Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. authority in the name of Jesus, right?
So this is just going to be part of it, right?
So what we are looking at today is the walk and
the work in the spirit, right? That is believers'
responsibility and their conduct, right? In the
spirit. That is what we are going to look at.
Or we can call it. Life in the spirit. Life in
the spirit. Alright. So turn with me to the book
of. Matthew chapter 28. From verses 18. Matthew
28. From verses 18. So one of the. The focal
point of this teaching is we're exploring realities
that every believer must carry. That is, the
first one is the walk. That is how we live. And
the work, which is what we are called to do.
And both of them are as a result of discipleship.
I believe, Marcel, Ifania has also taken us through
this route. So it's just going to be something
we're going to move out very quick. Matthew 28.
From verses 18 to 20. And Lord, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the age. One of
the instructions we see here Jesus giving to
the disciples is that they should go and teach.
They should go and teach, which is to disciple.
It means to disciple and to train. It means to
disciple and to train. Another thing we saw there
is that he says, go and teach them to observe.
All things whatsoever I have commanded thee.
Right. Whatsoever I have commanded thee. That
means there was an instruction that was given
to the disciples. Right. On how they were to
carry out this work of ministry, which is making
disciples. So, one thing we are going to look
at is what discipleship really means. So, discipleship
is not a passive word. or passive attendance
that I'm just attending church or I'm attending
services passively. No. If you look at the instruction
in Matthew chapter 28, just put it up. From verses
19, just put 19. It says, Go therefore and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things that whatsoever I've
commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the age. So, you see that
there were activities also that was happening
to the disciples when they were sent. That is,
they were to preach, they were to rise disciples.
Why? Because whatsoever has happened to them,
they were to replicate it also to other people.
Alright? So, One thing we see there is that the
disciple, who is the disciple? The disciple is
the learner. Pastor Ifanyi has spoken about this.
So one thing that happens is that there is a
learner. There is a training that is happening,
right? And how are they training them? That is,
they are instilling doctrine in them, right?
To instill doctrine in them. That is, they are
explaining, they are expounding a thing. They
are imparting instruction. And this, how are
they doing it? You see in Luke chapter 24, we
see a pattern. Luke chapter 24, let's just go
there quickly. Luke chapter 24 from verses 25.
We see a pattern. It says, and to enter into
his glory. And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them the things,
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. Right? Verse 5. Verse
4. It says, And he said unto them, These are
the words which I spoke unto you while I was
yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses and the
prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. And
then opened he their understanding that they
might understand the scriptures. So, When the
apostles are going to preach the word of God,
what are they talking about? That is the sufferings
of Christ and the glory that followed. That is
the gospel. That is what they are teaching the
believers about. So, there is not only, one thing
also we are going to note is that there is not
only teaching that is happening, right? There
is also A component of it that they are going
to practice, right? What they were taught. We
are going to look at something that during Jesus,
when Jesus was with his disciples, one thing
that happens that you teach them, after he teaches
them, he sends them forth. They come back. If
there is anything that goes wrong, he corrects
them. Then he sends them back again. So it wasn't
a passive learning only, but it was followed
with practical things. There were activities,
right? Let's open Matthew chapter 14. Let's start
with Matthew 10, sorry. Then we'll go to 14.
Matthew 10. You see Jesus sending forth his disciples
to preach, which is part of the training. Matthew
chapter 10. From verses 1 it says, And when he
had called unto him his twelve disciples, he
gave them power against unclean spirits to cast
them out. and to heal all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease. Then let's jump to
verse 5. It says, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, rise
the dead, cast out devils. Freely you have received,
freely give. So he told them, prior to this,
the disciples were moving around with the Lord
Jesus Christ. So they saw him preach. They saw
him cast out demons. That is, they learned by
precept and also by, Jesus taught them by precept
and by example. They observed the life of Jesus.
Now Jesus is sending them to do the same thing.
They were to preach, they were to cast out demons,
they were to heal. So, discipleship is not only
coming to the church, sit, learn, and go. No.
The activities that come in, we go out for evangelism.
During catatismus, we minister one to another.
