WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:07.580 Hi there. Welcome to NECF. We're excited to share 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:10.699 today's message with you. Don't go anywhere. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.500 Stay with us till the end for some valuable resources 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.359 to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:31.000 Amen. Praise the Lord. Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:39.619 2. From verse 42 to 47. So they continued steadfastly 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:42.359 in the apostles' doctrines and in fellowship, 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:46.780 in breaking of bread and in prayers. Then fear 00:00:46.780 --> 00:00:50.079 came over every soul. Many signs and wonders 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:53.600 were done through the apostles. Now all who believed 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.700 were together and had all things in common, and 00:00:57.700 --> 00:01:01.200 they sold their possessions. and goose and divided 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:05.700 them among themselves as anyone had needs. So 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:09.260 continually daily with one accord in the temple 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:12.439 and breaking of bread from house to house, they 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:14.959 ate their food with gladness and simplicity of 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:18.659 heart, praising God and having favor with all 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:21.319 the people. And the Lord added to the church 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.560 daily those who were being saved. Praise the 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.420 Lord. And we said that part of the things that 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:32.980 we do as After the believers' meeting, or even 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:37.280 after any meeting of God's people, is that we 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:41.500 continue in the Apostles' doctrines. We continue 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:45.980 in the things that have been taught to us. We 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:50.959 make it a part of us. We go back to the things 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.840 again to ensure that we understand them. Praise 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:55.700 the Lord. There are a lot of people that have 00:01:55.700 --> 00:02:00.109 questions. maybe you've not had this type of 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:03.390 teaching before, or you didn't understand what 00:02:03.390 --> 00:02:06.450 is going on, that there is need for you to go 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:10.289 back and to listen again, to continue in the 00:02:10.289 --> 00:02:14.349 Apostle's doctrine, to be steadfast in it, praise 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:17.669 the Lord, to not stop. Praise the Lord. To continue 00:02:17.669 --> 00:02:21.189 means to not stop, right? To be devoted to it, 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:23.990 to give yourself to the Apostles' Doctrine. It's 00:02:23.990 --> 00:02:26.530 what we see in Acts chapter 2, that they continue 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:28.550 in the Apostles' Doctrine. The things that were 00:02:28.550 --> 00:02:31.129 taught, they made it a part of their life. They 00:02:31.129 --> 00:02:34.870 allowed it to change their life, to change the 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:36.710 things that they were doing. Praise the Lord. 00:02:37.129 --> 00:02:39.310 Part of the teachings or part of the things that 00:02:39.310 --> 00:02:42.030 was being taught to them is how to fellowship 00:02:42.030 --> 00:02:45.370 together, how not to forsake the assemblies of 00:02:45.370 --> 00:02:47.909 themselves. That's why we see that they are together. 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:50.830 They ate together. They saw the things that they 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:54.129 have and they ensured that nobody had need. Praise 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:55.949 the Lord. So these are some of the teachings 00:02:55.949 --> 00:02:58.689 that came to them. And these are some of the 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:02.530 implications we see from the scriptures that 00:03:02.530 --> 00:03:05.770 these people have no need. among themselves because 00:03:05.770 --> 00:03:08.810 whenever they come together, people had enough. 00:03:08.990 --> 00:03:16.530 Praise the Lord. People had enough. So the pastors 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:19.009 took time, as I was explaining on Sunday, that 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:24.710 the pastors took time, five sessions and maybe 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:27.229 minimum of one hour, 15 minutes each or more 00:03:27.229 --> 00:03:32.069 to teach, to teach us doctrines, to teach us. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.199 the ways of God to teach us the things that we 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:39.979 need to learn. So, and for example, Pastor Victor 00:03:39.979 --> 00:03:42.680 was teaching about laying of hands, right? And 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:45.319 so many other teachings came. He didn't just, 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.680 I remember Pastor Costin was talking and he was 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.360 like, if somebody was teaching that, maybe from 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:52.599 beginning, he would just start laying hands. 00:03:53.259 --> 00:03:55.919 Praise the Lord. But we see that there was up 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.780 to four or five sessions of teachings concerning 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:02.300 a thing before the practical started. Praise 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:04.699 the Lord. Because you cannot act or you cannot 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.740 behave out of knowledge. You cannot just do it 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:10.219 because somebody says you should do it. You will 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:13.099 do it when you have the knowledge of it. Praise 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:14.960 the Lord. That's why when we see that somebody 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.519 is not speaking in tongues, we don't tell you, 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:20.899 start speaking in tongues because this is the 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:23.399 Apostles' Doctrine. Praise the Lord. This is 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:25.860 what you should do. We go through the Scriptures 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:29.579 to explain to you why... you should speak in 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.500 tongue or why speaking in tongue is part of your 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:34.839 life, praise the Lord, or part of your makeup. 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:38.120 So the pastors took time to teach us, praise 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:40.259 the Lord. So it therefore means that we also 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:43.680 need to take time to continue in the things that 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:46.860 we have been taught, praise the Lord, to continue 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:49.120 in the things that we have been taught, to go 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:51.620 back to them. If you have questions, to ensure 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:54.600 that we ask them, praise the Lord. So they took 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.779 time to teach us because knowledge comes before 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:00.779 you begin to see manifestations. Praise the Lord. 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:03.819 Or you are able to do manifestation. If you don't 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.040 have knowledge of it, you will not be able to 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:11.459 do anything. Praise the Lord. So it also tells 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:15.360 us, it also gives us a pattern that we should 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.319 follow. Praise the Lord. It gives us a pattern 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:21.100 that we should follow, that doctrines are taught 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:24.120 to edify us. And when they edify us, then we 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.519 begin to do the practical aspect of it or begin 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:30.079 to show the manifestation of it. Praise the Lord. 