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The Minister · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. Let's have us. Hallelujah. You're welcome
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to today's service. I trust God and I believe
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God that you'll be blessed today in the name
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of Jesus. So throughout this year, we have been
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taught that every believer or everybody who has
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come to Christ is a minister of God. That it
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is not reserved for certain individuals. It is
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not reserved for a special people, right? But
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that everybody that is a child of God is a minister
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of God. So today we're just going to be looking
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at that. And as most of the pastors do, I also
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struggle to find the topic sometimes for some
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of these teachings. But I would just like to
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call it the minister. Praise the Lord. Mark chapter
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16. Mark chapter 16. From verse 15. And he said
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to them, Go into all the world and preach the
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gospel to every creature. He who believes and
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is baptized will be saved, but he who does not
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believe will be condemned. And these signs would
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follow those who believe. In my name, they will
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cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues.
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They will take up sapiens. And if they drink
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anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.
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They will lay hands on the sick and they will
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recover. Praise the Lord. They will lay hands
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on the sick and they will recover. And like I
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said, that we have been taught that every believer
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is a minister. Praise the Lord. Every believer
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is a minister of God. So we see that Jesus made
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this statement after the resurrection. After
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the resurrection, he tells them to go and preach.
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Go and preach the word to every creature. He
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that believes is saved. Praise the Lord. He that
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believes is saved. We notice that the gospel
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is to be preached in all the world. Praise the
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Lord. The gospel is to be preached in all the
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world. There is no ascertaining people that the
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gospel is targeted to, praise the Lord, but that
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the gospel is preached to all nations, to every
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creature on the earth. So this is God's plan
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that everybody to be saved, that man is to be
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saved, praise the Lord. And so therefore the
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gospel is to be preached in all the world. 1
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Timothy chapter 2, from verse 1 to 4. 1 Timothy
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chapter 2, verses 1 to 4. He says, Praise the
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Lord. So the desires of God is that all men be
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saved. Praise the Lord. The desire of God is
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that all men be saved and come to the knowledge
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of the truth. Praise the Lord. God does not want
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men to be ignorant about the things that he has
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done for them. Praise the Lord. God does not
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want man to be ignorant. So we see the desire
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of God. His desire is that all men be saved and
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come to him. Praise the Lord. So we preach the
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gospel all over the world. Praise the Lord. So
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we preach the gospel to every creature. 2 Peter
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3, verse 9 tells us as well about this desire
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of God. It said, The Lord is not slack concerning
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his promise, as some count slackness, but is
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longsuffering towards us, not willing that anyone
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should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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Praise the Lord. So the Lord is willing and he's
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patient so that every man will come to repentance.
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Every man will come to the knowledge of truth.
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Every man should be saved in the name of Jesus.
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So he wants all men to come to repentance. His
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plan and his desire is that all men be saved.
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Praise the Lord. In Mark chapter 16 that we just
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read, verse 15. It talks about that the gospel
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should be preached to every creature all over
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the world. And we know that the word that is
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there is a Greek word for cosmos, which is used
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for the system of things. It's that the gospel
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is preached all over the world. It means the
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activity of men. Praise the Lord. To preach the
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gospel in every activity of men, to preach it
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in their... going out and they are coming in.
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That the gospel is a part of them, praise the
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Lord. That the gospel is a part of them. It means
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the inhabitants of the earth. So the gospel should
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reach every inhabitant of the earth, praise the
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Lord. The gospel should reach every inhabitant
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of the earth. It should affect the activities
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and the interaction of men, praise the Lord.
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That the gospel should affect the activities
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and the interaction of men. So we preach the
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gospel. Praise the Lord. And one other thing
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we can notice there is that they say you should
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preach it everywhere. It means that there is
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nothing that is, should be, everything is included.
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Praise the Lord. Or everybody is included. Praise
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the Lord. To all the families of the earth. Praise
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the Lord. It means that the gospel should be
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preached in every family of the earth. It should
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be preached in your family. It should be preached
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in your neighbor's family. It should be preached
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in your friend's family. It should be preached
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in every family of the earth, in all creation,
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in all nations of the earth, in every part of
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the earth. So there's no segregation. It does
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not see race. Praise the Lord. It does not see
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a different type of people. The gospel is for
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everybody. Praise the Lord. The gospel is for
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everybody. So it should be preached in every
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system or in every nation. The fact that some
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people's system works, for example, you are here
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in Cyprus and you rarely see interruption of
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electricity or you always have constant water,
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does not mean that they don't need the gospel.
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Praise the Lord. Or the fact that maybe in America
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there's more, there's so many things that are
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beneficiary or would help your lifestyle. Does
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not mean they don't need the gospel. Praise the
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Lord. Material possession or riches do not stop
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somebody from receiving the gospel. Praise the
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Lord. So everybody is included. Every nation
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is included. So we don't segregate. Praise the
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Lord. The fact that your friend has a big car,
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or he or her life is going perfectly, does not
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mean they don't need the gospel. Praise the Lord.