We speak in tongues, we interpret tongues. We
are taught that. We are taught how to flow in
the spirit, with the spirit, right? Then we minister
one to another. We edify one another. That's
practical discipleship. That is active learning
also. So we're going to look at another instance
also. So the first one, Jesus sent the disciples
to preach. The second one is Matthew chapter
14. Matthew 14. Just four scriptures from 10.
Matthew 14. Let's read from verses 13. They followed
him on foot and out of the cities. And Jesus
went forth and saw a great multitude and was
moved with compassion towards them and healed
their sick. Right. Let's continue. You're going
to see something as you go down that the disciples
also ministered to the physical needs of people.
That is, they served. They were taught how to
serve also, the work of service. 15. And when
it was evening, the disciples came to him saying,
this is a desert place. And the time is now past.
Send the multitude away, that they may go into
the villages and buy themselves rituals. But
Jesus said unto them, They need not depart. Give
ye them to eat. And they said unto him, We have
here but five loaves and two fishes. And he said,
Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the
multitude to sit down. So they are serving. We
see service. It is part of discipleship. In chapter
10, he's sending them to preach, to heal. In
chapter 14, they are to serve. They shared food
to the people. So it's also part of discipleship.
Let's also look in the same. That is verse 31.
Verse 31. Verse 31, previously, Jesus said, come
walking on the water, on the sea. Then Peter
and other disciples were in the boat. Then Peter
said, Lord, if it is you, bid me to come. And
Jesus said, come. Then Peter walked on the water.
But immediately when he saw the boisterous winds,
he said, he doubted and he started to sink. Immediately
Jesus goes and stretched forth his hand and brought
him. They went into the ship. And immediately
he says, why have you doubted? Right. What was
happening there is that Peter walked. There was
an element of faith in the beginning. Then later
on, doubt crept in. And the Lord brought him
in and started also to explain to him, why have
you doubted? So, there was a problem. There's
doubt. Jesus brings him in. He addresses the
doubt. It is part of discipleship. There's a
failure. The pastors will see. Your team leader
will see. Okay, you did this wrong. Come here.
This is how you do it. Practical. Then lastly,
let's also look at the last example. Matthew
17, 14. Matthew 17, 14 to 21. Pastor Fred is
also taught us in this direction. There was a
man who had a son who was having seizures and
he was greatly tormented by demons. So the apostles,
the man brought the son to the apostles and the
apostles were not able to cast the demons. The
same people in chapter 10 that went, cast out
demons. Well, later on you hear a report telling
them that, Lord, the demons are subject to us.
So may that they came back with a report of what
they have. But in chapter 17, you see a problem.
So let's read it. They are not able to cast out
demons. And see how Jesus' reaction to that.
And when they were come to the multitude, there
came him a certain man, kneeling down to him
and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he
is lunatic and so vexed. For oftentimes he falleth
into the fire and oft into the water. And I brought
him to thy disciples, and they couldn't cure
him. The same people. That's in chapter 10. They
went to cast out devils. Then Jesus answered
and said, All faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you? How long shall
I suffer you? Right? Bring him hither to me.
And Jesus rebuked the devil and he departed out
of him. And the child was cured from that very
hour. Then came his disciples now. Verse 19.
Then came his disciples to Jesus apart, privately.
You know, you cannot ask this question in public.
So they came to us to inquire. How is it that
we're not able to do this? Is there something
special? Let's see. So, they come to Jesus apart
and said, why could we not cast him out? 20.
And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief,
for verily I say unto you, if you have faith
as of a grain of mustard seed, You shall say
unto this mountain, Remove hands to yonder place,
and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible
unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out by
prayer and by fasting. There is an issue. There
is an issue of unbelief that happened here to
the disciples. So Jesus now addresses that unbelief.
Pastor Fred has stood in this line. So I'm not
going to do much more here. So he brings them
in. He never rebukes them. He brings them in.
He teaches them. Later on in chapter 28, let's
go back to chapter 28. This is after verse 17.
Chapter 28, we see this is when Jesus was giving
the great commission. Verse 18, it says, And
Jesus said unto them, All power is given unto
me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world or the age. Also,
let's see the same account in Mark chapter 16.
You see that Jesus didn't tell them, no, no,
you guys are not qualified. Stop, stop, stop.
I'm looking for another pack of people. No. He
is the discipler. He finds an error. He finds
where there is a problem. He brings them in.
