Transcription
[Music] Look believers, behind every glory, there is a story. Don't disrespect the results of people. It may look common; it is mastery that makes it that way. There are dynamics that are happening behind it. Why is it that they are blessing someone else and not blessing you? There is something you are not doing. Is someone learning now? Success, kingdom success, is a product of laws and principles. And let me tell you this, anyone who has attained onto any measure of success, whether spiritual success, a vibrant spiritual life, the anointing, kingdom influence, financial prosperity, if it is by righteousness, they are deserving of your honor. They're deserving of your honor.
One of the reasons why we hardly see a replication of results is because of the extent of dishonor. I'm telling you, and I'm speaking particularly to my generation. I was having a conversation yesterday with some precious people, and I told them. They asked me a few questions, and I told them. I said, "You see, every time God raises people, that experience is supposed to be replicated across." But the reason why certain experiences remain with a few people is because most people are not discerning enough. They are not malleable, and they are not humble to listen and to learn. Hallelujah. Praise God.
Many people who are failing in the body of Christ, financially failing, they have never listened to those who are succeeding, except to listen to criticize. Many people who are looking for the anointing, they have never listened and followed those who are truly anointed to find out what the secrets are. Many people who are excelling in influence, excelling in business, rising in career. You ask successful people, "When was the last time someone who is struggling came to you as a pastor? Came to you?" I'm not talking about coming to snap with you and saying, "We are colleagues." You see someone who is failing woefully, just smuggles himself in the midst of highly successful people and takes a quick photo or a selfie and says, "These are my my my acquaintances, and these are fathers of faith." And you just see some, where is the result to show for it? We don't respect results in Africa; it is the reason why we don't replicate it. Are we together?
When I have the honor of meeting the fathers of faith, at any point, if ever I have an opportunity to ask them questions, I ask questions and I listen. I listen to learn. I listen like I've never achieved anything. You sit and have a discussion with people, and you find out that most of the people who talk are the ones who don't have results. The ones who have results just keep quiet. And some noise maker with no results, whether spiritual, whether whatever it is. The knowledge of God is not there. A rich prayer life is not there. Character is not there. Influence is not there. Nothing. And they are the ones commending, "I will show you how to be rich. I will show you how to be influential." And people who are really helped by God just keep quiet. Is that not how it happens in school? The one who gets zero is the one who is making noise till they release the result of the assessment. Then you find one quiet person at the back, 10 over 10, and somebody gets one or half or something.
Let me teach you something and teach you, body of Christ. Whether you hate successful people or not, I think it's a reality that I pray God will help us realize. The truth is that it does not affect them. They, they are. I think a man of God once said, "What is the business of an aircraft that is 40,000 above sea level with the backing of a dog that is on the ground?" Nobody's even hearing it. So rather than carrying the air of jealousy and anger, it will not make the man leave his house. It will not change the car. It will not change how God loves him. Don't be angry that the children of that man or the children are doing well. Go and find out what they taught their children. You insulted your own children from child. Are we together now? You insulted them. You called them stupid. You called them wicked. While you were insulting them, the other man was blessing his children. You are not doing well, but you are the head and not the tail. Now they are teenagers. Why will their results be the same? Instead of getting angry and envious, go back and find out why are they promoting this man? In 3 years, he's become a director. I'm sure it's some tribalism. You will get angry and kill yourself for nothing. You don't know what that man does. You don't know how many ministers are praying for that man. You don't know how many books he's reading. Some of these men have a robust prayer team that intercede for them every day. When you see a ministry excelling, I have friends in ministry that have intercessors that pray day and night non-stop. I have a group of women, that's their assignment to intercede for me. I only met them once. Some of them are widows. They covenanted their life till Jesus comes to pray for me. Results don't just happen. If you don't know how it is happening, find out. Find out. Find out. Nobody just comes and holds the hand of another person and makes ministry work. Find out the labor of the fool weareth every one of them. I remember the days, with all due respect, I bought books that are almost my height. Miles Monroe books, spiritual books, Benny Hinn. I mean, you pile those books and you literally devour those books like there's no tomorrow. If you don't know a man's story, don't envy their results. Are we together? Praise the name of the Lord. This is true.
