The Minister pt. 2

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

Mark 16 · chapter mention

16. Mark chapter 16. He started looking at the

Mark 16 · chapter mention

minister. He started looking at the minister.

We're going to continue in that Mark chapter

Mark 16 · chapter mention

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

Numbers 11 · chapter mention Numbers 11 · chapter mention

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

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

1. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 17. It said, what

Ephesians 1:17

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

Luke 5 · chapter mention Luke 5:10

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

Genesis 15:5

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

Genesis 20:7

belief, we will see something. Genesis chapter

Genesis 20:7

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

Genesis 18:18–19

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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media. If you are encouraged, share this message

with someone you care about. Until next time,

stay blessed.