He teaches that. He addresses that problem. They
send them again. So, let's look. Mark 16. 15.
Mark 16, 15. And he said unto them, Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved, but he that believeth not shall be
damned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe in my name. They shall cast out devils.
They shall speak with new tongues. They shall
take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay
hands on the sick and the sick will recover.
So you see that even at the end, Jesus still
sent them again. So you see, discipleship, what
is happening? They are trained, number one, by
precepts. Jesus showed them by precepts. Many
times Jesus took them when he healed the people,
when he performed miracles, they were dead. Now
Jesus is now telling them, now we can go and
do the same. Let's look at another instance where
Apostle Paul taught a church. That is, He's a
pastor in that church, Galatian church. Then
he was absent. Then some guys came in and they
preached another gospel, which is not another.
Then there was now a problem again because there
was a shift that happened. Now they were towards
legalism. Then Apostle Paul comes again and corrects
them again. That is part of discipleship also.
Let's look at it. That is Galatians chapter 3
verses 1 to 3. Galatians. Just after 2 Corinthians.
So all foolish Galatians who have bewitched you
that you should not obey the truth. Before whose
eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth,
crucified among you, this only would I learn
of you. Receive ye the Spirit by the works of
the law or by hearing of faith. Are ye so foolish,
having begun in the Spirit? Are ye now made perfect
by the flesh? That is, in the beginning they
received this gospel by faith. If you want to
see something, go to chapter 1. You'll see where
the problem came in. Chapter 1. Verse 6. It says,
I marvel that ye are so soon more from him that
called you into the grace of Christ and to another
gospel, right? That is, which means different,
totally different. The gospel is totally different.
These were people that were taught. They understood
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through faith.
In Christ Jesus. But later on, other people came.
And what happens? Apostle Paul does not leave
it there. He comes back and he reteaches them
again. Let's see. Verse 7. It says, Which is
not another, but there are some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Some
that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ. Which is Sarazo. That's the word there.
is the word Tarazo. The reason why they preach
another gospel is that they will trouble you.
That is, they will unsettle you. That which you've
been assured of, right? They will come and move
it. That you are left with anxiety. You are left
with, you are no longer assured. There's no assurance
anymore. Why? Because they will come and tell
you, you have received it by faith. Another person
will come and say, you have to do works. So Apostle
Paul will come and say, that is another gospel
in correcting that error. What it does is that
it unsettles the believer. But it does not leave
it that way. It comes back. It teaches them again
like a father. Then they continue. So, number
one, we see that Jesus modeled the pattern of
discipleship from the scriptures we write. Jesus
modeled the pattern of discipleship. He sent
the apostles to preach as we saw in Matthew chapter
10. Involved them in practical service in Matthew
chapter 14. Jesus corrects Peter after he doubted.
That is Matthew chapter 14, 31. And he had them
to exercise authority which now we saw in Matthew
17, 14 to 21. So what we see in discipleship
is that there is training. Number one, which
is transmission of knowledge, information. Then
number two, we have training, which is application
of the knowledge, which leads to formation of
habits. Evangelism is a habit that is built.
We are taught the word of God. We go out, we
preach the gospel, we do it again, we do it again,
we come in church, we minister to one another,
we speak in tongues, we interpret tongues. Over
time, it becomes a habit. There is something
that is formed within you. That same thing, it
is when you go out of this place, when you go
out of Cyprus, where you find yourself anyway,
in your cell meeting, among your friends, it
is the same thing that you also do there. That
is the practicality of what you have been taught.
then you also rise disciples. So, we saw some
that discipleship is not complete without training,
without exercise, what you've been taught. So,
in three weeks, just very near, we have Catechismas.
We'll come here, we'll sit down, we are told
the word of God from morning to evening, morning
to evening, morning to evening. Pastor Koso last
time, he taught us about the gifts of the Spirit.
After that, what happened? we practiced it. That
is, information was given, then what followed
was the practice of that which was taught. That
is proper discipleship. Something fun is that
you cannot be properly discipled through online
meeting. You can receive information, which can
also be another gospel. That is, if you see it,
then there is not the practicality of that. You
know, discipleship is good, discipleship is,
you know the Great Commission, God says go, but
the practicality of it is not there. Therefore,
that is incomplete discipleship. You cannot have
a disciple who is not near you. You cannot have
a disciple in Zimbabwe. If you have a disciple,
you carry him out, He comes to your house, he
comes to your place, or she comes to your place,
you teach the Word of God. After that, you pray.
