WEBVTT 00:00:01.799 --> 00:00:05.580 Welcome to NECF. We're thrilled you're here. 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.339 Make sure to stay with us till the end, where 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:12.199 we'll share some great resources to deepen your 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:16.179 faith. Now, let's dive into this week's sermon. 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:22.559 So, very quickly, we'll continue from where we 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:25.140 stopped on Sunday, and I'll just do a bit of 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:27.940 a big hack. I don't know whether we're hearing 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:29.719 me clearly. If we're hearing me clearly, then... 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:32.289 I think just a thumbs up or something. Thank 00:00:32.289 --> 00:00:35.250 you for hearing me clearly. Okay, good. So we're 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:37.950 going to continue where we stopped and we said 00:00:37.950 --> 00:00:41.990 the topic is still ministers of God. It's still 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:44.469 ministers of God. I want to remind us that it's 00:00:44.469 --> 00:00:47.990 plural. It's not singular. It's ministers, meaning 00:00:47.990 --> 00:00:49.390 that we're doing it together and we're doing 00:00:49.390 --> 00:00:51.850 it as a team. And that's how we can be effective. 00:00:52.210 --> 00:00:56.710 And our text is from 2 Corinthians 6. And I want 00:00:56.710 --> 00:00:59.079 to read it from the Amplified. Because the Amplified 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.679 adds something to it that I want us to see and 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:29.140 pay attention to. It says, to no purpose. Do 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:34.099 not receive it to no purpose. What this last 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:36.620 line points to us is that there is a purpose 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:40.799 for what we have received. There is a purpose 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:43.799 for what we have received. And that purpose is 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:46.260 the work of ministry. And on Sunday, we say, 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:49.799 who is the minister? We ask ourselves that question, 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.019 who is the minister? And it says, the minister, 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.159 the word there is from the Greek word, which 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.319 is diakonos. And we say that that word implies 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:02.480 a servant, someone who serves or to serve with 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.680 another. We said it implies someone who serves 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:09.240 or to serve with another. It means that is when 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.780 you refer to as a minister, you are someone who 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:14.740 serves and you're not just serving yourself. 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:17.199 You're not serving your own purposes. You're 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:20.639 serving God because you are his minister. You 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.159 are his minister. And we said, we saw that as 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:25.379 a minister, we have an identity and our identity 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:28.300 is tied to the one who sent us. The one who has 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:31.819 called us, the one who has given us the mandate 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:35.919 as a way to do the work of ministry. And we say 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.419 that that identity is tied to a responsibility, 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:41.039 means that we're responsible during the course 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:42.979 of the prayers. And we see that we're called 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:45.740 to that ministry of reconciliation. What has 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:49.080 been done to us, we also... do to others. We 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:54.460 are trained to train others. We are trained to 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.680 bring others in to call others out of darkness 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.759 because when we are proclaiming that which we 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:05.520 have seen or that which Christ has done to others 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.960 for them to come into that reality. And we see 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.659 that the ministry that we are called into is 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:15.840 a natural consequence of salvation. The ministry 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:21.039 that we have is a natural consequence of salvation, 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:23.659 meaning that an individual is saved and trained 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:28.000 for the work of service. And it's very important 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.979 that we prioritize that work of ministry as believers. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:35.000 And we can get, I think on Sunday I painted a 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.300 picture for us how we can be distracted, we can 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:40.000 be sidelined from little things. Our everyday 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.000 life, you want to do this one thing and then 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.900 you just get sidelined. And we have to come to 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.759 a place where we realign ourselves to what we 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.000 are called to. Reorient ourselves to what we 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.099 are called to because we can be doing a lot of 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:55.280 things, which is what we're going to take time 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.479 to focus on in this meeting. how we want to have 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:03.219 singleness of mind. We want to be doing that 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:04.900 thing that he has called us. And every other 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:06.800 thing that we're doing is tied to that one singular 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.379 thing. And we say that the local church is the 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:11.259 training ground for believers to do the work 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:14.099 of ministry. The local church is the training 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:16.620 ground for it. We cannot train ourselves. You 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.980 can't be trained outside of the local church. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.399 And we'll see in this teaching why it's important 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:23.939 for us to be part of the local church. We'll 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.970 further expand it on. And we also discussed, 00:04:28.209 --> 00:04:30.110 we talked about the grace of God. We looked at 00:04:30.110 --> 00:04:32.850 a couple of passages and I want to just remind 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:35.550 us of what the grace of God is. You see, the 00:04:35.550 --> 00:04:39.589 grace of God is all that is freely given to us 00:04:39.589 --> 00:04:43.569 from God to man for salvation and for the work 00:04:43.569 --> 00:04:48.269 of ministry. And that is the definition in North 00:04:48.269 --> 00:04:50.750 Shore because we look at several passages of 00:04:50.750 --> 00:04:52.889 scripture. And I want us to come to that place 00:04:52.889 --> 00:04:55.449 where we bring everything together. Know that 00:04:55.449 --> 00:04:57.329 it's from something that is freely given to us 00:04:57.329 --> 00:04:59.750 from God. It's not something that we can walk 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:05.370 to have. And that gift of God is what brings 00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:07.430 us into heaven. That gift of God is everything 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:09.870 that we need for the work of ministry. It's everything 00:05:09.870 --> 00:05:12.050 that we have been given for the work of ministry. 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:14.949 Praise God. So the gift of God is all that is 00:05:14.949 --> 00:05:19.709 freely given from God to man for salvation and 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:22.310 the work of ministry. All that has been given, 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:27.089 freely given from God. to man for salvation and 00:05:27.089 --> 00:05:30.170 the work of ministry. And what I want us to take 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:33.589 time to discuss in this teaching, and we're going 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:36.769 to look at examples of different characters, 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:39.930 different individuals that had this singleness 00:05:39.930 --> 00:05:43.870 of mind, that had one thing at their focus, and 00:05:43.870 --> 00:05:46.350 how that one thing they had in their focus helped 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:49.199 them drive... was the drive or the motivation 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.639 and was what led to the result and what led to 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:54.180 the life or the character of the individuals 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:56.180 that we are going to be looking at. And we're 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:57.759 going to look at a couple and we're going to 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.000 do this. We're going to do this with the help 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.120 of God and we're going to see how we go. So we 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.860 are going to look at David. We're going to look 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:08.860 at the life of David and we're going to see it 00:06:08.860 --> 00:06:12.339 from Psalms, Psalms 27. I want us to open our 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:17.370 Bibles to Psalms 27 verse 4. Psalms 27 verse 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:23.509 4. And we know that David is one, is a king. 00:06:25.089 --> 00:06:30.269 And David, when David shows up, we see him serving, 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:37.110 we see him tending sheep. The father heard. Psalms 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:46.470 27 verse 4. Psalms 27 verse 4. So, Psalms 27 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:51.730 verse 4. So it reads, it says, One thing I ask, 00:06:51.970 --> 00:06:56.709 one thing I ask of the Lord, the thing I seek 00:06:56.709 --> 00:07:00.790 most is to live in the house of the Lord all 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:05.029 the days of my life, delighting in God's perfection 00:07:05.029 --> 00:07:10.410 and meditating in his temple. Delighting in his 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:14.610 perfection and perfections and meditating in 00:07:14.610 --> 00:07:17.250 his. I will read it again from the New King James. 