Transcript: Sustaining The Fire Part 1
Prepared from the audio, so small errors are possible.
This message is from believers equipped, a meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network where the word of God is taught with practicality and believers are raised to reign in life. Join apostle Emmanuel as he walks us through the word of God. Sustaining the fire. So I said, a lot of people have experiences. Right? They have encounters. They are unable to trap them. So what happens is that the fire of God is lit in your spirit. Right? Lit in your spirit, but then because you don't know how to sustain it, you don't know how to trap it, it fizzles all facts after some time.
So to help you develop a consistent Christian walk as you journey through the mountains of influence, as you journey through life, what happens when many believers come for certain meetings and they are fired up? But after some days, after some weeks, after some months of that fire, the fire then begins to fizzle out. It begins to die out, and they begin to crash back into their previous mode. They begin to crash back into how they were before. So a man can come to a meeting like this for instance and something happens to him. He has an encounter. Probably, the power of God comes so strong on him or the glory of God comes so strong on him, and he knows that something has definitely happened with my spirit. He know that there's been a deposit of spirit. There's been a transference, a release. He can sense the transformation.
He leave that meeting and the things that he would do in the flesh. He no longer has the desire to do them. The things that would happen to him normally that would enable him to say, work in sin or work in the flesh, those things begin to die out. He no longer has the burning passion to go back to his previous iniquity, previous life. And for a moment of time, he begins to have a passion for God. He begins to have a zeal for God. The things of God starts to impress him. He wants to pray. He wants to listen to messages. He wants to hear the word of God.
He wants to read the word of God. He wants to do all of these things. And he has so much questions on his insight, and this is usually where the problem is. He has so much questions on his insight. Probably he has something he was battling with, say, it's pornography or probably addictions and stuff like that. And it comes under an influence where these things leave that meeting and it... And he no longer has the passion for these things. And he feels my goodness. This is a miracle. God has truly done something remarkable to me.
And this continues day one, this continues day four, this continues day five, this continues day 10. And usually depending on how how... Depending on the threshold of what should I say, ability to store that encounter, his sustaining power or his holding power, the thing gradually begins to fizzle off. It's like a fridge. You keep water in a freezer, and it becomes ice block. Right? So what happens is, like, you turn off the freezer. What happens to the water as you turn it off? It begins to liquidate. Is that not so?
But do you know that it doesn't liquidate immediately? It will take some time depending on the sustaining power of the fridge, the potential energy of the fridge. It can take two hours. It can take three days. Some fridge are so powerful that there's... You can leave something there without power. It can it can take one week and it will still be frozen even without power because the potential energy that's thought is still sufficient enough to keep it there. That's what some believers rely on. It is potential energy. The potential energy of the encounter they received is what sustains them.
Not as though they know how to sustain the encounter in itself so that the result that it produced in their life is always there. So what happens is that after that thing now dies, the brother now realizes that everything that he thought he was done with, he begins to go back to them one after the other. Everything that he thought, you know, I no longer deal with this issue again. God has healed. He probably even gave a testimony. That's the most that's the most shameful part of it. You don't understand what I'm saying. When you stand in front of the brethren and you say, I was four years. There is no week. I don't do this thing.
And I came for and God delivered me. Do you know for one month now, I have not done this? And everybody claps. Because the potential energy was that strong. He would have just been patient. It's good he shared the testimony anyways. Glory to God. Because the many potential energy now runs off. God will not help him. It was the day he shared testimony that was the last day.
The guy... The brother will now go home and find himself on the altar of sin. I now wonder, is it because I shared... The moral lesson will now be next time God does it for me. Don't don't share. That would be the moral lesson that I would pick from it. And let me tell you something. When it happens once and it happens twice and it happens third time, The bible says hope deferred, make it a heart weak. The time will come where the border will not see any... It won't think that there's any way out again.
It will think that this life of consistency is not for me. This life I'm living, this life of sin, this life of this coldness, this spiritual numbness, this apathy I have towards the things of God, I've tried it. So that even when it starts getting on fire again, maybe it to comes a meeting like this. You will remember that three years ago, this was how I started to. I found the people that were praying, and I joined them to pray. And I thought as though, ah, this this thing that God has started in me. But it did not last for one month. And it's not as that was not serious. I really wanted that into to stay on. I even did things that I thought, you know, would keep the thing on.
But see, look at where we got. And what would happen is that that person now begins to mock every believer that has a form or an appearance of consistency. He begins to imagine in himself that they are all liars, that nobody can really be consistent based on his own struggle. Have you seen believers say something like, who know the lie? Where you just impose your struggle on every other person and just assume that because you are dealing with something and you have failed to deal with it, everybody to you is dealing with it. And they begin to even shoot themselves in the leg by saying things like, even people like Adebue, they too, they are dealing... They are human being. And they are functioning as long as you are human. But the question is, is there not a way out of it? Is there not a way to truly be consistent?
Is there not a way to start being on fire and to remain on fire? When Jesus appeared to John, one of the queries that he gave to one of the seven churches is that they are neither hot nor cold, neither on fire, neither are they... You are neither in nor out. You play games with God. God is like a side chick. You know a side chick? A side chick is not the wife. A side chick is the plaything. A side chick is the one that they go to when they need urgent urgent relief. There's no form of commitment with a side chick.
