Speaker 1hallelujah we're teaching on the ministry of men now i mentioned it in passing last sunday if you remember and the spirit of the lord literally insisted i mean this was i think i think it was on friday if i'm not mistaken because um the pastors will agree we already had a focus for the month i think it was fate or something like that i mean and the outlines were even ready and all of that but i was in my hotel room on this was friday in akra and then the lord said to me said this is what i want you to teach this is what i want the people to know and so this is a word in season for someone now we speak about the ministry of the holy spirit and we're fully acquainted with it that the holy spirit has a ministry to the believer we speak about the ministry of angels we talk about how that angels have an assignment to and for the believer we speak about the ministry of the word so we say that the word of god has an assignment to the believer for the believer there's a work that he does in the believer and that he does for the believer but there's something another ministry that we need to give attention to and it's called the ministry of men you've heard me say this several times that men are god's metals now usually at our school of ministry i'll use that to teach your preparation to be used of god all right it was andrew murray am i right andrew murray who said men are god's metals and he said men are god's metals that the church is on a quest to find better methods or looking for better stage better sound better light better auditorium better you know and all of the rest but he said men are god's which means anytime god wants anything done he does it through what a man so men so me with a loud voice men are god's methods come on say it one more time men are god's methods and that has great implication for us it means that everything god will do in your life and for you he does it through men everything everything and if you don't understand how this thing operates which is and when i say how this thing operates i'm talking about the power of relationships the the power of relationships whether and i mean these relationships don't have to be and when i use the word relationship i'm not just talking about christian relationship i'm talking about human beings the power of people god using relationships when believers don't understand this they they see they wonder how come i'm praying and i'm doing so much and i don't seem to have the kind of results that i expect somebody asked me this was last day i believe and the person said to me said what is that one thing you wish you knew earlier on in your life and i said before god and before man i wish i knew the power of relationships before god and before man i mean i had a sense of it i had an idea that there was something that i wanted to do but i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and i didn't know what it was that i wanted to do and relationships or talking about you know the Bible says that he that must have friends must show himself how friendly all right so there's a way and manner in which you have to organize your life there's a way and manner in which you live your life and if you don't understand this you wonder why am I praying so much why am I giving so much why am I hearing so much word and I don't seem to see the commensurate result in my life let's start with a few scriptures Ecclesiastes chapter 4 very quickly we run through a couple of scriptures and then we'll just lay the foundation this morning and by next week we get into nitty-gritties now by now you agree with me that nowadays I lay foundations because before I heard that foundation was skyscraper so now we're doing better Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 9 all right let's read together I want to go two are better than one just by the way Solomon has no moral justification to say two are better than one he should have said one thousand are better than one so if it was referring primarily to marriage do you understand what I'm saying we use this to teach marriage but this scripture is broader than marriage marriage is included being one of the vital relationships in your life but it's not all that he's speaking about he says two are better than one which means that you will always have it better in your life if you have healthy and solid relationships around you he says two are better than one it's the law of scriptures no matter how gifted you are no matter how talented you are are you following what I'm saying here no matter how anointed you are two are better than one he says because they have a good reward for what their label synergistic reward for their label now look at the next thing and I want you to observe the play on this verse 10 quickly chapter 4 verse 10 it says for if they fall and I want you to observe this he didn't say if one falls the way we read it is that if one falls then the other person will be able to what hold him up but he says if they fall which means the fall of one is said to be the fall of both because the next thing he says he says the one will lift up his fellow you can't lift up when both of you are down he says if they fall are you following me today he says if they fall the one will lift up his fellow he says but what to him that is alone listen this is a very powerful statement what to the man that is alone what to a man that you know I'm good by myself no I know what I know nobody should come on are you following what I'm saying he says what to him that is alone when he fall it for he had not another to help him up verse 11 look at it which means the way life is structured there will always be the need for another to prop you up you are never listen to me your life will never be in such a way that you will not require the help of another the involvement and the inclusion of another person it will never happen it will never happen in the pursuit of destiny you will need people nobody please mark what I'm saying here nobody can become all that God has called them to be without the introduction of the right people it is not possible it is not possible that business cannot be what it should be if somebody does not enter or somebody say what concerning that business are you get what I'm saying it is not possible and I I want us to listen this morning because they are skills to handling relationships and the most unskillful people on earth when it comes to relationship I found out is the church and the reason for that is many times we think that our spiritual activities are enough there is a loan that I'm praying it's okay pardon me that I'm praying it's okay that I'm fasting I don't need anybody I have God I don't need anybody everybody can behave anyhow I don't need anybody I have God very careful the god you have works through men there's nothing he does that he won't do through men he says again if two lie down now this way now gets into marriage because the two that must lie down must be married for you now come and tell me that you know i just went to lie down on the scripture if you are single look at it if two if two lie down together then they shall they shall have what heat if you are now but let me just add a phrase to that scripture there if two lie down together then they shall have it but if they are single duvet will give them heat are you following what i'm saying it says but how can one be what one alone next verse we're going somewhere and