Sermon

The issues about Women's Liberty pt. 10

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Hi there. Welcome to NECF. We're excited to share

  2. today's message with you. Don't go anywhere.

  3. Stay with us till the end for some valuable resources

  4. to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.

  5. Amen. Okay, so I think this is the tenth part.

  6. I don't know when we will finish. Glory to Jesus.

  7. Okay, we've been looking at a series of issues

  8. around or about women's liberty. And we are at

  9. a point where we are asking a question. Wait

  10. a minute. What is God's original plan or intention

  11. for creating a woman? Now, this is very important,

  12. especially... in this season that we are considering

  13. manifesting the kingdom. You cannot manifest

  14. the kingdom you don't know. You cannot manifest

  15. the kingdom you don't know. Manifesting the kingdom

  16. is not something accidental. It's something that

  17. comes from knowledge. So the fact that you are

  18. in the kingdom does not mean that you're going

  19. to manifest it effectively. That's why we are

  20. taking time to remove obstacles. that will hinder

  21. us from manifesting the kingdom. And one of these

  22. obstacles that has hindered us for a long period

  23. of time is a lot of matter around our sisters.

  24. Because there are a lot of issues that we have

  25. to dismantle. And why do we need to dismantle

  26. them? Because you will see as we begin that many

  27. of the strongholds that has kept people from

  28. growing and becoming effective in ministry, are

  29. things that claim to come from Scriptures. So

  30. you have to be careful when you go to Scriptures.

  31. And that's why Apostle Paul says that we are

  32. ministers of who? The Spirit. We are not of letters,

  33. the ministers of letters. For the letters kill

  34. it, but the Spirit give it what? Life. Hallelujah.

  35. Amen. Now, in our last message, last time, I

  36. think that's part nine, I concluded by coming

  37. to a point, looking at Genesis 1, verse 26 to

    Genesis 1:26–27

  38. 27, particularly these two verses. And when we

  39. read that place, one thing we were able to establish

  40. that God... Created man, male and female. And

  41. he created them in the what? In the image of

  42. God. And we said one important part of our study

  43. which we will do is to actually find out what

  44. exactly is that image. Now, let me give you some

  45. hints. Look at Genesis chapter 9. Genesis chapter

    Genesis 9 chapter mention Genesis 9 chapter mention

  46. 9. Genesis. Chapter 9. I want you to open your

    Genesis 9 chapter mention

  47. Bible. Else I will shut this thing down. Because

  48. we are not just telling you. This time is time

  49. for Bible study. And when you study, you study

  50. actively. You don't study passively. That's why

  51. probably many of our graduates today, they are

  52. graduating with empty heads. Because the problem

  53. is that... They go to class. I mean, when I teach

  54. some of them, especially, anyway, probably some

  55. people from the medical school are a little bit

  56. serious, but they are on serious issues too.

  57. So I'm really pathetic. I mean, I feel so sorry

  58. for our next generation of doctors. I used to

  59. talk to them so well in the class. You understand?

  60. But probably the most unserious people are the

  61. people from this area. No, I don't call names.

  62. I only say people from this area. You see some

  63. of them come into class with only phone. They

  64. will just sit down as if they come to watch movie.

  65. I ask one, am I a movie? Please don't do that

  66. in the church. There should be evidence after

  67. coming to church for a long period of a time.

  68. Don't come here and be wasting your time. I mean,

  69. please don't come here and waste your time. I'm

  70. telling you the truth. Very soon you will have

  71. gray hairs. When I came to this side, I don't

  72. have gray hairs. You know that song? Fading away

  73. like the stars of the morning. You know that

  74. song? Okay. So you better utilize your time quite

  75. fast. And this is a time of development. If you

  76. miss this part, you miss it. I'm telling you.

  77. Because the time, the area, I mean, the stage

  78. in which you will be moving in is brutal. You

  79. understand? Nobody will understand with you that

  80. you are in Cyprus. Life doesn't look at it that

  81. way. You understand? Hallelujah. What did I say?

  82. Genesis 9. Let me leave that one. Genesis 9.

  83. So, there is something that got my attention

  84. when I was just going through. So, I want to

  85. just give you a hint before we come to study

  86. it. Now, if you look at this scripture. He talks

  87. to you about Noah and all that after the flood.

  88. And I want you to just look at, he said, verse

  89. 3, every moving thing that lives shall be food

  90. for you. And I've given you all things, the green

  91. herbs. Then when you go down, let me just move

  92. down quickly. Verse 6, look at verse 6. He said,

  93. for whosoever or whoever sheds man's blood, by

  94. man his blood shall be what? Shed. For, that

  95. is, in the image of God he made who? In the image

  96. of God he made man. Now, you know, normally when

  97. we normally look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 26

    Genesis 1:26

  98. and 7. we quickly conclude that that is talking

  99. about people in Christ, right? So how do we go

  100. about with some scriptures like this? That means

  101. we will have to study carefully. Are we together?