After praying, you take them out, you evangelize.
You teach them the things of the Spirit, like
we are being taught here. Then also, you demonstrate
it, then they learn from it. When you see that
there is a problem, there is a misunderstanding
in some aspects, you bring them back, you re
-teach it, you correct them, you do it again.
Again and again, again and again, discipleship
does not stop. So we see habits being formed.
We see responsibility, which we call the work.
A believer is taught about the work of ministry
during discipleship. Now, the gospel can be preached
to you. Someone preached to me. I believed. I
don't know which one saved me. I'm part of those
people. Many people preach to me. But I never
knew that I also need to go out and preach. Or
they will just preach to you, leave you there.
But that is not discipleship. Yes, you are saved.
But the greatest work comes after you are saved.
What's next after you are saved? Which is discipleship.
That is where you are modeled. That's where you
see character development. That is... Where you
see yourself working effectively in God's calling
for your life. So, I'll just read this discipleship
model. We preach the gospel. The person believes.
Stay with the person. Teach them. Guide them
into practice. Then ensure that they are growing.
Those are the things you can take note of when
you have a disciple. So, most people will still
get conversion. I want this all, you leave this
all. In fact, some people will say, choose a
church which you are comfortable going. No. Take
that disciple to your own local church. So, one
thing also that happens in discipleship is that
teaching is continuous, repetitive, And reinforcing,
this is Jesus' model. You teach continuously,
you repeat the same thing. You teach again, you
repeat the same thing. It's not the first time
you teach a person and just assume that they've
understood it. No. I believe that when the disciples
saw Jesus doing it, they were like, we can do
the same thing. Yes, it's easy. But Jesus will
bring them back, teach them again, send them,
they find an error, comes back, they didn't do
this correctly, let's correct them, go back.
That's the model. So, the call of this teaching,
like I said from the beginning, is we're going
to look at the walk, which is the conduct, walk,
W -A -L -K, W -A -L -K, and the wake, W -O -R
-K. The walk, Under the word W -A -L -K, we're
going to look at the conduct of the believer.
How the believer ought to live. Then we're going
to look at the work, W -O -R -K. That is the
assignment of the believer. What the believer
does here in the earth. Those are the two things
we're going to be looking at. So, a Christian
life is a trained walk, purposefully, right?
And we know that this is enabled by the Spirit
of God. So, in discipleship, one of the things
we're going to be told or being trained in, they
have started already. Me, I've been here from
2021. That's five years from now. Five years
to now, yeah. And it's the same thing that has
been taught to me. Over and over again, some
of the things which I was taught in 2022, I understood
them in 2025. That is when they started making
sense. So look, there's a gap of about three
years. I understood them in 2025, 2024. I was
talking to Pastor Fred. And I said that my first
Catholicism was in 2022. Pastor Olu taught about
the kingdom of God. That is 1 Matthew chapter
16. I thought that I understood it. This is 2022.
2023 came first. 2024 came in the middle of 2024.
Now it's making sense. After two years, there's
a repetition of what we are being taught over
and over. There's consistency. I'm around for
all the meetings. I'm being told the same thing.
Now my mind is catching up. Now I can understand.
I can put all things together now. And it's making
sense. That is continuity. A disciple is a person
who is always available to be taught. Always.
You cannot say, I am a disciple of so and so.
When you say prayer meeting, you are not there.
Karatismas, you are not there. You come in one
Sunday, you jump two, you come in. No, that's
not discipleship. You are a visitor. You are
a visitor. You come and go. Pastor Poston will
say, you are a UFO. I identify flying objects.
Okay. So, one thing also that happens in discipleship
is all of us are going through it. In fact, right
now online, there are many things that are happening.
We hear different things that are happening.
You go back home, you hear something else. You
go another place, you hear something else. The
same thing is being taught in different ways.