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Does not mean they don't need Christ. Or there's
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some people that will come online and say, you
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know, these things you are saying is because
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these people are poor, right? It's only poor
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people that can receive the gospel. Praise the
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Lord. But we see, even from the scriptures, example
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of the Ethiopian eunuch, right? He was in charge
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of... The treasury of the queen, Candace. But
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the gospel was also preached to him. It was reading
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Isaiah when Philip came and he explained to him
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the scripture and he received the gospel. Praise
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the Lord. In Acts chapter 18 from verse 26 to
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40, we see that, that even with his wealth and
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his riches, There was something still lacking
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in his life. When he opened the scriptures to
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read, he could not even understand it. Praise
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the Lord. That he needed somebody to explain
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to him. And we saw that Philip explained the
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gospel to him and he believed the gospel. And
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he was baptized and he was saved. Praise the
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Lord. So we see that every class of people need
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the gospel. King Agrippa, for example, when Paul
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was making the argument about his faith or how
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he came to the knowledge of truth. Praise the
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Lord. He said, you almost persuaded me to be
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a Christian. In Acts chapter 26, from verse 27
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to 28. Praise the Lord. We see that he was explaining
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what had happened to him. How he encountered
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Jesus. And so the man was feeling persuaded.
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But he told him that he's not just for you, but
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everybody else. Acts chapter 26, from verse 27
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to 28. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophet?
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I know that you do believe. Then Agrippa said
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to Paul, you almost persuaded me to become a
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Christian. Praise the Lord. And then let's see
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the other. And Paul said, I will to God that
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not only you, but also all who hear me today
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might become put almost and all together such
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as I am, except for those, for these chains.
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Praise the Lord. So he wants that everybody that
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hears him, so all the royalties, the people that
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were there to come to the knowledge of truth.
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Praise the Lord. But he was telling them that
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except for the chain that he has. Praise the
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Lord. So he was in preaching the gospel, there
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was consequences and there was persecution. And
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that's why there was chain in his leg. But he
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was preaching to them so that they will not have
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to have the chains in his leg. That his chain
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will mean much more to him. Praise the Lord.
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So the gospel is for everybody. Everybody needs
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the gospel. Your parents need the gospel. That
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your stubborn sibling needs the gospel. Praise
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the Lord. So, but then some people believe that,
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like we have been saying, and I'm going to reiterate
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now, that some people believe that not everybody,
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you know. Maybe our money can work for us. If
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we cannot preach the gospel, let's give offerings
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so that it would help the ministry. It does help
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the ministry, but that is not the way that we
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go about partnering in preaching the gospel.
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It is that you know and you preach. Praise the
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Lord. It is that you know and you preach. Is
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everybody called? Praise the Lord. Are you called
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to preach the gospel or do you have that calling
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upon your life? Is it for your particular people?
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Is it for the people that stand in the pulpit?
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Praise the Lord. Is it for the people or is it
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for everybody? And sometimes we, from our eyes,
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we judge people that are doing well for God or
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we think that people that are doing well for
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God are necessarily just people that are in the
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pulpit. Praise the Lord. There are a lot of people
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that are doing the work of ministry and nobody
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knows their name. Praise the Lord. They probably
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have never had a stage to stand and to speak,
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but they are there because they understand that
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they are a minister of God. Praise the Lord.
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So not every one of us will start a ministry.
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Not every one of us, what I mean by minister,
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not every one of us will start a church like
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this. Praise the Lord. But in our various places,
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in our various places of work, we are to preach
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the gospel. That is the way God intended to be.
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Praise the Lord. We see that the disciples, that
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when they were scattered because of persecution,
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that they went to different places and they continued
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to preach. They were not concerned about, oh,
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how do we gather again? You know, we love the
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setting of the church. And that's why as a church,
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we teach you some of the things that we teach
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you because we know that Cyprus is a passing
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place. You come here for four years, you come
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here for six years or more, depending on what
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you're doing, and you go somewhere else or you
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go back to your home. The will of God is that
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you know him and that you carry on this to continue
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to preach the gospel. With all the knowledge
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that you have, with all the understanding that
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you have been given, with all the catatismos
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that you have attended, with all the Bible studies
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and interpretation you have learned, with everything
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that has been invested in your life, God expects
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that when you go to a place and then you go to
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a church and then you don't understand what they
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are preaching, or you go to another church, you
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don't expect what they are preaching, or you
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don't understand what they are preaching, you
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don't sit down there, praise the Lord. What do
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you do? You start preaching the gospel. Praise
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the Lord. If there is need, you begin to gather
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people. Praise the Lord. If there is need, you
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begin to pray over them. Praise the Lord. If
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there is need, you begin to, you start a church.
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Praise the Lord. If there is need, you gather
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people together to fellowship. The people that
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started a lot of the churches, I can assure you
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that not every one of them have this much knowledge
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that you have. They ran with the little that
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they had. Praise the Lord. With every investment,
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they have taught you Bible study and interpretation.