  102. That's why I say we have to pay attention. Amen.

  103. But before we go there, there's something I have

  104. to put some layers before we arrive there. Amen.

  105. Okay, so... Now, I just give you something to

  106. chew while you continue to hear. What then is

  107. the image of God? Because here he's talking about,

  108. he doesn't seem to talk about the man in Christ.

  109. Is that correct? Yes. He's just talking about

  110. the man, any man you shed the blood in the sun.

  111. He said, no, don't do that. And the reason is

  112. because that man is made in who? The image of

  113. God. Okay. So, now let's go back to where our

  114. sister read for us. Matthew 19. Matthew 19. Now

  115. look at verse 3. He said, the Pharisees came

  116. to him. That is, they came to Jesus. Testing

  117. him. That means they were not coming to learn.

  118. They were coming to test him. Because they think

  119. they have knowledge already. And saying to him,

  120. is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for

  121. just... Any reason? Now, once they use the word

  122. lawful, that means definitely they are referring

  123. to what? The law. Are we together? Of course,

  124. they knew that Moses' law didn't say for any

  125. other reason. But you know, why did they come

  126. to meet him? They wanted to test him in the sand.

  127. So they knew the law. They knew what the law

  128. says. But they came to test Jesus and asked him,

  129. is it lawful in the sand that you... Put away

  130. your wife or divorce your wife, you know what

  131. I'm saying? Just any other reason. Now, listen,

  132. besides just that they want to test him, that

  133. question is open to us what is their view concerning

  134. a woman. Are we together? I want you to look

  135. at it. Because they have an understanding of

  136. what a woman is, according to them. So their

  137. question does not just only show that they want

  138. to trap Jesus. But it opened to us of their ideology,

  139. of their view concerning who a woman is. And

  140. interestingly, as we will see, they are bringing

  141. it from the law. Are we together? So they said,

  142. is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for

  143. just any other reason? And that's why I wanted

  144. you to look at that verse very carefully. Now

  145. for them, a wife, pay attention. For them, a

  146. wife is something you can just put away. Did

  147. you understand what I'm trying to say? For them,

  148. apparently they don't know what a wife is. Do

  149. you understand? Because after Adam's sin, when

  150. the Lord came, Adam too was trying to accuse

  151. God. But there's a statement he made which have

  152. an indication why God brought Eve to him. He

  153. accused God, but I want you to pay attention

  154. to know because the point is not the accusation.

  155. He said, the woman you gave me to be with who?

  156. With me. Did you understand what I'm trying to

  157. say? I want you to know that word, the woman

  158. you gave to me to be with who? To be with who?

  159. But now, look at how the Pharisees are thinking.

  160. To put her what? Away. To put her away. Now,

  161. in no place, when you look at the Pharisees,

  162. in no place do you see that the woman have any

  163. faith of her own. That means her faith is dependent

  164. on them. Is that correct? Are we together? That

  165. means her faith depends on them. They decide

  166. when to put away. And while... They are focusing

  167. on just put away. Now look at the answer of Jesus.

  168. And I want you to pay attention to that. Verse

  169. 4. Are you in verse 4? And he answered and said

  170. to them, Have you not read that he who made them

  171. at the beginning made them what? And said, For

  172. this cause a man shall leave his father and mother

  173. and join to his wife. The two shall become one

  174. flesh. So when the Pharisees are talking about

  175. putting away, it's an indication how they see

  176. a woman. A woman is like a commodity. A woman

  177. has no equal value with them, which means that

  178. the power of what to do solely lies... Are we

  179. together? So their view is already open. But

  180. while they are focusing on putting away, we're

  181. going to look at it. Look at what Jesus said,

  182. that have you not read? I know we have done that

  183. study. You understand? He's talking about that

  184. reading is not just casual reading, an aginoscope.

  185. We saw that it's about reading. properly, completely,

  186. through, across. And he pointed out, look at

  187. verse 5, for this cause or for this reason, for

  188. the reason of what? The reason of verse 4, the

  189. quotation there. He said, a man shall leave his

  190. father and mother and join to his wife. Look

  191. at what Jesus said. And do what? And joined.

  192. What are they focusing? And put away. Jesus is

  193. saying, join. They are saying what? I'll put

  194. away. Now you see that a complete viewpoint.

