can we rise on our feet and we begin to bless the name of the Lord this morning he alone is worthy to be praised to be worshiped to be adored and lifted High there is none like you Jesus there is none like you Jesus let him hear your voice this morning Raise Your Voice raise your hands lift up your hearts and worship the king of glory he alone is worthy there is none like him we bless your name Jesus we bless your name Jesus lift your voice and bless the name of the Lord this morning raise your voice in this room and bless the name of the Lord he is worthy to be praised he is worthy to be praised he alone is worthy he alone is worthy give him praise from the depths of your heart bless the name of the Lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Hallelujah we bless you Jesus Oh Bel lifted above all other gods y we lay our cross and we worship and wor you oh beli hey there is no other king we lay our crowns lay our and we bless you Lord and worship you oh be lifted up be lifted I of every other God God We Lay We Lay We Lay we cast the CRS before you and we wor oh believe to above every other God above every other we and we bow [Music] before come on your voice oh glor glor God we praise pra pra we cast our crowns before you we cast our crowns before and we [Music] worship all this room we praise you we praise you we praise you Jesus we lay our we lay our cross and we worship Glory we worship the king of glory we praise you we praise you we lay everything we are everything we order we lay before you we worship oh glorious God power [Applause] [Music] We join the Angels We join the Jour for ERS and we cast oh glorious oh glorious God can you fix your Gaines on Jesus this morning can you fix your Gaze on Jesus this morning and [Music] wor I have more than a song [Music] Today I brought myself myself I am the sacrifice I have S today [Applause] so I brought myself I am your worship I am more than a song I am more than the song today today I have brought myself Lord I have brought myself I am your sacrifice I am your sacri I have more than a song I have more than a song today today I brought myself Lord I brought myself I am your worship I am your more do you have more than a song this morning I have S [Music] today I've come to present myself I so pleasing sacrifice for sacrifice accept to you iong today today today I am BR myself I BR myself I am your worship I am your [Music] worship I am your wor I am your wor I am your wor father me [Music] Lord I am your worship Jesus I am your worship Jesus I am your worship Jes I am your worship I am your worship I lay myself at your as a sacrifice ho he accept him ho accept only acceptable to you father accept me [Music] Lord I am your worship I am your worship I am your worship I am your worship receive me Lord receive receive me Lord receive Me Lord everything I am everything I will ever be father [Applause] [Music] accept your worship receive oh this living sacri can you say that to him I am your worship tell him to accept you this morning Father accept us we are your sacrifice we brought ourselves at your word one more time worship receive [Music] yes I am yes I am me [Music] Lord I am your [Music] wor I am your wor [Music] hallelujah hallelujah come on put your hands together for the Lord he's worthy he's worthy to be praised now somebody God is worthy to be praised worthy to be praised hallelujah thank you Jesus hallelujah amen let's go now hey are you ready to give God your grand suffering this morning present yourself a Deming sacrifice [Music] y even before I pray answer me you say so he has done it for me I say even before I pray oh me he for when I was wored I could s he was walking behind the oh [Music] you LIF me [Music] [Music] up Jesus [Music] [Music] any way [Music] me [Music] worship is wor there is no like him he has [Music] one more time when I was worried I couldn't sleep hey I was walking behind the everybody come [Music] on I said even before I [Applause] [Music] pray me you say oh where you live [Music] me I said join me worship Jesus [Music] he has okay now for [Music] [Applause] [Music] sh be glory GL [Music] [Music] he [Music] to [Music] he want [Music] [Music] the [Music] [Music] Je hallelujah praise the name of the Lord hallelujah praise the name of the Lord and father we thank you for this morning we are utterly and eternally grateful for the gift of you thank you for your presence that is unmistakable and is unquestionable Father we commit the rest of this service into your hands we ask that Lord indeed you would take the stage and we ask that Lord you would take preeminence in Jesus most precious name we have prayed amen and amen please shall we be seated Hallelujah it is with great pleasure that I welcome The Vessel whom God has prepared for today our very own Pastor Simeon alabi the very servant overseer of the first love assembly please put your hands together as it joins us on the stage thank you so much sir thank you praise the name of the Lord thank you praise the name of the Lord Hall it's always a great honor and privilege [Music] to be around here and I want to deeply appreciate the father in The Lord and of course there wife for the constant encouragement we receive from them and from the whole hours of course to always um stand here not just to Fellowship from time to time to be asked to share thought God I can put that in words How Deeply humble and grateful I am for this kind of opportunity I'd like to also uh appreciate the learning capacity development and