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Stressless Life & Ministry without Compromise by Rev'd Odun Orioke #finishwellsummit
Stressless Life & Ministry without Compromise
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Stressless Life & Ministry without Compromise by Rev'd Odun Orioke #finishwellsummit
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Stressless Life & Ministry without Compromise by Rev'd Odun Orioke #finishwellsummit
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The speaker begins by thanking God and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to speak. He mentions that he has one hour to speak but is willing to go longer if necessary with God's strength. He emphasizes the belief that one can do all things through Christ. The speaker then prays for peace, progress, and stress-free lives in ministry. He mentions that stress and compromise are harmful and should be overcome. The speaker shares personal experiences and the importance of maintaining balance in ministry and personal life. He talks about the dangers and temptations of leadership in ministry and how it can affect relationships. The speaker acknowledges the need for repentance and learning from past mistakes. The focus of the summit is on dream ministry without stress, compromise, or tragedy. The speaker highlights the importance of ministry as an act of worship and partnering with God. He talks about the dangers of ministry and the need for balance. The speaker concludes by discussing t time for us. May God bless you. We are glad to meet you again and their sister. Bless you. All of us, ministers of God here, I'm happy to see you. I'm happy to be here today. May God bless all of us in Jesus name. Everybody say amen. I have about one hour to speak and I pray that God will bless the time in the name of Jesus Christ. Pastor has said you can spend more than one hour. I told somebody recently and I thank God for this in my life. All right. But if God wants me to pray for two hours, he will give me the strength. Even three hours, he will give me the strength. I can do all things. Somebody say I can do all things. Give your testimony to somebody. Look at that, I can do all things. I can do all things. I can do all things. Amen. May God bless you in Jesus name. I have two places to preach. At times I will preach from here, at times I will preach from there. May the Lord bless you. Amen. Let us pray. You are God of peace. We are actually talking about peace, progress in ministry and life. Stressless life, that's peaceful life. We pray Lord our God has come to follow you. Make your peace to dwell in us and dwell in us richly in the name of Jesus Christ. Make your peace to dwell in our house. Make your peace to dwell in our ministries. All the things that stress us, that stress us in our heart, that stress us in our churches, please help us to overcome them. Help us not to see them anymore. Help us not to hear them anymore in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Thank you wonderful Lord. With you is wisdom. Lord our God teach us wisdom to be above all these negative things in Jesus name and to finish strong and reign with you eternally in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated. Pastor Isaac and we met in the fair. That was about 1990. But since then I've left the hospital practice to remain in church practice and thank God for his grace and I just pray his grace will more than enough for all of us in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Everybody say amen. Amen. I bring greetings from my wife. She's not able to be here today. We had a meeting in the morning and I took my leave from that meeting. It was not good for the two of us to leave the meeting so she had to be there. So what Isaac, he said I should greet you. May the Lord bless you. Everybody say amen. My subject is, they are very simple. The topics are very simple but there are many. So most of the things they are, I'm going to say you know them. So we are just going to remind ourselves and maybe if God wants to teach us new things, we bring new things we need to learn to us. In many places it says, remember, remember, remember. It's good to remember and it's good to remind ourselves things we have known before so that we don't forget them and be damned so that we don't forget them and finish weak. We will not finish weak. We will finish strong in Jesus name. I appreciate you Isaac for the wisdom of God in your life and for the great ministry he has committed to us. As you are learning from us, we are learning from you. We are learning a lot from you, especially when we are investing in shares. Many times I will call you. I said which one should we buy now? And we drank a lot from the knowledge and insight that God has given to you. My subject is restless life and ministry without compromise and tragedy. That is the focus. Of this summit, I mean today, that is the focus. I have spoken about it from theological perspective and from ministry perspective. I will speak about it the way it affects you as a person, as a man, as a woman. The way it affects you, not just as a pastor, but the way it affects your personal life. This is very important. This is very important because you are the center of it. You are the center of ministry. You have God that bless you. It's not good for you to be stressed. It's not good for you to be stressed. Stress is very bad. It's not good for me to compromise. Compromise in a way is bad. We shall look at it. Right? Yeah, I told you that recently I was at Turn 17 and many press, many press organizations, they met me. How is it? How were you able to do ministry at all? They asked me questions. And one of the things I always told them is that God has given me the grace to resist stress. Right? God has given me the grace to resist stress. I maintain my peace at all times. It doesn't disturb me. It's good to be stressless. You cannot be completely stressless, but it's good for you to be able to resist stress 90% or more. When we look at our subject, as I said, there are four issues before us, four big issues. But you are familiar with all of them. The first is dream ministry. In fact, if I may recaption the topic, I will call it dream ministry without stress, without compromise, or tragedy. Without tragedy. Tragedy means agyalu, ipaje, ipi. In Jesus' name, ipi onebanye. Dream ministry, that's number one. Stress is the second point. Compromise is the third, and tragedy is the third issue. There are many. We shall look at them one by one, what each of them means, the things that cost each of them, and then we shall look at how we can overcome them or be victorious over them. Dream ministry, that is where I'm starting from. You know what is dream ministry. You know it. It's serving God and serving people and blessing people's life through the grace of God that is in your life. That's my simple definition. Blessing God, I mean blessing people through the grace of God that is in your life. Ministry is very good. Choosing to do ministry is very wise. When done from the heart, when done from the heart, ministry is an act of worship. When done from the heart, ministry is an act of