  195. You understand? One, the view of Pharisee concerning

  196. a woman. Another, the view of God concerning

  197. a woman. That she's not a property to just throw

  198. anyhow. You understand? No. That the will of

  199. God, the plan of God, the original intention

  200. of God is... That the two are joined. The two

  201. are joined. So by now you clearly know the difference

  202. between the Pharisee view. Are we together? And

  203. the view of Jesus. Which is hinged upon scripture.

  204. Because he quoted scripture. So we want to see

  205. the difference between the Pharisee because they

  206. also quote scripture. When they discover that

  207. Jesus called scripture, they say, okay. Ah, okay.

  208. So they will have to now scripturize much clearly

  209. their view. They now ask him in verse 7. Look

  210. at verse 7. They said to him, why then did Moses

  211. command that to give a certificate of divorce

  212. to put her away? They say, why did Moses then?

  213. They focus. It's Moses. They said, this thought

  214. you are saying, what we are giving you, it was

  215. Moses that brought it. So what are you trying

  216. to say? It's scriptural, what we are giving you.

  217. You know, just the same way the devil will cause

  218. scripture, Jesus will also cause scripture. Are

  219. we together? They are still defending their view.

  220. Now, I want you to note something here quickly

  221. before we move. That the fact that you claim

  222. that your view came from Scripture does not make

  223. it that it's right. And that's why we have to

  224. be careful. And that's the reason why, as I said,

  225. all the issues we are discussing concerning women's

  226. liberty, concerning whether a woman should speak

  227. or keep quiet in church, concerning whether a

  228. woman can lead a church, concerning whether a

  229. woman should wear a trouser or not, concerning...

  230. whether a woman should, what do you call it,

  231. cover her hair or not. All these, I want you

  232. to note that they are all picked from where?

  233. From scriptures. Here we are seeing a Pharisee

  234. also trying to argue with Jesus, backing their

  235. viewpoint from where? From scriptures. So that's

  236. why we said, if ever somebody say, it's in the

  237. Bible, it's in the Bible. You know, sir, have

  238. you had that argument? You say, it's in the Bible

  239. now? That's why we have taught you, Right? Yes.

  240. As I said, you know, some people were surprised,

  241. I followed them. Even if you block us, they will

  242. bring good. Yes, sir. If they block us, I'll

  243. call them, we will do Bible study with them.

  244. Then I will give them assignment. So be careful

  245. how you post, because I'm watching. That's my

  246. work. And that's our work, sir. Yes. Glory to

  247. Jesus. So what we are trying to say is that is

  248. to clarify true scriptures, to understand what

  249. is God's view, because that's what matters. What

  250. is God's view concerning a woman? And if that

  251. is not corrected, it's going to affect you and

  252. it's going to affect your relationship. I hear

  253. some of you say, that's how women are. That's

  254. how women are. That's how women are. Sometimes,

  255. if you don't beat a woman, she's like a baby.

  256. If you don't beat her, normally her sense is

  257. not normally okay. You see, your village is following

  258. you. Or you hear so many comments, careless comments,

  259. regrettably, even sometimes by ministers, that

  260. men are made naturally to have, to need varieties.

  261. You see how, how we are spiritualizing flesh.

  262. You know, sir? That means if you think that a

  263. man needs varieties, that he cannot stay with

  264. one woman, that means in your head you are thinking

  265. that women are what? Dufe? Or women are... You

  266. know what I'm trying to say? Groceries, like

  267. Pasuji used to teach us in healthy living, that

  268. you need different colors of fruit to be healthy.

  269. You see? Suddenly now you will turn sisters to

  270. become fruit. So you need black, blue, short,

  271. tall. And that's why it's critical. When you

  272. go with this type of thought, how will you not

  273. frustrate the agenda of God? How won't pride

  274. enter you? When they say minister to one another

  275. and a lady comes to minister to you, you see

  276. her as tomatoes. So something needs to be corrected.

  277. And that's why we are taking time. It's not possible

  278. for you to really become effective in ministry,

  279. whether you're a man or a woman, if you have

  280. a wrong perception about a woman or about a man.

  281. This is how, that's why I often tell believers,

  282. be careful when they start all this movement.

  283. Try to know where are they going. Don't just

  284. be... Be carried away by the label alone. Say

  285. Black Lives Matter. Do you understand what I'm

  286. saying? Feminist movement. You know, don't just

  287. be carried away by label. Try to know where are

  288. they going? What exactly is the source of their

  289. motivation? You'll be shocked. Did you understand

  290. what I'm saying? You'll be shocked. This is the

  291. reason why we have... You know, the last time...

  292. We are talking, you understand? I was talking

  293. about, even for concerning this issue of gender,

  294. what do you call it? Gender equality, you understand?

