(0:00)When blessings become idols
is it also possible that like pastoring can be turned into something that becomes an idol blessing is from God and the blessing becomes God the Israelites they had done some stupid stuff you know and God had sent snakes to bite them and the snakes beat them am I structuring the ministry so that the ministry can better do the work of God unfiltered hello and welcome welcome to another episode of PF on fut so dry sorry that was like really do oh hello and welcome to another episode of
(0:42)Pastor Femi's 'does the most' intro
hello how are you how are you our mommies and daddies at home welome our little brothers and sisters better to another episode of P I am your host that does the most I am joined by my co-host that does the mostest the mostest and the man of the hour of the hour of the hour not the hour Pastor feo AKA Pastor ffam AKA Pastor what ffam Jesus is Lord I've been called a lot of you got names man never Pastor you got names PF that's a new oneor FF yeah how
(1:23)Why a New Year feels like just a Wednesday
are you enjoying the new year how am I enjoying it it's barely started I don't think um I actually don't don't think in terms of enjoying the year mhm I enjoy I don't think like that really okay so how do you think I live and I do what I got to do and I find joy in the opportunities that God gives me okay that's interesting P because I want to since P I want to pick up from pf's point to be very transparent I appreciate the new year as like a means to count 202 for MH 225 MH but I felt like this this transition was just a Wednesday for me yeah I agree you know and I started feeling weird like wait am I not why am I not as excited you know about not not the the good things God has done for me every single day but I don't know why there's an extra excitement because it's a a new calendar year think about it like this right a new calendar the the calendar is man's invention right right God gave us day and night right we compartmentalized it and packaged it into hours and seconds and minutes and um you know and and we came up with the calendar right but the truth is that life is in Cycles yeah and the calendar helps us measure those cycles and those Seasons so when we get to a certain point we begin a new season I can understand why people are excited that the idea of starting a new season you know starting something new starting something different changing the way they live changing the way they operate the way they think and that's what that does right um it resets one's hope you know if stuff did not get done in this season maybe it will get done in this season right just like going to the gym yeah but if you don't have anything planned right you don't have any transitions that you're looking forward to you don't have anything that you expectant yeah it's just another Wednesday day right it's just another day but the truth is if you are looking forward to an opportunity to reset right you know the New Year's Day is kind of like a marker right that is universally acceptable as a new beginning so everybody kind of keys into that but we all have our own you know markers okay I want to go on a diet but I'm going to wait until Monday right you know I I want to you know pick up a new hobby but I'm going to wait until Friday well you can do it right now you know Monday is the beginning of a work week Friday is the end of a work week you knowning of a weekend so we're constantly looking for markers to Mark beginnings and endings right and that's what the New Year day is it's a marker to Mark the beginning of something whatever right no and I appreciate that perspective I would like it for me more if I'm that excited about God every day right I'm not saying it's an it's an expectation I have to be but I don't get I don't get that though so like I feel are excited about no because if you notice that like there are certain services that just draws excitement and draws hope there's something wrong with that draws like uh this emotional
(4:40)The trap of emotional worship
response and then the next Thursday and we're back to square one but imagine a world where we you can celebrate a new year simply because the calendar switch but every day you it's almost even if you don't have the lights they the nice lights we have at church you have your symbolic lights because you just know that man this is amazing like God is amazing yeah I don't know if it can be like that all the time well I don't know I just I think those kind of things at least they run in my own head I I I and you know you make a you make a good point but again understand that when we get excited on a particular day right it is not that we're not excited about God every other day right it's that we're excited about God in that particular way in that particular place for that particular season that particular time yes for that particular time it doesn't take away um or diminish or you know the other days when we are not celebra we don't celebrate every day and the truth is this right New Year's Eve we're not celebrating God right we're celebrating what God has done we're celebrating what we perceive is a big deal because we know many people who start the year right and don't end the year we know many people who suffered Misfortune suffered unfortunate circumstances during the year so our excitement is that in this for me my excitement is that in this season right I I um I I survived right I thrived I flourished whatever but I'm excited about what God has done for me right that I am able to witness the end of a year now some
(6:25)Why celebrating survival is okay
people see that as pretty standard but you don't know the thought in my mind you don't know the thoughts that ran through my mind through the year you don't know if I struggle with social thoughts you don't know if I was you know in planes that almost crashed or I miss the terrorist attack you know what I'm saying so that then becomes a celebration not of God what he has done but of what he has done right in a sense and it's also a looking forward to what he will do right um I don't know that there is a way to celebrate God right in the way that we celebrate the blessings of God because I think inherent in the celebration of His blessings is a celebration of the blesser right we're not celebrating his Blessing at a at a club right throwing down bottles of champagne yeah I mean I'm crating CH his His blessings in his house we're saying Thank You Lord that we saw the end of a new year thank you Lord because we get to start a fresh you know what I'm saying and and forgive me guys like this is where like to I I agree this is where I struggle and personally like you know like there are people that don't make it to the end of the week and maybe this is just my own journey I want to get to the point where every day is a reminder and not to like reduce anyone else's like journey in terms of like you don't know what I've been through throughout the year but like every day is a reminder regardless of what the Milestone is right how good God is every day and you know today it's it's ironic that you say this right we have a prayer meeting at 6:00 a.m. every morning I've never seen you on that prayer meeting right and and I'm just not calling you out yes call out mean you did but not not maliciously not maliciously on that prayer meeting
(8:15)The importance of the 6am prayer meeting