if one prevail against him two shall withstand him and a threefold cord is not what easily broken the ministry of men first samuel 30 powerful story there powerful story first samuel chapter 30 david had left his wife his family and then the wife and the family of the people that were with him in ziklag and they had gone on some campaigns and some conquests by the time they came back the amalekites had come into ziklag and the bible says they burnt it down with fire and took every soul every single person all of david's family members his soldiers and their family members all of them taken the bible says when the men came they were so grieved that they wept and wept and then took up stones i'm trying to paint you the picture you see because everything you read in the bible you must read in context are you following what i'm saying so anything we say about david and about this story must be understood in the context of what is happening you don't know where your wife is your in this case he had the wife you don't know where your wives are you don't know where your children are your soldiers your army generals and all the rest they don't know where their children are your people took up stones to stone you do you understand where david must have found himself that the very people the bible says these men were in depth discontented they were distressed you can now imagine having helped you because there's one small palavra you now carry stone and you stone me that's even a lesson david did not repay them back for trying to stone him he didn't say listen we are back from war now now give me the list of those that carried stone he wasn't vindictive you get what i'm saying he didn't put a mark on them i've seen them i know you are you following what i'm saying so they took up stones the bible says that he encouraged himself in the lord and i've explained that what he means that he encouraged himself we did a watchtower where i explained that over three days he encouraged himself in the lord his god which means god you are my god here everybody has turned their back against me then he asked for abieta the son of abimelech or something like that the priest he said give me the effort let's make inquiries of god what we need to do in this place the bible tells tells us that they brought the effort he made inquiries and then the word of the lord came to him he said pursue he says now let's read what's the word of the lord there pursue for thou shalt what surely when god says you shall do something then he adds surely to it which means i'm telling you that listen two authentication you will overtake he says thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail what recover all listen to me you you would agree with me that even now if i came to you and say pursue overtake recover all you agree with me that's a powerful word of prophecy powerful now if we stop it at this and then we just go and then say that oh you know he overtook he pursued he recovered all we don't see how god does what he does because the bible tells us follow the story next verse very quickly 9 10 get to 11 quickly verse 11 i mean he took 600 men left 300 somewhere took another 300 somewhere and then they began to pursue now verse 11 in the heat of all of this trying to find your wife trying to find your children your people have turned their back against you the bible says they found an egyptian it was the amalekites that came against them so this man had no he was not knitted in the equation this is an egyptian but i wanted to observe something i wanted to observe something i wanted to observe something i wanted to observe something they found an egyptian in the field and they brought him to david please and i want you to be sincere if you were the one in the condition david was that they bring an amalekite somebody who had no implication in the matter what are you going to do to the guys no no no please this is not the moment for this there's a matter at hand that we have to deal with but there must have been something about the character of david that they knew that even if he was in trouble it won't stop him from being gracious have you not seen people that they are gracious when everything is fine and the moment there's a little trouble around them everybody must feel the hits they come in for prayer meeting they are not praying carry your bad energy away pray they won't pray look at the person praying like this close your eyes it's an amazing thing david was going through so much they brought an egyptian to him guess what they did for him they gave him bread and they made him drink water in their own trouble they were still hospitable are you following what i'm saying look at the next verse and to let you know they did not think it would be useful to them it was just the character of being gracious and being hospitable they didn't think it was going to be useful to them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them the good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them they didn't think it was going to be good for them We abbreviate a part away. We may not think that this part is so important. But maybe it would have taken us much longer to pursue. Maybe it would have taken us much longer to overtake. Are you following what I'm saying here? Maybe we might not even have found the camp. Why? Because God put a man there who did not seem significant. It was not a transactional thing. I'm going to give you bread. You will give me direction. No. Are you following what I'm saying here? It was not you give me something. Which is where we have found ourselves in the body of Christ today. Every relationship that people service are relationships that they think they can get something out of it. Once they don't think that anything can come out of this relationship. There is a way and manner in which they conduct themselves. Are you getting what I'm saying here? But you have to see the value in people irrespective of what they can give. You have to see the value in people. You have to. I want to beg us that listen. The frustration that many people face in their life. I don't tell you. The frustration many people face in their lives. It's because they don't know how to deal with people. It's the reason why. The frustration. I prayed. I fasted. So you are carrying words of prophecy. Pursue overtake. And you are missing the man who is going to lead you to how to pursue and overtake. Relationships. In Mark chapter 2 from verse 1. Study the story for yourself. Down to somewhere in verse 5, verse 6. The Bible tells us that Jesus was in a house. You remember the story. He was in a house. And then the. Four friends of the paraplegic man. The paralytic man. They had brought him literally on a stretcher or something like that. And there was no room for them. Let me ask you a question. Do you think it was convenient on them to be carrying a man? Do you think they didn't have their own problem that they were going through? They did. But do you know that that man may not have received his healing if he did not have those friends? No matter the fate he had in his room. Somebody had to carry him there. Somebody had to take him there. Are you following what I'm saying? In fact, if you read verse 2 very quickly. Verse 2. Straightway gathered. Go to verse 4 quickly. Go to verse 4. It says. When they could not come nigh unto him, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken up the lid, put him down there. Verse 5. Quickly. Quickly. Everybody did want to go. And when Jesus saw their fates. It was. So this miracle was not predicated on his fate alone. We don't know if he had. Chances are that he had. But at least we know that the miracle was not predicated on his fate alone. There are things that will happen on your fate alone. There are things. That will happen on your prayer alone. There are things that will happen on your giftedness alone. Is somebody hearing what I'm saying here? There are things that will happen on your skillfulness alone. It will happen just because I'm skillful. I've prayed. I've fasted. I have faith. He says when Jesus saw their fate. At least from a natural standpoint. We know that the man could not get himself to where Jesus was. Even if he had faith. He could not have been in the room where Jesus was. He needed some people to carry him there. To where Jesus was. Even if he had. Faith. He needed certain associations. Are you still here today? So people matter. People matter. And they matter not because they can help you. They matter because they are made in the image of God. This is important. This is the balance we must have in the body of Christ. People matter. Not because they can help you. Not because they can change your life. You look at them and all dress. No. People matter. Just entering into a lift. And just a smile. A courteous smile. Hi. Good morning. Just that. We are carrying noses everywhere. What? To what? For what? Like chimney. For what? For what? Somebody sits beside you in the whatever it is. Just the courtesy to say hello. Good morning. You are so absorbed in your own world. Because this person cannot change my life. If you had been told that the person you sit beside in the train or in the car, whatever it is, will change your life. Chances are that you probably. Will be a bit more courteous. You will get there and say, do you need coffee? Please look at the person beside you and tell them people matter. People. No, no, no, no. I want you to tell them as though you mean it. People really, really matter. People really, really do matter. They matter. One Jonah sank a boat. One Jonah sank a boat. No matter the skill of the people. One Jonah sank a boat. One Jehoshaphat got direction, favor with the prophet. And direction for the kings who were about to die. The kings had gone out on a conquest. There was no water anywhere. And then Jehoshaphat said, we can't die like this now. There must be a prophet somewhere. So they took them to Elisha. And Elisha said, listen, King Ahab, I've been looking for you. But I'm not going to look at you. If not for Jehoshaphat. That's when he said, bring me a minstrel. And you know the reason he didn't have a minstrel was that he was angry. So that caught the flow of the anointing. It's not that you bring me a minstrel was said only once. It's not a doctrine. It's a ministry. Because every time you want to do a ministry, give me a minstrel. All right. As long as you don't have minstrelic ministries. Glory to God. Listen to me. Nothing happens on earth save on the platform of relationships. Nothing happens on earth saves on the platform of relationships. Every spiritual transaction is manifested there. And it's manifested there. And it's manifested there. And it's manifested there. A relational transaction. Which means everything that happens in the realm of the spirit will need human beings to give it flesh and form. Are you following what I'm saying here? All right. By this time tomorrow, everything will change in the nation. But the form that that prophecy was going to take was four lepers. And if they did not give attention to what the four lepers were saying, they would die of starvation. Are you following what I'm saying here? That the four lepers were going to die of starvation. That the four lepers were going to die of starvation. That the four lepers were going to die of starvation. That the four lepers were going to die of starvation. That the four lepers were going to die of starvation. That word had gone forth. But there had to be human beings to make it happen. Pursue, recover, overtake, overtake, pursue, recover, all. That word had gone forth and the assurance was given. But there was an Amalekite who was key to the manifestation of that thing. I pray for you today. You will not miss the keys, the doors, the answers that God is sending your way. You will miss it. And please notice, please. You may be seated. Notice that all these people I've mentioned didn't seem so phenomenal. It wasn't anything special about them. There was nothing unique about them. This is where the church should actually do better. This is where the church should do better. Where the world should fail. This is where the church should do better. Because in the church, we believe that everybody is at the same level. No matter what. That the same blood that washed the pauper is what washed the rich man. Are you following what I'm saying here? The blood that washed your help or whatever it is, is the one that washed your boss. So there's no favoritism, no respect of persons. Are you following what I'm saying here? You see the value that God has placed upon each person, irrespective of their status in life. It's the church that should do better. You are walking as a lady. You are in the supermarket. And you are wearing high heels. You are doing like this. You are doing like this. And a gentleman just asks, please, where do they stay our stationaries? Because now you feel insulted. Can't you see that I'm not a staff? What is the problem? Who did you like this? Who messed up your mind like this? Okay, let's say he made a mistake that he thought you were walking there. Is it every laborer? Is there not dignity in it? Which one is your carrying nose? Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure where it is. The staffs must be up front. What happened to being courteous?
Speaker 2And then you now go and meet your girls. Can you imagine? Can't you even see my hair? Do I look like this guy himself?
Speaker 1Continue. Everybody has seen you. You think he's the only guy that has seen you. Everybody has seen you. You even go on WhatsApp status. Some people don't even have respect to know who they should talk to. Listen, one of the things you need to learn in life is to know your level. It is deep that calls to deep. Shallow should call to shallow. Continue. Continue. Are you still with me today? Then when you see one other guy that has six packs and all the rest, where can I get stationary?
Speaker 2I love you. Matthew 22.
Speaker 1I told these Bibles, man. You know, I mean, it's not that you say, we start doctrina, then we go revelatory, then we go prophetic. Leave all that one. Leave all that one. After you have doctrine, you get revelation, you get prophetic, then you now go and behave anyhow outside. No wonder nothing is working. Have you not observed that every time Paul spoke, he spoke his epistles, he was in two parts. He will start with great doctrine. Then. End up with relationships. Why did the book of Ephesians masterpiece in who we have become in Christ? You are seated in Christ Jesus. Do you know where all that revelation ended? Husband, love your wife, submit one to another, let there be no clamor and evil speaking amongst you. Have you read that before? If you are the deep guy, you will not like Ephesians five and six because chapter one, chapter two. Yes.
