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. Amen and amen. So I want to thank the
pastorate for the opportunity and also congratulate
the graduates. for the milestone, and we thank
God for what he's doing. And we're proud of the
graduates. We're proud of them, and we thank
God for the things he's doing, and it's just
getting started. There's more that lies ahead,
and we're not distracted. We'll keep on keeping
on. Praise God. So I think I was very appreciative
to hear a lot of us talk about, I think the graduates,
talk about the times where there were highs and
there were lows. There were highs and there were
lows. One thing that is sure is that for you
to make progress and arrive to the point where
you're done is that you keep on going. I think
in the midweek service, we said, it says never
give up. It says never give up. Never give up.
But as a minister, you will have challenging
times. You'll have difficult times. You'll have
times when things don't seem like they're working.
But one thing we must do is we must stay consistent
and stay faithful. We are not people that start
and stop. We are not people that quit. Because
if our Lord Jesus Christ had given up, we would
not be here today. Praise God. And he is working
in us to do all that he has instructed and called
us to. And we are greatly empowered and helped
by God. So just for a recap, just for those of
us that are probably just joining on a Sunday
today, the topic is ministers of God. The topic
is ministers of God, and we're looking at 2 Corinthians
6. And we say, who's a minister? We say a minister
is a person who serves. Someone is a servant.
We say it's diakonos. Someone who serves and
serves with another. And it's... The word used
for a deacon is the word used for a deacon. And
we established this teaching when we started
off by saying that our identity as ministers
is what will go forward to characterize our responsibility.
The fact that you are identified as a believer,
there's a responsibility that is demanded of
you. We say as ministers, what we do is that
we minister. You are not just here marking time.
You know, there are believers that have this
mindset or mentality that once you're saved,
next thing, heaven. No, you're saved for service.
God has redeemed you to proclaim. We say that
every believer is called to ministry. Every believer
is called to ministry. And the moment that is
etched at the back of your mind, that brings
in a sense of responsibility. And we had established
that. We said, after salvation, what should follow
is training. Those of you that had finished your
nursing, you have been trained in that field
of nursing. You spent four years. Some of you
is dentistry, Sister Christabel. A couple of
you have been trained all through that year to
be able to graduate and say you have this degree.
And the paper itself is not what qualifies you.
The whole... countless times of showing up in
class when you feel like it or when you don't
feel like it. The whole times of where you are
sleeping, but you still have to study. The hours
and hours you spend on toiling to get that done.
And as believers, we do the same. We do the same,
not for a certificate. We thank God for NECF.
We hand you a certificate. But what is more important
to us is the training that you go through that
builds you, that equips you for the work of ministry.
It helps you in the life that you have ahead.
It helps you mostly for the work of ministry
that you were called to. Praise God. And we said
this, that the priority of a believer has to
be the work of ministry. And that ministry is
the ministry of reconciliation. We see that in
the 2 Corinthians 5. It said that ministry is
the ministry of reconciliation. What we are meant
to do as ministers is that we are reconciling
men to God. We are reconciling men to God. God.
And one very key ingredient in this walk of ministry
is the local church. The local church is very
important, and I love the fact that many of you
are testifying of how, not that I say local church,
it's not the global, it's not the church online,
because I think in our sermon we discussed, I
think we had a talk about it, where we were asking
a couple of questions, and we said, what are
the reasons? Or somebody gave a scenario. What
if someone comes and says, I am following my
church back? And not that the... The hardships
that you go through here, you don't call customer
key and say, give me a word of encouragement.
