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. Father Lord, we thank you. We give
you praise. We give you adoration. Thank you
for another opportunity to gather before you
today to hear from you, to fellowship with one
another. Pray that you bless us. Pray that you
strengthen us. In the mighty name of Jesus, we
pray. Amen. Let's have our seats. Mark chapter
16. Mark chapter 16. He started looking at the
minister. He started looking at the minister.
We're going to continue in that Mark chapter
16. From verse 15 and 16. He says, And he said
to them, Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. He who believes and
is baptized will be saved, for he who does not
believe will be condemned. And this sign shall
follow those who believe. In my name they shall
cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues,
they will take up serpents, and if they drink
anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.
They will lay hands on the sick and they will
recover. Praise the Lord. And we started establishing
that God has called us to preach the gospel.
God has called us to preach the gospel. And that
the scope of the gospel is not restricted to
a particular people. It is not restricted to
a particular nation. It is not based on economic
values of people. It is not based on anything
that we can think about or that every man needs
to be saved. It is God's desire that all men
come to the knowledge of Him. Praise the Lord.
It is God's desire that everybody, that every
man is saved. This is the yearning of God. So
he tells us to go into all the world. Praise
the Lord. To go into all the world. And we looked
at how Jesus chose his disciples and how he called
them together. And he trained them and told them
to go and become fishers of men rather than...
in the in the seas fishing praise the lord he
changed their occupation as a result of associating
with him praise the lord so they should go out
and preach the gospel that is to tell people
the gospel of the kingdom that no man is exempted
from a from salvation praise the lord That no
man should be exempted from it. Every man needs
to hear the gospel because that is what can save,
or that is what saves a man. Or that is what
brings man in relation with God. Praise the Lord.
And so we also looked at that God has called
us. Praise the Lord. That every believer is called.
All of us are called by God. Praise the Lord.
Everybody that is saved is called. So there are
no special people that are called and then you
are not. Praise the Lord. As you are saved, you
are called of God. Praise the Lord. So today
we're going to continue in that plan, the desires
of God that we saw. We saw in Exodus how God
intended that the children of Israel become a
kingdom. of priests and kings to him. Praise
the Lord. That he become a royal priesthood.
That he become people of his possession. Praise
the Lord. Because they are peculiar people to
him. It is God who is doing that calling to them.
Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11 from verse
25. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and
spoke to him and took the spirit that was upon
him and placed it upon the seventy elders. And
it happened when the spirit rested upon them
that they prophesied, although they never did
so again. But two men who had remained in the
camp, the name of one, Eldad, name of the other,
Midad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they
were among those listed, but who had not gone
out to the tabernacle, yet they prophesied in
the camp. A young man ran, and a young man ran
and told Moses, saying, Eldad and Midad are prophesying
in the camp. So Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses'
assistants, one of the chosen men, answered and
said, Moses, my Lord, forbid them. And Moses
said to him, Are you zealous for my sake? Oh,
that all the Lord's people were prophets, that
the Lord would put his spirit upon them. And
Moses returned to the camp. He and the elders
of Israel. Praise the Lord. Let's go back to
that verse 29. So we also see here that Moses
declaring, again, the desires of God. What God
intended for them to, or how he intended his
people to be. That everybody is able to prophesy.
Praise the Lord. So again, he tells them of the
intention of God. That every... people of God
prophesy and the Spirit of God is put upon them.
Praise the Lord. So we see again that Moses is
telling them again the desires of what God intends
that they should be or intends that the nation
of Israel should be. So he tells them that he
wants everybody to be a spokesperson, that is
a prophet, as we all learned what that word prophet
is. That every one of the children of Israel
are prophets, people that are spokesperson for
God. And so what would a spokesperson for God?
A spokesperson for God will begin to speak the
counsel of God. Praise the Lord. They will know
the counsel of God and they will speak also the
counsel of God. So it means that they are going
to go and preach the message of God. Praise the
Lord. That they will go and preach the message
of God. So we also saw last week, Sunday, that
of the intention of God consigning the people
of Israel. And that plan came in the form of
preaching. It came to them as a message. God
was sending them a message that I want you to
be a kingdom of priests and kings. It is God
who is going to do that. Praise the Lord. We
also saw that in the New Testament and how Christ
did it for us. So it is God who was going to
do that. It is the doing of God. And all they
needed to do was to have faith or to believe
the gospel that was preached to them, that God
is going to do something. And so if God is going
to do something, I'm going to believe him. Praise
the Lord. If God is going to do something, it
is not what they are going to walk. It is not
what they are going to do by their own understanding.
