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THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA · Apostle Joshua Selman

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  Speaker 1: It just did what I was going to do.
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  Speaker 2: Now together this afternoon, let's welcome together on the way
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  from a Budja, our possle, Josh.
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  Speaker 3: Ourself, Allelujah, praise the name of the Lord. Please allow
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  me stand on the existing protocol. For the sake of time.
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  I honor our father and the Lord Babawai okay and
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  every father here represented. May the Lord bless you in
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  the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you more sincerely for
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  this great privilege that has been given. For these few minutes,
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  I pray that God will help us in the name
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  of Jesus. Can we lift our hands to heaven in
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  one minute and just cry onto the Lord to speak
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  yet again to our hearts. In addition to all that
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  we have heard and learned, let's pray that God will
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  speak to our hearts. You can never get enough of
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  the world. There is always room for more. In Jesus' name,
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  we pray. Please, you may be seated. I'm not really
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  preaching for sake of time. This is not the kind
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  of platform to preach. I just want to make a
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  few submissions within the time that I have as a contribution.
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  By the way, hearty congratulations to the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
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  I think one more time, let's give God a big
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  hand clap for his good hand.
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  Speaker 1: Allelujah a man. So, I sort of just.
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  Speaker 3: Want to state, maybe make a few submissions that I
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  believe would hopefully be a meaningful contribution in our desire
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  to make progress and to advance.
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  Speaker 1: I trust that God will help us in the name
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  of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Revelations chapter three and verse twenty two, the Bible
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  says he that hath an ear. It says, let him
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  hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. The Holy
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  Spirit is always speaking, and according to scripture, he speaks expressly.
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  And I believe that at every major prophetic milestone that
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  a man or a ministry, a vision covers, God comes
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  in to bring commendations.
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  Speaker 1: He comes in to bring rebukes.
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  Speaker 3: It comes to bring in a new chapter to that
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  person's life or that organization.
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  Speaker 1: In Revelations chapter.
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  Speaker 3: Two, when you read from verse one to eleven, you
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  find out interestingly that in speaking to the seven churches beginning,
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  you know, with the Church in Ephesos, he commended them
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  on a few things. We don't have the time to
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  do a long read on that or you may want
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  to write for reference Revelations Chapter two, from verse one
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  to eleven. He began by commending them on the great things,
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  the ability their stamina to stand, you know, and resist falsehood,
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  and so on and so forth. But then he lovingly
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  brought a few observations that he suggested that they make
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  amendments over.
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  Speaker 1: And that's the model I want to use very quickly.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm just going to do a long read, just
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  as a letter, if you want to call it. And
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  I titled this to the Church in Nigeria. Now, the
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  truth is that like a father and the Lord, Papoetico said,
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  and then you know, Pete Daniels came and made a
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  very strong prayer point on that we have seen the
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  hand of God over the Nigerian Church. In truth, there
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  is no generation without voices who have been raised by
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  God to speak His purposes. We have spearheaded revivals and
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  campaigns across the globe right from this nation. And to
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  God be the glory for all of this. These things
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  are worthy of commendation. Nigeria has literally exported and is
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  still in the business of exporting the Gospel in its
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  various dimensions, beginning from our domain, all.
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  Speaker 1: Across Africa, spreading across.
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  Speaker 3: Europe, you know, down to the Middle East, and literally
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  across the globe.
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  Speaker 1: Allelujah.
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  Speaker 3: Now, but there are few challenges, and I want to
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  just point out quickly within the time that I have,
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  so that I don't stretch us beyond the time allotted.
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  A few years ago, the Lord led me to preach
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  a message called the Purified Church, and in that message
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  I listed by the Spirit seven what would call seven
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  deadly scenes that the Lord would want to purify from
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  the Church. And as a way of humbly presenting these challenges,
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  I'm hoping that as I run through the list, it
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  would give us a reason to trust God for grace
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  as we forge ahead to look very closely.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to least them very quickly.
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  Speaker 3: Number one, that the Lord would want the church to
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  access grace and to rise above It is a subject
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  of immorality, and by the word immorality, it is beyond
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  just sexual immorality.
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  Speaker 1: It attempts to.
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  Speaker 3: Capture every kind of moral perversion from sexual immorality, pornography, masturbation,
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  and every kind of Antichrist practices as far as the
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  moral uprightness of believers are concerned, There's no hiding the
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  fact that these are challenges that have plagued the Church globally,
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  and our nation has not been spared of such. And
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  we are praying that this has an observation that God
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  will grant grace so that men and women will rise
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  above the grip of sin. On these wise, you believe
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  that shout Amen. Number two very quickly. The loss for
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  money and material things. Now there is a striking difference
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  between prosperity and materialism.
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  Speaker 1: I will not go into that.
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  Speaker 3: The Church that is victorious and most remain victorious must
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  conquer the lost and on guarded appetite for money and
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  material things, especially using the standard of money and material
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  things as the ultimate standard to portray spirituality. While prosperity
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  and material increase is captured in the Bible as one
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  of the benefits for the believers, we must not make
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  it become the pie vote and the measure of true spirituality.