You just call and he answers. That also... That's what God is to them. They are more committed to every other minor areas than they have with God. And then when they need a miracle, here they come again. And if you're not careful as a believer, you will not fall into that place where the reason why you will now ever be serious with God is when you have a problem. When you have a problem, that's when you will not be serious with God. And you can't really blame them because they have attempted this seriousness thing. They have attempted this Christianity thing, the genuine one, and they have failed severally, miserably. They've promised themselves over over and over again that this would not happen, that would not happen, and it has consistently happened.
So they know that there is a God, but they have considered themselves unworthy or they've just relegated themselves to believe that it's not possible for me to have a serious work with that God, but that God exists. So when I have a problem, I will cry to him and he will answer me. He would... At least mercy mercy will speak if I have a problem. When my wife is about to deliver and the baby is not coming out, they say, you either take one, then I will remember that God exists. People are more spiritual when they are in problem. I've not observed. Even the atheists in the face of an accident will be praying to a God they never believed exists. I've seen this firsthand. Glory to God.
The man of God spoke about how he was having a conversation with an atheist in the plane. And the guy who kept on defending how that Jesus does not exist and there's no God and there's no this and all of these things are just fictional characters that some people just wrote to impress other people. And the people that believe in those things are just gullible believers. Said Jesus is no different from Spider Man. In the same manner that Spider Man is a fictional character, Jesus is also his fictional character. And all of a sudden, as he was explaining these things in his passion, there was turbulence in the air. And the pilot told them the popular announcement nobody likes to hear. Nobody likes to hear. And the place started shaking, and the guy was still forming tough. And it came to a point where he just looked as everything stopped, all the doublers and everything stopped.
This is not this is not fictional. This is a story that exists. What happened was that the engine failed in the air and picked up back for like thirty seconds or so, one minute. When the engine failed, the plane just stopped, started taking a nosedive until it... Before it started out again. It was a it was a great miracle, and I believe that there were two reasons why that thing happened. They were sieved because, of course, there was maintenance issues because when they investigated it, it was found out that the plane wasn't properly maintained. But they were saved because the man of God is there and because that it is must give his life to Christ. Because... Listen.
The moment that plane started nose diving, the first thing he shouted was Jesus. When they regained balance and the man of God turned, why didn't you shout Spider Man? That that was all the preaching that was needed. There was no more. Praise Praise the Praise Praise It's possible to not lose that wonder. What's the lyrics? We will never lose our wonder, then what? Wide eyes, mystified. May we be just like a child, stand on the beauty of our king. That means that it is possible to always be like a child.
It is possible to never lose the wonder that a child has whenever he sees his parents. I hope you know that as you grow up, that wonder reduces. It's normal. When you see your parents, you call me like a child. How many of you see your parent and run like that? But if somebody could show you videos of how you were, some of you have grievances with your parents now because they would not buy you a phone, but they would not do so and so. But the same you, whether they buy you anything or not, the fact that you just see your father appear and appear... A a kind of... Have you seen little children express this thing? Some of you might have forgotten how you used to be, but you can see it in other children, other little children.
The way and manner by which they run with no care in the world, the guy can almost jump from a two story building knowing fully whether I will not die. This person would rather die than allow me fall. That wonder that as you begin to grow, you don't know what happens to your heart, how it just starts dying. That time will come, you will now be in the room and you will hear the horn So when the song says, may we not lose our wonder, he's saying there's a way you used to be about spiritual things. There's a way you were when the presence of God was in a place. There's a way you well up in the spirit. There's a way you are when you see the fire of God burning. There's a way there's a way you are you are excited to see God moving. There's a way you are excited to see the holy ghost rampaging a place, to see people burning in the spirit. There's a way it excites you to see a man of God moving the world of knowledge.
There's a way it excites you to see believers gathering to pray. There's a way it excites you when it's time to worship God, and you can tell that the presence of God has soaked the place. There's a way it excites you. Whenever the magnificence of God is is put on the scene, like a child, you sit down and you are crying. That's the way you used to be. As a matter of fact, when you start out as a believer, that's the way you are. Because then you are so you are so pure. The experiences are so genuine. But the time comes when you just begin to mature in a very evil manner. That maturity is not spiritual maturity.
It's not spiritual growth. As a matter of fact, it is spiritual retrogation. To mature out of wonder, to mature out of that sense of horror. That is saying you that used to become excited when God is moving. Somebody is now out under the power and say, I want you to bury. Just get to the world and let's let's do this thing. The worship song is going. You remember those days how when you are worshiping God, you just be on your bed and you're just worshiping. A word, a song playing, a message playing. But now you are doing the same thing in the presence of God, the same thing, and your mind cannot even stay quiet for thirty seconds.
You're trying to envision God, and then there there comes Amala. There comes there comes there comes different movies that are coming out, different football clubs, different things invading your mind, and then you bring yourself back again, shake your mind. And at one point, just give up, you open your eyes, start chewing your mouth, look around, you say, oh, there are brown ceilings, and there are white ones too. Whereas Okay. The worship of God is going on. What has happened that that man has lost his wonder? That awe of a child. Sometimes may we be just like a child. And and I'm teaching you that it is possible to continually have it, to continually be it. You you don't get...
Like that that you never get to a point in maturity that you don't grow out of being a child. You grow mature. You grow to be a mighty man, but in his presence, you are still a child. You are still a fiery champion, strong in the spirit, fervent in the Lord. And the fire is still burning on your altar. The love and the passion for God is still there. Nothing has taken the place of God. Nothing has become a high door. That it is possible to remain on fire. That is what I'm telling you.
