Dangerous Whispers | Robert Madu | Social Dallas

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Social Dallas Podcast
Host: Social Dallas Church
Episode: Dangerous Whispers | Robert Madu | Social Dallas
Date: November 24, 2025
Guest Speaker: Pastor Robert Madu

Theme:
Pastor Robert Madu concludes the series “God Hates _______” with a passionate sermon titled "Dangerous Whispers." He explores the scripture in Proverbs 6, focusing on God's hatred of "a person who stirs up conflict in the community." Madu discusses the subtle, destructive nature of sowing discord through whispers, gossip, and relational seeds that damage families, communities, and churches. He challenges listeners to become peacemakers, grounded in the reconciling love of Christ.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Understanding "Dangerous Whispers"

• Opening Illustration: Pastor Madu references viral lip-reader Jackie Gonzalez, highlighting how whispers, though quiet, can say a lot and often go unnoticed yet carry powerful consequences.
  • "She didn’t learn to listen by sound. She learned to listen by sight. She didn't tune her ears. She trained her eyes—so where you and I would depend on volume, she looks at detail." (06:45)
• Body Language of Whispers: He discusses the subconscious body language we use to conceal words we know are wrong or harmful.
  • "It's as if our body innately knows...that the thing we're trying to cover up and whisper is something that shouldn't be said in the first place." (09:04)

2. Scriptural Foundation: What Does God Hate?

• Proverbs 6:16-19: Review of the infamous list: haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, heart devising wicked schemes, feet rushing into evil, a false witness, and finally: a person who sows discord.
• Emphasis on Discord as the Final, Most Hated Item:
  • "If you do these six things, you will become this seventh person... The seventh thing is the crescendo. He's saving the worst for last." (12:30)
• Hebrew Word "Madon": The word for ‘discord’ is defined: intentional, strategic strife—not accidental misunderstandings.
  • "This is deliberately sown divisiveness. Messy." (13:42)

3. Modern Examples of Sowing Discord

• Gossip in Everyday Life: Demonstrated through common phrases:
  • "Hey, come here, real quick. I could be wrong, but I just think you can't trust so-and-so..." (15:11)
• Church Culture and “Spiritual” Gossip:
  • "Girl, the devil is attacking marriages right now... I’m just telling you this so you can pray for them." (16:14)
• Warning to Church Leaders: People who constantly criticize leaders or other churches are sowing seeds of discord that will eventually return to the current church.
  • "It's only a matter of time before I'll be the person and this will be the church, and you'll leave here and go, 'Let me tell you about Social.'" (17:22)

4. The Seriousness of Division

• Unity is Essential:
  • "Unity is the one thing that God paid the price of His Son for—to reconcile us to Him and each other. Discord is antithetical to His character." (18:48)
• The Only Thing God Paid For:
  • "God didn't pay for the sun. God didn't pay for the mountains... The only thing God had to pay for was reconciliation. And He paid with the precious blood of His Son." (19:02)
• The "Re-" Prefix in Christianity:
  • "Revive, redeem, restore, regenerate, reconcile—because sin ripped everything apart." (19:51)

5. Jesus's Prayer for Unity

• John 17: Christ’s priority in prayer was not influence or reach, but unity.
  • "'Lord, this is my only prayer. Make them one. Bring them together... because then the world will know.'" (21:13)

6. Analogy: Tuning Pianos for Unity

• You cannot tune a piano to another piano—unity must be based on something “outside” us (God/truth):
  • "I tune myself to the Word of God and the truth of God. When you tune yourself to that... watch how God will move." (22:47)

7. Historical and Scriptural Evidence: The Power and Destruction of Discord

• Church growth in persecution vs. division:
  • "The Church has never been destroyed from outside persecution... Only from internal whispers of division." (25:22)
• Paul’s Letters Emphasize Unity: Calls on the church to make "every effort" to maintain unity (Ephesians 4:3, 1 Corinthians 1:10).
  • "A divided church is a defeated church, but a united church is an unstoppable church." (26:48)

8. The Three Seeds of Discord

Pastor Madu identifies three “seeds” that lead to discord, each with biblical and modern examples:

• Jealousy: Often unconfessed, results in comparison and resentment.
  • "Jealousy is the issue. Sometimes jealousy is not even about what a person has, it's just that you don't think they should have it. Jealousy compares. Jealousy resents." (28:00)
• Offense: Living perpetually offended, especially in today’s culture.
  • "Offenses are inevitable. But watch this: there's a difference between an offense and being offended. An offense is an event. Offended is a decision." (35:51)
• Bitterness: When offense lingers and takes root.
  • "If offense is a seed, bitterness is what grows when you water it. Bitterness is offense, replayed, rehearsed... It is the closest thing to spiritual witchcraft—casting spells with your imagination, waiting for someone to get what you think they deserve." (37:31)

