The Minister

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. Let's have us. Hallelujah. You're welcome

to today's service. I trust God and I believe

God that you'll be blessed today in the name

of Jesus. So throughout this year, we have been

taught that every believer or everybody who has

come to Christ is a minister of God. That it

is not reserved for certain individuals. It is

not reserved for a special people, right? But

that everybody that is a child of God is a minister

of God. So today we're just going to be looking

at that. And as most of the pastors do, I also

struggle to find the topic sometimes for some

of these teachings. But I would just like to

call it the minister. Praise the Lord. Mark chapter

Mark 16 · chapter mention

16. Mark chapter 16. From verse 15. And he said

Mark 16 · chapter mention

to them, Go into all the world and preach the

gospel to every creature. He who believes and

is baptized will be saved, but he who does not

believe will be condemned. And these signs would

follow those who believe. In my name, they will

cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues.

They will take up sapiens. 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. They will lay hands

on the sick and they will recover. And like I

said, that we have been taught that every believer

is a minister. Praise the Lord. Every believer

is a minister of God. So we see that Jesus made

this statement after the resurrection. After

the resurrection, he tells them to go and preach.

Go and preach the word to every creature. He

that believes is saved. Praise the Lord. He that

believes is saved. We notice that the gospel

is to be preached in all the world. Praise the

Lord. The gospel is to be preached in all the

world. There is no ascertaining people that the

gospel is targeted to, praise the Lord, but that

the gospel is preached to all nations, to every

creature on the earth. So this is God's plan

that everybody to be saved, that man is to be

saved, praise the Lord. And so therefore the

gospel is to be preached in all the world. 1

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 2, from verse 1 to 4. 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 2:1–4

chapter 2, verses 1 to 4. He says, Praise the

Lord. So the desires of God is that all men be

saved. Praise the Lord. The desire of God is

that all men be saved and come to the knowledge

of the truth. Praise the Lord. God does not want

men to be ignorant about the things that he has

done for them. Praise the Lord. God does not

want man to be ignorant. So we see the desire

of God. His desire is that all men be saved and

come to him. Praise the Lord. So we preach the

gospel all over the world. Praise the Lord. So

we preach the gospel to every creature. 2 Peter

2 Peter 3:9

3, verse 9 tells us as well about this desire

of God. It said, The Lord is not slack concerning

his promise, as some count slackness, but is

longsuffering towards us, not willing that anyone

should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Praise the Lord. So the Lord is willing and he's

patient so that every man will come to repentance.

Every man will come to the knowledge of truth.

Every man should be saved in the name of Jesus.

So he wants all men to come to repentance. His

plan and his desire is that all men be saved.

Praise the Lord. In Mark chapter 16 that we just

Mark 16 · chapter mention

read, verse 15. It talks about that the gospel

should be preached to every creature all over

the world. And we know that the word that is

there is a Greek word for cosmos, which is used

for the system of things. It's that the gospel

is preached all over the world. It means the

activity of men. Praise the Lord. To preach the

gospel in every activity of men, to preach it

in their... going out and they are coming in.

That the gospel is a part of them, praise the

Lord. That the gospel is a part of them. It means

the inhabitants of the earth. So the gospel should

reach every inhabitant of the earth, praise the

Lord. The gospel should reach every inhabitant

of the earth. It should affect the activities

and the interaction of men, praise the Lord.

That the gospel should affect the activities

and the interaction of men. So we preach the

gospel. Praise the Lord. And one other thing

we can notice there is that they say you should

preach it everywhere. It means that there is

nothing that is, should be, everything is included.

Praise the Lord. Or everybody is included. Praise

the Lord. To all the families of the earth. Praise

the Lord. It means that the gospel should be

preached in every family of the earth. It should

be preached in your family. It should be preached

in your neighbor's family. It should be preached

in your friend's family. It should be preached

in every family of the earth, in all creation,

in all nations of the earth, in every part of

the earth. So there's no segregation. It does

not see race. Praise the Lord. It does not see

a different type of people. The gospel is for

everybody. Praise the Lord. The gospel is for

everybody. So it should be preached in every

system or in every nation. The fact that some

people's system works, for example, you are here

in Cyprus and you rarely see interruption of

electricity or you always have constant water,

does not mean that they don't need the gospel.

Praise the Lord. Or the fact that maybe in America

there's more, there's so many things that are

beneficiary or would help your lifestyle. Does

not mean they don't need the gospel. Praise the

Lord. Material possession or riches do not stop

somebody from receiving the gospel. Praise the

Lord. So everybody is included. Every nation

is included. So we don't segregate. Praise the

Lord. The fact that your friend has a big car,

or he or her life is going perfectly, does not

mean they don't need the gospel. Praise the Lord.