integration unit the brains behind the leny month thank you for the great job and the opportunity you've given me I'm not uh whenever I come around here not to it's not so much about saying something much more is about learning new things it's about getting to know what makes this house thick it's about what makes pastor thck and makes these house thck yeah a very small thing might be little to someone but for me it was something major there morning Pastor presented to us the Bible he bought for himself to mark his 30th birthday I had a closer look because he asked me to read something from within it uh that Bible is so neat that you can confuse it with one that is just coming out of the press after 40 years of use for me that looks little to someone but for me it's spoke volume so whenever I come around I want to see what what are the things that what make things work what makes this house what it is and for me that's what I open my eyes to see open my ears to hear whenever I comes so I'm sure I'm still going to go home with new lessings and taking my notes so that we can be better in what we do let me make uh an upfront admission uh and the admission is that when I was given the topic to reflect on today I was a bit confused uh confusing the signs that I didn't know whether it was to be seminar note or a salmon note uh by the time we we go over the the the the the topic again you'll probably be able to uh appreciate my dilemma um so I was bothered I had to still also talk with the organizer what is expected of me is this a seminar note or a sumon note uh so what I have resolved to do is to have an ecletic approach to this so maybe uh draw a bit read some notes some seminar note and then had it with some salmon notes somewhere along the line I hope we'll be able to get something done and make some sings today praise the name of the Lord so the theme for the lenning m is this God's dream never fails and Within These a larger context I've been asked to speak on yesterday's dreams Today's Vision and tomorrow's realities yesterday's dreams Today's Vision and tomorrow's realities now that topic also came with a rider there's a rider under it and the rider is this a seminar on how nations are Del delivered by God yesterday's dreams today's Visions tomorrow's realities how nations are delivered by God all right now this topic reminds me of an experience about 37 years ago guess that must be around 1987 I was um running off my master's degree program at the University of the and um one of my lecturers one of them set a question just a test how much will understood what he taught in the cause of the semester the question was the future starts today discuss number one and compulsory the field just starts today discuss have you found yourself in any situation in any exam situation where you are picking at the edge of your Barrow no you've not been there whenever you see students face with question paper and they biting up the edge of their B their big by just know that was my feeling that day the future start today discuss I still remember the man's name Professor [Music] adbc I can't recall what I said that day what I wrote but I never forgot the question I can't remember what I wrote but I've kept a question with me ever since because as the years Roll by I realized that that question was not just trying to test my understanding of a political Theory but that question actually addressed the issue of life and it touches on how life runs the future starts today discuss I guess perhaps a discussion some of us we need to go and have with ourselves after this meeting May me understand that it's not just about political theory that this is about life it's about how life runs I have since gained understanding that today was yesterday's dream and the womb of tomorrow today was a dream we had yesterday and today is the womb of Tomorrow what tomorrow will give back is conceived today so that help my understanding friend truly the future starts today so when um I got this the question the topic for these um Gathering yesterday's dream today's Visions tomorrow Tom's reality it just evoked the memory of what happened to me 37 years ago before we examine how nations are delivered by God I would like us to examine the interconnection between dreams visions and reality let's talk about dreams first now I'm going to read a few notes here and then hopefully get back to my shmon note later on dreams play a crucial role in the political and economic emancipation of Any Nation dreams can be defined as images of future realities on the first count dreams are often the foundation for Visionary leadership dreams also gives rise to social movement that exalts pressure and powers that be to do what is right they can be a very veritable tool for social transformation when dreams are properly orchestrated they could become the springb for our people to rise up and confront oppression and fight for a better future one that promotes individual liberty and a more Equitable Society contemporary history is replied with examples of how dreams have shaped Society mahat Gandhi had a dream for India he once said and I quote I would like to see India free and strong so that she may offer herself a willing and pure sacrifice for the betterment of the world India's Freedom must re revolutionize the world's Outlook upon peace and war end of quote his dream did not only envision freedom from the British rule but also Encompass having a nation that is grounded in the values and Ethos of Indian people he