9. Practical Call to Action: “Quit Your Job”

• “Full-time jobs” in jealousy, offense, and bitterness:
  "Some of you, that's your full-time job and you love your job of jealousy, offense, and bitterness." (39:42)
• Find Relief:
  • "Maybe you need a place to quit this job... Mind your own business. Stay in your own lane." (40:45)
• Become a Peacemaker:
  • "If God hates discord, what does he love? God loves peacemakers... Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (41:18, Matthew 5:9)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Discord will always go further than you intended and spread faster than you ever thought that it would. And sometimes the damage is irreparable because you’ve already sown the seed with your whispers." (17:26 – Robert Madu)
• "The devil knows he doesn't need you to sin big if he can get you to whisper small." (24:07 – Robert Madu)
• "A divided church is a defeated church, but a united church is an unstoppable church." (26:48 – Robert Madu)
• "An offense is an event. Offended is a decision." (35:51 – Robert Madu)
• "Bitterness is offense that is stored instead of surrendered to God." (37:27 – Robert Madu)
• "Please quit your job of jealousy, offense and bitterness... and apply for the job of being a peacemaker." (41:18 – Robert Madu)
• Broom Analogy: Story from Nigerian heritage where unity makes a family or community unbreakable, but division (cutting the cord) makes it easy for the enemy to destroy piece by piece. (43:00)
• "How can you say you love God and hate your brother and your sister? I don’t want God to be nauseated because I’m sowing seeds of discord... I want to be a peacemaker." (46:47 – Robert Madu)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 06:45 – 09:20: Lip reading illustration and the subtlety of dangerous whispers
• 12:10 – 14:30: Proverbs 6 breakdown and progression to discord
• 15:00 – 17:30: Everyday examples of sowing discord through conversation
• 18:48 – 19:51: God’s price for reconciliation—Christ’s death
• 21:13 – 22:10: Jesus’s prayer for unity and its importance
• 23:11 – 26:48: Tuning pianos metaphor and the critical nature of unity within the church
• 27:51 – 39:42: The three seeds of discord: jealousy, offense, and bitterness
• 39:42 – 41:18: “Quit your job” analogy; practical takeaways for avoiding seeds of discord
• 43:00 – 45:29: Nigerian broom story and visual illustration of unity
• 45:30 – End: Final call to be peacemakers and the closing prayer

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Actionable Takeaways

• Be vigilant about the small whispers—what seems like harmless conversation often plants seeds of discord.
• Audit your own speech: Are you a peacemaker or stirring division, even unintentionally?
• Deal with jealousy, offense, and bitterness: Recognize when these are forming in your heart and surrender them to God.
• Commit to staying in your lane: Focus on your own purpose and growth rather than comparing yourself to others.
• Become a peacemaker: Not by passivity, but by actively seeking reconciliation, breaking cycles of gossip, and protecting unity.

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Conclusion

Pastor Robert Madu’s message in “Dangerous Whispers” is a challenging, vivid exploration of the dangers of subtle discord in families, churches, and communities. With humor, biblical wisdom, and practical advice, he urges listeners to actively root out gossip, jealousy, offense, and bitterness—replacing them with intentional, proactive peacemaking in the spirit of Christ.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, family. Before we get into the message, Taylor and I wanted to invite you into something big happening right here at Social Dallas. God has given us an incredible 90,000 square foot building, and we're believing for $6 million to break ground to make it home.

[B]

Yes, and every dollar moves dirt. If this ministry has ever blessed you or spoken to you at any season, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? Your generosity, it helps us turn this building into a home where people will meet Jesus for generations.

[A]

Absolutely. You can give Dallas.com give or click the link in the description because we are almost home. Anybody glad to be in God's house today? Do you like who you're praising next to today?

[C]

What about in the watch party room? Anybody in the watch party room?

[A]

This is the day that the Lord has made. Don't rejoice and get mad. Come on, be glad in it. I'm so glad that you're here today. If it's your first time at Social or your first time in a long time, would you just give me a little wave? I want to identify you.

[C]

Come on. Amazing. I see you. I see you.

[A]

Social.

[C]

That's the little golf clap. Come on, man. Would you welcome.

[A]

It's amazing.

[C]

Thank you for coming.

[A]

Come on. That's a big deal. That's a big deal to come to church, especially one that's in a bar. I mean, that's. It takes a lot of faith. We had a restaurant here in the city the other day, and there was. Our waiter was like, oh, I love Social. I said, have you been? She's like, no, I watch y' all on Tik Tok. I said, well, you should come. She was like, I don't know. I haven't been to church in seven years. She said, it's so scary. I was like, I get that. I get that. But how many know there's nothing power more powerful than community? Sometimes you got to move past being afraid. Come on. Every friendship started with an awkward conversation first. And so I don't know who that's for watching right now online. That's in Dallas. Come on. There's something powerful about being together as a church. You look good today. You look planted in the house of the Lord. That's our word for 20, 25. That's almost over. Can you believe it? Come on. And we have a verse of the year. We've been declaring this every, every single Sunday, and we shouldn't stop now. Y' all ready to read Psalm 92, 13:15. Come on, let's read it with uplifted. Voices. 1, 2, 3. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord, they shall still. He is my rock. Unrighteousness in him. Y' all sound good. Sound real good. Well, Social, I hope you feel like hearing this message like I feel like preaching it today. This is the climactic conclusion of our series, God hates. God hates Blank. How many of you have heard every message in the series? Can I see your hand? Come on. That's a lot of you. Great. How many you? I haven't heard every single one. All right. It's on YouTube. Like, share and subscribe. And I love this series because on paper, it looks like it's crazy. What do you mean, God hates? God is love personified. We've been learning in this series that God hates what harms us. And when you look at what he hates, you can learn his character and know who he is. Our anchor scripture for this series has been Proverbs, Chapter six. We have gone through this entire list, and today we're at number seven. So let's look at it. Proverbs, chapter six. The whole thing, not just verse 16. Praise the Lou. Yeah, there we go. And it says, there are six things the Lord hates. Seven that are detestable to haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies. And then, for today, a person who stirs up conflict in the community. God hates a person who stirs up conflict in a community. I see you thinking about somebody right now. I love that imagery in this translation of a person that stirs up conflict in community. But since we're about to enter into the holiday season and Thanksgiving this week, I love the NLT version. It says, God hates a person who sows discord in a family. A person who sows, not the person that slaps, not the person that throws the plate, just the one that sows discord. Isn't that interesting that discord would be connected to sowing? And here's what I've learned. Whenever you sow a seed, have you noticed you don't really hear it.

