus then said, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

And the result of that was an economic overflow that was so massive that their nets began to break and boats began to sink because they cut so much. Peter's boat did not overflow because he prayed for a financial miracle. His boat did not overflow because he prayed for a financial breakthrough. He entered into overflow because his boat became an altar of service in the house of God. The miracle you are fasting for is legally hidden inside the service that you are currently dodging and you might not know. Who would have told Peter that the labor all of the the God And And serve his kingdom and see what it does with it. Allow your primary source of business. Allow your business assets to serve his kingdom and see what it does with it. A young guy listening to me right now who is constantly complaining about stagnation in your career, stagnation in your business, and you're wondering why is it that your nets are empty, fight all the hard work that you put into it. Could it be?

And the reason is because your boat is closed to the master's use. Could it be that it is because your boat is closed for the master's purpose? So you want that financial net breaking miracle, but your time, which is your business asset, your skills, which is the business asset in this case. Your office space, for instance, your resources are strictly reserved for your own comfort. And if the master has need of it, it would inconvenience you to let it go. It will inconvenience you to give it to him. And so if you were Peter and God said, give me your boat, you would have been too consumed with what you were using that boat to do at that point. Even though it was getting you no result. Even though it was getting you nothing. You know there there are are people like that.

They are both right now is their time, and they are spending their time on their so called business, on their so called career, on their so called plans, and they are getting nothing from it. It is obvious. And this thing is obviously bringing them nothing. And Jesus is demanding for the same time. And he says, use that thing for me. The same resources, the same money, the same business asset. And it's difficult for you to use it for the master's use or to give it out for the master's use. You cannot use your professional skills to build the kingdom. You cannot use your car to drive souls to church. You cannot use your influence to open doors to the gospel.

You are like a tree. The fig tree that has leaves on it, but no fruit at all. And the end of that tree is a curse. One of the young men who got a car in this church, I was passing by after church, and I saw him inside the car. It was... Immediately, was a believer's equipping with my belief, and I saw him went out of the meeting immediately, didn't wait for it. Nobody just entered, and I was going. And I saw as well packed. That means for him to be packed, it means that packed at the junction of the road. It means that he left the church before me, and he was sitting down about to cross out of the road, and I saw him house empty, and I had to wind down.

It was what? It was raining. Yeah. I remember. It was raining. And I had to wind down. I said, wind down that glass. You wind down as well. I shouted it from my car. What stupidity is this?

You see people leaving church. Is it because they don't have cars yet? This is a fig tree. How will God bless you and you cannot think of using that car for the service of the kingdom? Pick five or six people who are going to the same place you are going and tell them, let me drop you. You will run off and you are the first person to leave. That's selfish. Do you understand what I'm saying? Borders around the conference of wickedness, I told him. Can God bless you with a vehicle and does not come to your mind?

Let me help people that are going to the same place I'm going. Let me drop somebody by that side. Let me drop somebody by that side. You just go in, poof, zoom out. That's an appearance of success. It's the fig tree with leaves. And when you come by, there's no fruit. I called the young guy. I told him, I said, we've had workers meeting in this church where we finished late in the night. And I just thought to myself that we've gotten buses to carry people home, but it's just too late and the buses are not coming as fast as I would want them to come.

I would tell someone, take my car. Drive people to... The hostels to their houses. Bring it back immediately. Then drive other people as well. Go and drop those going to UCH. Go and drop those going to these places while I would wait somewhere there for all that to be done. Because if God has blessed us in any sense, and there are people who are yet to come into the fullness of the experience we now have, we have a responsibility to the kingdom on behalf of such men. Because even Jesus can be hungry. Yeah.

And the fact that somebody is hungry and they need fruit from you does not make them know Jesus. So that you don't look down on someone that needs your help today because of some kind of lifting that God has given to you. Do you understand what I'm saying? Even Jesus can be hungry, and he can look to a fig tree for fruits and not find it. I want this thing to sink deep into you so that as when God lifts you, it will not be difficult for you to come here despite you are the MD of one bank, CEO of one company, and you come, your driver drives you or you drive yourself, and you come and pack, and we'll go for evangelism, and you are with us on the street holding a banner like this. And somebody who just came to apply for job in your company last week sees you on the road, joins the evangelism because he wants to talk to you. Collects a banner from someone and starts jumping to say, hello, sir. How are you doing, sir? I was in your business. That has first preached a message to that young man.

If this person can be here so that you don't feel... It doesn't look like a weird thing. So that you don't think the reason why we are excited about Jesus and we go for rallies and preach the gospel to people on the roads is because we are young. Mm-mm. The humility that you have has nothing to do with your age. It must be that it does not matter a man of God put it this way. The higher you go, the lower your news must bow. It has nothing to do with our age. It has everything to do with the posture of our heart. It is for the service of people.

During the program we were having for freshers, those people who had cars amongst us, I told them, get your cars to the gate. Help people. We are living for the service of people. Help people who need transportation. Help them to their hostels. Help their parents. People who would otherwise not have transport. And we met so many people there like that who needed to be helped in one way or the other. And they came out. You wouldn't think yourself as anything.

Listen. If we were having freedom awakening three years from now, and you now have a business that now has five branches in Nigeria, seven in Ghana, six in South Africa, and we are having further awakening. I will still tell you, take your car and stand by the gate, and you will stand with all your branches outside like this, helping people carry their cars. Make sure you understand what I'm saying. And it goes deep into your spirit. Says, we do not live for ourselves. We do not live for ourselves. If we call evangelism, on no account should anybody feel too big to come. On no account should a member of this church feel as though it's an inconvenience to your time or no account? Because when Jesus requests for your boat, it should mean nothing that you give it to him.