  295. All those grammar, gender equity, gender equality,

  296. whatever. You understand? What shaped, what is

  297. shaping your thoughts and your understanding?

  298. As I said, don't be carried away by labels, you

  299. understand? That's why we are saying, learn to

  300. read. You don't want to read, you understand?

  301. Because you will need to be hardworking. to read

  302. properly, to understand what actually the thing

  303. is. I mean, the movement is about. And that's

  304. why we're taking time to talk about distance.

  305. You know, I saw one lady fuming online. Fuming!

  306. Yes, sir. I'm qualified, but they are paying

  307. me less because I'm a woman. They are paying

  308. me less as a woman. Now, if you are not well

  309. read, You will just speak it like that. But anybody

  310. who is, even if you understand basic statistics,

  311. right, will know that, yes, gender could contribute

  312. about a difference in salary, but that difference

  313. in salary is not actually a unilateral factor.

  314. It is several factors that contribute to it.

  315. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? So

  316. let nobody just come and simplify something to

  317. you and say it's because of gender alone. Wait

  318. a minute. Do you really understand what we call

  319. Latin variables? What am I trying to say? There's

  320. a way that these people can be loud and they

  321. carry you away and then use emotion. Back to

  322. where we are. What I'm trying to let you know

  323. that there are many things that are actually

  324. in the scriptures. But they are picked wrongly.

  325. Just like the Pharisees. We don't want to be

  326. like the Pharisees. We don't. Not at all. Look

  327. at verse 8 of that Matthew. What? Matthew 19.

  328. Good. He said to them, Moses, because of the

  329. hardness of your heart, permitted you to do what?

  330. You know, Jesus unveiled it. Initially they say,

  331. why did Moses? More or less to say that the source

  332. of divorce is Moses because he's the one who

  333. asked us to have certificates. But Jesus said,

  334. no, the source of divorce is not Moses. The source

  335. of putting away is not Moses. The source is you.

  336. It's your own willingness. That's what that heartness

  337. of heart means. Your unwillingness or your disobedience

  338. to the word of God. You are heart -hearted because

  339. of your wicked heart. Moses wanted to help the

  340. sisters to have, what do you call it, safe landing.

  341. Because he knows the wickedness of these people's

  342. heart, he will allow it haphazardly. These people

  343. are going to do damage. So the only thing Moses

  344. did... Is to systemize the process. So that they

  345. should have some dignity. Even if you want to

  346. put them away. But he said the source of putting

  347. away of divorce is you. Is the hardness of your

  348. heart. Because of the hardness of your heart.

  349. Moses permitted you to divorce. Moses permitted

  350. you. to divorce. But from the beginning, it was

  351. what? It was not so. Again, Jesus pointed them

  352. back to what he has earlier said. In the beginning,

  353. it was not so. In the beginning, it was not so.

  354. Now, when you look at these scriptures, it looks

  355. superficially as if Jesus is just focusing on

  356. the issue of marriage. I mean, do you understand

  357. that? Because it looks as that's what the point

  358. is. But there's a deeper discussion which we're

  359. going to look at that is much more deeper than

  360. that. It's not just talking about the issue of

  361. marriage and then divorce. No. There's something

  362. deeper than that of value which I want you to

  363. see. How a woman is viewed. Did you understand

  364. what I'm trying to say? That's what I want you

  365. to see. Because... The matter of divorce will

  366. not have come in if their value of women is accurate.

  367. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? The

  368. matter of putting away will not have come if

  369. their understanding, their view concerning women

  370. is accurate. Because Jesus said, you understand,

  371. is to join or to cleave. Now, that scripture

  372. Jesus called is two scriptures. Although it was

  373. repeated somehow. Let's go back to them. And

  374. as I said, one of the scriptures is Genesis chapter

    Genesis 1 chapter mention

  375. 1. Genesis chapter 1 verse 26. That image. But

    Genesis 1:26

  376. there is something. Let me go to the second scripture

  377. first. Which is Genesis 2 .24. Genesis 2 .24.

  378. Please go with me quickly. Genesis 2 .24. Thank

  379. you Jesus. Therefore. A man shall leave his father

  380. and mother and be joined to his wife. And the

  381. two shall become one flesh. The two shall become

  382. one flesh. Now, to understand this scripture,

  383. because it says what? Therefore. Are we together?