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:32.920 We should learn from the method that we have 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:36.620 been taught. So it encourages us to continue 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:39.939 in the apostles' doctrines, to continue in the 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:42.620 things that we have been taught. Praise the Lord. 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:45.019 And the reason why we should continue in those 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:48.860 things is so that we will know what is original. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:51.180 Praise the Lord. We saw it from on Sunday that 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:54.480 we'll know that which is true. You continue in 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:56.399 the doctrine so that you're able to distinguish 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.079 between that which is false and that which is 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:04.360 true. We continue because we want to live in 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:08.379 victory. Praise the Lord. We continue because 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:12.750 we want to live in victory. Praise the Lord. 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:18.870 And then we also learned that man is God's method 00:06:18.870 --> 00:06:24.389 and plan on the earth. Man is God's method and 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:28.829 plan on the earth. So from that teaching, I don't 00:06:28.829 --> 00:06:32.829 know if you were challenged to understand how 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:36.930 important you are in the agenda of God. Praise 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:39.230 the Lord. From that teaching, I don't know if 00:06:39.230 --> 00:06:42.420 it's... Helped you to understand how important 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:45.660 you are in the agenda of God. That the things 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:48.060 that God wants to achieve on the earth, it is 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.560 through you. Praise the Lord. It is through you. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:05.459 We also see from the teaching that Pastor Kostin 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:08.110 taught us. about spiritual experiences or some 00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:10.750 of the spiritual experiences that we should have, 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:15.009 that the believer has utterance to their advantage. 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:18.699 Praise the Lord. The believer has utterance to 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:21.740 the advantage. It is there to your advantage. 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:25.279 It is there for you unconditionally. It is there 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:28.139 for you to practicalize in it. Praise the Lord. 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:31.519 To continue in spiritual experience. So the things 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.139 that we do after the believer's meeting is to 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:37.060 continue in those spiritual experience. If you 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:38.879 are speaking in tongues just as our sister has 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.600 shared, just as our brother has shared as well. 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:44.120 They continue in the things that they have been 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.379 taught. This is a spiritual experience. They 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.120 have experienced something. They have experienced 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:52.959 the ability to pray for that long. So they continue 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.800 in it. Praise the Lord. They don't go on vacation. 00:07:56.040 --> 00:08:00.779 They don't fold their hands. But they continue 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:16.079 in it. Praise the Lord. Matthew chapter 11. Matthew 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:37.620 chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and from verse 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:43.139 1. He said, Now he came to pass, when Jesus finished 00:08:43.139 --> 00:08:46.879 commanding him. twelve disciples, that he departed 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:53.080 from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:56.919 And when John heard in prison about the work 00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:00.059 of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:04.019 to him, Are you the one coming, or do we look 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:06.960 for another? And Jesus answered and said to them, 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:11.059 Go and tell John the things which you hear and 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:14.879 see. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:18.940 are cleansed. The deaf hear, the dead are raised 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:22.139 up, and the poor, the gospel is preached to them. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:25.879 And blessed is he who is not offended because 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:30.940 of me. Praise the Lord. So, as we have been taught 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:34.879 that God is, that man is God's method on the 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.340 earth. That you are the thing, you are the person 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:41.799 that God... He hopes to accomplish this plan 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:44.580 that he has. It is you that he walks through. 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:47.720 It is you that he walks through to perform miracles, 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:51.419 to heal the sick. Praise the Lord. The song that 00:09:51.419 --> 00:09:54.519 we are singing, we heal the sick, right? We raise 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.480 the dead. It is things that should be practical 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:00.600 in our lives. Praise the Lord. It is things that 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.940 should be practical in our lives. So we continue 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:09.960 in these things. We put ourselves in the position 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:13.440 and in the place where we begin to learn or we 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.980 begin to align ourselves to these things that 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:21.320 God uses us to manifest his will and his purposes 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.559 on the earth. Praise the Lord. So we see that 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:26.740 the disciples of John came to Jesus and they 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:29.480 asked him a question. He said, are you the coming 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.460 one or do we look for another? Praise the Lord. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:35.379 Are you the coming one or do we look for another? 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:42.879 So John knows what the coming one should be like. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.720 Praise the Lord. He read it from the prophets, 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:48.559 right? There is a coming one. He prophesied about 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:51.100 it. And we said that part of the reason why the 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:53.480 Bible tells us that John is the greatest in the 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.399 kingdom of God is because he introduced the Christ. 