It is not what they are going to do by either
sacrificing or doing anything. It is what God
is going to do. It is a calling of God. And we
saw that also when we were reading about the
calling of God upon our lives. And we're going
to look at it briefly again. So God's plan was
for them to be kingdom of kings and priests on
the earth. They were supposed to be speaking
the messages of God as they leave Egypt. As they
come to the promised land, they were supposed
to be spreading the message of the kingdom. It
was not that they will come and then they will
need a prophet again that will tell them the
things of God. Praise the Lord. So we see that
because of this rejection, they constantly need
a prophet amongst them. They constantly need
a leader amongst them. They constantly need judges
among them. People that would speak the mind
of God because they have rejected the gospel
that was preached to them. Praise the Lord. They
constantly needed this to happen to them. So
as they are leaving Egypt, or as they are leaving
Egypt, in what we look at as the Exodus, right?
Which is that they are going out of sin, right?
It is a figure to say they are going out of sin,
right? Into the promises of God. Praise the Lord.
Into redemption. Into the spirit life. Praise
the Lord. So as they were living, the plan of
God was for them that when they go to a new place
or when they have come to this place, they are
ministers of God. Praise the Lord. They are ministers
of God. And it's also the intention of God or
it is the plan of God. And we have had it time
and time again for our lives that we are saved
not to stay in one place. Praise the Lord. We
are saved not to continue to... Yes, continue
to receive because that is part of what we do
as Christians, but also that we share our faith,
that we keep growing. If we refuse to share,
you begin to find people begin to create different
type of groups in church. Maybe they will call
you the elders. Maybe they will call you the
deacons. Maybe they will call you this and that.
Praise the Lord. Because people just want to
sit. and not do the things of God, and not do
the intention of what God has planned for every
believer to do. Praise the Lord. That as you
continue to grow, just like the disciples were
with Jesus three and a half years. That was what
it took for them to be able to start doing something.
And you've been in church all your life. Praise
the Lord. And so it therefore means that you
should be able to come to the place Where you
are knowledgeable enough to spread the message
of the kingdom. Where you are able enough to
explain what the gospel is to somebody who does
not know. Praise the Lord. And like I mentioned
from the beginning, the gospel does not discriminate.
It is no racism. Praise the Lord. We will not
come and put here, say no racism. Or we will
now, you know the things they put in football,
say no to racism. It does not apply here. Everybody
needs the gospel. Everybody is in need of the
gospel. I was talking to somebody the other day
that was like, a person who does not have Christ
or who does not have God in their life, the more
they become big, the more devices of evil in
their life continue to become big. Praise the
Lord. The more they become big, the more the
devices... I said, have you ever found a poor
person? They say he died of cocaine. Or let's
say, or somebody who has no money died of something
that is expensive to get. Praise the Lord. Have
we had any stories of, oh, somebody maybe, do
you understand? A poor person's trouble might
be that he's drunk with alcohol. There's nothing,
he's languishing with local beer. Praise the
Lord. But a man who does not have God in the
inside of them, the more they become powerful,
the more they want to control the things of the
world. Praise the Lord. The more their vices
increase. I don't want to talk about the concluded
sentence, music mogul, and the things that he
was doing with his money. Praise the Lord. But
we see examples of these things all over the
world. The more people do not know God, the more
the devices of evil increases. The more they
are prone to doing a lot of things. Praise the
Lord. So we ought, as Christians, ought to teach
the gospel. Praise the Lord. So the people that
are sitting in your class, The people that are
close to you now, you don't know who their fathers
are. You don't know who their mothers are. Maybe
they are people that are in line to be influential
as a result of the family they come from. And
they have been around you and they've never had
the gospel. Praise the Lord. 10 years from now,
20 years from now, when they inherit the things
that they inherit, what do you think they are
going to do with it? Praise the Lord. They are
not going to propagate the kingdom of heaven.