Like I said, the net breaking miracle you are waiting for can just be behind the service you are avoiding. It can just be behind the service you are avoiding. Imagine for a moment if Peter had rejected Jesus' offer because he was looking for fish. And he told Jesus, I'm sorry. I can't give you this boat right now. We need to go and fetch fish. We have checked out. This time of the day is perfect for fishing. So we are... I'm sorry.

I'm going. When I come back, if you are still here, I can give you my boat. And Jesus finds somebody else. He says, would Peter had heaven know that allowing Jesus to climb on his boat to preach could lead to an harvest of fishes that his entire fishing career had not gotten in? Don't play smart with God. Don't do that. Don't do that. Are you with me? Yes, sir. You're holding on to your life.

Keeping your life old so it does not break. Just in case God demands of it. Reminds me of that boy, that little boy that had five loaves and two fishes. In John chapter six, you remember him? Yes, sir. I can imagine that boy leaving home that morning. Telling his parent that he's going for Jesus' crusade. And they said, okay, no problem. You will not be hungry. Take this food.

And they probably even gave him more than that. And he had eaten on the first day, eaten on the second day, and this was not the third day. And what was left for the third day and the journey back to his house was five loaves and two fishes. Sufficient only for him to consume, sufficient only for him to eat, and this was just inside his lunchbox. If that boy had clutched that lunchbox to his chest to protect his personal comfort and say, it's my home. It's my home. It's my home. It would have eaten it. It would have walked on full, but it would have remained small. The miracle of uncountable multiplication did not happen whilst the bread was clutched to a boy's chest.

The overflow of 12 baskets only appeared after the bread was broken, after the bread was distributed to serve the hunger of a desperate multitude. That tells you that the boy had to release it. The boy had to let it go. He could have clutched to it. It would have served him. It would have made him full, but he remembers that we don't live for ourselves. There are five the that not not only that only not thousand men without counting the women and children. It didn't make any sense. But the boy still released it. Who taught that boy that?

Jesus. But Jesus needs your lunchbox. My question is, if they that Jesus needs your lunchbox, would you give him? Not to feed himself. There are 5,000 men without counting women and children who are hungry. We don't live for ourselves. Do you understand what I'm saying here? Who are hungry. Stop trying to keep your life intact. Stop protecting your comfort with so much desperation.

You are protecting your weekend. You are protecting your bank account. You are protecting convenience from the demands of God. The dimension of territorial backing that you are crying for is legally locked inside the breaking of the bread. Yet you are clutching to the bread. As though the bread will save your life. Until you allow your life to be broken as an author of service to others, you will remain a beautifully decorated leaf every fig tree with no fruit on it. Only vibrant on the outside, structurally empty to the core. I hate that life. Do you know that a fruit tree, it doesn't eat of its own fruit.

Are you aware? Yes, sir. Think about that for a moment. That a fruit tree does not eat of its own fruit. The fruit on the tree is not for the tree itself. The mango tree does not eat mango. The banana tree does not eat banana. The fruit exists only for others. That means fruit fulness is outward by nature. That means you don't bear fruit for yourself by nature.

That is why selfish people struggle to become truly fruitful in the kingdom. Because if you think only for yourself, you have already compromised your level of fruitfulness. So when the bible says be fruitful, it is not a command that a selfish man can bear. It's not a command that a selfish man, a self absorbed man can actualize. Be fruitful. It's for those who have realized that the fruit that they bear is not for themselves. Are you with me? Because fruitfulness was designed by God to serve beyond self. The fig tree absorbs water from the ground, absorbs nutrients from the soil, it absorbs is is The the of The word resources. Word But everything The emanates is in their life.

Nothing flowed outward. Nothing becomes fruit. And the frightening thing about that is this, you can become so used to leaves that you mistake them for fruit. Visibility is fruit. Business is not fruit. Are you with me? A person can become more known and less useful. A person can have social media fame, and they would think that social media fame is fruit. But rather, it's leaves. It's just glamour he's building for himself.

It's just fame he's building for himself. You can have 100,000 followers on Facebook and on TikTok, and you are of no kingdom ready mass whatsoever. Yet you are a believer. Your life has so much glamour but there's no fruit on it. Because there's no life that your influence has impacted. And the influence too is of no benefit to the kingdom. You have only built a stronghold for yourself. Truth is not being preached. The method of the kingdom is not known. The value system of the kingdom is not known.

No service to the house of God using the platform that God has given to you. Are you with me? Yes, sir. So a person can become more known and less fruitful, more influential and less fruitful. That's the danger of a generation that is obsessed with image because people now spend more time looking fruitful than becoming fruitful. We know how to curate perception. We know how to look intelligent, how to look spiritual, how to look deep, how to look successful, successful, how to look relevant. But everyone is not moved by leaves. Everyone is not moved by appearance. Everyone is only moved by fruit.

And fruit does not serve self. Fruit the And people that in in announcing, always moving, always in one place or the other, are doing this one, doing that one, doing this one, busy with this, busy with that. And they are thinking in all of that, there is fruitfulness. But all they've done is built glamour around themselves because everything that they are pushing for is only for themselves. There's no purpose attached to it. By the time you ask a young man, why are doing all this you are doing? He will tell you, so that I can add to my CV. I can add it to my resume. I can add it to my disc. Yet, he's denying you of everything that God will ask you to do.