Does not mean they don't need Christ. Or there's

some people that will come online and say, you

know, these things you are saying is because

these people are poor, right? It's only poor

people that can receive the gospel. Praise the

Lord. But we see, even from the scriptures, example

of the Ethiopian eunuch, right? He was in charge

of... The treasury of the queen, Candace. But

the gospel was also preached to him. It was reading

Isaiah when Philip came and he explained to him

the scripture and he received the gospel. Praise

the Lord. In Acts chapter 18 from verse 26 to

Acts 18 · chapter mention

40, we see that, that even with his wealth and

his riches, There was something still lacking

in his life. When he opened the scriptures to

read, he could not even understand it. Praise

the Lord. That he needed somebody to explain

to him. And we saw that Philip explained the

gospel to him and he believed the gospel. And

he was baptized and he was saved. Praise the

Lord. So we see that every class of people need

the gospel. King Agrippa, for example, when Paul

was making the argument about his faith or how

he came to the knowledge of truth. Praise the

Lord. He said, you almost persuaded me to be

a Christian. In Acts chapter 26, from verse 27

Acts 26 · chapter mention

to 28. Praise the Lord. We see that he was explaining

what had happened to him. How he encountered

Jesus. And so the man was feeling persuaded.

But he told him that he's not just for you, but

everybody else. Acts chapter 26, from verse 27

Acts 26 · chapter mention

to 28. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophet?

I know that you do believe. Then Agrippa said

to Paul, you almost persuaded me to become a

Christian. Praise the Lord. And then let's see

the other. And Paul said, I will to God that

not only you, but also all who hear me today

might become put almost and all together such

as I am, except for those, for these chains.

Praise the Lord. So he wants that everybody that

hears him, so all the royalties, the people that

were there to come to the knowledge of truth.

Praise the Lord. But he was telling them that

except for the chain that he has. Praise the

Lord. So he was in preaching the gospel, there

was consequences and there was persecution. And

that's why there was chain in his leg. But he

was preaching to them so that they will not have

to have the chains in his leg. That his chain

will mean much more to him. Praise the Lord.

So the gospel is for everybody. Everybody needs

the gospel. Your parents need the gospel. That

your stubborn sibling needs the gospel. Praise

the Lord. So, but then some people believe that,

like we have been saying, and I'm going to reiterate

now, that some people believe that not everybody,

you know. Maybe our money can work for us. If

we cannot preach the gospel, let's give offerings

so that it would help the ministry. It does help

the ministry, but that is not the way that we

go about partnering in preaching the gospel.

It is that you know and you preach. Praise the

Lord. It is that you know and you preach. Is

everybody called? Praise the Lord. Are you called

to preach the gospel or do you have that calling

upon your life? Is it for your particular people?

Is it for the people that stand in the pulpit?

Praise the Lord. Is it for the people or is it

for everybody? And sometimes we, from our eyes,

we judge people that are doing well for God or

we think that people that are doing well for

God are necessarily just people that are in the

pulpit. Praise the Lord. There are a lot of people

that are doing the work of ministry and nobody

knows their name. Praise the Lord. They probably

have never had a stage to stand and to speak,

but they are there because they understand that

they are a minister of God. Praise the Lord.

So not every one of us will start a ministry.

Not every one of us, what I mean by minister,

not every one of us will start a church like

this. Praise the Lord. But in our various places,

in our various places of work, we are to preach

the gospel. That is the way God intended to be.

Praise the Lord. We see that the disciples, that

when they were scattered because of persecution,

that they went to different places and they continued

to preach. They were not concerned about, oh,

how do we gather again? You know, we love the

setting of the church. And that's why as a church,

we teach you some of the things that we teach

you because we know that Cyprus is a passing

place. You come here for four years, you come

here for six years or more, depending on what

you're doing, and you go somewhere else or you

go back to your home. The will of God is that

you know him and that you carry on this to continue

to preach the gospel. With all the knowledge

that you have, with all the understanding that

you have been given, with all the catatismos

that you have attended, with all the Bible studies

and interpretation you have learned, with everything

that has been invested in your life, God expects

that when you go to a place and then you go to

a church and then you don't understand what they

are preaching, or you go to another church, you

don't expect what they are preaching, or you

don't understand what they are preaching, you

don't sit down there, praise the Lord. What do

you do? You start preaching the gospel. Praise

the Lord. If there is need, you begin to gather

people. Praise the Lord. If there is need, you

begin to pray over them. Praise the Lord. If

there is need, you begin to, you start a church.

Praise the Lord. If there is need, you gather

people together to fellowship. The people that

started a lot of the churches, I can assure you

that not every one of them have this much knowledge

that you have. They ran with the little that

they had. Praise the Lord. With every investment,

they have taught you Bible study and interpretation.

