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Welcome to Global Harvest Calgaries Podcast, where faith becomes real and purpose comes alive. We pray that today's message helps you recognize the hand of God in your everyday life and discover the unique purpose He has placed inside you. Our heart is that you don't just hear a sermon, but truly experience his presence, his guidance, and his love in a personal way. Whether you're in a season of searching, rebuilding, or stepping into something new, you're not here by accident. God is closer than you think, and your purpose is greater than you imagine. Enjoy the message.

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And like the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back. Lengthen your coats. Strengthen your things. Therefore, you will spread out of the right hand to the left. I thought somebody would say that. Therefore, you will spread out of the right hand to the left. And your descendants will be the designation. And settled in their desolate nations. Amen. And I believe strongly in my heart that you have been taking us on the journey saying to us, it's time to all the time. And declaring wants to use you and I to achieve those plans. But there's something we must know when you say to you. Imagine we got right now the community, then the community clean up went out outside. And then if I had one window, where we volunteered the church with a community. So imagine that you've been out there walking. I don't want to be on the community guide. Now we know that it's very important to be good to everyone in the community. And because we are good. And you know that. We know that. And we're walking. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. And all of a sudden the coordinator announces what are we going to be doing? We go to what sets, right? So we all eagerly go to this table. In fact, with the speed, which you want, you know, like you just want to drink a lot of water. And then you get there only to realize that the rate at which you're going to be quenched, or that thirst is going to be quenched, is a function of your container. Because the coordinator already said before you came, while you were registering that please, there's going to be water, there's going to be food, but please bring your spoons, bring your forks, bring your cups, bring your water bottles, bring your everything. And then you get there. The water is available. The supply is available. The giver is willing. In fact, he is capable, he's able, and is very willing. Can I have my first picture up, please? So, like I said, the water is there. Your face is legit. You've been working all day, all morning. Can you just turn off yeah for a minute there so that we can see? Because a picture is what is worth a thousand words. So somebody comes with a teaspoon. The other guy comes with a very tiny cup. And there's a third one there that came with a bowl. Who do you think is gonna be satisfied quicker? So the water is not the problem, right? The water is not the problem. And imagine you're not saying, I'm thirsty, give me more water, give me more water, and more water is brought. What begins to happen? Can you put on the second picture, please? So because you're so thirsty, you need more water, they bring more water, so more water is available, but you haven't increased your capacity to draw from the water, nothing changes. At some point, you have to stop screaming, give me more water, and start saying, I need a bigger container. Because you've realized that the problem is not water, and in the same vein, the problem is not God, it's not his supply, it's abundant. That he's asked us to occupy is because there's abundance of what he's calling us into. So at some point you have to start screaming, I need a bigger bowl, I need a bigger cup, I need a bigger container, I need a bigger capacity. So this is where we begin to say, Lord, increase my capacity. Because sometimes we can turn on the light, please, so that the people um online can enjoy the service too, and they're just not seeing a black screen here. Amen. So at some point, you realize that God needs to increase our capacity because sometimes God isn't withholding the blessing, he's waiting on the vessel. Sometimes it's not because he can't do it now, it's not because it can't be immediate, but he's waiting on you, is waiting on me to increase our capacity to develop into that person that can actually accept and retain what he has for us. Amen. So we're talking about increasing capacity, and I'm saying, make room for what God is about to do. Tell your neighbor, make room for what God is about to do. Turn to somebody else and say, make room for what God is about to do. When I read that same scripture, Isaiah 54, verse 2 and 3 in TPT, I'm just gonna read from here. It says, Increase is coming. So enlarge your tent, add extensions to your dwelling, hold nothing back, make the tent ropes longer and the peck stronger. And the reason is very simple. In verse 3, it says, You will increase and spread out in every direction. Your sons and your daughters will conquer nations. Amen. And revitalize desolate cities. That is deep. And I saw an inkling of that yesterday when we had our teens and our um young adults hangout, or open hair crusade, like we like