Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. So today we have another opportunity
to teach God's Word. And what we're going to
see is that we're going to be making progress.
in our lives. We're going to be making progress
in our work. And in this church, we're committed
to seeing that we grow in our knowledge of God's
Word and we grow in our commitments to the Word
of God and we grow in our commitment to the work.
I want us to pray in the Spirit. I want us to
pray in the Spirit. I want us to take this time
to pray in the Spirit. I want us to take this
time and give thanks to God for what He... Yes,
today the world is celebrating Easter. And every
day, what Christ has done, the fact that we have
power because he is risen, we sang, we danced
on an empty grave, we have won the victory. The
victory has been won long ago. We are walking
in the victory that we've won. And I want you
to open your mouth and say, Father, thank you
because I have won the victory. I have won the
victory. I walk in that victory. I know that
victory. I know that victory and I walk in that
victory in the name of Jesus. I want you to open
your mouth and thank God. I want to hear you
praying. I want to hear you praying. I want you
to give glory to this God that is faithful. He
didn't stay dead. He didn't stay dead. It's because
of his death and resurrection, we can be called
his children. We can be called sons. And we're
grateful for the wonderful privilege that we
have to call him father. We have a good, good
father. We have a God who is gracious. And because
of that, we're not slaves to fear. We are not
slaves to fear. A victorious person doesn't tremble
in fear. A victorious person glories in the fact
that the one who has won the victory for him
is alive. He's not dead. Thank you for what you're
doing in our midst. Thank you for what you're
doing already. Thank you for what you're going
to do. We give you all the glory and praise and
honor. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen and amen. What I want us to do is to examine
ourselves. And in your examination of yourself
by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is going
to bring you to a point where there are certain
things that you will stop, and there are certain
things that you will continue to do, and there
are certain things you're going to start. And
for you to not take hold of that which Christ
has done, certain things... have to end, certain
things have to start, and certain things should
continue. Praise God. Certain things should continue.
And the teaching for today is going to be very
instructive. It's going to be very instructive,
and I want everyone of us to pay attention. I
want everyone of us to pay attention. And it
takes humility to be able to learn. It takes
humility to be able to learn. And I want us to
declare these words in affirmation. Say, I'm
teachable. I am teachable. And I stay teachable
without pride in my heart. Say it again. I am
teachable. And I stay teachable without pride
in my heart. I lead others by serving. I lead
others by serving. and I serve diligently. I
want you to declare these words. I submit to
authority. I submit to authority. I am not rebellious.
I don't frustrate the efforts of the leaders
and the pastors. I prioritize discipleship. I
prioritize discipleship and the activities of
the kingdom over everything else. Say, I'm a
disciple that disciples others. I am a disciple.
The disciples order. Say, I'm a disciple. The
disciples order. That you have your topic right
there. The topic for this teaching is discipleship.
And I want you to put a bar and include manifesting
the kingdom of God. Discipleship, manifesting
the kingdom of God. And I want you to meditate
on this while the teaching is going on. Ask yourself
these key questions. I'll ask them at the end
of the service. Do you learn like a child? Do
you learn like a child? Do you learn like a child?
Do you serve like our Lord Jesus Christ serves?
Do I serve or do you serve like our Lord Jesus?
And ask yourself the third question. Do I prioritize
God's kingdom? Do I prioritize God's kingdom?
I'll read in Matthew 28. was from 1 to 20. But
our focus for this teaching will be 18 to 20.
And I'll read again to our hearing. It says,
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All
authority has been given to me in heaven and
on earth. He now says, Go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son. and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age. Amen and amen. Can
someone say amen to that? I want you to read
together with me verse 19. I want us to read
it together, verse 19. Give us the New King James,
verse 19. I want us to read together. He says,
go therefore together and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Next verse.
He says, teaching them to observe all things
that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age. And I
want us to say an amen, an amen to that. The
focus is the active verb in that 19. Our focus
will be the active verb. There's a go, which
is passive, is a passive verb. And then the make
disciple is the primary and the active verb in
that conversation. It says make disciples. In
the New King James, you will see teaching there.
You will see teaching there. And the word there
in the Greek is matatu, which implies to instruct
people, to cause people to learn. Instruct people,
cause people to learn. It uses the word, uses
teaching. And we'll see teaching later on in
the subsequent verse. It says instruct. The word
there is making disciples. The phrase there is
making disciples. or in the New King James, it
is teaching, and it is mathetio, M -A -T -H -E
-T -E -U -O, which implies to cause people to
learn, cause people to learn. And the word, the
Greek word there is from a root word, math. It's
from a root word, math. The math that you know,
the math, the short for mathematics. From the
word math. That's M -A -T -H. M -A -T -H. That
Greek word there is an ancient word. And the
word is for mental effort. Mental effort. The
meaning of that word is mental effort. It says
to think through something. It also means to
think through something. And it deals with a
thought pattern. It deals with a thought pattern.
And I'm explaining all of this to... Set the
stage for the different things that we're going
to be looking at this Sunday. And I want us to
pay attention. The word there, it goes beyond
just making disciples. The root word there establishes
the fact that it's down to the thought pattern.