So God intends that as the people leave Egypt,
that they go and they become ministers on the
earth. As we come to the knowledge or as we come
to God, right? He intends that we become ministers
of God, that we teach the gospel. Ephesians chapter
1. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 17. It said, what
is the exceeding greatness of his power to us
who believe according to the working of his mighty
power, which he walked in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and seated at the right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all principalities
and power and might and dominion and every name
that is named, not only in this age but also
in the one to come. And he has put all things
under his feet and given him and giving him to
be the head of all things to the church. Praise
the Lord. In verse 18, he tells us, He said,
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope of your calling,
what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the sins. He said that you may know what is
the hope of your calling. And we say that word
called in here is what he called us. Praise the
Lord. What God has called us. Praise the Lord.
It means what he called us, what he has called
you. And the things that he has called us, we
can see from verse 4 of this same chapter. Verse
4 to 7. He said, just as he has chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world that we
should be holy without... without blame. Verse
5. Having predestined us to the adoption as sons
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to his
good pleasure, the good pleasure of his will,
to the praises of his glory. Are you sure we're
reading the same place? He talks about, he says,
he has blessed us with every spiritual blessings
in heavenly places. There's three. Okay. Okay.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Praise
the Lord. So this is the first thing that we
can see from this few scriptures that Paul is
saying to us. That the hope of our calling, this
is what he has called us. Praise the Lord. He
said he blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ. And then verse
4 now. He said, just as he has chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame. Right? He has chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame. Before
him in love. Verse 5. Having predestined us to
adoptions as son by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will, to
the praises of the glory of his grace, by which
he made us accepted in the beloved. In him we
have redemption through his blood, forgiveness
of sin, according to the riches of his grace.
Praise the Lord. This is what he has called us.
So Paul is saying that you will know the hope
of your calling. Praise the Lord. That you will
not miss it. That you will not miss that which
Christ has done for you. Praise the Lord. That
you may understand it. He said he has redeemed
us through his blood. The forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of his grace. He said
he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
in the heavenly places. Hallelujah. So this is
the things that he has called us. This is what
he has called us as believers. This is his calling
upon our lives, that we are blessed in the heavenly
places. This is what he has done. So Paul tells
us that we should come, that we will come to
the knowledge of this, that we will know the
hope of his calling. that will know the hope
of his calling. Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter
5 verse 10. He said, And so also were James and
John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners
with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be
afraid for For now you will catch men. Praise
the Lord. So this is Jesus calling his disciples
to him, right? And he's saying that, don't be
afraid. Now you're going to catch something much
more valuable. I'm calling you to something higher
than what you were doing. Praise the Lord. I'm
calling you to something much more precious.
Praise the Lord. So he tells them that fishing
is good. Praise the Lord. But... Bringing men
to the kingdom is more important. Praise the
Lord. Your studies or the professions that you're
doing is very, very good. But bringing men to
the kingdom is very, very important. Praise the
Lord. So he said they should follow him for he
would show them something of a higher priority.
Praise the Lord. So even as you go about your
school, as you go about your class, as you go
about your work, when the opportunity comes,
you also seek those opportunities, you preach
the gospel. Praise the Lord. Because your work
is good, it is important that you work, but at
the same time, it's more important as well that
you preach the gospel. Praise the Lord. Because
this does not have, the value is not that which
can be destroyed. Praise the Lord. The value
is not in that which can be destroyed. It has
eternal reward. It has eternal values. It has
eternal reward. So Luke uses to catch men to
mean to preach and to teach people. So he said
to catch men. It means that what you're doing
is that you're not going to go and hold their
shirt. Okay, since we're using nets to catch
fish or hooks, let's also, you know, let's spread
something. No, you are going to preach and to
teach men. This is how you catch men. Praise
the Lord. This is how you catch men. You don't
go there and then you're doing some psychology
or some things like that. Praise the Lord. Or
tell them, you know, if Christ comes, if Christ
comes into your life, all your troubles will
go away. Or, you know, all the issues that you're
having, your school fees will be paid. Do you
understand? This is not what he has called you
to do. This is you trying to be a fisherman.
You're trying to catch fish, not men. So to catch
men means to preach and to teach the gospel.