Here you come, salvation is eternal. You go to
another place, you can lose it. you go online,
it is possible for you to lose. You come to church,
you cannot lose. One thing is happening is that
if you are not grounded in the truth, that kind
of gospel unsettles you. That's why you start
seeing questions. Ah, pastor, that thing you
say, eternal salvation, ah, I don't think it's
like so. Why? What happens is that there is something
else that has been preached. It's troubled the
person. That is what Galatians says, that gospel,
it unsettles you. Those kinds of gospel, it disturbs
you. It brings anxiety. You're not going to show
that to yourself. You're not going to even show
that internal life is really everlasting. So,
in discipleship, we are trained how to think.
Number one. We are trained how to think. Interpretive
kind of thinking. Let's look at something. So,
Proper discipleship trains a person to think
correctly. A properly discipled believer does
not just know verses in passing, just quoting
verses. No. He knows how to reason with the scriptures
because he has taught how to do it. To ask the
rightful questions and to interpret rightly,
which is exegesis, right? Exegesis. E -X -E -G
-E -S -I -S. which is a skill of asking intelligent,
interpretive questions. So, the reason why many
people or some believers, you hear something,
you flow with it, is because the way you reason
with the scriptures is not right. By the time
someone will come and tell you that You need
to be circumcised. That is the Galatians situation.
You need to be circumcised. Salvation, yes, you
are served, but you need to be circumcised for
you to be really, really served. Oh, you are
served, but you can still miss rapture. Yeah,
you know, when the Lord comes, What you're doing
in that moment, if it's not in both plans, you
miss the first flight, you catch the second one.
That is if when the second one comes, you catch.
No. When you are being taught rightly, you ask
critical questions. Okay. How is it that Galatians,
for instance, the Galatians, how is that they
receive salvation by faith? How then are you
saying that you are perfected by your own works?
How is that possible? When initially it was not
about me. Let's look at examples. Matthew chapter
19 verse 3 is an example of a question that was
asked. That was asked Jesus. Okay, before we
go to Matthew, let's read 2 Timothy 2 .23. 2
Timothy chapter 2 verse 23. But foolish and unlearned
questions avoid knowing that they do gender strife.
That is, this is talking about useless questions,
right? I'm talking about we are going in the
direction of how to really ask proper questions.
But there are some questions like this. Which
gender strife? Avoid them. That's one. Number
two. Let's check. There's a situation that happens
in Matthew 19, where the Pharisees came to ask
Jesus a question, not to learn. This is to tempt
you. Another instance, let's just read it. Matthew
19, verse 3. What we're just trying to see is
that when you are discipled properly, you'll
be able to ask proper questions that builds,
that advises you. But we're just seeing... An
example of these guys, these fellows. That is
Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19. This kind of
question is not to learn. Matthew 19 from verses
3. And the Pharisees also came unto him, tempting
him and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man
to put away his wife for every cause? And he
answered and said unto them, Have ye not read
that he that made them from the beginning? made
them male and female, and said, for this cause
a man shall leave his father and mother and shall
cleave into his wife. Then it continues. This
kind of question, number one, is it is not a
question to learn. It is to tempt. These guys,
their motive is not to come to learn. They are
just trying to find a way to trap him. Let's
look at another one. This one is different. It's
the opposite. Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2.
This is how a believer or a person who is being
trained thinks. This is a model from Christ.
Luke chapter 2. From verses 46 to 47. And it
came to pass that after three days they found
him. and they found him in the temple. What was
he doing? Sitting in the midst of the doctors,
both hearing them and asking them questions.
This is talking about Jesus. They've come for
an occasion, then on their way back, Jesus stayed
behind. Then the parents found out after some
time that the child was not with them. So they
went back to look for the child Jesus, our Lord.
They went back. Then they said they found him
sitting in the midst of the elders. What was
he doing? And they found him in the temple sitting
in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them
and asking them questions. And all that had him
were astonished at his understanding and answers.
And when they saw him, they were amazed. And
his mother said unto him, son, they were looking
for him. So one thing we see about Jesus is that
he was asking proper questions. To what end?
That he may understand. So part of discipleship
is you are taught how to think critically. You
are taught how to reason with the scriptures
and to understand them. That is a result of proper
discipleship. You cannot think this way if you
are not discipled properly with a good discipler.
So, we can see that We are taught how to think
properly. We are taught how to think properly.
Then let's see, lastly, that is Acts chapter
17 verses 11. Acts 17 verses 11. One person who
can ask you a question is Pastor Victor. You
go ahead and ask or you say something. You should
be prepared to think. Yes, that is proper discipleship.
