Shining Light by Apostle Femi Lazarus: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

God Starts New Projects with Nothing

Genesis 12:1-3

"Now the Lord had said to Abraham: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Prior to this passage, Genesis 1 shows God making the heavens and the earth. Genesis 2 shows how he did it. Genesis 3 shows the most important project being hijacked — man. Genesis 4 begins the cascade of consequences: killings, bloodshed, darkness spreading across a generation. Then God found a man.

His opening statement to that man was: get out. Leave everything you know. Go to a place I will show you. Nothing is the raw material God uses to build nations. If a person finds themselves in a place where they feel they are nobody, have nothing, and carry no name — they are exactly where God needs them to be. He does not need a person to look like anything in order to bring something out of them. He hides powerful things in people who do not look like it, so that only he can receive the glory.

When God said let there be light in the beginning, he started with nothing. He was inviting Abraham into that same method — a journey of uncertainty, of moving from predictability to unpredictability.

The Dew from Heaven

Genesis 27:27-28

When Isaac blessed Jacob, he said: "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth."

The substance of the Abrahamic blessing is dew. Isaiah 44:3 confirms: "I will pour water on him who is thirsty, floods on dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring."

The blessing promised to Abraham finds its fullest expression in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Every believer who carries the Holy Spirit carries what it takes to turn wilderness into a fruitful field. The content of the Abrahamic blessing is the Holy Ghost himself.

There are no greener pastures — there are only men who carry the dew. Everywhere the sole of the feet steps, they possess. The generation coming is not one that chases better conditions; it steps into jungle and a city comes out of it.

Darkness Will Cover the Earth — and Light Must Choose to Shine

Isaiah 60:1-2

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people."

Darkness is not a force that arrives uninvited. It is what exists when light refuses to shine. Darkness over systems, darkness in entertainment, darkness over destinies — all of this happens because the carriers of light have not positioned themselves where they belong.

An entire generation that is discontented and dissatisfied — something telling them there is more, something telling them this nation cannot end like this, something telling them they were made to produce jobs rather than wait for them — that is the anointing. Discontentment is the generator of change. The generation that becomes discontent with the state of things is the generation that breaks the yoke.

There are men and women who will carry strange wisdom. The thing giving sleepless nights is not a disturbance — it is the anointing identifying the jurisdiction. If you can notice a problem, it is because you are wired for the solution. Do not complain about what you were designed to solve.

The Prophetic Inheritance of Nigeria

A prophecy was given years ago: a time would come when Nigeria would be known for corruption everywhere — when Nigerians would be rejected by nations, their visas denied, their presence unwanted. We have seen that. The same prophecy said: another time will come when Nigeria will be known for righteousness, when different nations will want Nigerians to come to them.

Egypt was the most prosperous nation during global famine because one seed of Abraham was in Egypt at that time. One. Joseph. One person was enough to change the economic fate of an entire nation. There is no nation in the world that carries the semblance of Israel's journey like Nigerians — wandering through deserts, crossing seas, scattered across nations. But a strange order of young people is rising. People who think differently. People who are asking God for more.

The Smell of Blessing

There is a smell the blessing carries — and there is a smell that disfavor carries. At a moment when the presence of God was strongly present, a woman jumped to greet and something transferred — a smell so powerful it did not leave after bathing, after every soap and perfume. In the spirit, it became clear: that is the smell that sends away every person who comes to help.

From that night forward, that smell is altered. The smell of favor replaces the smell of disfavor. The fragrance of the blessing covers. Every coordination that was bringing disfavor into a life is cancelled.

Power Is Not Optional

Joel 2:28 — "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh."

Jesus was so confident in the Holy Ghost that he left twelve unlearned men and said the Spirit would be sufficient. But he gave one instruction before leaving: "Do not go out yet. Wait until you have been endued with power. You cannot be a light without power."

A young man once arrived at a shrine in a village determined to scatter it without any preparation. They warned him. He scattered the shrine. He left deaf and dumb. The forces in operation are principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. A person cannot engage powers while being powerless.

Power is not metaphorical. It is tangible. Demons will identify those who generate it and want to remove themselves.

James 5:16 — "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." In the Amplified: "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."

As a person prays, power is generated. More prayer, more power. Spiritual dryness ends with more prayer. The breakthrough of the Spirit into a generation comes with more prayer.

Lord, give fire. Set us on fire. Pour out your Spirit upon my life. I cannot continue like this. I ask for an enduement of power. This world is a world of power — you need power to navigate it, you need fire to do life, you need spiritual strength. Jesus, Son of David, alter the course of my life. Pour out your Spirit upon me. Pour out the spirit of prayer and supplication. Let the fire of the Holy Ghost come upon this generation. Let apostolic voices arise. Let prophetic voices find their place again. Let the nations be shaken by what comes out of us. In Jesus' mighty name.