Note that it's not just all in here. It goes
down to the actions of the individuals that are
being trained or being made into disciples. Praise
God. And it's very important that we know that
it's beyond just education. It's beyond being
educated. It's beyond knowing the things of God.
It comes down to practice. Because we know a
lot of things, but in practice, the things we
know, it doesn't translate to the things that
we do. Praise God. It's very important that we
see that making disciples goes beyond education.
because some of us are educated or we're getting
education, but some of the education that we're
getting doesn't translate into the practical
workings of our daily living. Praise God. And
I want to take us to a passage in Scripture that
points to us the fact that these people that
were instructed to make disciples, they themselves
had something that people could see and knew
that these people were trained by some means.
Not a conventional training, but a training that
they have been with someone. A training that
comes as a result of their... interaction with
someone. I want us to go to Acts 4 verse 13.
Please pay attention. Please pay attention. Acts
4 verse 13, it says now, it says, now when they
saw the boldness of Peter and John, they saw
something. They saw something. When they saw
the boldness of Peter and John and perceived
that they were uneducated and untrained men.
Uneducated and untrained men will mean that These
people don't seem like they had attended any
form of, they didn't have any form of formal
education or formal training. He says, but they
marveled. They marveled because it got their
attention. Like, these guys have not been to
any of our Ivy League universities and why are
they sounding like this? Why are they bold? What
is giving them that boldness? What is giving
them that confidence? And he says, they realized
something. They realized that they had been with
Jesus. Praise God. They had been with Jesus.
And at the point in time where this was happening,
know that Christ was no longer physically with
them. Praise God. Christ was no longer physically
with them. So it says they realized that they
had been with Jesus. I want us to pay attention
to this, that they realized that they had been
with Jesus. So they didn't see what they knew.
They saw what they practiced. Praise God. They
didn't see what they knew. They saw what they
practiced. So you can know a lot of things, but
if those things don't translate to practice,
it's a waste. Praise God. It's actually a waste.
And this thing called discipleship, let's define
it. Let's define it. Discipleship is a process
of training. It's a process of training. How
many of us like training? I know the hands will
be few. Some people, it's a process of training.
Praise God. I see one or two hands. It's a process
of training as a student. I'm nervous as students.
Yeah, we're students and we don't like training.
Praise God. So it's a process of training as
a student or an intern or an intern or an apprentice.
I'm giving us a list. It's as a student, as an
intern or an apprentice. If, let me, I think
we're very familiar with the student part. How
many of us are familiar with internships? We
do internships. If you have, some of us are doing
internships at the moment. Some of us are interning.
You're an intern when you're doing internships.
And, you know, all the things you studied in
school now becomes practical when you're doing
internships. And most of you don't even realize
what you don't know. You don't realize what you
don't know until you're now asked a couple of
times, you'll be like, we did this in the first
year. And then it starts. It's over time, it
starts coming together. I remember when I did
my own internship, as in the experiences I had
from that internship as way back as 2009, I did
my internship and I did it in a lab. I did it
in a lab. And when we came in at first, I think
I was the second person to show up as the intern.
And what they do is that the company wants to
relieve themselves of responsibility. So they
will ensure they train you properly so that when
they train you, the next set of people that are
going to come, you will train them. And that's
discipleship right there in the world system.
They train you and know that they're doing it
because they don't want to do their responsibility,
which is train everybody. But there's a beauty
of that because you now get trained and you train
the next person. Praise God. And it's so beautiful.
I can remember the experience. For me, it was
beautiful because I was like, all the things
I've been taught now takes on life. It takes
on flesh. Praise God. Takes on flesh. It's not
just words now. It's practical. And even in one
of the incidents, when I was training the person
as I was trained, an accident broke out in the
lab where my hands were on fire and I had to
wave it through. You know, those experiences
are not what you get from just in class. There's
no accident. There's safety. The place is just
safe. There's no, you're not going to experience
anything. Nothing is going to come to you. Just
read it. And then the only accident might be
during exams. After exams, when you go for the
exam, that's probably a terrifying experience.
But it was very interesting because I had instructed
the person that I was now training, because now
I'm the trainer, I'm the teacher, the person
is a student. I had given instructions, and the
person actually messed the instruction up. And
there's always a consequence. When you do...
What you shouldn't do. Praise God. I want us
to pay attention. We're going somewhere. There's
always consequences for when you are instructed
and you don't follow instruction. What we saw
was fire. Praise God. What we saw was fire. And
I was now in God. I've given instruction. I'm
walking away. And all of a sudden, I looked at
my hand. But the good thing was that I had a
very... God preserved me. I had a very long...
So it was what was on fire. My hand, my actual
hand was not on fire. The cloth was what was
on fire. And then I walked past the office swinging
my hand. And then my bosses were like, what is
going on? Like they saw fire just going around
because I was trying to get the fire out. And
then once it was out, it came, what happened?