You don't even know what is priority again. God or the things you are pursuing. There's this song we used to sing when we're young. It goes like this. Jesus is the sweetest teen. You know it? Sir. I wanna sing it together. One last time, let's sing it together. Is this because one of the easiest ways to waste your life is to become obsessed with appearance over contribution.

Appearance over contribution. I have nothing against people who desire political positions. In fact, I encourage it. I really encourage it. But the question is, how does it serve the kingdom? Because if you cannot tell me how it serves the kingdom, I discourage it. It's an absolute waste of time. Waste of pursuit. Waste of everything. How does it serve the kingdom?

How does it serve the purposes of God? How does it serve the agenda of God? Except your own flesh. That's the problem with politics in Nigeria, it is. Because everybody is in it for themselves. Everybody is in it for their stomach and for their belly. The bible speaks of those whose god is their belly. And there are many believers like that right now whose god is their belly. Everything that they pursue, they pursue for their belly. To know how it better serves them is for their comfort.

Everything that they do. And I think one of the most dangerous mindsets that a believer can carry is the mindset of just enough. That's the other extreme of this. At first, that just enough mentality sounds humble. It sounds safe. It sounds content. But when you study deeply, you find that it's the most dangerous mentality a believer can hold. You know, I don't need much. I just want a simple life. As long as I can survive, I'm okay.

I don't really care much about wealth. Just have enough for yourself and your family. Just be comfortable. Just be okay. And on the surface, it can even sound spiritual. Don't let me have too much money. Just enough for myself and my family. It can sound pious. It can sound spiritual, especially in a world full of greed, full of material obsession. But even in that mindset can be very dangerous with understanding about the subject of kingdom economics.

Because many believers think humility means remaining small. They think that when you desire increase, you automatically mean that you are greedy or you are. They think that wanting abundance is on spiritual. I'm talking about money in church and wealth in church is on spiritual. So they think that the safest way to live life is with as as little as possible. Minimal responsibility, minimal greatness, minimal success, minimal reach in influence, minimal reach in affluence, this is their fault. But when you study scripture carefully, you begin to realize that God consistently increases men who carry responsibility beyond who who the increases is them. The issue in the kingdom is not just the abundance in itself. The issue is what the abundance serves, And I've taught you this. Matthew 25 and verse 14 to verse 15.

The bible says, for the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a fat country who called his own servant and delivered his goods to them. And to one, he gave five talents. And to another two and to another one. Not this. The talent did not belong to the servants. The talents belong to the master. The servants were only stewards. The servants were not owners. Because one of the greatest errors of this generation is this ownership mentality. My money, my career, my future, my life, my guilt.

Who told you it is your own? Because it is that mentality that make us feel as though we can do whatever we want with our lives, And we can make whatever we want with our lives because we think that our life is ours. And it's a wrong mentality. It's a wrong doctrine. Are you with me? Yes, sir. The kingdom sees differently. Everything that you have is stewardship. Your intelligence is stewardship. Your influence is stewardship.

Your opportunity is stewardship. Even if you have a platform, it is stewardship. Your money, your finances is stewardship. Everything that you have, you are a steward of. There is nothing that is yours that is yours. Please believe this. Let this thing... These are changes in mentality a believer must have. My money is not mine. My body is not mine.

My life is not mine. My life is in your hands. I have peace. I have joy, and I have hope. My life is in your hands. I have peace, I have joy, and I have hope. My life is says, says, the silver and the gold are his. There is nothing that you own in this earth that is yours. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Everything on the earth belongs to God.

That means if you own anything on the earth, it is God's. Including you, you are God's. The mentality shift therefore becomes I am but a steward. There is nothing that I have that I have. I am but a steward. It means I will give account to the one that gave me. I will give account to the one that gave me breath. How I spend that breath. How I use the life he gave me. I will give account to the one that gave me money.

How I use the money he gave me. I will give account to the one that gave me land. I will use the land he gave me. Are you with me? I will give account because I will give account how I use the intelligence he gave me. Did I use that intelligence to dupe orders? As smart as I was, what I could use my intelligence for is how to dupe people. I could be hardworking. I could create a business. I could solve the problem of God.

I could do a thousand things. But what I use my intelligence for is too short. Sporty bet and narrow bet. And predict matches and games course. Because I'm smart. I can see patterns and read the lines. We will stand before the great white throne and we'll give account. We will give account of everything that he gave us and how it is used. Sister, you will give account of how you use your body. You don't know.

You will give account, brother, of how you use your life. I think it is sobering to realize this, that we will all give account because there is nothing that is yours that is yours. And in the same way that the master gave on to this servant's talents, every single one of us have been given life, have been given talents. Life that we will give account for because the master came back and he asked for an account. In that same way, we will stand before the bread white throne. Brother, listen to me. Live your life being conscious of this. It is called living with the consciousness of eternity in view. We will give account to. We will.

Of every single kobo and of every single naira, we will give account. So by the time you say, my money. Think twice before you say that. Think twice. Think twice. Because your life is not meant to serve yourself. If I've been able to help you to realize this today, then in the successful meeting. You can't live your life in service to yourself. Yourself is too small. Yourself is too small.