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  Number three witchcraft and extra biblical practices. It's a sad reality,
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  but there is a growing need to examine our principles
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  and practices, particularly on the pulpit, with reference to the
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  ordinances that were presented to the church from Jesus by Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And practiced by the early apostles.
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  Speaker 3: The Church has been plagued with all levels and all
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  shades of extra biblical practices and sometimes direct practices that
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  from the lens of scripture qualified to be called witchcraft.
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  Number four Pride, vain, glory, and self centeredness. This is
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  one area that has truly plagued the Church. And unfortunately,
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  I make a very humble submission that this has become
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  a cancer to my generation of preachers, the cancer of
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  pride and vain, glory and self centeredness. Number five the
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  sine of the tongue. I call it everything from lying, gossiping, backbiting,
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  and the sowing of the seeds of discord. As simple
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  as and as harmless as this may look, it has
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  destroyed the body of Christ. It has brought dishonor and
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  reproach to us.
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  Speaker 1: As a people.
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  Speaker 3: And there is need to obtain grace from God, to
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  trust God to rise above these limitations. Number six the
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  scene of competition and on healthy comparison. Competition and on
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  healthy comparison. This has even advanced to creating on healthy
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  cabals and sometimes cult like structures. And I tell you
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  the truth, there is no future for a people. There
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  is no future for any territory that will want to
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  leave practicing not there's a place for loyalty and honor,
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  but the moment it becomes ac cult like, then it
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  is destructive.
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  Speaker 1: Prays the name of the Lord very quickly.
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  Speaker 3: Number seven is the sin of imbalance, exaggeration of truths
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  or communicating truths beyond the boundary of their relevance. The
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  Bible talks about the whole counsel of God. And while
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  we commend the Church for the great strides for this far,
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  we must come to an honest, acknowledgment. Of all these things,
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  I run the least one more time, very quickly. Number
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  one immorality in all of its expressions. Number two, the
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  loss for money and material things. Number three, witchcraft and
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  extra biblical practices on the pulpit and across our assemblage.
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  Number four, pride, vainglory and self centeredness.
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  Speaker 1: Number five, the sine of the tongue.
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  Speaker 3: Number six, competition and unhealthy comparison of men of structures.
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  Speaker 1: Seven the danger of imbalance.
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  Speaker 3: Now, very quickly, let me talk about another major issue
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  that I think is worth considering. I call it doctrinal issues.
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  There is no greater time. I think in the church
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  age where we have a widespread confusion as to our
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  doctrinal stands, and I'm hoping and praying with all due
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  respect as a submission, that the Perfen would be able
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  to consider creating a platform that brings stability to the
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  things that the Bible says are most surely believed. Everything
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  we believe as believers has been challenged. Everything literally, the
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  foundational pillars of the Christian faith are being threatened and
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  challenged across the globe doctrinal issues. There is a growing confusion,
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  especially among younger believers, as to what is really to
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  be believed.
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  Speaker 1: Everything has been challenged.
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  Speaker 3: Another issue that we need to look at that is
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  worth considering is the issue of division and disunity.
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  Speaker 1: I mentioned that early on, but let me just truce
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  it a bit.
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  Speaker 3: We need to manage our appetite for you know, headship
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  and fraternities so that we don't begin to behave like a.
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  Speaker 1: Lot of occultic societies.
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  Speaker 3: It matters that people are given the liberty to serve God,
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  but then we must be very careful with the subject
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  of cabals and cams, disunity and divisions. This is by
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  no means downplaying the achievement of the church. These are
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  humble submissions using this platform in a bid to improve
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  ourselves and firge further onto perfection. One other area very
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  quickly that I'll talk about within the time that I
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  have is what I call the inefficient management of zeal
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  and may I request our attention for one moment. This
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  is particularly to my generation of ministers. There is what
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  we call the inefficient management of zeal. This has led
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  to widespread communication of dishonor, this honor to fathers, dishonor
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  to conc temporaries. Right now, there is a growing trend
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  within the Body of Christ where this honor looks fashionable.
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  People have spiritualized lack of manners, and just because we
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  quote scriptures around it does not make it right. There
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  is a lot of mismanagement of zeal allelujah, and I'm
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  hoping and praying that God is going to grant grace
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  all over social media. You find, in fact, quite honestly,
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  it has even become a human right violation issue now
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  and as simple as it sounds, if this is not addressed,
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  past us will start killing themselves.
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  Speaker 1: The level of growing hatred in the Body.
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  Speaker 3: Of Christ and everything is credited to our love for Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: That's not a model we find in Scripture. Allelujah.
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  Speaker 3: We cannot love Jesus too much to kill one another
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  has proof that we love him. Something is wrong with
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  our understanding, something is wrong with our zeal. I make
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  a humble submission, and this may sound funny, but among
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  many recommendations that I wrote here, I am not sure
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  that I will have the time to present them.
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  Speaker 1: One of it is to truly examine the mental state
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  of ministers.