They have taught you many things, how to study

the scriptures, how to create the studies, how

to do so many things. Do you think it is too

small or do you think you're too small to start

something? Praise the Lord. Or you're waiting

for, as I was asking, whether everybody is called

or few are called. To say, you know, God is telling

me, go that direction. Or you hear a clear voice

like Paul telling you that, why have you not

preached the gospel? Or why have you not started

the walk? Praise the Lord. Every believer is

called to preach the gospel. Every believer is

called. Matthew chapter 16, as Pastor Fred has

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

been explaining to us, I'm not really going to

go into a lot of details. Pastor Fred has taught

us a lot from these scriptures. I want us to

read it and then we talk about the calling of

God upon our lives. Matthew chapter 16, verses

Matthew 16:13–19

13 to 19. When Jesus came into the region of

Caesarea Philippi, he said to his disciples,

Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And

so they said, Some say John the Baptist, and

some Elijah, and some Jeremiah, or one of the

prophets. And he said to them, But who do you

say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,

You are Christ, the Son of the living God. And

Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you,

Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed

these things to you, but my Father who is in

heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church, and

the gate of Hades shall not prevail against it.

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of

heaven, and whatever you bound on earth will

be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on

earth will be loosed in heaven. Praise the Lord.

So Jesus said to him, upon this rock, I will

build my church. Praise the Lord. And we say

the word for church there is what? So we say

the word for church there is ecclesia, right?

Which means what? You see? Called out ones. Praise

the Lord. It is a word to use. It's a word that

is used for summoning somebody. Praise the Lord.

To be called out. So when he says, I will build

my church, he's referring to those that he has

called or those he will call. Praise the Lord.

So how did he call them? How did he call these

people? When he says that they are the called

out ones, that upon this rock he will build his

church and the gate of Hades will not prevail

against it. How did he call these people? Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 from verse 17 to 22. Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

1. He said that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory, may give you the spirit

of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of

him, and the eyes of your understanding being

enlightened, that you may know what is the hope

of his calling, what is the riches of the glory

of his inheritance in the saints, and what is

the exceeding greatness of his power towards

us who believe, according to the walking of his

mighty power, which he walked in Christ when

he raised him from the dead. Praise the Lord.

In verse 18, he tells us something. Go to verse

18. of his calling. Praise the Lord. Who is doing

the calling? Praise the Lord. Christ is doing

the calling. So for the Greek word, the same

thing that we saw, right? Which means those,

or which means those who he called, or what he

has called us. Praise the Lord. So that calling

is what he has called us. Praise the Lord. Let

me put this thing back on this. So that calling

means what he has called us. So let's look at

the earlier verses of that place. In the earlier

verses, in verse 3, it tells us something. Verse

3, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. It says, Blessed

Ephesians 1:3

be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who

has blessed us with every spiritual blessing

in heavenly places. He has blessed us with every

spiritual blessing in heavenly places. This is

what he has done. Praise the Lord. This is the

calling that he has called. In verse 4 now. Just

as 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 the adoptions as sons by Jesus Christ to

Himself, according to the good pleasure of His

will. Verse 6 and 7 now. To the praise of the

glory of His grace by which He made us accepted

in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through

his blood, the forgiveness of sin according to

the riches of his grace. Praise the Lord. It

is God who is doing the calling. So this is God's

calling. Praise the Lord. He has blessed us with

every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.

He has redeemed us through his blood. Praise

the Lord. He has redeemed us through his blood.

He has given us the forgiveness of sins. according

to his riches in his grace. So when he says that

you will know the hope of your calling, this

is what he's trying to say, that you will know

these things that he has done. Praise the Lord.

That you will know the blessings in which he

has blessed us with. That you will know the things

that we have in him. Praise the Lord. That is

what he has called us. That is what he has called

us. We also see another way in which he called

us. 1 Peter 2, verse 9, that we all know about,

1 Peter 2:9

that he called us out of darkness into light.

Praise the Lord. He called us out of darkness

into light. He said, but you are a choosing generation,

a royal priest to the holy nation, his own special

people, that you may proclaim the praises of

he who has called you out of darkness into his

marvelous light. Praise the Lord. He has called

us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

So this is what he has called us, that we're

a royal priesthood, that we're a holy nation.

This is the calling of God upon our lives, that

we're a holy nation. We're a royal priesthood.

We're a special people, a peculiar people. That

is what he has called us. Praise the Lord. So

what has God called you? He has called you a

royal priesthood. He says that you are blessed

in the heavenly places. Praise the Lord. With

every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.

So this is what God has called us. Does this

look like somebody who is saved? Praise the Lord.

So does everybody, is everybody called of God?