What happened? I couldn't explain because I was
trying to work out what just happened because
even my brain was not computing what had just
happened. Went back into the lab. We saw the
lady there because she was holding the thing.
when the wires was on fire. And then she dropped
it. It was when she dropped it, the fire followed
me out. And then I got engulfed by the, we had
the fire situation. And we had a fire extinguisher
right there, but we didn't, nobody's, you know,
in the heat of the incident, nobody's paying
attention to that. I think I had, I made a LinkedIn
post on that. And I advise people to be very
careful, be very careful when you're in the lab
and pay attention to your environment and follow
instructions. So not that, that. You can have
incidents like that when you're trying to give
life to what it is you're being taught. And then
you have the other word, the apprenticed. I think,
I don't know, you know, I'm from Nigeria and
I'm Igbo by tribe, but I'm from the kingdom of
God. Yes, that's my earthly tribe, but my heavenly
tribe is the kingdom of God. And there's something
that we practice, which is a young man, Lends
a trade. He wants to make something out of his
life. He now goes and meets his boss or his master.
And then he lends. This active is selling spare
parts, selling building materials. They spend
time and lend a trade. And it's not just, they
don't lend it by proxy. They go there, engage
with the market, know what the dynamics of the
market is, and then they learn. They don't do
it. online. Praise God. They do it by doing.
Praise God. They do it by doing. And it's very,
very, very, we can see that and see something
to pay attention to. And I've not finished defining
discipleship. Remember I said it's a process.
Means that if you start and not finish, you lose
out on the opportunity to grow or to learn. Praise
God. You lose out on the wonderful opportunity
you have to learn. And if the young man that
goes to learn that trade decides that his boss
is not worthy to be his boss and then he quits,
that's the end of it for him. He might not probably
have a career in that because he dropped off
in his second year or his first year. Same thing
with being a student. If you drop out in your
first year or your second year, I think this
week, I asked about a student of mine. I said,
where are they not in class? The friend said,
they said they quit. They said they quit. I laughed.
I said, you're just in foundation. You have not
started first year. And you just did one semester
and you failed the course. You came back again
and then you say you quit. I said, there's a
lot ahead of you. If you start quitting like
that, you'll quit on everything. There'll be
nothing left of you. Praise God. And even as
a student, if you quit, that's the end of the
degree. That's the end of the degree. You go
find something else. That means you have a plan
that doesn't involve schooling. Praise God. And
the thing about discipleship, it involves someone
higher. It involves someone you can refer to,
since we're using the same word, a discipler.
Praise God. Involves a discipler. And I want
you to put another word there. It involves...
In the context of a church, it involves a pastor.
Praise God. It involves a pastor. It involves,
you can also call it, because a pastor is all,
a shepherd. Praise God. A discipler, a pastor,
a shepherd. And this is someone who is more mature.
In the context of the boss, it's someone that
has experience, someone that is in it for longer
than yourself. Someone that has been in it for
longer than yourself. With a teacher or with
a lecturer. Someone that has a couple of degrees
to their name that gives them the authority to
be able to teach you. Praise God. And I want
us to pay attention to something. In the context
of discipleship, know that discipleship is not
mentorship. Praise God. Discipleship is not coaching.
And it's something that the world uses. Terms
of engagement, the rules of engagement for mentorship.
Let me explain. The rules of engagement for mentorship
is that you go, you see a mentor. There's something
you want to learn in the life of that mentor.
Then you tell the mentor, I want to be your mentee.
And then there's an agreement between you and
that mentor. And then what happens is that over
time. If you decide that that mentor is no longer
worthy to be your mentor, you switch to another
mentor. Some people will have mentors for days.
And know that you, in fact, in the world of mentorship
or in the world of business, they will tell you,
you should not have, if you have a mentor, the
mentor has to be for this area. Your other mentor
has to be for this area. Because if you have
two mentors in the same area, one mentor will
say, jump up. Your other mentor will say, stay
ground, don't jump up. And then you'll be confused.
You'll be like, should I jump? You now look and
then you weigh the mentor. You say, what is in
the CV of this mentor? And then you now start
choosing which one of them you will follow. But
know that in the kingdom of God, you don't choose.
Once you are in the church, the pastors that
are there in that church are the ones you submit
to. Praise God. The pastors that are there in
that church are the ones you submit to. Let me
give us a scripture in Acts 20. Verse 28. Acts
20, verse 28. He said, Therefore, take heed to
yourselves and to all the flock, among which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd
the church of God, which he purchased with his
own blood. Which he purchased with his own blood.
He said the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
And know that the context of that is, Apostle
Paul actually admonishing the elders of the church
in Ephesus. He was admonishing them and telling
them to take heed to themselves and to the flock.
The flock there will not be referring to a group
of sheep. It's human beings. Praise God. It's
human beings. It says, among which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers. Meaning that the Holy
Spirit is the one that has placed the pastors,
the shepherds, because that will make sense,
flocks, shepherds, in charge. The church of God.
And even the statement there also says, which
he purchased. Who is the he there? Christ. Remember,
what Christ had done. is for all of this. What
his resurrection gives rise to is in his resurrection
that we're called sons. It's in his resurrection
that we are part of a body, part of a family.
And he is the one that is truly in charge. I
want to establish something very, very, very
clear and very powerful. That the things that
you are discipled in or on is the things concerning
the same Jesus. that has saved and is still saving
the lives of people. Praise God. And if you're
here, know that the message is singular. The
message is not multiple. And that's why in this
church we're blessed to have several pastors.