Speaker 2The spirit of wisdom and revelation. Oh my God. In the null. on the ledge of Hema, I am Sitoma. After you have finished sitting with Christ
Speaker 1Somebody will vex you Are you following what I'm saying here? That you are carrying doctrine But the way God will prove if you know doctrine Is in relationships It's not that if you can teach it to Are you following what I'm saying here? It's not that you can teach it It's that in your relationships we are seeing how it is working out And that's why you see Paul taking the pain He will list different kinds of relationships. Masters, how to treat their servants. Servants, how to relate with the masters. Have you not observed? All through the epistles, as though, maybe I forgot one part in this epistle. Then you go to another epistle. Add that one there. And parents, don't provoke your children. All those, the other one, they should have written it since. They provoke us, man. But we still provoke them, man. Matthew 22, 37. Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37. Let's look at 36 quickly. Matthew 22, 36. This is important. It says, Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? There are ten commandments. Which one? I would have expected, thou shalt not murder. Don't take anybody's life. That should be the greatest. Because after you murder, we will murder you back. He that killeth by the sword will die by the sword. Are you following this? But what did he call the greatest commandment? Everybody would want to go. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And you expect that that's very right. That's okay. Oh, I agree. Love the Lord my God. I love God. I have a relationship with God. You know, when I'm worshiping, I just, I break out in tears. Once you just say Jesus. Oh, my God. I'm just like a pack of cards. I just, this Jesus. Ah, it's Jesus I love. Oh, you have all those nuances and all of those kind of things. But look at the next thing he says in verse 38. This is the first and great commandment. Verse 39, quickly. And the second is like unto it. Please tell the person. It's like unto it. Do you know what he means when he says it's like unto it? They carry similar value. They carry similar weight. What is the first one? Love the Lord thy God with all of your heart. That is weighty. But there's another one that is equally as weighty as this first one. It is not of a less value. It is like unto it. What is it? Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Please listen to me. God gave Moses two tablets. Why two tablets? Could it not have been just one tablet? He didn't have to write, I mean, two tablets. God said bring two tablets to the mountain. And then God gave him commandment one to five. And then he gave him commandment six to ten. Now, check one to five. It deals with completely your relationship with God. And then you get to six to ten. And you find out that it's dealing completely with your relationship with people. So when you look at the two tablets, this is the summary. Tablet one, love the Lord with all of your heart. Tablet two, love your neighbor. Because if you love your neighbor, you will not murder. If you love your neighbor, you will not be covetous. If you love your neighbor, you will not take a wife. Are you his wife? Are you following what I'm saying? If you love your neighbor, you will not do this. If you love your neighbor, you will not speak ill and false witness about your neighbor. So he says everything about your neighbor on tablet two. Love your neighbor. If you love your God, you will not make graven images. Are you following what I'm saying here? If you love your God, you won't do this. You won't do that. What is the summary of all of that? Love the Lord thy God with all of your heart. Which means your life is not complete with a relationship with God alone. It is not. There's a major part of your life that has to do with your relationship with men. In fact, the way I put it is this. Is that your relationship with God, we can't tell what it is like. We don't know. We can't judge what it is like by your tongues. We can't judge what it is like by the revelation you are sharing. We judge what it is like and what it truly is by your relationship with men. Did somebody get what I'm saying here? A lady came to me one time and said, you know, the reason I don't want to date him is that it's not spiritual. So I asked her. I said, first things first. Particularly church ladies and all the rest. When you say spiritual, what you are looking at is the pastor. What you are looking at is the prayer leader. Who when he starts praying, he does like this. You see, the problem is this. The problem is this. Imagine you are awake in the middle of the night. You just see somebody just holds you by your nightly. Are you following what I'm saying? That's when wahala will break. You say, can you not pray quietly? Can you not pray quietly? Me and Pastor Lola cannot pray in the same room. Because then it's morning. Calm down now. So I go downstairs and I pray. Are you following what I'm saying? Now she has learnt. So me too. We now match energy upon energy. But for the longest I will say, listen baby, be praying. I'll be praying. Because I mean, I'm like a locomotive. Do you get what I'm saying? I want the lights off. I'm on my face before the Lord. Serenity and orderliness. She wants the light everywhere. You know she's the light of the world. You know she's the light of the world. You know she's the light of the world. She just turns on the light everywhere. And I'm like, what's the problem? What's the problem? I need it dark. I need to be able to concentrate and all the rest. So you can imagine that. If that's the basis of the marriage. You say, I like that girl. I like the way she's always praying. One of her brothers told me one day. He said, ah. He said, every morning. He said, every morning my wife is what wakes me up. She's my alarm. So I told the lady, I said, the problem is this. Is that you are measuring spirituality by external activities. Because he's not shouting like you want him to shout. He's not shaking under the power like you want him to shake. But hear me and hear me well. He can be shaking under the power and be full of bitterness. That the real spirituality is measured in relationships. Ask, ask this person, study the life. When he went through offenses, how did he manage it? Look at it and see if there's an influence of the Holy Ghost on his character. That's a spiritual man. That's a spiritual man. Well, I gave, and I think it was school of ministry. And maybe I should just quickly say this to you. I digress. The first thing that defines a spiritual man is the influence of the Spirit of God on his character. Not how loud the tongues are. Not the depth of revelation is dropping. The influence of the Holy Ghost on his character. The second thing that defines a spiritual man is trails and traces of the man using the word. To get victory by themselves. Are you following what I'm saying? Which means at what point did this man enter problem, enter guile, and took the word of God, used the word of God, walked his way out into victory? Or is it that every time there's problem, he's crying? Every time he's calling somebody. When there's problem in your marriage, you will call somebody. In his private place, have you seen him use his vice versa? His vice versa. His vice versa. When I say him, it's mankind. Do you get what I'm saying? Because you ladies are enjoying it too much. His vice versa. We need you to be spiritual too. When somebody says, but we ladies, we are normally very spiritual. It's the guys that we need to be spiritual. Your definition of spirituality is the problem. Are we still here today? I digress. The primary evidence of spirituality is what? In character. So on the one hand, it says your relationship with God. On the other hand, it says your relationship. Relationship with man. In essence, like I said, your life is incomplete. If all you have is a relationship with God that is not reflected in your relationship with people. It's incomplete. You