00:07:17.569 --> 00:07:21.550 It says, One thing I have desired of the Lord, 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:25.709 that I will seek that I may dwell in the house 00:07:25.709 --> 00:07:28.870 of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:32.670 the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his 00:07:32.670 --> 00:07:35.670 temple. And one thing I want to see from the 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:38.009 life of David, because he starts that psalms, 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:40.069 he starts, he starts, he's the one that wrote 00:07:40.069 --> 00:07:41.709 the psalms, he starts the psalms from verse 1. 00:07:41.750 --> 00:07:43.910 He says, The Lord is my light and my salvation. 00:07:45.290 --> 00:07:50.430 So why should I be afraid? Why should I be afraid? 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:54.670 He says, the Lord is my fortress, protecting 00:07:54.670 --> 00:07:59.970 me from danger. So why should I tremble? He says, 00:08:00.069 --> 00:08:04.889 when evil people come to devour me, when my enemies 00:08:04.889 --> 00:08:09.050 and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 00:08:09.269 --> 00:08:13.290 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart... 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:18.319 will not be afraid. Even if I'm attacked, I will 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:21.300 remain confident. I like the last part. It says, 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:24.120 even if I'm attacked, I will remain confident. 00:08:24.660 --> 00:08:27.920 And this is a man of war. David is a man that 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.139 went to battle. David is a man. And he's telling 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:33.120 you, and know that all of this, one, two, three, 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:35.019 I think there was a point in time, I think when 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:38.960 I had a ringtone where this was, this was the 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:42.179 verse that was actually beside, I think the ringtone 00:08:42.179 --> 00:08:45.419 had the verse. And that was one part, like the 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:47.779 ringtone was just, you know, it gives you the 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:50.059 stats of the Lord is my light and my salvation. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.259 You don't hear that and it doesn't exude confidence 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:55.460 that this person is sure what they're talking 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:58.539 about. This person is confident, not in himself, 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:02.139 but in the Lord. The person is confident, not 00:09:02.139 --> 00:09:03.779 in himself, but in the Lord. And David speaking 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:07.000 is a man of war. He went into battle knowing 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.019 one thing, that his strength, his abilities, 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:12.929 every of those things. and nothing except for 00:09:12.929 --> 00:09:17.309 God. Except for God. And David was one person 00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:20.110 that you knew through the way he did his things, 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:23.750 knowing that what was very important to him was 00:09:23.750 --> 00:09:25.409 his relationship with God. And that's why he 00:09:25.409 --> 00:09:28.429 says that one thing. And his one thing, his own 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:31.269 one thing is right. And that one thing motivated 00:09:31.269 --> 00:09:34.669 every of his actions. And I want to remind us 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:36.750 as believers, there should be one thing that 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:39.570 motivates every of our decision making. It should 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:42.090 be one thing that is our digital making is anchored 00:09:42.090 --> 00:09:44.409 on. And every other thing should flow from it. 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:47.509 And that is our relationship with God. Meaning 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:50.549 that our faith in God is what should drive our 00:09:50.549 --> 00:09:54.529 motivation, not the other way around, where several 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:56.250 things are the things that drive our motivation. 00:09:56.710 --> 00:09:59.210 And we'll see it exemplified in the life of David. 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:02.269 David is telling us very clearly, he is his light, 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:06.690 he is his salvation. And that is where he... 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:12.769 He anchors his faith on God. And then that is 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:15.610 what makes him not to be afraid of anything. 00:10:16.190 --> 00:10:19.090 And I know that you, which is what we'll come 00:10:19.090 --> 00:10:24.330 to, as a believer, as someone who knows the God 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:26.250 that they serve, as someone who has a relationship, 00:10:26.389 --> 00:10:28.809 as someone who is taught, as someone who is learning, 00:10:28.889 --> 00:10:31.029 you want to come to that place where you are 00:10:31.029 --> 00:10:34.820 very, very, very confident. in the God that you 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:36.820 serve. And that is what gives you the boldness 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:39.179 to boldly declare. That's what gives you the 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.240 boldness to proclaim. That's what gives you, 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:43.940 that's what takes away every form of fear. Because 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:47.080 fear is inconsistent with our identity. Because 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.120 we serve a God, because we know the God that 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.980 we serve, we are bold, we declare. And this is 00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:56.179 one thing that David exemplifies in his whole 00:10:56.179 --> 00:10:58.659 life, where he, because of the relationship he 00:10:58.659 --> 00:11:03.389 has, he determines and detects how He lives and 00:11:03.389 --> 00:11:05.470 the way the things he appreciates and the things 00:11:05.470 --> 00:11:08.009 he wants to do. He says, one thing I've desired. 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:13.009 And what is important to him is that constant 00:11:13.009 --> 00:11:15.330 fellowship and communion with God. And we see 00:11:15.330 --> 00:11:18.610 it in how he says it. He says his confidence, 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:23.029 his faith, all of that is anchored on the priority 00:11:23.029 --> 00:11:27.250 of the relationship he has with God. That prioritizing 00:11:27.250 --> 00:11:28.470 the relationship we have with God. And there's 00:11:28.470 --> 00:11:31.429 something I think I read. which book was that? 00:11:31.490 --> 00:11:35.750 It very clearly states that the believer never 00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:40.389 lacks faith. A believer never lacks faith, no 00:11:40.389 --> 00:11:45.769 matter the situation. Because a believer believes 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:49.529 in the one who has saved him, the one who has 00:11:49.529 --> 00:11:52.549 called him to the work of ministry. So even with 00:11:52.549 --> 00:11:55.710 regards to the work of ministry, you have faith. 00:11:56.110 --> 00:11:58.409 for the person that you're speaking to. You have 00:11:58.409 --> 00:12:01.590 faith for the walk that he has called you to 00:12:01.590 --> 00:12:03.350 because he's the one that has called you to the 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:05.529 walk and he's the one responsible. So you are 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:08.049 putting your trust in him who has called you 00:12:08.049 --> 00:12:10.149 because he's the one, he who has called you, 00:12:10.149 --> 00:12:13.129 he's faithful. He who has called you is the one 00:12:13.129 --> 00:12:15.690 who placed our confidence in. And we have a tendency 00:12:15.690 --> 00:12:18.629 to place our confidence in things that we are 00:12:18.629 --> 00:12:22.460 not 100 % on. I was here, I think I was talking 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:25.480 last week with someone or on the weekend with 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.000 someone. I was like, we sit down on chair, we 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.200 take a seat on the chair. We don't know who made 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.320 the chair. We don't know who was the manufacturer. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.580 We're not confident. We just put our full weight 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:38.080 on the chair and we just move on like it's normal. 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:40.480 We don't know who the pilot is, but we're confident 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.940 that we're going to arrive at this. We don't 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:43.639 know who, we don't, there's certain things we 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:48.120 don't know about, but we have confidence in those 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:52.100 things. But we know this God and we know that 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:54.899 this God has done so much already. He has given 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:56.820 us a son. He has brought us to that place where 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:59.860 we know that he has promised. He has given us 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:01.960 his promise and he has kept his promise over 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.200 and over again. So it doesn't bring us, we never 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:07.879 come to a place where we are in doubt of God's 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.019 faithfulness when we know, when we are learning, 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.759 when we have a revelation of this God. And Apostle 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.100 Paul very much exemplifies this in the passage 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:19.519 where we were reading where he goes down and 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.740 states a lot of things that he has, a lot of 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:25.899 things that has happened. You see him in verse 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:31.840 4, starting in verse 4. He says, but in all things 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:34.919 we commend ourselves as ministers. That is 2 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.340 Corinthians 6 verse 4. He says, but in all things, 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:41.419 2 Corinthians 6 verse 4, but in all things we 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:44.320 commend ourselves as ministers of God in much 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:51.460 patience. In tribulations, in needs, in distress, 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:55.639 in stripes, in imprisonment. Apostle Paul knows 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.379 a lot about imprisonment and he still doesn't 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:03.179 look, he doesn't change his identity as a minister 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:05.539 of God, doesn't change it. He doesn't stop him 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.500 from carrying out his responsibility. He still 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:10.360 carries out his responsibility in imprisonment. 