It is possible for the fire to keep on burning. I remember how I started. When I think of how I started, nothing has changed. It has only increased. Doesn't mean that... In fact, there has been more struggles. Don't get me wrong. There has been more problems, more challenges, more issues, more more more more more struggles even with the flesh. More problems, more need to put your faith to work. But you see, that hard posture with God, nothing has moved it.
By the same way, I can still break down before my father many years ago is the same way I can still break down before him now. Crowd or no crowd makes no difference. Crowd or no crowd makes no difference. You know, I was thinking about something today, and I realized that the reason why I have some result in my life is not because I pray so much. It's not because my life, I'm just a perfect man of God. Never. Never. I hope you know that David, we are far from perfect. We are far from perfect. Many of the people that carry the presence of God the most are not even the ones who have the most burning fire in terms of spiritual activity.
What I'm saying is that they might not be the one that pray the most, that the most, but they have gotten a secret that not many people do. There is a way to be in the in the presence of God. That's the way David was. That man had nothing to lose. That's the way David was. I studied this and I decided that my heart posture would be like that man. Where I would not glory in my works, I would not glory in my prayer life, I would not glory in my fastings, I would not glory in my ability to not do this or not do that or not do this or not do that. Oh, no. Far be it from me. And that has not changed.
I've always been conscious that I am where I am by the grace of God. That has not changed. There is still a desire to know him, to have him more and more, to have more experiences, more experiences, more genuine encounters, more genuine experiences, more and more. That has not changed. That has not changed. This desire to know him puts a burden inside of me even to pray when I don't feel like it, to study when I don't feel like it, to have my priorities right even in the midst of a busy schedule. What matters is still what matters. What mattered five years ago, ten years ago, twelve years ago is still what matters today. Yet my schedule has greatly increased. Is it possible to be consistent that the fire of God is lit within your spirit and it keeps on burning?
It keeps on burning. It keeps on burning. That there is never a time where the fire over. The book of Leviticus chapter six and verse 12. The bible says, and the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not be put out. The produce shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order on it. And he shall burn on it the fat of peace offerings. Verse 13, a fire shall always be burning on the altar.
It shall never go out. This is God's will for the ancient tabernacle. Beholding the tabernacle, the will of God for that tabernacle is that a fire shall always be burning. That fire must never go out. Not that the fire will go out and then the priest will quickly come and do something about it. In other words, hot today, cold tomorrow, hot today, down tomorrow, high today, low tomorrow is not the will of God. The will of God is captured in the the pattern he gave for how the whole tabernacle must to be built. Remember that God was the one who told Moses, build this thing according to pattern. And the pattern that God gave them was that the fire would always be burning on the altar. I remember in first Corinthians chapter three and verse 16, the bible says, don't you now know that you have become the temple, the tabernacle of the living God?
And as the tabernacle of the living God, the same way fire must be burning on the old testament tabernacle, that is the same way fire must always be burning inside of you. The bible says quench not the spirit. When it comes and it's burning on your inside, that fire must never go out. The same instruction that he gave to the old testament tabernacle is the same instruction, the same mandate that is given even to you now as a believer. Quench not the spirit. A fire shall always be burning on the altar. A fire shall always be burning on the altar. And when the holy ghost is lit inside of you as a fire, When that fire is lit in your spirit, possible. It is possible to ensure that the fire is always burning. It is possible to ensure that you only cross from one level of encounter to another, that you don't go high today and you are low tomorrow, that is from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from strength to strength.
The bible says the path of the righteous is as a shining light. It shines ever brighter, ever brighter. That you... The way you are today, you are shining more aglow, aglow in the spirit, aglow in the spirit. Every time you appear, something has changed about you. A new level of glory, a new level of power, a new level of fire. A new level of glory, a new level of fire, a new level of power every time you appear. The bible says that Moses spent some time with God, and when he was leaving the mountain, his his face started shining. There was a transfiguration that happened to him so much so people could not behold his face. He had to cover himself up.
But because he was in the old testament temple, he could not retain that glory. The assignment of the old... Of the new testament temple is that whatever level of glory you capture, you can retain. Amen. Says the fire must always be burning on the altar. The fire must always be what now? Burning on the altar. Help me, Lord, to always know you more. Don't let my heart stray from you. Die in my path My heart will long for you, for you, oh god.
Will this pray for you, for you oh god my heart will long for you for you Help me, Lord, to always know you mourn. Don't let my heart stray from you. Thy in my path, the light will see your face. For I'm the spread for you, for you, for you. My heart will long for you, for you, for you. Well, And I'm desperate for you for you for you. Heart will long for you for you for you. The book of Romans give the same instruction as in Leviticus, but in a different manner. In the book of Romans chapter 12 and verse 11, the bible says, not lagging in diligence. Fervent in spirit.
Serving the Lord. Not lagging in diligence. Fervent in spirit. Serving the Lord. In verse 12, it continues to say rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. He's giving you he's giving you the attributes of a man who is fervent in spirit. He says when you find a man who is fervent in spirit, he says he does not lack in diligence. When you find a man who is fervent in spirit, he is always serving the Lord. He is always rejoicing in hope, always patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayers.
The amplified classic says, never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor. Be aglow. I love the word aglow. Be aglow in the holy ghost. Be aglow. Be burning with the spirit. Aglow in the spirit. Burning with the spirit. Serving the Lord. Spiritual fire, listen to me, is caught primarily through encounters.
What did I say? Spiritual fire. And this fire is the glow of the spirit in a man. The glow of the holy ghost in a man. It is it is the holy ghost himself that lights up something within that man. The glow of the spirit. The bible called it burning with the spirit. There's a way a man is when he's when he's on fire. There's a way man is when he's aglow. There's a way man is when he's burning with the spirit.