worship. When done in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, ministry is an act of worship to the Lord. To the Lord. And then if it's partnering with God, ministry is partnering with God. If you partner with God in His intensive work among human beings, ministry, dream ministry is very good. It's very good. It's very good. That's why I'm choosing to do ministry. It's very wise. All right. Dream ministry is very wise. I finished from Oritamefa here, 1980. All right. That is usage. Finished precisely June 23, 1980 from usage here. When we were doing our competition, what do you call it? Some president was there. We were very young, very young, about the age of 27. Very young. They said, doctor, what are your plans for the future? I said, my plan is to preach the gospel. They just left me. You are a doctor. I said, your plan is to preach the gospel. They just left me. He didn't ask me the second question. Then I told him, that's your problem. He didn't ask me the first question. The second question is very wise. It gives you the opportunity to spend your life well. It's one of the best ways you can spend your life. In addition, it gives you the opportunity of building your treasures in heaven and bringing yourself and your family other eternal and everlasting generational blessings of God. Dream ministry is very good. It must be mentioned that dream ministry at leadership level poses some dangers, all the same. And the dangers and temptations are very many. They are going to be the temptation of life balance. That is, ministry can demand so much from you that other areas of your life can suffer. When I was a young minister, I suffered that. God cautioned me. You see, I was well prepared for marriage. I was well, well prepared for marriage. I can't remember how many books I read in preparation for marriage, how to be a good husband. I was not married. I've read about how to be a good father. I was well prepared, prayed and fasted. But when we got there, we gave up. And what caused this unfortunate situation is ministry. I would do ministry, I forget my wife. I would do ministry, I forgot my children. When it was time to go and pick my children in school, I would forget them. All that is very bad. Tell me a woman that will not be angry. Tell me a woman that will not be angry. By the time I got home in those days, my wife would be so angry and I would be telling lies, I would be telling lies, minister of God. Ministry just threw me out of balance. It was serious. I worked so hard in the hospital because the hospital is also a mission ground for me. It's not just a hospital. You can't come to my room, consulting room, without hearing about Jesus Christ. It was absolutely impossible. Absolutely impossible. Oh my God, if you don't want to hear, you will hear. If you close your eyes, your eyes will see. It's absolutely impossible. I worked in the hospital, I would leave from the hospital, I would go to the villages, I would go and pray the gospel. By the time I got home many times, I would be so useless. I would not be able to sleep with my wife. From the dining table, I would be sleeping like this. I would not be able to finish my food. It's possible some of you have been through that. It's possible. You must go and repent. If anybody told me to go and repent, I would tell that person, what are you saying? But it took God himself to tell me. Do you know what God told me? One day, after we had the quarrel, I would say, why is my life like this? Why is my life like this? I deserve a sweet marriage, a very good marriage. Why is it like this? I prepare very well. I prepare very well. I am a good man. Because I knew I gave my life to Christ. I was following Jesus Christ. But I got some things wrong. Good but unwise. Are you following me? So one day when I was asking God, why are things like this with me and my marriage? God told me, He said, you are the problem. Your wife is not even the problem. You are the problem. He said, listen to me my son, any ministry you do and your marriage fails, I am not in that ministry, you have no reward for that ministry. Any ministry you do and your marriage fails, I am not in that ministry, you have no reward for that ministry. That day, my head became correct. I can't forget. How will I forget? I can't forget. Then the next thing is, then how do I do it? The Lord said to me, always come home by 9 o'clock the latest. By 9 o'clock the latest, it must be the harbingers of a Christian brother. I won't go to 9 o'clock, I will come back home by 12 midnight. 1 a.m., 2 a.m., doing ministry, doing deliverance, doing prayer. I will come back home by 10 minutes. I will come back home by 10 minutes, I will come back home by 10 minutes, I will come back home by 10 minutes, I will come back home by 10 minutes, I will come back home by 10 minutes. So when God told me, you must come home by 9, I said that is very simple. I promised my God, I will not come home by 9, I will be coming home by 7 o'clock. That day that God spoke to me, by 7 o'clock I was at home. My wife was so shocked. She said, Sheku see problem, no day. I said no problem. She didn't hear the story from me all the many years after. Because I was always, I just know. So ministry can throw you off balance, life off balance. There are many ministers of God who don't give attention to their children. These are the dangers in ministry. They don't give attention to their wives, they don't give attention to their husbands. Okay, and it is a terrible thing. These are some of the problems we have. And if you are not careful, you gain many souls but you lose your children. Of what profit is that? You gain many souls but you lose your children. Or even you lose your soul. If you are going to enter heaven, and no child enters, none of your biological children enters heaven with you, I think you are a very miracle. I don't think God will allow you to enter. It will look upon mercy. If our God, and we ask Him, our mother. These are some of the challenges in ministry. And we have to deal with difficult assistants. Difficult assistants, difficult deacons, difficult leaders, difficult members. You know how to... But obviously, choosing to do ministry is very wise. We have financial morality to handle, and we have sexual morality that will challenge us. I cannot be talking about how many temptations women have given to me. Very bad ones. Very bad, very bad ones. If I tell you some of them, you will pity me. Worse temptations, worse, worse, worse than what Joseph faced. They are there. They are there. But glory be to God, in all of them, the God of Joseph kept us. Nobody should tell me that the temptation was too much. Worse temptations than Joseph faced. The Lord that kept Joseph will keep you. The Lord that kept us will keep you. They are there. And then, over expectation of your children and wife. I call it emotional burden on your children. Emotional burden on your children. People expect too much from your children. What other children will do? And they will excuse them. They will not excuse your children. Your children are under burden. Okay? And then, if your children are under burden from the members, from the outsiders, should they be