Thank you again for what you've done today. God bless you. You may be seated in his presence. That hand clap was very short. You know, some some it's just my response. You know, sometimes it's as if let's sit down, jaw, let's do it quickly. Um, but the Bible encourages us to clap our hands, encourages us to shout unto God, encourages us to dance unto the Lord as well. David was such a template. He danced so vigorously that his kingly garment was put off him and his wife said, "You disgrace and embarrass yourself before all of Israel today." And because of what she did, because of what she said, God shut up her womb. I mean, look at God's response. She said, "Why did you disgrace yourself before the damn cells of Israel?" And literally God said, "You won't have a child until you die." Because he was being praised and she tried to stop it. God will shut off her womb. Let's not allow God to shut off our spiritual wombs, our our mental wombs, and make us unproductive. We've got to praise him. Let's praise him. Let's honor him. Let's bless him because he deserves it and he is worthy. Amen. Hallelujah. I'd like to welcome Reverend Daniel Oce to the house again today. This is not his first time of being at the lighthouse. and um I'd like to introduce him that he was my former um administrator um at the Oasis of Love Churches and Household of Faith Churches when I was general overseer. I used to be a general overseer um a former go until I was sacked. I wasn't until I resigned and because the Lord had asked me to go do something different and you know Reend Daniel Oce yesterday um we were at a wedding um of the daughter of one who I had been overseer you know over his ministry and his life for many years and that was Pastor Henry Bethl. his daughter was getting married and he wanted me to join his daughter because I was the one that joined him and his wife. So 20 years ago I joined him and his wife. 20 years a 28 years sorry ago I joined him and his wife. 28 years after I'm joining his daughter and I told the daughter 28 years afterwards I'll be joining your own daughter. Three generations in marriage. You know, that's for me. These are things that reflect the beauty of God, longevity, and the fact that we're still connected with one another. Watching the children this morning, you know, just sing and, you know, seeing them on the stage, you can see their different temperaments. You can see their mannerisms. You can tell I won't mention what I'll say. I mean one or two of them reminded me of myself when I was a because I couldn't sit in one place. I was just everywhere and that's why traveling for me is no big deal. If you tell me let's move now to Port Hakot. I mean, Revdan would tell you that there were times we would I still remember leaving Ouyo one afternoon at about 1:00 and it was for the funeral of um Reverend Sana Zukafia's wife when she passed on 100 p.m. we left Ouyo with my wife and I remember that at 100 a.m. We were at the toll gate entering into Kaduna. 12 hours 100 a.m. we were driving and at the toll gate just because we needed to be in church to preach on Sunday. Some of the stupid things that we have done. I call them stupid because if we had died, ministry would have continued. But we're so desperate to be in church, to deliver the word, and to minister that we would travel right through the night just to be in church, to get home at about 1:45, you know, try to sleep at 3:00, wake up in the morning to come to church. And at the end of the day, sometimes you ask, "Do the people you pastor really understand the sacrifice and the price you pay to minister to them? It's a question and it's a question that you need to also ask because those who labor amongst you pay huge price that you cannot even begin to fathom and Reverend Daniel Och and I where didn't we go we traveled the entire length of the country slept were you with us in Bakinkogi when we went to minister yeah when we drank Yeah drank water from a stream cuz we needed to preach and minister to people. A couple of days ago, I was thinking about that and just wondered what the seed of that that time would be and and how lives have been transformed drinking from a stream. They brought food for me that I'd never eaten in my entire life. And I had to eat cold. Was it pounded yam or it was mas masar or something? acha cold and you had to eat. He took me to a village was he in Guada because you were doing village you know missions and and he said look I needed to come. I think he wanted to suffer my head and punish me. He warned me ahead and he said before you minister to the people they will bring food and if you don't eat their food it's a sign of rejection. So I went there and they brought this huge pounded yam. I I can't forget it. I can't even remember the the soup, you know, but I remember the pounded cold. And they put it in front of us and they were watching us. So here am I. I touched it. It was I don't like cold food. You can you can ask my wife. The best meals for me steam must be coming out of it. Then if it's if there's no steam, I I go warming up. That's that's how I enjoy my meal. And I had to eat. It was horrible. Difficult to swallow. You know those kinds of meals that when you swallow, you even hear the sound it makes as you hear like it just lands. You know the way villagers pound yam is different from the way you are rock solid. And so I took the first one. I was looking. He was used to it because that's his mission field. I took the second and I'm saying to him, when do I stop? We've been places, people. We've we've we've we've paid our dues and and all because wanted to be a blessing, you know, to people. And um when when Rev Dan joined me, I always like to say this when when Revdan was with me, I think you you just finished secondary school. You you were a secondary school lever at that time, but it's passion