Praise the Lord. So every one of us is called

by God. So we see from the scripture that every

one of us is called by God. So when Paul says

that you may know the hope of your calling, that

you may know the hope in which he has called

you. That you know that he called you a peculiar

people. Praise the Lord. So we also look at,

in the epistle, we also see that a lot of the

time, Paul also refers to the believers as called

saints, or he called them saints. Praise the

Lord. And it is God who has called them. It is

God that is doing the calling. So being called

out of the world, the believer is sanctified,

right? That is declared a saint or called a saint.

Praise the Lord. So being called out of the world,

the believer is sanctified, called out or being

called a saint. So we also see that in Ephesians

that when he's using the word calling, he talks

about it in terms of salvation. Praise the Lord.

A lot of the places, several of the places, talks

about it as salvation. It is used to reference

to he that is saved, he that has received salvation.

So there's a calling that is referred to as,

that is those who are now saved, or those who,

in the epistle as we see, are the called out

ones, right, are what is known as the church.

Praise the Lord. is what we refer to or the people

that we refer to as church so the church are

referred to as people that are called out so

to go to the phrase again that some people have

found a way to coin together that the church

is a you know it's like a hospital we have like

six people there six people there speak people

there As we continue, as we have seen through

the scriptures, the more we study, the more we

find out that those statements are very wrong.

Praise the Lord. But the church is a gathering

of called out people. Praise the Lord. So when

we come to the church, what do we do? We come

to fellowship. Praise the Lord. We come to correct.

We come to exalt. Praise the Lord. We don't come

again and we're talking to you about repentance.

Or we're talking to you about receive Jesus into

your life. Praise the Lord. The way it should

be is that it is a gathering of called out people.

And when we come with fellowship, it will not

be strange when we say you should minister to

one another. Praise the Lord. It will not be

strange when we say pray in tongues. It will

not be strange when we say heal the sick. Praise

the Lord. Because it is a gathering of kindred

minds. It is a gathering of people that believe

the same thing. that are taught properly. There

are people that are called out, people that have

believed the gospel. So like I said, this calling

is used for salvation, all those, and then all

those who are saved are called. Praise the Lord.

So everybody who is saved is called. So if you're

saved in this building, you are called. You are

called of God. Praise the Lord. So don't wait

for the road to the Damascus calling. Praise

the Lord. Don't wait for the road to the Damascus

calling or something dramatic happen in your

life. Praise the Lord. Then we know, okay, we

are called. You need to focus now. Praise the

Lord. Or we need to start doing the things we

need to start doing because something has happened

and it has helped you to bring you back to God

or to make you refocus. Praise the Lord. You

are called out once. Hallelujah. Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 4:4–6

4, verse 4 to 6. It said there is one body and

one spirit. just as you are called in one hope

of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

One God and Father of all, who is above all and

through all, in you all. Praise the Lord. So

the word one there is talking about those who

are saved. Praise the Lord. The word there is

the one is talking about those who are saved.

That no one is excluded from this. Praise the

Lord. That we have one faith. We have one baptism.

Praise the Lord. Nobody is excluded from this.

Nobody is excluded from this calling. There is

no special reference to a believer, to one particular

believer or a group of believers. Praise the

Lord. It is to all. It is common to all. Praise

the Lord. It is common to all. So all the believers

have one Lord. They have one baptism. They have

one faith. Which is from one calling. Praise

the Lord. They have one calling. Your calling

is not different though. Praise the Lord. The

calling of God upon your life is not different.

We have one calling. Maybe sometimes we mistake

it or we think about it as, you know, maybe God

has blessed you. Maybe you have a talent and

then you say, that's the calling of God upon

your life. Praise the Lord. No one is exempted

from this. We have one faith. We have one Lord,

one faith, one baptism, which is from one calling.

It is God that is doing the calling. So although

this word, calling, like I mentioned, it primarily

refers to salvation, it also, in many places

of the Scriptures, refers to as ministry, or

refers to for ministry. We see in Romans 1, verse

Romans 1:1

1. Paul, a born servant of Jesus Christ, called

to be an apostle, separated for the gospel of

God. Praise the Lord. So we see called to be

an apostle here. He's talking about ministry.

Praise the Lord. He's talking about ministry.

And then in verse 6 and 7 of that same place.

Verse 6 and 7. Among whom you also are the called

of Jesus Christ. All who are in Rome, beloved

of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and

peace from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord. So this is talking about salvation.

Praise the Lord. So in the same place or in the

same chapter, we see a place where he talks about

calling in terms of ministry and also calling

in terms of salvation. Praise the Lord. And Pastor

Kosted and Pastor Emmanuel has done a lot of

justice during the catatismus in teaching us

about the different type of gifts. Praise the

Lord. So we can go on and to listen to those.

Romans chapter 8, verse 28. He said, And we know

Romans 8:28

that all things work together for good to those

who believe. Sorry, for those who love God. and

to those who are called according to his purpose.