  384. Oh, are we with me? Are you with me? Therefore.

  385. That means you are coming to a conclusion. There

  386. is a view. Listen, listen to me. Just like we

  387. said concerning the Pharisee. You see, the issue

  388. of putting away the woman comes into being because

  389. of their corrupted understanding of who a woman

  390. is. So already we will not be focusing on marriage,

  391. marriage, marriage. That's not the point. We

  392. want to dig into the source of the problem. Did

  393. you understand what I'm saying? We want to dig

  394. into the source of the problem. And so when he

  395. said, therefore, a man will leave his father

  396. and mother and be joined to his wife, and the

  397. two shall become one flesh. To understand that,

  398. because that's almost a conclusion, is to go

  399. back a little bit contextually, to read, to understand,

  400. till we come down. Look at verse 18. Maybe we

  401. should start from verse 18. Although we can go

  402. up again. And the Lord God said, it is not good

  403. that man should be alone. I will make him a helper

  404. comparable to him. Verse 19. And out of the ground

  405. the Lord God formed every beast of the field

  406. and every bird of the air and brought them to

  407. Adam to see what he will call them. And whatever

  408. Adam called each living creature, that was its

  409. name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the

  410. birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.

  411. But for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable

  412. to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep.

  413. to fall on Adam and he slept and he took one

  414. of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.

  415. Then the ribs which the Lord God had taken from

  416. man, he made into a woman and brought her to

  417. man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bone,

  418. flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman

  419. because she was taken out of man. Now, you see,

  420. this is the context. Are we together? Now, upon

  421. this strength of revelation and understanding,

  422. that was when we have what? Therefore. Are we

  423. together? Now, when a man had this understanding,

  424. he will not be thinking of separation. He will

  425. not be thinking of a woman as a commodity. Do

  426. you understand what I'm trying to say? He will

  427. not be thinking of a woman as lesser value. That

  428. someone that he can just throw away anyhow. Do

  429. you understand what I'm saying? So, the question

  430. is that we need to unpack this. Because until

  431. you come to this revelation, you will have erroneous

  432. view concerning a woman. Now, Look at verse 18

  433. again. And the Lord God said, it is not good

  434. that man should be alone. I will make him a helper

  435. comparable to him. Now for many years when I

  436. was growing, actually I was taught that this

  437. place, the helper is the woman. Because when

  438. you go down there and they say, therefore shall

  439. a man leave his father and mother and join to

  440. his wife. So automatically they all conclude.

  441. That it is woman that God is talking about. You

  442. understand? So this passage is always taught

  443. as marriage passage. Do you understand what I'm

  444. saying? It's always taught as marriage passage.

  445. Whereas, that is not marriage passage. But for

  446. many years, of course, I was taught, groom, you

  447. understand, that the woman is a helper. Now,

  448. because of that erroneous, what do you call it?

  449. Interpretation. A woman's purpose. And a woman's

  450. value is attached to that of a man. Did you understand

  451. what I'm trying to say? That means a woman does

  452. not have value outside a man. Meaning that if

  453. that is the purpose of a woman's life is to become

  454. the helper of who? Of man. That means if you

  455. are not married, you are useless. Did you understand

  456. what I'm trying to say? That is the implication

  457. now. Why are you looking at me as if you don't

  458. understand what I'm saying? That is the implication.

  459. Because if a woman is a helper of man, you understand,

  460. which we have been taught in the context of marriage,

  461. that means to fulfill your purpose, you have

  462. to what? You have to marry. Else, if you don't

  463. marry, you are useless. That is another worldview.

  464. And for many years, many women, in trying to

  465. feel that, no, how banal, that means... How can

  466. they say that? Do you understand? That my value

  467. is only attached to that of man. And that's why

  468. you hear many women are very angry. Let me tell

  469. you one thing. This is the origin whereby, let

  470. me point to you some things which probably you

  471. have not observed. Do you understand? Let's say,

  472. Pastor Ima, if you're going to write his name

  473. now, you will not say, Dr. Master Ima. You will

  474. say what? Talk to me now. You will say what?

  475. Dr. Ima. Now, our sister Titi, if you want to

  476. write her name, how will you do it? Doctor what?

  477. Now, what are you saying now? Did you see what

  478. I'm trying to say? Meaning that you cannot just

  479. call her doctor like that. That Mrs. had to be

  480. a... Why will you put Mrs. if you don't want

  481. to put master to him? Oh, some people are saying

  482. her. That's the origin of the culture. That a

  483. woman's purpose and value must always be attached

  484. to a man. Outside a man, she has no value. It's

  485. from this erroneous interpretation. This is the

  486. reason why we have to pay attention very well.

  487. If you are sleeping, wake up. Because deliverance

  488. is happening now, now, now, now. So we agree

  489. with that. But you see, as you are growing in

  490. the Lord, some things will come and be hooking

  491. you in the neck. Now let me give you one of the

  492. scriptures that begin to shatter my distance.