[D]

It's quiet. It's subtle. It's like it's a whisper. So when you sow it, it's like it's invisible, but when it grows, it's undeniable. I want to preach today.

[A]

Not long.

[D]

We're using this as a title. Dangerous whispers. Dangerous whispers. Would you bow your heads? I want to pray a long prayer. God speak today. Amen.

[A]

You can sit down. Dangerous. Dangerous Whispers. You thought my mic went out. Here's what I said. I said, if you had to lip read the entire message today, how many think you could understand the entire message? Look at those hands. Remember, lion tongue was. No, I believe you. I believe you. But even if you couldn't do it, there is one person that I know that could do it. I know she could do it because I have watched her do it on the Internet for the longest. I called her a lip reading girl, but I found out she has a name. Her name is Jackie Gonzalez. Some of you may have seen her, and she has become insanely popular because of her acute ability to read lips with unbelievable precision. How many of you seen this girl? Have you seen her? You know what I'm talking about. Okay, I'll just increase her following today. Check her out. Jackie Gonzalez. It is amazing because there's no audio, no sound, but just by watching the mouth of two people whispering at a basketball game or two actors speaking under their breath on a red carpet, she will tell you exactly what they said. And the way she's grown her following is remarkable to me because millions of people watch her decode conversations most of us wouldn't even notice. She'll break down celebrity interactions, backstage moments, even conversations between politicians. She will tell what was said in the moments that the people in the video assumed were private. And the reason she can do it is because she is a part of the deaf community, which means she didn't learn to listen by sound. She learned to listen by sight. She didn't tune her ears. She trained her eyes so where you and I would depend on volume. She looks at detail, where we would look for a sound. She watches for movement of the mouth. And the more I watched her, the more I became mesmerized. Because these weren't loud conversations. These were whispers that she was decoding. Moments that people believed would never be heard by anyone else. Moments spoken quietly, softly, almost covered up. And here's what really caught me. Watching the people that she was decoding. I watched the body language of whispers. Have you ever seen the body language of whispers? It's intriguing to me, the way people would lean or tilt their head. Here's my favorite one. Or do this half mouth cover up. What is this right here? Come on, we've all done it before. You ever just leaned into somebody and.

[D]

Go, hey, let me tell you something.

[A]

As if this blocks it right here. Like y' all can't see my mouth. What is this move right here?

[D]

When we half Cover up our mouth.

[A]

It's as if our body innately knows.

[D]

Sometimes that the thing that we're trying to cover up and whisper is, is actually something that shouldn't be said in the first place.

[A]

Isn't it crazy how this half hand cover up makes us think that we're blocking the harm of the words I want to talk about, not the loud conversations that we have. I want to talk about the dangerous whispers. Sometimes the dangerous whispers do more damage than the loud conversations. It's the quiet things that we say, the danger dangerous whispers. Now, to be clear and to be fair, not every single whisper is dangerous. Come on. Can we say that some whispers actually help you?

[D]

Like, hey, bro, your zipper's down.

[A]

That would be a helpful whisper.

[D]

Or hey, girl, your wig slid. Fix it real quick.

[C]

That's.

[A]

That's, that's a good whisper. But that's not the whispers I'm talking about today. I'm talking about the dangerous, quiet whispers. Hear me? That sow seeds of discord. God hates a person that sows seeds of discord. We've been In Proverbs chapter 6 this entire series, and I want to remind you of the first verse of that series. Let's look at it. The first verse in the series, it says there are six things the Lord hates seven that are detestable to him. And you remember how I told you this was not Solomon trying to be trendy, talking about six, seven, six, seven? This was not Solomon going, oh, there were six. Oh, my bad, I forgot and I don't want to erase it. No, seven. No, that was a Hebrew literary device that was letting you know this list that I'm about to give you is an important list. Don't miss this list. God is not playing with this list. As a matter of fact, the fact that he goes six, not seven, he's letting us know that all six of these things are leading up to the seventh thing that God hates, that he hates all six. But he's letting us know that the seventh thing is the crescendo. He's saving the worst for last. In essence, Solomon is saying, if you do these six things, you will become this seventh person. In other words, if you develop a character that has pride in your eyes and you start looking down at other people, if you have a lying tongue, if you have a heart that devises wicked schemes, if you have hands that shed innocent blood, if you have feet that are quick to rush to do evil instead of quick to rush to help somebody, if you breathe out, if you do all Six of those. Guess what person you become. You become a person that sows seeds of discord, and God hates it. This is what Solomon is letting us know that there's a reason this is the seventh on the list. Because it is the scariest of the list. Let's look at it one more time. In that NLT version, it says, God hates a person who does what? Huh? Sows. Sows. What in a what sows? Discord in a family. Let the church say discord. Say it with your chest. Say discord. Yeah. You know, it is not a Pastor Robert Madue sermon. If I don't give you some Hebrew that you can flex on Monday and tell your friends, Okay, I want you to look at that word discord. We can't go past that word discord because it is a Hebrew word. Madon. M A D O N. It means strife, contention, relational conflict. Madonna doesn't mean accidental conflict. It doesn't mean a misunderstanding. It doesn't mean we just don't see things eye to eye. No, this is intentionally planted strife. This is conflict. That is strategically so. This is deliberate divisiveness. That means it wasn't an accident. You strategically sow this. There is a type of person that strategically sows seeds of discord. There is a type of person that is looking for opportunities to divide people, to cause drama. And you'll see these people, drama just follows them wherever they go. They will change houses, they will change spouses, they will change churches, they will change jobs. And think the problem was with everybody else. No, Boo, Boo. The problem is you. Because everywhere you go, the there's seeds of discord. There's always drama. Madonna is the word. Let me just use the English word. Messy. Yeah, messy. People that sow seeds of discord, if their life had a soundtrack, it would be that MJ classic.