Praise the Lord. So when he says to those who

are called according to his purpose, he's talking

about salvation. Praise the Lord. Those ones

that are saved. He's talking about salvation.

Jude chapter 1 verse 1. Also talks about the

Jude 1:1

calling of the believer. Jude chapter 1 verse

Jude 1:1

1. Jude, a born servant of Jesus Christ, the

brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified

by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord. He's talking about the calling

of the believer. So the believer is called of

God. He's sanctified and justified and forgiven.

Praise the Lord. So this is what a believer has.

He's called of God, and in that calling, what

happened in that calling, or the context of that

calling, is sanctification, it is justification,

and it's forgiveness. Praise the Lord. So, when

he says that you are called, it doesn't mean

that they have called you out of this world.

Praise the Lord. It doesn't mean that you have

left the world. If you have left the world, you

are asleep. Praise the Lord. It does not mean

that. But you are sanctified in the world. Praise

the Lord. You are justified even as you are here.

Praise the Lord. You are forgiven as you are

in this world. Praise the Lord. So all are called.

All are called. So let's look at some interesting

things about this calling or about salvation,

about justification, about sanctification, about

forgiveness. It tells us in Romans chapter 10

Romans 10 · chapter mention

from verse 8 to 13, 1 Corinthians chapter 12

1 Corinthians 12:3

verse 3 and Philippians chapter 2 verse 11 about

Philippians 2:11

salvation. Romans chapter 10 from verse 8. He

Romans 10 · chapter mention

said, but what does it say? The word is near

you in your mouth and in your heart. That is

the word of faith which we preach. Praise the

Lord. So he talks about how a person is saved.

Praise the Lord. So when the word is preached

and he's saying that the word is near you, it

means that you had it. Praise the Lord. It is

in your heart. Right? You've had the gospel.

You've had it. Verse 9 now. It said that if you

confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe

in your heart that God has raised him from the

dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one

believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth

confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture

says, Whoever believes in him will not be put

to shame. For there is no distinction between

the Jews and the Greek. For the same Lord is

over all, is rich to all who call upon him. For

whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be

saved. Praise the Lord. 1 Corinthians chapter

1 Corinthians 12:3

12, verse 3. Therefore I make known to you that

no one speaking by the Spirit of God Call Jesus

a curse. And no one can say that Jesus is Lord

except by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord. Except

the person he saved. Praise the Lord. And then

Philippians 2 verse 11. It said that every tongue

Philippians 2:11

should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory

of God, the father, just keep that verse on that

screen. So salvation is therefore by faith. Praise

the Lord, as we have explained. Salvation is

therefore by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So Jesus is the savior of the world, right? Or

he's a savior. And when a man believes in him,

we can say that that person, that Jesus is the

Lord of that person. Praise the Lord. Salvation

is by faith. in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So

salvation is not faith, right? Salvation is by

faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You saw

in Romans, right? That it is what you had. It

is a preaching that was preached to you. The

faith you have is in the gospel that was preached

to you of Jesus Christ. So Jesus is a savior

of the world. And when a man believes, we can

say according to this, that Jesus is the Lord

over his life. And that word for Lord means that

he's a master. It's a Greek word to mean the

master or a ruler or refers to authority or leadership

over somebody or ownership over somebody or something.

So when a person is saved, right, Jesus becomes

their owner. That's what he means. When a person

is saved, Jesus becomes their owner. 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 6:20

6, verse 20. He said, But you are bought with

a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and

in your spirit, which are God's. Praise the Lord.

So when he says that when a person is saved,

Jesus becomes their master. Praise the Lord.

It means that Jesus owns us. We are now his property.

And this place tells us that we are bought with

a price. Praise the Lord. We are bought with

a price. And so Jesus becomes our master. There

is an authority over us. So therefore, at the

point of salvation, Jesus becomes our Lord, a

master, a ruler. He becomes our Lord. He owns

us at the point of salvation. So Jesus has called

us, or he has called us, or to whom Jesus called,

the same person Jesus becomes the Lord over.

Praise the Lord. So let's look at what the will

of God is for us as believers or people that

he has called. What is his will consigning us?

What is his will consigning us? Before we go

to the New Testament, let's just read a couple

of places in the Old Testament. Exodus chapter

Exodus 19:6

19, verse 6. We're looking at what God's will

is. Exodus chapter 19. He said, and you shall

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Praise the Lord. These are the words which you

shall speak to the children of Israel. Did we

read this earlier? Did we read this somewhere

in the New Testament? Praise the Lord. That what

God has called us, what did he call us? He said

we're a holy nation. Right? We're peculiar people.