It implies that what Jesus was doing was that
since he was preaching, he was going to make
these men just like him. Praise the Lord. He
was making them just like him. And we looked
at it on Sunday that he brought these people
in to teach them and to train them so that they
can do the same thing. Praise the Lord. So that
they can do the same thing. Even much more powerful
things. Hallelujah. Even much more powerful things.
So he reached out to these people and he trained
them. He brought them to himself. And they saw
him. They were under his leadership. They were
under his tutorship. And they learned from him.
for three and a half years and they went out
there and did exploits and they did great things.
So the same way that you are sitting under the
teaching of Jesus every Sunday and every Wednesday
and every Fridays and in many other meetings
that you have, it is to the end that you also
do greater things. Praise the Lord. That you
also, do greater things. It is not for you to
say, oh, you know what? I know what a tohu bohu
means, right? There's this word in Greek that
talks about something of nothing. I think that's
the... So, it's not for you to say, oh, this
is what I've learned. You know, this is good.
It's very... It's very good for me. Praise the
Lord. It is for you to do greater things. Praise
the Lord. It is for you to do greater things.
That's why as a church, we are very interested
in teaching you the gospel. We're not trying
to promote men. We're not trying to do something
that we're trying to do some gymnastics. Praise
the Lord. We're trying to show you the gospel.
We are showing you who the Christ is for you
to understand the gospel so that you can do greater
things. And I was mentioning on Sunday that you
go back to your home country after here or go
somewhere else and you go to a place. Don't be
afraid to say you want to start something. Praise
the Lord. Because you are equipped. A lot of
people have started ministries with less than
what you know. They didn't know anything Greek.
They just learned. You shall preach the gospel.
They know John 3, 16. They were prayerful. They
were studying their Bible and they were preaching.
And they started him. But you have been, there's
a lot that has been given to you. Praise the
Lord. A lot of investment has been, has gone
your direction. So you cannot, after five years,
you will be confused, more confused than when
you came. Praise the Lord. So when you came,
you were struggling with this understanding here
and there. And then after five years that you
left, where you got knowledge, you now are confused.
Praise the Lord. And so, the reward of preaching
the gospel is not so that you'll be popular.
Praise the Lord. The reward of preaching the
gospel is also that you'll be popular. So that,
you know, they would just do one reel of you
on Instagram. You'd be moving and just talking.
That's not the idea. Praise the Lord. It's not
for you to be popular. It's for you to bring
men to salvation. That men be saved. That is
the reward of it. That men are saved. It's not
for you to have a mighty church. Praise the Lord.
The success of preaching the gospel is not so
that your church will increase or wherever you
start will increase. You have 200 people in your
congregation. That's not the aim. It's that men
know the truth. And as they know the truth, as
you are teaching them the truth, they are able
to do the same thing. Praise the Lord. They are
able to do the same thing. They are able to teach
others also. Praise the Lord. Let me say that
again. The reward of the gospel or the reward
of teaching the gospel is not so that you'll
be famous. Praise the Lord. It's not so that
you'll be famous. The fame can come with it,
right? But that's not the goal. That's not what
you're trying to achieve. What you're trying
to achieve is that men know Christ. That men
are saved. It's that you fulfill the desires
of God. Praise the Lord. Is that you fulfill
the desires of God. So what happens in the place?
Before we go there, let's just look at what God
was saying or what somebody like, what God was
saying about Abraham and the things that Abraham
did. Genesis chapter 15, verse 5. Sorry, verse
6. Yeah, we can start from here. We can start
from verse 5. He said, then he brought him outside
and said, look now towards the heavens and count
the stars, if you are able to number them. And
he said to him, so shall your descendants be.
Verse 6 now. I say he believed God and he accounted
to him for righteousness. Praise the Lord. So
it therefore means that Abraham believes God's
message. Although, you will not say his own is
more difficult. I mean, you can say his own is
more difficult than what God said to the people
of Israel. Because they saw examples of people
becoming prophets, right? They had examples of
the 70. They had examples of Moses appointing,
by the advice of his father -in -law, Jethro,
advising him to put people in charge. They saw
some of those things, but yet they didn't believe
God. Praise the Lord. They did not believe that
God has called them. But we see Abraham, who
his wife is barring, who has not given birth,
and he says, look at the stars of the heavens.
Praise the Lord. And he says, your descendants
will be so. For somebody who physically and medical
-wise and everything in front of him, suggest
to him that there is no example. Praise the Lord.