When he has caught that fire, the the bible called it a kind of zeal. A kind of zeal and a passion for God that dominates the man such that he can't even explain what has overtaken him. His life is spelt in pursuit. There is a kind of passion for God, evident in his pursuit for God, evident in his pursuit for God. The proof of love is passion. The proof of passion is pursuit. That when I love God, I'm passionate about God. When I love God, I'm I'm I'm pursuing after him as a reflection of my passion. When you are passion when you are passionate for football, you would often see the pursuit that people who have passion for that thing have. Sometimes when they hear that a match is starting by 8PM, the guy is just wearing boxers, and he he he takes his trouser and his shirt, and he's wearing them as he's running as he's running just so that the match will not start without him.
It is called pursuit. That's the name for it. Wait for me. Wait for me. And he's wearing them, wearing the shirt. Screaming, wait for me. A movie comes out, and this is a movie you have been anticipating, waiting for. The moment the movie comes out, you are the first to get to the cinema. Cinema opens by 9AM. You are there by 7AM because you know a crowd will thrump the place, and you want to get a front row seat.
This is your favorite movie coming in. How will I not watch the return of Jennifer? But the boss is waiting for you by 7AM for a service of nine. You said you you said they came too early. They didn't come too early. You are just not passionate. The the the the the extent of your pursuit will always reveal your passion, And there's no such thing as your passion died. Passion does not die. It is only transferred. It is like energy.
It can never be created nor destroyed, but it can be transferred from one form to another. It means if your passion for God started dying, you transferred it somewhere else. Nobody ever loses passion. You are always passionate about something. It's just not God. Because if God becomes the object of your passion, it becomes the object of your pursuit. That's the reason why some of us... We were out on the streets. Some people were asking us, are they paying you for this? You say, because they could not understand why you will pursue something like this.
Oh, Jesus. It would... I love the question. Is a proof that for some of us, passion has eaten us up. It's what Jesus said when he said, it was even David that first said it. I love that man. He says that the zeal of your house, the zeal of your house has consumed me. It has eaten me up. The zeal of your house has eaten me up. The bible says the reproach of those who reproach you are falling on me.
Do you know what that means? It means your zeal has so eaten me up that people now see how crazy I am about God and the house of God. And if you see me, you would almost wonder what is what is wrong with this guy. Why are you all about God? Why are you all about Jesus? Why are you all about the church? Why are you all about the house of God? That's why it is impossible to love God and not love his house. It is a zeal for your house. Pause.
When they saw the way the guy is passionate about the church, then they said, for you to be this passionate, then you must... You deserve to be a spokesman for God. So all the grievances that these people have against God because they cannot see God and is the closest expression of God they can see. So they come and meet him and point upon him. The bible says the reproach of them that reproach you. It means you are the one they have beef with. But it's me that they see who is going all about about you. It's like it's like it's like you are hungry with Tinubo, but you cannot reach him. So you last song and hear, Tinubo has done well for us. And the guy is in public he's in public transport, and he's saying, Chinubo is a good person.
He's a he's from the... From behind. He he will not know where the... Yeah. Everybody has face front. Because the report of them that reproach him as falling upon him because they can't see the man, but they can see you. And you seem to be zealous about the man. That's what he say. That I became so crazy about God that even them that hate God started hitting me. How would they be the same?
That is a way a man can become so passionate, can become so zealous that this fire is lit... This is what is called fire. Don't you think that fire is when we gather and say,. That's not what the fire of God is. The bible called it aglow in the spirit. A glow. A glow you cannot explain. A glow in the spirit. The the the money account has not increased, but somebody looks at you. You wore the same clothes you wore last week.
Polished your shoes the way you always do, and somebody looks at and say, ah, something is different about you. Did you did you did you did you make your hair? It's a... My hair... My... This is the hair I was carrying last week. But that's a new shoe. I'll be saying same shoe. But some... I can't I can't put my hand on it because it's invisible.
You can't... I understand what you are feeling. If you could place your hand on it, you would have placed it, but it's invisible. The bible called it aglow. It's a glow that cannot be seen but can be seen, yet it cannot be explained. It's a mystery, the fire of the spirit. The fire of the spirit. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.
I pray... There are many people listening to me now that what is burning is now a strange fire. You no longer have this experience again. It's so strange what I'm saying. And it's not strange because you have never felt it. It is strange because you have... It has it has been long you have been there. As I'm speaking for some, it's like I'm describing your past, how you used to be. Do you remember that there was a time that you will be in your room and you will be praying and you'll be singing? Set my heart on fire for you for you.
Oh, Lord. Set my life on fire for you. Set my life in order for you. For you. For you, for you, for you, light me, These were the songs we used to sing. These were the songs we used to sing. They will sing, you are my obsession. You. You remember this song? I remember.
Listen. There was a time when when people were not Christians because of what God can do. Listen. There was a time when people were not Christians because of what Jesus can do. Because of what God can do. There are the time when it was only about God. Why the reason you were pursuing God was for God? Why the reward for pursuing God was for God? Why the beginning of the purpose of God is God? While it's either Jesus or nothing.
But the time came when objects became the reason for our pursuit, cars and money and good grades and GPs and CGPAs. All of these things became became the reason why men are pursuing, why men are seeking. And there is a gospel that attempts to make this the object of our pursuit. Now we come to a God that can meet our needs. It is true. But more than that, the reason why we worship, the reason why we serve, the reason why we do these things is for him alone. Listen. The way you know that you are mature is that when people ask you, what is the reward you expect? What is your reward for seeking God? And your response is God.