I remember times when I will be invited to the various campgrounds in this Nigeria, and after they keep me, after I preach in the night when people are sleeping, I will open the door. I remember one time I went to preach for Four Square, and they kept me at MFM Prayer City, the guest house. I kept quiet and allowed all the protocol went. Later in the night, I came out when nobody would distract me. I went to the campground and I said, "Father, in the name of Jesus, the graces you deposited upon these fathers." What is the woman doing as a widow that is making strangers travel and come and see her children and say, "I want to bless your children"? No, the woman is not educated. But do you know what she's doing in the spirit? I told you about a woman I met in Kano years ago. She's come here many times. She finishes her Bible every 14 days. In-house Bible, 14 days, cover to cover. Come on now. We have such disrespect for results simply because those who carry these results are mandated by the law of the spirit to be humble. Please don't trivialize it. Don't trivialize it. Are we together?
Many years ago, my worship people are here. I prohibited them from going out for any ministration. You know why? I told them, "You are not ready." I said, "Work on yourself. Pray, fast, build character, behave well. You've never held 1 million. You've never held 10 million. You don't know your tendencies when honor comes." Leave the issue of visibility and bear root downwards so that you will bear root upwards. Today, when you see God lifting them, and the songs are coming from the spirit, it is not luck. It can be reproduced again. Many years ago, when we were very small, I used to say the future of the ministry was in the word. I said it was across the globe. You see, let me tell you this. I'm saying this to the body of Christ, not just speaking about myself, but generally. Can we develop a healthy respect for the sacrifices of people? Our world is full of nasty people, haters. They just get up and get angry at the sacrifice of people. And most of those people do not know the history, the dealings, the pain. Some of these people trusted God when their parents died. Some of these people trusted God when they failed. I know business people who are billionaires today. There were times they lost money. They were in trouble. They were almost locked up in prison. Some of them were locked up in prison. They kept reading their Bibles. They prayed. Don't trivialize it today that you see them with conglomerates around the world. It is not luck. It's a testimony of consistency, knowledge, diligence. Is someone learning now?
You see a woman who never went to school, but with her humility of heart, she learned how to fry akara on the street, and she said, "You know what? I will give my best." When it is raining, that woman will sit down there and be selling. 6:00 in the morning, she will wake up. By 9:00, she's still there. And with it, she raised her children. And some naysayer will come back after many years and say, "It's just luck." Lo! While you were sleeping, that woman was up crying and saying, "I know one day my children will bless me." Is someone learning?
Now, I'm stressing the issue of envy because, you see, you need to learn to rise. You need to learn. You need to be patient. There's nothing to be envious about. Success is a product of systems. I learned this in the life of our fathers. Success is a product of systems. If it is not working in your life, admit it sincerely, and then humble yourself and learn. I talk about my wonderful friend and brother, Pastor Nat, sometimes with Jesus, and you've heard him say it before. God lifted him like this. His plan was to be one of the best trumpeters. It's not just that he has. He's been anointed. He's gone to a formal school, music school. I mean, his knowledge of jazz and many genres, it is exceptional. And so the Holy Ghost can ride through that creativity and place an anointing upon it. It is not just carrying a trumpet. You buy it and see if it will take you around the world. Is someone learning now?
I'm speaking passionately like this out of love. Body of Christ, hating successful people will not change their reality. You are the one suffering. Hating a ministry will not bring it down. Hating a man of God will not bring him down. No, sir. The hand that lifts a man is the hand that keeps a man. How you went up is how you remain there. Are we together? Don't see a young lady who married a rich man and you are hating her. What was on her that made the man marry her? Go and pray it. Get a seed and give her, and let her pray for you. Don't carry your face around and then be hoping that somebody. No, no, no, no, no. In hatred, you never make progress. In envy, you never make progress. You laid hands on the sick, nobody rose up from wheelchairs. Don't say every miracle is fake. If the power is not on your head, go and find where genuine anointing is. Carry grace and produce results. Quonia, are you hearing me? You find a young doctor who's not done anything bragging and saying, "Most of the doctors are not so skilled." You just graduated. You've not built anything. Someone has been a consultant for 37 years, 40 years. You know the effrontery we have in criticizing results is the reason why we close our door towards ourselves. It's amazing. Small things, people failing left, right, and center, and having the temerity to comment on the lives of people. Hallelujah.