for ministry was what brought him in. And then he said to himself, I must also go to university and be a graduate. And he went and got his first degree, BSc. The next thing I knew he was doing an MSE and the next thing I knew was doing a PhD. Are you done with your doctorate now? 20. Just just 23. No, you've got two more years or something. Maybe that. But you see what I love about that is lessons in determination. that someone and at that time he was married with children. He said, "I'm going back and I need to go acquire knowledge and I need to go develop myself." And so those of you that are here and are not pushing or pressing are not inexcusable in in every form and in every sense. That's why I believe that you can turn your life around by the decisions that you make. Is somebody getting what I'm saying? Thank you for staying true. Thank you for being for joining joining with me through those years. And one of the things with Rev Dan, I don't I'm just talking. He's been here before. I've never said these things. If you try to get him angry, you will get angry waiting for him to get angry. I've I've never seen him. I mean there were times I would rebuke he would come to me and make a request and I will rebuke him. Why are you asking for this? And after rebuking him while he's still in my presence he say what about that request I made and I'm what kind of human being is this? What I mean is he it was his own. you have shouted, "I came for something." It's good to to just have a good spirit, you know, and and a and a great temperament as well. Amen. And let me crown this by saying that he was in ministry before me. You know people won't know that he was already doing mission work in Niger state before I became born again. And yet when God would order things differently he came to serve under me with no heirs. Some people feel too big. So I was there before him. Uh why should I now become the one who is serving under him? But he had no heirs and he served with great great great great zeal and a lot of humility as well. The Lord bless you and reward all your labor. You haven't seen anything yet. The days are coming when the due of heaven shall be constantly upon your head, raining upon you and blessing your work and your ministry in the name of Jesus. Amen. Pastors in Port Hakott and God is truly helping him. Amen. Amen. Well, sometimes when we journey in this direction, we learn maybe a lot more lessons than we would if we're following a prescribed path. But let me try this morning to share with you and it's really to share with you um just the thoughts that have been in my heart especially in the last two days and I'm going to be spending time reading from Psalm 102 as I simply share with you on God's signature response to crisis. God's signature response to crisis. How does God respond to the crisis that we go through or may go through in our lives? Is there a signature response? Do we recognize the way God responds to us when we go through a crisis? Now, I know that some of you have never been through a crisis in your life. And so, if you're one of those, then it is obvious that I am not speaking to you. But if you're one who has been through tough seasons, tough times, or if you're one who is going through tough seasons and tough times, I believe that it is to you that I bring the word of God this morning. And I want us to turn in our Bibles to Psalm 102. I'm going to read probably the entire passage of scripture. And I trust that the Lord will strengthen you through these things, encourage you, and show you where to place your hope in the midst of whatever you may be going through in your life. When I left the ministry that I'd been a part of, there was supposed to be a sent forth ceremony for me, but lots of stories had gone around and rumors that colored the mind of leadership. Part of it was that I was speaking to other pastors and telling them to resign from ministry. And people don't know me. You know, that's the least thing I would do. I can't be part of something, help build it, and then be part of what would help bring it down. The Lord spoke to me and asked me to leave. And so there was supposed to be a send forth after being a part of the ministry for many years but there was no send forth and I decided I was going to go you know just because there's usually an annual convention and I said I will go just to you know me in for me it was like you better go before it is said that you didn't even come for you to be sent forth because that was part of the arrangement and I went for the meeting was a part of it and I could sense that the atmosphere was not favorable for me and so the next day I left the day I was not there which was the next day I think a friend of mine in the faith had preached I think it was Reverend Bob you know Alongian preached a wonderful message and then this bishop came up to give like closing remarks and I say this you probably have never heard me say this this way before, but I say this and I didn't even think I was going to, but I just feel that the Holy Spirit needs us to understand certain things to find our bearing. And this bishop came up to close the service and he said, "I heard that the general overseer of this ministry has resigned and has left. Um, those of you who know him should send a word of warning to him. Um, tell him I'm sending assassins to kill him. I'm a bad boy. I've killed before. I will kill again. He said, "And I heard that Akaya in Lagos is also living. Tell him I will send alis to kidnap him." And he went on and on and the news got to me. Now, let me say this to you that I'd never in my life been threatened like that to the point of being threatened with death. Never. And so how do you think the next few nights were for me? They were sleepless nights. They were nights in which I was saying, "What did I do wrong?" God spoke to