It helps you. It helps you how to think properly.
It helps you how to see the scriptures. That's
one thing you see in Luke. Jesus meets the disciples
on the way. Then they were discussing about Jesus.
Jesus joins them. And they started telling Jesus
about Jesus. Have you not heard? What kind of
conversation are you having? Walking along, they
say, have you not heard what has happened here
recently about a man, Christ Jesus, who was crucified?
Oh, we thought that he was a prophet. But suddenly,
they killed him. Then Jesus texts them in verse
25 and he's told them, all ye fools are slow
of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken.
All know Christ has suffered all these things
and to enter into his glory. And beginning at
Moses, the prophets and the Psalms, he expounded
unto them the things concerning himself. You
go to 45 and it says that he opened their understanding
that they may understand the scriptures. That
is what Jesus was teaching them. He was remodeling
the way they think, the way they saw the scriptures,
the way they reasoned was the problem. But now
after they saw everything, that moment he said,
and their understanding was opened and they saw
that this was truly Jesus. So that is proper
explanation, proper. teaching that leads your
person to think critically when they approach
the scriptures. You cannot grow with nuggets.
You go on YouTube, you see one two -minute video,
one charge. You, this and this, one, two, one,
two, they will say many things. You cannot grow.
You won't. We have to sit down, being taught.
There's pain. Three years and above with Christ
Jesus. Being told the same thing. In fact, same
thing. From the beginning, Jesus was telling
them about his death. They never understood it.
In fact, some of them, they were looking for
a kingdom saying, when your kingdom comes, I'll
be on the right, I'll be on the left. The mother
came to plead on his children's behalf. But it
never meant that. But when he resurrected from
the dead, that is when they understood it. So,
let's continue. So, Acts 17 verse 11. Acts 17
verse 11. Acts 17 verse 11. These were the variants.
Variants. Acts 17 verse 11. These were more normal.
than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word of God, or they received the word, with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures
daily, whether those things were so. They were
reasoning. They were taught. They received the
word of the Lord with readiness of heart. They
went to search out the scriptures. This is because
the word of God was taught. There was a persuasion
that happened when the Word of God was preached
to these guys. And they went to search, to check
whether those things were so. So, discipleship,
discipleship produces a habit, that spiritual
habit. There's behavioral consistency. This is
the result of discipleship. And repeated exposure
to the scripture results in comfort. That is,
the believer finds comfort with the scriptures.
It produces dependence on the scriptures and
a scriptural worldview. This happens in training
rather than being shared with friends. And society
and culture, they have effect on people's lives.
But in discipleship, we are taught how to think.
You are taught how to conduct yourself. You are
taught how to be comfortable with the scriptures,
how to be grounded, how to be rooted, so that
when another gospel comes, you'll be able to
know. So let's go back to Mark 16. I'm just going
to read it in passing. We are looking at the
work. The work. The work, sorry. The work. The
work. The work. That is the disciples' responsibility
to what they are supposed to do. That is the
work. They are being taught. Jesus taught them
in chapter 16. He gave them an instruction to
go and do something. Let's see. And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned, and these signs shall follow
them that believe. So there's key responsibilities
we see here. Those people that were disciples,
they were now being sent to preach, to teach,
to disciple. And one thing that is also going
to happen is that signs will be following. John
chapter 20, same also. We are talking about the
work. John 20, 21 to 23. And you see that in
this work, we are partners together with Christ.
We are partners together with God. There's a
responsibility. What's the responsibility? Go
and teach, go and disciple. And God is working
with us. John 20, verses 21 to 23. Just before
us, that's where John is. 20, verses 21 to 23.
Then said Jesus unto them, Peace be unto you,
as my Father hath sent me, even so sent I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them,
and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto
them. And whosoever sins you retain, they are
retained unto them. So they were taught. Now
there's a responsibility that comes in. Go and
preach. And what are they going to do? They say
that whosoever sins you remit are remitted, and
whosoever sins you retain are retained. What
the disciples are going to do is that they are
going to announce what God has done in Christ
Jesus. They are going to preach in the name of
Jesus. What does that mean? We have seen from
previous teaching last week that it entails what
God has done in Christ Jesus. What did God do?