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  Speaker 3: It looks like a very subtle issue, but there is
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  a need to examine the mental state of pastors. Many
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  pastors have spiritualized trauma, trauma from childhood, and we come
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  on the pulpit and turn it into salmons. These things
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  is not just an issue of pray and fascin. There
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  might be need to bring in professionals and look carefully
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  as to whether or not preachers are fit to serve
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  upon the pulpit. I have one minute my apologies that
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  I do not do justice to the.
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  Speaker 1: Things that I want to say, but there.
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  Speaker 3: Needs to be I'm still speaking about the inefficient management
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  of zeal. One of the things we learn from Scripture
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  about authority is that authority must also have jurisdiction. You
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  do not have the right to speak about everything everywhere
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  anyhow because of zeal. Again, it's an appeal, particularly to
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  my generation of ministers. There is this unguarded passion where
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  we sustain credence from wherever.
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  Speaker 1: We talk about all kinds of things.
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  Speaker 3: When you read the Epistle of John, John said, I
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  write to you fathers, I write to you young men.
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  I write to you children. There are letters that are
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  for fathers. Children should not read that letter. There are
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  letters for young men, and there are letters for children.
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  Speaker 1: By the time children.
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  Speaker 3: Begin to read the letters for fathers, they become arrogant
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  and they become discouraged. There are letters for fathers, there
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  are letters for young men.
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  Speaker 1: There are matters.
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  Speaker 3: Within the body of Christ that children are too small
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  to address. No matter the level of spirituality, it is arrogance.
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  Speaker 1: I write to you fathers.
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  Speaker 3: There are issues that only fathers can speak about.
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  Speaker 1: There are issues for young men. There are issues for children.
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  Speaker 3: Now, because we do not understand the jurisdictional component of authority,
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  everybody is doing everything and we credit it to the
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  Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: There is a way the Holy Spirit leads.
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  Speaker 3: Let us not make a mockery of his wisdom and
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  his leadership.
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  Speaker 1: My time is up.
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  Speaker 3: Please allow me just for two minutes if I make
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  a quick request. I have tabled a few recommendations, and
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  please let me just run it in two minutes and
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  then I'm out of your face.
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  Speaker 1: Number one.
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  Speaker 3: My first recommendation and a humble submission to the Pentecostal
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  Fellowship of Nigeria, is that a structure be created and
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  made available were preachers with all kinds of moral feelings
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  can have a safe heaven to open up and have
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  an opportunity to be healed without being destroyed, without being demoralized.
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  Provided the church is in place, there are people who
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  will fall, there are people who will rise. The campaign
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  of celebrating the falling of our soldiers will ultimately destroy everybody.
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  Speaker 1: There must be.
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  Speaker 3: A structure where wounded soldiers can find it safe heaven.
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  They can be spiritually rehabilitated and brought back into the system.
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  Recommendation number two that is, structure be created so that
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  all those who are indirect antagonism to the principles of
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  the Scripture. There is no point watching people betray the
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  name of Christ indefinitely. We must have the courage to
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  with maturity call those people and if need be, engage
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  in a meaningful scriptural discussion. Because for as long as
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  we allow evil to thrive because we are looking for peace,
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  it will eventually destroy the body.
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  Speaker 1: Somebody must have the courage.
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  Speaker 3: There are people in wide spread practice of sale, with
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  due respect witch craft another extra biblical practices. The fathers
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  and those who are instituted by the authority, they have
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  the credence to lovingly call such people and say, would
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  you want to re examine this practice from the lens
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  of scripture. We will be surprised how many people got
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  into their confusion, not because they were evil. They were
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  like the lady with the spirit of divination. And if
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  they have a better chance, they can come out of
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  some of those practices. Recommendation number two number three quickly,
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  I wrote here that the PFM, in conjunction we say
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  can and every other major Christian body should create a
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  recommended material documenting the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
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  What does the Nigerian Christian believe. It's important that this
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  is spelled out because the generation that is coming is
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  in clear confusion right now. Everything you bring as a
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  doctrine is a subject of debate.
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  Speaker 1: The fathers are transitting gradually.
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  Speaker 3: It's important that a spiritual council come together and define
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  for Nigeria as a spiritual recommendation, what.
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  Speaker 1: Do we believe.
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  Speaker 3: The Bible calls them the things that are most surely believed.
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  While we may not agree on everything, it's important to
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  define the things that define a Christian. Finally, I want
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  to re commend that, hopefully, in conjunction with all other institutions,
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  a dedicated institute be raised so that pastors who never
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  had an opportunity to be trained but are currently in ministry,
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  they don't have to give up ministry, but a system
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  be created to train them. The more people are trained,
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  the more they reflect Christ. Most of the you know,
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  the madness and childishness on the altar, sometimes it's not
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  a demonic attack, is a reflection of the lack of training,
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  and these things can be corrected. I'm training the name
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  of Jesus that, in addition to all that the Lord
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  has done this forty years, that these humble submissions will
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  help to improve the pfin and the body of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord bless you in Jesus' name. Let's appreciate a
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  Processame man. Can we rise? We can do better. It's
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  such a powerful world. From the Toronto Greace. God bless you, sir,