There were six pastors in this church. And know
that everything that we teach is anchored on
one message, which is what I said. Mentorship
is very different in the sense that you can have
different people teaching you different things.
And by the way, also just to point out a couple
of things. In this church, your pastors have
their careers as well. So, know that I'm a lecturer.
If you come and ask me to mentor you in your
academics because you're doing badly, that now
is different from this. It's together because
we do that. When we tell you your CGP has to
be 3 .0, know that we are... Because what we
do here is beyond... Just teaching the Word of
God. We are concerned about every area of your
life. Praise God. You're concerned about every
area of your life. And know that what is most
important to us is your spiritual. What is most
important to us is your spiritual. Meaning that
if there's anything that is our priority is that
you grow in your walk with God. You grow in your
knowledge of God's Word. You grow in your fellowship.
You grow in the discipleship. And you're growing
to the end that you... And not just disciples,
you also disciple others. Because in your growth,
you're more matured than someone else. Praise
God. So you can be here and just having it one
way. And in your growth, others will grow. In
your growth, others will grow. And let's look
at why the whole teaching and everything that
we do is anchored on Christ. It's anchored on
Christ. Let's look at the same passage of Scripture
where we read. He says, In 20, he said, teaching
them to observe what? Teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you. Teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded
you. And I want us to go to Luke, Luke 24, 27.
So it says, in the beginning at Moses, this is
Jesus Christ speaking, beginning at Moses and
all the prophets, he expounded to them. in all
the scripture, the things concerning himself.
Expanded in scripture, the things concerning
himself. And that same Luke 24, 44, this was
the incident with Cleopas in 44. We see where
he does it with a larger group of disciples in
44, the same 24, 44. It says, Then he said to
them, These are the words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that all things must
be fulfilled, which were written in the law of
Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
himself, concerning Christ Jesus. So know that
all the things they thought, even when they were
going around, the reason why they would say that
these people had been with Christ is because
they saw the things that were being taught by
Christ in flesh. So they had internalized all
the things thought concerning him to the point
where it shows in how They acted. It shows in
the things that they do. And as I said earlier,
I'll repeat myself again. The message is singular
because it's all about Christ. The curriculum
for discipleship is all founded in the things
concerning Christ and nothing else. The thing
concerning Christ and nothing else. It's beautiful
when you add business, education, and all of
this to that. Know that that is now where you're
going. But know that the things that... What
shapes the curriculum? Here is the Word of God.
It's the Word of God that shapes that curriculum.
So the fact that we have every, the growth is
important. So we just keep going and then we
grow together. And we say that discipleship is
not a one -off thing. It's not a one -off thing.
And when you come into union with Christ, know
that what follows, because he says making disciples,
right? What? happens is that you're taught the
Word of God, you come into the union, you come
into union and fellowship with God, and then
what happens is that you are now discipled. Meaning
that if a person is saved, they should be in
the church where they will be taught. And if
a person is saved, you should be part of a church
where you will be taught. Praise God. Either
which way, you have to be part of a church where
the teaching of God's Word comes to you. Regularly.
Consistent. Because we say it's a process. Meaning
that if you drop out of school, you don't learn.
Yeah, if there are people that will say, I'm
dropped out of school, you can still learn. Just
take your book and then study. Good luck with
that. There are people that do self. You know,
you can read a lot of things. You can have a
lot of information. But the practice of it, it's
in the same fellowship where you are able to
serve. which is very important. You serve in
a church. Several of us are serving in the media.
You are serving in the church, and that is part
of discipleship. Service is also part of discipleship.
We'll see that very shortly. Note that commitment
to training is not sweet. That whole commitment,
like it's really, you have to now walk. You know,
some people, they are very, you know, sir, I'm
introverted. You know, I really, I like my space.
Yeah, you came into God's space anyway. You came
into God's space and you still want your space.
It's His will, not your will. Praise God. So
many of us love our spaces, but for the sake
of the one who has called us, for the sake of
the union we have with the one who now has us,
we break away from certain things that are uncomfortable.
Praise God. Because certain things are necessary
for your growth. Certain things you don't like,
but you do them because you have to. Because
you're not doing them will affect some other
people. I used to use that a lot because it makes
the point very clear. You know that if you don't
brush your teeth, someone is going to be affected.
And that in itself is the motivation for doing
what you do. Because you have to wake up. If
you forget, you go back. Even if the boss is
waiting for you. Because you know that when you
step into that boss, something is going to happen
and it's not going to be good. Praise God. So
what we're going to start to do now is we're
going to look at certain attributes of a disciple.
Certain attributes of a disciple. And one of
them, I know that the overall attribute of a
disciple is that they have to be childlike. The
humility of a disciple has to be childlike. And
first on the list, I want you to write down that
a disciple is teachable. A disciple, It is teachable.
I want you to write that down. In fact, write
it in capital letters. If your style of writing
is small, I forgive you. Just continue in capital
letters. Say, a disciple is teachable. I want
you to say it. I am teachable. Say, as a disciple,
I am teachable. Lord, we don't learn things from
the streets. As God's children, we learn things
from his word. And when we are instructed...