me and said, "Your time is up." I wrote letters and submitted to the trustees to say my time is up. They asked me a question. They said when do you want to leave? I said it's not my call. I can't leave the ministry in disarray. You tell me when I should leave when all things have been put in order. They said okay by December you will. Is December fine? I said whatever you say cuz I can't help build something a midwife or be a part of the development of something and at the end of the day I just live as if I was never a part of it. So I began to say what did I do wrong? Now you don't you you don't understand the dynamics of this because in those years in ministry I literally emptied myself for the ministry. Maybe it's Revdan triggering all of this. I'm telling you this is not part of my script. But sometimes there are lessons the Lord needs us to learn. And that's why this journey from my infant days in the faith. I would take my all and put it in. Kept doing that again and again when you were with me. Where was the funding coming from to go around all the churches? It wasn't the ministry. It was my personal resources. And those nights, you know, you may think it was an empty empty threat. I believe that those threats will be carried out. Those actions will be carried out. And here am I pouring myself to God in prayer and saying, "What did I do wrong to deserve this?" And God will have to pour out and prove himself with his signature in my life. And it is that signature that has brought us here. And and I'll share with you. I'm not saying this to ridicule or bring down or cast aspions. I'm just sharing my story. And by the time I'm writing my memoirs, I will still share it because people must learn how to do things right and how to follow right templates and right patterns. Years later, I think it was eight years later, it was Mama T who called me, never mentioned this, and said it's because she'll call me Gio. She said that bishop that threatened you don't die. I'm like how? He was driving the car went under a trailer and he died. Did I pray for him to die? No, I can't do that. Did I call call for God to curse him? No. But when you sow those kinds of seeds, you threaten the lives of people and you're saying you're going to kill someone. Judgment belongs to who? To God. I didn't rejoice over his death cuz I can't rejoice over somebody's death. But I just thought for a moment, God knows how to settle the issues of your life in ways that you cannot. I still remember vividly the first night that message was relayed to me. I couldn't eat. I know you guys can eat anytime you like, but have you ever had your appetite suspended just because you're going through a crisis or you can see a storm that is coming and they put food before you and honestly your appetite is gone. you're going through a relationship crisis of some sort and you just you you disconnect from even the things of this life. People can give you gifts, it means nothing to you. You you look in your wardrobe, you in the morning, what do I wear? And you are confused about what to wear because even the best of attires makes no sense to you at that time. And part of my resolve and this is this is this is part of the lessons that you learn. David had to David had to serve in the house of Saul so that he would learn how not to be a king. And what was my lesson? No matter who it is, when people when people leave you, you don't treat them the way you were treated. That's why you never hear me curse anybody. And sometimes you're pained by the responses of people towards you. But maturity must teach you to to hold yourself back and be calm and do that which needs to be done. and just move on. Do you know that as a pastor it is difficult when members of your church that you pastor leave you? Especially when you've invested in their lives, you've swn in their lives both publicly, both privately, it can be painful because somehow it seems to send a signal of rejection. The whole house is quiet today. Okay. Because I've not read my Psalm 102. Yeah. God is speaking to somebody. Let me turn to someone and say God is speaking to someone. It may just not be you. So if it's not you, just just say what is he saying? I don't even get it. And please, it's not just about ministry. Even in the workplace, even in your home, because it could be your child. My brother was working with my dad, you know, he had gotten married and he was given a house to live in. And one day, my brother said, "I'm not working in this office again. And I don't want to stay in a house my father has provided. I want to stay in my own house." And it was a crisis for my parents because they began to say, "What did we do wrong? Where did we get it wrong?" I'd come from Mina then, you know, because I was still in Mina and going through that final phase of being there. And I had to go meet my brother and and I said, "Hey, what what really happened?" says they're controlling me too much. Something like he he just wanted to be on his own. He felt he needed to find his own bearing in life. So I had to sit my after him from him. I sat with my parents and I said, "You remember what Moses told Pharaoh?" What did he say? God said, "Let my people go." So I said, "Honestly, for your peace of mind, for his peace of mind, just let him, every son must grow up. Every son must find his bearing." And I say to every one of you, if you're if you're a son at whatever stage, the lessons that your parents are trying to teach you that you refuse to learn, you will learn in the future. Oh, you may think, oh, you know, uh, I got it all together. Just wait. You will you will think back on on every thing they told you not to do that you did and everything they told you to do that you didn't do and you're going to say my dad was right all along and acknowledge that parents are not perfect but you know one of the