under burden in your house again, I think it will be unfair. If the house is too hot for them again, it will be unfair. If you do miss friends outside, you should miss friends and their dad. Their dad must be a friend. Mom must be a friend. Dad must not be toxic. Mom must not be toxic. Must not be harsh. Must not be difficult. Must not be difficult. The second subject today is stress. Let me just do ministry. Ministry is so big. Let me just say that few words on ministry. The second one is stress. Are you following me? Stress. What is stress? What is stress? As a medically trained person, the first thing that occurs to me is to go and check what World Health Organization says. I didn't contact the dictionaries. I want to share with you also the World Health Organization. And this is what they say. They say in World Health Organization, stress can be defined as a state of worry. A state of what? When you are put under a state of worry, you are stressed already. If your mind is worried, you are under stress already. That is World Health Organization. Experts in health. Or mental tension. Your mind is clouded. You cannot even think. It is a state of confusion. Or uneasiness. Caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to adjust to linkages and threats in our lives. Alright? When there is stress, our body is prepared to act. And many a times, when you are stressed, you really sit down and act. Or stand up and act. Everyone in this life, including the speaker, experiences stress to some degree. When I was delivering this message, I was under stress. For many reasons. The audience I am going to meet, I don't know. I have never met them before. I have never met you before. You have never met before. Except very few of us. There are a few of us. I have never met you before. Who are the people I am going to address? I am under stress because your expectation of me is very high. You expect so much from me. I must not feel God. I must not feel Him. I was under stress. The closer it got, the more stress I developed. The Lord will bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I woke up in the a.m. and said, let me prepare a powerpoint. And today we are not even using powerpoints. And I sat down with them for about two and a half hours, preparing a powerpoint. Under stress. God will bless your life. Because the problem when it interferes with the personal health and normal activities. When you become so stressed or worried or tensed and you are not able to do the normal things. Then it has become a problem. Are you following me? Do you understand? What are the signs of stress? Brother Labiro spoke about the signs of stress in the ministry. In the church. When your church is stressed. But let me talk about you. You yourself, the man of God. The woman of God. What are the signs of stress within yourself? Number one. Everybody let us all be together. Number one. Finding it very hard to relax. Have you explained this before? Many times. Just find it hard to relax. What is number two? Anxiety. What is the group of anxiety? Anxiety. What is number three? Inevitability. On the edge. Little things can get you annoyed. What is number four? Inevitability to concentrate. These are serious issues. Inevitability to concentrate. Oh, you have turned to the PowerPoint. Thank you. Inevitability to concentrate. What is number five? Next slide. Headaches. Usually frontal headaches. I should have taken more stress. Simple stress. Let me tell you something here today. At least 90% of your headaches is due to tension or stress. 90%. But when it comes to telling me that it is... What do you call it? Migraine. It is migraine. Maybe it is tumour. There is no tumour in your head. Tumour is not common in the brain. It is not common. Go and relax. Your headache will go down. Somebody shout hallelujah. Body pains. What is number six? Body pains. Many a times, if you have not overworked yourself, and you have body pains, it is because the body has not relaxed. It is so tense. And so it will pain. What is number seven? Sleep disorders. There are very many. There are very many sleep disorders. But the common one is that you get to the bed, you get on your bed, you are not able to sleep. You roll to the left, you roll to the right, you lie on your back, you are not able to sleep. So you are not able to get... I mean, go to sleep. And on that sleep disorder, there are many types of them. Let me just mention just two. And on that type is, you sleep. You sleep easily. But after about two hours, you wake up. And you cannot sleep anymore. Somehow, you are stressed and worried inside. Something is disturbing you. What is number eight? Let us see it very well. Appetite disorders. Either you are eating too much, or you are not able to eat. Appetite disorders. When people are stressed, some people will comfort themselves, they will eat more. And some will not be able to eat. Many years ago, I was stressed off. What is... What was my problem? I have been in practice. I was doing medical practice. I was not fulfilled. I was getting fantastic results. Anybody say fantastic? All of them are geniuses. But I just felt that I am still not there. This is not what I want to use my life to do. I was getting fantastic results. You come... God gave me understanding and secret to many things. It was just wonderful. When there were no drugs in the market, God would tell me, go and use this one for them. Simple things. Every woman that was looking for a baby got pregnant. Every stroke that was brought to me walked back to their houses on their feet. No tetanus died in my hospital. But at the same time, I did not feel fulfilled. I was going home every day with a pocket full of money. So I was asking myself, what is the meaning of life? I got very, very angry. One woman came inside. I said, doctor, for the past five months, I have not seen my period. I said, you are pregnant. She said she was not pregnant. And we did everything. We tested. She was not pregnant. I said, okay, we are going to solve the problem. And so she left. The next patient that came in was also a woman. I said, doctor, for the past two weeks, I have been bleeding. I have been having my period. I said, I can't continue like this. I got back home. I could not sleep. I got back home. I could not eat. Any time I ate, it did not digest. I would take Oki in the morning, in the evening, and receive the batching Oki. For the first time, my wife reported me to my people. But I never knew I was stressed until much later. I could not sleep with my wife. All right? I was suffering from a dark color. It hit me hard. It was dark. Because I was stressed. I didn't know the way forward in life. But to me, to the people, oh, this man is successful. This man, God is using him. He is healing our diseases. But I knew that I was not yet where I felt God was leading me. What is number nine? Sometimes trouble. Okay, indigestion. What is number ten? Yeah, tremors. Or your, maybe it's your tummy. Here, you do like this. Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo. Then you say, ah, what is moving there? It is stress. It's stress. Ah, maybe it's your eye. Then you do like this. Oh, Sherry. I think you put something there. Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo. The muscles of the eye are stressed. So when you see all these things, just tell yourself, boy, relax. Or you tell yourself, you're a woman, you say, girl, relax. I'm always a boy. I've told myself several times today, boy, oh, you boy, be very careful. Until I die, I will still call myself what? Boy. What's my mela rani? Boy, relax. Boy, be careful. So mommy, to my daughter, you have to be very careful. Somebody shout hallelujah. What is number 11? Bizarre, bizarre sensations. Just type of sensations in the body. Like what? Crawling sensation. Eek sensation. Peppery sensation. Skiruda benyukon data similara extension. At times you'll be going on the express road, it will be as if you're encountering cobwebs. What is the other sensation? I could see two pastors doing like this. And what is number 12? Dizziness. Dizziness, dizziness, dizziness. A lot of dizziness because we are under tension, we are stressed. And then sexuality disorder. I've mentioned that several times today. From a personal example, alright, the Lord will bless you. Either you have erection problem, alright, if you're a man, not able to have erection, get erection very fast, or you lose erection too fast. All some of these things that are stress, anxieties, worries of life. It affects women too. True menstrual disorder. Alright, true menstrual disorder. Many young undergraduates, when their exams are approaching, they will not be able to menstruate. But once the exam is over, what happens? Menstruation will come. Keshagio, it's not witchcraft, it's not spiritual attack, it's a stress attack caused by the examination. What is number 14? Too many dreams. Too many dreams. If you have too many dreams, God is not speaking to you. Don't forget it. Just forget it. God is not in too many dreams, not business of life. What is number 15? Bad dreams. Bad dreams. Only Osha, Ofo, other person know me. You are worried, you are depressed, you are stressed. All these things. And what is number 16? Chronic stress can worsen pre-existing health problems, especially addiction and substance abuse. Alright. What is substance abuse? Marijuana, alcohol, Tramadol, all those silly things. And then, number 18. What is number 18? What is it? Stress. So, stress is very bad. After stress, let us look at the number 2 topic today. And that is compromise in life and ministry. I think you know it. What is compromise? Simply put, compromise is shifting ground. Compromise is what? Compromise is what? Compromise is shifting ground. This is the ground you have been. Then when promise comes, you leave that ground, they cannot just stand. Compromise is shifting ground. It could be positive and it could be negative. Are you following me? When it will not be, it is after positive compromise. When we shift ground for the sake of de-escalation, de-escalation of a dispute, that is, that is, so that this dispute will come to an end. So you shift ground. Because if you continue to maintain that ground, you will never be able to reconcile. Bro, please come. I want, please come. I would like your bow tie. Clap for him. I would like you to introduce or tell Lord to me. The Lord will bless you, brother. Two of us, we are like this. And we find it difficult to stay together. As long as I stay here, can we reach one another? As long as he stays here, we cannot reach one another. But if I decide to shift ground, and he decides to shift ground, I go a little bit to the right and he comes a little bit to the left. So that is what we are going to do. Let us shift ground. Again. Then we can agree. Hallelujah. That is positive compromise. And so the differences between us, we can resolve. Conflict between us will not escalate, but de-escalate. Thank you. It is showing understanding. Thank you. It is showing understanding It is showing a harmonious relationship. Alright. Okay, this is my view. That is your view. But let me show the understanding of you. It is okay, let us go ahead with that. Number three, constructive resetting of priorities or choices. Constructive resetting of priorities or choices. Let me explain that. I said today, today I have said in my heart, I will wake up by 6 o'clock, I will do this, I will do that, I will do this, I will do that. I will go to my meeting by 8 o'clock, I will leave the meeting by 9 o'clock, so that I can be here for 10.30. Yes, 10.30. I will leave the meeting by 9 o'clock. Before I choose 9 o'clock, I Google, I look at it, how long will it take me? Google map. Alright. I look at it several times. I say, okay, I will leave by 9. That will give me an hour break. But something happens. Along the way, the meeting that I was supposed to go to, something happens. A child now comes up with a big problem. Babajan overseer, look at this child, oh look at this, what am I going to do? Then, I cannot call them in the meeting. I'm sorry, I'm not coming for this meeting again. I've reset my priorities, so that I can attend to the urgent need of that child. Are you following me? That is compromise. I've compromised my meeting for the child, for the welfare of the child. So, there are times compromise is good, and there are times compromise is bad. In marriage, there must be continuous compromise. If you cannot compromise, forget it, but there has to be good compromise. Do you understand me? There has to be good compromise. Let me tell you this funny personal experience. When I was growing in the Lord, I was reading very old books. The Bible list, John Wesley, Charles Wesley, all of them, these were the books I was reading. Then, each time I read these books, some of them will mention William Law. Who is this William Law? They said Wesley read the book of William Law. They said somebody read the book of William Law. Then, I look for the book. I must see the book. When I got the book, the money for my food, as a student, I put it on the book. I forget the food to buy the book. For a long time, I was not able to read the book. It was my final year in medical school here. I didn't have time to read it. Immediately, I finished my training. I got married. In June, I got married. In December, it was around that time that I was able to read the book. I don't know if anybody has read that book before. It is a serious call to holiness. A serious call to holiness. I carried the book by William Law. I was reading. I was reading as if I was preparing for examination. If you read that book, you will see sin and everything. It was as if my wife was not born again. When I read the book, I said, I am afraid she will be born again. The man painted everything, sin, sin. So, I lost interest. It was as if you are called to be spiritual, not become spirit. The book did not make me only spiritual. It was turning me to a spirit. So, I was finding it difficult to relate to human beings. It was giving spiritual pride to everybody, even to my wife. The book was almost turning me to what? A spirit. Then one day, I sat down. I said, You want to spoil my relationship with my wife and with everybody? Because the book was turning me to a spirit. Then I said, I will not become a spirit. I will just become spiritual. I took the