To be childlike, not childish, because you can
be childish, and that is not good for you. Know
that the childlike is not meaning that you should
be a child, right? Saying that there's a character,
a characteristic of a child that you should adopt
that will aid you. And I want us to look at Matthew
18. Matthew 18. Matthew 18. The whole conversation
there from one, let's just look at three. So
I want you to write that down. You can read from
one to four or one to five. I want you to just
focus on the three. And this is Jesus Christ.
He said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you
are converted and become as little children,
you will by no means enter the kingdom. Know
that he's saying this at the point of entry,
meaning that your attitude should be that of
a child, meaning that your attitude you should
carry because a child has certain character or
characteristics or certain traits that you can
look and you say, this is a child. One of them
is that a child is dependent. A child is dependent,
a child is trusting, and a child is eager to
learn. A child is dependent. A child is trusting
and a child is eager to learn. And a child is
not self -sufficient. A child cannot just wake
up one morning because he has 200 tele, says,
Daddy, Mommy, I'm now a man, I'm now a woman,
I will leave your house. The question is, how
long will you survive with that amount of money?
Knowing that what Jesus Christ is saying here
is that the attitude of a child is what gets
you into the kingdom and the attitude of a child
is what... Helps you to grow even in the kingdom.
The attitude of a child is what helps you to
receive. Because the child is very believing.
And if you look at the child, you even lie to
the child, the child still believes you. Because
your auntie or your uncle, and you will not lie
to them. Praise God. I was saying, when I was
teaching one time, I said, you know this thing
about value. The child... sometimes doesn't understand
value. So you can give them two 10 tele and one
100 tele and say, choose one. But nowadays, they're
very smart. They will take everything. They will
take everything. They will say, uncle, all. But
when you give two and one, not that the child
will say two is more than one, because the child,
they're just like, this is two, this is one.
Obviously, it makes sense. It's a no -brainer.
But you that is looking at the value, what 100
tele will buy you is against what 20 tele will
buy you. You're a lot smarter. That's why they
don't play those games with adults. They play
with children. And you want to pay attention
to the kind of children you play with. There
are certain children that you don't want to look
at some of them in church. Praise God. Praise
God. Know that it's the attitude of learning
and growing. Because a child has to. And that
is something that we should adopt. Because if
you want to learn, you have to be childlike.
You have to be trusting. You have to be believing.
You don't want to have a sense of self -sufficiency.
You want to have God's sufficiency, which is
that you are dependent on God and you're dependent
on the systems He has placed around you for your
growth. You know, when you take for granted the
systems that God has placed to sustain you, you
will just have a dream or have a brilliant idea.
And then you wake up one morning and act on that
dream and that idea. And the end result is that
the end result is not good. Praise God. So it
means that you, and the beautiful thing about
the kingdom that we're in is that even though
you're big or you're small, we're still referred
to as children of God, right? Because you cannot,
you cannot grow out of, you cannot grow out of
being God's child. You cannot, you can never
stop being God's child. And the growth, your
growth doesn't change it. Praise God. Your growth
doesn't change you. You know when you say, God,
don't call me, no, no, no, I'm no longer a child
anymore. I'm no longer a child. I mean, I mean,
yeah, your son, your son, you say, okay, man,
now. You say, man, oh God. You see, man, you
have to go low. Praise God. Yeah, in reality,
you have to go low as a child. Praise God. And
we see, we see this very exemplified in the life
of Samuel. I want us to go to 1 Samuel 3, verse
9. And I want you to read the book of Samuel,
I mean that chapter, 1 Samuel 3. But just for
this, I want us to see an example. 1 Samuel 3,
9. It says, Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go,
lie down, and it shall be that if he calls you,
that you must say, Speak, Lord, for your servant
hears. So Samuel went. lay down in his place.
So Samuel did not assume. Samuel heard and ran
to Eli. Samuel heard and ran to Eli. The call
was from God to Samuel, but note that Samuel
submitted to Eli's guidance. Samuel submitted
to Eli's guidance. You are here and you are in
church. You want to submit. to the guidance of
your pastors. You want to submit to the guidance
of your teacher because it's important for your
growth. He did not assume that he knew God's
voice. He did not assume he had learned from
Eli to respond to the voice of God. He says,
when you hear the voice, he says, speak for your
servant hears. And what typically happens in
this day and age is that, you know, now we have
an opportunity to go online, And then it's very
beautiful because you can listen to a pastor
online. And some people will say, my pastors
are online, which is not a problem. You can have
your pastors online. But asides having the pastors
online, you know, when you have a, you know,
it's uncomfortable because now the pastor online
cannot talk to you. He cannot, you know, he can
give you a prophetic word, right? But he cannot
talk to you. We can't, because remember, we said
something that is practical. It's practical.
The things around it is very practical and you
can't do it remotely. You can't do it virtually.
You have to do it by showing up in church. You
have to do it by serving. And you don't want
to fall to anybody that comes and then you say,
oh, my pastor is in. And then you are attending
a church, local church, and it just shows your...
It reveals a bit of pride. It reveals, I don't
know how to scale it now. There's a pride and
there's a lack of submission because you are
meant to be submitted to the church you attend.