It's too small compared to the infinite resources that God has placed on your inside. And the only person you want to bless with that resource is yourself. Don't you realize that no tree eats of its own fruit? You are but a steward. Now, you know the story. The servants multiplied what they had been given doing business with it. But the guy who had one talent did not. Then Jesus begins to reveal the real problem with the guy with one talent. In verse 18, the bible says, but he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his lord's money. Not that he he did not waste his Lord's money.

He did not lose his Lord's money. He didn't spend it recklessly. He preserved it. His sin was not wastefulness. Is it a sin to preserve? Is it a sin to keep? Does this look like a sin? When you think about it carefully, he went and hid his Lord's money. Are you with me? Yes, sir.

In fact, he could even argue in a court of law that he was preserving what he was given. Thank you, precious and the spirit. Thank you. Pressure to the spirit. The last guy was not that he preserved money. Are you with me? Sir. Wasn't wastefulness rather. It wasn't even the preservation. It was the preservation without multiplication.

Because in the kingdom, preservation without multiplication is rebellion. I think that there is a deception that is killing the financial destiny of many unbelievers, especially in this generation. And the painful thing is that it hides itself under what sounds spiritual. So you have people who say things like, I'm not really interested in having too much money like that. I don't need to be so rich. No. As long as I can survive, as long as I can pay my rent or buy a house or get a good car, eat good food, sell my car, take care of my family, I'm okay. And when you hear people say this, everybody claps for them as though what they are saying is a language of humility. And no, that's not humility. It's just smallness.

It is selfishness even. What we call humility is selfishness. Because what you're really saying is, as long as my own life is comfortable, every other problem in the world is not my concern. That is what you're saying. And that is as selfish as it gets, especially with respect to we don't live for ourselves. The moment you realize that we don't live for ourselves, that mentality immediately shatters in you. Are you with me? Yes, sir. What you're saying is as long as I can survive, I don't care whether kingdom projects are abandoned because there is no money. I don't care whether missionaries are stranded on the mission fields.

I don't care whether brilliant young people around me are wasting away because nobody can sponsor them. I don't care whether there is joblessness in in my generation. I don't care whether there is corruption around me. I don't care whether souls are perishing in territories where the gospel has not yet reached or not. I don't really care. As long as I'm comfortable, as long as I live in a good house, as long as I'm able to pay my fees, I know all these things are not really my business. God wants to get this, wants to get that. What's my concern with all of that? I mean. I mean.

And then when you now wonder why everyone cannot trust you with wealth. You now wonder why God cannot bless you beyond a certain level where you would only ever remain inside the confine of emergency breakthroughs and emergency miracles. You will never really step into that portal of abundant wealth. What you will keep on recycling in your life is just my bill was almost, you know, I was going to be embarrassed because my bill was not paid. And then God showed up for me. Oh, we are about to do wedding. I don't really have money. I don't really have this. I don't really have that. I'm trusting God.

Oh, apostle, you won't believe what happened. Just at the nick of time, God showed up for me. In fact, I was going to be ashamed. My... I called my parents. I called everybody. Nobody was really showing up. But then, I was just praying and trusting God. God showed up for me. And your life will just be a cycle of financial victories and miracles.

And as long as it remains like that, you'll be comfortable. You'll be okay. And the reason why believers remain like that is because there is smallness in their thinking, selfishness in their subconscious, and they don't know that they are self absorbed, especially with respect to their finances. Please stay with me. That thing will last longer than I can survive. I don't care what happens around me. Listen carefully. God does not release abundance merely because somebody needs it. If you really think about what I've just said, it will humble you. It will humble you.

That the fact that you need it is not why God releases abundance to you. Think about it for a minute. If prosperity was based on needs, do you agree with me that everybody will be rich already? Do you know how many people need something? Do you know how many people need something? Till today, people are still messaging me for school fees related things. Messaging pastors. Oh, pastor, my school fees has not been paid. Oh, this and that and that and that. Do you know how many people need something?

Somebody have the surgery. We've not been able to find the money for it. I need to go to the hospital. I don't have the money for it. I don't have money for food stuff. I can't buy food stuff. Do you know how many people need something? Do you know how many believer are in that category who are serving Jesus and crying to God everyday? If prosperity was based on needs, everybody would be rich. Uncomfortable truth we have to tell ourselves.

Are you with me? Yes, sir. There are people with desperate needs everywhere. Kingdom wealth doesn't flow in the direction of just what you need alone. Kingdom wealth flows in the direction of responsibility. Heaven entrusts resources to people whose hearts are larger than themselves. These are the people that heaven entrust resources to. People whose hearts have become larger than themselves. Please believe what I'm teaching you. Please do.

Please really do. Don't just hear what I'm saying. Believe it. Get the teaching of these two series and listen to it until you believe it. You need to break this mentality in your heart. There are many things I've said that needs to be how you think by default. And it will not be like that just because you heard me say it now. You need to relisten and listen again. Plant it into your subconscious. Incline Incline your ears.

Give attention to it until that's the way you think, until you cannot help yourself. Are you getting this number to you? Yes, sir. Sir. People have needs everywhere. Don't you leave your Christianity on a need based level where you love with God only based on your needs, where your prayer requests are are only based on your needs, thinking that you can manipulate God through your needs or through the fact that you need something to stretch out the heavens hands and open the windows of abundance to you. That's not how it works. I wish it were so, but it's not so. That's why some people pray for increase for years, but remain financially small because that is not how everyone answers their prayer of financial increase. Their entire life revolves around themselves, themselves, and this one is not even around themselves in that around them...