dreamed of a Nation where the rights of citizens are counterbalanced with their duties to their Nation there are about five Salient things that are encapsulated gandi dream which are number one nonviolence approach of oppressing for Freedom two self-sufficiency and sustainability liy three social justice and Equity four preservation of cultural heritage and five Oster living and deep thinking though his dream had an Indian flavor his Rich was meant to change the world's Outlook particularly on peace and War the account of civil liberty in America can never be complete without a mention of B Luther King Jun his work also started with a dream through matches rallies and speeches Martin Luther drove the need for reforms into the consciousness of the Americans of his many speeches one stood out uniquely it was the one that he gave on August 28th 1963 titled I have a dream the speech the speech which was at judge as the best speech in the 100 years that speech was and among the pool of other speeches was I said and was chosen to be the best speech in 100 years that speech which he delivered during the march on Washington for jobs and freedom was delivered during the march on Washington on jobs and freedom in Martin Luther King Jr we see the con contagious nature of dreams and this what I mean um Mor Mar Luther King J was a student of MMA Gandhi particularly with respect to nonviolence approach he he he studied mahad m Gandhi and that that became his own his own motor as well nothing atts to this more powerfully than the fact that he also adopted a nonviolence approach to his work this sentiment echoed in that is conic speech I quote but there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the Palace of Justice in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful Deeds let us not seek to satisfy our THS for Freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence end of quote Martin Luther King Jr fa to the Assassin's bullet on April 4 1968 at the Lauren motel in Memphis Tennessee did the dream die with him never by the time he boldly stated his dream there were rotar buses and parks that were marked white only in the world if you're a back black man you can enter the bus you can stay that that that Park you can get into that swimming pool white only though racism still subsists in America of today it is not as flagrant as it was in these days perhaps nothing can better authenticate the transformation of his dream into reality than the fact that a black man occupied the White House as the 44th President of the UN United States truly God's dreams never die coming closer Home the plays of dreams and the imagins of a Nation can be traced through the life of Nelson Mandela his dream can be encapsulated as a world where equality Justice and Freedom are the all Mark of the society working with other Freedom Fighters Nelson Mandela fought against the apath system and advocated for equality and justice in South Africa on August 5 1962 he was arrested and charged with three offenses first H Treon this had to do with his involvement with African National Congress ANC who sought to dislodge the apathy government secondly he was accused of inciting workers to down tool and for organizing protests and Strikes against government thirdly accusation was leveled against him for traveling without a passport his travels were mainly to gather support from different countries for anc's cause his trial handed in 1964 when he was sentenced to life imprisonment he spent the total of 27 years in prison including 18 years on the notorious Robin Island it was released unconditionally on February 11 1990 and went on to become the first black man to occupy the Office of the President of a post apathy South Africa one thing comes across from all the examples that we have cited that is dreams that will become tomorrow's reality must be well articulated unarticulated dream can never G motion much less traction it is when the dream is articulated that it can be used as a ring cry articulated dreams turns people into a collective Bound by common values and aiming for common Glory when dreams are well laid out people are willing to pay any price Vision dreams and vision are often used interchangeably however it's possible to find a thin line of demarcation generally speaking a vision takes off when where dreams stop a dream becomes a vision when it is structured so we can define a vision as a structured dream while a dream could be a mental picture or notion of what could possibly take place in the future a vision on the other hand is harmed with a sense of purpose and Direction a dream could be passive in that he does not have set goals and timelines but a vision Embraces both a vision comes with Clarity of what we want to achieve when a dream evolves into a vision it becomes a propeller that thrust one forward helping to maintain a focus word on tomorrow's reality what will become tomorrow's reality will rest sarly on the dreams of yesterday and the vision of today a future that is not built on well conceived dreams and vision will be nothing but an accident of History this is the ban of many undeveloped Nations most of these nations have bountifully endowed by Nature from arable land to massive forest reserves long winding coastlands to innumerable aquatic Treasures friendly weather to Abundant mineral resources this nations are not disadvantaged the problem has always been the absence of articulate dreams and Visions so these nations are moving vicious cycle of poverty