book. I threw it away. I closed my eyes and threw it away. I said, Let me be reading the books that make me spiritual. I know the books that make me a spirit. And, my life became utterly a game in my marriage and with my friends. I became normal. Some of you, you are giving like this. You are not spiritual. Don't become a spirit. Just become a spiritual. A realistic spirituality is not necessary. Jesus was among us. He lived a normal life. He ate with the people. He danced with the people. He was going on the street. He saw a call and he helped it. Somebody said, When are you going to become a bishop? I said, I cannot be a bishop. He said, Why? I said, Once I become a bishop, but they don't sell anymore. I said, I will not be able to buy bullion. And when I am travelling, and I feel like peeing, I cannot pee anymore. The Lord will bless your life. Somebody shouted, Hallelujah. There is a wise compromise, that is a wise compromise. Let us look at the negative compromise. That is what we don't want. Next slide please. Negative compromise. Okay, let us look at it on our paper. Excuse me please. Next slide please. Next slide. Who is behind this? Okay. The man has answered us. Clap for him. Clap for him. He is a good man. A negative compromise. It is a deliberate lowering of standards. You lower your standards. It is a deliberate weakening of principles. Not for the good, but for the bad. In order to give way for what is convenient, but which may be improper. Things that is improper, something that is incorrect, and something that is not moral. You lower your standards to allow immorality. You lower your standards to allow evil. That is negative compromise. A classic example is King Solomon. 1 Kings 11, 2 to 43. You will not be able to read it, but you know it. How he went to marry wives upon wives, and concubines upon concubines, and all of them. Making seven of them together. And why? Just because he did not want the other kings to fight him. It is a bad compromise. And what happened to him? We are not talking about evils of negative compromise. What happened to him? God's anger was upon him. There was erosion of his virtues and wisdom. Wisdom departed from Solomon. By the time you are compromising, your wisdom will be eroded. And people will ask you, why are you behaving like this? Why are you talking like this? Pastor, why are you doing like this? There will be erosion of honor. There will be erosion of faithfulness. There will be erosion of anointing. I pray for all of us. Our anointing will not be eroded in Jesus name. And there is an erosion of integrity. What was not seen in the hand of the pastor, will now be seen. Because he has compromised. There will be cracks in life and ministry. And when there are cracks, lizards will enter. Evil spirits will enter. Crocuses will enter. Togli Obadalo, Alanda, Oluwokile, compromised great cracks in life and ministry. And number five, loss of eternal life. We will not lose eternal life in Jesus name. Next slide. Tragedies in life and ministry. What is tragedy in life? All three together. One, two, go. That causes devastating damages. Tragedies are situations or events that cause serious damages. Devastating damages. The tragedy I would like us to consider is in terms of scandals. Scandals in ministry. That was a scandal. And when we are talking about scandal in ministry, we are talking about sexual immorality. Sexual immorality. We are talking about adultery, extramarital affairs. We are talking about participating in prostitution. Participating in prostitution. Physical prostitution and online prostitution. Sexing. And all those funny, funny things. May God deliver us in Jesus name. Everybody say Amen. We are talking about inertia, indiscretion. Taking such money that is not your right to take. Using demonic wisdom to get money. Inertia, indiscretion. And deadly conflict. We fight and fight. Co-brothers, another brother, another. And it cannot be settled. Two brothers were fighting in Ilefe many years ago. Be very careful about fighting your brother. We called them, we begged them. One said, no, when we get to heaven, we will settle it. I said, you will not get to heaven? They didn't listen. Then one day I was very angry. I went to their house. One is living up, the other is living downstairs. Then I called them. I sat them down. The way you are going, one of you or both of you will not make it home. They said I should go away. And I went away. What happened to the two of them was very tragic. On Nauma, Ulta, Ulayi. Till today. I will not be able to offend you. And when they say sorry, accept it. When they don't even say sorry, say sorry to yourself. Tell my brother, brother. There is a conflict in the church, there is a conflict that will break the church. Ladies and gentlemen. Some years ago, I was looking at youth dynamics in church. I discovered that the majority of my pastors were not able to reach the youth effectively. They were not able to reach them. I organized seminars, how to reach youths. I organized conferences, I organized workshops. But the majority of my pastors did not know about youth ministry. And I was very sad. I would go to the church on Sunday. I would look at the youth, uncared for, unprovided for, unrecognized. At times, I was going back home every Sunday with a sorrowful mind. One Sunday, I was so afraid of going to church. Because of what I may see. I stayed back at home. Genevieve was there. I was crying. I was afraid. I was in one of our churches. I called the pastor. I said, look at this youth in your church. You are not making use of them. He said, they are not serious. I said, pastor, I guess you are the one that is not serious. This one is reading law. This one is reading engineering. He said, they are not serious. I said, pastor, something is wrong. Then I decided that day, I am going to take this youth, these young people, I am going to take them away from these pastors. How was I going to do it? I went to pray. It took me four years. Before I got a solution. The Lord said, start a youth church. By that time, I have never seen it before. I have never seen it before. I have never heard about it before. I have never read about it before. I have never read about it. Youth church. If I mention youth church, my leaders will not accept. Then I prayed. I pastored. But I cannot allow this to continue the way it was. We will lose the youth. Then I came up with the idea. I mentioned it. My leader said, forget it, pastor. I said, I am not going to forget it. There was tension in our church, pastor. When there is tension in the church, misunderstanding in the church, it says the church is stressed. You told us, brother, that be wrong. Our church was stressed. Because of the paradigm shift. I want to introduce a change. Myself, I have never heard about it before. I have never read about it before. I have never seen it before. They have not read about it. They have never seen it. They have never heard about it. So it was difficult. But I told God, I am going to go with it. Go on with it anyway. But we must be very wise when we are going to introduce change. I caused tension, stress in the church. And some of my pastors were ready to leave the