things that keeps me steadied are the things my father taught me and that's not to say that I was always this you I've said it before. I was not I was that child that disappointed my father until maybe 7 years before he died. He he just didn't believe that I was. And it wasn't because he didn't believe in me. He felt you can do more. You can push more, you know, but you're you're slagging behind and that frustrated him. But my brother would would go on and and find his own bearing. And there was peace in the house. But it was a crisis for my parents because if there was anybody who should behave that way, it's it's my brother's name is Binga. Is is Shalah not Binga? My my mother was praying and she had a covenant with God that God would use one of her children in ministry. My brother was born, I was born. As we were growing up, she said, "Looking at these two is my older brother." Cuz this one does not look like there's call anywhere. Even if there's a call is a mis call. I'm being honest with you. She never told me until I gave my life to Christ. I heard all these audio tapes of all the secular music from Koul and the Gang to Debge to Shalama. I was literally DJing and doing all of that. And I sent everything from campus to my mom and I wrote a message and I said, "Mom, I need you to know I'm giving my life to Jesus. I don't need this anymore." And my mother said, "Yeah, look, you would think she'll be happy. She thought I'd become an extremist. Why won't he listen to music anymore? is become this crazy ridiculous su, you know, fanatic. But later when I went home, she said, you know, I made a vow to God, but I never thought it would be you that God would use because she she had now begin begun to see me in ministry. She said, I never thought I thought it was your brother all along. You didn't look called. You didn't act called. You didn't because of all my siblings, they all had very straight pathways. Behaved well, went to church, gave their lives to Christ. There was no deviant except me. So, how can God call the deviant? Uses foolish things to confound the wise. that when in our own calculations we think we can predict where people will end, God will say, "I would I will confound your wisdom and I'll take foolishness and use it to show you that your wisdom is nothing before me." But I had to speak to them to say, "Let it be." I'm sharing personal stories. My sister wanted to get married. See, I'm talking about family now because that's close to me. My sister wanted to get married and my parents didn't want her to marry the person that she wanted to marry. Crisis. Real life crisis. You may not be there yet. Maybe because your children haven't gone to die, but some of you married people that they didn't want you to marry. And I always tell people this that when our parents say don't marry someone, we need to step back a bit and just check things all over again. Because sometimes the reason why they are saying that is because they sense something in the spirit that you cannot sense because you have been blinded by by what? By love. I think it's better to say blinded by emotions because truly love is blind from a scriptural perspective cuz that's why love can overlook the faults that are the wrongdoing against it. It's just blind. It doesn't say those faults don't exist, but it's going to treat you as if you you you just never did anything. And it was a huge family crisis. It was a it was a crisis for my sister. It was a crisis for my parents. And I would play the role of intermediary to cool down the crisis. My sister may listen to this message. No problem. They know I'm not speaking a lie. And I will sit with my sister and say, "Calm down. Calm down. Look, there's a there's a way. Don't use a giddy to do this thing. Calm down. She says, "No, I love him. I'm going to get married to him." And I go to my parents and my parents will say, "What? Where did we get it wrong?" This is our first daughter and we sent her to medical school. She's a doctor. We spent, you know, our parents think we invested our money. Now she wants to marry a pastor. Pastor Pas after all our investment. Cool down. Cool down. Cool down. But it was a crisis for my parents. Created a lot of tension, a lot of friction until God will begin. and they got married and then God will begin his healing process and he'll begin to heal hearts and there'll be room for forgiveness. Oh, we misunderstood this. We didn't get this right and so on and so forth. But when you speak about crisis, guys, it's real. Should I talk about financial crisis? I know none of you have had that experience before. When I left Kaduna to come here was a business we had started um was a bakery baking bread but it had been it was mismanaged by the manager and I had to come to that point where I said we're shutting this thing down. We're going to shut it down. is just there was debt and all kinds of things. Well, we shut it down, but we are taking a loan from a bank and we're owing money. One day, I'm sitting in my office. This guy says Alaji, whatever is his name, I don't know him. He came to the office. We are still on TS Benson number one. and he said, "Pastor, well, you know, I've been I'm a debt collector for I think it was Oceanic Bank and we heard that you are owing money." You know my initial take maybe this grad. My initial take was to come to meet you during church service and embarrass you. And honestly I felt embarrassed. So I said how much is the money? and he told me and I said, "Well, look, I'm not a bad detor. Uh, this debt unfortunately had been overlooked, but we'll pay it." So, he told me to write to the bank. I had land I had to sell in order to offset that debt, but I did. But look, except you are callous. When you hear news that you are owing money and you need to pay back, you just don't take coffee and sleep and say, especially when