right I every day celebrate God yeah right I start the prayer meeting off by thanking God that I can rise yeah the Bible says his mercies on you every morning for me waking up is a testimony to God's mercy and I approach each day with the confidence that his mercies are new every morning right right I have not carried over any sin into the new day I have not carried over you know I'm not on um on they're not carrying over my Mercy it's new you've used up some of the mercy or you know you used like 22 hours of Mercy to charge yes you know what I'm saying so so every day I I I celebrate I am grateful I start every morning every at least every week morning with a A Time In Worship a time in Thanksgiving um so to your point right that is where we all should get to right where we see God not just in the spectacular right but also in the Supernatural right because every day we are recipients of blessings that we know and blessings that we're not even aware of you have no idea how many times you could have crashed your car and died and God some angel came and diverted traffic for you you have no idea how many times you could have put something in your mouth that would kill you you know you have no idea the Bible talks about the the terror that walks around by day and the arrow that flies by night right the Bible talks about the the snares of the F the traps that the enemy sets for us right there's so many scenarios and situations that God delivers us from that we have no idea about right um and the ones that we do have an idea about we don't realize the magnitude of it yeah but then you wake up in the morning for me I wake up in the morning and I open my eyes and I can see right and I sit in that chair and I start to you know and I start to talk to God I'm not a I'm not a singer my my voice is not you know I I don't know test it let's let's judge and see I'm very confident no I'm just saying you never no you might hit like a high note and we're like no no I'm very confident of my she can hit a note my wife can sing just you know she helps me with songs but but so I don't sing I talk to God and I just talk to him I I talk about the things that are that remind me of of him right I I I I remember there was a day I was sitting in the chair and and we I was starting to worship and I just had this image right of a massive massive massive River
(11:00)The danger of worshipping the gift
right and in my mind I'm like okay this is the Amazon right one of the widest and you know longest rivers in the world and I saw people you know in my mind's eye I know I don't think it was the Holy Spirit I think it was just my imagination you know worshipping that river right you know throwing things into the river and then I remember that in India they do that I think it's called the Ganges River yeah I think it's the gangas you know they do the same thing they worship at the gangas and I know that um in in Africa you know whether it is um the Niger River or there's a river that flows into the I think it's the Nile right it is that that folks worship you know um there's a joke on denial here somewhere but okay no just but you get the point right and in that moment right I'm just thinking about the people who are worshiping those things and I'm thinking also about the one who created those things things that's good and I I I my I am all my mind is just in that moment to think that people would worship that which God gave us to bless us to nourish the Earth so that when we plant our seed our crops will be nourished and grow but rather than worship The God Who made that you worship the thing right you know I I remember how
(12:20)The story of the Bronze Serpent (Nehushtan)
folks don't always understand that the blessing is from God and the blessing becomes God you know the the Israelites they they had done some stupid stuff you know and God had sent snakes to bite them right and the snakes beat them and Moses goes to God and God says well okay create a bronze serpent right and lift it up and anybody that looks at the bronze serpent will be healed yeah and what did my people do they gave the Bron serpent a name and called it nushan and they started to worship the Bron seran right God gave them that thing to heal them but then they turned it into a God and and and for me when I start to think about the nans and the rivers you know that people worship my my mind maybe it's analytical or philosophical or whatever always ends up with what about the person who made this right then if you can if you can worship the the Amazon River if you can worship the Nile what about the person who made the N right you know I have I have a question P because um and I'll lat I mean um the way I oh wait pause before you do that I was I did want to say that so that means you can have those moments daily you just have to have the perspective to have those moment 100% yeah I absolutely agree thanks for um that I mean that's what I was thinking about so um I had a got a question because the way I try to not hear what PF is saying and lose the message of it is I can easily do this thing where ah man how can the how can the EIT you know like what God has G what what God has created they worship what was created not the Creator but I try to look at my life I say okay today where in your life can you by even if it's less even if it's not as as Prof uh prominent do I worship the gift and not The Giver of the gift and I think about my child I think about money I think about myself self image now I've had people tell me Well Ah that's not really worship but I've seen times where those things tend to take precedence right and I still put that in the same category of as worship but I want I want to ask you since we're in like the mood of prayer is it possible for us to by the way y'all that's the topic for today we talking about prayer yeah it is the topic um by the way too I have a 600 a.m. prayer meeting in my house I don't see you Buell I'm just going to say that out loud but it's not I'm not saying it maliciously you um but to like flip the like right and this is just this is how I checked myself is it possible that a gift as beautiful as a child or is a gift like like money could now I don't want to bring in par of the rich man but could now turn into this thing where whether it's intentionally or unintentionally we pedestalize over God absolutely okay absolutely and and and you know the the the the most dangerous ones are the ones
(15:35)Redefining what worship actually means
that the worship starts to look legitimate right I think for most people right we don't understand what worship is right we think of worship as the songs that we sing right we think of worship as you know our offering right you know as going to church and so if I'm not singing songs to my child then how could I be worshiping my child right if I'm not giving an offering to my child how could I be worshiping my child but worship is anything that you that you give your life to to control your life right that you submit your life to its whims and its Caprices and its dictates right worship is when you elevate something right in relevance in position position over and above God right so Worship Is God says I need you to do this and you're like no I'm going to do this right um and and you know there are legitimate reasons for it right where you can say when I say legitimate we we create legate reasons for it right where we can say well my kid needs this right so I'm going to do this right and not do this because it's not a big deal right so a classic example and and I'll tell you what I think about this example in a second one of the things that happens in America a lot is children in high school get involved in sports by sports activities and many of the sports activities um happen on Sundays Sunday mornings sure so a lot of parents with kids in school in high school particularly is that a Texas thing it's an American thing it's these days okay because you know Monday to Friday the kids are in school they've got homework and then they've got their school sports and stuff um Saturday in fact I know some parents who are and ATT track meets on Saturday Saturday I'm football you know on Sunday there's always something going on and we live in a culture that elevat spots right so you've got a problem here you don't have money you can you you look down the the line and you're thinking man this kid needs a scholarship right to go to a good school you don't have money to to pay the fee so you need the scholarship right the kid is good at sports you want to give the kid every opportunity to excel in sports but it's on Sunday right Sunday is the day that we go to church and worship God and a lot of parents are conflicted right as to oh should I go to the track meet or should I go to church right and they get into this place where they are conflict icted and they feel guilty because they feel like they are not going to church right instead they going to track me and I say to and I say to the folks that I know I'm like that's not the problem that that's not the problem the problem is you see you don't have to go to church on Sunday every Sunday to worship right no you don't you can I mean you can connect with the service after right right but when that child spots potential then becomes the the over aring goal of your life right in opposition right contrary to what God has specifically said for you to do right when um you will do contrary to the word of God right to achieve those ends then you've got a problem right Sunday is the least of your problems it is when you feel you know what I will steal I will kill I will cheat to get my child