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:15.860 And as he's in tumult, in labors, in sleeplessness. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:21.399 In fastings, by purity, by knowledge, by long 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:24.620 -suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:28.019 by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:31.759 power of God, by the armor of righteousness on 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.379 the right hand and on the left hand, by the armor 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:40.759 of righteousness on the right hand and on the 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:46.620 left hand. By honor and dishonor, by evil report 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:54.820 and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:59.039 unknown and yet well -known, as dying and behold 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:03.179 we live, as chastened and yet not killed, as 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:07.379 sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:10.490 many rich. as having nothing, yet possessing 00:15:10.490 --> 00:15:12.470 all things. And we see that he contrasts all 00:15:12.470 --> 00:15:15.909 these things, and he's trying to establish to 00:15:15.909 --> 00:15:20.450 us that in all these things, he still stands 00:15:20.450 --> 00:15:24.049 in his identity, his solid and confident identity, 00:15:24.210 --> 00:15:26.950 because his identity is not based off of himself. 00:15:27.149 --> 00:15:30.190 It's based on the one who called him, on the 00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:33.409 one who called him. And in the same Corinthians, 00:15:33.570 --> 00:15:38.450 I think that's verse 4. 2 Corinthians 4 verses 00:15:38.450 --> 00:15:42.769 1. 2 Corinthians 4 verses 1. He said, therefore, 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:49.470 since we have this ministry, we have this ministry 00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:53.370 as we have received mercy. We do not lose heart. 00:15:53.769 --> 00:15:57.629 We do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. In 00:15:57.629 --> 00:16:01.149 the NLT, he says, we never give up. We never 00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:04.399 give up. Meaning that as ministers, we know what 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.200 we have. We never give up. We are consistent 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.100 in it. We are consistent in it. We are consistent 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:11.740 in it. And we know that it's a responsibility 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:14.039 of everyone. It's not the pastor's responsibility 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.379 to never give up for each and every one of us. 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:19.580 It's we, individually, never give up. Because 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:22.299 know that David is speaking of that one thing. 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:26.980 Apostle Paul is telling his own. He's speaking 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:30.690 about how we. Call it today as believers. He 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:34.529 says, since we have this ministry, we never give 00:16:34.529 --> 00:16:37.129 up. We never lose heart. We never give up. We 00:16:37.129 --> 00:16:39.309 never lose heart. And I want us to see another 00:16:39.309 --> 00:16:44.110 one thing again. And in this particular one thing, 00:16:44.129 --> 00:16:46.090 I want us to pay attention because we come to 00:16:46.090 --> 00:16:49.350 this passage and we are looking at it from this 00:16:49.350 --> 00:16:53.990 direction. But I want us to see what God is going 00:16:53.990 --> 00:16:57.009 to be ministering to us strongly on. And look. 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:09.200 In Luke 10, in Luke 10, in Luke 10, verse 40 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:17.319 to 42, in Luke 10, verse 40 to 42, it says, But 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:21.720 Martha was distracted with many servants, and 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.259 she approached him and said, Lord, Do you not 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:29.220 care that my sister has left me to serve alone? 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:34.299 Therefore tell her to help me. 41 now says, And 00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:38.220 Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.160 you are worried and troubled about many things. 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:46.099 But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:49.740 good part, which will not be taken away from 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.339 her. And we can look at this passage and we're 00:17:52.339 --> 00:17:56.349 like, oh, Martha is just doing. She's just more 00:17:56.349 --> 00:17:59.970 concerned about, oh, you want to look at what 00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:03.589 was going on while she was doing the many things. 00:18:03.910 --> 00:18:08.329 She was doing, it says, she was worried and troubled 00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:12.109 about many things. She was worried and troubled 00:18:12.109 --> 00:18:15.970 about many things. And 42 now says, but one thing 00:18:15.970 --> 00:18:19.970 is needed. And it says, and Mary has chosen that 00:18:19.970 --> 00:18:23.480 good part. Mary has chosen that good part. And 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:27.180 what was the good part? Note that prior to the 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:30.660 verses, my previous verses in 39, it says, and 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:35.059 she had a sister, Mary, that's verse 39 of Luke 00:18:35.059 --> 00:18:39.240 10. She had a sister, Mary, who also sat at Jesus' 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:44.240 feet and heard his word. She sat at Jesus' feet 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.500 and heard his word. And I want you to understand 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:50.700 that as a minister, What should be more important 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:53.839 to you? Service is important. But what should 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:56.140 be more important to you or what should be more 00:18:56.140 --> 00:19:00.359 important to us is learning at Jesus' feet. The 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:02.819 training that happens when teaching of God's 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.220 word is happening. Because that is what is most 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.900 important. In the Church of NACF, we have said 00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:10.380 this so many times. What is important to us is 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:12.819 that people are not just serving. That people 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:16.259 are learning and they are growing. People are 00:19:16.259 --> 00:19:19.150 learning and they are growing. Not just seven, 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:21.490 because you can be seven and you're not growing. 00:19:22.250 --> 00:19:25.170 You can be seven, but you're not growing. What 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:28.410 is more important is that you are learning and 00:19:28.410 --> 00:19:31.089 you are growing. That is why we prioritize and 00:19:31.089 --> 00:19:34.609 we say, okay, leaders, members, every one of 00:19:34.609 --> 00:19:37.170 us should be part of the midweek service. Every 00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:38.710 one of us should be part of the cell meetings. 00:19:39.009 --> 00:19:41.450 Every one of us should be paying attention and 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:44.420 be taking notes in the Sunday services. All of 00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:47.640 this is to the end that everyone is learning 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:51.720 and is growing. And that is a hallmark. That 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:55.619 is what a minister, and that's what ministry, 00:19:55.819 --> 00:19:59.000 that's what a minister of God should hold as 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.380 priority. That is the one thing, which is the 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:05.400 good part, that should be a priority to us. Because 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:07.539 you can be doing many things. You can be doing 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:10.339 many things, troubled. You can be doing many 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:12.849 things and be troubled about those things. But 00:20:12.849 --> 00:20:14.170 know that there's something about when you're 00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:16.089 focused on one thing and you're focused on the 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:19.369 thing that is good, the most important. You will 00:20:19.369 --> 00:20:23.450 see growth. And your service will be more effective. 00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:26.150 Praise God. Your service will be more effective. 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:30.750 See, those who are trained serve effectively. 00:20:32.029 --> 00:20:35.950 Most of the people who struggle to sit under 00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:38.170 the training and teaching, they are the ones 00:20:38.170 --> 00:20:40.470 that you will have a hard time with in service. 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:43.279 And this is very important, that as ministers 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.000 of God, that we ensure that we devote ourselves 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.019 to the trainings that are happening in the church. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:50.640 The trainings that are happening in the church 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:55.240 are what is most important to us. The trainings 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.619 that are happening in the church is what is most 00:20:57.619 --> 00:21:01.500 important to us. And we also see another example. 00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:05.700 And I love this example because it is not just 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:10.079 what is needed, it is also what we can lack. 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:12.799 It's not just what is needed, it's also what 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:16.420 we can lack. And we see this in, we can look 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:18.759 at it from Luke's account. Since we're in Luke, 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:23.819 let's look at Luke 18. Luke 18, verses 18 to 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:34.960 23. Luke 18, 18 to 23. This is an account of 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.359 the young ruler, the rich young ruler. It says, 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:41.589 Now a certain ruler asked him, saying, good teacher, 00:21:41.750 --> 00:21:44.789 what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus 00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:48.269 said to him, what do you call, and why do you 00:21:48.269 --> 00:21:51.109 call me good? Why question, why do you call me 00:21:51.109 --> 00:21:55.630 good? No one is good but one. That is God. You 00:21:55.630 --> 00:21:59.690 know the commandments. Do you commit adultery? 00:21:59.789 --> 00:22:02.710 Do you murder? Sorry, you know the commandments. 00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:05.009 Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not 00:22:05.009 --> 00:22:08.009 steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your 00:22:08.009 --> 00:22:12.279 father and your mother. And he said, all these 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:17.480 things I have kept from my youth. So when Jesus 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:21.759 heard these things, he said to him, you still 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:26.400 lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:30.480 to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:35.299 and come and follow me. 23 now says, but when 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:39.660 he heard this, he became very soulful. for he 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:42.559 was very rich. And when we read this passage, 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:46.740 we just look and then we say, oh, he's the wealth, 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:50.799 he's tied to his wealth. But beyond this, we 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.119 see a man that comes and he presents to Jesus 00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:57.400 Christ a flawless CV. He says, my CV. He says, 00:22:57.420 --> 00:23:01.539 this is my CV. He says, my CV is, I have kept 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:06.480 all, you see, in verse 21, he says, all these 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:09.940 things I have kept from my youth. As a minister, 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:16.460 you want to be very careful when you, during 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:18.839 the course of service, our pride is not, there's 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:22.440 nothing of us. Remember we said the gift that 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.039 we have received, we didn't pay any price for 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:28.039 it. It was freely given. And it's all that we 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:30.900 have is what we have. We have those things in 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:33.140 Christ Jesus. Yes, there's the effort, the responsibility 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:36.349 that we. we put into the work that gets us. We 00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:40.069 know that there's no basis for you to come and 00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:41.849 then you look at the person you're talking to 00:23:41.849 --> 00:23:44.369 and you're saying, yeah, see, I've kept all of 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:47.569 these things. We can present. And we know that 00:23:47.569 --> 00:23:51.589 our flawless series, if you want to always get 00:23:51.589 --> 00:23:54.750 a job, you want to go with, you want to have 00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:56.750 a series, you know, not this, this, that. You 00:23:56.750 --> 00:23:58.930 want to have a series that ensures that you are, 00:23:58.950 --> 00:24:01.809 you... You want to have a good CV. You want to 00:24:01.809 --> 00:24:03.750 know how to write the CV. You want to know how 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:05.470 to package even the things that you have done. 00:24:05.529 --> 00:24:07.309 You want to know how to package and put. But 00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:11.309 in this work of ministry, our CV is, Apostle 00:24:11.309 --> 00:24:13.569 Paul says it very beautifully, that it's not 00:24:13.569 --> 00:24:17.670 all these things. He has even the things to brag 00:24:17.670 --> 00:24:19.690 about. He has all of those things. But he knows 00:24:19.690 --> 00:24:21.970 that it's not anchored on things. It's on what 00:24:21.970 --> 00:24:24.569 Christ has done. He's able to brag and make his 00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:28.140 boast on. And he comes and then he's out. saying, 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:30.740 okay, look at me, flawless. But know that the 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:34.180 only flawlessly we have is the one we have is 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:36.460 on what Christ has done. So if we want to go, 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:39.740 we present that. So the minister of God is not 00:24:39.740 --> 00:24:43.099 taking pride in the things that they can do or 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:44.779 the things that they have done. They are taking 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:47.140 pride in the things that Christ has done and 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:49.539 the things that Christ is enabling them to do. 00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:55.920 So what we are not doing, when we are doing God's 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:58.359 work, We're doing God's work in his own terms. 00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:01.660 We're doing God's work with the CV or with the 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:05.259 ability that he supplies. So this man now is 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:07.960 presented with the one thing he lacks because 00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:12.140 the person he's talking to is not a man that 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:15.859 will not see past the flaws or the errors in 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:21.039 his presentation or the motive behind it. And 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:23.599 he comes now and he presents that and then he's... 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:25.799 brought his attention is brought to the one thing 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:28.500 he lacks and i want you to notice that what he 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:34.859 lacks in this in a sense is that passion for 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:37.880 like because he's instructed here now to sell 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:40.599 all he has and give to the poor meaning that 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:44.980 his heart and which is very key once our our 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:49.220 desire and our heart our relationship well we 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:52.910 have a relationship with god our Every of our 00:25:52.910 --> 00:25:54.990 desire is anchored. Remember what we said earlier. 00:25:55.089 --> 00:25:58.250 We said that our motivation, once our motivation, 00:25:58.490 --> 00:26:01.390 once our faith is what drives our motivation. 00:26:01.809 --> 00:26:05.869 So if we have faith in God, we believe in God, 00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:08.710 we know that what he has called us into is greater 00:26:08.710 --> 00:26:10.789 than what it is that we can call ourselves into. 00:26:10.950 --> 00:26:12.910 You mean that no matter what exactly it is that 00:26:12.910 --> 00:26:15.049 we're doing, what he has called us into is more 00:26:15.049 --> 00:26:17.289 important than what it is that we are doing, 00:26:17.410 --> 00:26:20.119 like our careers. all those responsibilities 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:22.579 that we have, because that is what is most important. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:26.480 We are able to say, okay, this is what is important. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:30.279 I think someone says this, because you have a 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:32.339 relationship with someone, the person has your 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:36.720 heart. Your resources will easily flow because 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:40.140 you know that this person is important to you. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:42.539 This person is a priority to you. So when an 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:46.099 instruction is given, because God is your Lord, 00:26:46.569 --> 00:26:50.289 His resources are yours. Your resources are his. 00:26:50.569 --> 00:26:54.029 You are able to respond easily. And the fact 00:26:54.029 --> 00:26:56.589 that you love God, you will love the people that 00:26:56.589 --> 00:26:59.970 are his. You will love the people. You will love 00:26:59.970 --> 00:27:02.309 people. You will have relations. You know, some 00:27:02.309 --> 00:27:04.710 people say, I'm not a people person. You know 00:27:04.710 --> 00:27:08.250 that the ministry you have been called into is 00:27:08.250 --> 00:27:10.269 a ministry where you deal with people. You don't 00:27:10.269 --> 00:27:14.579 deal with chairs. Yes, if you are doing ushering, 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:16.500 you will be cleaning them and all of that. But 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:18.259 know that the end goal is that you're going to 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.960 be interacting with people. Even the reason why 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.559 you're cleaning things, the reason why you're 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:24.859 arranging, the reason is for people. You're ministering 00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:26.359 to God and you're also ministering to people. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:29.640 And the point here is that this individual comes 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:32.339 in and then he's wanting to do it in his own 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:35.180 terms. He's wanting to present his own thing 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:37.460 and then believing that that is how he's going 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:41.099 to get through. But we know that... The instruction 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:44.759 is the same and it has not changed. That the 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:47.839 moment we come into him, we are no longer ours 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:51.079 but his. And our activity, every activity is 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:53.400 anchored on that. The fact that we have a relationship 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.259 with him, he tells us how we do our things. And 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:59.720 this is very true for our personal relationships. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.460 Once you have a friend that is dear to your heart, 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.640 you will go out of your way to ensure that if 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:09.789 they have a need, that their need is met. Once 00:28:09.789 --> 00:28:13.309 you have a relationship, there's nothing that 00:28:13.309 --> 00:28:15.730 is too big for you to give because you have a 00:28:15.730 --> 00:28:18.670 relationship. And that is basically at the core 00:28:18.670 --> 00:28:22.509 of it. As ministers, our responsibility is beyond 00:28:22.509 --> 00:28:27.769 just the casual, the everyday run -ins. We understand 00:28:27.769 --> 00:28:29.569 that we're called to something. We're called 00:28:29.569 --> 00:28:36.589 to minister to people. People are the... the 00:28:36.589 --> 00:28:39.730 agency by which people are important in the work 00:28:39.730 --> 00:28:41.890 of ministry. So it means that we shouldn't have 00:28:41.890 --> 00:28:45.150 a hard time serving. We shouldn't have a hard 00:28:45.150 --> 00:28:47.289 time serving. We shouldn't have a hard time serving. 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:50.769 And I love how Mark's account, Mark's account 00:28:50.769 --> 00:28:53.630 actually says he looks at him with compassion. 00:28:54.390 --> 00:28:57.369 He looks at him with compassion. He looks at 00:28:57.369 --> 00:29:01.549 the young rich one, he looks at him 21. He says 00:29:01.549 --> 00:29:06.190 on Jesus Christ, Mark 10 verse 21. Mark 10 verse 00:29:06.190 --> 00:29:09.690 21. It says, then Jesus looking at him, loves 00:29:09.690 --> 00:29:11.789 him, looking at him with compassion. He says 00:29:11.789 --> 00:29:14.750 to him that one thing you lack. Mark 10 verse 00:29:14.750 --> 00:29:18.069 21. He says, one thing you lack. He says, go 00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:22.190 away, sell whatever you have and give to the 00:29:22.190 --> 00:29:25.029 poor. Go away, sell whatever you have and give 00:29:25.029 --> 00:29:28.309 to the poor. But in 22 he says, but he was sad 00:29:28.309 --> 00:29:31.529 at his word. He was sad at his word. He went 00:29:31.529 --> 00:29:35.880 away sorrowful. for he had great possessions. 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:39.640 So this person at the instruction to give away 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:43.740 what he has is sorrowful. He was saddened by 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:47.119 that. It was sorrowful. So it means that as believers 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.940 or as ministers, we shouldn't have a point in 00:29:49.940 --> 00:29:53.380 time where we come and then we are feeling sorrowful 00:29:53.380 --> 00:29:56.079 because we are asked to serve others. We are 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:58.259 feeling saddened because we are asked to do the 00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:00.480 work that we are called into. Remember we said 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.539 that this work of ministry is a natural consequence 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:07.680 for our salvation, meaning that that is what 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:10.680 will flow naturally from us. And there's a training. 00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:14.119 We shouldn't run away from training. So he says, 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:16.819 so I want us to ask ourselves this one question. 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:21.259 What is the one thing that we lack that stops 00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:25.160 us from genuine and wholehearted service to God? 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.859 What is that one thing? What is that one thing? 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:32.140 That is holding you back. What is that wanting. 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.720 That is limiting your desire. Or not allowing 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:40.259 you to. Because in the passage. Apostle Paul. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:46.420 Let's go to 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:52.940 In verse 11. Verse 11. Apostle Paul says. All 00:30:52.940 --> 00:30:57.680 Corinthians. We have spoken openly to you. Our 00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:02.619 heart. is wide open. Our heart is wide open. 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:08.380 The NLT says, the New King James says, it's spoken 00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:11.900 openly to you. He says, our heart is wide open. 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:16.640 Our heart is wide open. Verse 12 now says, you 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:24.180 are not restricted by us, but you are restricted 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:28.029 by your own affections. You're restricted by 00:31:28.029 --> 00:31:31.869 your own affections, meaning that the problem 00:31:31.869 --> 00:31:34.670 is not from his own end. The problem is from 00:31:34.670 --> 00:31:37.049 their own end. It means that something is now 00:31:37.049 --> 00:31:41.849 more important. That is one thing that is different 00:31:41.849 --> 00:31:45.569 from the main thing that is restricting them. 00:31:46.809 --> 00:31:50.089 Praise God, that is restricting them. Verse 13 00:31:50.089 --> 00:31:55.369 now says, now I turn from. It says, now in turn. 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:01.180 For the same, I speak as to children. I speak 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:05.059 as to children that you also be open. That you 00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:09.839 also be open. In Daniel, he says, open your hearts 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:14.700 to us. Open your hearts to us. Meaning that he 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:18.319 says, so he's like, something else has your affection. 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:21.160 Something else has your attention. He's saying, 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:24.299 open your hearts. He's speaking to them as children. 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:27.839 He says, open. your heart out to us. Because 00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:33.720 there's a need to recalibrate and realign ourselves 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:37.779 to what is important. And what Apostle Paul is 00:32:37.779 --> 00:32:40.420 pleading, Apostle Paul is pleading to them that 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:43.240 they should respond to his plea and set their 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.799 affection on God and his people. Set their affection 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:49.480 on God and his people because their gaze is away 00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:52.200 from what is most important. Their gaze is away 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:54.279 from the call and the responsibility that they 00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:57.609 have. to do that which is the work of ministry. 00:32:57.869 --> 00:33:01.769 And he's pleading to them. He's saying, what 00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:03.990 exactly it is? What's more important? And another 00:33:03.990 --> 00:33:08.930 question to us is, what or who have we set our 00:33:08.930 --> 00:33:12.069 affection on? What and who have we set our affection 00:33:12.069 --> 00:33:16.750 on? Like King David. It is his desire. One thing 00:33:16.750 --> 00:33:20.430 as he desired. And his desire is for God. His 00:33:20.430 --> 00:33:23.990 desire is for the things of God. Is our desire 00:33:23.990 --> 00:33:26.130 for God, is our desire for the things of God? 00:33:26.450 --> 00:33:30.250 If so, our response to the work that he has called 00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:33.690 us as ministers will be seamless. It will be 00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:36.710 seamless. Our response will not be arguing, will 00:33:36.710 --> 00:33:39.750 not be having any, will just flow with things 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:43.230 that he instructs us to do. It will not be difficult 00:33:43.230 --> 00:33:47.410 for us to follow through with his will. It will 00:33:47.410 --> 00:33:49.089 not be difficult for us to follow through with 00:33:49.089 --> 00:33:50.910 his will because what is important to us is the 00:33:50.910 --> 00:33:54.829 work of ministry. And it's his work that he has 00:33:54.829 --> 00:33:58.369 called us to. So we do it. And Apostle Paul, 00:33:58.589 --> 00:34:02.710 again in Philippians, in Philippians 3, verses 00:34:02.710 --> 00:34:05.869 13, he also screams, he says, I do not count 00:34:05.869 --> 00:34:09.070 myself to have apprehended. He says, one thing 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:13.170 I do, one thing he does. Even Apostle Paul, he's 00:34:13.170 --> 00:34:15.570 saying this loudly. Remember, we're talking about 00:34:15.570 --> 00:34:19.110 the focus, that singleness. And every believer 00:34:19.110 --> 00:34:21.849 should have the fact that we are. We're doing 00:34:21.849 --> 00:34:24.489 this, we're pursuing careers, we're pursuing 00:34:24.489 --> 00:34:26.769 this and that. There's something that we should 00:34:26.769 --> 00:34:30.250 prioritize. We have to have our priorities set 00:34:30.250 --> 00:34:34.889 on the work that we are called to. And as I said 00:34:34.889 --> 00:34:38.849 on Sunday, sometimes things can happen, we can 00:34:38.849 --> 00:34:42.429 shift, but we have to come back to the things 00:34:42.429 --> 00:34:44.489 that are most important. We have to come back 00:34:44.489 --> 00:34:47.150 to it. We have to come back to it. And I suppose 00:34:47.150 --> 00:34:51.070 it's forget one thing it does. He's forgetting 00:34:51.070 --> 00:34:54.389 those things that are behind. Meaning that there 00:34:54.389 --> 00:34:57.010 is a tendency for us to allow the things that 00:34:57.010 --> 00:34:59.670 we have done in the past to cloud us from the 00:34:59.670 --> 00:35:01.849 things that he's wanting to do in the future. 