to call it. Young people screaming at the top of their lungs, dancing to gospel songs, unashamed. Unashamed. We didn't care that anybody was looking, we didn't care that some people were getting married, we didn't care that the entire car park was filled with cars. Amen. Your sons and your daughters will conquer nations and revitalize desolate cities. Hallelujah! So, increase is coming, and the Bible says, increase your tent, enlarge your tent. Increase is coming, so because increase is coming, you have to increase your capacity, enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling. Do not spare, do not hold back. Look at the language God uses, it talks about enlargement. For some of us, yeah, we need God to enlarge our coast. It also talks about stretch, extend. Sometimes stretching is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes stretching is not convenient. Most of the time, stretching is uncomfortable. It says lengthen, make it longer, it says strengthen, which is make it stronger, right? Increase your capacity. And I believe that God is speaking to us as a church because we are yet to see you know the fullness of what he has promised us. But he's saying we need to extend, we need to expand. Amen. We need to strengthen, we need to lengthen. So God is saying to us, prepare before that increase arrives. Prepare. Get ready before it happens. Because that means that your preparation sometimes, in fact, most of the time, it precedes your manifestation. Your preparation must precede your increase. Amen, church. So, point number one: God wants us to increase our capacity. And what is capacity? Capacity is your ability to receive, to carry, to manage, to sustain, and multiply what God places in your hands. I'll take that again. It is your ability, your capacity is your ability to carry, to receive, to carry, to manage, to sustain, to multiply what God placed in your hands. What if God gives you a blessing that your character cannot sustain? What if He gives you money, but your wisdom cannot manage it? The Bible says the fool and his money, they are soon separated. What if God gave you influence and emotions cannot handle it? How many times have we seen on socials? We've read in the news, somebody of influence and they do something you're wondering, how? Why? How could this why would you even why would you even do something like that? Influence without emotional intelligence. What if God gave you people, but your leadership cannot steward it? What if God gave you an opportunity that your preparation cannot maximize? So God is saying, before I enlarge what is around you, I want to enlarge what is within you. It comes from the inside. Before I expand you on the outside, before I enlarge what is around you, I need it's important that I enlarge what is in you, what is within. It's not comfortable, but it's going to stretch our faith. As it's asking us to occupy, God is going to stretch our faith, it's going to stretch our thinking, it's going to stretch our patience. Oh, patience. You know, there is this um cartoon that I saw. It says you are saying, um, I have self-control, I have patience, but you are living alone on an island. How is that even possible? How do we know you're patient? So when you're praying, you need to understand what you're praying for. If you're saying, God, I need patience, you're saying, God, bring people to test me. Almost to the point of frustration. Amen. Amen. So God is stretching our stretching our leadership, he's stretching our discipline, he's stretching our vision. How far can you see? What's your vision for your life? For your family, for your community. And sometimes we ask God, why am I going through this? And God is saying, it's because you need to increase your capacity. Amen. So tell somebody, this stretching is preparing me. If you believe it, say to somebody again, this stretching is preparing me. And let me congratulate you if the Lord is stretching you because it shows that something is on the way. It's telling you that I have bigger plans for you. Amen. Amen. You know, back in the uni, my first hostel, it was all manner, and I'd just give my life to Christ. And imagine there were like eight of us, six of us in the room, all manner of human beings. Amen. And being the first child, most of the time, when you say sit down, what do your siblings do? They sit down. When you put your cup there, you can even say you come and carry this cup or you leave it there. You expect it to be there. But the story changed quickly. And I had just given my life to Christ. And I was told that you have to be Christ-like. And Christ-likeness involved what? Patience. In fact, long suffering. Sometimes you're smiling when you feel like slapping. Sometimes you're blessing when you feel like cursing. But you have a choice at that juncture. Either to say, What today we'll settle it, then later we'll pick up Christ. Or to say, I give myself away. So you can use me. I give myself away. Amen. This stretching is preparing you. And in the same vein, I remembered after I think about two years or three years, I now got into a hostel where it was the fellowship that got the hostel. So now we're brethren in the room. Hallelujah. Life was easier because if my food is down, my food is there. If you put your water, nobody, they're