There's something about when someone, there's
a one -on -one interaction. And it's not just
one person. It's like a lot of persons around
that will encourage you. You have a lot and we're
blessed with a lot of pastors that will encourage
us and strengthen us, encourage us with the word
of God, encourage us with the things that will
build us up. Praise God. And you don't want to
be, because some of us are very, you know, we
have this short fuse. It's like when we try something,
it doesn't work, we quit. We try something, it
doesn't work, we quit. We come with fire, we
come with zeal, and then it's just, we're not
consistent. And you don't make any progress,
you don't start, stop, start, stop, start, stop,
take two steps forward. 10 steps backward, and
then you feel that that is how your walk is going
to get, that's how you're going to get, you're
going to get it done. You have to, at some point
in time, realize that there's a reorientation
that has to happen here. There's a realignment
that has to happen here for you to make solid
progress and come to that point where you can
actually see that you are like a possible, you
see you have fought the fight. You have gotten
to the finish line. And on Wednesday, we say
that for you to carry out this responsibility,
you have to be single -minded. You have to have
that one thing that your eyes are locked in on.
Not many things. One thing that your eyes are
locked in on. For those of you, for the period
where you were, your eyes were locked in on the
diploma. That day when you graduate. Some of
you had even pictured yourself on that day. Picture
yourself having to throw your caps in the air.
Some of you had pictured, and those are the things
that kept you going on. Praise God. And our drive
is anchored on the price on what God has done,
what motivates us. I think we saw from the life
of David. David said, one thing have I desired.
Psalm 27, verse 4. One thing have I desired.
And we say that he started off that verse with
saying that the Lord is my light and salvation.
Meaning that he... He has a relationship that
can make him say that the Lord is my light and
salvation. And he says one thing, not many things,
one thing have I desired. Praise God. And then
we look at the life of, we looked at the situation
in Luke 10. That's what I want us to very much
touch on for the time that we have. We looked
at that. I will just brush that and then we go
into. And Pastor Victor had touched. just when
he was looking at the life of Apostle Paul, just
to emphasize the importance of how our role and
our responsibility as ministers is anchored on...
Because someone will have an opportunity to experience
God because we stood in our place of responsibility.
Our not standing in our place of responsibility
will make individuals... miss an opportunity
to encounter God. Because we have that encounter.
And there are people that will need to have that
similar encounter that we've had that brought
us to the place where we're standing. Praise
God. And in Luke 10, 42, it says, But one thing
is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part,
which will not be taken away from her. One thing
is needed, and Mary has chosen that, and we'll
be thinking to ourselves, what is that one thing?
Let's go back to 39. 39 says, And she had a sister
called Mary, that's Martha had a sister called
Mary, who sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
Who sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. It's
very important that you know that that one thing
that will not be taken away from her is that
The Word of God, the training, the learning.
And in 41, it says, after Martha had complained
and Jesus answered and said, Martha, Martha,
you are worried and troubled about many things.
And this is an encouragement to those that have
graduated. You know, you had had times where
you had worried, troubled, and then you had finished.
The worrying will continue if you don't... Focus
on one thing which is important and put your
energy. The recipe for frustration is trying
to do a lot of things at the same time. And for
her, it's a good thing. Preparing service is
very beautiful, but training is more important.
And in the Church of NEC, I'm repeating myself
because a couple of us went around and made a
week's service, and it's very important that
this drops. That your service to God is important.
But what is much more important is your training
that makes you effective in your service. What
is much more important is your training. And
to those of us that will skip on an opportunity
to be trained and will jump on an opportunity
to serve, what you are doing to yourself, you
might not see now, but you will see yourself
in the future having spent so much time in service,
but not having. progressed or grown to a place
of maturity. I was speaking to someone. I said,
I love the fact that you've taken a step to serve.
But what is much more important to us is that
you take the time to be in services. Midweek
service is important. Cell meetings are important
where we can interact much more. We give you
books to read. We say be part and parcel of the
things that the church is doing. That is being
part of a local church. Where you can be checked
on, you can be accountable. That's the point.
You can be accountable. It's very hard. You can't
even be accountable when you're online. You can't
be accountable when there's distance. The local
church is called local for a reason. It means
that it's within reach. It's where you show up.