That God is my reward for seeking God. More of him revealed, More of him shown. That the more I know him, the more I want to know him. A fire that is lit up in your spirit. A fire. A fire for God and a fire for the things of God. Listen. Listen. When that fire is lit up, prayer is not a burden that somebody places upon you to do. Doesn't mean prayer will be fun, but will not be a burden.
When that fire is lit up, coming to church will be as natural to you as as eating breakfast. When that fire is lit up, many things that you struggle with now begin to make sense. You would do by default just because you live. A fire that is lit up on your inside. We'll gather in a classroom and we'll begin to sing. There was no keyboard, there was no drum. Just some people that were crazy. And guess what? All of us were students. This was over eleven years ago.
And you would see young children who were teenagers crying and weeping. Our least concern was what will be our result? Whether we will pass or we'll not pass. Come on now. There was a fire that is lit up. And that fire needs to get reignited in the lives of many today. It... That that that fire needs to start once again. It needs to it needs to burn. The altar needs to come aflame.
The altar needs to come aflame. It is obvious in the lives of many people that the fire is no longer there. And so it is as though many of the activities you are doing is like machine parts grinding against themselves without any grease. You understand what I'm saying? Yes sir. The the the friction will be so much. The the the clang and the clings will be so high. It will be with with so much difficulty. That's the reason why you dispense so much energy and you feel so drained. If you are a worker and then all you are doing is religious, that the fire is no longer lit.
You will realize that it will come to a point where the activities become burdensome. It looks like religious rituals, and that is all there is to it. There's no life attached to what you are doing anymore because there is no fire lit up. A time comes when that fire is lit up, sweeping church, doing the same thing you would normally do becomes... You see it as a privilege, like an honor, an honor to be in the house of God, an honor to be serving, an honor to be behind the camera, an honor to be arranging the chairs. You do it with so much joy in your spirit. The Bible says rejoice sin in temptation. You think that you will rejoice in temptation because the Bible says rejoice. Don't you have emotions? How do you explain to me that somebody just died?
And then the man will come and be, rejoice. Are you defying the human nature? If a fire is not lit up, you will not understand why God says many things God says. Like in all things, give thanks. It won't make sense to you. How can my business crash and tell me to give thanks? What do I thank God for? Until you go and read the story of Job, a man who did not have the holy ghost but yet knew God more than you who has. Lost everything and his response was that he bowed his head, knelt down, bowed his head. After losing everything.
Losing everything, and the Bible says, he worshiped God. Bowed his head and worshiped. He magnified God. As a fire lit up, that's the response you have when a fire has been lit up on your inside. The things that you are trying to do now in the flesh no longer becomes mechanical. You would carry your bible and it will be life to your spirit. It look as though you are taking sweet medication. Ah, the bible says the word. The word is life. It is flesh.
It is life. This is the experience that Bible will give to you. That thing that you're reading your Bible, your head is more than one side. The fire is not there. Or at best, it is dwindling. Hear me? How that fire comes is through encounters. Encounters. That is how spiritual fire is ignited. Encounters.
He's changing He's surrendering everything. It's bringing your life, bringing your life, bringing your life right now, right now, right now. It's bringing everything, everything, everything, everything. No. The lion. Have your seat. Have your seat. I'm still teaching. Spiritual fire is caught primarily through encounters. What is happening is encounters.
What is happening as the encounters are happening is a reignition of fire, altars on fire. The aim of this teaching is to light a fire, ignite a fire, and then show you how that fire is kept, how that fire is sustained. You hear me? The Bible instructs us that that fire must continue to burn. That means it is man's responsibility to keep that fire burning. The Bible says be fervent in the spirit. Keep the fire of the altar burning. This is an instruction to you. It says, be fervent in the spirit. Keep the fire of the altar burning.
That's the meaning. Be fervent in the spirit. It's it's an instruction to you. The MSG of that Romans chapter 12 verse 11 in the method translation says, don't burn out. Don't burn out. He then says, keep yourselves. Is this one done by God? Who does it? He says, keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. You are not the one that flames yourself.
But you are the one that keeps the flame burning. Through the help of the holy spirit, through the grace that he supplies. It says keep yourselves fueled. Keep yourselves aflame. But if your fire ever went out, it's not because something killed it. It is because you were careless to keep yourself aflame. It's because while it was going down, you did not you did not have fuel. The same way you would need to keep on having fuel to keep fire burning. It says keep yourselves fueled. By the moment you realize that something has begun on your inside, that the great one has begun a walk, the great one has ignited something upon your altar, and there is a fire that has been lit.
It says you now have a responsibility to keep yourselves well. If it is your responsibility to keep yourself welled, it means a believer must know when the fuel is going down. Is it not true that when you keep a generator on, you have to start refueling just to ensure? The bible says keep yourself welled. It's a biblical terminology so that the fire doesn't go down. People have entered into relationships and the fire died. People have gotten married and the fire died. People have secured admissions and the fire died. People have made friends and the fire died. That when the fire is lit, there must always be a refueling that must be done, a refueling that must be done to ensure that you keep the flames of that fire burning.
But the fire itself comes through supernatural encounters. There are three levels of encounters that impacts fire into a man. The one happening now is one of them. That's number two I will show you. But the first one, and none of them is more important than the other. But the first level of encounter I would give to you is encounters by the word. When encounters by the word comes, it also lights a fire on your inside. Any of this level of encounter is capable in and of themselves. To ignite fire. In the heart of a believer.