00:35:02.190 --> 00:35:04.989 And as human beings, we have this tendency to 00:35:04.989 --> 00:35:08.949 do things habitually. We want to do things like 00:35:08.949 --> 00:35:11.230 creature of habits. We want to do it like this 00:35:11.230 --> 00:35:15.320 all the time. Sometimes we need to make... to 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:18.000 be able to help us to be able to do the things 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:20.380 that God has called us to even more effectively. 00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:22.900 We need to make changes to do even the things 00:35:22.900 --> 00:35:25.019 that God has called us to more effectively. And 00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:30.280 I want us to see also that even the purpose that 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:34.400 God has called us to affect the way we will structure 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:36.960 ourselves as a church, there are a lot of things 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.719 that are changing, there are a lot of things 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:40.460 we are arranging so that we can be more effective, 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:43.539 so that people will grow, people will be trained. 00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:48.889 And people will be sent out for ministry because 00:35:48.889 --> 00:35:51.889 how it happens is that we are called, we are 00:35:51.889 --> 00:35:54.309 equipped, and we are sent out. We're trained, 00:35:54.750 --> 00:35:56.489 we're equipped, and we're equipped, and the equipment 00:35:56.489 --> 00:35:58.530 is for the work of service. It's for the work 00:35:58.530 --> 00:36:01.449 of ministry. Praise God. So in Acts 6, I want 00:36:01.449 --> 00:36:04.949 us to see a situation that happened, and we want 00:36:04.949 --> 00:36:06.949 to see the growth. We want to see the expansion. 00:36:07.050 --> 00:36:09.519 I want to see the reasons for it. All the things 00:36:09.519 --> 00:36:12.619 that are happening in Acts 6, verse 1 to 7. Acts 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:19.159 6, 1 to 7. Acts of Apostles 6, 1 to 7. It says, 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:22.639 now in those days, when the number of the disciples 00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:28.139 were multiplying, there arose a complaint against 00:36:28.139 --> 00:36:32.699 the Hebrews by the Hellenists. The Hellenists 00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:35.780 are the Greek -speaking... The Hellenists are 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:38.039 the Greek -speaking believers, and it's against 00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:40.960 the Hebrew -speaking believers. He says, because 00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:43.579 their widows were neglected, meaning that there 00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:45.460 was some form of discrimination that was happening 00:36:45.460 --> 00:36:48.059 as a result, that was happening during the distribution 00:36:48.059 --> 00:36:51.239 of food to the widows. He said, then the twelve 00:36:51.239 --> 00:36:54.480 summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:58.920 it is not desirable that we should leave the 00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:02.659 work of God and sell tables, meaning that the 00:37:02.659 --> 00:37:09.460 apostles, prioritize the work of God, the ministry 00:37:09.460 --> 00:37:12.960 that we're called into over this thing that could 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:16.179 be some form of distraction. Therefore, brethren, 00:37:16.380 --> 00:37:21.940 seek out among you seven men of good reputation, 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:26.079 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:31.679 appoint over this business. But we will give, 00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:35.190 we say, but we will give. ourselves continually 00:37:35.190 --> 00:37:40.070 to prayer and the ministry of the word. And the 00:37:40.070 --> 00:37:44.010 saying pleased the whole multitude, and they 00:37:44.010 --> 00:37:48.750 chose Stephen, a man full of faith, and the Holy 00:37:48.750 --> 00:37:52.909 Spirit, and Philip, Procrius, Nicanor, Timon, 00:37:53.070 --> 00:37:58.010 Hermanus, and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch, 00:37:58.130 --> 00:38:02.619 whom they set before the apostles, and when they 00:38:02.619 --> 00:38:07.820 had prayed, they laid hands on them. Seven, then 00:38:07.820 --> 00:38:10.960 the word of God spread, and then the number of 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:14.559 disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and 00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:17.679 a great many of the priests were obedient to 00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:20.199 the faith. And I want us to see something here, 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:26.320 that we understand that the decision of the apostles 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:30.360 to select this individual on the basis of a challenge, 00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:33.590 because in... it's short -setting, you can have 00:38:33.590 --> 00:38:38.050 conflicts. And the way they chose to address, 00:38:38.130 --> 00:38:42.030 to resolve this conflict is by not giving all 00:38:42.030 --> 00:38:44.369 of their attention to this, but creating a system 00:38:44.369 --> 00:38:51.429 of leadership around that particular area to 00:38:51.429 --> 00:38:54.010 be able to checkmate what was going on. And know 00:38:54.010 --> 00:38:57.250 that they decide to have a set of criteria because 00:38:57.250 --> 00:39:01.800 know that the purpose... that whatever purpose 00:39:01.800 --> 00:39:04.739 it is of what you're doing will determine how 00:39:04.739 --> 00:39:08.320 you structure it, how you create structure. Whatever 00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:10.480 purpose you want to, if this is important to 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:12.400 you, there's a structure around that. If that 00:39:12.400 --> 00:39:14.639 is not important to you, you leave it because 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.119 it's not important. But it very much tells us 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:19.000 how you structure things and knew that there 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:21.039 was a reason for it. They said they want to give 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:23.699 themselves to, to give themselves continually 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:25.420 to prayer and the work of ministry and that will 00:39:25.420 --> 00:39:28.079 be destruction. And hence, you now decided to... 00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:31.099 They now ask that they should find people. And 00:39:31.099 --> 00:39:36.000 note that the choices, like the men of good reputation, 00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:41.639 seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy 00:39:41.639 --> 00:39:46.019 Spirit and wisdom, whom they have appointed over 00:39:46.019 --> 00:39:48.559 the business. Note that all of these criteria 00:39:48.559 --> 00:39:53.360 are the criteria that are lacking in a believer. 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:55.400 Are the criteria that should be lacking in a 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:59.650 believer. All of these criteria should not be 00:39:59.650 --> 00:40:01.730 a criteria lacking in a believer. So it means 00:40:01.730 --> 00:40:05.530 that everyone, like if they were, because the 00:40:05.530 --> 00:40:10.110 instruction was to have seven men. So it means 00:40:10.110 --> 00:40:12.269 that every other person will have, but know that 00:40:12.269 --> 00:40:17.250 these individuals are to be leaders. They are 00:40:17.250 --> 00:40:19.889 to be leaders. So it means that these persons 00:40:19.889 --> 00:40:25.510 stood out and were selected. These persons stood 00:40:25.510 --> 00:40:28.090 out for the position and they were matured individuals 00:40:28.090 --> 00:40:30.230 because just imagine if you now carry it and 00:40:30.230 --> 00:40:32.570 give it to some group of persons where people 00:40:32.570 --> 00:40:36.690 don't even respect people because they are individuals 00:40:36.690 --> 00:40:39.449 that are matured, they are individuals that have 00:40:39.449 --> 00:40:41.829 these criterias and they were able to do the 00:40:41.829 --> 00:40:45.469 work. What I want us to see is that the apostles 00:40:45.469 --> 00:40:50.510 delegated this for focus, so that they will be 00:40:50.510 --> 00:40:52.429 able to focus on what is important, which is 00:40:52.429 --> 00:40:55.489 prayer. and the work of men and the prayer and 00:40:55.489 --> 00:40:58.550 the word. So they are able to do that. And we 00:40:58.550 --> 00:41:01.489 see that after that is done, the result of it 00:41:01.489 --> 00:41:07.489 is that people are effectively trained and there's 00:41:07.489 --> 00:41:09.670 an expansion. People are effectively trained 00:41:09.670 --> 00:41:11.130 and there's an expansion. And let us know that 00:41:11.130 --> 00:41:14.449 the spread of the word is the result of disciples 00:41:14.449 --> 00:41:18.269 that were trained. The spread of the word is 00:41:18.269 --> 00:41:20.070 the result of disciples that were trained because 00:41:20.070 --> 00:41:22.929 if the disciples... Because it's not the apostles 00:41:22.929 --> 00:41:25.190 that are just doing the work all by themselves. 00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:27.789 You know that in the Church of Hennessy, it should 00:41:27.789 --> 00:41:31.530 be every one of us doing the work of ministry, 00:41:31.690 --> 00:41:34.269 serving. Not just the pastors, not delegated 00:41:34.269 --> 00:41:36.809 to us solely. Yes, we're doing different things. 00:41:37.469 --> 00:41:42.510 And it goes beyond Sunday to Sundays. An everyday 00:41:42.510 --> 00:41:46.170 thing. It's an everyday thing. We have this time, 00:41:46.250 --> 00:41:49.369 but we have more time outside of here than now. 00:41:50.219 --> 00:41:53.260 The walk of ministry is a lifestyle for the believer, 00:41:53.260 --> 00:41:55.119 meaning that anywhere we find ourselves, we should 00:41:55.119 --> 00:41:57.440 be positioned to do the work. We should be positioned 00:41:57.440 --> 00:42:01.139 to do the work. And we see that this spread, 00:42:01.360 --> 00:42:03.639 the increase, we saw that in verse 7. It says, 00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:08.360 then the word of God spread. And the spread, 00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:11.539 as I repeat myself again, is as a result of the 00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:15.900 disciples that were going out and doing the work. 00:42:16.340 --> 00:42:18.780 The disciples... And the number of disciples 00:42:18.780 --> 00:42:22.519 multiplied greatly, meaning that it's one person 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:24.659 giving rise to another. There is a multiplication 00:42:24.659 --> 00:42:27.860 that happened as a result. So it means for tremendous 00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:31.840 growth, everyone has to be involved in the training. 00:42:31.860 --> 00:42:35.760 If we want to see growth, everybody has to participate. 00:42:38.420 --> 00:42:43.179 One person can do several things, but if several 00:42:43.179 --> 00:42:46.099 people are doing one thing, it's going to be 00:42:46.099 --> 00:42:48.449 more effective. it's going to be a lot effective. 