can't have all that God wants you to have. You can't be all that God wants you to be. Even when Jesus, the word made flesh came. The first action of Jesus was to gather a company. That was the first action. The word made flesh needed 12 disciples. And let me tell you something. I hope you know that was the first picture of a church. I'm going to get there that you see very soon that the church is not a place where you should expect perfection. The church is a place where they should offend you. Are you following what I'm saying? Do you know what it means to have disciples that their mother came and said, sit on my right, sit on my left. Do you know the kind of strife that will be happening amongst the company of the disciples there? Do you know what it means to have Peter as part of your company? Do you understand the authority structure there that Jesus will take Peter, James and John and not take you? Have you ever thought about it or you thought that Nathaniel, you felt like, why didn't they carry me to the Mount of Transfiguration? Why is he always Peter? Why is always James? Why is always John is always carrying this partiality is much that doing church politics. Is that not what they would have said? Understanding that you don't always have to have the shine. I do get to what I'm saying here that I can be in the shadows and be confident in myself. I'm happy with what God is doing. Glory to God. Write this down. Your relationship with men is the clearest proof of your relationship with God. Your relationship with men is the clearest proof of your relationship with God. Now, very quickly, let's look at why relationships matter. They really do matter. Why they matter. I'm not going to go into how to make relationships work. The Bible says that he that must have friends must show himself friendly. So there are principles. How do you become that kind of person that attracts the right relationships and things like that? I'm not going to go into that. I'm not going to go into all of that today, but we'll just lay the foundation in the service and we'll get into that next week. Why relationships matter. Number one, please write it down. This is extremely important. Every man is made in the image of God. Whether they are rich or they are poor, they are in the image of God. Are you following what I'm saying here? Can I even announce to you whether they are saved or not, they are in the image of God. It says do good to all men, especially the house, those of the household of faith. But it doesn't say do good only to the household of faith. He says, have a bias for those of the household of faith. but you must do good to how many people all men all men do good to all men especially have a bias once you hear that this person is a believer have a bias have a bias for it my friend was um um was he ed or something of a bank one of their directors and all the rest before he resigned and moved somewhere else and he told me this he said pastor i said it is unfortunate and i found this in the body of christ it is unfortunate that it is a church believers that shut the door on other believers then he mentioned the bank and i'm not going to mention the bank he said when such and such was our ed he was one of the um directors i don't know what they call it now an address i mean he said when such and such he said everybody from wherever he was from and from where he strived and from his religion and address he said whether they were qualified or not he brought everybody inside he brought everybody inside so he asked me he said pastor do you have anybody that is looking for work anybody let them just know how to speak english i will put them there it's the believer that will be saying you know no we have to quota we have to we have to if god raises you up raise your people up are you following what i'm saying if god raises you uplift you raise your people up it's the game of numbers if we don't have enough there then we don't have a mouth there are we still here today so man is made in the image of god genesis chapter 1 verse 27 you relate with everyone from that standpoint from that basis man is made in the image of god whether the person is great or small whether the person is rich or poor it could be a gate man it could be a janitor but this person carries the very image of god on the inside of them are you following what i'm saying here the extra courtesy just to make somebody feel better about themselves it matters that extra courtesy not just being you know very non-challant about people and about how they feel that extra courtesy you are not doing this because you're expecting something to come out of them but here's the point i found out that everyone that anything great came out of relationships for them they were already practicing this thing normally in their lives do you know that the bible tells us that god and two angels were walking down the streets and then abram saw them and he said come into the house let's feed you let's let's let's just be hospitable to you there's no record that abram knew it was god there's no record he was just doing his normal self hospitality the bible says be hospitable to men for in so doing he said some of you have entertained strangers without knowing it angels pardon me you've entertained angels without knowing it somebody is asking you for the road he said i don't have time oh i don't have time and again if you're not careful africa has done something nigeria has done something because everybody is now a suspect everybody is now a suspect i remember years ago i heard the pastor say something black church and the man of god said something he said after church i'm not encouraging you to give each other right and i was thinking ah what's the problem he said no it's not necessary he said if you don't know them please you just you can give them money to take right so you have to be wise in this matter you get what i'm saying because you can carry somebody and you say we are coming from church not everybody came to church number two relationships are the gym the gym for your spirituality which means where we gym and develop spiritual muscles is in relationships relationships will expose your maturity so quickly so quickly you see i'm a patient person until you are in a team in church you see i'm a loving person are you following what i'm saying here relationship that's why you notice that all the fruit of the spirit are relational fruits every one of them patience is not developed in isolation and you get what i'm saying all the love is not developed in isolation you can read all the fruit of the spirit and you find out that every single one of them has something to do with the relationship that you have with other people it has something to do with them so it's a relationship that you gym and you develop spiritual muscles this way you develop the character and the fruit of the spirit and there's something pleasing to me about the character and the fruit of the spirit that makes you attractive it makes you likable something about the character and have you seen people that when you just get into the environment there's peace you feel at peace there's just a peace around them they've cultivated that fruit so much that it permeates into the environment and have you not seen people that when you get there everywhere is hot they've not even said anything everywhere is hot do you know what i'm talking about you just you you you see somebody and all of a sudden your heart just starts beating faster no reason for whatever it's just the person is carrying heat everywhere and you follow what i'm saying and there are people when you meet them there's just peace there's joy there's serenity and you follow what i'm saying there are people that you just want to hear them talk because they will just make you happy everywhere would just be and other people is like it's a relationship that you develop character number three for the sake of time i love this one destiny is locked up in relationships destiny is locked up in relationships it was john maxwell who said this many