Their their comfort. Are you with me? Yes, sir. It's not around themselves that they won't even look glamorous. It's not around themselves that they want to look beautiful, especially their prayers. Their heart with respect to God is revolving around their needs. Legitimate needs. Bees that need to be paid. Hunger that needs to be sorted. Clothes that need to be worn.

Are you with me? But I'm telling you that even that is selfishness, and that is not what makes God release abundance to you. If your heart fights You know why I pity you? Because you will be here for a long time. Eventually, your eyes will open to say I was not lying. God has to do something to your heart inside your need that makes you see life beyond yourself despite you are in need. And you are ready for prosperity. If this does not happen to you, you will keep on cycling from one need to the other. One will be met, another one will appear. Do you understand what I'm saying?

The same way you had to pray and whine and beg and message several people before the last one came is how you would get this one again, then the next one again, then next one again. And then it becomes a cycle because nobody breaks out of poverty like that. The need based Christianity will keep you in a state of need. That mentality is dangerous. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Because it's only show that your life is still revolving around your self, around you. Your prayers are too tiny. Your vision is too narrow. You are thinking survival is the only thing your eyes can see.

Everything is me and myself, me and what must happen, me and my need. And so when apostle is teaching things like this, what comes to their mind is I've not even it's for God. Listen, if you keep on thinking like that, you will remain like that. That's why I said, hear this thing until something breaks in you. Because if you'd keep on thinking like that, need based Christianity, and I show you, we do kingdom word summit for instance. And teach you in kingdom word summit how to grow wealth and become wealthy. And I teach you there that you've got to sell solutions. And I teach you the wisdom of selling solutions or you get my teaching on this. And as you listen to it, you say, people have problems and solutions must be sold and translated into wealth. And people will always exchange resources for value.

And if you can solve those problems, they will reward you for it. Okay. I've noticed that people don't have something... You wanna start selling selling something based on what you have heard. Is that not so? If you go and apply what you have heard from a need based Christianity, you still will not prosper. And the reason is because your vision will be too tiny to do the business in a way that should make you prosper. You will do the business in a way to suit your urgent need. So everything that come from the business will still go and solve your problem. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Yes, sir. You will still not come to wealth. At best, you would now begin to bearably survive. At best, at least now I don't have to beg for food again. At best, I cannot experience some kind of profit even if it's 50 k, 100 k, 200 k, 300 k in profit. Every... I can now at best. But that's not the wealth God is bringing your way. That's not the abundance God is bringing your way. At best, I told one of my go and expand what she's doing and go and get a shop for what she's doing, for the skill that she has.

Meanwhile, noticed this thinking of smallness, this need driven Christianity. So I've been teaching about it in meetings, and she's been there. So I told her, go and get a shot. She told me about it too. She went and started asking about it. According to her, she was acting in faith. I was trusting God for money. She was the same person who had come to me some time ago to come and tell me of how she had accepted an investment somebody made into our business to get, I think, 20% in returns plus capital. Okay? So how much is this investment?

20,000 naira. How much exactly is the profit you would get that would make you return that money? Maybe based Christianity don't make you think. Because what she was thinking about is what that money can do to me now. Because at the time that money was coming, it was like a breakthrough because I had no money now. Do you understand what I'm saying? That's the problem with this thing. So even if you approach any kind of teaching on breaking out, on wealth, on this, with this mentality, you will still not prosper. And, of course, I knew what would happen. It happened exactly as I knew.

She was in a lot of depth. You would have rather just remain where you were. Than had depths to it. You understand when she came to me, she said, so I'm supposed to. I've been looking for shops, and where I really want to get a shop, so sad. So I now found a place. It is beside those people that sell Accra in Agbu. So I'll just... I'll I'll be sharing their tents, and I'll be using their tents. The only thing is that my customer might not really like it, but I think I can start with that.

So I'll just be sharing the tents with them, and I'll be done. It is visible. Everybody will see me and all of that. So you wanna start this business when you didn't get a shop. What came to your mind is to pitch a tent beside somebody selling a car. Alright. I wouldn't think anything much to eat if you were selling to. You know, young man stew? If you were selling that, wouldn't... Probably to be okay.

But then you're an hairdresser. And I tell you get a shop and you... Out. And, you know, I just sit down and listen to these amazing young people. How can that look smart in your head when you were coming to tell me? You... How did it look intelligent? Even whilst you were telling me, how were you smiling? Nothing interrupted your thought process to say, did you really think about that? That's the thing we need.

Need. That's the thing we need. Oh god. That's why you listen to this thing so that you don't only see yourself again. Let it break. If it breaks, your approach to everything would change. It will. It will. It will. Don't be afraid of, hey, if I lose my You safe.

You are safe. You are safe. Safe. You're are safe. There's no fear. There's no fear. Don't be afraid to lose control. Don't be afraid to think beyond yourself and seek kingdom and seek God. A man of God was sharing how that big man of God now, when God told him to start the church, he used to be a fellowship president, and he was the AUCSF president at at some time. I'm talking about many years ago now, about fifteen years ago in UI.

So he was popular, maybe more than fifteen years ago even. Popular in UI, and then when he was starting the church, God told him to go to Lagos, and some people... I think about three people also. I can't remember how many he called. I gathered around him, and he told them that we are starting a church in Lagos. And he announced it, shared it on all his platforms, and thought that because of his popularity, people will come. So he told them, he said, go and get it. I think we should have 50 people to start. So he said, go and get a venue, and they went to looking for venue. Then he said the venue they found was 10,000 naira that could sit 50 people.