[C]

Wanna be starting something, they got to.

[A]

Be starting something because they are continually sowing seeds of discord. And God hates the person that does that. Discord is never accidental. It is methodical. It is planted. And here's what blows my mind about the moments where we sow seeds of discord. Many of us know it before we sow it. Okay, y' all gonna be quiet. I knew y' all were gonna do this. Many of us know it's a seed of discord. And if you listen to our language, our language gives us blue's clues that we're about to say something that we're not supposed to say. It's just like the half hand cover up. Like, we know when we're about to. Okay, let me show you. I went to get this today to just give you a vis. Today. This is a bag of discord. Seeds of discord. Okay? If you want to get this, it's easy. A Home Depot didn't have any, but Lowe's had plenty. You can get some to that. These are seeds. Seeds of discord.

[C]

I want to show you how it.

[A]

Works, how we sow seeds of discord. Because you know it before you sow it. We'll say stuff like this, like, hey, hey, real quick.

[D]

Hey, real quick. Come here, come here, come here. Hey, hey, have you heard about Susan? Now, look, I'm just throwing this out here.

[A]

I'm just. I heard some stuff about her. It's seeds of discord. We just throw it out there, and it's in the wisdom. It's like, hey, real quick, real quick.

[D]

Hey, hey, hey, hey. Don't tell anybody I said this, but hey, no, for real, keep this just.

[A]

Between me and you. It's seeds of discord. Oh, this is my favorite. Hey, come here real quick. Now, I could be wrong, but I.

[D]

Just think you can't trust something.

[A]

It's seeds of discord.

[C]

Look, look, look, look, look, look.

[A]

I started not to say anything, but since you hear. It's the seeds of discord.

[C]

Oh, we'll do it on the phone.

[A]

In the group chat real quick, like, hey, don't let this lead this group chat. Keep this right here. Oh, another.

[C]

Oh, did you.

[D]

Oh, oh, did you hear about so and so?

[A]

No, I didn't. Screenshots coming in 3, 2. What? Seeds of discord. Oh, church people are the worst.

[C]

Because.

[A]

We don't look at it like, sowing seeds of discord. We will wrap it up in spiritual language. Girl, the devil is attacking marriages right now.

[C]

Is he?

[D]

How?

[A]

You know? You didn't hear about Mike and Karen?

[C]

Now?

[A]

I'm just telling you this so you can pray for them. You need to know what they going through. So I'm just. It's dangerous. Seeds of discord. I'm gonna have fun. This service, it blows my mind, you know, People that scare me, especially since I've been in this church planning world. It's people who will come up to me and they'll go, hey, pastor, I love social Dallas. I'm like, you do? Oh, I love. I love you. You're an amazing pastor, for real. And then it comes with this.

[D]

My last church, my last pastor, he.

[A]

Didn'T preach the word. And I'm going, red flag, red flag. Because it's Only a matter of time before I'll be the person and this will be the church, and you'll leave here and go.

[D]

Let me tell you about Sosha.

[A]

The seeds of discord. This is what discord does. Look at all these seeds. Because discord will always go further than you intended and spread faster than you ever thought that it would. And sometimes the damage is irreparable because you've already sown the seed with your whispers. And hear me if this is what you do, hear me today. God hates makes him nauseous. It makes him sick to his stomach. And he saved the worst for last. Because God wants us to understand how much he hates division, how much he hates discord. Because discord doesn't just make a mess. It destroys families, it destroys communities, it destroys churches, it destroys unity. And how many know unity is the one thing that God paid the price of His Son, to reconcile us to him and to reconcile us to each other. This is why God can't stand discord, because it is antithetical to his character.

[C]

You have a God that paid a.

[A]

Price to reconcile us to Himself and reconcile us to each other. Think about that for a moment.

[C]

God only paid for one thing. There's only one thing that God paid for.

[A]

God didn't pay for the Son. He spoke the Son into existence.

[C]

God pay for the mountains.

[A]

He spoke the mountains into existence. God didn't pay for the oceans.

[C]

He just spoke and said, let there be water.

[A]

And water showed up.