years ago he said one is too small a number to achieve greatness another way to put it is that no man succeeds alone no man i don't know how much i can stress this to you no man no matter how spiritual or how gifted no matter the encounters you've had with god no matter how spiritual or how gifted you've had with god no matter how spiritual or how gifted you've had with god no matter how spiritual you just came out from a 32-hour vision are you following what i'm saying you just entered a portal that led you to a channel and you came out on it are you following what i'm saying whatever all those interesting things that you people always call and you use you know all those things that just complicates the truth of god's word unnecessarily i'm telling you the truth there's something called the simplicity of the gospel and that's sometimes in a beat to make us feel like we are deep and we are making progress we start using some highfalutin terms that in and of themselves they are basic truths in god's word are you following what i'm saying here so no matter what it is that you say has happened to you when you come down from heaven because you will come down when you when you finally now come down from heaven you say i saw a vision on the way to damascus i was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but sir it is ananias that will open the church up to you and he will hand you over to banabas who will become your guarantee because the body of christ will not accept you haven't been their persecutor but banabas will say i know him i know his character i can stand a shorty for him and because banabas put his reputation on the line he will not accept you because he will not accept you on the line you can fulfill your ministry it's not only division you saw is somebody following what i'm saying here please hear me and hear me well no man succeeds alone this idea of i will cut them off i will cut them off i will cancel them i will cancel them no human being is terrible enough to be canceled nobody i understand that you may have to manage the relationship with wisdom and determine the level of access that people have to you that is wisdom but to cancel a human being in your heart and to write them off is to make yourself god and you are not you are not is somebody still with me today this cancel culture somebody just says something you don't like i cancel them i block them you have blocked everybody including your helper you've blocked everybody because while you are blocking in anger you now blocked the one you didn't plan to block but you don't know you've blocked the person is trying to send you dm the dm is not going through your husband has now sent another person dm problem say whatever god has for me he will find me let me tell you something he will not find you let me tell you something listen to me there are statements we make as christians that are useless statements whatever god has for me no man can take it they can take it whatever god has for me nothing can shake he will he will shake listen here i'm telling you are you following what i'm saying it will shake they will take it we go i'm saying no toffee aqua i've told you over and over again god forbid toffee aqua is like no more it has no spiritual nutritional value is somebody getting what i'm saying here i have commanded the ravens to feed you where at the brook called chariots if you are not at the brook if you like say whatever god has for me will find me it will find me it will find me it's not the bed that will find you it's you that will find the brook you have to be where god has sent them to be if you like be staying there whatever god has for me will find me even if i'll just block everybody my own i will not block you will block are you following what i'm saying don't train yourself to be toxic don't train yourself to lack capacity for people no human is perfect people are not perfect people will hurt you are you following what i'm saying people will offend you but let it never ever be said that you are a dog that once you go out they can't come in again let it never be said you are not god please You are not God. Is somebody following what I'm saying? You are not God. Destiny is locked up in relationships. Moses needed Aaron and all. I hope you know. And this is the very reason Satan attacks relationships viciously. Everybody look at me and stop writing. That prayer you are praying, the answer is a person. Interestingly, it might be your gate man. Just like Naaman, it was the maid in his house. You get what I'm saying? Interestingly, and please note, I'm not saying develop a deep relationship with everybody. What I'm saying is develop relational skills. There are two different things. Because you cannot be everybody's friend. You get what I'm saying? So I'm not saying that everywhere you go, you are popular, jingle, everybody. Hey, hey, everybody says you are my best friend. Do you get what I'm saying? Like one time I was seeing Pasfolia, she was everybody's best friend. I said, okay. Hey, you are my best friend. You are my best friend. You are my best friend. You are my best friend. My sister. My sister. The problem is this, is that one day you will soon burn out. Because you can't be sister to everybody if you want to really be sister. You can't be. You can't be brother to everybody. My best friend, they call you for wedding. You leave this one's wedding. You enter that one's wedding. You enter birthday. You get home. Your husband say cook. Then you wake up. He say, hey, church. Do you understand what I'm saying? So, I'm not saying that you start developing relationships with everybody. I say, yeah. No, that's not what I'm. We'll talk about how you determine those who enter. Those four people that must be in your life. There are four people that must be in your life. That's why they were four friends. Yeah. Mamaditz. Mamaditz, who is a Hebrew scholar. The most brilliant Hebrew sage that ever lived. He talked about these four kinds of friends you must have. That's why there were four there. Number one. I'll tell you next week. So. I got you where I want you. I got you where I want you. So, you have to learn this. Destiny is locked up where? In relationships. Satan will attack relationships for this reason. Vicious attack on relationships. He will get somebody to go and say something. Are you following what I'm saying? Vicious attack. Very soon you start saying, nobody gets me. Nobody understands me. No. It is their fault. So, you go to church. It is their fault. You go to work. It is their fault. Your family members. It is their fault. Only you. Nobody in the whole world can unravel you. What a mystery. Brother mystery. You say I'm peculiar. Sister peculiar. You get what I'm saying? Everybody. You. Calm down. Let me tell you something. Just a little more stress. Once everybody is wrong, then you are wrong. Are you following what I'm saying? Once everybody is wrong, then just accept that you are the wrong person. Your prayer is a person. The answer to your prayer is a person. The open door you are seeking is a person. Are you following what I'm saying? The breakthrough you are desirous of is a person. Let me show you from scriptures. Matthew 7. Stay with me. Matthew chapter 7 verse 7. When I saw this thing. Matthew chapter 7 verse 7. Some of you don't understand when I say that. What has robbed me the most in life. And I'm going to come to it. Because I'm a very introverted person. And people don't know that. People hear, Pastor, how can I be introverted? You are. You are very confident now. Listen to me. I told them in the first service. I said, I can bore you with boredom. It's a gift. I'm telling you, it's a gift. I can bore you with. The people close to me know what I'm saying here. If you are talking to me, in my head, what I'm thinking is that this person is a problem to me right now. Can't they just shut up their mouths? There's one guy that started walking with me recently. Dad, dad. Who are you? Leave dad. Leave dad. Leave dad now. I'm here. So, everything. Dad, dad.
Speaker 2Leave the kid.