on a team you've got a problem right when teaching the child training a child in the nurture and in the knowledge of the Lord right is not as important as making sure that they have good starts you've got a problem right when you now put the Lord on the back seat right in every area and you put this in the front seat you've got a problem when you want to make a decision it is not what does God think it is what is going to get my kid on the team what is going to keep my kid on the team right you've got a problem when do everything that you need to do to make sure that that's what Happ when you're being driven yeah that's where the that's where the we start to worship yes the gift and not the yes give same with our jobs right you got to work now you got to work you got to show up and you can't phone it in you can't do beest minimum right in America they want you to do they want to pay you $10 and you work $50 wor of work say Finance bro yeah well lucky for the finance Bros but working 2 hour work in 8 hour day and get you pay 16 hours there you go but you get the point I'm making yeah I got you I got you so you have to work but there's a point at which your work right becomes a problem yeah so one of the things that has happened um lately is my wife and I started this um Bakery just you know a hobby that we thought why not turn it into a thing we're getting old in years we need what's the name of the bakery uh it's called Barrow Avenue Bakery um sponsor Channel guys and the the goal is you know we're getting we're getting older we're thinking about retirement now you know we want to retire while we're strong you know so the bakery would give us work give us income right after we retirement at our own pace right but I find out that it's an extremely demanding business is extremely demanding extremely demanding so I'm having to make choices as to what is more important to me I know what my calling in life is it is not to be a baker it's to be a pastor let me I was going to guess it's Pastor right so guess which one do I pursue right so now we're at that stage where we're talking about having conversations about scaling the business up right you know um do we go Full Throttle but to go Full Throttle I'm going to have to Pastor is going to suffer I can I had a conv with a good friend great friend and we talked about how to scale how to you know structure the work yeah the pastoring so that it can it will give me time right to do the business and I'm like if you got to do all of that just to not to say that you shouldn't but yeah I no I can yeah I can I can do it but at the back of my mind it's such a fine line right am I structuring the ministry so that the ministry can better do the work of God am I structuring the ministry so that I can make more money I have a pro provocative question P this is might be slightly disturbing yeah is it also possible that like pastoring can be turned into something that becomes an idol yeah ABS anything can but you have to understand right that an idol pastoring does not determine the cost of my life right I'm just give you an example yeah but it can it can I'm saying this more broadly speaking yeah it can anything can become an idol because if you start to make decisions right there are certain things that um pastoring Can demand of of you for example that are outside the will of God there's a way that I can be so focused on pastoring on growing the church and increasing the church that I start to say things and do things that are contrary to the very we hear that often America and then you know that okay this role this position has be become God to you when you are saying things that you know are contrary to the word of God when you are doing things to protect your position to protect your organization and that's one of the reasons why I struggle with denominations right I feel like denominations are extremely problematic because there's a level of there's a size that you get to where you have to make choices that have that are contrary to scripture I'm curious like what love when your choices are being driven by what is good for the organization and what is in line with scripture yeah right you get to a point where God asks you to show Mercy but if you if you are merciful you set a precedent for the other staff right that they can act willingly God says to show Grace but H hour says there's no Grace right what are you going to do and gives you legitimate reasons legal reasons legal yeah leg legal reasons why you should pause Grace is nice and all you here but just pause a little bit it Mak it makes it very difficult to deal with individuals as is you have to do cookie cutter for everybody right right that then becomes can become problematic right you start to think about the interest of the organization more than the interest of the individual right because there's an assumption that the interest of the organization is the interest of the individual in the organization sometimes it's not true some what is good for a member of the church is not necessarily what is good for the church yeah every right but we must understand that the church is not an organization right it is not a building it is people so what is good for the individual is IM is is inherently good for the church right but once it becomes an organization and the bigger it gets the harder it is to stay true true to the idea that this organization is about people I think most most Christians if if we want to be very transparent would say and honest would say that we don't want to believe that the church is not a building in organization yeah but just if you look at our everyday life There is almost a subconscious innocent if you will belief that the church is a buildin the church is an organization it is a click we don't really look at ourselves as indiv as the church don't want to I feel like would it's too hard to be honest about that there's the same shame or guil that comes so we try and find justification and Confirmation by us is the word that says no but the word says this the church is an organization it is a you know those little like weird games that we play as I I I I don't I don't I don't I have no Illusions about those kinds of things because for example when I got saved um the church where I was sent to to serve was a was held in a in a nightclub right you how long yeah how long was that was in in in Niger oh okay probably doesn't exist the night probably doesn't exist anymore quilo no woodh House Cafe why would you know Wood woodh House Cafe in in I'm just saying about this is 1990 probably went been born in 1995 I was out there now okay how old were you to I was I was out yeah you were in the streets we out diapers or whatever but I was out you're feeding Bott diapers I was like but but this the thing right so so for me right I get saved right and we we we meeting in a nightclub on Sunday morning so the smell of Ste cigarettes that is gross right um you know people get drunk and throw up pee too right yeah and and the backrop many times yeah the backdrop was you know the the bar right and we did service there I've never really Associated a building with church it's powerful and I have more questions why did we choose the nightclub for a place to I don't remember I think it was no no no no no no I think it was just to be it was just to you know I think it was to shake that idea that the church is you know a cathedral right my pastor at the time likeed to shake things up you know and up till now the church that I Pastor now for many years were in a rental space and I felt no ambition right for anything else the only reason why we started to think about moving capacity was capacity one and honestly I was comfortable with increasing the rental space m right we started off in 2,500 ft and we kept making it bigger and I didn't feel any type of way when we got to 11,000 ft the city told us that we're not going to let you expand this anymore unless you put down put in a sprinkler system right and the sprinkler system is going to cost about 50 Grand oh wow in those days I'm talking about 200 um at the old property yeah were there was what you brass sprinkler fire oh fire has oh fire suppression sprinkler system okay right and and I'm like why are we going to spend 150 Grand that's not good stewardship right so I spoke with the leadership and said look we can't spend 150 Grand here that's ladness for this dilapidated building you know and we agreed okay let's go find the space don't again dilapidated please for some of us run down