He has forgiven. He has made pardon of sin available
through Christ Jesus. So that is what they are
going to To preach. They will preach. What does
God do? God has already forgiven sin. Mark. Micah
7 verse. 18. Micah 7 verse 18. They will be preaching.
What are they doing? They are announcing. What
God has done. Micah 4 verse 18. Micah 7 verse
18. It says. Who is. Who is a God like unto thee
that pardoned iniquity and passed it by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? He returned not
his anger forever because he delighted in mercy.
So God forgives the sin. What does the believer
do? The believer is announcing what God has done.
So he's working together with God. Let's also
see Psalm 103, verse 3. Wait, Pastor Emmanuel.
Read Psalm 103, verse 3. Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy
name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not
all his benefits. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities,
and who healeth all thy diseases. Who do what?
Who forgiveth all thy iniquities, and who healeth
all thy diseases. So it is God that forgives.
And the believer is announcing what God has already
done. So they are working together. A believer
works together with the Lord. Isaiah 43 verse
25 is the last one we'll look at. Isaiah. Isaiah
43 verse 25. I even, I am he that blotted away,
I blotted out thy transgression for my own sake,
and I will not remember thy sins. So God is the
one that forgives. God has already made a valid
provision for the forgiveness of sin. And what's
the responsibility of the believers? Responsibility
of the believer is to announce that which the
Lord has done in Christ Jesus. So we are co -laborers
together with the Lord. This is as a result.
of discipleship. This is when you know it. That
is when you come to understand it. Then you go
out and preach. That's the work. This is a responsibility.
So, we'll end on this section today, right? We're
going to read Galatians. This is the last one.
Then we'll do it there for a long time. Then
we'll continue on Wednesday. Galatians, let's
go to Galatians from verses 5. Galatians chapter
5 from verses 14. And in this part, what you
are going to see is, we said we have spoken about
the work and we are going to also look at the
work that is in the conduct. So we're going to
be looking in Galatians. We're spending more
time in Galatians chapter 5. Yes, there's something
that is, there's a way a believer ought to conduct
themselves. Let's see from Galatians chapter
5. Galatians chapter 5 from verses 14. Galatians
5 from verses 14. It says, for all the law, is
fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. And if ye bite
and devour one another, take heed that ye not
be consumed one of another. This I say then,
walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit. Peripatao.
That's the way that appears there. It implies,
it can be literal. Or figurative. It can mean
literal movement. And also can mean. A manner
of life. How one ought to conduct himself. And
in this context. It's not literal. It's figurative.
Talking about how a believer. Ought to conduct
himself. Let's continue from verse 17. For the
flesh lusts against the spirit. And the spirit
against the flesh. And these are contrary. The
one to another. so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. But if ye be led by the Spirit,
ye cannot be under the law. Now the works of
the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, sedition, heresies, envying, murderous,
drunkenness, reveling, and such like, of which
I tell you before, as I have also told you. And
the time passed that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith,
meekness, temperance. Against such there is no
law. And they that are Christ have crucified
the flesh with his affection and lust. If we
live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not be... Desires of unglory provoking
one another and envying one another. So, I'll
give a background of Galatians. The way Galatians
is structured, you look from chapter 3, chapter
4. The way Paul was explaining or the way Paul
was moving. You see Abraham. You see the seed.
You see the land, you see Hagar, you see Sinai,
you see the promise, meaning the audience of
Paul. Paul assumes that his audience have a background
of the scriptures, that is Genesis to Malachi,
all that thought. So now when he comes and start
talking walk, he's teaching from the scriptures,
right? Genesis to Malachi. When it comes to the
walk in the spirit, Peribatau, the first one,
although the other walk in the spirit you see
in verse 25 is different. It's another shed.
The one in 16, when he's explaining to them,
the way he's building his argument is coming
from Genesis to Malachi. He assumes that his
audience, they know the scriptures already in
the background. So what then happens when he
now employs some of the terms? There's something
that is involved in the minds of his listeners.
That is the Old Testament. So when they say war,
in the Old Testament, there is a shed of... If
you go to your LXX, that is your Greek Septuagint,
the Old Testament of the Greek, you see that
the word peripatau is so close to the word that
is used in Genesis when it talks about... And
Enoch walked with the Lord and he was... Enoch
walked with the Lord. Noah walked with the Lord.