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:01.379 Praise the Lord. He saw the Christ. He recognized 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:03.789 the Christ. Praise the Lord. The things that 00:11:03.789 --> 00:11:05.970 the prophet could not see or the things they 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:08.789 prophesied about, he saw it and he identified 00:11:08.789 --> 00:11:12.490 it and he introduced Christ to the world. Praise 00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:14.690 the Lord. And so he asked Christ the question, 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:17.789 he said, are you the coming one or do we look 00:11:17.789 --> 00:11:22.230 for another? And it's the same question that 00:11:22.230 --> 00:11:24.750 I want to ask to us. With everything that we 00:11:24.750 --> 00:11:26.669 have learned, with everything that we have learned 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:30.669 in the cataclysmos, do we need another cataclysmos? 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:37.149 Or you got what you need? Praise the Lord. Is 00:11:37.149 --> 00:11:39.809 the knowledge, is the doctrine that has been, 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:43.529 you have learned sufficient for you? Or is it 00:11:43.529 --> 00:11:47.850 enough? Do you still need to sit down and continue 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:52.629 to receive and not do anything about it? Do you 00:11:52.629 --> 00:11:54.970 still need more teaching so that you are able 00:11:54.970 --> 00:11:57.850 to do the things or you're able to align yourself 00:11:57.850 --> 00:12:00.649 in the will and the purposes of God concerning 00:12:00.649 --> 00:12:07.169 your life? Are you the one? Are you the coming 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:11.789 one or do we look for another? And so Jesus said 00:12:11.789 --> 00:12:15.649 to him to go and tell him, he said that, tell 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.190 him what you see and what you hear. He said, 00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:21.600 the blind see. And the lame walk, the leopards 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:24.419 are clean, and the dead is raised up, and the 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:27.120 poor the gospel is preached to them. Praise the 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:29.580 Lord. Does this look like the thing that Christ 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:34.960 said we are going to do? Does it look like what 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.220 Christ said that the believer is going to do? 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:46.399 Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16, verses 15 to 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:53.840 18. And he said to them, Go into all the world 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.639 and preach the gospel to every creature. He who 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.659 believes and is baptized will be saved. He who 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:04.240 does not believe will be condemned. And these 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:07.440 signs will follow those who believe. In my name 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.039 they will cast out demons. They will speak with 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.980 new tongues. They will take up sapient, and if 00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:16.720 they drink anything deadly, it will not by any 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.500 means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:21.830 and they will be recovered. They will recover. 00:13:25.529 --> 00:13:29.149 So we see here that this is what Christ says 00:13:29.149 --> 00:13:32.789 about those who believe. Praise the Lord. The 00:13:32.789 --> 00:13:35.169 same thing that he said to the disciples of John. 00:13:35.269 --> 00:13:39.830 He said, the lame walk and the blind see. The 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:43.710 gospel is preached to the poor. Praise the Lord. 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:47.970 So these signs also should follow you or would 00:13:47.970 --> 00:13:52.120 follow you, he says. who follow those who believe. 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:59.659 So if it's a question of, are you the coming 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:01.799 one or should we expect another? You say, oh, 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:05.980 this is what I'm doing. Or this is what I have 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:09.799 been doing. Praise the Lord. I've been in the 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.539 purpose of God. I've been in the plan of God. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.139 I've been in alignment to the things of God. 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:20.409 I speak in new tongues. I heal the sick. I preach 00:14:20.409 --> 00:14:25.690 the gospel. Praise the Lord. So there's no expectation 00:14:25.690 --> 00:14:28.950 for another because I'm already doing that which 00:14:28.950 --> 00:14:34.090 God has destined for me to do. I'm already doing 00:14:34.090 --> 00:14:39.750 that which God has said I am going to do. So 00:14:39.750 --> 00:14:42.830 I say that John knows by the prophet what the 00:14:42.830 --> 00:14:46.289 Christ is or who the Christ should be or what 00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:54.220 he should do. So he speaks about you that you 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:57.919 would heal the sick, that you would speak with 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.580 new tongues, that you would cast out demons. 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.659 Praise the Lord. So there is no expectation of 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:07.779 another. 1 Peter tells us that you are a choosing 00:15:07.779 --> 00:15:12.559 generation, you are a royal priesthood. He's 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.799 not just telling you things that will puff you 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:18.799 off. Oh, you know, some people will tell me, 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:23.259 you know, they will say, The word is, is it hail 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:25.559 me or something? You see somebody, you're hyping 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:28.720 them up. Hype me up, hype me up. Maybe the person 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.279 is wearing a clean dress. You're hyping the person 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.480 up. This is not a hype. Praise the Lord. It's 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.679 not what is said to make you feel good about 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:39.200 yourself. Oh, I'm a choosing generation. I'm 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.500 a royal priesthood. Praise the Lord. It is a 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:45.899 reality of your life. It is the reality of your 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:50.149 life. Like I mentioned on Sunday that If we're 00:15:50.149 --> 00:15:53.549 looking for revival, revival has come to you. 00:15:53.809 --> 00:15:57.289 Something has happened in your life. A shift 00:15:57.289 --> 00:16:02.830 has happened. Praise the Lord. A shift has happened 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:10.149 to you. A shift has happened to you. Greater 00:16:10.149 --> 00:16:17.600 work will you do. Praise the Lord. So again, 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:19.279 my sister was saying something during the prayers 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:23.580 that after what we do is to also pay attention 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:26.799 to the spiritual things or the prophecies that 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:31.539 have been said to us. Praise the Lord. The word 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:33.740 of knowledge, the prophecies, the word that came 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:37.840 to us, we should pay attention to them. So this 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.139 is what we do after a believers meeting or after 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.840 a gathering of believers is that we pay attention 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:45.700 to the things that are said. We don't despise 00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:51.460 them. Praise the Lord. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 00:16:51.460 --> 00:16:57.919 12 to 16. He said, let no one despise your youth. 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:06.279 Praise the Lord. Don't let your mind despise 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:13.740 your youth. You know, there is... Sometimes there's 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:15.819 a notion in our head that, oh, we are young people, 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.740 you know, there's still time for us to do some 00:17:18.740 --> 00:17:22.500 things. You know, let's not, as a young person 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:24.119 now, somebody sees you and they say, ah, this 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:26.000 person is on fire for God. He's going to be like, 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:31.160 I don't, let me just be, you know, let me be 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.400 somebody who goes to church, but, you know, I 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:36.599 can have some other accommodation of things. 