Number one, being encounters by the world. This is what we have seen the patriarchs do. You look at all this world of faith fathers, fathers in the faith, And they are referring to the encounters they had many years ago. Bishop Oedepo would recount how that he went on three days fasting and prayer. And he took the book, God's will is my prosperity by Kenneth Hagin. And he took his bible along with him. And he locked himself in a room three days. Then he saw it. And the moment he saw it, he shouted, I can never be poor again. That's encounter by the word.
That's a word encounter. When a portion of scriptures, a portion of the word of God jumps into your spirit. Is an encounter by the word. It has the ability to light fire on your inside. The Bible says man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds. That encampire is the word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. There is a written word, the written word. The written word is written. The scriptures you read every time. But that you read scriptures does not mean that you have encountered the word.
It is that from scripture, you now encounter a word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That from the old thought as revealed in scripture, God now picks a portion and says, this is my word to you. That is an encounter by the word. And listen to me, when you don't trap encounter, when they come, they fizzle hard like smoke. Encounters, when you have them, they must be trapped. If they are not trapped like smoke, after a while, they would dissipate. And you will start doubting the impact of that encounter. Or you would even doubt if you ever had an encounter. How do you know that you have had an encounter with the world? Do you remember those two disciples?
On their way to Emmaus? Who Jesus met? And he started speaking to them from scriptures how that the son of man must die. Look, note, when Jesus met them, Jesus met them in a conversation. And Jesus asked them, what are you conversing? It was after Jesus resurrected. What are you conversing about? What is the thought of a discussion? Why is your face so pale and sad? And when Jesus asked them the question, they then forwarded the question back to Jesus.
Are you a stranger in this land? They asked him. Have you not heard about the son of God at camp? Who everybody thought was the savior of the whole world? But unfortunately, he was handed over to be killed. And now all his followers are sad. And they were telling Jesus about Jesus. And their eyes were not open to see that the one who they are speaking to is Jesus. And Jesus too was listening and was saying, wow, do you really mean it? And when they were done sharing their burden and why they were sad, because they must have been one of his disciples.
In fact, the Bible says it, that they are two of his disciples. So they were sad that the master had died. And the master they were sad about had resurrected and is now in front of them. And their eyes did not open to see. So the Bible says Jesus began. From the law, the books of Moses, the Torah, to the prophets. The Bible says Jesus began to show them how that the son of man must come and die. It's quite intriguing to me that this was the same thing Jesus had been telling them for three and a half years. But they did not sit still. So when Jesus met them, Jesus had to start repeating what they had been teaching them for many years.
And they kept on listening. They kept on listening. They kept on listening. You know the story? A time came that Jesus broke bread when they got to Emmaus. Jesus used over four hours to tell how that the son of man must come and die. And in all of this, their eyes did not open. Stay with me. Their eyes did not open. It came to a point, Jesus said, you know what, I'm done teaching, let me go.
They told Jesus, no, they they constrained him to stay with them. So he entered with them, ate, and the Bible says the moment he broke bread, their eyes now opened and they saw him. And the moment they saw him, the bible says he vanished out of their sight. The first thing to note there, they said, the moment he vanished, they said, did our heart not burn? Did our heart not burn within us whilst it talked with us on the road? That burning in your heart is the start of an encounter. You don't jump up from there screaming. I had an encounter because my heart was burning. Because you have still not seen anything. You're not getting what I'm saying.
All the while Jesus was speaking to them from scripture, how that the son of man must die, their heart were burning. But the burning of their heart did not make them know it was Jesus. Encounter is not what you feel. It is what you have seen. However, the sensation can start it. The sensation can begin it. I hope you know that even though their heart was burning, they still had not sin. When he was about living, when he was about living, when he had finished talking to them and he was living, the Bible says they constrained him saying, abide with us. It means when you when your heart starts burning with the word, that is when you must constrain yourself to stay with the word. Don't just because your heart is burning, leave scriptures alone and leave the world alone and say I've had an encounter.
You may still not have seen anything. You must do what they did and constrain him to stay. In other words, it is at that point where you feel as though I can I can sense in my spirit? Dispensation I'm having that you now constrain yourself to stay with the word. When you begin to see the sparks and the flashes of light, it is as those scriptures is tearing up something in your spirit. Stay with it. You are just at the peak. You have not yet entered into the waters yet. Stay with it. Be praying with scriptures.
Read it again and again. Think upon it. Meditate on it. When you stay there long enough, suddenly, the bread will be open. The bible is then open ye the understanding. And your understanding is open and light floods into your spirit. That is an encounter where beyond just the pages, beyond just the letters, a word now jumps into your spirit man. Usually, when these things happen, it is never the first time you are encountering that scripture. You might have read it again and again and again, but you have never seen the significance of that thing as it relates to you. But on this day, an encounter.
The Bible says Jesus Christ in the book of is it Matthew four, Luke four now, went into the temple as his custom was. In other words, it was not the first time he was reading that scripture. What it does every time anytime we used to read scriptures. But this but this time around, the Bible says, he found where it was written of him. And he started to read it. And when he was done reading, he looked and said, men and brethren, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your eyes. That is an encounter. You might have been reading that same thing over and over again, but you stay there. You constrain yourself there. There are times you might feel in your spirit that there is something in this scripture for me, and you you you have...
You didn't see it. Stay there. You are too impatient. The bible says that they constrain Jesus to stay with them. If they had not, their hearts would never have opened. Jesus was already done. Their heart was burning. They could have said, that's okay. But still they had not seen the risen Christ. So they said, ka, please, we are not...