church because of it. Do you know what I did? I said, I am not going to forget it. I want to introduce a change. I am not going to forget it. The general was here. Why do you need to face problems yourself? I got the thing through. We started the program. The life of young people, some of the young people have left our church. When I started this new concept, they came back. And when they were coming back, they were bringing their friends. Somebody shout Hallelujah. I need 19 minutes to talk to you about effective youth ministry. They came back. And they were hurt for the Lord. My young people, their parents were unhappy with. They were worried about them. They would not come to church. By 4 a.m. or Sunday, they would be awake. Blowing tongues. They were attached to the Holy Spirit. They would blow tongues. They were causing another disturbance in their families. What is the disturbance now? They would not allow their parents to sleep. Because of what? Prayer. But that is the only one, isn't it? Parents were very happy. And interestingly enough, they were meeting just my leaders to thank them. A shield for this with church. But they did not know that those persons are the opposite. Alright. There should be no conflict. There should not be problems. You know how to manage issues. Next slide. Evils of scandals. Scandals put the ministry in many jeopardies. Okay. Scandals put the ministry in many jeopardies. Number one, loss of salvation. Number two, weakening of spiritual well-being. What is number three? Weakening of marriage and family. A man can become very weak if he is involved in scandals of any type. What is number four? Weakening of personal health. Scandal brings many jeopardies. And number five, weakening of influence. You lose your influence, integrity and influence in the community. There is a backsliding, loss of interest in ministry, loss of followers, retardation in life and ministry. Because... It's better you don't do it. It's better not to do it. It's better, it's better, it's better. Alright. And it's possible not to get involved in scandals. If you have a sexual relationship with a woman and you think, pastors, please and please listen to this. Probably you have not heard this before. If you have a sexual relationship with a woman in the church or in town, women cannot keep that secret. The woman will tell somebody. A man can keep secret of adultery for life. A woman cannot do it. She will tell somebody. And that somebody will tell somebody. And those somebodies will tell somebody, somebody, somebody. And those somebodies will tell somebody, somebody, somebody and the whole town will hear about it. We may find it difficult. They can't even keep it. So if you think your secret is safe with that woman, you are deceiving yourself. It's another definition of insanity. It's not to put you down, but it wants her mind to be light. She wants her mind to be light. Next slide. Influence of scandals. Let us see about keeping scandals, stress away. We have looked at ministry, we have looked at stress, we have looked at the scandal. Let us look at how to keep stress away. Time has gone. We shall just, I will call them and we will talk about them. Number one, structure your life. Structure your life. You will not be stressed. You will not be stressed. Structure your life. There is a time for everything under the heaven and the earth. Have time for everything. Structure your life. Pastor, structure your ministry. I have mentioned that, I will not talk about that. Structure your ministry. Have an assistant. Have a women's leader. Have a leader. Don't be falling off. Structure your life. Structure your ministry. Whatever is not structured will lose organization. We will be disorganized one day. Ladies and gentlemen, let me teach you a little bit from my life again. In our family, even our sexual life is structured. It is structured. Make it. Structure your life. Reduce your stress. Structure your systems. Hello. Once it is mid-term. Once it is mid-term. My children are mid-term, then I will shift attention from the church to my children. To revise their work with them and prepare them for examination. Structure your life. Structure your family. Structure everything. Go back a little. Comfort. I am sorry I have not used your chair. Okay, I will use it now. Is it okay? Delegate. Everybody say delegate. Once more, delegate. Three times. Numbers 11, Exodus 18, Jethro Thomas is to the gate. In the Acts of Apostles, chapter 6. The Apostles delegate. Bring you out of you. Bring here men. Seven men out of you. All right. Among you. Fill with wisdom. Fill with cunning. All right. To whom you can commit this job is gate. Exodus 18. Another warning. Numbers 17. Acts 6. Create boundaries. Create what? Create boundaries. When you are at home, pastor, let them know that you are at home. Create boundaries. Pastor, you know, I was there recently. Then I was thinking. He sent a big envelope for me. Clap for pastor. Very fat envelope that he sent me. All right. And then I was asking, where do I put my office now? The first thing was that let me put my office in my house. Because all my children have left home. And I have a big house. I said let me convert part of my house to my office. Then the Holy Spirit said, boy, oh boy. Don't bring too many people into your house. You are getting old. And you are creating an office in your house. It is not wise. So I said, what do I do? Then I called the leaders of my church. I said, please create another office for me in the premises. I don't want to bring people to my house. Create boundaries. And then your life will not be stressed. Don't put television in your bedroom. Your life will not be stressed. Don't eat in your bedroom. Reserve your bedroom for sex and sleep. Organize your life. And create boundaries. Are you following me? If you have boundaries, nobody will jump on you anyhow. Younger ministers. You may not be able to do that. I am sorry. Cherimikekiri. They can jump on you anyhow. But you must also protect your wife. Nobody can speak to your wife anyhow. Nobody can speak to your husband just anyhow. Create boundaries. For immorality too, you create boundaries. Pastors, we have many women in the church. And if you have to be very close to me as a woman, one of these days, I will create a boundary. And I will spell it out. I will say, comfort. Not comfort. I say comfort. You can call me anytime. You have problems right now. You need assistance. I say pastor. I am your pastor. I am your dad. I am your husband. I am your counselor. But the only thing that cannot happen is that between the two of us, there cannot be create boundaries. I have spelled it out very, very well. It receives you from stress. It receives you from compromise. It receives you from scandal. There is... You are very close to me. Very soon you will know that I said boundaries. Send boundaries for your children too. Don't say yes to everything. Avoid Messiah mentality. Jesus has died for the people. Don't kill yourself because of anybody. If you die for anybody, I'm afraid your blood cannot be anatomic blood. You cannot save everybody. Don't give your money out to everybody. Have an amount that you give