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:42.269 Praise the Lord. Let not your mind despise your 00:17:42.269 --> 00:17:46.009 youth. Praise the Lord. Don't despise your youth. 00:17:48.170 --> 00:17:50.750 Before you start showing it and let others despise 00:17:50.750 --> 00:17:54.569 it, you first. Don't despise your youth. Praise 00:17:54.569 --> 00:17:56.809 the Lord. Don't say you are too small for these 00:17:56.809 --> 00:17:59.349 things. Praise the Lord. The word that came to 00:17:59.349 --> 00:18:01.549 you did not come to you and say you are small. 00:18:03.710 --> 00:18:08.819 Praise the Lord. We see in judges, right? We 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:11.779 see in Judges about Gideon. Judges chapter 6. 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:22.420 About Gideon. He says, and verse 12 says, The 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:24.220 angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:26.960 him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.920 valor. Praise the Lord. The Lord has called him 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.599 mighty man of valor. He's small among the smallest 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:36.079 tribe. Praise the Lord. And he's hiding. He's 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:40.789 showing weakness. By the way. He's hiding. His 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:43.529 physical state is that he's hiding for his life 00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:46.950 and he's coming out. And the Lord is saying to 00:18:46.950 --> 00:18:53.369 him, you mighty man of valor. So even the Lord 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:55.490 has not said, oh, you are such a small person. 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:59.349 You know, I see that you're afraid. No. He said 00:18:59.349 --> 00:19:03.309 to him that you are a mighty man of valor. So 00:19:03.309 --> 00:19:08.339 God sees him. Praise the Lord. So what your definition 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:12.559 of yourself is from God. We did these studies 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:17.359 that we get the revelation of ourselves through 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:23.420 Jesus. Praise the Lord. The revelation of ourselves 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:29.640 is through Jesus. So don't despise your youth. 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:34.200 And Gideon said to him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:37.160 is with us, Why then has all these things happened 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:41.539 to us? Where are all the miracles which our fathers 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:45.539 told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:48.339 from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:50.279 and delivered us to the hands of the Midianites. 00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:53.079 And the Lord said to him, Go in this might of 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:55.500 yours, and you will save Israel from the hands 00:19:55.500 --> 00:20:01.019 of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? Praise 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:04.910 the Lord. So even Gideon himself knew the things 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:07.529 of God. He knew that there's some abnormality 00:20:07.529 --> 00:20:11.690 about our state. Praise the Lord. He knew that 00:20:11.690 --> 00:20:14.490 there's something wrong about where I am. Right? 00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:16.869 In as much as, yes, I'm small. In as much as 00:20:16.869 --> 00:20:19.609 my family is the smallest. In as much as we are 00:20:19.609 --> 00:20:22.289 suffering and we are hiding and we cannot even 00:20:22.289 --> 00:20:25.210 plant. And if we plant, the Midianites will come 00:20:25.210 --> 00:20:27.150 and take it from us. Praise the Lord. They will 00:20:27.150 --> 00:20:29.650 come and destroy our crops and take it. In as 00:20:29.650 --> 00:20:32.079 much as those things are happening to you. Right? 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:34.880 He's saying that there's something off about 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.700 this. Because what our fathers have told us is 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:40.700 that God is great in this kingdom. Praise the 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.819 Lord. What our fathers have told us is that God 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:46.339 has been great in this kingdom. So how is it 00:20:46.339 --> 00:20:50.759 that we are suffering? So in the mind that he's 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.339 going is in the mind that he knows that we are 00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:57.059 not supposed to be there. Praise the Lord. So 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.960 the strength that he's going on is he's going 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:01.660 in the strength that he knows that something 00:21:01.660 --> 00:21:04.059 is off and we are not supposed to be where we 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:09.539 are. Praise the Lord. So God sees you for who 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:14.859 you are. So do not despise your youth. Do not 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:19.099 say you are too small. Do not say you are the 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.819 firstborn of your family. Maybe they will say 00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:23.259 you have carry Christian things in your head. 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:29.369 Praise the Lord. Do not say there is nothing 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:35.410 for me to do. He said, you mighty man of valor, 00:21:35.569 --> 00:21:38.890 a man who is hiding. Let's go back to Timothy, 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:48.710 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 12 to 16. He said, 00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:51.170 let no one despise your youth, but be an example 00:21:51.170 --> 00:21:56.390 to the believers in word, in conduct, in love. 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:59.859 In spirit, in faith. Praise the Lord. He said, 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:02.660 do not let anyone despise your youth. Right? 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:04.779 What he's saying is that you should be a believer. 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:09.039 Be a believer. Praise the Lord. Be my child. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:12.019 The list he's giving here is what a believer 00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:14.740 has or what a believer, the traces or what we 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:19.380 can see in a believer. But be an example in word, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.960 in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.759 purity. Till I come, give attention to reading 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:33.259 and exaltation and to doctrine. He said, Do not 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:36.319 neglect the gift of God that is in you, which 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:39.279 was given to you by the prophecies with the laying 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:45.920 of hands of the eldership. Meditate on these 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.240 things. Give yourself entirely to them, that 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.759 your progress may be evident to all. He said, 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:55.539 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue 00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:58.579 in them, for in doing this, you will save both 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:01.200 yourself and to those who hear you. Praise the 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:11.400 Lord. Let's go to verses 13. 