I just use cont cles at this point because honestly just I mean I what for the audience I am concerned can't T clu guys that's what they teach us I'm concerned about your education if the word dilapidated Stomps you you be amazed okay let's Okay vulnerability production if you knew what dilapidated oh y did you know what it was I use context clues no but did you like yeah obviously I did too but did you know like what the word meant and you heard it I've never heard it before in my life I've never heard in my life Jesus is Lord so you're making as if I'm just a Ras guy actually maybe I have but I think in my mind I think what it meant is like something that is flat help me me please don't leave me alone something that is flat is dilapidated you people go to school which school did you go to you went to Casey which school I'm telling you I to so there you go where you I mean that's a good King's College King's College said it very proud King's College Legos the first uh founded in 1906 by our by and by the time you went there yeah it was there right days were gone maybe like 1907 I I forgive me for dilapidating your way original sorry dilapidating yes and you can't dapid it's not a verb oh it's date it's not Tes sorry hey oh digressing forgive me for digressing that hurt your jaw using that word dig those are like too too many um is this synonyms when are breaking syllables I it's okay I'm here for problem anyway please continue no I I I actually the sorry sir the dilapidated word is what threw me off I got you that's why I I'll start using simple words thank you I appreciate it it's not for me I call them in plain English no no no no no that's English no in plain that's plain English oh sorry dilapidated wow that's next level wow I'm I'm I'm I'm shocked but anyway what's like colossal I'm sorry what like colossal it's like okay colossal that's like like Master that's like Elementary and I'm sure I'm sure why you know coloss call coloss Shrimp anyway you what talking about I you I'm we talk about dilapidated you know uh we SP 150k right you know putting uh fire suppression systems in a dilapidated building that's when we started the construction project and when we were doing the construction right The Architects were like okay so what do we want to do Cathedral spires I said listen do something that when we outg gr it we can sell it you s value so just give us a box that somebody who wants to buy can convert to a warehouse and we come to the church simple to the point of utilitarian s now our church is very nice by the way guys really nice even though I won lie I feel like this is not this is like obviously what do I know about buildings but it would have been nice uh at during Service uh crossover service I was thinking it was so packed I was thinking I wish we had like a second you know those yeah yeah I I I I get the sentiment but at the time we had to cut our we have to design based off of our our financial situation and again church for me is not about Empire building right I'm not interested in a building with our name emblazoned on it right as a as an end in itself it's not an end it's a means to an end it's utility it's UTI it has its function and when it out we move on right it's not a symbol it's just shelter for us to have service right and do you sorry PF is this like a was this overtime or you always just so clear on the on what God sent us here to do or did you develop this I've always been clear about some aspects of it right some other aspects I have grown in my knowledge so to speak and I'm still growing there's still so much to learn but some I'm clear about right God is not sitting down thinking wow look at that building hey Michael these kids man I'm so impressed Michael is crazy you know God is like like this guys just spent all of this money building this thing in 25 years time this thing maybe 50 years might be a parking lot for a Walmart wow that's quite possible the Bible says a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and beware where does it say that because some of these scriptures that you quote we need to start to quote ourselves and the audience you know what's funny I've read I've not P for a long time even me I'll be honest with you like I hear the scripture I've seen the scripture but it there something it stays here it doesn't come here can you please what's the scripture no I mean I'm just saying like we need use Char GPT I've already forgot Google Char GPT what did you say again a man's life say beware of greed yeah mhm a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions you know what that means God does not assess you on the stuff you have so why should a church see stuff whether it's a cathedral or a utilitarian space as an end me a question I I that's what I'm interested in like why do we why because we men mhm We're Men and we're greedy and we're Covetous is that L well and our righteousness is as FY R our righteousness is dilapidated no it's not it's just filthy it's filthy can you give see delapidated can be upgraded it can be updated it can be fixed you fix that's true that's true you can't fix righteousness it doesn't apply yeah okay yeah okay good we need to teach this guy English we to send him to English class any problem actually I I did great I did great uh English in English yeah I did math did you do English literature yeah I did I did literature I was uh did you study any Shakespeare no no no no I wasn't what did you did you read um Charles Dickens yeah but not like so so what no you didn't so I got I got an award when I was in college right or I didn't sorry I was nominated for the best freshman sa award oh wow I didn't see Nigerian C I didn't win that's what everyone keep saying my own people say you did not win you like no no I commend you for being nominated but I'm curious as to what the topic was it was um it was like a it was a contrarian piece so I found something that was popular and I tried to find an angle where serious English so so basically the I didn't contrarian so basically they were not assessing you based off of the words you used the Simplicity of the words the elementary level English speaking they were assessing you based on the general theme of your there were three metrics one of them was the words okay right you know can't be thir have to be simp no no no no the the the the use of complex and simple words but as long as it's there was a logic in the storytelling right that was one the essay did not display a POS of um of of English education I thought actually displayed a grandio understanding grandio argument of the English grandio argument very to now large no not really that's not grandio grandio um I mean it can't be like you know grandio speaks of an of excessive right right almost to a fault almost negative yeah yeah almost yeah so your grandio use of English was was complimented exactly and and and the wide professor your professor must have been impressed by the poverty of your uh the purpose the poverty poverty Poverty of my of my language oh my God anyway let's move on I talk about let's not um get into uh today guys we are supposed to be talking about prayer but we are we we we hit it the notes I my play my my prayer my place of interest selfishly speaking forgive me guys is we don't as Christians we don't the message of Grace does not elicit understanding elicits fear for whatever reason cuz they like ah we have to be careful for some not for all people some people elicits carelessness and just kind of and that's freedom for Freedom sakes that's my concern right there what the Bible says it's for Freedom sake I have set you free say for Liberty sake that I have set you that is my concern yeah but like will you then like abuse Grace what does what does that what does that mean abuse Grace you know what it means to Fall From Grace when you hear Fall From Grace what what what what is your when I hear somebody has fallen from Grace you've fallen from um that's got you a good question never had be asked that before I mean I guess I mean I know what it means just trying to like I guess explain what does it look like like falling down the stairs no I think from a high place to a low Place someone having you in their hand okay so let's think about this as God's hands and you're in the hand and you decide that you're just going to fall which one go that verse Fall From Grace Grace yeah I think deciding you deciding that you're going to jump off you're falling from where somebody has already had you okay so to Fall From Grace