We still feel there's something more. We can't place our hands on it, but there's something more. Just stay. That is how you do scriptures and just stay. Sometimes you are praying in tongues, and you say, I I I felt in my heart to go and study the story of Jacob or Joseph or whatever. And you have read it. You didn't see anything. You just brought us on biblical principle. It is good to save, prepare for rainy days, but that's not an encounter. You stay there.
You keep on reading. You keep on praying. As you are praying, you are thinking. You are meditating. You are. A time has come, the bread will be broken. And the moment the bread is broken, understanding opens up, and light floods your spirit man. Bishop David Odeko shouted, I can never fail again. From that day ends forth, it is not just something you saw in scripture. It is something God told you.
So you will be saying, I shall be the head and not the tail, but not as a scripture, but as God's word to me. You would now tell people, God told me I will be the head. And I wonder, but this thing is in scriptures now. I know, but God told me. That's when it becomes an encounter, when it jumps from the pages of scripture and it latches into your heart. All of a sudden, you are reading how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy ghost and with power. And he went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed. You are read it again and again, again and again. But in the staying, in the staying, in the staying, in the praying, in the waiting. The holy ghost speaks that portion of scripture.
Plastove it in your heart. It's as though it's as though someone shot your heart with a harrow. All of a sudden, Jesus will lift the pages of scripture, and you will see your name there broadly redeemed. You will enter into the experience of that scripture. You will start seeing yourself as Jesus saw himself. Anointed with the holy ghost and power. Never again would you doubt your calling. Never again would you doubt yourself because God has told you he has anointed you. God has told you he has anointed you. Mark sixteen seventeen, popular scripture.
These signs shall follow them that believe. In my name, they will cast out devils. They will speak with new tongues. And so, but the time comes when you begin to read this thing, and it jumps into you. My god. That's the difference between men is encounters that make men. Encounters. Encounters. You'll know more than you know your name, but there is no demon I ever face that won't check out because the bible says they will cast out demons. It doesn't say them who are apostles.
It says those that believe. Doesn't say them who are pastors. Doesn't say them who are preachers. All the requirement is that they believe. Listen to me. The problem with the faith work of many people who have tried audacious things, and they believe they tried it in faith and failed is because they were not acting based on the principles of faith. The principles of faith doesn't say just pick any portion of scripture, believe it, and go and do it. You see the problem now? That's the issue. That's how we teach it, men of God.
And it's an error. Because we tell people faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God. So we assume that what that simply means is that just read the Bible. And if you like something there, take it. Somebody can now read and say, ah, I like this one. Daniel was put in the lion's den. Superman. We like we like a lay. And now go to UIUC, I wanna... You call all your friends and follow me.
Let me show you something. I learned something in school... In church yesterday. If you are fit as small as a mustard seed, my own path mustard seed, I saw it in scripture that Daniel was put in the lion's den. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And you tell them, please, and when they don't allow you to enter, you then manipulate your way and jump and find yourself there. Just because you want to... This thing I'm saying has has happened before. It's real life story. Real life story.
It's the man's bones that he picked in the lion's cage. Now it becomes a ridicule. Becomes a shame. Because when you ask that one and they will say, ah, he was acting on the word. It now makes it look as though the word is not powerful. As though God cannot save his own. The question is who sent you? The principle has not changed when I sent you. Not when you sent yourself. When I sent you.
So that herald you went, that you came back crying, who sent you? Let's verify. Sir. I thought you said when we step out. When we step out, it doesn't even come. Now I'm hoping... I'm owing 300 k on my first conference. You have not paid generator. You have not paid for sound. You have not paid for this.
They said they come to arrest me tomorrow. I don't even know what to do right now. Hey, please. I'm owing whole pay. I'm owing palm pay. I'm owing loan pay. I'm owing many pay. Listen. Listen. The question we should ask you is who sent you?
Who sent you? You know why? Because the bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word. Plus, the word word there does not mean logos and doesn't mean graphite. Those are also Greek words in scripture used for word. For instance, when the Bible says in the beginning was the word. The word word, there is the word logos. When the bible says you not knowing the word. The word word there is the word graphite. Do you get what I'm saying now?
So you can read the bible and just think that it's saying the same thing. It's not. So when the bible says, faith comes and hearing by hearing and hearing by the word. Let me explain to you. The bible does not say faith come by hearing and hearing the word of God. As to reemphasize, hearing. You know that's how many... That's how you have heard it taught. That you must not hear it, you must not hear it once, you must hear it twice. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.
That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. Not hearing, not hearing the word. Faith comes by hearing. Hearing comes by the word. Amen. The Bible is defining is what you must hear for faith to come. It is telling you the kind of word that you need to hear for it to bring you faith. That is why the same faith comes by hearing. In other words, you must hear.
But that hearing that you must hear for faith to come comes by the word. Not logos word, not graphite word, but the word... There's the word Rema. Still help her. It's the word. That's the same word when that that that the bible says, when it says man should not live by bread alone, but by every that proceeds from the mouth of God. It means if it is, it comes from God. That is... It's not written. It it comes directly from God.
Yes, sir. Do you understand what I'm saying? So when you hear that word that comes from God, that's when faith comes. So many a times, you did not step out in faith. You stepped out in bold face. Because the time come... This this encounter by the world is how hearing comes. So the question is, what have you heard about your academics? How do you know you will not fail? If not, there is no basis for saying I will not fail.