I remember years ago when I went to preach at RCCG, their North American conference, I had the honor to go and quickly greet our father in the Lord, Daddy G.O., before going to my session. Do you know, as old as that man is, and that was a night meeting, I entered his office. Sorry that I'm saying it. He was praying in tongues. He was not sleeping. He was praying in tongues, talking to me, praying in tongues. And I thought to myself, I said, "Most people would think this man is sleeping as an old man." Then he will come out and preach. He was praying in tongues all through the other sessions. There's a woman of God, I will not mention her name. My first encounter with this woman, great woman of God. I went to preach somewhere, and I hear a knock on my door. I open the door and say, "Who is this?" I was just about to rest. And I see this woman, and she gets down on her knees with a seed. And I said, "No, no, no, no, no. Don't do this. Don't do this." She said, "No, that's not the issue. My heart is open to receive. I know what I'm I'm looking for. There are things that happen in the secret you don't see. You only see the results in the open." Why is God lifting the man? Do you know the sacrifices they made? He held his hand as his wife and said, "You know what? Let's let's let's finance God's program somewhere." And God saw a blessing for him and the family. My kind advice is this. Listen to me. The same Lord is rich unto all. If you are not growing spiritually, there is a way out. Humble yourself and find out. If your prayer life is dying, there is a way out. Find out. If you are not accessing the requisite kingdom influence, there is a way out. If you are not financially buoyant, there is a way out. Not every wealthy person is a cook. Just because you tried and tried and it burnt you does not mean everybody's a cook. Find out the way to the city. Are we together?
But I will say it again. Envy and jealousy has never been a weapon to bring successful people down. Rather, it fills them higher, and it fails them greater. Do not be at the wrong side of this equation. Every time you find results that you sincerely admire, there's no point being ashamed. Celebrate it sincerely. Learn from it. And soon we will not know who is Lot and who is Abraham because both will be blessed. The same Lord is rich unto all. If you believe that, say amen. Let me give you number seven. Who is learning? So the sixth reason is envy and jealousy. Most people know that success is not cheap. It's a product of knowledge, discipline, sacrifice, diligence, productivity, consistency, humility, endurance. Again, I'm speaking apostolically and in love to the body of Christ. Refrain from trivializing people's results. Refrain from trivializing extraordinary results. When you cannot produce a result, if you are interested, go and learn. Learn from the fathers. Learn from senior mentors in the ministry. Learn from contemporaries. Learn from subordinates and mentees. There is nobody who is too small to teach you. When anybody who is truly a student, anything can be a teacher to the one who is a student.
Number seven, what is the seventh reason for the mixed reaction when we talk about the subject of success in the body of Christ? Hallelujah. The seventh reason is because the believer's success validates the reliability of the word when understood and practiced. Write that down. The seventh reason why there's a lot of agitation many times when the subject of success is mentioned is because the believer's success validates the reliability of the word when understood and practiced. It validates the reliability of the word when understood and practiced. Full stop. It kills the excuses that failures have and compels them to come to the painful submission that they are responsible for their failure. I'll take that again. The seventh reason why there's mixed reactions over the subject of success in the body of Christ, in addition to the five that are very legitimate and valid. You notice out of the seven, five of them are valid, very legitimate. But the sixth and seventh is the one I'm addressing now. Envy and jealousy. And then that the believer's success validates the reliability of the word when it is understood and practiced. Meaning when believers succeed, it proves it validates that the word works when it is understood and when it is practiced. And then it kills the excuses that failures have, and it compels them to come to the painful submission that they are responsible for their failure.
One of the reasons why people get angry, not all the reasons, but one of the reasons why people get angry, I'm telling you, at successful people is because when you see a man who has succeeded God's way, it does two things to you. Number one, it validates that even if it looks like the word of God is not working in your life, the word of God works. And then it kills the excuses you would have given. If you say, "My excuse is my background," someone who came from a worse background has now succeeded. That excuse has been knocked off. If you say, "I did not have the privilege of going to a good school," someone who has succeeded, his excuse takes it away. If you say, "I was not properly mentored," someone who may have come from a non-Christian background right now who is catching fire, knocks off that excuse. So it leaves you with one painful conclusion: that you are entirely responsible for your current outcome. Now you can choose what to do with it. You can make up your mind that from this day forward, I will change. I will evolve. Or you can stand in anger and attract other people like you. Build a camp around your anger and keep blaming people for