right speaks to moving away from the grace of God back into a life of works right right it is not falling into sin it is falling back into religion right it's falling back into religion thank you production shout out and and that's a problem right that we are so afraid of leaving religion MH right that's the problem we're afraid of living religion right and trusting Jesus and to to go to prayer right you cannot ask God In The Name of Jesus if you don't believe in Jesus right inherent in that idea whatsoever you ask in my name right is the confidence that you have in my name right Bible says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and they are saved right can you let's can we break that down say that one more time say what one more time that verse the name of the Lord is a strong tower you just keep thr vers a strong to the righteous run into it the right rightous run into it run into it and they are saved and they are saved they righteous those who understand and I've heard that many times but just to like meditate on it for a second that is power the righteous are those who have faith yeah right they are the ones that find refuge in the name of the Lord right it is that sense that concerning me the work of righteousness is finished right yeah by and not finished by me but finished by Christ yes you may boast yeah that is when you pray in his name there's efficacy there right but if you really what we really should be doing if we're going to be sincere is praying in our own names Lord I have done everything you said I should do so answer my prayer why are we praying in the name of Jesus so grant me my desires you know I have uh served I have tithed I have suffered I've Afflicted my soul through fasting for 100 days 120 days you know so hear me that's what we should be doing yeah but then we say yeah but then we say oh we're praying in the name of Jesus but then we want to present God our tith book how how how is that how does that line up right the Bible says that therefore come with boldness Before the Throne of God right to receive grace and mercy yeah where does the boldness come from it's your faith in him yes yeah yes your faith in him not your faith in you yes your faith in him what we really do is faith in us if you want to be honest and when we are lacking there's no cond condem when when we lack when we when we look at ourselves right and we see that our Deeds have not been kosher so to speak right we don't have confidence to go to God that is why people are constantly looking for the pastor right because if I can get to the pastor right whose life is is perfect so they think so they think foolishly yeah right whose life is perfect then he can pray on my behalf and God will answer his prayers on my behalf right I'm not good enough that is why when they hear that the pastor is just like them are not good too people fall apart what do you mean so who the church literally fall who is going to who is going to pray for us now give us Barabas right and and we use terms right we call ourselves Levites right we we we we we use terms you know that apply to a different era we're not we're not of the priesthood of Aeron or Levi we're not right we we serve we worship a God we serve in the office right that Christ serves in served in and the Bible says was a priest according to the order of mzc right not according to the order of Levi or Aeron so we're not Levites right no Christ was a priest according to the order of MEC so now I have a question what does prayer now look like a part so okay as a church right now we are praying and fasting so why do we if it if it's that we can pray when we feel like it and that there's Grace and that there's Mercy why do we have I know why we okay so I don't want to say why do we have prayer like corporate prayer and things like that I understand the importance of those things and the value in that but why is it then posed in a way that in ins instills fear who who's posing it in that way has a culture I think we do that the I don't I think these the I think what do you mean I I I'm G to take a shot it I think speaking personally PF can go on on that prayer meeting and say something if I don't understand faith if I don't understand Grace right if I still feel like okay yeah Grace is selective or G Grace is is is in ear ear through Merit I would interpret the words in the prayer meeting as P of posing it as something you I mean like it's not the person using the words that person is up to God to obviously judge their hearts person is is a is a Shepherd for the word me if I still haven't understood the message of Grace and there is fear which is really cause of fear anxiety and worry and then we don't have the faith What I Hear has relates to prayer Rel to prayer prayer yes okay would be interpreted by me not the person saying it as you are PF is posing on us XYZ whatever you want to put in that blanket for you might not be whatever it is and I think that's the fundamental problem at least I know for for my heart yeah and and that's why we've spent a couple of years just talking about this right there there is a a there are seasons right where God will call a man to prayer where God will call a community to prayer and and it's God saying come on come on guys let's talk about these things right and that's what prayer is prayer is and I say this all the time I get so irritated we have this idea that prayer is this um Talisman right what what what's a Talisman I think I got that what is all of this Talisman is I think I know okay prayer is some kind of lucky charm okay right that just you know black yes right but really prayer is a conversation between us and God yeah we just call that conversation prayer right it's a conversation right we call it it's time for conversations with God but we choose to summarize conversations with god with the word prayer it's a label we give it and people no longer see it as a label for communication with God they see it as some religious ritual fishing yes right and the way that we pray is not really a conversation it's a lecture or a demand we come to God with a series of things we want him to do right and we've been taught enter his gates with Thanksgiving come into His courts with praise basically observe the protocols right and this is the protocol start with praise then do Thanksgiving then ask then ask right so we start with fast songs for praise then we do the slow songs for worship then we say thank you Jesus and then we ask him for what we want it's some religious exercise that for so many of us is devoid of meaning it's a CIS you know there's a there's a there's a sense of relief that you get right from having performed the ritual right it's almost like oh you know they tell you that oh if you kill a white chicken everything is going to be okay then you kill the chicken then you feel relieved like possible to your point I also think that there's internal like for for those of us that know the Holy Spirit and we we we have continuous communion with the Holy Spirit right there is a level of personal um I think let me speak for myself personal uh discipline I feel like even for me that the Holy Spirit would like me to have because I think yes I've been talking so obviously as a church we're fasting this week and so you know that's what we're doing no no no no no so so so so I just want to clarify no where we're fasting but it's important that we understand what fasting is right don't elaborate for the people fasting right is the the the first times fasting shows up in scripture are people who have done something bad right or who are distressed about something something bad has happened and they want God to see right how sorry they are or how bad they feel right so they would fast in fact the Bible says when you fast you afflict your soul right right yes so they would fast right as a demonstration to God of Contrition or intense discomfort I didn't know that yes many times somebody will say the Bible say and this person sought the Lord we always inter uh uh um insert fasting to mean seeking the Lord right and when you fast it is a seeking the Lord right but we have to be careful that fasting does not become an offering yeah that we give the Lord I thought I think for me I think that when I think about fasting I think about denying my flesh so that I can have I can clear everything out so I can hear better I have a question so that is how fasting should be that is what fasting is actually I have a question guys yes why do you feel like you have to denying