and hunger today is the reality of a dreamless visionless yesterday there the pathetic story of many African nations and other developed nations of the world the current reality today's reality for Many Nations it's a product of dreamless and visionless yesterday so if tomorrow will be any different the men and women of dreams and Visions must arise here is how to tie the three together what is dreamed about becomes vision and the vision when acted upon becomes our reality so how what method does God use to deliver Nations Israel is God's prototype for the way he deals with the Nations so if we care to know how God delivers Nations we should turn us such Li to the way he had delivered Israel in time past the Bible has several accounts of divine Deliverance of Israel when God was set to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage he first located a man and gave him a message the man was Moses and the message was let my people go that they may serve me the obstinate mind of pharaoh rejected the initial entries but through a sh of God's Mighty power Israel obtained their leave there are four lessons about God's deliverance from this context number one there's an element of divine timing prior to the time when God kicked the Machinery into motion for the Deliverance of Israel Moses had made an attempt that was 40 years earlier it was futile and he ended up as a fugitive in a Strange Land he stepped out of divine timeing that experience of Moses you know out of zeal the Bible say one day he got out and saw an Egyptian an Egyptian aggressor fighting against the Hebrew look here and there smoke the man buried him in the and I think it went from that they thinking Deliverance Ministry has started the next day the Bible tells us he he went out again and saw two men fighting this time around an Hebrew with another Hebrew and they said all you are brothers you don't fight and that's why they says it's better to judge Jord than war war let's talk it over Brothers talk they don't fight and then the man sing his other brother said hey who made you a judge over us do you want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday so Moses said oh so this is known the Bible told us earlier he look here and there when he perceive he thought there was nobody around he killed the man now you know I I I keep wondering how tedious that job would have been for Moses to kill a man and dig the the grave and buried that's the tedious nature of doing anything in the flesh is very heavy but I don't know how things spread he probably got home and told a boss some friend a body of his you know what that what happened this this gentleman was was harassing an Hebrew the other today I just kill him please don't tell anybody this just between me and you and that M's friend went home and saw the mother said Mom I have something to tell you but don't tell anybody Moses just started Deliverance Ministry today and kill someone he said I shouldn't tell anyone but you know you're my mother and I can trust you the mother has a friend a bosome friend isn't that how things spread but when Moses did that he stepped out of time with God God has spoken by prophecy here is ago over 300 years ago that The Offspring of Abraham would been a Strange Land for 400 years and after that I will visit the nation and bring them out Moses out of zeal after what was happening stepped into the job before the time he got his fingers bmed handed up as a fugitive by the way have you ever wondered why all the way when Jesus stepped into Ministry and began to preach and teach he was around 30 all the time before 30 did you think do you ever think that there were there was nobody who die there there was nobody who was sick there was nobody who who needed healing why was he why was he not stepping in why didn't he heal anybody before that time why was he watching people die before that time he was just waiting for the time appointed by the father in every issue of Deliverance whether individual or a nation there is the element of divine timing the Bible says in ecclesiast 3 to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose Under the Sun we understand from scripture that God makes all things beautiful in his time so when you're talking about how God delivered Nations we must understand there's an element of divine timing in Acts 17:26 I read from the amplifier classic the Bible say and he made from one one common origin One Source One blood all nations of men to settle in the face of the Earth having definitely determined the alloted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation their settlements lands and aborts so God has a time God has a season both for individuals families and Nations a prayer should be Lord don't let me miss my time that should be our Focus we have a time we have a season ordained by God when certain things should happen to us for us by us our prayer should be not to miss the time not to miss the season our prayer should be that a spirit should always be sensitive to connect with Divine timing because that's when God will make all things beautiful number two thing from that account of the deliverance from Egypt there has to be a man raised by God there has to be a man raised by God to Champion the ca that man could be a prophetic voice blowing the prophetic bigle such versel declares the intent of God to the people as well as to their oppressors that's what Moses did he not only announced to the people of God it's time to go it's time to leave the bondage he also