Speaker 1Matthew chapter 7 verse 17. Oh, God of heaven. Tearest Holy Spirit. Let me tell you how bad it is. I was in a place one time. I was in a place one time. And I was calculating. Should I greet? Should I greet this person? Should I not greet this person? If I now stand up and I have grits. No, no, no, no, no. Please. Should I not greet? And I will never forget what the Holy Spirit said. He said, what will it take you? What will it cost you? Just to make this person feel good. Ah. I started talking to the Holy Ghost. He will cost me. My eye. My eye. Oh, pay me to just sit down where I am. One time, I went for my friend's program. I no address, no address. So, I sent a message after me. He said, I came for your meeting, no? He said, Pastor Ajani, you came. I said, I came. He said, you do not greet me. So, I said to myself, I said, you sinner. Because I will not greet you. What am I greeting you for? I've come. But you know that it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation.
Speaker 2Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation.
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Speaker 2Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation.
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Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. Because it is self-preservation. This is the law and the what? Prophets. This is the summary. This is the summary. Any Christianity that does not influence your relational skills, we should check it well if it's a true Christianity. That's why I'm worried when I hear people teach the gospel in such a way that makes them critical of other believers. I'm worried. I fear that it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. No, you cannot teach the message of the gospel and look at other believers as lower than you. Even if you think they don't have the level of revelation and light that you have, it's not possible. If it is taught well, in fact, if it is taught well, what you will have is compassion, not criticism. That's what you will have. I fear that people have been exposed to the message of the gospel and there's this level of almost sauciness that you see. And I'm wondering, who taught you? Where are you from? There's a graciousness and love around Jesus. Is somebody still with me today? Or how do you think he coped for three years with those 12 human beings? You think they were all angels? Do you think they did everything right? One of them killed him. Are we still here today? Destiny is locked up where? In relationships. Number four, we're on here. Your relationship with God is locked up. Your relationship with God is locked up. Your relationship with man affects your relationship with God. The fourth reason why relationships matter is that your relationship with man has a major impact on your relationship with God. For example, we know that unforgiveness blocks prayer. The answer is to prayer. Unforgiveness to who? To people. Who did you pray to? God. But it says that your unforgiveness and strife with people will block the answer to your prayer. That's how powerful your relationship with man is. Are you following what I'm saying? We see that dishonor blocks the blessing. Numbers chapter 2. Chapter 12 from verse 1. Miriam and Aaron dishonoring their brother. And the blessing was blocked. In fact, Miriam became leprous. Are you still here today? Jesus said, if you want to give your gift, and you remember that there's an issue somewhere. He says, drop your gift. I always like to remind people, he didn't say take your gift along with you. First put it down because you won't come back with it many a times. Life will happen and you need to pay something. He said, leave your gift. It's Jesus that said it, it's not me. Stop looking at me like that. If you want to go and write on Twitter, go and tweet that Jesus said, it's your business. All right? So, you get what I'm saying. He said, leave the gift there, then go back and do what? Your gift, no matter how powerful and how big it is, cannot take the place of a good relationship. It will not. It will not. Is anybody learning anything today? The fifth reason why relationships matter is that the church is a family. It's not just a gathering. That's why all these, all the instructions that Paul gave concerning the church, they were relational instructions. Forgive one another. Pray for one another. You ever read that before? Submit to one another. Have you ever read that before? Now, that shows you that the mindset of the Bible writers is that church is not a school where you just come and learn and go. It's a family where you develop relationships. Let me tell you something about relationships. There will be offense, there will be friction. So, any church where you have not been offended is not a good church. Did you hear what I just said to you? Any church where you have not been offended, because all of you are looking for a church where you will not be offended, is not Petra. They will not offend you. Any church where you have not been offended is not a good church. Because if it is a good church, it's bringing people at different levels of life who are still growing and becoming better. You get what I'm saying here. And what God does with church is that we have teaching and we have practical. So, what I teach on Sunday and Wednesday is teaching. Then when you now enter into the body and you are interacting with people, that's now practical. Are you following what I'm saying here? Sister Betel will now say something you don't like. Yes. You will now use the practical. Have you read where it says forbearing one another? Forbearing means this person has refused to change. It's taking time for the change to happen. It says forbearing one another. Have you read it in scripture? That one usher will tell you, speak to you in a way that you don't like. You say, if not for church, can this girl talk to me outside? Does she know who I am? Does she know the number of people I control outside? The problem is that there's nobody that can talk to you like that outside. So, God uses church that they used to talk to you. Yes. Outside, nobody can talk to you again. You are really a big man. He has promoted you too much. So, God will now use church to that area of your life where you are now, you are there, you are forgotten where you are coming from. You are one small, small girl, small girl, small girl. Not girl or small girl. The thing will just be petite. He'll just look at you and say, oh God, if you don't sit down, you look at yourself, me, a whole bank empty. They are talking to me like this. Listen, this is why I don't like going to church. I'm not coming to church again. You see your problem? Because everywhere you go, you want to be celebrated. Monday to Friday, everybody is carrying fire, shaking for you, shaking for you. You are forgotten the fact that you are human. God will use one small girl to remind you. Now, does it mean that this small girl should be like that forever? No. So you will now report her. God will now use us to remind the small girl not to talk like that again. But guess what? Both of you have become better. All of a sudden, all that chip on your shoulder has come down and said, ah, anyway, we just thank God. It's the mercy of God. It's the grace of God. All of a sudden, you are now humble. In fact, you say, I want to join the ushering department. Why? God has used church to train you. Because outside, everybody is looking for what they will get from you. They bring their best foot forward. Your subordinates at work, ah, my boss, boss forever. It's because they are looking for increase. And you get what I'm saying here. But in church, all of us are ill. Everybody is carrying problem. Somebody just, they