Praise the Lord. So we see that this is God's

plan, even from the Old Testament, that he has

always had this plan that we should be kingdom

of priests and a holy nation to him. And so when

he was telling Moses this to tell the children

of Israel, he was saying to them that preach

these things to them. Right? And how they become

a kingdom of priests is what? That they believe

what I'm saying. Praise the Lord. So this is

the message that Moses was preaching to the children

of Israel. And how they become that is that they

believe God. Praise the Lord. It's that they

believe that he wanted them to be a kingdom of

priests and a holy nation to him. Praise the

Lord. So this is the message that Moses had for

them. It depends or it is the condition is that

they believe the message they receive or they

trust God. They believe that this is good for

them. Praise the Lord. So the preaching here

will say that Moses gave is that Moses taught

them or he tells them about the promises of God

as kingdom of priests and kings. Praise the Lord.

So the message or the sermon you see about what

the preaching Moses did to them is that he taught

them about what? That God intended you a kingdom

of priests, right? And a holy nation to me. A

kingdom of kings and priests. So this is a message

that was given to them. He said, I will make

you a kingdom of priests. And this is what God

is going to fulfill. Praise the Lord. We saw

in the New Testament that the calling, it is

God that is calling it. Praise the Lord. Right?

It is God that is calling it. Did you do anything

to be saved? Was there any of your workings to

be saved? The same thing that he was preaching

to them here is that this is what he said. This

is what he is going to do. It is God that is

going to make this happen. Praise the Lord. It

is God that is going to make this happen. And

what they needed to do was to believe the gospel

or to believe what was preached to them. So God's

plan was for man to be a kingdom of priests and

a holy nation. So he doesn't want that to be

restricted to the tribe of the Levi. Praise the

Lord. He doesn't want that to be restricted just

to Moses. He doesn't just want that to be restricted

to a certain people, but that everybody will

be to him kings and priests on the earth. Praise

the Lord. So, but we see that the people, when

they were taught this message, they did not receive

it. Praise the Lord. As we see in Exodus and

the teaching that most of our pastors have done,

that they did not receive God's message to them.

They did not receive God's message. They rejected

God's plan and they decided that, oh, Moses,

we want you to be a mediator for us. We want

you to speak for us. We want you to be between

us and God. We don't want to see him or we don't

want to talk to him face to face. We reject this

message. We want something else. Even they went

for that, even when God wanted to be king over

them, they said, no, let us have kings like every

other nation. And he told them the consequences

of what that would mean, right? That your children

are going to be in the soldiers, that your children

are going to be walking in the palace. They rejected

even God being king over their lives. Praise

the Lord. So we see that they rejected these

things. And some of the examples of how God wanted

or wanted to show them or begin to see also is

that as God wanted them to be kingdom of kings

and preached on the earth, there was a few demonstrations.

to show them what that will be like. Praise the

Lord. In Exodus chapter 18, we see that in the

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

life of Moses. Exodus chapter 18, from verse

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

13 to 26. So it was on the next day that Moses

started to judge the people, and the people stood

before Moses from morning until evening. So when

Moses' father -in -law saw all that he did for

the people, he said, what is this thing that

you are doing for the people? Why do you sit

alone and all these people stand before you from

morning to night? Praise the Lord. Go back. So

he tells them that, why did you sit alone? Praise

the Lord. I don't know if Jethro knew what the

intention of God was for his people, but he said

to him that, Why do you sit alone? Why is it

only you? Praise the Lord. Or why is it, why

is it that you want your pastor to hear God for

you? Praise the Lord. Why is it that you cannot

also, or why is it that you are not exercising

what God has given you to hear God consigning

your life? Continue. And Moses said to his father

-in -law, because the people come to me to inquire

of God. Praise the Lord. When they have difficulties,

they come to me and I judge between one and another,

and I make known the statutes of God and his

laws. So Moses' father -in -law said to him,

This thing you do is not good. Praise the Lord.

But you and those who are with you will surely

wear yourself out, for this thing is too much

for you, and you are not able to perform it by

yourself. Listen to my voice, I will give you

counsel. God will be with you. Stand before God

for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties

to God. And you shall teach them the statutes

and the law and show them the way in which they

must walk and the work they must do. Moreover,

you shall select from all the people able men

such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness,

and place them over them to be rulers over thousands,

rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers

of tens. And let them judge the people at all

times. great matter they shall bring to you,

but every small matter they themselves shall

judge. So it will be easier for you, for they

will bear the burden with you. And if you do

these things, God, he said, if you do these things,

I also God commend you that you will be able

to endure and all these people would go also

to their places in peace. So Moses heeded to

the voice of his father -in -law and did all

that he had said. And Moses chose able men out

of Israel and made them heads over the people,

rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers

of fifty, rulers of tens. So they judged the

people all the time, and they had cases they

brought to Moses, and they judged every small

case themselves. Praise the Lord. So we see here

as well that they begin to see glimpses of what

God has intended, or the intention of God. Praise

the Lord. They begin to see some of those intentions

of God. In verse 21 and 22, we saw that Moses

judged these people, sorry, Moses judged these

people and he taught them, right? And he taught

among them. So his father -in -law's suggestion

in verse 21 and 22, right, was that these things

are too much for you. Select for yourself people

among these people that will judge them. Praise

the Lord. And we saw that the characters of these

men were people that feared God, people that

had truth in them, or people that had no truth,

and people that hated covetousness. Where can

we see this again in the Scripture? About people

and the selection of people and this criteria

to them. We see that in Acts of the Apostles.