And it's not where you choose to show up. It's
where you know it's important that you show up.
Praise God. So what is of most importance, which
we must value what is most important, which is
learning and growing. Which is learning and growing.
We need to evaluate ourselves. We need to take
time, evaluate ourselves. Sit down and think
about where you are now and where you used to
be before. Praise God. Having that time of reflecting
and... Telling yourself or sitting down and saying,
what am I doing now? Where was I before? Where
am I now? And where am I headed? Because where
you are now is just one phase. Because we're
all going somewhere, right? We're all going somewhere.
Some of you came here. Some of you are about
to leave in. And it's very important that we
look at, we think deeply about that. I said,
what makes our service effective? It's the training
that we received. And if we see through Scripture,
training was very important. And we said the
disciples themselves were trained. That's why
people could look at them and say, these men
have been with someone, and these men have been
with Jesus. So our training is as important,
more important than our service. And let me just
jump my notes to where I will... Let's read Ephesians
5, 15 to 17. Ephesians 5, 15 to 17. So it says,
let's read it from the NLT. I'll read. It says,
so be careful how you live. Don't live like fools,
but like those who are wise. Make the most of
every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act
thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants
you to do. But understand what the Lord wants
you to do. Remember I told you about wanting.
Once you understand that wanting, there's no
confusion. There's clarity. You move with precision
because you know what that wanting is. And I'll
read it from the J .B. Phillips. It says, Live
life then with a due sense of responsibility,
not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose
of life, but as those who do. I'll read that
part again. Not as men who do not know the meaning
and purpose of life, but as those who do. 16
says, Make the best use of your time, despite...
all the difficulties of this day. Don't be vague,
but firmly grasp what you know to be the will
of God. Firmly grasp what you know to be the
will of God. Know that it says that we should
make the best use of your time. And I believe
that many of us are doing that. Many of us have
done that to be able to come to this point where
we are saying, okay, this is... the phase where
we're in, we're looking forward to another thing.
It takes focus. It takes discipline. It takes
persistence. It takes consistency at doing certain
things that you probably don't like, you probably
don't enjoy, but you know that it's important
for you to get you to that point where you can
be able to say that you're living with a due
sense of responsibility. You're living life with
a due sense of responsibility. You're careful
how you live your life. You don't act. like someone
who is thoughtless, but you are thoughtful and
you are holding on to what the will of God is
for your life. And you're going to experience
challenges. And in the second Corinthians, let's
just go to the second Corinthians 6, 6 verse
4, 4, 5, 6 verse 4, 5. It says, but in all things,
we commend ourselves as ministers of God. In
all things, we commend ourselves. As ministers
of God. In patience. In tribulations. In needs.
In distresses. In strifes. In imprisonment. In
tumults. In labors. In sleeplessness. In fastings.
All of these things are things we can relate
with. Even without service. There are things
that we can relate with. Because you'll have
times when you don't sleep. Apostle Paul is telling
you these are the things that he went through
as a minister. Times where he was facing trouble.
The list goes on and on. Times where he was shipwrecked.
Disaster. Times where he was flogged. Times where
he was in prison. Times where he was mobbed.
Times where he was slaving. Times where he didn't
have... food to eat. Times where he couldn't
catch sleep. The list goes on and on, but it
didn't stop him from carrying out his responsibility.
That did not stop him. And that shouldn't stop
us as well. Praise God. That did not stop many
of us. We had times of difficulties, but it didn't
stop us from moving ahead. Because the prize
or the thing that the one who has called us is
the one who is empowering us. And we must trust
that he is there. even when it doesn't feel like
it, even when it doesn't seem like it, even when
we feel like stopping along the way or we feel
like saying, what is all this for? We always
should remember, we always should hold on to
the fact that God is faithful. The one who has
called us is faithful. The difficult times will
not stop all of a sudden. Hard times will not
stop all of a sudden. But it should not distract
us from our work as ministers. We should not
say, because things are hard, we're pursuing
something and we're neglecting what is most important.