That's many years ago. So he said, they looked for 10,000 naira and they could not find. But then he had a staring in his spirit. At, let's get this thing. So he told them, he said, go and tell the owner of the venue that we will pay after the meeting. Because he thought to himself that if 50 people call. We should be able to... Ah, we should be able to. They did the meeting. First problem was when it was not even up to 15 people that came.

The second problem was when they came to come and their offering is 820 naira. Then he said they were about to share the grace when they came to court. They already given them the instruction knowing that you have to pay something. So when they came to come and whispered to him after they sharing the grace, he saw the owner of the venue standing outside. Then he said, no. We cannot share the grace now. Let us pray again. Then he made another prayer for, like, 29, and he still saw him. The man now stopped standing. He said, don't worry.

Now I went to go and grab a chair and sat down at the entrance. Even if you do one hour of prayer, at least you will eventually finish. I will be waiting for you here. So he had to close the meeting. And upon closing the meeting, he saw the man there. He said, as more money come, no, it's 820 naira. He said, Then he was doing everything just to elongate the time and elongate the time. When the time was elongated and there was no more, he said, hurry, boy. Listen. He was approaching the man.

And as he was approaching the man, a young lady that had known him from UI entered the door and ran to me. Said, the meeting has finished. He said, the meeting has finished. He said, ah, nailed it. He forgot to even press. He just went. His steps changed. Everything changed. Approached the man. Gave the money, counted it.

It was 10,000 naira. The man said, how come? Because I knew that you did not have money. So he put his hand in his pocket. That's how he works in our kingdom. But of a truth, the man now is a big man of God, powerful man of God. Everywhere. Of a truth that works. But if it... If you were thinking of yourself, you wouldn't even try that enough to experience that kind of a hand.

Because you'll be playing it safe. It takes somebody who has lost control to do something like that. That's somebody who wants to be caught by the river because you have no idea where the thing will come from. Believe I was just telling you, this is how we are moving. And you are moving there like a fool. Those you are gathered are looking at you and saying, hey, guys. But there is no one moving you. If living room. Not You're not not Christianity need driven. Look at Luke chapter 12.

The bible speaks about the rich man whose ground brought forth plenty. And suddenly, there was overflow everywhere. When you watch the conversation of that man, the bible says he began to speak within himself. What shall I do with all these crops? And immediately his mind went into bigger bands and more storage and more comfort and more ease. When you read the account, what you find them saying is my crops, my bands, my goods, my soul. The language is that of my and my and my and my. Everything terminated on himself. The man saw abundance and interpreted it as permission to live softly. You know, soft life.

He thought that the increase that he is now witnessing was an invitation to escape responsibility. And everyone answered him with just one word. He's a fool. You are a fool. You are not a fool because you are rich. God called him a fool. Not for being wealthy. He called him a fool because his wealth had no kingdom direction. Everything ended with him. There are people today who are asking God for billions.

But if heaven examines your heart, all he sees inside your heart are just more expensive versions of selfishness, bigger houses, bigger vacations, bigger comfort, bigger ego. No burden for territories. No burden for the kingdom. No burden for souls. No burden for systems. No burden beyond yourself. Beyond what your soul can make for yourself. Beyond how you can make yourself more comforting. You see, your initial exposure to any kind of wealth is never to make yourself uncomfortable. Please learn this thing.

There's a huge change of mentality in this teaching. God releases any kind of lifting that brings you any kind of income. It's not to make your self first comfortable. No. That's not it. Can't receive some amount of money and how you are thinking is, how do I get the better this? How do I get a good this? How do I get a good that? As though you want to plan a revenge on poverty. And say, ah, for for all the years I have done this, let me now get it.

No. Let your first thoughts be for the kingdom. Let your first thoughts be for the kingdom. Let your first thought be for God and his kingdom. Let your first thought be the house of God. Let your first thought be to bless people. Let your first thought be how can I? That should be your first thought. That should be your first thought. Whenever I knew any amount of money enters my hand, the question my wife asked me is, so how much is left?

Because you can never imagine that I have... That's how much I have. How how much is left? Because my first... The first thing we must always think about is kingdom. How does this address the kingdom? How does this affect the kingdom? I was just in a senior secondary school then. I think it was... No.

I was in a levels then. 2,014 or 13. And I was doing my advanced level course. And then I'd gone for a particular event. And he had paid me the biggest amount of money I've ever received then. So I carried everything to a particular pastor of mine who at a particular point in my life, I went to his church. So I used to know him then. So I went there and I gave everything to him because I felt led in my spirit to do that. It was in six digits then. And I saw as a man started weeping in my presence.

I was a teenager, by the way. As the man started weeping in my presence, tears just came out of his eyes, strained on his eyes like this. You know what he said? He said, he had come out of his church that particular day, looked around the church, and said, is this how we close this church? This is how we close this church. And he mentioned to me the mount thing of needs in his life. Because he has his children, I think. As of then. The person who had sold the Jordan land to them, they they won't finish paying it. So the man had told him that if they cannot pay, he's gonna come return what they paid and chase them out of the land.