just chased somebody from the house. He's looking for where he'll go to after service. Are you following what I'm saying? Somebody has not eaten since morning. And guess what? Church is where everybody think there is answer. You now come. So all of us will now jump. Bam. So any church, they are not offending you. Any church where they are not, they are not giving you the opportunity to develop character. You are not going to a good church. Take it from me. The first church of Jesus Christ, the 12 disciples, they fought. Everything scattered. There was suspicion amongst them. Jesus said, one of you will betray me. He said, hmm, who is it? I know it's Peter. His mouth is too much. Me, me. Then two of them brought their mother to Jesus. Please give to my sons. One to sit on my right. I want to sit up. You think that the other disciples saw it and they were very okay. They said, oh, this one, I just like mothers. Mothers love the progress of their children. You think that there was not some schism there? Do you know that sometimes what the Lord says is not just because he wants to give revelation, is that he's addressing issues. He says, love one another. He says, by this shall all men know that you are what? My disciples. Why do you think he was saying that? How is he teaching them love? This is how men will know you are my disciples. Why? If you have raised the dead or you've cleansed the lepers, but the way I'm looking at you people. So the church is both training ground, teaching ground and practical ground. Glory to God. Well, some people, they like to cause problem. So they are like, yes, I'm the one God has sent to train you and give you practical. I tell you, repent today. I'm the one God has sent to train you and give you practical. I'm the one God has sent to train you and give you practical. Glory to God. So we must see the church as our training ground for relationships. Don't bolt at every sign of inconvenience. Don't bolt at every sign of friction. Sometimes it's a traumatic response. It's a traumatic response. Many times. It's a traumatic response. Well, let's close. Why do people fail at relationships? Next week, we'll look into how do you develop relationships? How do you develop relational skills? You got anything this morning? Why do people fail at relationships? And please listen very carefully to me. Number one, is a faulty understanding of this concept. God is my source. Is a faulty, whether you know that statement clearly, or it's just an ideology that runs your life. You can have a faulty understanding of it. I'll share with them in first service. Those of you that were with me in Abuja, you will remember that there was a season for almost a year. I literally threatened them. God is my source. Nobody is my source. Now, again, again, I had gone through life. Do you understand me? Oh yeah, I learned verses and everything. I had gone through life, and I had come to a conclusion, God is my source. God is my source. So anytime you tell me, God is my source, you can go. You can go. You people are laughing now, but I'm telling you how I was preaching. God is my source. You give, we go. You don't give, we go. And the people will be looking at me like, they'll be looking at me like, bleh, bleh, bleh. Now, what I was saying, was he wrong? No. There's nothing wrong with what I just said. God is my source. But the point is that God uses human channels. Are you following what I'm saying? And the way and manner in which you handle and relate with those channels really matters. It really matters. You can't treat people just anyhow and hope that one day God will throw a miracle into your life. The simple things of gratitude, as little as it is a thank you message, What do you think? Are you following what I'm saying here? Your friend is celebrating. It's not just chat, GBT generated SMS. A gift that matters. Something thoughtful. Are you following what I'm saying here? Every time it's happy birthday to you. He's a jolly little fellow. Every time. Glory to God. A faulty understanding of the concept that God is my source. God is our source but he uses people. And whilst we don't develop any form of entitlement to people. We must develop a sense of gratitude. Are you following what I'm saying here? For the people that he has brought into our lives. Number two. And this is very important. A self-absorption. That impedes true connections. That people can be so self-absorbed. And particularly for, you know, like I was sharing with you. Someone like me who likes my space and all the rest. That self-absorption can be actually inferiority complex. Where you feel less of yourself. Are you getting what I'm saying here? You look around and you feel, I don't want to talk. I don't, and all the rest. It's self-absorption that impedes connection. Or I've seen people so self-absorbed. That they have a bloated sense of their importance and their worth. In five minutes of meeting them, you know everything they are doing. You know, I just came back from Doha. And then when I was coming, I went through the Strait of Hormuz. And then. That sees everyone as a means to an end. Everyone. What can I get? What can I get? And let me say this to you. If you don't just take a pause and review your life. You won't know that this is how you are thinking. You won't know this is how you are relating with people. That self-centered model that sees everyone simply as a means to an end. Let me close on this. You don't get blessed because of who you treated right. It is because you treated people right. Cast your bread upon me. Upon many waters. You don't know which one will return back to you. Cast your bread. Glory to God. So what am I saying to you? Start loving. Start loving people. And get interested in people. Genuinely get interested in people. Are you getting what I'm saying here? At whatever level of life you are. You can be a sucker to somebody else. Whatever level of life you are. Whatever. Hear me what I'm saying here? Whatever. Somebody needs your tie to start a new job that they got. You have three. You can give them one. Are you listening to what I'm saying here? Whatever level of life where you are. Once you stop being self-absorbed. You suddenly start seeing opportunities to pour into people. And then it opens you up as well to be poured into. So get genuinely interested in people. Don't just enter environments like this and just walk out. As if people don't matter. Just leave and you just go everywhere. No. Get genuinely interested in people. You get to walk. Go to your colleague's desk. Give them a. You bought two cups of tea. Give them one cup. And say I just got this one extra for you. Just do it. Are you still here? Be relational. Be courteous. And always extend grace. Let me pray for you. Please rise up on your feet. Father in the name of Jesus. I declare. I declare that your week is blessed. In the precious name of Jesus. God grants you discernment. You will not miss the people that God has sent into your life. Both for you to help and for you to help and to help you. In the mighty name of Jesus. Thank you Heavenly Father. In the name of Jesus we pray.
Speaker 3We hope you've been blessed by this message. To be a part of any of our programs or services. Visit our website www.PetraCC.org For our different locations and service times. We'll be happy to have you join our online community. Follow us on our social media handle on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram at Petra Christian Center. You can also reach us via email at correspondence at PetraCC.org Or call us on 070-173-8710. www.PetraChristianCenter.com Petra Christian Center, Building Jesus Communities Globally. www.PetraChristianCenter.org
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