Praise God. Because if it's important to you,
it will show. It's like I was talking to someone
and I said, if it's important to you, the way
you guard it, you can miss a midweek service
and it's important to you, you go back because
there's a recording. And then you go and read
and take notes. That shows that even though you
miss, if you had a way, you would have been there.
If you had an opportunity to be there, you wouldn't
miss it for the world because you value that
thing. And we're told to value relationships.
We're told to value our local church. We're told
to value the people that God has blessed you
with. Don't despise them because those are the
persons that will help you. You know, he was...
He was pointing to us that it was people that
helped him to let him down off the bus. In fact,
the part I wanted us to go through and see in
Acts 9 is verse 10. Acts 9 verse 10 is Ananias.
You see, now there was a certain disciple at
Damascus called Ananias. To him the Lord said
in a vision, Ananias, and he said, Here I am,
Lord. He says, Here I am, Lord. And I want you
to know that Ananias is a disciple. Ananias is
like you and I. And God calls you to a responsibility.
Your response should be, Here I am. Praise God.
11, it says, So the Lord said to him, Arise and
go to the street. Someone is praying or someone
is just in need of help. Someone is somewhere.
in need of help, and you are that person that
needs to come through for them. And there's a
call out to you to help or to reach out to someone.
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I've heard from
many about this man, how many harm he has done
to your saints in Jerusalem. 14. And he has authority
from the chief priests to bind all who call on
your name. 15. But the Lord said to him, Go,
for he is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my
name before Gentiles, kings, and the children
of Israel. For I will show him how many things
he must suffer for my name's sake. I want you
to see something that Ananias had heard news,
has heard information. And it's not like him
going to see this man is putting his life at
risk. It's putting his life in danger because
what he says here is that, see, I've heard that
this man is given authority to bind. If you are
aware of chapter 7, someone was killed, not just
bind. Stephen, this man had a responsibility
to take out Christians, and now you have an instruction
to do the unthinkable. And you want to thank
God for people like Ananias who will see or hear,
but still follow through with what God is instructing
them to do, which is minister. Praise God. And
Apostle Paul... even recounts this. He recounts
this, saying that, and he knows the things he
was going to suffer. He was shown the things
he was going to suffer. And Ananias fell through
with it. Thank God for people, ministers that
followed through with the instructions given,
and then the results that happened afterwards.
Because as Pastor Victor was saying, there's
a lot we would have missed out on. or someone
else would have been instructed to carry out
the same assignment. And at every stage, as at
the point of when he was saved, there was an
ananias. As at the point when he needed to be
integrated to a local church, there was Barnabas.
At every stage of his life, at the point when
he needed men, I think in the miracle service
we talked about Timothy, Eutychus, a couple of
other men that were around to... To serve, to
minister unto him in his time of need. Praise
God. We have all of these men. God has placed
us in so... The local church is so collective,
so inclusive, that you shouldn't be in the church
and still be isolated. You shouldn't be in the
church and still feel like you're a loner or
you're alone. God has blessed you with a family.
Make the most of the family. You can't be stranded
and still act like you have a lot. You know,
when you have a lot in your account and you're
still acting broke. You have a resource, human
resource, a lot of resource that you have here
and you don't want to... You want to make the
most of the resource that God has blessed us
with. And Ananias did that regardless of what
he has heard. And we want to discipline ourselves
to be able to hear God. And follow through with
the instructions given. Because you are going
to bring someone into something that they can't
experience without you being there. Or without
you leading them through. Because you are there.
I will just take us to first, we will close with
this. To 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. 9. It says, But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, his own special people, that you
may proclaim the praises of him who has called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
It said, You may proclaim the praises of him
who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. In Matthew 16, 18. It says the church,
ecclesia, we're called out. And we are called
out of darkness to marvelous light. And we have
a responsibility, which is to proclaim. Which
is to proclaim. Which is to tell. For this translation,
we say show. To show forth. To manifest. To demonstrate.