14 run. He said, 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:13.859 do not neglect the gift of gold that is in you, 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:16.859 which was given to you by the prophecies with 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:20.099 the laying of the hands of the eldership. Praise 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:22.839 the Lord. He said, do not neglect them. So the 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:26.140 prophecies that came to you, As a result of your 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:29.640 prayers, as a result of the cathartismus, rather, 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.359 as a result of the prayers that we had here, 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:36.579 is to do not neglect them. Don't say they are 00:23:36.579 --> 00:23:38.400 too big. How are we supposed to achieve this? 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.980 Or you have received so many words in the past 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:42.380 before, you know, they said you're going to be 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:45.039 a pastor. You know, they told me that three years 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.980 ago, four years ago. I'm still here, still struggling. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:52.200 Praise the Lord. You say you don't neglect them. 00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:55.799 How do you not neglect these things? How do you 00:23:55.799 --> 00:24:00.059 not neglect these things? How you don't neglect 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:03.420 them is that you pray about them. Praise the 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:06.079 Lord. How you don't neglect them is that you 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:09.380 have it written down. Praise the Lord. You have 00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:17.339 it written down and you pray about them. The 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:19.539 fact that there is a prophecy that came to your 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:23.380 life does not mean that it would automatically 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:26.980 flow. And go and you will start walking in it. 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:32.480 Praise the Lord. You have to pay attention. You 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.480 have to pay attention to the things that have 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:37.460 been said concerning your life. The prophecies 00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:40.119 that came upon your life. You have to give attention 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:44.920 to them. You have to pray about them. You have 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:50.799 to meditate on them. You have to practice them. 00:24:53.669 --> 00:24:56.930 Praise the Lord. You need to get direction consigning 00:24:56.930 --> 00:24:59.789 some of them. And so you need to pray about them. 00:25:00.210 --> 00:25:03.170 You need to seek the face of God consigning some 00:25:03.170 --> 00:25:08.269 of the things that you have received. If the 00:25:08.269 --> 00:25:14.549 Lord is saying to you that he is going to, or 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.250 somebody, you know, the Lord is saying to somebody 00:25:17.250 --> 00:25:20.470 that you are, you're going to preach or you're 00:25:20.470 --> 00:25:24.500 going to be a preacher. And then where you are 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:28.799 right now, you don't know any Greek word, for 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:34.180 example. You don't say, ah, they told me something 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:37.220 that is too big for me. Praise the Lord. It means 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:39.839 that you need to seek counsel and get direction 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:42.200 concerning what you should do. It means that 00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:44.099 you need to start learning. You need to come 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:47.220 under training. Praise the Lord. You need to 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:49.539 come under training so that the things that were 00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:52.880 said concerning you will begin to find manifestation. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:57.119 Praise the Lord. You need to find, so you don't 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.319 just run off and start. I remember a preacher 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:02.539 was saying that, God was saying to him that you, 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:06.619 he's going to, you're going to make friends with 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:09.259 some people and that is going to be for the kingdom. 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:12.480 Right? And he just took off and started making 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:16.039 friends. Praise the Lord. He did not ask for 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:19.299 which friends should we make or who are the people 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:20.940 that you are sending me to that we're going to 00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:24.359 be friends, that is going to help us or is going 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:27.660 to help me, that I'm going to partner with that 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:29.819 will progress this kingdom. He just took off 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:31.980 and said, oh, okay, I see that preacher. I see 00:26:31.980 --> 00:26:34.359 this preacher. Okay, let's be friends. Praise 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:36.559 the Lord. But then he later found out that those 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.079 are not the people that he should be friends 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.859 with because they were going to cause him issues 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:44.200 and problems. So when the Lord is saying something 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:46.900 to you or has said something to you, you're confused 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:49.619 or it's too ambiguous or it's too big, you need 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:51.220 to start praying about them. You need to start 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:53.579 seeking counsel about them. What am I supposed 00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:57.259 to do now? Praise the Lord. What am I supposed 00:26:57.259 --> 00:27:01.119 to do now? How do I go about it? Don't leave 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:04.359 it in the back of your book and maybe somebody 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:07.019 else again will come and tell you after one year, 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:08.819 the Lord is saying this thing. You now say, ah, 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:11.119 they have told me this thing before, but you 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:13.799 are waiting for it. Praise the Lord. You start 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:16.599 walking in it. You start finding alignment. You 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:19.480 start aligning yourself to the things that were 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:24.220 said. You don't wait for it. Praise the Lord. 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:26.500 You don't wait for those things to come and meet 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:38.640 you. Or maybe somebody is You are living the 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:40.059 way you should not live and they ask you, what 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:41.619 are you doing like this? Do you not know the 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:43.480 Lord has said I'll be a preacher? Why are you 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:50.420 talking to me like this? Praise the Lord. And 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:53.619 so that's where the church then comes in to help 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:57.339 us. Praise the Lord. This is where the church 00:27:57.339 --> 00:28:01.660 comes in to help us. I started on Sunday talking 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:04.759 about the family of God. I was talking about 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:10.279 Why the Lord has given us the local church. Praise 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:13.099 the Lord. Why the Lord has given us the local 00:28:13.099 --> 00:28:16.180 church. And I said that the local church is God's 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:20.119 structure for your spiritual growth. Praise the 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.599 Lord. The local church is God's structure for 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:29.019 your spiritual growth. It is what God has designed 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:31.920 that you grow, that you find direction, that 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:38.809 you find family. It is where you learn how to 00:28:38.809 --> 00:28:42.809 function. Right? In the local church, it's where 00:28:42.809 --> 00:28:45.450 you follow the instructions and the directions 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:48.789 of the pastors because this is what God has designed 00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:52.430 for you, for your growth. They will guide you. 00:28:54.150 --> 00:29:01.829 And I said to us not to be careful not to join 00:29:01.829 --> 00:29:04.789 those who are saying many bad things about the 00:29:04.789 --> 00:29:07.910 church. That a local church might not be perfect, 00:29:08.029 --> 00:29:10.970 or it might not be as you think it should be, 00:29:11.230 --> 00:29:13.490 but it doesn't mean that you should be speaking 00:29:13.490 --> 00:29:16.430 bad about it. Praise the Lord. Because this is 00:29:16.430 --> 00:29:18.910 God's design for your growth. There are some 00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:20.890 people that have used it for their own benefit. 