there's a motive there yes why do you feel like you have to deny your deny yourself because I satisfi just today alone I don't like food like that any other day but today I decided that oh I'm going to be diligent cuz I I think I lack some discipline so I'm just trying to do do things differently I want I want different things to happen let me do things differently so I said okay I'm going to decide to if I want to hear better from the Lord let me start to deny my flesh of the things that bring me satisfaction to my my Earthly body right so that my spirit man can be a little bit clear I can have a little bit more sobriety when it comes to things that are happening in general okay today alone I don't think about food like that I even almost decided that maybe I'll go maybe like maybe two days no food at all just let me just 6:00 came it was like I was knock it was knocking at my door to eat and I don't generally there are some days where I work throughout the day I don't even think about food right but today alone is I feel like it's always when you decide to fast that you think about food the most and I think to some extent that is an indication that yeah because you are I I want to Satisfy My Flesh right like even there's great pleasure in deny discipline yeah because we have we have to be really careful with the heart check like it could sound right but if the motive is not I know with the prayer thing right we pray and we pray we pray and I pray is on answer because we pray a miss the issue is not really prayer because someone had a comvert with me and I want to use a really simple analogy with my with my son cuz we having a conversation I was saying I like if you pray and you if your motives are wrong you're wasting your time and the person was like what do you mean what do you and I okay this is hear me out nothing wrong with prayer I have a little one his name is is is 3 years old and if I know what he needs I know what he needs I'm not even I'm not going to wait for him to ask me to give it to him now what I'm trying to explain to the guy is this if he asks me there's nothing wrong with that like to your point if you're if you're in your humanness you're like Oh Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy it's it's it's on him not to understand or maybe ignorant of the fact that look I love you there's nothing you can like I love you regardless now if you want to choose to still ask even though I was going to give it to you anyway because even if you're not faithful I'm faithful that's on you you could have spend that time thanking me you could have spend that time just kicking with me conversing with me I to say then how do we discern what to ask for and what not to ask for this to ask I think what you guys are conflicting a bunch of things right let's break it down the Bible says you do not have because you do not ask right yes you do not receive because you do not pray and when you do pray you pray and Miss because you're praying to satisfied on your right the word you used there is lost yeah or strong Des pleas yeah Pleasures but will is for yourself right and I don't know one prayer that any of us UTS that is not for ourselves 100% right so basically you could say that every time you are praying asking God for something for yourself you are praying a m 100% right 100% I think I think so if not faithful he's faithful he knows right so every prayer is motivated by an element of selfishness most prayers there some prayers that are not selfish like sorry like what PR why are praying for the persecutor Christians in the northern part of Nigeria but there's a reason there's a reason it still brings you a certain level of Good Feeling not that wrong not not necessarily though not necessarily no there's a there see when I am when I do the right thing right yeah there's a satisfaction I get from doing the right thing right yeah but I am not chasing that satisfaction in doing the right thing okay yeah I don't disagree with that and the fact that I am SA satisfied that I did the right thing does not disqualify The Virtue in what I did it doesn't I'm just trying to break down any ounce of self-righteousness that can come from that that's what I'm just trying to say but this is the thing right you know not from you like from anyone like listen but this is the problem right what taints our prayers is not the words it's the heart from which it comes right and there is no human being born of a man right whose heart is pure enough to offer prayers that are acceptable to God right the Bible says God's hand is not short that he cannot save you and his ears are not DEA that he cannot hear your prayers it is your sin that separates you from God right and the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that means that God is not hearing anybody's prayers that is why we pray in the name of Jesus right because we remove ourselves from the conversation right we remove ourselves from the equation and we present Jesus yeah making intercessions for us daily at the right hand of God so when we pray in the name of Jesus the issue of praying a Miss is removed from the equation right God himself says yeah God himself says talk to me right he says that I will provide for you I know you have need of these things even before you ask right right but it says if you ask you will receive if you knock the door will be open to you if you seek you will find that um um scripture right seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you was because people were trying to be good to receive right right right it wasn't that they were seeking money they were trying to be good to get money and Jesus Christ was like forget about food and clothes God will give you those things seek first the kingdom right and I tell everybody the kingdom is not a location the kingdom is not an organization the kingdom is Christ I was I would even say the kingdom of the is the heart of God is the heart of what God doesn't want any confusion no theom is Christ the kingom is he me the kingdom is in your midst yes when he stood there with them he was talking to pH he says the kingdom is is with you is amongst you yeah right he's there right so if we are seeking Christ to know him to be like him we seeking the kingdom of God if we're seeking his righteousness not our own righteousness right the righteousness of God that comes by faith yeah right so where where our attention right from the beginning and the end is on Christ then he adds those things to us however yeah he says with Thanksgiving and supplication make your request known to God so there's nothing wrong with making your request known nothing wrong with there's no virtue lost in making a request known to God there are things that have nothing to do with your daily needs right that you can go to God about my I don't need um my daily need is food shelter clothing but you know sometimes you know I want to take a vacation that's not really a need but I can go to God about it does not make me less virtuous right fasting I think so this is the thing right God gave us free will not to suppress it or deny it but to use it to find him to use it to choose him when we choose to fast right we are choosing to find him we can be passive on wait for him to initiate a conversation right for him to initiate some interaction with us yeah you can do that that's one way to do it but if the only time tund and I talk is when I call tund does tday really want to talk to me probably not there you go so when we fast right when we take the time to pray to go to God so to speak in prayer to tune our ears to God we basically saying to God I believe right that you are and that you a rewarder of them that diligently seek you we're saying to God I believe that you know you are my friend right where our our our our our prayer is a demonstration of our confidence is a demonstration of our of our faith so to speak right that he's there okay sorry I remember what I wanted to say about the like personal like the personal death for those who hear the Holy Spirit I do think that there are those that the Lord calls in certain Seasons to to I mean when you when I think about the lifestyle of prayer I think about someone that is not only casually talking to the Lord but actually takes sets times set time apart to do to talk to the Lord to spend time with the Lord and whatever that may mean for you whether that is just talking reading the word having conversation all the things that encompasses you setting your mind on on him right so I do