These are the different words that are used.
And we are God's special people. We are not ordinary
people. Jesus Christ in Matthew 5 verse 14 refers
to us as the light. We are called into his light
and we show forth his light to the world. And
we shouldn't get tired of doing our responsibility,
which is displaying, which is speaking to people
and calling them out as well. As we're called,
we're calling them out of darkness into his marvelous
light. And that call is very key. in how we go
about our daily living. We shouldn't forget who
we are. We shouldn't forget what he has done
for us. And we should also look out for an opportunity
for him to do the same to others. As a minister,
everywhere you find yourself, you're looking
for an opportunity that people will taste of
God, that people will experience God. In our
affirmations, I think our brother was talking
about how Joshua, I think even though there are
two Joshuas, I think he's Joshua, you're Joshua.
We're talking about how the affirmations are
powerful. When we say, We're winning billions
of souls. We're taking over territories and nations.
What we mean in a sense is that we're proclaiming
and bringing people into the light they were
in. That's how we take over. You know, some people
when they say take over, they mean something
else. But when we say take over, as a believer,
when you say take over, you're meaning that the
gospel will reach millions and billions of souls
and people will be snatched from darkness into
this marvelous light that we're part of. Praise
God. Light is distinct. When there's light in
a place, it's evident. There's a way light operates
that is unique from darkness. There are things
that light does that is unique from darkness.
Praise God. And we are that light. We are the
light of the world, as he says, we are a city
set on a hill. Let's not hide. Let's come out
from where we are hiding. and show forth that
light. The ministry is collective and it's every
believer's responsibility. We have a structure
of leadership that ensures that everybody is
doing their function, right? And this is where
we get developed. The local church is where people
are developed, people are built, people are discipled,
and all of this, as ministers, we're doing, making
process because there's faithfulness in the service.
We talked about accountability, we talked about
effectiveness. We talked about submission, where
you have to submit to the authority of the church
to grow. We're not raising people that are rebels.
We're raising people that are faithful. I think,
remember, I think in the midweek service, we
were talking about how Eutychus was faithful,
Timothy, faithful servant. All of these individuals
were faithful. And it's very important that we're
active in the church of God. We take that responsibility
to grow. It's very essential for us. To know
that in the church of God, there's going to be
instruction. There's going to be correction.
There's going to be accountability. All of these
things is all part of the training process. And
the goal for us is not to get people saved and
bring them to church. The goal for us is to get
them saved and train them to do likewise. Praise
God. Because now, all these graduates now, some
of you will be staying, some of you will be leaving.
Right? Some of you will stay, some of you will
live in. So the goal is for you to be trained
because you're called when you're saved, you're
called, then you are equipped, and then you are
sent out. We saw that in the time of the apostles,
persecution is what spreads them. And I said
this in the last teaching, that when they went
to those places, they were not looking for shelter
to be safe. They went and continued the work
that they are called, they were called to do.
So an encouragement to each and every one of
us. No matter where you find yourself, what should
be that one thing that you should never doubt
or motivation for is what you are called to.
Because the moment you lose that, you lose everything.
As I said, careers, degrees can fade away. You
can end, you can, whatever it is you've studied
can be outdated or something. Things like AI
now will just take, will be taking things where
they can't. But one thing that makes you relevant,
one thing that will last is what God has done
in us and is doing in us and is doing through
us. Praise God. I want us to rise to our feet
and declare these words. I'm a minister of God
winning billions of souls. I am faithfully serving
in the local church. For us that are here, the
local church is NECF, right? I am accountable
to leadership. I am accountable to leadership
in the local church. I am not afraid to preach
the gospel that gets unbelievers saved. I am
patient with that unbeliever until I get them
saved and see them grow. I want you to 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
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you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.