00:29:21.289 --> 00:29:23.450 Praise the Lord. But it doesn't mean that God 00:29:23.450 --> 00:29:25.829 is not interested again in the local church. 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:32.349 Praise the Lord. So to give yourself to the local 00:29:32.349 --> 00:29:41.140 church as a place of training. So we must be 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:43.900 planted again in a local church because that's 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:49.700 where we learn how to function. Right? We cannot 00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:53.519 grow when we have divided commitment. You are 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:56.660 in this church. You are in that church. Your 00:29:56.660 --> 00:30:00.339 mom is Anglican. Your father is Catholic. You 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:01.900 say, okay, let's go to Catholic this Sunday. 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:04.400 Anglican the next Sunday. You will not grow. 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:08.819 Praise the Lord. Oh, okay. I'm here in NECF. 00:30:09.289 --> 00:30:12.690 I am somewhere online. That's my church too. 00:30:12.910 --> 00:30:15.170 You know, some Sundays I might not come because, 00:30:15.230 --> 00:30:17.450 you know, my church is holding something online. 00:30:17.569 --> 00:30:19.930 You will not grow. Praise the Lord. There will 00:30:19.930 --> 00:30:22.930 be a lot of confusion in your life because the 00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:26.450 church then has a structure or have a plan for 00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:30.490 your growth. Praise the Lord. The church, the 00:30:30.490 --> 00:30:36.130 local church has a plan for you to grow. They 00:30:36.130 --> 00:30:39.019 don't just say, okay, on Sunday, you know. As 00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:40.660 the Lord is leading, you just preach anything. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:44.180 Praise the Lord. At least we don't do that. To 00:30:44.180 --> 00:30:48.640 just say, okay, yeah, just preach anything. Praise 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:50.920 the Lord. Or just say anything that comes to 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:53.200 your mind, you know. Or, you know, what studies 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:55.960 do you think we should do next? Praise the Lord. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:58.920 So there's already a plan consigning your growth. 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:02.099 So when you begin to have those divided commitments, 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:08.200 you will not be able to grow properly. So to 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:11.799 hear one thing is how to grow, right? Not many 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:18.519 things. So you grow by hearing one thing. You 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:23.539 grow by hearing one thing, not many things, as 00:31:23.539 --> 00:31:25.700 a result of the fact that you have access to 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:30.099 the social media. We cannot grow like that. We 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:35.019 cannot have a lot of commitment and grow spiritually. 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:44.640 Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:59.319 10 verse 38. Now it happened as they went that 00:31:59.319 --> 00:32:03.059 he entered a certain village and a woman named 00:32:03.059 --> 00:32:08.039 Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:13.000 a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:17.920 feet and had his word. But Martha was distracted 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:22.920 with many servings, and she approached him and 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:26.279 said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:29.799 left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:34.000 help me. And Jesus said to her, Martha, Martha, 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:38.019 you're worried? and troubled about many things. 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:42.839 But one thing indeed, one thing is needed. And 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:46.119 Mary has chosen the good part, which will not 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.579 be taken away from her. Praise the Lord. Which 00:32:50.579 --> 00:32:54.160 will not be taken away from her. So what Martha 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:58.099 was doing was very important. Right? What Martha 00:32:58.099 --> 00:33:00.220 was doing was very important. It's a very important 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:05.160 thing to do, to serve, to... serve in the house 00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:08.019 of God or in the local church, as you say. It 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:10.400 is a good thing to serve, right? But she was 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:14.380 worried about many things. She was worried about 00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:21.440 serving, helping. In our case, listening to many 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:24.740 things or not being committed to a local church 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:27.640 is the troubles and the worries that you might 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:31.940 have. Praise the Lord. So in our case, listening 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:36.440 to many things and not following, not being committed 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:39.880 to a local church is a thing that will become 00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:42.119 the trouble and the worries that you are having. 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:44.940 Praise the Lord, or you might have. Praise the 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:47.859 Lord. And he said, if you sit, he said Mary sat 00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:53.460 in verse 39. He says, and she had a sister called 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:56.279 Mary who also sat at Jesus' feet and had his 00:33:56.279 --> 00:33:59.970 reward. So sat at Jesus' feet. It's not just 00:33:59.970 --> 00:34:03.230 talking about that what sat at Jesus' feet. It's 00:34:03.230 --> 00:34:07.690 not, it's just merely a geographical location. 00:34:08.449 --> 00:34:11.889 Okay? So it's not, it's not merely that she sat 00:34:11.889 --> 00:34:15.289 on the floor. Praise the Lord. Right? But rather, 00:34:15.469 --> 00:34:23.929 it is that she gave herself to trading. Praise 00:34:23.929 --> 00:34:28.670 the Lord. So, Sat at Jesus' feet that Mary did 00:34:28.670 --> 00:34:32.469 is not just that she's physically sitting at 00:34:32.469 --> 00:34:36.630 Jesus' feet. Just like every person is seated 00:34:36.630 --> 00:34:40.010 in church, but not every person is given to training. 00:34:40.610 --> 00:34:44.590 Praise the Lord. So, sat at Jesus' feet is much 00:34:44.590 --> 00:34:48.090 more than that. That word, sat at Jesus' feet, 00:34:48.150 --> 00:34:50.829 is just more than that. It means to give yourself 00:34:50.829 --> 00:34:56.090 to training. So Mary gave herself to the training 00:34:56.090 --> 00:35:02.909 that Jesus is doing. Praise the Lord. Mary gave 00:35:02.909 --> 00:35:06.309 herself to the training in which Jesus was given. 00:35:06.409 --> 00:35:09.170 So the church is where you give yourself to training. 