announced to Pharaoh this is what God is saying th say the Lord let my people go there has to be a man maybe as we see in the other example maybe a company of people maybe a company of men but there has to be a man to Champ the cause of Deliverance number three there has to be a ring cry As You observe with Moses the ring cry was let my people go that they may serve me name I abuse is ring cry around the pitiable condition of the Jewish returning to Jerusalem and the deplorable state of the city wall the rling cry is typically used to secure a buyin from the people number four there has to be a process Deliverance sometimes is like crushing a large Stone either Deliverance of an individual family or a nation is like crushing a large Stone you throw the hammer and all you are hearing is and you throw your keep trying you're wondering whether whe there's any impact it's like crushing a last Stone imagine how many times Moses had to stand before Pharaoh let my people go let my people go the message hasn't check let my people go but sometimes the progress may appear so slow until it becomes imperceptible to the eyes when the process is slow the tendency to be discouraged heats the roof so in addition to articulating the vision of Deliverance to the people the man raised by God to Champion the curse has to REI The Hope and enthusiasm of the people from time to time let's take one more example Deliverance of the median night the Deliverance of Israel from the midianites came with all the previous lessons and more for example God had to raise a man to Champion the process Gideon was God's Peak for the exercise he was a Countryside farmer with poor background his non elitist background was one reason he Advanced why he should not be the one to lead the charge God dismissed his excuses and gave him a matching order go in days thy might the story of Gideon is a lesson that God can use anyone who makes him available another lesson that we can learn is that God requires only a few change agents to Kickstart his operation in any place when the bigle sounded 32,000 men gather themselves for National Duty through two simple tests God's change agents emerged firstly those who were free were asked to go back 22,000 sang song of Deliverance they were to go and deliver people deliver Israel but they sang song of Deliverance for not going to the to the war 22,000 of them went back because they were afraid the remaining 10,000 were deamed too much they also must be tested by the water side those who drown with Reckless abandon were 9,700 they were asked to join the ranks of those who were afraid only 300 remain but they got the job done we learn from this story that the Vanguard of change we learn from this story The vangard of change do not necessarily have to be in their multitudes a small crop of people who have mastered Their Fear and appetite can do amazing job just a small number whove conquered their Affairs who' learned to master their appetite who learn not to control them themselves can become the mighty Army and the of God the Deliverance campaign launched by Gideon and a small army led to 40 Years of Peace stability and prosperity in the land just smoke company of people what they got done brought peace prosperity and stability to the land for about four decades on a general note nations are delivered by God when he sets restorative Machinery into motion but not until the prophetic wind has blown in Isaiah chapter 44 24- 26 the Bible says thus says the Lord your Redeemer and he who form you from the womb I am the Lord who makes all things who stretches out Heavens all alone who spreads abroad the Earth by myself who frustrate the signs of the babish and drivve diviners mad who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolishness who confirms the word of his servant and performs the counsel of his messenger who says to Jerusalem you shall be inhabited to the cities of Judah you shall be build and I will raise up a was places God will always cause the prophetic sound to go forth before any major task before any major job major reform major Deliverance there has to be that prophetic sound going forth and I know this house is not a stranger to this from this platform from this house has gone forth the word of Prophecy over the na ation over and over and over again it is the way God works the prophetic voice has to s first now listen God's restorative machinary is of different kinds and six of them will be examined here with particular reference to how they relate to a nation Nigeria number one you have restoration of judges and counselors restoration of judges and counselors Isaiah 1:26 I we restore your judges as at the first and your counselors as at the beginning afterward you shall be called the city of r righteousness the faithful City the restoration of judges and counselors comes before a new name now to all intents and purposes it can be argued that this category of restoration is a restoration of Institutions it's talking about Judges and counselors can extend that to every other ins tion in the Democratic Society the role of rilian institution in a democratic setting cannot be overemphasized in why Nations fail the authors argue that it is not land mass or people mass that is parament for the development of a Nation rather institutions that are not malleable to the pressure of any person or group of persons holds the key to development it is not even abundance of natural resources Singapore has proved to the world that good institutions can