There is no place to hold on to it. Right? But
he believed God. And he said it was counted to
him as righteousness. Right? And then we will
see Genesis again. So Abraham, right? We see
Genesis chapter 20 verse 7. So because of this
belief, we will see something. Genesis chapter
20 verse 7. He said, Now, therefore, restore
the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will
pray for you, and you shall live. But if you
do not restore her, know that you shall surely
die, you and all who are yours. Praise the Lord.
This is what God is saying to him. He said, Restore
the man's wife, for he is a prophet. How did
he become a prophet? He believed the message
of God. He believed God. Praise the Lord. He
believed the things that God said he was going
to do. Please keep that. He believed in what
God said he was going to do. And so God said
to him, now this man is a prophet. He said he
will pray for you and you'll be restored. Praise
the Lord. So Abraham was a prophet of God. He
was a teacher of the gospel. Praise the Lord.
So as God has said to him that your descendants
will be like this, right? He's also teaching
the people of his generation, right? He's a spokesman
for God. So we see that that plan of God or what
God said is about the salvation of men. Praise
the Lord. So Abraham was a teacher about the
salvation of God. That is God's promises. on
all the earth. This is what God has promised
for all the earth as we saw in 15 verse 15. Verse
5 rather. So he believes God's message. So Abraham
believed God's message for the salvation of the
earth. Praise the Lord. Abraham believes God's
message for the salvation of the earth. And so
God called him to preach. Because God tells him
that He is a prophet. He will pray for you and
you shall live. Praise the Lord. So he's a spokesperson
for God because he had believed God. Genesis
chapter 18, verse 18 to 19. So Abraham shall,
since Abraham shall surely become a great and
a mighty nation and all the nation of the earth
to be blessed in him. For I know him. For I have
known him in order that he may command his children
and his household after him, that they may keep
the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice,
that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has
spoken to him. Praise the Lord. What is Abraham
doing in this verse 19? Abraham, he's a teacher
of God. He's a teacher of the things of God.
Praise the Lord. To his family and to his generation.
Praise the Lord. That's what he tells us. That
Abraham, he knows that Abraham will do what?
He will command his children that they will keep
the way of the Lord and to do righteousness.
It means that Abraham is a prophet of God. He
speaks for God. He's going to share this message.
He's not going to keep it to himself. Praise
the Lord. He didn't believe God and say, you
know what? I believe God. My children can do
whatever they want to do. Praise the Lord. He
didn't believe God and say, you know, to your
tent, O Israel. Praise the Lord. He believed
God and because of that, he became a spokesperson
for God. So those who believe God are spokespersons,
are people that speak for God, are people that
show forth the things of God. He said to do righteousness
and to do justice. Praise the Lord. Also, we
are looking at the idea of Christ being Lord
to mean that He owns you, right? It means that
He has influence over your life. So, if... And
so the salvation that comes to us or the salvation
that we have, he said, is something that God
is going to do. So even the work, right? Even
the work of righteousness is what God is also
going to do or what God has done. Praise the
Lord. To live righteously. It is God that is
doing it. Praise the Lord. So if you find yourself
that you're struggling with something, there's
something in your life that is keep on happening,
keep on happening, right? You need to understand
that it's God also who is going to work that
to bring you to righteousness. You can try many
things you want to try. Praise the Lord. But
it's God who is also going to work it out, right?
With you coming to the place of acknowledging
that it is Him that can work, believing that
God can restore you. Praise the Lord. So like
I was saying earlier, that the children, the
disciples were with Jesus for three and a half
years because he has called them, he reached
out to them and drew them to himself so that
they will become just like him, so that they
will go out and catch men, so that they will
go out and preach and teach the gospel, right?
It means that they were in the place of training
for three and a half years. Praise the Lord.
And if you read the Gospels, right, you will
discover that Jesus will say sometimes to his
disciples, O you slow of heart, praise the Lord,
O you so many things. So they will sound like
insults, praise the Lord. He will say to Peter,
get thee behind me, Satan. Okay, yes, Peter might
understand what he's saying, but there's so many
things that he said to them. And there's also
so many things that he has shown to them. So
there was places of affection. There's places
where there was rebuke. There's places where
there were correction. There were places where
there were explanation. So he explained something
to him, to them, and then they don't understand.