Praise the Lord. So we also see the same thing

in Acts of the Apostles and the four Gospels.

In verse 20 of this. Chapter we just read, verse

20, Exodus 18, verse 20. So he say, and you shall

Exodus 18:20

teach them the statutes of the law and show them

the way in which they must go and the work they

must do. So Moses had to teach them the ordinances

and the laws of God. He also taught them how

to do practical things, how to do the little

things. Praise the Lord. They say the way that

they must walk and the work they must do. Praise

the Lord. So that they are able to judge. So

he tells them to put people over them. officers

over them right and he's so we also see the same

thing in the new testament right when jesus chose

his 12 disciples he chose them in in the same

way or he chose them just like moses chose the

70 uh elders that he chose that will stand before

god the 12 disciples were people that should

learn from christ mark chapter 3 verse 14 Mark

Mark 3:14 Mark 3:14

chapter 3, verse 14. Then he appointed the twelve

that they might be with him and that he might

send them out to preach. Praise the Lord. He

said that they might be with him. Praise the

Lord. So in this being with him, he means that

they will learn from him. Praise the Lord. And

when they learn from him, they will go out to

preach. They will go out to preach. So they will

stay with him. And when they have learned, they

will go out to preach. So we saw that in the

Exodus, as the people were coming out of Egypt,

we saw that it is a like of what Christ has done,

right? So being called out of Egypt, that is,

Egypt represented bondage or sin, a life without

God. Praise the Lord. And into the promised land,

that is God's promises, right? The Holy Spirit's

redemption, right? That when they came out of

Egypt, that there were people that should proclaim

or should teach about God to the other nation.

Praise the Lord. So the coming out of Egypt was

coming out of bondage into freedom or into God's

blessing. And in turn, they would declare the

promises of God or in turn, they will become

ministers. Praise the Lord. So in line with that

which God has said concerning them, that he want

them to be a kingdom of kings and priests, is

that when they come out of Egypt, when they come

out of the land of bondage and the land of sin,

they are coming into the promises of God, into

the spirit of God, into the redemption of God,

so that they will become God's ministers on the

earth. Praise the Lord. The king and the priest

will become God's ministers on the earth. so

that they will preach the message of salvation

to every creature, to the people around them.

So the disciples being with Jesus is that they

also learn from him. Praise the Lord. So he called

them from their different professions. He called

them from the different things that they were

doing so that they will be with him. They will

learn from him. Just like the same way Moses

taught the children of Israel, the same way Jesus

was teaching the disciples so that they will

learn from him and do the same. They will go

out and they will preach the gospel. So the 12

disciples were to learn from Jesus so that they

could be trained enough to... to be in his stead.

Like when he's gone, they will be able to continue

preaching the word. In Mark chapter 1, verse

Mark 1:16–20

16 to 20. Mark chapter 1, verse 16 to 20. Mark

Mark 1:16–20 Mark 1:16–20

chapter 1, verse 16 to 20. So this is Jesus calling

out, calling the disciples. And as he walked

by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew,

his brother, casting out a net into the sea.

for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,

Follow them, and I will make you fishers of men.

And they immediately left their nets and followed

him. And he had gone a little further from there,

and he saw James the brother of Zebedee, and

John his brother, who were also in the boats,

mending their nets. And immediately he called

them, they left their father Zebedee in the boat,

with a hired servant, and went after him. Praise

the Lord. So we see here also Jesus calling out

his disciples, calling them from where they were

to something much more better. And they followed

him, right? He would train them to do the things

that he's doing. So to be with him is that he's

training them to be in, to do the things that

he's doing. In Luke chapter 5 verse 10, we see

Luke 5:10

that Luke used the word that he will make them

catchers or to catch men. Praise the Lord. Luke

used the word to catch men, meaning that they

are going to preach, right? What it means to

catch men is to preach and to teach the gospel.

This implies that Jesus' focus was that he was

making people or he was building people that

will continue the things that he's doing. Praise

the Lord. He's drawing men or he's bringing men

so that they will continue the things that he

has been doing. So he reached out to the 12 and

he called them and he trained them and he sent

them out to do the same thing. Praise the Lord.