compensate for deficiencies of Natural Resources one of the early Leadership Lessons that Moses had to learn was the idea of having structure in place having to put institutions people in place you remember um when his father-in-law came to visit after sharing Fellowship the first day next day Moses sat down and um was there attending to people from morning till evening and then the father-in-law said what are you doing Moses said the people are coming to me and I have to he said you're going to die this way you're going to your wife will soon become a widow I and I don't want to have that headache this is my advice look for wise men men who hat men who who who were truthful men who hate conciousness and all that s them over these matter let them listen to the people from time to time and then if there are matters that are more difficult they can escalate that to you and all that if God allows and you're able to put this in place uh you farewell that's exactly what Moses did the introduction of these lesser judges allow me to say that who became cor Regents with the in running the Affairs of the people was part of God helping him to introduce structures an institution in the Affairs of running in the running of the Affairs of the people so number one restoration he said I will restore your judges your counselors take that for institution take that for structure number two restoration is the restoration of pure language zaniah 3:9 for then I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they all may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one Accord restoration of a pure language in the contest of our nation will mean being united in mind and Power purpose it doesn't mean that you collapse all the languages how many there are and then there's just one speak a dialect anymore I don't think that is that's not my understanding of it restoration of pure language would mean word having one mind having one Purpose Driven by one mind minding the same judgment and speaking with one Accord having the same purpose for me that becomes a pure language I believe if this happens if there's a restoration of a pure language in our nation it will bring to physical manifestation the four stanza of our new Old National Anthem neria we held our own their native land though tribe and tongues May DEA we have one language that's what he saying the tribes are different the tongues are different but we stand in Brotherhood because God has given us a restoration of a pure language we speak as Nigerians not as an EO man or as a European man or as an AA man we speak as Nigerians that would be the restoration of pure language I pray we get there am I pray we have that pure language that we all can speak it's only God that can make that happen number three restoration is a restoration of Health Jeremiah 30 and verse 17 for I will restore Health to you and heal you of your wounds how many of you how many you can testify that will been wounded severally here the wounds are festering but God says I well looking at how God delivered Nations and I said he does that when he said into motion restorative machinary into motion he restores the language he restores it restores our health he restores the institution that's how nations are delivered when you talk about uh National History student of isra Nigerian and Israel will EAS attest that the nation has witnessed a great great Hemorrhage of over the years we bled through the unrest in the western region in the early 60s we bled through theu and the can cou we bled even more during the Civil War 1967 to 17 of course we've been bleeding ever since following every successive C the Civil War left a s days in the mount that has refused to go away it's become a recurrent decim in every National discuss a restoration of Health we have clear days so we can have a fresh start of a cing slate to begin from number four restoration is a restoration of Wasted Years Joel chapter 2 verse 25 so I will restore to you the years the swarming Locust has eaten The Crawling Locust the consuming Locust and the chewing Locust my great Army which I sent among you restoration of the years Wasted Years I in Wasted Years there's an unconfirmed report I don't know I tried to check that out but I didn't get all the details what I was strong confirmed report of former British prime minister who said uh was qued as saying that if the Looting that took place in Nigeria that happened in in Britain that it will cease to be a nation is there is there any truth to that that the the amount of stealing and this and the Looting and the wastage that has taking place in this country if it happened to the high land of a Nation it will cease to be a country that gives you an impression of how many years have been wasted is it not to God's Own glory and to his own Mercy that the nation is still standing today number five the restoration of comfort Isaiah 57:18 I have seen his ways and we heal him I will also lead him and restore Comfort to him can you see how many many things God is willing to do in salvaging of people the kind of restoration restoration how many do you have number one restoration of work restoration of institution number two P language restoration of pure language number three restoration of Health number four restoration of Wasted Years and then when the Wasted Years have been restor he moves on to the next one then I restore Comfort the restoration of comfort he gives us the breast of consolation Isaiah described God as the one who gives the breast