not gonna steal anything. We are brethren, right? And one day I thought to myself, I said, Ha, are we setting ourselves up for success or for failure? Because in the world that you are going out to, it's not a controlled environment. Amen. And I know some people that came from year one into that controlled environment, they gave their lives and they moved into that controlled, and everything was good. But then when you go out there and real life happens. So I remember when I got to year four, I told the fellowship, I said, I'm moving out. We're like, what's going on? I said, moving, living in the room doesn't mean backsliding. There are two different things. I said, I'm moving out because what we are doing here, I don't think is sustainable. Amen. It's comfortable, very comfortable, and sometimes it could be like you know, even when you wake up in the morning, you don't want to pray. Somebody's already you will stand up, right? You will pray in the morning because other people are praying. But what when you're alone? So God is preparing us, amen. Amen. This stretching is preparedness. This stretching is preparedness, and you get to the workplace to sometimes you look at the face of the person talking to you, and you are listening to what they are saying, and your brain is calculating that. What is this? And you smile and you walk away. Well, I hope not from the fear of not losing your job, but because you're supposed to be there as a light to shine in the darkness. Amen. Amen. So God will stretch us, and he expects us to yield to that stretching because that is where the growth is, that is where the business, the opportunity is, that is where that occupying can actually happen. Amen. So, point number two. Stop asking God only for more. Ask God to help you be more. Ask God to help you be more. We're very good at praying. God give me more money, God give me more opportunities, more clients, more businesses. I need more people, I need more influence, I need a bigger platform. But what if our prayers begin to change subtly? That God make me more capable to carry more. Make me more capable to handle what you're bringing my way, develop in me, grow in me the capacity to be able to carry to bear what you're bringing my way. Sometimes, you know, in the course of life when I'm working and I'm talking to people who are doing their financial needs, and people say to me almost regularly, that you know what, I've touched money before. Amen. Amen. If God blessed you in Nigeria, Canada is not too far for the hands of God. Amen. If you experience miracle upon miracles upon miracles in Nigeria, it's the same God, it's the same you, it can be replicated here. Hallelujah. God give me the capacity to be able to carry more because more money with the wrong mindset, of course, will create problems. If you have influence and poor character, it will lead to a greater damage. Amen. And then poor leadership will create confusion. So the blessing is not just what comes into your hands, the blessing is becoming the person that can handle and sustain what God is bringing to you. So I'm saying, God, help me to be ready, help me to grow more, help me to be more conscious of where you're taking me to. What? To move in the direction of the increase you're seeking. Because what? If wishes were horses, what would happen? Beggars would ride. If I can just say I say, Oh man, I just if God can just bless me and I hold a uh outdoor crusade, an event, and then 5,000 souls came to Christ. Is it possible? But there's work to be done, and that's why I said last week that the blessing you are asking for is on the other side of the work you don't want to do. It's on the other side of it. So if you're thinking, I want to become the manager in that organization. Are you willing to walk in the direction of that increase? You have to seek knowledge, you have to become more matured, you must be able to lead people, to carry people, carry their weight on your back without bending, without flinching. We must increase capacity. Amen. We must increase our capacity for knowledge if we're going to be able to occupy. The Bible says my people are destroyed for lack of what? And we know that there are places that your current knowledge cannot take you. In fact, if you get into such rooms, you'd better keep your mouth shut and listen. Because the moment you open it, they already know where your level is. Because we always say that once you enter into your mind, you start talking, just one minute we can tell. Amen. Amen. So we have to be willing to learn, we have to be willing to read, we have to be willing to study, ask questions, get around people that know. Get around people that know. Canada is a community that most people say, yeah, it's everybody, you know, we're to get each for each by themselves. But we also know that if you're gonna move forward quickly in this community, you've got to network. And it's not because you're a believer, people will come and be knocking on your door. Hey, Mr. Sam, they don't even know you're a pastor. They say, uh, Sam, Sam, you know, I just I was thinking yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking about you. So I said, I'm gonna come check you up in your house. And then one person knocks and they comes in, they sit down. Another person comes, oh