It's just positive confession. It's not different from what a Muslim is saying. I know you will not like what I'm saying. When you see some of us stand and we say no witch, no wizard can kill me, you say, ah, it's not a statement you can just make carelessly because powers are real. I was in my room some years ago, and I was studying my scriptures. Oh my god. And I was studying scriptures. And while I was studying scriptures, my eyes opened. Not not spiritually, not in a vision. I was not dreaming.
I was studying scriptures in my room. Face me and face you. And my eyes opened physically, my physical eyes. And I saw a woman appear in my room wearing red cloth. Wearing red cloth, a a whole woman. I don't know who she is. She appeared in my room, standing on on one corner, appeared there, and was looking at me, and I was looking at her. And both of us were looking at ourselves. She was fuming. She was angry.
I was looking at her. What is about to happen? That that steering competition continued for, like, five minutes. Reminds me of the story of of one man of God like that. I think it was Kenneth Hagin or I can't remember, who came down and saw demons messing up his sitting room. And then I said, you are even the one. I went back upstairs. Me me, I did not have that much faith. If I had that much faith, I'd have gone back to my bible again and just... You you didn't get it.
I knew you could not do anything, but let's be looking at ourselves. In case I bend my head, now you're running towards me. There was not a single atom of fear. And the guy... And when he was done, she vanished. Right there, vanished. Somebody cannot tell me that the realm of the spirit can... Does does not exist. We have seen it. It was not a demon, a human being, a woman.
A woman. Tired red rapper appeared and was just looking hungrily at me. So when I say there's nothing they can do, we have seen something. Yes, sir. And I'm not talking solely based on that on that experience because she would have done something if nothing exist before the experience. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. We are speaking based on based on something I have seen. I I shall not die but live.
It's not a scripture to me oh, it is life. It is something God has told me. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased can be on revelation. That is not just a line in scripture. That you will know by revelation that God is pleased with me. Condemnation will die a natural death. There is nothing the devil can use to convince you otherwise because God has told you himself from scriptures, encounters by the word. That is the same way you can know that you can never be poor. That is the same way you can know that there is no way I step into that will not overtake, that I will not control. That is same way you can know that favor must fight me.
Goodness must follow me. Do you understand what I'm saying? Listen. That thing where you are confessing, there's a mighty supply. There's a mighty supply. There's a mighty supply. And then there there is zero copper in your account, and you are sad. There is no revelation. You don't have. You have no encountered the world.
You are holding in both face. And there's nothing wrong with this because it's part of the process of staying with the world. It means speaking the word too. Speaking the word onto your eyes. See it. So nothing is wrong with that. It's part of the process. You keep on speaking. You keep on saying. You keep on confessing.
The end is that your eyes will now see something. My god. And in the day, I'm a blessed man. This thing, it does not... It it is not dependent on my account. That's why I can empty my account five times a day And not be concerned, not have a atom of fear in my heart. You have no idea the revelation we have seen. I cannot lack. My pocket cannot be empty. I can't go a day without being favored.
These are things we have seen. And don't you think that I'm... Is only speaking like this because he's a man of God. I'm in the marketplace. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm a man of God. There's no realm you wanna come for I don't live in. When I say jobs you do not apply for, I prophesy because I experienced it. It's my reality.
Contract deals. I I I have no idea. Deals where my names are mentioned, I don't even know. I went to go and get a deal in 7 figures. And when I got to the place, the person looked at me and said, are you the mister Emmanuel? I said, yes. And I was about to start pitching myself. I brought up my my proposal. The person said, no. No.
No. No. No. I don't need any of that. This man mentioned the client that I worked with some time ago has already endorsed you. Just take the money and begin. They called me, reached out to me by themselves. The CEO of an international company in The United Kingdom messaged me on LinkedIn and said we are looking to bring our expression to Nigeria. Would you be willing to join us? And I read their conditions where they read...
No. I like it. Said no problem. Never applied. I don't even know they exist. There is no contract I have gotten. No job I have worked in. No place I've worked in that I applied for. You mean, you don't you don't have to believe. You don't have to believe.
You don't have to believe. There are things we saw in scriptures that we were, the way I'm speaking now is the way I was, people that knew me then know this. My confession has not changed. Right when I was dropping from bike, I was telling people I'm a blessed man. I'm a blessed man. I'm blessed by God. Right when I was walking inside the rain, my confusion did not change. Rain will be beating us, be going to church, will be declaring, will be smiling in the process. Oh, we are blessed. And I'm thinking of days when we have too much cars to give out.
If you are defeated by your circumstances, you have not seen anything. The bible says Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him, there is something that he saw. It means encounters precede endurance. There is no basis for endurance if you have seen nothing. That's why you are quick to give up. Small pressure applied. Hey. This thing. Ah. Ah.
I'm tired. I'm this and that. What is your wisdom? What I'm saying Hear me. What will change your life is what you have seen, not what you feel. The sensation that come to the encounter is not what causes transformation. Encounters with the world is what causes transformation. That's why when the power of God comes upon you, I tell people, don't be quick to stand up. Insist you something. In every area of your life, you must have an encounter with the world.
On your marriage, why... How do you know your marriage will not scatter? What world are you standing on? Hoping? How do you know you will prosper? How do you know your business will not go down? Are are you just hoping? The pruning place. Where weak men are made strong. Where weak men are made strong.
You, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, can we just say thank you, Jesus. No. No. No. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, thank you, Jesus. We believe you were blessed by this message to connect with the Disciples Christian Network and get more from Apostle Emmanuel. Follow us on our social media platforms.
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