of consolation after years of cry after years of outrage after years of underdevelopment after years of insecurity said I'm coming with a breath of consolation restoration of comfort number six there is the restoration of Excellence Hallelujah now chapter 2 verse 2 for the Lord will restore the Excellence of Jacob like the Excellence of Israel for the emptiers have emptied them out and ruin your Vine branches this is the the latter part of that verse is talking about previous experience previous situation but when God brings his restoration Excellence comes so at that time it not be it will not be a thing of shame to just to lift your granden passport out you can proudly display it because God has restored Excellence unto the land so we have this category these are the things that God sets into motion to deliver a nation and then particularly in a context of our nation the institution has to be restored I think also these things that we have listed can be a guide for our prayer when we pray we can ask God to restore the institution can I ask God to restore pure language to us can I ask God to restore Health to restore Wasted Years restore comfort and restore Excellence the kind of Excellence that this nation has been known for praise the name of the Lord hallelujah now before and after the Civil War the rallying cry for building the nation was to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done to greater or lesser extent Nigeria has been kept as one at some great cause one might say however it is a nation that has experienced Decades of Arrested Development perhaps the rethoric should now be to make Nigeria great is a task that must be done as I reflect on the necessity of getting rid of the stoppers and release Nigeria into a prophetic Destiny my mind went to our national pledge and for the record these are the wens of PL to Nigeria and my country to be faithful lawyer and honest to serve Nigeria with all my strength to defend the unity and uphold and honor and Glory so help me God the four Salient things or Salient lessons that comes cross from the plagge number one getting Nigeria Out of the Woods requires intentionality nothing gets done without being intentional as why I said earlier on if tomorrow is not not predicated un clearly articulated dreams and vision it will become an accident of History getting angur out of the woods requires intentionality pledging to have it happen number two there has to be atristic service to the Fatherland a trtic service must be prioritized number three a considered effort is needed to defend our unity and number four working towards the honor and Glory of a land must constantly be a walk in progress I'm glad to note that that pledge ended with uh the god Factor after all the pledging it says so help me God there's a recognition of the father that the hammer flesh cannot do it Benjamin Franklin once said God governs in the Affairs of men and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid it's not possible an Empire cannot rise without God's Aid a nation can be delivered without God's head no people can rise to the fullness of his potential without God's impute Jesus once said to his disciples without me you can do nothing this house this house we are a part of this house does not only have a dream and a vision of a Nigerian that works it has always emphasized the pival place of God in the equation the testimony of this is one of the several songs I had to consult to get it the word is correct uh asking Pastor be to send it to me a testim of this one of the several song that is Holy indigenous to the global uh to the C Global Community Church if you believe and I believe and we together pray and together we get it right please help me out let me have uh let's have it right if you believe and I believe and we all walk for it almighty God will grant us Grace can we sing that song together you believe I and we all walk for it Al Mighty God will grant us Grace Nigeria will be sa Nigeria will be saved will be changed Al Mighty God will gr us prce will be great I think this house has the copyright to that song and it's a demonstration of our faith in God and what God Alone can make happen that if you look at the deading and look at the problems and all that sometime you want to find out where do you start from but that's where the god Factor comes in if you believe and I believe and we all walk for it almighty God will grant us Grace Nigeria will be saved Nigeria will be saved Nigeria will be changed almighty God we grant us Grace Nigeria will be great recognizing the irreducible involvement of God in our nation's Deliverance is one thing that should drive us to enter the all of intercession and negotiate for the destiny of our nation now listen carefully I'm about wrapping things up there's what is called compassion fatigue it's a situation where caregivers feel exhausted dusted and thereby lose empathy for the people under their care I'm not trying to to strike anyone's emotion or maybe scrash some memory sometimes you have maybe you agent this is this is this this is scary you have an aged person um who can no longer do anything for for thems and all that and then all the attentional family members there and they have maybe they have done that for 10 long years all children keep taking turn to come even though they are parents after a while compassion fatigue May certain that's what I call Compassion fatigue when it happens people are exhausted and they lose empathy for the people under their care