[C]

The only thing God had to pay for was reconciliation. And he paid with the precious blood of His Son. He said, sin has created a tear. Sin has created a divide. So I'm going to pay for it with the blood of My Son so that you can be reconciled to me.

[A]

And reconciled to each other. It's the only thing that he paid for.

[C]

Ooh.

[A]

Do your due diligence. Have you noticed that most of the words of our faith have this prefix on it? Re. Re means to bring something back to its original state, its original order. That's why God has to revive you.

[C]

He has to redeem you.

[A]

He has to restore you. He has to regenerate us. He has to reconcile. Reconcile us. Why? Because sin ripped everything apart. Sin caused discord between us and God and between us and our brothers and sisters. And God has been trying to bring us back together again. This is why he prayed in John 17. I can see John in my exegetical imagination, eavesdropping on the prayer of Jesus. This is the prayer of Jesus. And I can see John listening To Jesus. Pray. And look at what he says. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe. That's me. And you believe in me through their message that all of them may be one Father. Just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe you have sent me. Do you see the power of what Jesus prayed? He did not pray. Lord, I pray that they would be big and have multiple campuses. Lord, I pray that they would have worship songs that would go around the world. He didn't even say, lord, I pray that they would be influential or effective. No. He said, lord, this is my only prayer. Make them one. Bring them together. Because if we could just be one, how many know then the world will know.

[C]

Wait a minute. If they can lift up hands together.

[A]

In spite of their differences and still.

[C]

Come together, God can do that. Only God can make a church come together like that. Make them one.

[A]

But the enemy wants us to sow seeds, discord. Because discord is the place that the kingdom of darkness thrives. Would you wake your neighbor up and say, let's get on one accord? No, wake them up say, let's get on one accord. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just feel this in my spirit. They, you know, they try to sleep on my musical ability. Chord, chord. Somebody say, chord, chord, chord. Is this on? Yeah, that's it.

[C]

Can y' all hear that? That's how I'm going to give you. That's how I'm going to give you.

[A]

Because that's all I know. But this piano has to be tuned for you to hear the chords, right? It's got to be tuned. But how many know? If this piano gets tuned and then I tune this piano, this piano to this piano, and then I tune another piano to this piano and then another piano to this piano, how many know it's not going to be in tune? You can't tune a piano to another piano. You have to get a tuner, an instrument that is outside of the piano, to tune it.

[C]

And when you get an instrument that's.

[A]

Outside of it, you can tune a.

[C]

Thousand pianos to one note and they.

[A]

Will all be in sync.

[C]

This is why I don't tune myself to the culture. This is why I don't tune myself to somebody else's opinion. This is why I don't tune myself to what I think. It doesn't matter what I think. I tune myself to the word of God and the truth of God. And when you tune yourself to that, if we could all come in alignment with that. Watch how God will move.

[A]

Oh, I feel like preaching in here today.

[C]

I came to tell you the devil is afraid of a united church because.

[A]

He knows the story.

[C]

Spirit of God will only descend on unity. It will not descend on division. Can you prove it? In the scripture Acts, chapter two, it says, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord, not discord. One accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind. And it filled the whole place where they were sitting. Oh, I bet the Holy Spirit did show up.

[A]

Why?

[C]

Because the believers stopped being petty and throwing seeds of different discord and say, let's get together and call on the name of the Lord.

[A]

And the Spirit descended not on division, but on unity. Don't seem like we see a move of God like we've seen it in the past. Maybe because it's division, because of what you've been saying. I'm sorry. Sowing seeds of discord. This is the trick of the enemy to get us to have whispers that break the unity. Social unity is the only environment that God inhabits. Discord is the environment God avoids. You want to know why the enemy loves discord? Because discord disrupts the very environment that the spirit inhabits. The devil knows he doesn't need you to sin big if he can get you to whisper small. Because whispers weaken unity. And when unity breaks, momentum breaks. This is why the Apostle Paul was obsessed with unity. If you read his letters, half of them are about doctrine. The other half is him telling Christians, hey, stop arguing and fighting and being divided over stupid stuff. Stop creating YouTube channels, destroying your brother and sister in Christ. They are not your enemy. Study the history of the Church. The Church has never been destroyed from outside persecution. Anytime there was outside persecution, the Church thrived. The Church multiplied. It only got destroyed when there was.

[D]

Internal whispers of division. What you think about him?

[A]

I don't think he all. That girl. Did you see her? Sure did. I knew I couldn't trust her the day she came in with that skirt on. Whispers, he tells the church at Ephesus, In Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 3, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. What kind of effort? What kind? Not some, not occasional effort. Every effort. Paul. Why are you writing that? Because Paul knew unity does not keep itself. Unity must be protected. Unity must be guarded. Unity must be held. You have to fight division with everything in you. I'm giving some entrepreneurs some help. Right now, you want to know who to fire off of your staff, off of your team? Fire the person that loves to go in your office.

[D]

Hey, let me tell you about.

[A]

Get rid of them. I don't care how competent, how amazing they are. If they start sowing seeds of discord, your company is going to fall apart, your family will fall apart. Unity is the environment where his glory dwells. He says the same to the church of Corinth in First Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 10. He says, I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus, that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. Why Paul knew. A divided church is a defeated church, but a united church is an unstoppable church. And all the enemy has to do.

[D]

Is to get you to start whispering those seeds. What you saying? What are you sowing?