  493. I say, uh -uh. I already know that because most

  494. times when that scripture is provided, it's concerning

  495. the issue of ministry. They will say, you see,

  496. in fact, they used to counsel us. He's a man

  497. of God. Why are you thinking of a woman? You

  498. need to have the work you are doing before you

  499. think of a woman. If you don't have work to do,

  500. what would the woman come to help you with? Did

  501. you hear that? Meaning that the woman doesn't

  502. have any work. Her work is to help the man. So

  503. most times, that was when we would start praying.

  504. Lord, show me my purpose. And because we are

  505. confused too. Lord, show me my purpose. Because

  506. you are trying to pray to know the purpose. So

  507. that when the woman is coming, you say, woman,

  508. this is the work the Lord has called me. You

  509. understand? And the issue is that she's mandated

  510. by religion. Mandated that she has to follow

  511. your own, what you call, purpose. Did you understand

  512. what I'm saying? And women have been becoming

  513. angry. Why will God do such a thing? And I've

  514. heard all kinds of interpretations to defend

  515. women. Again, that will corrupt the passage much

  516. more. The woman will say, you see, when they

  517. say you are a helper, that means you have more

  518. wisdom. Without you, the man cannot do anything.

  519. Do you understand what I'm saying? The reason

  520. is not to try to console themselves. You understand?

  521. At least I am important. You understand? At least

  522. I am important. Because without me, the man cannot.

  523. In fact, they will go through this passage. I

  524. used to fear. You understand? They will see when

  525. the man was in the garden, there was nothing

  526. in him. That's why the devil couldn't do anything.

  527. But suddenly when the woman arrived, hey, hey,

  528. the devil feel threatened. And that was why he

  529. came and followed the woman. Because he knows

  530. whatever is of the man is in the woman. Hey,

  531. hallelujah. No, there's a problem. So when I

  532. read this scripture, come to me. Let me read

  533. this scripture. Don't worry. I'm going slowly

  534. because we must dismantle these things and digest

  535. it. Did you understand what I'm saying? Correctly,

  536. so that we don't put barriers. Because let me

  537. tell you, some of the men are thinking that when

  538. a woman becomes almost like... like jelly or

  539. like a banku you just hit hit like this that

  540. it is to the advantage you are a coward you don't

  541. understand what you're saying no if your wife

  542. have no understanding of her original makeup

  543. you understand you will discover that the home

  544. will not be productive it's against both the

  545. man and the woman the church today have not yet

  546. we are still struggling because We have made

  547. this thing and deny our sister expression. You

  548. know what I'm saying? We have denied. Second

  549. Corinthians. Oh, glory to Jesus. Second Corinthians.

  550. Look at Second Corinthians. I mean, this is a

  551. scripture that hooked me in the neck. And I began

  552. to study and say, eh, eh, there's a problem here.

  553. Because we are taught that the manna is the one

  554. with the purpose of God. The woman is coming

  555. to help. And suddenly I read this scripture.

  556. Read with me. He said, verse chapter 5. Okay,

  557. sorry, I didn't call the chapter. You know, I'm

  558. vibrating because of my, my spirit is angry concerning

  559. this issue. Look at chapter 5. 2 Corinthians

    2 Corinthians 5 chapter mention

  560. chapter 5. Pastor Iman already read to us that

  561. scripture. I love that scripture. You understand?

  562. Let me start from verse 14. For the love of Christ

  563. compels us. Because we taught church that if

  564. one died for all, then all died. Verse 15. And

  565. he died for all. For how many? Male. Only male.

  566. He died for who? For all, male and female. That

  567. those who live should live no longer for themselves,

  568. but for him. But for him. To live for who? For

  569. him. For the man? For who? For him. For the man,

  570. for him. Live for him. Who died for them and

  571. rose again. Look at verse 16. Having this understanding.

  572. He said, therefore. From now on. We regard no

  573. one according to the flesh. This is not a matter

  574. of sex. Visualistic. Having this understanding.

  575. Now we regard no man. In the worldly. Is it NLT?

  576. There is one version that says in the worldly

  577. point of view or something like that. Human point

  578. of view. Please start. There is one version that

  579. says NIV. So from now on, we regard no one from

  580. what? A worldly point of view. Meaning that looking

  581. at believers from the fleshly standpoint. From

  582. the physical, it's actually a worldly point of

  583. view. Though we once regarded Christ in this

  584. way, we do so what? No longer. Verse 17. Therefore,

  585. if anyone, male or both male and female, if anyone

  586. is in Christ, he is a new creature. In fact,

  587. if you look at in Kidronity, that he is in italics.