now I want to suppose I want to think that there's something we can call prayer fatigue have you met Christians believer who said I for this Nigeria I've removed it from my it's no longer on my uh my prayer list some would tell we've been praying for this nation since we were undergraduate 40 years ago so I I remember one time we were having I don't whether it was classic or Apostle one Dr James bloodly said to us here and said you know what this I'm done was you are there sir I'm done so we have prayer fatigue we have faith fatigue and this is where where my closing child will come from today as many as are experienc prayer fatigue and Faith fatigue this is my clo in charge having or allowing for a prayer fatigue of Faith fatigue we contradict dig the instructions of the Bible Isaiah 62: 6 and 7 was your mind going to that scripture before I raas it because that laughter seems to betray you I have set Watchmen upon thy words oh Jerusalem which shall never hold your peace day or night ye that make mention of the Lord don't enter prayer fatigue don't keep silence and don't give him any rest till he established until he make Jerusalem a place in the earth until there's establishment until a nation become of Praise we cannot we cannot succumb to prayer fatigue we cannot succumb to fake fatigue succumbing to prayer fatigue will also contradict a part of the Mandate that God gave to his servant Dr tar when he was asked to return to Nigeria with the child to pray to preach and to prophesy until Revival comes so until that hand is met we are not permitted to succumb to any kind of fatigue the most reind hope of a better Nigeria a hope that is synonymous with this house this hope has been built around in Nigeria that works in our lifetime moreover we must rekindle our faith faith in God and his ability to turn a d heel into an eminent place of glory and envy our faith must be anchored in the faithfulness of God that he is able to deliver on promise in closing on a personal note there might be individuals here who are going through all kinds of fatigue physical fatigue compassion fatigue emotional fatigue Faith fatigue prayer fatigue if you find yourself in that you're not alone Abraham had faith fatigue he had waited for the child for so long when it seems that was H not happening there was an arrangement to fill in the blank spaces so when God showed up say Abraham hey as for me my Covenant is still with you my promise is still intact Sarah your wife will give back to you know what is God will close that chapter just let ishma leave Faith fatigue has setting I trusted and trusted and trusted I believe and believe and believe for the same thing I've carried over year after year Lord let life continue this way I'm fine Zechariah experienced prayer fatigue the day the angel came and announce hey Zechariah your prayers are hard your wife Elizabeth will come say how we have prayed it when we think uh at the proper time nothing to shut up but that's what he has been praying for that's what happened when fatigue sets so I don't know who he's in this situation today I didn't know he's fatiguing and he anyway but here is the word of the Lord in Hebrews 10 35-37 therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise for yeah for yeah for yeah a little while and he who is coming will come and we not t and that thing you are expecting your living we show up and we're not t that's the word of the Lord for someone here someone who is feeling fatig that's God's word for you Galatians 69 also spoke in the same Tel let us not grow weary why doing good for in De season we shall reap if we do not succumb to fatigue in due season we will reap it as I close I let encourage our heart and say ism from past experience that you sometime you wait for a and wait and wait and wait and wait and then when you close the chapter God say uh don't put a full star where I put a c I'm not done yet I'm not closed that chapter you close it but that's not my intention so we're going to revisit the subject H and God is revisiting the certain subject for certain people this morning so this is the prayer I prayed on my way here from proverbs 25:25 as cold water to a weary Soul so it's good news from a far country the prayer I prayed this morning which I still pray that as many as are fatigued weary one way another some good news will come your way the spirit will come alive again by reason of certain good news that will begin to heat us right left and center and the good you you you see you know what the Bible says about about Jacob who had given up hope of ever seeing Joseph his son he said I'll keep on mour until I enter my grave and he thought that that chapter was long closed but the Bible say when he saw the wagons with Joseph send his Spirit revived again that's good news from a far country coming to him I say somebody is going to receive good news that will bring refresh to your spirit in those areas you told the doors have been shut the chapters have been closed God is revisiting you bringing you good news in the mighty name of Jesus and so I speak to every fatigued man and woman in the house this morning we in body and in Soul I ask God to bring an end to that fatigue to heal you let God heal you emotionally physically spiritually maritally mentally financially let God bring healing your way let there be a new bubble of life the good news that bring refreshing to you let it come your way and let God God's name be glorified in your life thank you father in Jesus name we pray and amen