[A]

The harvest is discord, but the seed starts small. Real quick, because I want you to say you took some notes in church. I want to give you three seeds that are always connected to discord. Anytime you see a harvest of discord, fighting, strife, division, check the harvest all the way to the seed, you'll trace it to three seeds. It's not an exhaustive list, but this is a pretty good list. Three seeds. Here's the first seed. Because it starts quiet, it starts subtle.

[D]

It starts small, it starts with a whisper.

[A]

It's the seed of jealousy. Yeah, jealousy. Hear me when I tell you, anytime you see discord and division, there will always be jealousy. Jealousy is something that starts with the eyes and then it moves into the heart. It is that little bitty seed. It is that thing that says, why them and not me? I know you can't say anything. It blows my mind when people. Prayer requests, people telling themselves. I have never in all my years of ministry had somebody come up and say, hey, Pastor, pray for me. I'm struggling. With what? Jealousy. Really? Yeah. I can't believe that Barbara got a man and I don't have one yet. Nobody said. I've never heard anybody say jealousy. Jealousy is the issue. Sometimes jealousy is not even about what a person has. It's just that you don't think they should have it. Jealousy. You ever had just the seed of jealousy. Whenever you see jealousy, please believe there's going to be discord. Jealousy compares. Jealousy resents. Jealousy can never celebrate what God is doing in somebody else. You'll always compare what somebody else has and say, God, that's not fair. I should have that. And it's a Sin seed that is going to grow into a harvest of discord. First Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 3. It says, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove that you're controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? Look at what Paul is saying there. The way I can know you're worldly and not cause you're smoking weed or your skirt's too short. I can know you're worldly just by your jealousy. Jealousy is synonymous with carnality. It's not of the spirit. I love it. In James 3:16, it says, for where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. This is what Netflix documentaries are made of, all kinds of evil. And if you trace the discord, if you trace the evil, it was connected to. To jealousy. I often read the leadership of Moses. I love reading Moses because Moses is a dude that didn't ask to step into position. He just stepped into position and had to lead a whole lot of people. And it just shows all throughout Exodus and Numbers, just the leadership of Moses. It is very therapeutic for me to read what Moses went through. And it is amazing to see that when God called the people out of slavery and into the promised land, how division and discord rose up, immediately people started arguing. Actually, it started with complaining. Ooh, read numbers when you get there to the crib, just complaining people. Isn't that crazy? You were in slavery, God set you free, and you complaining. Now that you're set free, you have romanticized the past, saying it was better for us in Egypt. I can't believe you brought us out here. It started with complaining. And you see Moses dealing with all these things. Seeds of discord and even jealousy.

[C]

His own sister couldn't believe he married.

[A]

An Ethiopian, had issues with who he married. I'm just helping you before you get to Thanksgiving dinner. Isn't that crazy? Nothing is new under the sun. His own sister said, really? I can't believe you married her. It was actually racism. And look at how God responded. Oh, she got leprosy. Oh, I'm telling you, I wouldn't fool with God. He says you got issue with skin. All right, Leprosy on your skin. And Moses had to pray on. Oh, Lord, please, please heal her. Heal her, heal her, Moses, you're better than me. I would have said, see God, don't play about me.

[C]

Not Moses. He had a heart of humility.

[A]

He Said, no, God, please, please. Aaron had jealousy. Jealous of the position.

[C]

This is what blew my mind. How are you jealous of a position that Moses didn't even want? This is what blows my mind about something. You jealous of something that some people didn't even ask for? Have you ever felt. Felt that? It's like, why y' all jealous? I didn't ask for this. God just gave me this. I just stepped into obedience. You jealous and couldn't even handle the weight of this if it was put on you. Why are you jealous? Somebody is jealous of something that you.

[A]

About to walk away from and can't even handle? I'll tell you where it really stirred up. Read it when you get to the crib. Number 16. This dude named Korah started a rebellion with 250 people who rose up against Moses. 250 people. One dude affected 250 people with seeds of discord. And guess how God judged the discord? The ground split open. Talk about, whatever you sow, you reap. He's like, oh, oh, y' all like to divide.

[C]

Ground.

[A]

Divide. And the ground swallowed people. All of them. And I started thinking, cora, bruh, what made you start sowing the seed before the ground opened up? It's in number 16. He says, Are not all of us holy? Not just Moses and Aaron? In other words, how come he the only one that go to the mountain? I got a ministry, too. I can sing, too. I can preach, too. It started with jealousy as a seed. I gotta hurry. There's another seed. And this one you gotta watch out for. And that is offense. Offense, the seed of offense. This is a hard seed to not allow to contaminate your heart. Cause how many know we live in the USO United States of offense? Everybody is offended about everything, all the time. Have you noticed everybody gets offended about everything all the time, all the time, perpetually. And if you don't get offended, people will be offended that you're not offended by what you should be offended about.

[C]

Oh, yes.

[A]

Check your algorithm. They will tell you that enragement is the new engagement.

[C]

Have you ever seen it? There will be stuff that'll just get on my feed. And I'm like, how did this get on my feed today?