When you go to that church, that now becomes
your church and then you submit to the activities
there. There's something about when you are doing
two things. You know, it used to be very interesting
when you're part of a church and then... it becomes
monotonous because over in your church, in your
country, you're fasting, you're, you're, you'll
just be doing, it's not looking like, it looks
like the God you're serving is like, the God
of that end is different, is different from the
God in this end and you're just, you, you will
be frustrated in your service because now you'll
just be, you know, for some people, they get
capacity, man, oh God. You just see that they
are, because they, You want to understand that
if you're here, you want to take the activities
they were doing here seriously. You know, some
people say, they say, we're doing Book of the
Month. They say, no, there's a book I'm reading
from my church. That is, you yourself, you know
that that is rebellion. You are just, you are,
you are just outrightly, and the point is, if
you check, they're not even doing the one from
the other two because the church, the other church
cannot confirm. People are very smart. And then
they think that the pastors that are leading
them don't have experience. They were foolish.
We've been doing this for a while. Praise God.
So, know that the second part is being, The B
part, a disciple rejects pride. I alluded to
it. A disciple rejects pride. I want you to write
that in capital letters as well. A disciple rejects
pride. I want you to see something in the life
of David. In Psalms 131. Psalms 131. Media team,
please help me. Psalms 131, verse 1 and 2. Psalms
131, it says, Lord, my heart is not haughty.
That is another word for pride, prideful. Nor
my eyes lofty. That's a lot of T. Neither do
I concern myself with great matters, nor with
things too profound for me, too. It says, surely
I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned
child with his mother. Like a weaned child is
my soul within me. Praise God. This is David
that is a king, he's a warrior, he's a psalmist.
He has a lot of things to be prideful about.
Some of us have not attained, we have not attained
the status of this man called King David. We
have not attained that status, but yet there's
something in us. That makes us feel like we have
arrived. That we have seen it all. That we know
it all. And we have it all. Praise God. But this
king remains constantly and continually dependent
on God. David is someone that has fought many
battles. But anytime he wants to go to war, he
will still seek God's face on whether to or not
to go. He's someone that can say, I know how
this works. You see them? I will take them down.
He can take pride in his abilities or in himself
to be able to do that. And he has the men to
help him to do it. But he is the one saying,
or he's the one you can tell and see the posture
of this man called David. His humility, his humility.
And this is the same man. And just since we're
on David, let's just go to 1 Samuel 22 verse
2. 1 Samuel 22, verse 2. I want us to see something.
It says, and everyone who was in distress, let
me wait for us. 1 Samuel 22, verse 2. It says,
and everyone who was in distress, everyone who
was in debt, and everyone who was discontented
gathered to him. Him there is David. So he became
captain over them, and there were about 400 men
with him. This is a man that all these people
came to him. And I want you to see something.
They are distressed. They were in debt. They
were discontented. And all these people are people
that came around him. And I want us to notice
that it's this same group of people that stayed
with him to the point where in 2 Samuel 23. I
want you to write it down. We'll not really go
there. But you just go there and read the first
verse. 2 Samuel 23. 8 to 39. You can write it
down, but you read it. 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 23.
8 to 39. It says, these are the names of the
mighty men whom David had. And the list goes
on and on and on down to the 39. And this man
became mighty men. This man hanged around him.
This man was trained by him. This man grew. Because
they submitted themselves to him. Praise God.
They submitted themselves to him. So if you're
prideful, and by the way, he picked them up when
they were nothing. Or they came to him when they
were nothing. Meaning that anything they are,
if you notice, I think one time I was looking,
I was like, David said he was thirsty. And this
man, because of the fact that this man had done
a lot for them, they were able to, regardless
of the... The challenge, they went in broke and
when they got the water, he said he cannot and
he didn't go ahead to drink it. Note that David
is an example of someone who has a lot, but yet
still humbles himself and is not prideful. And
note that there's something about pride. When
you allow pride foster in your heart, you will
lose out on a lot. You will lose out on opportunities
to grow. You lose an opportunity to learn. You
lose an opportunity to be blessed and to bless
others. Praise God. And we, in 1 Corinthians
8, 1 and 2, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 and 2, I want
us to look at it. We see that pride, knowledge,
can puff up. You know, when you start knowing
some Hebrew and some Greek, start knowing certain
things, you have a tendency to feel like, I have
arrived. I didn't know it, now I know it. Apostle
Paul speaking here, he says, now concerning the
things offered to idols, we know that we all
have knowledge. We know that we all have knowledge.
He says, knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. I want
you to go to 2. It says, and if anyone thinks
he knows anything, if anyone thinks he knows
anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to
know. He knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
So know that in all of your knowledge, in all
of the learning and the acquiring, you want to
know that what truly edifies your neighbor is
love. Because your knowledge mixed with love
is what blesses your neighbor. You don't allow
it. You don't see yourself. Because in your quest
or in your display of these things, you want
to ensure that you're doing it anchored on. And
you're doing it the way Christ. We'll do it.
You're doing it the way Christ will do it. Let's
look at the third part, which is a disciple submits
to authority. A disciple submits to authority.
That's the third part. A disciple submits to
authority. I think we'll do that and then we'll
close. A disciple submits to authority. I want
you to say it again. I submit to authority. I
submit to authority. I want you to write it in
capital letter. A disciple submits to authority.