the resources are not physically there. It's different when it's there and you just can cut a check and say, look, pay, but you're thinking this money, how how am I going to pay back the different kinds of crisis? For some people it's a crisis of house rent. And you know they say in Abuja that the first house rent you have to pay is not the problem. You know that first year you can you can always raise that money or people people will raise the money or you can go to friends and they'll put money together for you and the clock begins to go countdown from then. And you know it's amazing how quickly it runs because when the next year's rent comes what makes it challenging is that those who helped you at the beginning are expecting that you are standing on your feet at that time. And there's what is called donor fatigue as a general concept especially for people who give that you may knock on their door next time and they'll tell you in their minds they're like you should be standing on your own by now I gave you 400k towards your house rent last year you are coming again for another 400k boss I don't get and that really can be very challenging for people but you So, I need you to know this. And the good news is that we are not without hope. We're not without hope. And that's why I need to read my scripture. And I don't even know if I'll be able to finish it. Psalm 102. Hear my prayer, O Lord. Before we get there, um I don't know if you have a Bible like mine. Maybe it's an e Bible, but I've learned from my pastor to look at some of the writings that are written within the text of scripture that may not make sense to us. So Psalm 102 says, "The Lord's eternal love." That's that's the heading if you've got a Bible like mine. It says the Lord's eternal love, a prayer of the afflicted when he's overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Let me read it again. The Lord's eternal love, that's that's the main heading. A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. And verse one says, "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you." The question I want to ask from this verse of scripture is that the person who is praying this prayer or capturing these thoughts and we know that all in the Bible is the inspired book of God and inspired word of God and all inspiration is from the spirit of God. It is of no private interpretation. And it is given for comfort, consolation, for learning, and for instruction in righteousness. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto you. Do you believe that the author of this is convinced that God hears prayer? Yes or no? Because if he does not hear, why pray to him? Let me ask the second question. Do you believe that the author also believes that God answers prayer? If God hears your prayer, then you can take it to the bank that he also answers prayer. True or false? Do we have a scripture to support it? You said God is able to make all grace abound towards us. Thank you. That's the comfort is in the spirit. This is the confidence that we have in him. Can we find that scripture? Yeah. First John, that's where I am. Thank you. 1 John 5:14. Now this is the confidence that we have in him. Have you ever had confidence in people? Is it wrong to have confidence in people? No. We we must. But we don't put their our trust in people. Let me ask this honorable lazy. If you need a million naira now, are there people you can call that you know that they will give you? Huh? You are is you are doing like an Indian is an Indian that does plenty. You know plenty. Uhhuh. Plenty. You know when an Indian When when you want to acknowledge something you nod this is no when an Indian is doing this saying nay nay nay he's saying no but he's nodding yes and when he's saying yes he's doing so you are I don't know whether you just came back from India cuz you are saying plenty and you have confidence in them that they will give you. So you can knock on their doors cuz you know 1 million is they may make noise before they give you. They may say why are you coming? You always coming take. You say because of the way you spoke to me I'm not collecting. Oh God then you are not in need. you know if I need a million dollar now you're telling me you know pastor I really don't you know I I don't like the way you are coming that's rev you know I love your spirit after you have said all those say h are you still writing the check I'm the one who has a need. And when you have a need and you know that some people by virtue of relationship and access can meet your need even if they tell you uh wait for me I'm coming 3 hours you wait. This is the confidence that we have in him. Do you have this confidence in him? Before Before we go back to 102, let's if this is all that we will settle today because it makes prayer easy. Most times we're praying, we we we we're not contextualizing our prayer within the word of God. We just prayer for us is like doing this and you walk away. I say, "Lord, I've prayed." But do you pray with confidence? God needs your confidence to be solid. He needs your confidence to be authentic. He needs your confidence to be grounded. And that's why we must consider this scripture as we progress in our thought. This is the confidence we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, what happens? He hears us. Stop there. So that's stage one. What guarantees that God hears you is that you ask anything according to his will. Okay. When we get to Psalm 102, we will then begin to look at the prayer of the man and the confidence that the man has. Okay? So, you ask anything according to his will. What is God's will for your life? What is the full context of the will of God? How much room is there in the will of God that you know? Does it include your complaints? Huh? Does it include your complaints? before my tendering my resignation. I had a dream