[A]

It'll just make you go off. Because they know enragement is engagement. Just get them offended, get them mad, don't even know why. Just offense. And I'm telling you, offense is a seed. And anytime you allow the seed of offense to get in your heart, please believe there will be discord. I love The Bible, it says in Luke 17, verse 1. This is Jesus talking. It is impossible that no offenses should come. Isn't that crazy? A God who does the impossible says, hey, there's one thing that's impossible. It is impossible for you to live on planet Earth and not have offenses come off. Offenses are going to come your way. It is inevitable. Somebody's going to get on your nerve. Somebody's going to say, per my last email, somebody is going, somebody's going to steal your parking spot. Somebody is going to set you off on the Thanksgiving dinner this week.

[C]

It's coming. Offenses are inevitable. I tell people all the time, guess.

[A]

What the chances are. Guess the percentage rate of me as your pastor offending you. Guess what.

[C]

100%.

[A]

Y' all said that quick. Somebody in the first service said 70. Hello, Grace.

[C]

No, 100. I promise. You stay at this church long enough, there is something I'm going to do.

[A]

I'm not going to try to do on purpose. But you. I promise. I can't believe he said that. I can't believe he wore green pants. Look at them, parachute pants. I don't like a pastor wearing pants.

[C]

It's going to be something.

[A]

Offenses are inevitable. But watch this. There's a difference between an offense and being offended. An offense isn't an event. Offended is a decision. An offense says you did it. Offended says, I'll never forgive it and I'll never forget it. And anytime you allow the seed of offense to get in your heart, there will be discord, jealousy, offense. What's the other one? Oh, yeah. Bitterness. Jealousy, offense and bitterness. What is bitterness? Bitterness is offense that has stayed in your heart too long. If offense is a seed, bitterness is what grows when you water it. Bitterness is a fence, replayed, rehearsed. Bitterness is offense that is stored instead of surrendered to God. Hebrews 12:15 says, See to it that no root of bitterness grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Did you see that? Bitterness is a root, not a plant. It's a root. It'll hide underneath things. And it won't just defile you, it'll defile a bunch of people. Some of you need to ask people around you and that love you and love you enough to be honest and ask them, do I sound bitter? Some of you, the pain and the trauma of your past has made you bitter and you don't even realize it. Ask somebody that loves you enough.

[C]

Girl.

[A]

Am I bitter because of my last relationship? Well, you did post it all men are dogs the other day. Am I bitter because of the last church that hurt me. Well, you do find something wrong with everything in church. Bitterness is a root that will not just defile you, it'll defile everybody around you. Bitterness, hear me, is the closest thing to spiritual witchcraft. Because bitterness makes you cast spells on people with your imagination. Because you can't wait for them to get what they did to you. If I was the enemy, I would keep you on a perpetual loop of jealousy, offense. Bitterness. Jealousy, offense. Let's look at it. Jealousy, offense, Bitterness. Jealousy, offense, bitterness. Do you see what I see job? Some of you, that is your job. You wake up for that job. You never late for that job job. Come on, you clock in early. You love this job. Of jealousy, offense and bitterness. You overtime on this job of jealousy, offense. Of bitterness. And I am telling you as your pastor that loves you today, would you.

[C]

Please quit your job, Quit the job of being jealous. Why don't you celebrate what God is doing in somebody else? Because how many know if God bless somebody else, I got faith to believe, he can bless me. People that are jealous, violence don't got faith. Why would I be jealous of you? If God is blessed in you, that means he must be in my zip code so I can celebrate you. Why would I be offended? Yes, you did it to me, but I'm not gonna let it control me. I refuse to be in a prison of offense. I refuse to be bitter. I'm gonna get better. I'm gonna let God create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. I don't want to miss the out on a blessing cuz I was bound by bitterness. Quit your job, quit the job. Some of you, that's your full time job and you love your job.

[A]

Of jealousy, offensive bitterness. You love your job and you have job, your love. Here's how you know you jobed your love.

[D]

When you start spreading seeds, a discord.

[A]

Some of you like. I don't want to quit this job. I've been on it for a long time. I know, I know. So maybe you need some time to quit the job help. Maybe you need a place to quit this job of jealousy, offensive bitterness. I want to give you a place. Oh, I'm a bless somebody today. This is for real. There is a place you can go to. It is free of charge. You have to sign up. They're going to put the link on the screen. You can go stay at this place for free and it'll help you quit your job. Of jealousy, offensive business. Y' all want to see the place? It's a beautiful property. There's two of them. Two of them. Here's the first property. You can stay here anytime you want your own business. Y' all see it. I'm.

[C]

Just stay as long as you want and it'll help you so much. That is a beautiful property. Can I give you the second one? Here's the second one.

[A]

Here it is.

[C]

Here's the second one.

[A]

Your own lane.

[C]

Oh, I'm telling you. What would your life look like if you. You would just mind your own business and stay in your own lane? I don't got time to be jealous of you, to be offended by you, or to be bitter. I'm in my own lane. I'm in my own business because I believe that God has greater in front of me than what's been behind me. Is there anybody in here that says, before the new year comes, oh, I'm gonna stay in my own land. I'm gonna stay in my own business. Cause God has more in front of me me than what's being behind.

[A]

Please quit your job of jealousy, offense, and bitterness and apply for the new one. Here's a new one. If God hates this, if he hates discord, what does he love? God loves peacemakers. Peacemakers. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 5, 9, he says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. How do I know you're a child of God? Not by Your Holy Ghost 2 step. Not by your social Dallas merch. Not by how many scriptures you know. Not by your church attendance. How do I know you're a child of God? You're a peacemaker. How do I know you're a child of the enemy?