To reach out and to train and to send out. Praise

the Lord. We see that those were the works of

the apostles. Wherever they were, they were reaching

out to men, they were teaching them and they

were telling them to continue the same thing

that they were taught. We learned from some of

our previous... that a faithful servant is one

that do the same or one that gives exactly what

he was given. Praise the Lord. That the gospel

did not come to you so that when you are giving

it out, you begin to preach something we don't

understand. Praise the Lord. Or something that

cannot save anybody. Or something that cannot

make somebody's life the way that God intended

it to be. So we learn that a faithful servant

is one that gives exactly that which they were

taught. So Jesus taught his disciples, he trained

them and he sent them out to do the same, to

reach out to men and to train them and send them

out. It is the same thing that the church ought

to be doing. The same thing that we are doing,

that we are teaching you the word or we are teaching

you or we are training you so that when you go

out, you will do the same. You have the manual

for training. You have the manual for training

and when you have trained people, you will send

them out. Praise the Lord. You will send them

out. Even as you are doing the little things

that you are doing, you are filled with the Spirit.

In Acts chapter 6, talking about Philip and the

Acts 6 · chapter mention

other people that were chosen, when there was

a problem in the church because some people were

neglected, these men were chosen to handle these

matters so that the apostles would focus on the

world and in prayers. Just like the same way

Moses chose men because of the advice of his

father -in -law and the 70 that he also chose.

So we see that although these men are believers

and they have made them... People who serve tables,

like the way we say in the church, let's say

welfare team now, you are serving tables. But

it doesn't mean that you cannot preach the word.

It doesn't mean that outside of this place, you

will not be able to cast out demons. Praise the

Lord. We saw later on in Acts chapter 8 that

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Philip went on to continue to preach and to heal

the sick and to do mighty things for God. Praise

the Lord. Because in the place of training, there

are a lot of things that is acts of them. So

as you are in church and as you are receiving

training from God, as you are receiving training

from the church, you might not be doing a lot.

Praise the Lord. You might not have the opportunity

to come to the pulpit and preach. You might not

have the opportunities to be in the front or

to lead a team. Praise the Lord. But it doesn't

diminish your training. It does not diminish

the main thing that you are here for. Praise

the Lord. It's that you're in a place of training.

That this calling is common to all. Praise the

Lord. If they point you and say, next two weeks

you are preaching, you are able to come out and

preach properly. Praise the Lord. That you have,

it's like you are capable of doing things and

you're just sitting down. Praise the Lord. You

are capable of doing many things, but you're

just sitting. So we saw that Philip, although

he was serving tables, was a man full of the

Holy Ghost. He was preaching the word. He was

healing the sick. So even as you are in the place

of training, do not neglect the things that we're

doing. Do not neglect the things that the church

is trying to help you or trying to instruct you

to do. Because something will happen tomorrow

or your studies will finish and you'll be in

a field and you'll be in a place where you have

to teach, where you have to preach. Praise the

Lord. Where you have to cast out demons. I remember

one time, and I'm going to share this story as

we close. There was a time where the house that

I lived, I don't know what happened to the guy.

He just started, you know, displaying so many

things. He looked like he was sick. He was not

breathing properly. We're waiting for ambulance,

all of so many things like that. And we begin

to call the neighbors. So please come and help

us. The guy is a heavy guy. Come and help us.

Let's take this guy downstairs, take him to the

hospital. And then nobody, everybody refused

to come. All the hefty guys, nobody came out

because what he was displaying was first. So

I hope this is not a demon or something like

that. And he's all, he has a medical condition.

Praise the Lord. And so they came and called

me downstairs and I was like, what will I do?

We're waiting for car to come. But in the back

of my mind, I was thinking, let this guy not

die here. Not in this place. There's so many

explanation to be done. I mean, nothing happened,

but you're going to spend a lot of time doing

a lot of explanation, right? So I just started

to pray. I don't know what's going on, but I

still started to pray. continue to pray. And

I continue to pray. Continue to pray until his

situation was such that he needed to go to the

ICU for days. So, but everybody else was running.

Praise the Lord. Everybody else was running because

they don't understand what is going on. I also

had the choice to run. I also had the thought

in my heart that, ah, may this guy not hold my

neck. Do you understand? Or something else should

not happen there. But if you know that you have

the Spirit of God in you, what do you turn to?

Praise the Lord. You turn to do that which you

have been equipped to do. So as you are in church

here, there's a lot of equipping that has happened

to you. There's a lot of investment upon your

life. As the opportunities come to you, you take

it. Praise the Lord. As the opportunities come

to you, you take hold of it. And let Christ be

glorified. Amen. Just close our eyes 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

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with someone you care about. Until next time,

stay blessed.