00:35:10.710 --> 00:35:13.710 The local church is where you give yourself to 00:35:13.710 --> 00:35:18.510 training. We also see in Acts chapter 22 verse 00:35:18.510 --> 00:35:39.750 3. He said, and he said, I indeed am a Jew born 00:35:39.750 --> 00:35:50.210 in Tharsis of Sicilia, no, Silesia, right? But 00:35:50.210 --> 00:35:55.409 I was brought up at the city at the feet of Gamaliel, 00:35:55.610 --> 00:35:59.409 right? So we also see this place. I was brought 00:35:59.409 --> 00:36:02.750 up at the city at the feet of Gamaliel. It's 00:36:02.750 --> 00:36:05.369 also saying that he gave himself to training. 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.239 Right? Taught according to the strictness of 00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:11.780 our father's law and was zealous towards God 00:36:11.780 --> 00:36:18.360 as you all are today. Praise the Lord. So, brought 00:36:18.360 --> 00:36:20.639 up at the city, at the feet of Gamaliel, he's 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:24.440 saying that he gave himself to training. It's 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:28.159 the same word that we see in Luke chapter 10, 00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:31.679 verse 38, 39. Right? So, he's giving himself 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:34.960 to a mentorship. So the church is where you give 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:37.880 yourself to training. Praise the Lord. You give 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:43.659 yourself to be trained. So it therefore means 00:36:43.659 --> 00:36:49.619 that you are not the one that designed the curriculum. 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.480 Praise the Lord. So you don't design the curriculum. 00:36:53.619 --> 00:36:57.480 You give yourself to be trained. So the local 00:36:57.480 --> 00:37:01.500 assembly brings structure to your life. Right? 00:37:03.150 --> 00:37:05.349 It brings structure to your life. It's a place 00:37:05.349 --> 00:37:09.909 of mentorship. You should not be just everywhere. 00:37:10.309 --> 00:37:14.110 Praise the Lord. You give yourself to training. 00:37:15.190 --> 00:37:17.489 And so that's why I gave the example of last 00:37:17.489 --> 00:37:19.929 week that if you're thinking about the subject 00:37:19.929 --> 00:37:23.070 of anointing and we are dealing with something 00:37:23.070 --> 00:37:26.269 else, the gospel in Genesis, you might have to 00:37:26.269 --> 00:37:29.250 wait for anointing to reach you. Praise the Lord. 00:37:29.269 --> 00:37:31.289 The teaching of anointing to reach you because 00:37:31.289 --> 00:37:35.170 that's the structure that it is right now. You 00:37:35.170 --> 00:37:38.630 cannot tell your teacher that he's teaching you 00:37:38.630 --> 00:37:43.210 a subject at the beginning of the seventh stanza. 00:37:43.250 --> 00:37:46.050 You want to learn what is before finals. Praise 00:37:46.050 --> 00:37:47.409 the Lord. He should teach you what is beyond 00:37:47.409 --> 00:37:50.929 before finals. So there's a structure that the 00:37:50.929 --> 00:37:53.730 church brings to your life. Praise the Lord. 00:37:54.570 --> 00:37:58.570 You cannot do everything at once. You will not 00:37:58.570 --> 00:38:00.769 just learn everything at once. It comes gradually. 00:38:00.909 --> 00:38:03.429 That's how you get impacted with knowledge. That's 00:38:03.429 --> 00:38:08.070 how you grow. It is that things are done gradually. 00:38:09.789 --> 00:38:14.250 So the church brings order in a systematic way 00:38:14.250 --> 00:38:16.269 to your life. It is not a place of entertainment. 00:38:17.349 --> 00:38:19.820 Praise the Lord. So there's people that will 00:38:19.820 --> 00:38:21.059 say, ah, this is your church service. They're 00:38:21.059 --> 00:38:24.780 not dancing too much or they're not bringing 00:38:24.780 --> 00:38:28.360 comedians. It's not a place, you're not the custodian. 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:31.519 Praise the Lord. It's not a place of entertainment. 00:38:35.639 --> 00:38:40.260 So it's not, the growth in the church is not 00:38:40.260 --> 00:38:43.380 from human perspective. You don't say, you know, 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:46.969 as young people. We need some few jokes around, 00:38:47.170 --> 00:38:49.849 some entertainment here and there, some drama 00:38:49.849 --> 00:38:51.949 here and there, some dancing here and there, 00:38:52.110 --> 00:38:54.309 some performance in the stage. We need to bring 00:38:54.309 --> 00:38:58.110 a comedian, you know, something like this. Praise 00:38:58.110 --> 00:39:00.929 the Lord. So it's not, the church is not, the 00:39:00.929 --> 00:39:03.309 growth that happens is not to your own perspective. 00:39:03.949 --> 00:39:06.949 Praise the Lord. That's why it's a place of training. 00:39:09.170 --> 00:39:13.440 It's also not a place where you go. To get pleased. 00:39:13.460 --> 00:39:15.260 The way you go and say, let me please myself. 00:39:15.659 --> 00:39:18.539 Like the way an entertainment place is. Or a 00:39:18.539 --> 00:39:19.980 place where you say you want to go and shine. 00:39:20.619 --> 00:39:23.699 Praise the Lord. A lot of people that came to 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:27.139 shine, some of them have left. Praise the Lord. 00:39:27.539 --> 00:39:34.750 It's a place of training. So the local church 00:39:34.750 --> 00:39:37.550 provides stability to the believer, stability 00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:40.869 to your prayer life, right? And supernatural 00:39:40.869 --> 00:39:43.969 experiences, just like the way we had catatismus, 00:39:44.210 --> 00:39:48.750 just like the way we had all day prayers. It 00:39:48.750 --> 00:39:52.989 brings stability to your prayer life, to supernatural 00:39:52.989 --> 00:39:56.429 experiences. We organize believers conference. 00:39:56.670 --> 00:39:59.099 We organize a Holy Ghost meeting. Praise the 00:39:59.099 --> 00:40:02.920 Lord. The church brings these things to bring 00:40:02.920 --> 00:40:06.059 stability to your life. Right? We have time for 00:40:06.059 --> 00:40:08.260 prayers. Just like in this service, there was 00:40:08.260 --> 00:40:11.119 50 minutes of prayers. Praise the Lord. So we 00:40:11.119 --> 00:40:14.280 have all these things to ensure that the believer 00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:17.019 is stable and is growing. There's time for evangelism. 00:40:17.139 --> 00:40:21.860 There's time to serve. Praise the Lord. So by 00:40:21.860 --> 00:40:25.320 listening to many people or many things, you 00:40:25.320 --> 00:40:28.599 begin to lack stability. Praise the Lord. Because 00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:30.619 what is said here might be different from what 00:40:30.619 --> 00:40:33.400 is said there. Praise the Lord. And you are getting 00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:36.219 a little from here and there. So when you stick 00:40:36.219 --> 00:40:38.639 to the local church, you will gradually begin 00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:42.019 to grow. Praise the Lord. When you stick to the 00:40:42.019 --> 00:40:44.400 local church, you will gradually begin to grow. 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:48.599 So you focus more on what is happening in your 00:40:48.599 --> 00:40:51.659 local church, not in the body of Christ. Praise 00:40:51.659 --> 00:40:54.719 the Lord. Focus more on what is happening in 00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:59.449 this local church. not what is happening in the 00:40:59.449 --> 00:41:03.010 body of Christ. If you focus more on what's happening 00:41:03.010 --> 00:41:05.909 in your local church, there will be much more 00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:09.429 growth. Praise the Lord. Because you might see 00:41:09.429 --> 00:41:11.949 somebody that you, you know, according to you, 00:41:11.989 --> 00:41:14.349 the person is misbehaving, but there might be 00:41:14.349 --> 00:41:15.909 somebody in your local church that is showing 00:41:15.909 --> 00:41:19.309 you signs and some symptoms. Praise the Lord. 00:41:19.469 --> 00:41:21.510 If you don't focus on that person, you will grow 00:41:21.510 --> 00:41:23.909 up to become one of those people that will bring 00:41:23.909 --> 00:41:28.469 much more problems. Praise the Lord. So you focus 00:41:28.469 --> 00:41:30.710 more on what is happening in your local church. 