out. I've been through foolishness in the past. Let me tell us it's not necessary. One young man, Pastor Isaac, you will know him, by looking at the printer, looking in my church, called me one day, said, Daddy, what you are doing is not good. You are making money. Your family is still suffering. He said, Daddy, please permit me to advise you. Have a percentage for welfare. And keep that money with me. It's my son. So if I want to give anybody money, I give a note to go and give to Leke. Leke will give money, give 2,000 Naira. And Leke will return the paper to me. It remains 8,000. And once the money is finished for that month, if you need money, you come back next month. Leke taught me that. It's my son. I employed him. He works under me. He said, Daddy, what you are doing is not good. And when I obeyed him, within three months, I built my house. Within three months, I built my house. I mean, within three years, I built my house. Don't say yes to everything. Don't be a Messiah. Jesus is the only Messiah. There cannot be another one. Take holidays. Pastor, might you know, you sat in the front. What is the name of your church? What is the name of your church? CSE All Nations. When last did you take a leaf? What is the name of your church, sir? Jesus Public Church. Jesus Bible Church? Yes, Public Church. Where is Jesus Public Church? Akobo. Clap for him. When last did you take a holiday? Thank God you are big, so you cannot hide. Thank God you are big, so you cannot hide. What is the name of your church, sir? Covenant Ark of Grace Christian Centre. Covenant Ark of Grace. Covenant Ark of Grace Christian Centre. Akoti. Akoti. Akoti. Akoti. Where is the Ark? Where is the Ark? Agobo UI. Agobo UI. I was in Agobo in the 1970s. I was in Agobo in the 1970s. When last did you take a leaf? No break, no jam. No break, no jam. I need to do, but you need break more. Not that. Pastor, I teach them in my church to have holiday. You must, as a pastor, you just must. Alright. The assistant general secretary of our ministry came to me 2-3 days ago. He said, Daddy, I am going on my annual leave. The fasting is starting. 40 days of prayer and fasting. He said, I want to be with my family during this fasting. I took a sleep 30 days. Look, if you don't have holidays, you don't have a break, one day you will jam more. Please, I beg you. So take away stress. Take your wife. You may not be able to take your wife to England. You may not have the money like Pastor, Reverend Isaac or myself. But at least you can come to Elephi. Somebody shout Hallelujah. That's your London. Just come, pass one night or two nights and go back. I have a pastor. He is not even red. He didn't finish a country school. He didn't finish a country school. But once a year, he will take his wife. They go to Ghana. But he does his work very well. He tell me, Daddy, I don't have money to go to America like you. But Ghana, I have the money. And in the deliverance, can I tell you, it can be a redemption camp there. It can be a redemption camp there. Somewhere come that it will just be you and your wife. And by the time you come back, you will be refreshed. Pastor Libero told us, if a pastor dies before Sunday morning, they will pack him on his bed. They will go and hold their service. And Pastor, listen to this. When you die, the church will get another pastor. Your wife will not get another husband. The best she can get is Ali. But your wife is a child of God. The church will get another pastor within one week. Your wife will not get another husband. Your children will not get another father. So you have to think. So you don't even have to kill yourself because of the church. Jesus died for the church. You don't even have to kill yourself because of the church. Jesus died for the church. Your death is meaningless. Alphabets. Number 8. What is number 8? I need this on the screen. Number 8. Somebody is leaving this screen now. Take short breaks every 42. When you have been at your table, just take a break after about 60 minutes. It can be just 30 minutes, 5 minutes. Leave the table, walk around and come back. And learn to exercise. Number 9. Practice meditation. Number 10. Seek air. In the multitude of cancers, there is safety. One of the safety is safety from stress. Safety from stress. Man, don't just bottle it up and be suffering. Number 11. Avoid toxic people. Who are these toxic people? Don't know. When I say something, it's very toxic. It's very dangerous to your skin. It's very bad for you. It can kill you. It can create stress for you. And I will tell you, the canceristics or some toxic people around you, the only thing they see is your fault. If there is somebody who always sees your fault, it can even be a husband. It can be a wife. Toxic. Always your fault. Always your fault. Let us check ourselves today. Don't be a toxic person. They criticize a lot. They are thought finders. They are critics. Well, they will be in your church, but I will tell you what I do. Do you know what I do? I ignore them. What do I do? And that was what God taught me since I was a very young minister. Ignore. I hear, but I won't hear. I see, but I will not see. It's one of the things that God taught me so early in ministry that made ministry so easy for me. Because, oh, I passed all professors. I passed all lawyers. I passed all engineers, intellectuals. There are people with critical minds. Analytical minds. They will ask to pastor, why do we have to do it this way? I have bachelor's in my congregation. Are you following me? I have them. I have provost of school of nursing, provost of various colleges. I have them in my congregation. I have them as my pastors. They have analytical minds, but I give glory to God. Give glory to God. Majority of them are nice people. Great people. They hold me in very high esteem. Very high esteem. But there are some of them that are torn in the flesh. What do I do? I ignore them. I do what? I ignore them. Only they have ears, but they do not hear. That is ignoring. It is in the Bible. That is ignoring. You ignore toxic people. Number twelve. Number twelve. Do your best and leave the rest to God. What is number thirteen? As much as it lies within you, be at peace with all men. Number fourteen. Let them see. I am a victim. I am an unfortunate victim of gossip. Criticisms. And rumors. But I don't care. My philosophy is let them see. Let them see. My philosophy is let them see. Do you know the meaning of that proverb? You don't know it. Okay, let me explain it. When you see a sculpture, you have many sculptures around. And the sculptor, the man that made the thing, they call them... No. Okay? Then people who are passing by, they will pass and comment, Ah, this man that made this sculpture, he tried very well, but the nose is too big. But the head is... But the head is too... What do you call it? The nose. The nose is the nose. And the nose is the nose. And the nose is the head. Amen? I don't care. If you are not careful, you won't be able to face your ministry. Our ministry is not big. It's not big. But it's not small. By the grace of God. Eh? Big. It's small. It's not big. But it's not small. If I want to listen to what they say, if somebody says so, if