00:42:48.750 --> 00:42:52.170 One person can do several things, but if several 00:42:52.170 --> 00:42:54.429 people are doing one particular thing in particular, 00:42:54.710 --> 00:42:56.849 there's going to be effectiveness in that particular 00:42:56.849 --> 00:43:00.010 thing. And that's why we all are called to this 00:43:00.010 --> 00:43:02.369 program. We are ministers of God and we are all 00:43:02.369 --> 00:43:05.090 to that responsibility of doing that. And for 00:43:05.090 --> 00:43:09.010 a long time, most of us have just negated ourselves 00:43:09.010 --> 00:43:12.110 to just the normal routine. And that's basically 00:43:12.110 --> 00:43:14.630 what church has done to where we just show up 00:43:14.630 --> 00:43:17.920 and then once it's over, We go back home. We 00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:20.940 come back and your month is over. It's now a 00:43:20.940 --> 00:43:24.019 routine. It's now a routine. And I want you to 00:43:24.019 --> 00:43:27.880 see something similar in Exodus. Exodus 18 verse 00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:35.900 21. With Moses. Exodus 18 verse 21. Exodus 18 00:43:35.900 --> 00:43:43.260 verse 21. Moreover, you shall select from all 00:43:43.260 --> 00:43:49.519 the people able men. Such as fear God, men of 00:43:49.519 --> 00:43:55.440 truth, hating covetousness, and place such over 00:43:55.440 --> 00:44:01.199 them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, 00:44:01.579 --> 00:44:07.139 rulers of fifties, rulers of tens. Rulers of 00:44:07.139 --> 00:44:10.179 thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, 00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:16.420 rulers of tens. there's still a criteria. We 00:44:16.420 --> 00:44:19.139 see that in the Old Testament. We just saw that 00:44:19.139 --> 00:44:21.420 in the New Honor. We're seeing this in the Old, 00:44:21.579 --> 00:44:24.360 where a selection is done based on a criteria. 00:44:24.500 --> 00:44:29.659 People who are able men and they feared God and 00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:32.960 they are men of truth, hating covetousness, and 00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:35.800 place such men. Such men who have place over. 00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:43.139 We see the disciples, a structure where Moses 00:44:43.139 --> 00:44:45.260 is going to be more effective. And that was the 00:44:45.260 --> 00:44:47.280 advice that his father -in -law, Jethro, had 00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:50.239 given. Because it's beautiful when you can come 00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:53.579 and do everything. And most of the times, we 00:44:53.579 --> 00:44:57.000 do that because we trust ourselves to get it 00:44:57.000 --> 00:44:59.519 done. But what will happen over time is that 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:01.800 we'll be doing a lot, and then people will not 00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:04.940 be trained. And people themselves, and when you 00:45:04.940 --> 00:45:07.059 have a church with a lot of people that are capable, 00:45:07.139 --> 00:45:09.199 and sometimes we used to say this, we say, those 00:45:09.199 --> 00:45:11.969 of us that are... and are just looking at those 00:45:11.969 --> 00:45:15.829 that are struggling with it. We need to check 00:45:15.829 --> 00:45:18.530 you again. I want you to understand why you are 00:45:18.530 --> 00:45:21.530 in a place where there's a need and then you 00:45:21.530 --> 00:45:23.570 are not wanting to see how you can meet that 00:45:23.570 --> 00:45:27.929 need. I really want to understand what is sponsoring 00:45:27.929 --> 00:45:31.650 the attitude of just watching and waiting until 00:45:31.650 --> 00:45:34.050 when it's, you know, there's a people that the 00:45:34.050 --> 00:45:36.090 car is broken or you see that the car is about 00:45:36.090 --> 00:45:39.829 to break or the car is about to get damaged. 00:45:40.250 --> 00:45:42.210 And then you are just waiting for you to be the 00:45:42.210 --> 00:45:44.489 Messiah when it does happen. And then you now 00:45:44.489 --> 00:45:46.329 show up and then you will now be saying, all 00:45:46.329 --> 00:45:49.210 this while you have been looking at us. So you 00:45:49.210 --> 00:45:51.210 knew that this thing needs fixing and then you 00:45:51.210 --> 00:45:54.690 were just waiting. That is not godly. Praise 00:45:54.690 --> 00:45:57.929 God. That is not godly. We are called to the 00:45:57.929 --> 00:46:01.289 work of ministry and we want to see, we have 00:46:01.289 --> 00:46:04.090 to put our hearts to it and ensure that we are 00:46:04.090 --> 00:46:06.610 all in it and we are working towards it and having 00:46:06.610 --> 00:46:10.119 everybody. participate and does their own quarter 00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:13.099 to the effectiveness of the work itself. So I 00:46:13.099 --> 00:46:22.780 want us to look at Acts 2. Acts 2. Acts 2. 42 00:46:22.780 --> 00:46:32.340 -47. Acts 2. 42 -47. Where I looked at it briefly 00:46:32.340 --> 00:46:37.159 at the church on Sunday. It is... And with many 00:46:37.159 --> 00:46:41.679 other words, he testified and exalted them. That's 00:46:41.679 --> 00:46:45.420 Peter now. And exalted them, be saved from this 00:46:45.420 --> 00:46:50.739 perverse generation. Then those who gladly received 00:46:50.739 --> 00:46:54.920 his word were baptized. And that day, about 3 00:46:54.920 --> 00:46:58.500 ,000 souls were added, seeing that multiplication 00:46:58.500 --> 00:47:01.739 happening as a result of the preaching of God's 00:47:01.739 --> 00:47:03.260 word. No, that is the preaching of God's word 00:47:03.260 --> 00:47:06.230 that causes the multiplication. not just inviting 00:47:06.230 --> 00:47:08.409 people to church, is the preaching of God's word 00:47:08.409 --> 00:47:11.449 that causes the multiplication. Preaching and 00:47:11.449 --> 00:47:13.329 having people saved causes the multiplication. 00:47:13.829 --> 00:47:16.909 It says, and they continue to stay sparsely in 00:47:16.909 --> 00:47:20.250 the apostle's doctrine and fellowship in the 00:47:20.250 --> 00:47:22.789 breaking of breads and prayers. And not that 00:47:22.789 --> 00:47:24.190 they continue to stay sparsely, meaning that 00:47:24.190 --> 00:47:26.090 the teaching of the word, remember what we said 00:47:26.090 --> 00:47:29.909 on Sunday, that is, when people are saved, trained, 00:47:30.650 --> 00:47:33.610 what will naturally happen is that they will 00:47:33.610 --> 00:47:35.809 be They are trained for the work of ministry 00:47:35.809 --> 00:47:39.429 and will have expansion. And what we are believing 00:47:39.429 --> 00:47:43.630 God for and what we know that God is doing in 00:47:43.630 --> 00:47:46.989 this season is that he's given men a desire to 00:47:46.989 --> 00:47:52.949 not sit down and just be receiving training and 00:47:52.949 --> 00:47:56.409 not doing anything about it. Or rather, men are 00:47:56.409 --> 00:48:00.639 getting that sense of desire to go out. And for 00:48:00.639 --> 00:48:03.679 most of us, we feel that, okay, going out will 00:48:03.679 --> 00:48:06.019 mean that you have to go out. I said it, I think 00:48:06.019 --> 00:48:10.039 I said it now. So some of us have friends, housemates. 00:48:10.760 --> 00:48:14.400 We have people around us that we have had so 00:48:14.400 --> 00:48:16.599 many opportunities to present, and we don't. 00:48:17.320 --> 00:48:21.059 We don't. And we are holding back. I think the 00:48:21.059 --> 00:48:24.420 word that Abura Takunda came and gave to us during 00:48:24.420 --> 00:48:28.000 the course of the prayers, we want to... go out. 00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:30.780 We want to speak and it has to be consistent. 00:48:31.119 --> 00:48:34.760 It has to be consistent. And we want to be able 00:48:34.760 --> 00:48:37.019 to ensure that we are not just saying these words. 00:48:37.159 --> 00:48:42.320 We are also believing God for the gifts to be 00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:44.619 manifest. As you are speaking to the person, 00:48:44.659 --> 00:48:47.159 you are praying and you are receiving a word. 00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:49.679 You are asking them, okay, what do you need prayer 00:48:49.679 --> 00:48:53.280 for? Or what are the practical needs that you 00:48:53.280 --> 00:48:55.400 feel that you have? And then you are believing 00:48:55.400 --> 00:48:57.960 the ones you can meet, the ones you You can pray 00:48:57.960 --> 00:49:02.000 for, you'll see that I can be a tool for God 00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:04.800 to be able to minister. And you want to be able 00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:07.300 to make sure that you are going out of your way. 00:49:07.300 --> 00:49:08.980 I think something happened last week where I 00:49:08.980 --> 00:49:12.340 was really concerned for a particular individual. 00:49:12.659 --> 00:49:15.420 I was praying for the individual. And then all 00:49:15.420 --> 00:49:18.000 of a sudden I was like, I got a word that this 00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:20.159 person is not saved. And all the while this person 00:49:20.159 --> 00:49:23.280 is telling me all the things and just talking. 00:49:23.480 --> 00:49:25.980 And when I asked him about it, he said, yes, 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:28.519 he was. And then only for me to ask them, okay, 00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:31.219 what is then the gospel that got you saved? And 00:49:31.219 --> 00:49:33.280 then the person is just stammering. And then 00:49:33.280 --> 00:49:36.579 I now realize that, okay, that word I got was 00:49:36.579 --> 00:49:38.960 very valid, that this individual wasn't saved. 00:49:39.780 --> 00:49:42.300 And we want to be able to really believe because 00:49:42.300 --> 00:49:44.159 there are people that show up in church and they 00:49:44.159 --> 00:49:46.820 are moving around and they are not. And you want 00:49:46.820 --> 00:49:49.079 to believe God to be able to address certain 00:49:49.079 --> 00:49:53.440 things. And it's all by believing that God is 00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:56.159 able to. do these things and is able to work 00:49:56.159 --> 00:49:58.019 it and we're able to ensure that we get people 00:49:58.019 --> 00:50:00.639 not just showing up in church because that in 00:50:00.639 --> 00:50:02.579 itself will change that person from the state 00:50:02.579 --> 00:50:07.579 of just a church attendee to someone who is equipped 00:50:07.579 --> 00:50:11.739 for service. So in 43 it says, Then fear came 00:50:11.739 --> 00:50:16.639 upon every soul and many wonders and signs were 00:50:16.639 --> 00:50:21.099 done through the apostles. Now all who believed 00:50:21.099 --> 00:50:25.099 were together. and had all things in common and 00:50:25.099 --> 00:50:28.900 sold their possessions and goods and divided 00:50:28.900 --> 00:50:34.500 them among all as many had need. So individuals 00:50:34.500 --> 00:50:38.719 were just very, were just open because once God 00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:40.940 has happened, you have people just very willing 00:50:40.940 --> 00:50:42.980 to serve others with what they have. Remember 00:50:42.980 --> 00:50:45.800 when we talked about the rich young ruler, not 00:50:45.800 --> 00:50:49.019 be saddened by just the singular fact that he 00:50:49.019 --> 00:50:53.340 was asked to give what he had to the poor. Once 00:50:53.340 --> 00:50:57.840 people are saved, they are trained, it's very 00:50:57.840 --> 00:51:01.159 easy for them to just commit to the needs of 00:51:01.159 --> 00:51:03.639 others, commit to helping others in need. So 00:51:03.639 --> 00:51:07.659 they continued daily in one accord in the temple, 00:51:07.739 --> 00:51:09.760 breaking bread from house to house, meaning that 00:51:09.760 --> 00:51:12.360 they were moving. There was that priority, moving 00:51:12.360 --> 00:51:14.219 from house to house. They were moving to where 00:51:14.219 --> 00:51:17.320 people were and ensuring that they were preaching 00:51:17.320 --> 00:51:19.920 as well. They ate their food in gladness and 00:51:19.920 --> 00:51:22.070 singleness of heart, praising the Lord. and having 00:51:22.070 --> 00:51:25.489 favor with all the people. And the Lord added 00:51:25.489 --> 00:51:28.389 to the church daily those who were being saved. 