Sam, you know, I was thinking about you yesterday, and I'm thinking you need a community, right? You say, Yes, yes, yes. Come on, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I came to visit you. The number two, it's not gonna happen. Sam is gonna have to go outside to go and find the community. And I always say, if you sit down and you think here that you know there's something missing, I wish, I wish somebody would, you know, who that person already is. It's you if there's something missing in your community and you see it, in fact, the fact that you can identify it shows that you've been given that assignment, most likely. So, what we need to do yet is move in the direction of that increase. Move in the direction of that increase. If you want to, if you want to, I said get around people that know. If you want to lead, lead people, you must learn leadership. If you want to build a business, you must learn the business. If you want to build wealth, you must learn about wealth. If you want to influence your generation, you must study the generation. Amen. There were some things I learned yesterday from just hanging out with these wonderful people. Sometimes we don't want to clap, we do something instead. And I was like, ooh, there you go. Amen. And I was like, wow, okay, I'll take it. That's amazing. If you want to influence your generation or a generation, you must study that generation. You want to influence teenagers. In fact, the Lord is your muscle. Amen. If you want to influence your generation, you must study your generation. Your next level may be hiding in that information, that knowledge that you are yet to acquire. For some of us, you'll be. I wrote, I said, go back to school. Say to your neighbor, go back to school. Say to your neighbor, go back to school. Okay, say to your neighbor, I will go back to school. Amen. See, I'm not necessarily talking about physical school, I'm talking about the school of learning, the school of humility, the school of mentorships, the school of books, study. The Bible says study to show yourself approved. Amen. If it's engineering, store D. Human resources, study, study. What are the new trends? What is happening in your world? Enroll in the school of wisdom. Enroll in the school of what? Experience. And I know that some of us, most of us, we when we hear school, you know, that thing we don't. I remember when I finished my first degree, I said, Ah, God, school, me and school, let this be the end. That I am done. If I remember very well, I know that I raised my hands up to God. I said, God, you will help me get through this engineering course. No more. And I'm sure God will be like, uh, really? Your journey is still far. Amen. Really? Because that was as far as I could see then. But as knowledge, exposure, I realized that, ah, shoot, maybe I need a master's. And I quickly went to grab one, University of Lagos. And I started studying the trends. I saw again that maybe you need an away from Nigeria masters. Somebody that says I'm done with studying. I ended up having two masters in civil engineering. So I went again to the UK to go and get another one. And would you know that those journeys they were difficult? Because the second one I was already married. In the first one, I was writing my final paper before I got married. The second one I was married, I had to leave my husband and my child at home to go. It was one of the toughest decisions of my life. Many nights I will cry, like, what are you looking for? In fact, some of my colleagues, they could, when they hear that you already have a master, the question is so, what are you looking for? But God is preparing you. This stretching is not for nothing, it's because of something. And eventually, when it came time to come to Canada, it was those two masters that saved my life. Because I was the last generation of paper application. So it was a different kind of point base than what they do now. Amen. Amen. The blessing that you're looking for is on the other side of the work that you don't want to do. Sometimes it's on the other side of the person you don't want to talk to. The knowledge. Increase your capacity to for character because this is very important. Now, a gift can open the door, but character will keep you in the room. Should I say that again? A gift can open the door for you. You can talk in a meeting, and somebody says, Ah, you know what? That you know that guy, the way he was speaking, we need to pull him in. Bring him on the committee, and they bring you there. But will character keep you in there? Joseph had a gift, David had a gift, Samson had a gift. King Saul had a gift. But gifting is not enough. So God is looking for people that can be trusted for what they are asking for. Amen. So the question is: can God trust you with influence? Can God trust you with money? Can God trust you with secrets? People's secrets. Some of us we are horrible gossips. In the name of bro, let's pray for, you know, ah, Sammy, please, we need to pray for Sanami. You know, Sanami is going through a lot, oh ah, that girl, she's going through a mighty lot. And then you begin to say everything she's going through. Do you need to explain everything before we pray? Because we're not praying to, I'm not praying to Salami. She's not praying to me, we're praying