00:41:30.969 --> 00:41:32.730 Lord, what are they doing there? They are not 00:41:32.730 --> 00:41:34.969 even praying. They are not even singing. They 00:41:34.969 --> 00:41:36.949 are not even teaching the word. Focus more on 00:41:36.949 --> 00:41:39.409 what is happening in your local church so that 00:41:39.409 --> 00:41:45.829 you grow. 2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 00:41:45.829 --> 00:41:55.550 2, verses 1 to 2. He said, You, therefore, my 00:41:55.550 --> 00:41:58.510 son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ 00:41:58.510 --> 00:42:02.409 Jesus, and the things which you have had from 00:42:02.409 --> 00:42:06.769 me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful 00:42:06.769 --> 00:42:10.949 men who will be able to teach others. Praise 00:42:10.949 --> 00:42:16.409 the Lord. Commit these things to faithful men 00:42:16.409 --> 00:42:20.269 who will be able to teach others. So the one 00:42:20.269 --> 00:42:22.650 thing about the local church is that it has people 00:42:22.650 --> 00:42:26.010 that think alike. Praise the Lord. For example, 00:42:26.090 --> 00:42:28.250 they say, let's rejoice. Everybody here understands 00:42:28.250 --> 00:42:31.610 what it means to rejoice. So the local church 00:42:31.610 --> 00:42:35.769 gives you this opportunity to think alike, to 00:42:35.769 --> 00:42:39.809 behave in certain ways. So you share in common 00:42:39.809 --> 00:42:43.130 things. You share the same thing. You share the 00:42:43.130 --> 00:42:54.110 same word. He said, the same thing you should 00:42:54.110 --> 00:42:56.829 commit to faithful men. He said, the things which 00:42:56.829 --> 00:43:02.070 you have heard from me, among many witnesses, 00:43:02.250 --> 00:43:04.150 commit these things to faithful men who will 00:43:04.150 --> 00:43:06.869 be able to teach others. How do you know a faithful 00:43:06.869 --> 00:43:09.730 man? Praise the Lord. You know a faithful man 00:43:09.730 --> 00:43:13.449 from a local church. Praise the Lord. You know 00:43:13.449 --> 00:43:15.809 a faithful man from a local church. And because 00:43:15.809 --> 00:43:20.329 this man is being around, he's in the local church, 00:43:20.510 --> 00:43:25.110 he's able to commit these things to many other 00:43:25.110 --> 00:43:27.730 people because he has had the same thing. He 00:43:27.730 --> 00:43:29.909 has received the same thing. Praise the Lord. 00:43:31.030 --> 00:43:33.269 So because he's been in a place of training, 00:43:33.510 --> 00:43:36.909 he's able to pass these things on to faithful 00:43:36.909 --> 00:43:53.789 men. Praise the Lord. Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 00:43:53.789 --> 00:44:01.090 1, verse 1 to 4. Inasmuch as many have taken 00:44:01.090 --> 00:44:07.710 in hand to set in order a narrative of the things 00:44:07.710 --> 00:44:11.650 which have been fulfilled among us, just as those 00:44:11.650 --> 00:44:14.289 who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and 00:44:14.289 --> 00:44:18.789 ministers of the Word deliver them to us, it 00:44:18.789 --> 00:44:22.340 seems good to me also Having had perfect understanding 00:44:22.340 --> 00:44:25.420 of all these things, from the very start, to 00:44:25.420 --> 00:44:29.460 write to you an orderly account, most excellent 00:44:29.460 --> 00:44:33.900 Theophilus. Praise the Lord. So he had had the 00:44:33.900 --> 00:44:37.920 same thing. He has been among them. Praise the 00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:43.519 Lord. So he can, he can, he can, we can say that 00:44:43.519 --> 00:44:46.019 he's a faithful man because he has been among 00:44:46.019 --> 00:44:50.090 the same set of people. He's not going to write 00:44:50.090 --> 00:44:52.730 something else to Theophilus. Praise the Lord. 00:44:53.349 --> 00:44:56.110 He's not going to write something else to Theophilus 00:44:56.110 --> 00:44:59.250 because he has been among the happenings that 00:44:59.250 --> 00:45:02.570 are happening around. So he's going to write, 00:45:02.710 --> 00:45:04.670 the thing he's going to write is not going to 00:45:04.670 --> 00:45:06.869 be contradictory to the things that has been 00:45:06.869 --> 00:45:12.090 taught. Praise the Lord. So Luke is a faithful 00:45:12.090 --> 00:45:15.909 man. It's the same thing that Jesus tells us, 00:45:15.969 --> 00:45:23.530 right? In Matthew 28, verse 20. Matthew 28, verse 00:45:23.530 --> 00:45:29.050 20. It's teaching them all the things I've commanded 00:45:29.050 --> 00:45:31.949 you and know I'm with you always to the end, 00:45:32.010 --> 00:45:34.369 even to the end of the age. Amen. It's teaching 00:45:34.369 --> 00:45:37.670 them to observe all the things I've commanded 00:45:37.670 --> 00:45:39.710 you. Praise the Lord. Do you know what Jesus 00:45:39.710 --> 00:45:44.809 is saying to them? I know that you have learned 00:45:44.809 --> 00:45:47.730 everything I've commanded you. Praise the Lord. 00:45:47.889 --> 00:45:50.630 You're not going to water down the things I've 00:45:50.630 --> 00:45:53.590 taught you. Praise the Lord. Because you have 00:45:53.590 --> 00:45:55.769 been in a place of training, because you have 00:45:55.769 --> 00:45:58.070 been with me all this while, because you have 00:45:58.070 --> 00:46:01.650 been in a local church. Praise the Lord. You're 00:46:01.650 --> 00:46:03.449 not going to water down the things that you're 00:46:03.449 --> 00:46:05.929 going to command them. It's all the things I've 00:46:05.929 --> 00:46:08.449 commanded you. So these men are faithful men 00:46:08.449 --> 00:46:11.130 that have received, that have been trained. Praise 00:46:11.130 --> 00:46:14.780 the Lord. So a faithful man is a man who has 00:46:14.780 --> 00:46:18.639 received training, right? Who has received training. 00:46:18.719 --> 00:46:21.219 A man who has received training, who has been 00:46:21.219 --> 00:46:25.800 in the local church. One who is safe, right? 00:46:25.880 --> 00:46:29.840 Who gives himself to the message. And he teaches 00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:31.960 others the same thing that he's been taught. 00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:35.820 Praise the Lord. He's not trying to add some 00:46:35.820 --> 00:46:40.019 spices to it. He's trying to add his own doctrines 00:46:40.019 --> 00:46:42.900 to it. Praise the Lord. He's a man that I received. 00:46:43.159 --> 00:46:45.599 The way he received it is the same way he's going 00:46:45.599 --> 00:46:49.260 to deliver it. Praise the Lord. So these are 00:46:49.260 --> 00:47:01.400 faithful men. Deliver it unto them. So we should 00:47:01.400 --> 00:47:04.460 not be people that have information about many 00:47:04.460 --> 00:47:07.519 things but have no depth about these things. 00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:11.000 That's what the local church comes to. do for 00:47:11.000 --> 00:47:13.619 us. He comes to bring stability to our life. 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:17.460 He comes to commit the word of truth to us so 00:47:17.460 --> 00:47:20.280 that we're able to commit it to others. Praise 00:47:20.280 --> 00:47:22.679 the Lord. You have two years or one year here. 00:47:22.920 --> 00:47:25.400 Praise the Lord. And when you are done, it is 00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:27.940 expected that you're supposed to commit the same 00:47:27.940 --> 00:47:31.179 thing that you learned. Not a watered down thing. 00:47:31.739 --> 00:47:35.360 Okay? Lord, they say, okay, come and preach laying 00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:38.860 of hands. You now say, if I just lay hands on 00:47:38.860 --> 00:47:42.269 you now, you fall. Praise the Lord. It means 00:47:42.269 --> 00:47:44.650 laying of hands is when you touch somebody's 00:47:44.650 --> 00:47:47.130 forehead, you fall. That's not what you were 00:47:47.130 --> 00:47:51.849 taught. They took four or five sessions to teach 00:47:51.849 --> 00:47:55.070 you and two hours message. And then you just 00:47:55.070 --> 00:47:58.550 came and said, come and receive it. Praise the 00:47:58.550 --> 00:48:02.429 Lord. So, to be faithful men. So, the church 00:48:02.429 --> 00:48:06.050 helps us to be faithful men. Praise the Lord. 00:48:08.719 --> 00:48:12.119 The church gives us the platform to receive the 00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:14.400 word of righteousness so that we are able to 00:48:14.400 --> 00:48:17.320 commit it onto other people, so that we are able 00:48:17.320 --> 00:48:20.460 to teach it to other people. Praise the Lord. 00:48:21.360 --> 00:48:25.960 So that's what we do after Catholicism. Praise 00:48:25.960 --> 00:48:30.099 the Lord. We stay in the local church. So I just 00:48:30.099 --> 00:48:33.000 want us to take some time now. The mic is still 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:34.860 on. We're just going to pray for this house. 00:48:35.280 --> 00:48:38.420 We're going to pray for this church. Okay? And 00:48:38.420 --> 00:48:40.579 we're going to give word consigning this church. 00:48:41.280 --> 00:48:43.679 Praise the Lord. In the next 10 minutes, we're 00:48:43.679 --> 00:48:46.900 going to pray consigning NECF. And we're going 00:48:46.900 --> 00:48:50.119 to give word consigning NECF. The secretaries 00:48:50.119 --> 00:48:53.139 are very active and available to receive this 00:48:53.139 --> 00:48:57.099 word. And the mics are on for us to receive this 00:48:57.099 --> 00:48:59.639 word. So for the next 10 minutes, I just want 00:48:59.639 --> 00:49:04.289 us to begin to pray for this church. Pray for 00:49:04.289 --> 00:49:07.030 the leaders of this church, especially the lead 00:49:07.030 --> 00:49:09.309 pastor of this church. Praise the Lord. And we're 00:49:09.309 --> 00:49:11.849 going to receive word for this local church. 00:49:12.070 --> 00:49:34.539 Let's just be on our feet. If today's message 00:49:34.539 --> 00:49:37.900 was a blessing, share it with a friend. Till 00:49:37.900 --> 00:49:39.639 next time, be blessed.