And he just came outside and said, is this how this whole thing collapses? And he said, this is what God... If you really sent me and just show me a sign. And a teenager was a sign that God gave to him that he was sent. With tears screaming down his eyes, he held me, he held my shoulders. He said there is no point in life where you will get to ministry, where you will feel our hope is lost. He said at any point of need, God will raise a thousand men for your sake. With tears streaming his eyes, streaming down his eyes. Then I didn't put much importance on it because I was just... I didn't give it much meaning.

I didn't give it much thought. I let the police I had forgotten about the entire day, just jump on the bike, and I was moving. It means you have to understand that the people that God entrusts with unnatural resources are people that are carrying unusual burdens for his kingdom. That's where I want you to get to. That's where I want you to be. I was listening to a particular man of God, has the largest church in Uganda. And he was speaking in South Africa. He said that he said that he does not understand the kind of Christianity he sees in South Africa. Because when you come to his church in Uganda, you see billionaires in dollars sweeping the church. Billionaires in dollars.

Billionaires in dollars sweeping the church. Outside, passing their cars, wearing security clothes, owners of industries. I heard a story of when one of the father of faith in this nation wanted to get an aircraft for the church, and then they told him to go and call somebody. They told they told them to go and call somebody who knows about aircraft. And they went to go and call... Somebody said, oh, the CEO mentioned the name of the airline. He's in church. He's a worker. I'm calling. He was still wearing the holy police uniform that those who stay outside to direct cars wear.

They want to call him from where he was serving, directing cars. He said, see that that's the CEO of an airline. He was in the pastor's church. You say, ah, you are... You you? He said, yes, sir. So it amazes me. Listen. There is a level of blessed wealth that you cannot have, you really cannot have if your thought is for yourself. You really cannot have if your thought is for yourself.

You can... Look at it. Look at people who are unemployed and something pricks you in your heart, you know, that I've got to something about this. I've got to create businesses to hand unemployment. And when you're thinking about your business, you're thinking about your business in a way that is so big and bigger than yourself, are something that will that will give people jobs, Something that become the source of for people. You can't be thinking like that. You can't really be thinking like that and your thought to be small. You can't even help it. Are you with me? Yes, sir.

It's a different mentality altogether. You've reduced your life to feeding yourself. You have to repent of small thinking. You've reduced your entire life to how you dress and how you appear. Your prayers no longer have any weight in them. Your your dreams have no kingdom dimension in them. Your ambitions only stop at comfort. And heaven does ones that only that that are can flow to nations, flow to families, flow to ministries, flow to systems, flow to generations. That if God has called a man of God on the pulpit to say, you know what? Commit yourself to full time ministry.

He can raise another for his sake and say, be the reason why this man never gives up. Ensure there is nothing he needs that your life not provide. Because if God tells a man of God, resign from your job and focus fully on ministry, you think he will not raise people for his sake? He will. He will. Pastor Paul, I mentioned, speaks of the crusades they have to do, and he spoke of how that one young man sponsored all their Cameroon crusades, and they had... I think he said he had about four or five crusades in Cameroon. Can't remember how many. About four sir. Yet the mouth does not practice even with the doctor.

Yet the work of God continues to be done because there are individuals who have sold their lives to that cause. That the reason why they are prospering is now for the benefit of the kingdom. That's the first thing about it. There is no way the benefit will not come to them. There's no way that heaven will not shine his face on them. Are you with me? Such such men don't like what to feed on and what to eat and what to drink. Because like the fig tree, resources come from the sun. Resources come from the earth. God ensure that they are heavily resourceful, lacking nothing so that they can provide every that the church will need.

And there are lots of it that your life is like that. That's why God will give you big businesses. That's the reason. It will not be so that you can buy the latest Lexus even though you will. That will not be your motivation. That will not be what crosses your mind. What crosses your mind for you have to have the biggest business in this nation is so that there is no amount of money needed to finance the gospel that your life cannot bring. And it becomes obvious from now. It becomes obvious from how you live your life. You don't say when I get there.

That's a foolish thought. You will never get there. Are you with me, brother and sister? I mean, Abraham is probably one of the cleareth examples of this. Genesis 12 verse two, the Bible says, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name rich. All of this to the end that you will be a blessing. That's the pattern of God. I will bless you, and you will be a blessing. The blessing was never the final destination in becoming a blessing.

That is where everything was going to. Are you with me? Yes, And that's the problem with selfish ambition. It terminates on yourself. It terminates on self. Only for lifestyle, only for comfort. That's why you want money, only for needs to be met. But God is not committed to funding vanity. How many believers pray for increase? What's their vision remains too small?

God bless me. God bless me for what? If all your financial imaginations is still cars and better phones and better vacations and better enjoyment and better houses, better aesthetics, better comfort. Your vision is still too small for kingdom abundance. You might have money but never abundance. You might even be rich, but never abundance. Are you with me? Because true kingdom belt is connected to assignment. Belt is never about consumption. Never.

It's never just about consumption. It's about capacity. It's about capacity to build, capacity to carry assignment and pay responsibilities and sponsor kingdom advancement, capacity to help people, capacity to raise systems, capacity to relieve suffering, to finance vision, to to create opportunities for people. That is the source of real kingdom wealth. Real kingdom wealth. How to be a blessing to the world around you. That is the source of real kingdom wealth. Man of God in Nigeria recently gave about a million dollars to young people in grants and opportunities, and everybody was speaking. But then you look at those that brought those those that came around to also hard because what he said he was gonna give was about $300,000 or so. And then before you knew, billionaires started risk...