Or he says something they don't understand, they
come to him, and he tells them that they are
slow to understand. But then he goes on to explain
to them. Praise the Lord. They don't just pack
their bags and say, ah, he said I'm slow to understand.
Let me go to a place where they can follow me
slowly. Praise the Lord. So the place of training
has a lot of things. Praise the Lord. It has
love. It has correction. It has rebuke. It has
everything. Somebody who is in training stays
in the place of training. Praise the Lord. Because
if you don't stay in the place of training, you're
going to come out as what people don't want to
see. Praise the Lord. Or somebody will say, I
don't know that person. You cannot. I know a
couple of people that once it seems like you're
no longer, or maybe you just left the place and
then they will just deny you. And you start doing
like anyhow on the BBC, in the internet, you
are doing some things, you are doing some like,
do you know this person? I don't know him. Praise
the Lord. Because their behaviors, they don't
suggest that they have learned anything. What
they are doing there does not suggest that they
have been trained. Praise the Lord. So the place
of training is for you to be equipped. Praise
the Lord. For you to be equipped to do the same
thing. Understanding that they're not just, you
know, there's a... teaching for you to pass exams,
right? There's usually teaching for you to become
a teacher, right? So what happens in the place
of training is that so that you become a teacher.
If you're trying to pass exam, you can go and
cram, you know, just, you know, do it for the,
might not even be cram, just read it and, and,
you know, put everything in your head for the
moment. After two days, you forget about it,
right? After all, I passed my exam. But if you
are training or if you are learning to be a teacher,
what happens is that you are You're taking every
bit of the process because you know that you
cannot go to the mess or be a teacher and your
standard should drop because that's not the intention
of God. That's not what Paul says to Timothy.
Praise the Lord. He says you're committed to
men who are able to teach the same. Praise the
Lord. They will not go through the you know,
so many teachings, so many teachings taught you
so many things. And then when it's your time
to teach, you say, ah, you don't know that. Yeah,
you're not serious. Yeah, let's continue. Do
you understand? You explain, you take your time
to explain. You teach the way you were taught,
the way time was taking upon you, the patience
that was taking upon you. A lot of the pastors
sometimes If they think about your case, they
will want to quit. Praise the Lord. But the encouragement
is that we don't do it unto men. So they are
not looking at your face again. Praise the Lord.
So they are no longer looking at your face. They
say, ah, this person. No, they are looking at
you as we are not doing it because of you. We
are doing it because of God. Praise the Lord.
It is the will of God for your transformation.
It is the will of God that you grow. It is the
will of God that you continue to abound more
and more in love. Praise the Lord. So the place
of training or the place of staying is the place
where you are equipped to do the same. That's
why the teaching is so serious. That's why there's
a lot of work to be done. That is why there's
a lot of things. It seems like they are bombarding
you with too many things because they're not
trying to make you pass an exam. They are trying
to make you become a teacher. Praise the Lord.
So, it is important that we preach the gospel.
We preach the gospel wherever we go. We preach
the gospel wherever we go. 2 Timothy 4 It says,
verse 1 says, I charge you, therefore, before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge
the living and the dead, at his appearing and
of his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in
season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exalt,
with all low suffering and teaching. For the
time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have 18 years, they will heap up
for themselves teacher, and they will turn their
ears away from the truth and be turned aside
to feebles. Praise the Lord. He says that you
should preach the gospel, right? In season and
out of season. It therefore means that you are
not, there is no off season. Praise the Lord.
People that do sport have off season. They have
time to rest. They have time in which is their
downtime. They need to recover. They need to
do. He says you preach the gospel in season and
out of season. Praise the Lord. And the person
who can do that is somebody that knows, somebody
who is equipped, somebody who has been trained.
Praise the Lord. Because he will not go and start
saying, ah, my Bible no day here. You understand?
He will not be thinking, ah, the places I, my
notes. This person has this question in the middle
of this conversation. I am not prepared. Or maybe
you're having a conversation all of a sudden.