[D]

The whispers and the discord that you saw.

[A]

I'm challenging somebody to stop doing the thing that God hates. I made such a mess today. Look at this mess. I know how to clean up my own mess. Because discord always causes a mess. I need a. Y' all got that broom? Y' all got a broom? Oh, you got one? Yeah. I gotta get this brew. See, if you're laughing, you just let me know you're American. See, I'm not just American. I'm Nigerian American. Okay. Ibu. This is a Nigerian brew. This is what they use. Just sweet. And I asked my dad for this broom. Just real song. I asked my father for this broom because it reminded me of a story that he told me of my great grandfather Onyenzi. There's a season in the Madu family where there was so much strife, so much contention, seeds of discord were about to destroy the entire family. And Onyense called a meeting for the family. He didn't preach a sermon. He didn't yell. He didn't even raise his voice. He brought this broom. He asked some of the strongest men in the village to try to break the broom in half. And one by one, they came. None of them could break it. So the great sage Onyenzi, full of wisdom, takes a knife and he cuts the cord that was holding it together. And then he called some of the young children in the village and told them to break the pieces of the broom one by one. And sure enough, one by one, little children started breaking every single piece of the broom. And Onyense said, this is a picture of our family. He said, if we stay united, we will be undefeated. But if we allow this discord to divide us, the enemy can come in and destroy us one by one. And I feel my great, great grandfather on me today telling the church of the living God that a church that.

[C]

Is united is unstoppable, but a church that is divided will be defeated. And it's time for the church to rise up and stop spreading seeds of discord and say, let's be. Be united. Come on, somebody. Under one faith, under one Lord, in one baptism, in one name, and his name is Jesus. Together. We can see revival in our nation, in our families.

[D]

But we've got to stop with the dangerous whispers.

[A]

Some of you need to take account for the whispers that you have spread, ruining people's lives and reputations, scarring people's image of the church and of your brother and sister. Hear me today. If you came up to me and said, hey, PR Man, I love you, but I can't stand Pastor Taylor. She gets on my nerves. But I love you. If you came to me, PR Man.

[C]

I love you, man, your sermons are.

[A]

Amazing, but your kids, oh, my goodness, hate them. What do you think my response will be? Why do you think it's any different for your heavenly Father who died on a cross, for us to be reconciled to him and to each other? How can you say you love God and you hate your brother and your sister? I don't want God to be nauseated because I'm sowing seeds of discord.

[D]

I want to be a peacemaker.

[A]

I'm gonna ask every person that can in this room and watch party, would you stand to your feet? I'm gonna ask every head be bowed and eyes be closed. Please honor this moment. Nobody moving. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. There's a reason that this is the last message of the series. And during this week, the holidays are some of the scariest times. Because in the midst of the lights and the turkey and the food, it accentuates sometimes the tension, the strife, the seeds that have been sown. But I'm challenging somebody today to stop sowing seeds of discord and say, I'm going to be a peacemaker. I'm not even going to receive the gossip. Here's a beautiful way when somebody comes to you with gossip and it's sowing seeds of discord, I love to do this. I ask them, why are you telling me this? Ask them that, and watch how their face turns. Because often the reason they're telling you is because it's some seed of jealousy and bitterness and offense. Sometimes somebody can ask you, what do you think about this? And you can say, I don't. Because I refuse to participate in the gossip. I refuse to spread it. I want to be a peacemaker. I'm challenging somebody starting today to stop sowing seeds of discord. Hear me. That will grow and continue to grow and say, God created me a heart that is a peacemaker. Start this week. And the way you do it is to remember the price that was paid. The only thing God paid for with his own son and with blood.

[D]

Is.

[A]

To him and to each other. So with heads bowed, and I'll close today, if you'd be so honest to say, hey, PR Today I need to repent. Sowing seeds of discord, the help of the Holy Spirit. I want to be a peacemaker. That sure. Would you just lift up your hand high enough long enough, you know, this message is for you. Thank you, God. Thank you. Some of you are going to have to do the hard work after this service to go apologize, say, hey, I'm sorry for that seed that I sowed. Some of you didn't even have the truth, and you sowed the seed of discord. Some of you gonna have to say, I'm sorry. Have the conversation this week. Heads are bowed, eyes are still closed. This is not something you can do in your own strength. You need the help of the Holy Spirit. You need to have surrendered your life to the Savior who paid the price for us to be reconciled to him. So with heads bowed and eyes closed, if you're here today, in this room, watch party room, you say, hey, P.R. i've not surrendered my life to Jesus. But today, coming home, we say it all the time, you can always come home. If that's you, would you just lift up your hand high enough long enough. Say, today's the day. I'm giving Jesus my life. I need to be reconciled to him. He paid the price for it with his blood. How can you not respond to this Savior? Anybody? I see that hand, just lift it up high enough and long enough to where I can see it. Thank you, Jesus. Head still bowed, I'll still close. I want to lead you in this prayer. We're all going to say it, but especially those of you who responded. Would you say this? Say, jesus, I need you, Lord, thank you for loving me enough to pay the price for my sin. Jesus, I want to love what you love and hate what you hate. You hate discord. So Jesus used me to sow seeds of life, to be a peacemaker. Lord, forgive me for sowing seeds of discord. Jesus, I believe that you live the life that I was supposed to live. You died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place to reconcile me to you and to others. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you. I am a peacemaker. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.