Same shed is the word halak. It also has two
sheds, which means either it can be literal or
also either it can be figurative. So, let's think.
So, Paul is teaching from that same position.
So, when he says walk, what comes to their mind?
Those instances. Right. Okay, I still have six
minutes. We can look at it. What comes in their
mind is those instances. We're going to read
some of those places. Genesis 12 verse 1. You
see that word halak. H -A -L -A -K -H will be
the root word. Most of the words are coming from
that root word where we're going to see it. Genesis
12. Genesis 12. And you see what is happening.
Genesis 12 .1. Genesis 12 .1. Now the Lord...
I said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy house, unto
the land which I will show thee. And I will make
of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee,
and I will make thy name great, and thou shalt
be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless
thee, and cast them that cast thee, and in thee
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken unto
him, and went with him. And Abraham was 75 years
old when he departed out of Haran. That's one.
Get thee out of thy kindred unto the land that
I'll show thee. You see the way they're appearing.
Get thee out of thy land. One which is more...
I want you to look at this following one. We'll
come back to Genesis 12 later on. Let's look
at this one. That is Genesis 13, verse 17. Then
you tell me, what do you think? Is it literal
or is it figurative? Genesis 13, verse 17. It
says, Arise, walk through the land, and the land
of it, and in the bread of it, and I'll give
it to thee. Is it literal? Is it figurative?
So in this, also Abraham was returned to the
land. Yes, there's also a literal movement in
this. But when it's now explained much more by
the apostles, it goes beyond the land. It's now
used also figuratively, which you're going to
see on Wednesday. We're going to look much more
on it on Wednesday. So let's just look at these
ones, then we finish. I'm going to just read
them. Then you check them. Genesis 12, verse
22 to 24. And Enoch worked with God. And Enoch
worked with God. This is a Hebrew idiom. Number
one, you should know what is employed. It's a
Hebrew idiom. It's a Hebrew idiom, which is describing
Enoch's relationship with God. This expression
conveys an idea of one ordering his life according
to God's will. That is what's happening here.
The order is according to God's will. That is,
he's being faithful and obedient. That is the
idea here. Same with Genesis 6 verse 9. Noah
was a just man and Noah walked with God. That
walk again is the same word. And also talks about
a relationship, a fellowship, a participation
in what God was doing. Same thing you see in
Micah 6 verse 8. It tells the people to walk
with God. With the Lord. In Genesis also, chapter
3 verse 8. You see, and they heard the voice
of the Lord. God walking in the garden. So what
you see there in the garden, we have seen that
there is a temple narrative, man and God dwelling
together. So what that comes in your mind is
that that word is not figurative. That word is
figurative, sorry, not literal. It means a relationship
between man and God. Get this, we are going to
explain this much more on Wednesday. What you
see here is that There is a fellowship between
man and God. From the last chapters we read,
from the last verses we read, there's a fellowship,
obedience, walking in obedience. There is a participation
that is happening. If you want to look at all
the people we've gone through, they were preachers
of the gospel in their generations. They were
prophets of the Lord. What were they doing? They
were announcing the gospel of God. They were
announcing the message of God. That is, there
is a participation in there. So when our Paul
comes to Galatians and he employs the same thing,
the people's mind will definitely go back. Their
attention is drawn back to participation, fellowship,
and relationship for the Lord. So now when he
comes and says, In Galatians chapter 5, verse
16, we are going to continue from here. Galatians
5, verse 16. Galatians 5, verse 16. It says,
One thing here is figurative. What comes in their
mind is that there is, when they say walk in
the Spirit, it's talking about fellowship, participation.
It's what is required of a believer. That is
conduct here that is being spoken about. There's
a way a believer ought to conduct himself. Which
we are going to look at in the following meeting.
Then we are going to look at the fruit of the
Spirit also. Because if you look at the discussion,
There's 11 seconds. If you look at the discussion,
the progression of discussion, you see that why
Paul employed the word fruit of the Spirit. That
is, there is something that is expected that
when a believer walks in the Spirit, there is
a result of that walk, which he calls the fruit
of the Spirit, which is love, which we are going
to discuss on Wednesday much more. 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.
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Until next time, stay blessed.