I'm sure your friends, all of a sudden, somebody
just throws something at you. It's like, this
thing you said is not, is not following. Do you
understand? And you see an opportunity to talk
to them about God, right? But you're not, you're
waiting for your Bibles and the places that you're
placed or your notes. So I'm not ready for this
conversation. Praise the Lord. I'm going to share
one story. It's a very embarrassing story, but
I'm going to share it. One time, in the days
when I was very hungry, right? I think we were
still staying in Ganyeli at the time. Somebody
called me to want to know the, want to know the,
want to know more about Jesus. Right? The Muslim
guy. And I went there, went to a restaurant.
He told me to just focus on the Jesus we killed.
That's how I go for his chalk. And after this
thing, I didn't have, I don't feel I did a good
job at this. I don't think I did a good job to
explaining to him more about Christ because I'm
eating, you know, I'm just feeling like, let
me just go home. Praise the Lord. So you don't
want to be in that place where because of knowledge
and because of the things that are surrounding
you, maybe you're hungry and then they give you
food. You don't know what to do again. Say, I'm
satisfied. I think that was my problem. Do you
understand? So you don't want to be in that state.
Praise the Lord. You don't want to be in that.
Every time I think about it, I was like, man,
I don't think I'll forget that guy's name. Right?
Because he also did civil engineering with me
in this department. So, sometimes I see him online
and he's, but I just know I will not forget his
name. Because I knew I had opportunity and I
was ready to, but when I finished eating like
this, man. So, like I said, you don't want to
be in the place where you'll be trained such
that whether you are fasting, whether it's hunger.
That's what it means, that no matter your state,
right? No matter your state, when they say the
gospel or when it's opportunity to preach the
gospel, you're not thinking, the things around
you are not affecting you. Praise the Lord. You
say, ah, we came here to settle this one, but
there's an opportunity here. Let me say this
before I continue what I'm doing. Praise the
Lord. So even when God tells Abraham to leave
his father's land and to leave his kindred, right?
He could easily stay there. But because of the
calling of God upon his life, he put priority
on living that which was comfortable. He put
priority on living that which was convenient.
Praise the Lord. So it's the same thing for us
that we preach the gospel in season and out of
season. It means that the way you can do it,
like I said, it's only when you are prepared,
when you are properly trained. Praise the Lord.
That you can be injured or something can happen
to you. But when it comes to preaching the gospel,
that is not a conversation. You just go to teach
it. Praise the Lord. You go to explain it. Because
he said that time will come where people will
not endure sound doctrine. They don't want to
hear that which is sound. Praise the Lord. So
the more you are teaching the gospel, the more
that a... The people that time will come, they
will not endure. They will have endured now.
Praise the Lord. Before that time comes, or before
their own time of not enduring sound doctrine
comes, they will have endured now. Praise the
Lord. And lastly, on this, that the minister,
The minister, just like we look at the idea of
Jesus being or being Lord over us, right? The
minister's life is that that should show that.
Praise the Lord. So when you notice in your life,
right? When you notice in your life that there
is something, right? There's something that you
as a child of God are struggling with. Right?
Or something that you feel like is besetting
you. It is an alarm or it's something that is
alerting you that something needs to be done
concerning this part of my life. Praise the Lord.
Something needs to be done concerning this part
of my life. You might not know all the Greeks
and all the Hebrews, right? But a minister of
God is somebody that has good character. Praise
the Lord. And that good character is as a result
of fellowship with or as a result of the spirit
that they have in the inside of them. Praise
the Lord. The more you grow in God, the more
you are transformed. The more you study the word
of God, the more you are transformed. Praise
the Lord. So when you are reading the scriptures,
you are reading it for you, for your transformation,
for it to be a blessing to your life. Praise
the Lord. For it to be a blessing to your life.
And don't be afraid to share. Don't be afraid
to share your struggle. Right? One of the things
I learned a while ago is that when you share
something that you're struggling with, the power
that it has gets broken over your life. That
is that Secrecy, for you to keep something secret,
is going to keep you bound. But once you share
it, you have gone halfway. The fight has been
won halfway. Praise the Lord. The fight has been
won halfway. You are encouraged to share, to
talk about the things that are going on in your
life. Praise the Lord. Don't carry too many things.
Praise the Lord. So let us rise on our feet and
just begin to pray. We appreciate you being here
today. We hope you carry this word with you throughout
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
for additional insights. Stay connected with
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with someone you care about. Until next time,
stay blessed.