I am a disciple and I submit to authority. So
I want us to look at Hebrews. 13, 17. Hebrews
13, 17. Hebrews 13, 17. It reads, it says, obey
those who rule over you. The word, the rule there
is lead. Rule over you and be submissive for
they watch over, they watch out for your souls
as those who must give account. Let them do so
with joy and not with grief. for that would be
unprofitable for you. Say, for that will be unprofitable
for you. The word submissive, to be submissive,
the word to be submissive is H -Y -P -E -I -K
-O. H -Y -P -E -I -K -O. It's not hype, but it's
hupe. It's hupe. So not that accountability or
submitting to your leaders is something you don't
negotiate. It's non -negotiable. It's non -negotiable.
And we are committed to the things that we do.
What your response should be is that you return.
And it's the normal. It's normal. We are in a
world and in a place where people just wake up
and do what they like. But as a disciple, that
is not how you're afraid. As a disciple of God,
that is not. how you operate. Note that in the
situation that we just read, 1 Samuel 3 verse
9, Samuel did not look at Eli and said, I can't,
like, who are you? In fact, if you look at the
sons of Eli, the sons of Eli were not the perfect
example. Because you can say, look at yourself,
your children suffer. You know, you have very
reasonable things to throw at the man of God.
You know, some of us, we... Somebody does something
and then you just go, your pastors are not, your
pastors don't reply pastors online. But you feel
like responsibility is upon you now to speak
on behalf of God. You have got, it's a calling
upon your life to now come and then you'll be
typing under, this is heresy, false doctoring.
You'll be typing under and you'll be, in fact,
you'll say, sir, with all due respect, you'll
be typing. All the things you're typing underneath
comment sections. When you look at your pastors,
none of us go and with all due respect, man of
God, listen to what you're saying. The Greek
word is this, this, this, this, this. So with
these few points of mind, these things you have
said, you know, we don't do that here. So if
you are here and you are paying attention, you're
looking. at what your pastors are doing and you're
learning from your pastors. You don't do, that's,
you submit to authority and your submission to
authority will mean that you have regard for
your pastors and have regard for other people
that are pastors as well. You want to have that,
put that at the back of your mind because if
you're doing that to them, it's just a matter
of time you do that to us because you're practicing
for the day. When one pastor will tell you what
you don't like and then you explode. And the
words that you type is what you're going to give
to us. Praise God. Know that Samuel had regard
for Eli. And in his regard for Eli, he submitted.
He submitted to Eli. And I want to bring to our
attention something that is very key. If you
are here in this church, submitting is not, sir,
I submit you. You know, some people, you know
how to bend down and say, sir. You know, some
people will tell you I submit with words. Remember
I tell you discipleship is practical. It's not
just in the things you say, it's in the things
you do. And we take note of the things you do
and the things you don't do. And one of the things
you don't do is you are a member of a cell and
you will not be coming for the cell. Praise God.
You will not be coming for the cell. You will
wait for us to find out that you're not in the
cell and start negotiating how we'll ask you.
about why you're not in cell and they will now
find out why you're not in cell. A person that
understands leadership should notify the leader,
notify the pastor that they will not be available
for something. And you know, man of God, you
know one thing I noticed that they do is that
because they know that if they notify you, you
will tell them, you will ask them questions that
the leader will not ask them because the leader
will say, okay, thank you. Thank you for notifying
us. But because they know that if they ask the
pastor, the pastor will say, where are you going
to? Or where are you going to be since you're
not going to... You know, if you say, I'm writing
an exam, okay, good. Or I'm going to... You will
say, okay, there's a legitimate reason. But because
the leader cannot ask them of the legitimate
reason, so they will choose to... And the leader
will tell them, ask the pastor, they will say,
I did. It's when you now ask the question, you
know, it just communicates that you actually
don't have... And some of us, we don't know.
We don't know because we have not been taught.
So know that when this thing comes to you now,
you understand that. Because when something happens
to you, who do you call? The form of you. You
have your father's number. You have your mother's
number. You have your brother and your sister's
number. It is still your pastor you're going
to call and it's still that same person you don't
tell where you are going to. Praise God. You
see how it doesn't even... You yourself. Think
about it. Praise God. So very quickly, know that
a disciple is not above correction. A disciple
is not above correction. And any discipleship
where correction... It's not muted out. It's
no discipleship. Because anything you, any place
where anything goes, nothing grows. If anything,
you can just do anything you like. Just go. Even
in school, you don't do anything you like. You
can't just show up to the exam when you like.
In English university, 30 minutes after, sorry
will be your case. Praise God. I want us to see
something in Proverbs. Proverbs 12 verse 1. Proverbs
12 verse 1. Proverbs 12, verse 1. I'll read from
here. It says, Whoever loves instruction loves
knowledge. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge.
Proverbs 12, verse 1. Not 1, verse 1. Proverbs
12, verse 1. I want us to read it together. Please,
media, please, don't waste time. I don't have
time. Proverbs 12, verse 1. It says, Whoever
loves... Let's read it together, please. Thank
you. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge.