  588. That means it's inserted. In Christ, a new creature.

  589. That's how it is. All things have passed away.

  590. Behold, all things have become new. Verse 18.

  591. Now, all things are of who? All things are of

  592. God, who has reconciled us to himself. Oh, I

  593. want you to understand with me. Is the only man.

  594. Only male that has been reconciled. He said.

  595. He has reconciled us to himself. That is male

  596. and female. Through Jesus Christ. And has given

  597. us. Those who have been reconciled. Given who?

  598. Us. The ministry of reconciliation. No different.

  599. Male and who? And female. This thing hook me.

  600. And say. So how come we read Genesis differently?

  601. That the ministry is of the man. The woman is

  602. coming to be a helper. How then now is saying

  603. that the ministry is us? Those who have been

  604. reconciled have been given the ministry of reconciliation.

  605. Which means that our salvation ushers us into

  606. ministry. Are we together? Everybody here is

  607. called. All of us. You know, sir? I have explained

  608. this thing. The will of God is that today you

  609. are taught. Tomorrow is your turn to teach. Did

  610. you understand what I'm saying? That is, you

  611. are taught and you grow. Listen. Pastoring is

  612. not a name. It's not a label. It's a work. Oh.

  613. Did you hear what I said? You know, some of you

  614. when they ask you, because there's erroneous,

  615. I mean, teaching about it. You think pastor is

  616. the one who just, no. You know, pastor is a mature

  617. believer who actually also teach others to grow.

  618. That's what, that's the work of pastoring. Pastoring

  619. is feeding. I have taught it in this, this thing.

  620. You understand? It's from the word shepherd.

  621. And what does shepherd do? To feed. What am I

  622. doing now? I am feeding so that you can grow.

  623. So, The will of God is for you not to stay stunted.

  624. Not to, I mean, the will of God is for you to

  625. grow to become a pastor. Did you hear what I'm

  626. saying? So don't be rejecting, no, me, I'm not

  627. a pastor. I won't become a pastor. Pastors are

  628. not the people who just live whatever they are

  629. doing and come and stay. You understand? You

  630. know, we have all kinds of erroneous thinking

  631. about ministry. That's why we said in our lifetime,

  632. that will be corrected. You do understand what

  633. I'm saying? And you must make that choice that

  634. must be corrected. You understand? Paul has a

  635. career. Zenos is a lawyer. Are we together? Luke

  636. is a what? He's a physician. Does that stop you

  637. from ministry? Oh, talk to me. Does your career

  638. stop you from ministry? Does it stop you from

  639. being called an apostle? No. So this is not a

  640. name. Nobody will say, no, God called me only

  641. to be pastor. You know? Me, I'm not a prophet.

  642. You understand? Me, I'm only a pastor. I know

  643. how to counsel people. Who told you pastoring

  644. is also about counseling? Are you a psychologist?

  645. Yes, we do counseling. Are we together? But the

  646. counsel you will give people is to teach them

  647. the word of God. That's the counsel. That's what

  648. is called the counsel of God. Hallelujah. Amen?

  649. So, you will keep drumming that into your spirit.

  650. Because you have to hear from the end. For we

  651. will drum it into your mind, you know, sir, that

  652. you are called. Because everyone that has been

  653. reconciled is given the ministry of reconciliation,

  654. you know, sir. And what is the ministry of reconciliation?

  655. It didn't leave us in the dark, verse 19. That

  656. is, what is that is? That is trying to explain

  657. what the ministry of reconciliation is. He said

  658. that God was in Christ, reconciling the world

  659. to himself. not imputing their trespasses to

  660. them, and has committed to us the word of what?

  661. The word of reconciliation. The minister who

  662. has been called into the ministry of reconciliation

  663. is giving the word of reconciliation. What is

  664. the word of reconciliation? The gospel. That

  665. is, God is not imputing men's sins. You know,

  666. sir? God is not imputing men's sins. He has died

  667. for the world. That is the gospel. And you and

  668. I have to preach. Now then, verse 20. We are

  669. only men. We are Christ's ambassadors. All of

  670. us. As though God was pleading through us. We

  671. implore you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled

  672. to God. So, when we begin to read, I mean, this

  673. is just one. When I began to read many... scriptures.

  674. I say, there's something wrong somewhere. How

  675. can you say that a woman's only purpose is to

  676. help a man? That means, as I said, if you're

  677. not married, you're useless. But that's not scripture.

  678. Marriage is a choice. Your purpose has no inclination

  679. with marriage. You fulfill purpose whether you're

  680. married or not. The greatest people that talk

  681. about marriage never got married. Did you understand

  682. what I'm saying? So your authority to even speak

  683. about marriage is not because you are married.