think there is a level of importance that that carries to set time apart just to do that on a consistent and daily basis but you know there's a way that your life could be so you what what what do you call those guys resident doctor mhm right and you're working 40 hour shift so I don't what is that m 2 24 hour shifts right know going and you're you're you're literally only able to sleep any any spare time you have you're sleeping you're sleeping right setting time apart can then become problematic right I don't think the issue right I I think there's a place for that right but I don't want the inability to make time seem like a thing right yeah and when I say inability to make time somebody who there people who have time and they just sit down in front of IG or you know sports sports news or something that's that's a different story right or Tik Tok and then there are folks who on Tik Tok the Physicians for example right who are walking around the clock right who just cannot get away from their job they have to find a way to connect with God right so the Bible says pray without season right there are different ways of communicating right sometimes I will send you a text sometimes I will send you an email yeah sometimes I will send you direct message sometimes I will call you sometimes I'll come visit you use a bird right sorry you can use a bird you can use a bird if you are yeah 1905 but you get my point right and it's the same thing with prayer there are many different ways of prayer and none is more virtuous than the other because all of them bring you in into the presence of God however the burden for me determines the method right there are days when you know I have no burden I'm just good you say that again the burden for you on in terms of what it is that you're coming to the burden shows whatever meod is is the determines for me how I'm going to pray yeah right if I'm just you know I'm driving and I just remember that man I haven't seen Esther in a while and she said she was traveling Lord I watch over that girl right that's a prayer yeah and the Lord can actually speak to me and said you actually need are eser you need to you know that girl has a problem with you you need to sit down and talk to her this is where I appreciate PF but P doesn't appreciate me I tell you I'll tell you how do you make this about you I'll just I'll tell you I I I think this is a fun this this problem is a little bit deeper I think it goes back to I think it goes back to I'm shook what happened no what you just said everybody's like a little bit deeper uhhuh no you appreciate Pate will you hear me me yeah I want to hear this please this is a deeper problem because PF since I've known PF as always has helped me understand the fully in works the fully in works I don't even think if you go to the altar of if you go to prayer whatever the method is right and you just you you say the name of Jesus you are good because there are people that will honor God with their lips but their hearts are fire away sometimes the if I if I ask PF now PF can you give me this is why I think it's it's we've been conformed to the of the world if I ask PF PF can you give me water the word water is not water he allows PF to know me out PF knows that ah I'm not going to give this guy orang juice he wants water R juice what's that orange juice sorry talking fast he wants water however however we all know that the word water is not water I still have to go and drink it some of us will see Jesus and we sin to go over like we say ah as long as I go there and I say the name of Jesus I'm covered but the heart is not honoring God though because he still want to use that method to get from him if I get it say it's very it's very clever it's very subtle the the the that's the thing though we we we I I have to trust right that we are all age that everybody you're dealing with right is is of good faith right and sincerely desire to know the right things to do not that they're looking for a shortcut right or looking for a way to go seriously yeah assuming positive intent yes the Bible says love believes the best so I have to believe the best of folks and I have to teach them and preach from that place right based on what you've seen folks you've been church folks is that what you you still believe church church folks are are just like me like me too you know we're problematic we're inconsistent right we are contradictory we're up then we're down we're left then we're right we don't know our left from our right and then we know too much of our right over our left you know we're we're really just a mess right I've always said that the church is a hospital and we're all patients with some have been in the hospital longer than the others so we know the you know we know a few things right but we are all troubled and messed up individuals right I think I think the most important thing what I would like folks to take away I believe we're rounding up now right is that do not let the rituals and the ceremony right and the and the lingo that have been attached to a conversation deter you from having that conversation right what matters is that you are connected to God right you cannot be connected to somebody you don't communicate with you cannot be connected to somebody you don't care M to communicate with right you cannot be connected to somebody you don't think communicates with you right you cannot be connected to somebody who you don't um you don't think you need to communicate with he's there he's there you know I'm I'm just going to do my thing you know pay my tithe and we good right the relationship that God had with Adam was a fellowship that's what he desires with us right A A A coming down a meeting him a talking with him a conversing with him that's why he deposited his spirit in us so that we're not you know um like the prophets of old that his Spirit would visit them and then leave right he wants to be in constant interaction with us I don't believe God is a chatter box at least not with me he hasn't been a chatter box he's not always talking but when he talks you know he talks right so we fast to position ourselves to hear him the idea is to remove our minds from the preparation of food the searching for food and use that time to seek the bread of life which is Christ use that time in the word use that time in prayer and use that time in conversations with God right but many people find that when they fasting all they thinking about is food mhm and if you find yourself in that place where all you are thinking about is food I feel like at that point you have missed the point of fasting right and if that is all you're thinking about then you need to ask yourself what are you doing go and eat yeah yeah because it's not supposed to be right to focus your attention on food right and the devil tries to make it about that that is why you can go the whole day without eating and it doesn't bother you but the minute you start fasting even the smells that would normally make you feel ill all of a sudden are enticing right that's just the way the human body is right you have to be intentional about focusing your attention on God you have to be intentional about surrounding yourself with things that will stir up your your soul to connect with God right it's not going to happen by accident yeah and that's what our fasting is now I don't know why people are fasting for 4 months five months I don't know either I don't I don't don't know I think it is because the more if you think about fasting as a sacrifice as an offering the more you bring the better right so you can go to God and say ah I have fasted for X number of days so therefore bless me accordingly but if you have spent that time that 100 200 500 Days just lecturing God heckling him demanding this demanding that demanding that he punish this person punish that person demanding that he do this and do that after all you've done for him yeah and you have not spent any time trying to hear what he has to say to you then I think you wasted your time because God already knows all those things that you are telling right you know it's really a time for you to come and listen I think some of us will be better served with silence and that's why in the presence of God that's why I said you I appreciate you but I appreciate it because of like I it's your it's the messaging from the from the long before when we were when we were when we met each other of that what Grace released like even though it's so scary like I realized that it's it's the whole