to God. And before I came, God already knew. Amen. Can God trust you with people? Can He trust you to take care of young people, the people in your life, even at your workplace? Can He trust you? Because there are God's people in there. In the marketplace, there are God's people in there. Can He trust you? Can He trust you when no one is watching? Can He trust you when you're successful? Can He trust you when you're promoted? Because sometimes the greatest test of character is not adversity, it is abundance. Amen. Lord, increase my character to match my calling. God give me capacity. Hallelujah. Increasing capacity for money. In my opinion, ability to make wealth is a function of two things. One is your giving, the other is your value. And I say this because we're spiritual beings. I always say to us that we are spirit beings that we are having a human experience, right? So this is not all that there is to me. I'm just here. This is a transition zone for us. We're going back to eternity where we came from. So, yes, we need capacity to make money because these are part of things that will make our life here. This this transition smoother. If you are asking God, bless me, bless me monitorally, what value do you have? Every single time you say, What do you have in your hands? What do you have in your hands? That woman whose husband, the wife of the prophet that died, and says, Oh, help me. They are coming to take my children, my two sons. What did the prophet ask? What do you have in your house? Amen. And that is one story. I don't know. Maybe we're gonna have a full teaching on that. Sometimes it bothers me to be like, how can one woman and two children, I don't think they were babies, because I don't think anybody wants to come and take babies for slaves. The Bible says they were in debt. In fact, the prophet died in debt, and was said, What do you have? He says, I have this small oil, and then again we see capacity here. He says, Go and borrow jazz. Capacity. Sometimes you have to borrow other people's capacity until you have yours. Mentorship. Go and borrow jazz. And the Bible tells us that they went around and they borrowed and they were filling the oil. They were filling the oil, they were filling the oil. Let's assume that when we started borrowing the jazz, we didn't know how this will pan out. But the moment the oil started flowing, and you saw that jar one was full, ja two was full, ja three was full. If I were the mother, I would say, ha. Go and get more jazz. And he got to a seat. The Bible says the mother said, Bring more jazz. He said it has finished. And what happened to the oil? He stayed. Maybe second to Solomon alone. But sometimes we are too ashamed to go borrow jazz. We are too ashamed to ask questions. We are too ashamed to ask for help. We are too ashamed to ask for mentorship. Oh, he's younger than me. How? How? He got to Canada after me. How can I go and say that I've been here for so and so years and I'm still asking questions? Amen. Value. For it is he who does what? Power to get. It gives you what? It gives you what? Amen. And what is power? Ability to do what? Ability to do work. W-O-R-K. So God is giving you the ability, the capacity to work so that you can make wealth. He gives you the power to make wealth. So what we're not just praying, God give me money, God give me wealth. We're saying, God give me the wisdom to be able to create, to manage, to protect, to multiply, and to use it for your glory. Amen. Amen. Wealth flows in the direction of value. What do you have in your hands? What do you have in your hands? If you cannot save because you are earning $1,000 per month, believe me when I say to you that you will not be able to save when you start making $10,000. Being there, done that, still doing it with people. So at the end of the day, it's not even the amount of money you make, is what you're able to keep, retain, grow, multiply, and protect. Hallelujah. Protection is very important. What you're able to keep, protect. Amen. And then I talk about giving. Because we're spiritual beings, because we belong to God, because we work in a different economy. We cannot stop, we cannot do but talk about giving. Because we know that therein lies the blessings of God. Amen. And I put it to you that it's not because you don't have that you don't give. Probably because you don't give, that you don't have. There are some laws that cannot be broken. Particularly when it comes to the things of God. See time and harvest time. Cannot be broken. Even Canada as a country understands the power of giving. That's why when you give to charity, when you go file your taxes, what do they do? What do they do? Yes, you get back because they understand the power of giving. I was looking at the issue of, I mean, we could take this many, many in many directions. Even life expectancy in Canada. Do you know that the average life expectancy in Canada is 83? And worldwide, if you are taking an average, it's about 73. So why do we have the edge? Because people give their time. Amen. It's a law that cannot be broken. And for me, my principle is very simple. If it is not enough to eat, it must be a seed. That is my life principle. If it is not enough to eat, he cannot solve my problems, then it must be a seed. And I stand before God, I lie not. He