00:51:28.570 --> 00:51:31.210 Meaning that there is also the positioning that 00:51:31.210 --> 00:51:35.130 happens as a result of the expansion. There's 00:51:35.130 --> 00:51:37.090 a position in that. I thank God for the Church 00:51:37.090 --> 00:51:40.570 of NECF where we have cell meetings in house 00:51:40.570 --> 00:51:43.389 environments, in people's houses, where we want 00:51:43.389 --> 00:51:46.650 to really believe God for just how we're going 00:51:46.650 --> 00:51:48.789 to position ourselves in such a way that there 00:51:48.789 --> 00:51:51.480 are people around. that we can be able to minister 00:51:51.480 --> 00:51:54.340 to and we can be able to bring to the knowledge 00:51:54.340 --> 00:51:57.940 of the truth and then train. Because as I said 00:51:57.940 --> 00:52:01.320 on Sunday, I said, you can get someone to work, 00:52:01.659 --> 00:52:05.199 the main work is ensuring that they grow, that 00:52:05.199 --> 00:52:07.519 they are trained for the work of ministry. And 00:52:07.519 --> 00:52:10.539 that requires patience, that requires consistency, 00:52:10.619 --> 00:52:13.699 that requires the great help that God is able 00:52:13.699 --> 00:52:17.420 to supply to us. And in Timothy, 2 Timothy 2 00:52:17.420 --> 00:52:22.010 verse 2, 2 Timothy 2 verse 2. 2 Timothy 2 verse 00:52:22.010 --> 00:52:25.590 2. It says, And these things that you have heard 00:52:25.590 --> 00:52:30.150 from me, among many weaknesses, commit this to 00:52:30.150 --> 00:52:33.130 faithful men who will be able to teach others. 00:52:33.469 --> 00:52:36.449 Meaning that you want to, you're not just, the 00:52:36.449 --> 00:52:39.969 goal is that it is committed to faithful men 00:52:39.969 --> 00:52:42.889 that are able to teach others. The goal is to 00:52:42.889 --> 00:52:47.630 commit the things to the... teaching to faithful 00:52:47.630 --> 00:52:50.469 men. This is Apostle Paul commending Timothy, 00:52:50.510 --> 00:52:53.030 that he commends it to faithful men that are 00:52:53.030 --> 00:52:56.090 able to teach others. And we see Apostle Paul 00:52:56.090 --> 00:53:01.670 having, I think, he had a lot of individuals 00:53:01.670 --> 00:53:04.769 around him that ministered, that were ministers, 00:53:05.070 --> 00:53:07.090 right? That ministered to him that were ministers. 00:53:07.230 --> 00:53:11.250 I want us to see it in this passage in Acts 20. 00:53:11.630 --> 00:53:45.969 Acts 20. Acts 20, 4 -12. Tychicus and Trophimus 00:53:45.969 --> 00:53:50.989 of Asia. It says, these men had, going ahead, 00:53:51.130 --> 00:53:57.010 waited for us at Troas. But we sailed away from 00:53:57.010 --> 00:54:01.170 Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and 00:54:01.170 --> 00:54:05.349 in five days joined them at Troas where we stayed 00:54:05.349 --> 00:54:08.329 seven days. And I want us to see how the work 00:54:08.329 --> 00:54:10.610 of ministry brought people around him and then 00:54:10.610 --> 00:54:15.159 also he moved. And then you have people ministering. 00:54:15.159 --> 00:54:16.920 And we see him coming to Troas and then also 00:54:16.920 --> 00:54:21.519 ministering in Troas. Now, there's verse 7. Now 00:54:21.519 --> 00:54:24.840 on the seventh day of the week when the disciples 00:54:24.840 --> 00:54:28.719 came together to break bread. Remember we said 00:54:28.719 --> 00:54:31.340 that was a routine. They would come around, break 00:54:31.340 --> 00:54:36.099 bread, ready to depart the next day. Paul ready 00:54:36.099 --> 00:54:40.190 to depart the next day to spoke to them. and 00:54:40.190 --> 00:54:43.730 continued his message until midnight. You can 00:54:43.730 --> 00:54:46.650 imagine the time he started and he continued 00:54:46.650 --> 00:54:49.530 until midnight. There were many lamps in the 00:54:49.530 --> 00:54:53.570 upper room where they were gathered together. 00:54:54.409 --> 00:54:57.130 And in a window sat a certain young man. That 00:54:57.130 --> 00:54:59.190 is in verse 9. The window sat a certain young 00:54:59.190 --> 00:55:07.050 man. Take your course. He says, Who was sinking 00:55:07.050 --> 00:55:10.670 into a deep sleep? And I'm hoping somebody is 00:55:10.670 --> 00:55:14.190 not sinking into it deeply. He was overcome by 00:55:14.190 --> 00:55:17.989 sleep. And as Paul continued speaking, he fell 00:55:17.989 --> 00:55:23.070 down from the told story and was taken up dead. 00:55:23.190 --> 00:55:26.150 He said, I was taken up dead. But Paul went down, 00:55:26.269 --> 00:55:31.289 fell on him, and embraced him. And embracing 00:55:31.289 --> 00:55:36.369 him said, do not trouble yourselves, for his 00:55:36.369 --> 00:55:44.070 life is in him. Now when he had come up, had 00:55:44.070 --> 00:55:49.969 broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, 00:55:50.090 --> 00:55:56.190 even till daybreak, he departed. And they brought 00:55:56.190 --> 00:56:00.789 the young man in alive, and they were not a little 00:56:00.789 --> 00:56:03.829 comforted. They were not a little comforted. 00:56:03.849 --> 00:56:07.550 Now that Paul had... thought and thought and 00:56:07.550 --> 00:56:10.409 thought to tell you how what was important going 00:56:10.409 --> 00:56:12.750 back to what we said about what was most important 00:56:12.750 --> 00:56:16.610 to him. The man that slept and fell from the 00:56:16.610 --> 00:56:19.230 dust did not distract him from the work he was 00:56:19.230 --> 00:56:22.429 doing. He had gone prayed for the man and thanked 00:56:22.429 --> 00:56:25.929 God for the healing. The man did not die. The 00:56:25.929 --> 00:56:28.219 man did not die. But you want to see that even 00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:32.079 in the life of Paul, Paul prioritizes the teaching 00:56:32.079 --> 00:56:35.179 of the word and he comes in and he's an example 00:56:35.179 --> 00:56:37.639 for us where he's moving from one point to another. 00:56:37.699 --> 00:56:40.900 He spent this much time teaching and teaching 00:56:40.900 --> 00:56:44.820 and wanting to see that the disciples or the 00:56:44.820 --> 00:56:47.699 persons, the believers were equipped. And once 00:56:47.699 --> 00:56:50.139 he even goes, he takes his time to send them 00:56:50.139 --> 00:56:54.039 letters, to minister to them. They are certain 00:56:54.039 --> 00:56:55.920 individuals that he was moving around with, which 00:56:55.920 --> 00:56:59.059 one of them is Tiki Kos. I want us to see in 00:56:59.059 --> 00:57:02.280 Ephesians where he, how he refers, Ephesians 00:57:02.280 --> 00:57:07.619 6 .21, Ephesians 6 .21, Ephesians 6 .21, we see 00:57:07.619 --> 00:57:12.760 him saying, he says, but you also, that you also 00:57:12.760 --> 00:57:18.400 may know my affairs and how I am doing. Tiki 00:57:18.400 --> 00:57:21.780 Kos, a beloved... brother and faithful minister 00:57:21.780 --> 00:57:25.039 in the Lord will make all things known to you. 00:57:25.119 --> 00:57:28.260 So we have an individual that is a faithful minister 00:57:28.260 --> 00:57:31.420 that is going to help, that was helping him and 00:57:31.420 --> 00:57:34.639 ensuring that the word is spread. And in also 00:57:34.639 --> 00:57:37.460 Colossians 4, Colossians 4, verse 7, which is 00:57:37.460 --> 00:57:40.840 what we, I think we're very familiar with that 00:57:40.840 --> 00:57:43.719 passage down to 12. I'll just read it very quickly 00:57:43.719 --> 00:57:46.500 to us. We see that Tychicus was a beloved brother. 00:57:47.150 --> 00:57:50.630 faithful minister and a fellow servant with all, 00:57:50.869 --> 00:57:54.210 he said, will tell you all the news about me. 00:57:54.349 --> 00:57:58.090 And I want us to go down to 9, where he says, 00:57:58.230 --> 00:58:00.530 and Onesimus, this is another individual again, 00:58:00.710 --> 00:58:03.889 Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who 00:58:03.889 --> 00:58:08.349 is one of you. He will make known to you all 00:58:08.349 --> 00:58:11.010 the things which are happening. So these individuals 00:58:11.010 --> 00:58:13.449 are ministers and they are enabled and they are 00:58:13.449 --> 00:58:15.590 helping in the work of ministry. And then we 00:58:15.590 --> 00:58:20.010 have... 12, 12, verse 12 of that same Colossians 00:58:20.010 --> 00:58:23.170 4, Epaphras, which is, we pray this a lot in 00:58:23.170 --> 00:58:26.010 church, said, who is one of you? Same as Onesimus, 00:58:26.090 --> 00:58:27.690 who is one of you? I think during the course 00:58:27.690 --> 00:58:30.010 of the prayer, we had looked at Philemon, where 00:58:30.010 --> 00:58:32.489 he was commending Philemon, he was asking Philemon, 00:58:32.570 --> 00:58:35.469 you should show love to this person, Onesimus. 00:58:36.170 --> 00:58:38.530 He says, in 12, he said, Epaphras, who is one 00:58:38.530 --> 00:58:42.010 of you? A born servant greets you, always laboring 00:58:42.010 --> 00:58:45.559 favorably for you in prayers. that you may stand 00:58:45.559 --> 00:58:47.940 perfect and complete in all the will of God. 00:58:48.099 --> 00:58:50.420 Praise God. So we see that all these individuals 00:58:50.420 --> 00:58:53.559 are ministers. All these individuals are ministers. 00:58:53.739 --> 00:58:56.139 And in closing, I want us to look at 1 Corinthians. 00:58:56.639 --> 00:59:01.920 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. 00:59:02.440 --> 00:59:05.500 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. It says, Therefore, 00:59:05.579 --> 00:59:09.239 my beloved brother, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, 00:59:09.619 --> 00:59:13.119 immovable, always abounding in the work of the 00:59:13.119 --> 00:59:16.829 Lord. Knowing that your labor is not in vain 00:59:16.829 --> 00:59:19.869 in the Lord. Knowing that your labor is not in 00:59:19.869 --> 00:59:22.409 vain in the Lord. Knowing that your labor is 00:59:22.409 --> 00:59:25.309 not in vain in the Lord. Every minister's labor 00:59:25.309 --> 00:59:29.309 is not in vain in the Lord. Our ministry to God 00:59:29.309 --> 00:59:32.949 and to his people is what will last. Our ministry 00:59:32.949 --> 00:59:34.809 to God and his people is what will last. And 00:59:34.809 --> 00:59:36.789 we're not doing something that others before 00:59:36.789 --> 00:59:39.219 us have not done. We're not doing something that 00:59:39.219 --> 00:59:41.860 others before us have not done. We want to stay 00:59:41.860 --> 00:59:44.199 steadfast. We want to not allow distractions 00:59:44.199 --> 00:59:47.219 to stop us from doing the work. We want to stay 00:59:47.219 --> 00:59:49.159 focused. I want to believe God for strength to 00:59:49.159 --> 00:59:51.639 even do more than we're doing. I want us to just 00:59:51.639 --> 00:59:56.699 close by saying, I'm a minister of God. We're 00:59:56.699 --> 01:00:00.280 thankful you joined us today. Don't forget to 01:00:00.280 --> 01:00:03.159 subscribe so you're always connected to our latest 01:00:03.159 --> 01:00:07.010 sermons. You can also explore more about NECF 01:00:07.010 --> 01:00:10.929 on our website or follow us online. We look forward 01:00:10.929 --> 01:00:13.909 to having you with us next time. God bless.