point when I hear things like your righteousness not your even your good works is to swallo if my righteousness can be FY RS for some you might elicit a little bit of anxiety and fear because if you're really focused on works but for me sometimes now it's like this relief yeah that I can actually rest in him I can be silent in My fasting to hear him but again I'm also saying this to condemn yeah right if like if you find you're thinking about food and you're hungry go and eat but when you realize that oh maybe I've missed the Mark it's a good way for us to start realizing what's more important yeah the most important thing is for you to hear God right not the the the method I think when your mind is not on food if you can get your mind off food right I think it helps if you can get your mind one of the things that I do you know I is I talked about this a while ago just stealing my mind right just just calming it down because I have a tendency to be like a ping pong ball in my head just having that silence oh my God it opens up my world you know me and the Holy Spirit we can connect when my mind is not busy like his own drug yeah you know so so now I seek that solitude but I don't find it in physical Solitude when I get physically alone nobody I'm in one cabin somewhere my mind starts messing around so if I take if I go on a retreat I'm going to a city center I'm not going to I don't do retreat in the cabins in the woods the woods n man middle of a lake like r no I take a retreat I'm going to a city center in that hustle and bustle in that noise clear right if I can just be still I will hear him but when there is physical silence right I get distracted now that's me some people need that silence some people need the tinkling of the brook or an ocean me the brook is tinling too much I'm wondering my mind goes to the kind of different fishes that are there you know my mind goes down this rabbit hole that you know but when there's you know I'm in a city I can see people I can engage my physical senses you know in a way that interests me then my mind is still it's interesting because when I go on girls trip I feel like I hear the Lord most about my life yeah anytime I go on a girls trip yeah interesting is it so much I have so much time different from what we've been what some of us and you know like I said we're all so different M you know my wife if my if my wife hears a gospel song oh my God she and the Holy Spirit are just like holding hands I on the other hand if I hear music I'm just like oh God and I think when PF said I think you told him to Echo it right the burden reviews the method sometimes we flip it we see the method and we try and copy the method because really honestly speaking we trying to get yeah we're trying to get something we don't have yeah we don't we don't have the burden that's when I say burden sometimes you know the burden is not always like oh the burden for somebody sometimes the problem right or the thoughts in your mind you know there are days when you go around and you have no burdens you're just good you're not worrying about anything in your life yeah there are issues there are challenges there unanswered prayers but your heart is not heavy in those days do you not pray for me in those days I go to the Lord and I say thank you to be fair I actually don't know personally any times where my heart has truly been burdened like actually I do as I looked at PF I just remembered I was about to remind you like really at there's only that there's only been one thing right and I think that thing has no I mind sh you sh for the viewers for sure I mind sh no honestly that thing if I'm being if I'm being transparent it's been marriage just that is what continuously takes me on my knees where I actually have to get on my knees and isn't that interesting maybe that is if that is that takes you on your knees you know maybe life is sweet maybe you need to um life is good find other reasons to pray so that they don't have to cause trouble in your marriage to BR talking to my friend today and I was like you know I think living in the US there is a there's a privilege of not having to worry about the things that you know basic things life basic things right but also I think when you partner that with faith it's like the Lord is going to do it like I don't need to worry about those things anyway is it Faith or is it the confidence in the system well if those things didn't come I I think I'll I I would still be well I have been it's not like that's been practiced just practicing what faith looks like and building my faith and so when things just like I was uh uh I was telling what you call it earlier we we're not done yet we're almost done okay cuz I'm oh want us wrap it up okay yeah I was just telling him earlier like literally if I left my job today I'll be fine you know it's not to say that I why why would you be fine I mean it's not to say I had a plan B but why would you be fine well I think the Lord I mean we'll figure something out but you're the same person that is saying that you can't marry a poor man yeah but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be poor on that note you see my problem right there I'm not I actually don't think that I can get back to so so so if you have faith to lose when you lose your job why must your husband have money why can't you have faith that God will provide that's not what I'm talking about that's what I'm talking about Good Revelation that's what I'm talking about these are good burdens that we should exp I'm so sorry that's what I'm talking about no no seriously cuz you see that's that's the thing right that's that is that's inconsistent that is the thing that's not inconsistent though it is it's not to say that okay I think that there's we should we this is a new episode this is deep actually for sure I think people are not doing their due diligence of making sure that they're going after the things that they know they can get what are you talking about this is what I'm saying we've been given the mind of Christ uhhuh put that in context please in scriptural context in scriptural cont let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus who though he was equal to God did not consider it robbery to take on the form of a man correct okay good so it was humility not okay not ambition okay Esther we' realiz I'm just trying to clarify we realized that you are Po in spirit but you are also blessed I'm also poor in spirit as well I think we don't you know it's what what does that mean Po in spirit because you said that it's not consistent I don't want her to feel as if she has to justify I don't understand why people just take scripture out of context no no no no is that no in spirit yeah she because she's I get no no I get you I get whatever it is that's not Po in spirit blessed are the PO in spirit but they will realize their need for God if atie so what is yeah but think about it now she's she telling you I'm not I'm not inconsistent because she thinks that she has to be consistent but you're helping her say look Auntie there's nothing you can do it's okay that's what I'm saying well I no PF I'm I'm put words in my mouth put been speaking this to all of us since understanding next we can't get it is it possible in our flesh no she can get it what I want her to understand what what I want her what I want es and all of us to understand right is how some of these things that we hold on to right really display the poverty of our audience audience audience they don't believe that they're going to beir he doesn't listen to me I'm I'm echoing his words back this up time we're going to circle back to this we need to Circle back to this I don't why you trying to end the episode you don't want talk about it untable okay let's end the episode please so thata can breathe thank you guys so much let bre comment comment uh uh uh because this is a very good topic comment and let us know what you think is es po Spirits is an inconsistent M no she's inconsistent she she says thator people marry only men with money but if you lose your job you can have faith that God got you that got you so why have to have money exactly I think two things can exist we got to wrap up there's a time and place for everything so let's wrap up we'll Circle back to this and we'll I promise you back for next episode for sure there's a time for everything I hope you guys enjoy the episode all right guys see you guys next week see you at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow unfilter a