Rising up to say, you know what? You won't do that alone. I'm also committing $200,000. A 100% I'm killing. I'm giving giving five $500,100,000 thousand dollars. Dollars. I'm I'm giving giving 100... A 100... All all of of them them raising raising their their hands. Hands.

I'm giving this. I'm giving this to young people, to businesses, to start something. That's that's when... When you think well, that's how you think. Said, they built 10,000 churches in one year. Not that they started though. Built actual churches. Thousand of them. Look at the amount of resources that goes into that. How can then one church be struggling to build?

What kind of people are there? What kind of people are there? Jesus told Peter, I will make you fishers of men. And then when the ministry of Jesus needed money, what did Jesus do? Jesus told Peter, go to the mouth of the fish. What was Jesus telling Peter? That you will become fishers of men and the money of the ministry will be in the mouth of the fish. That means the people that you fish are the ones that will bring the wealth that will build the kingdom. The money will always be in the mouth of the fish. It will always be.

It will always be there. It will always be there. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. That means that I must I must insist that I will not be a barren believer because God has placed the money that builds his kingdom in me. I won't be a selfish believer. Are you with me? Yes, sir. The moment a man's life becomes larger than himself, increase begins to find him differently. Increase.

Increase. The Bible says he who is faithful in little is faithful in much. And many believers are asking God for much when they are feeling the test of little. Little money comes and they are... They... It amplifies their selfishness. Just little. Little you were tested in and you failed miserably. Little and you failed miserably. How do you want to handle much?

And then you now wonder why heaven is it this in to increase you? Because increase money... Increase magnifies magnifies what already exists in your heart. And if selfishness exists in smallness, it becomes dangerous in abundance. Are you in, brothers and sisters? The kingdom does not measure abundance by what you possess. The kingdom measures abundance by what you give. That's why the bible says in Acts 20 and verse 35, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Jesus was revealing to us the direction of kingdom life. That kingdom life flows outward.

It is more pleasant to to give than to receive. Kingdom life flows outward in gifts, not inward, in gifts. That's why selfish people eventually feel empty. Even after achieving plenty things, they still feel empty. Because man was not designed to merely consume. You were designed to pour outward. I've the light of so many people. They have money but have no fulfillment. They have achievement but they have no meaning. They have success but they have no peace because all of this is not what makes for peace.

In fact, purpose is discovered discovered more in contribution than in consumption. That's why many of the most fulfilled believers are people who are spending themselves for something greater than themselves. People who are building, who are serving, who are raising others, who are financing vision, who are helping people, who are advancing kingdom. Their lives are flowing outward. These are the most fruitful, purposeful believers you would find. Don't break selfish prayers. What you pray is, Lord, make me useful. Enlarge my capacity. Lord, make me a blessing. Trust me with resources.

Let my life become an answer. Let me be a solution. Let my generation be helped because I obeyed you. This new one will bless people. That's why Solomon's prayer moved God very deeply. You now understand why God had to bless Solomon beyond what he asked for. Now you get it. Because in first Kings three verse nine, when God asked Solomon to ask for one thing, Solomon said, therefore, give to your servant an understanding heart to judge your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of... It was people.

Do you see that? People. And look at what God told him. God said, because you have not next him. Because you have not asked this thing and have not asked long life for what? Yourself. Oh, No. Ask which is for what? Yourself. No.

Ask for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice. Next verse, it says it says, behold, I have done according to your words. I have given you that understanding so that there is not been anyone like you before or none that would arise after you. Next verse, watch this. And I've also given you even what you have not asked Can you pray one prayer and say, make me an answer to the cry of people. Make me an answer. Give me wisdom for my generation. Give me wealth on this. Give me solutions for others. Give me answers for others.

I know you have problems, but just... This is exactly what I want to break. This is exact... That's the mentality I want to break. And you think of yourself less. And you think of the kingdom more. Right. That's what I'm hoping that will prosper in your hearts today. Listen. Listen.

The bible says in the book of Isaiah, it is cry out. Through prosperity shall my cities be spread abroad. Cry out. Thus said the Lord. Through prosperity shall my cities be spread abroad. True prosperity. It is God that is speaking up. And he says, prosperity shall my cities spread abroad. It means if God is going to bless anybody with prosperity, it is to the end that his cities is spread abroad. So the kind of thing that God will bless with prosperity is the kind that is concerned about his city spreading abroad because there are many things you can do with prosperity.

Yes, sir. It means if you are not concerned about his kingdom spreading abroad, you are not a recipient for kingdom prosperity. Close your eyes and say, my heart to look beyond beyond myself. Let's pray that prayer. Help my heart to look beyond myself. Help my heart to look beyond myself. My heart. Help my heart. In Jesus' name we have prayed. I pray that the Lord helps our hearts.

In the name of Jesus. I pray that the Lord helps our heart. I pray that the Lord really helps our hearts. If you understand what I've said, you will take intercession seriously. It is living beyond yourself that makes you intercede for others. That makes you pray for others. You take evangelism seriously. It's living beyond yourself that makes you evangelize to others. That makes you reach out to me, fight them to church, and their lives will change. It's living beyond yourself that makes you give your time to service of God.

It is well within the name of Jesus. Thank you for listening to this message. We trust you have been blessed. You can get more life transforming messages from apostle Emmanuel Boluatifed the people. People. Platforms on Instagram at dcn 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.