has never failed, like never, ever, ever, ever failed. Amen. Amen. God is faithful, He does not owe. So when we talk about tithing, we talk about giving offering. It's not because somebody wants to collect money from your pocket, it's because somebody wants to help you provoke the blessings of God. Amen. And there's a direct correlation between your giving and your value. Because when you begin to give, doors begin to open to you. Mentors that you were not seeking, sometimes they come looking for you. Opportunities begin to open to you, and you're wondering how. And then you step into them because you've been building what? Capacity. Because you've been building capacity, lengthen your codes, lengthen it, strengthen your stakes, think bigger, dream bigger, reach further. Believe God for more. Develop new skills, build new relationships, take new territories. But as you're stretching out, go deep, stabilize, strengthen your stakes. So that as God is putting those things in your hands, character will not throw them off you. Build character, build discipline, build systems, build a solid prayer life so that you might begin to see. Your eyes might see the things that others cannot see. That your mind might begin to comprehend the things that others cannot comprehend. Prayer opens up your heart, it opens up your mind, it gives you capacity to dream. Amen. Build your prayer life. Build your prayer life. I can tell you for free, many times I'm on site, and the day before, for some weird reason, and I call it weird, my eyes will go to a drawing and I'll look at it. I'm like, This drawing, what does it even mean? And then I will look at and the following morning, the moment we are done with stand-up meetings like this. TM says, Um, Kevin, do you know joining so so can you bring it to my office now? Can you explain to us what we need to do here? What was I gonna say? I don't know. And I'm like, I just start speaking in terms of push it. God, you are good, God, you are merciful, God, you're merciful, God. I fear you build your prayer life, build accountability, be accountable to somebody, of course, most importantly to God, but be accountable, build healthy relationships because all of these things will help you stabilize, and expansion without stability will lead to collapse. I pray the Lord will help us in Jesus' name, increase your capacity. Maybe you've been saying, God, why is this thing not moving for me? Why is this not changing for me? Maybe God is saying, Increase your capacity. You thought the delay was rejection, but it's preparation. You thought the wilderness was punishment, but it's training. You thought the closed door was failure, but God is protecting you from entering a room that you were not ready yet to occupy. Let's not waste the season. Let us grow, let us increase that capacity. Church, this is the youngest you will ever be on this side of eternity. So if you cannot do it now, you will not do it later. If you cannot be busy now, when if you cannot chase after the things that God has put in your heart now, by growing capacity, by increasing, when will you do it? If you're married or you're single and you cannot pray and you cannot study, is it when you're married that you think by eventually of getting married that anointing to study will come upon you? Or you're married, you're still waiting for those children, and you cannot wake up in the middle of the night. It's when the babies come, huh? Amen. Now is the time. If you will not do it now, it becomes harder because whether we like it or not, this frail body will begin to do its own thing. Amen. Amen. Will you build capacity? Would you increase your capacity? As we close, I want to speak to someone. You know, or you've been praying, God, I need you to do a work in me. Maybe you've been asking God for more, but today you realize, Lord, I don't just need more, I need more of you in me, I need more capacity, I need my faith to be strengthened to carry what is coming. Maybe you're thinking about the next phase of your life, the next month, or school is resuming, or work is starting tomorrow, or I'm looking for this new employment, or I want to get to this point in my life, and you know you need strength. You need strength from God, but we also need to move forward, we need to take action. Is there somebody here today that saying, God help me? God help me, give me new strength, help me to be completely yielded to you, increase my capacity, make me capable to carry what is coming, what you're preparing ahead of me. Teach me to steal what your blessings, to steal what the relationships you're bringing my way, to steal what the influence, to steal what, to become a vessel that you can trust.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

Can we be upstanding? Thank you for joining us today. We pray this message didn't just speak to your mind, but truly ministered to your heart. May the word take root in your life, producing faith, clarity, and boldness as you walk out the purpose God has for you. If this message encouraged you, be sure to share it with someone who might need it. And we'd love to connect with you, join us in person, and become part of what God is doing here at Global Harvest Calgary. Until next time, keep experiencing God and walking confidently in your purpose.