But who hates... is what? Stupid. The word there
in the King James is brutish. It's a very interesting
word. And the Greek, the Hebrew word is ba, that's
B -A -A -R. I know some people will be taking
offense in the words to be like, how can they,
how can I be saying because I hate correction,
stupid. The Greek word is alogos. Some of you
are familiar with logos. This one, logos, means
that there's no word. When you say, you know,
logos, when you put A in front of something,
it means that it's not that thing. It means that
you're unreasonable, you're irrational, you're
not paying attention to words. Because if you're
paying attention to words, there will be a result.
If you're paying attention to words, there will
be a result. So when someone says that you are
stupid, it's not an insult. You're just being
unreasonable. You know, when you're trying to
talk to somebody and the person is not hearing
what you're saying, it's... It doesn't, and if
you think that that word is not, let's look at
Acts 25, 27. Acts 25, 27. The same word is used,
but in the Greek now. There are logos, which
is the, Acts 25, 27. And this is, this is, for
it seems to me, for it seems to me unreasonable
to send a prisoner and not. and not to specify
the charges against him. That unreasonable there
is the word, alogos, which is the word that is
translated as stupid. Because he's saying that
I cannot, like it doesn't make any sense. It
doesn't make any sense that I will not, this
is speaking about, speaking of, that is Felix
now, I think it's Felix, yeah, Governor Felix
speaking to Agrippa and saying that it doesn't
make sense for me to send him without giving
a charge because the normal thing is... There's
a prisoner, there's a church. But now it's unreasonable.
I will just give us the other text of Scripture.
I'll give us the other text of Scripture. There's
2 Peter 2, verses 12, and Jude 10, verse 1. I
said Jude 10, verse 1. Jude 1, 10. Or Jude 10.
2 Peter 2, verses 12. 2 Peter 2, verses 12, and
Jude 10. It uses brutish beasts. You know, most
of the times when we say someone is stupid or
is an animal, use that for an animal because
the animal doesn't understand what you're saying.
There's no word. The animal doesn't get you.
That's why you use... And there are animals you
can train, there are animals you can't. Animals
you can train, there are animals you can't. It's
just difficult to train because they don't really
get it. They don't really understand. And we
are not animals. We are able to understand and
we are designed to. Know what it is and do what
is instructed of us. And it's very important
that we know that some King Saul, that's King
Saul, not Saul in the, that's Paul that became
Saul, at some point in time thought that activity
equates instruction. Just doing stuff equates
instruction. Know that in your submission, you
want to submit to the instruction given, not
an idea of what you feel like. Because at some
point in time, he was instructed to do certain
things. He did what he thought was. And Saul
admonishes him. And he says, obedience is better
than sacrifice. And he says, for rebellion is
as serious. I read from the first Psalm of 15
verse 23. He says, for rebellion is as serious
as the sin of divination, which is fortune telling.
And disobedience is as serious as false religion
and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word
of God, of the Lord, he has also rejected you
as king. I want you to understand something very
quickly. It wasn't that God rejected Saul. God
rejected him as king. Because for him to be king,
he has to listen to what God says and then instruct
the people. Remember we saw David. David is very
different from Saul in that... when God says
he's the man after my own heart, is that he listens
to what God says and does what God does, what
God instructs. But in Saul's case, very different.
He was rejected by God, but like he wasn't rejected
by God, but rather rejected to be king over Israel.
What this means is that you can be rejected,
like you might not be fit for a position, right,
in church, but it doesn't make you a non -believer.
Praise God. What this means is that because of
certain things or because you don't follow instruction,
you might not be fit for certain things, but
it doesn't make you an unbeliever. It means that
first and foremost, you are a child of God. That
is more important. And in your being a child,
you want to learn and grow. And because of maturity
and everything, you will be given responsibility.
So I want us to understand that when we see certain
things or when we are given certain instruction,
know that correction is what anybody that corrects
you wants you to grow. Anybody that will correct
you wants the best for you. Because if, you know,
you have those friends that will say, yes, sir.
They'll tell you anything you want to do. They
just, they're the oh yes. And you don't even
learn anything around those sets of people. So
I want you to just come to that place where I
will end with what I started with, which is,
I want you to examine yourself with the questions
I asked at the beginning. Do you learn like a
child? Are you humble enough to learn as a child?
And learning as a child means that you will take
notes. You prioritize what is being spoken to
you. And do you serve like Jesus does? Do you
go out of your way to be sacrificial in your
service? And do you prioritize God's kingdom?
Are you committed to the things of God? Are you
committed to the things? And discipleship is
not automatic. It requires intentional submission.
It requires intentional submission. And know
that we want to, in this season, choose discipleship
so that we can effectively manifest the kingdom
of God. I want us to end with this. I affirm
that I am teachable. I stay teachable without
pride in my heart. I lead others by serving and
I serve diligently. I submit to authority. I
am not rebellious. I don't frustrate the efforts
of my leaders and my pastors. I prioritize discipleships
and the activities of the kingdom over everything
else. I am a disciple. their disciples, others.
I want you to pray these things over your life.
I want you to open your mouth and just pray.
We appreciate you being here today. We hope you
carry this word with you throughout your week.
Don't forget to check the show notes for additional
insights. Stay connected with us through our
website or follow us on social media. If you
are encouraged, share this message with someone
you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.