  684. Did you understand what I'm saying? You know,

  685. I know some of you, immediately the first day

  686. you are getting married, you start dishing out

  687. advice. After one week, you start giving us countdown.

  688. You say one week in marriage. So you start using

  689. the social media language. Some things I supposed

  690. to have known before I got married. Because you

  691. want likes. These days, it's not even those who

  692. are married. I saw some unscrupulous element.

  693. Why I call them unscrupulous element is not because

  694. I'm trying to abuse them. It's the audacity.

  695. Did you understand what I'm saying? It's the

  696. audacity at which they speak. You know, sir?

  697. I mean, we were watching one of our... This is

  698. with my wife here, sir. I mean, we just... Let

  699. me not say it. The point is, I say, she's a young

  700. lady. And we already know our problem. The problem

  701. is that even now, she's difficult to keep relationships.

  702. You understand? She's like a junction box. Many

  703. men, she's still hanging with other men. You

  704. don't understand junction box? Where you find

  705. different wires. And then she's online saying

  706. that the reason why people have problem in the

  707. marriage is because there is no money. So, if

  708. you see people divorcing, it's because, There's

  709. no money. Maybe she needs to go and ask Bill

  710. Gates. Why did they get divorced? Right? If it's

  711. because of money. Please, we don't want you to

  712. disgrace yourself. I beg in the name of God.

  713. Limit the way you speak anyhow online. You know,

  714. some of you, I used to teach you how to speak.

  715. I said, no, no, no, don't speak like that. You

  716. know, sir. Please, just having internet is not

  717. opium. Don't be carried away just because nobody

  718. is there so you can just say anything. You will

  719. regret it tomorrow because this internet, don't

  720. forget this. You know they forget, right? They

  721. will vomit it back to you. And that's why we

  722. are concerned that we need to do so much more

  723. to arrive at the accurate understanding. Now,

  724. once you study something, As I told you last

  725. time when we laid the foundation before we start

  726. this one, that the author of scripture is one,

  727. right? The Holy Spirit is the one behind what

  728. we call the Old Testament. Jesus taught what

  729. is captured now in the gospels, right? The same

  730. person is the one who now told the disciples,

  731. when the spirit of truth is come, He will guide

  732. you into all the truth. He said, there are many

  733. things I will say to you, but you cannot bear

  734. them now. That means the entire epistles is also

  735. the product of the Spirit. So the whole of it,

  736. you cannot read. As we said again, the entire

  737. Bible is a context. So when you read the Bible

  738. together and you begin to have contradiction,

  739. know that they say something's foul somewhere.

  740. You need to return back to look at it because...

  741. God is not an author of confusion. He cannot

  742. speak something in Genesis and speak something

  743. different in the epistles. It's the same. And

  744. that's what we are going to do to read through,

  745. to come to accurate understanding that a woman,

  746. you have value equal with the man. And that your

  747. purpose, your ministry is not dependent on a

  748. man. If you like, you marry. If you don't like,

  749. you live your life. You will succeed. You will

  750. achieve and fulfill the purpose of God on the

  751. earth. Are we together? And that is the goal.

  752. Because and to understand, not just only because

  753. you don't want to get married. I often speak.

  754. You want to get married, you must be married

  755. for God. You don't want to get married, you must

  756. not get married because of God. Not that you

  757. hate men. You are in the wrong track. You regret

  758. it. You understand? If you're not going to get

  759. married, it should be because of the gospel.

  760. It should be because of the work. If you're going

  761. to get married, it should be for the gospel.

  762. If you do it for any other reason, you are on

  763. your own. You understand? You are on your own

  764. because it's going to speak. It's going to speak.

  765. I pray for you. I truly pray for you. That it's

  766. a new dawn. It's a new dawn in your life. It's

  767. a new dawn in your life. Your ministry is expanding.

  768. Your knowledge of God is expanding. The word

  769. of God is glorifying your life. Everything is

  770. glorifying your life. I pray for you that your

  771. path will not cross wicked men. Your path will

  772. cross with men of value. Men who will see you

  773. as God sees you. Men who will value you. Not

  774. as the Pharisees. People they think they can

  775. use and discard. Not like the Pharisees. That

  776. will see you and see that you are a product to

  777. be used and discard. No, you will not meet those

  778. people. You will meet people who will see you

  779. as you are. Who will see you as one who should

  780. be cheered for. Who should see as a partner in

  781. ministry. Who should see a person who is as a

  782. partner in this great commission. We appreciate

  783. you being here today. We hope you carry this

  784. word with you throughout your week. Don't forget

  785. to check the show notes for additional insights.

  786. Stay connected with us through our website or

  787. follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,

  788. share this message with someone you care about.

  789. Until next time, stay blessed.