somebody says this, I will not be able to do what we did. At all. At all. At all. We started just with about 12 members. And today we are counting thousands and thousands and thousands. There are about 50 silhouettes in Katonso. No. We won't get there. I have been called various bad names. I said thank you sir. Do your best and leave the rest. No. 14. Let them say. No. 15. Beware of behavior. How you hear. No. 16. Cast your burdens on the Lord. He will cast for you. No. 17. Divine success is in a visual sense. What is the definition of success there? Getting good results. That good is vital. It's not about money. Success is not about money. Success is not about position. Success is not about caste. The number of castes you have doesn't concern God. Are you following me? Say yes as you believe. You can be the governor of a state, but before God you are an entity. You are nothing. It's getting good results that glorify God in whatever you are doing. You may be a cleaner, get a good result. And when they get that, this cleaner is different. Then God will promote you. Amen. What is No. 18? It's not there. Hadith. Thank God always. From the habit of thanking God always. It will reduce your stress. Church. Listen to this. One of my sons, Isaac, has a church in Wari. He came to greet me, so I decided to take him back home so that I can have fellowship with him. He didn't bring his car, with my driver, we took him back home. By the time we got to Wari, he told me, he said, Daddy, on this journey from Ife to Wari, you said thank God 43 times. How many times? How many times? I was shocked. I said, ah, so people are watching you. He said, Daddy, I know one of your secrets today where you are so relaxed. He said, you said thank God 43 times. Learn to thank God. Say thank God. Say thank God. If you think about it, and you don't have a solution yet, say thank God. What are you thanking God? Solution will come later. And when you relax, we have been told by Brother Biro now, is that when you relax and you sleep, God will minister to you. Thank God always. Praise God. If you don't say thank God, say praise God. If you are driving, and the Ocada boys, they drive rough, they are the ones that drove rough, and they will still abuse you. You did that, but what is wrong with you? Say praise God. Don't say praise God. There is a chief in our town. He always says to defend himself. He is always on the edge. He is always very active. He is always ready to fight. That chief. And on the road, one of these towns insulted him. And the chief said, you this small boy, you are like that. He abused the mother of the town. And the town said, Daddy, I offended you. My mother did not offend you. Don't abuse my mother. He said, and your father too. He said, my father, you are looking for trouble. He said, looking for trouble. And then, he knocked the boy on the head. He said, Baba, I am like that. The man got angry and struck him the second time. Do you know what he did? He just held the head of this chief and cut off with a scissor. He cut off the hair. And he threw it. He said, I am like that. And put a scissor on the hair and cut part of it. Can the man fight again? So why do you look for trouble yourself? Just say, thank God. Just say, praise God. Just say, okay. The other time said, I am like that. I am like that. They tell me, don't you know where you are going? I say, I am in Lagos. I don't know where I am going. Shut up! Who are you talking to? I think you are turning yourself to another cult. A pastor. I told one of my pastors to resign. He will fight. He will fight cults. He will fight bus conductors. He will fight. Don't be like that. And add number 19. Hope for the best at all times. Hope for the best. I think I have spent enough time. Page 3. Page 3. What is page 3? How many things do we have under that? Nine. Let's go to page 4. My time has gone. Eh? My time has gone. Eh? Page 3. Page 3. That's the last page. Oh, you want us to go through together? Yeah. Yeah. Excuse me. That is keeping compromise away. What is number 1? Make Jesus your perfect example to follow. What is number 2? What is number 2? Make the Word of God your stake in all considerations of what is right and what is wrong. What is number 3? Don't make success your major aim in life. Let it please God. Do what is right. What is number 4? Keep it in mind that faithful ministers are more than unfaithful ones. They are more. Number 5. Humble yourselves before God. Know that pride goes before destruction. Proverbs 16, 18. And remember God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4, 6. What is number 6? Quickly reject all deceitful lies of Satan like God understands. God will forgive. Everyone is doing it. It's not everyone that is doing it. It's not everyone that is doing it. Number 7. Watch against covetousness. Greed and spit upon wholesome competition. They will lead you into hell. What is the next one? Give room for people to warn you and advise you. What is number 9? Be extra careful when success comes. Deuteronomy 6, 10 to 12. When you get to the promised land, you shall be goodly houses. You shall marry wonderful women. You shall have children. You shall enjoy your life. But do not forget the law that God brought you out of the land of Egypt. Out of the house of slavery. Stay out of and above all standards as spiritual leaders. We have some things there. Some references there. Then let us look to number 1. After the 10 verse of 1 Peter 5 to 10. We have 1. Seek ye the kingdom of God first. What is number 2 there? Pursue Christ-likeness in all things. What is number 3? May the word of God in your hearts take no prostration. I think the prophet did. Number 4. Humble yourself before God. Avoid over-confidence. Pray also for grace to remain pure. Number 5. Avoid undue closeness with the opposite gender. Avoid undue closeness. Many a times, people who get caught in adultery, they didn't plan for it. They were just unduly close. Alright. Number 6. Be sober. That is, careful, thoughtful, and circumspect. Discerning in what is responsible or socially appropriate. Be very careful. And be discerning what is right and what is not right. Number 7. Be vigilant. And that means alert and watch so as to avoid danger. What is number 8? Number 7. There are 2 of them. Number 6. Be on your guard. Beware especially of unguarded hours. What are the unguarded hours? When you are desperate is an unguarded hour. When you are angry is an unguarded hour. When you are hungry is an unguarded hour. Alright. When you are angry, when you are hungry, when you are, when you... Desperate about getting results is an unguarded hour. Stand firm in the faith. That is, don't shift ground on basic spiritual principles. Be courageous. Be strong. May God almighty... Let us read number 11 together. I make a way out in my eye. Why should I think upon a maid? May God bless us in Jesus' name. Thank you very much. We are very grateful. We are very grateful. You and the leaders and members of this ministry. We are very grateful for inviting us to come and bless these men of God. Thank you very much. Everybody, thank you very much. And God bless you.
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