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They have taught you many things, how to study
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the scriptures, how to create the studies, how
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to do so many things. Do you think it is too
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small or do you think you're too small to start
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something? Praise the Lord. Or you're waiting
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for, as I was asking, whether everybody is called
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or few are called. To say, you know, God is telling
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me, go that direction. Or you hear a clear voice
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like Paul telling you that, why have you not
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preached the gospel? Or why have you not started
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the walk? Praise the Lord. Every believer is
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called to preach the gospel. Every believer is
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called. Matthew chapter 16, as Pastor Fred has
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been explaining to us, I'm not really going to
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go into a lot of details. Pastor Fred has taught
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us a lot from these scriptures. I want us to
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read it and then we talk about the calling of
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God upon our lives. Matthew chapter 16, verses
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13 to 19. When Jesus came into the region of
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Caesarea Philippi, he said to his disciples,
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Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And
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so they said, Some say John the Baptist, and
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some Elijah, and some Jeremiah, or one of the
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prophets. And he said to them, But who do you
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say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,
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You are Christ, the Son of the living God. And
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Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you,
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Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed
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these things to you, but my Father who is in
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heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter,
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and on this rock I will build my church, and
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the gate of Hades shall not prevail against it.
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And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
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heaven, and whatever you bound on earth will
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be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on
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earth will be loosed in heaven. Praise the Lord.
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So Jesus said to him, upon this rock, I will
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build my church. Praise the Lord. And we say
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the word for church there is what? So we say
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the word for church there is ecclesia, right?
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Which means what? You see? Called out ones. Praise
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the Lord. It is a word to use. It's a word that
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is used for summoning somebody. Praise the Lord.
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To be called out. So when he says, I will build
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my church, he's referring to those that he has
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called or those he will call. Praise the Lord.
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So how did he call them? How did he call these
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people? When he says that they are the called
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out ones, that upon this rock he will build his
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church and the gate of Hades will not prevail
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against it. How did he call these people? Ephesians
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chapter 1 from verse 17 to 22. Ephesians chapter
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1. He said that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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the Father of glory, may give you the spirit
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of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
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him, and the eyes of your understanding being
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enlightened, that you may know what is the hope
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of his calling, what is the riches of the glory
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of his inheritance in the saints, and what is
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the exceeding greatness of his power towards
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us who believe, according to the walking of his
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mighty power, which he walked in Christ when
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he raised him from the dead. Praise the Lord.
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In verse 18, he tells us something. Go to verse
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18. of his calling. Praise the Lord. Who is doing
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the calling? Praise the Lord. Christ is doing
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the calling. So for the Greek word, the same
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thing that we saw, right? Which means those,
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or which means those who he called, or what he
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has called us. Praise the Lord. So that calling
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is what he has called us. Praise the Lord. Let
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me put this thing back on this. So that calling
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means what he has called us. So let's look at
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the earlier verses of that place. In the earlier
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verses, in verse 3, it tells us something. Verse
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3, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. It says, Blessed
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be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
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has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
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in heavenly places. He has blessed us with every
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spiritual blessing in heavenly places. This is
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what he has done. Praise the Lord. This is the
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calling that he has called. In verse 4 now. Just
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as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
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of the world, that we should be holy and without
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blame before Him in love. Verse 5. Having predestined
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us to the adoptions as sons by Jesus Christ to
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Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
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will. Verse 6 and 7 now. To the praise of the
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glory of His grace by which He made us accepted
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in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through
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his blood, the forgiveness of sin according to
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the riches of his grace. Praise the Lord. It
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is God who is doing the calling. So this is God's
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calling. Praise the Lord. He has blessed us with
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every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.
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He has redeemed us through his blood. Praise
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the Lord. He has redeemed us through his blood.
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He has given us the forgiveness of sins. according
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to his riches in his grace. So when he says that
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you will know the hope of your calling, this
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is what he's trying to say, that you will know
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these things that he has done. Praise the Lord.
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That you will know the blessings in which he
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has blessed us with. That you will know the things
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that we have in him. Praise the Lord. That is
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what he has called us. That is what he has called
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us. We also see another way in which he called
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us. 1 Peter 2, verse 9, that we all know about,
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that he called us out of darkness into light.
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Praise the Lord. He called us out of darkness
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into light. He said, but you are a choosing generation,
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a royal priest to the holy nation, his own special
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people, that you may proclaim the praises of
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he who has called you out of darkness into his
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marvelous light. Praise the Lord. He has called
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us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
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So this is what he has called us, that we're
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a royal priesthood, that we're a holy nation.
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This is the calling of God upon our lives, that
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we're a holy nation. We're a royal priesthood.
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We're a special people, a peculiar people. That
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is what he has called us. Praise the Lord. So
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what has God called you? He has called you a
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royal priesthood. He says that you are blessed
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in the heavenly places. Praise the Lord. With
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every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.
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So this is what God has called us. Does this
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look like somebody who is saved? Praise the Lord.
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So does everybody, is everybody called of God?
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Praise the Lord. So every one of us is called
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by God. So we see from the scripture that every
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one of us is called by God. So when Paul says
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that you may know the hope of your calling, that
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you may know the hope in which he has called
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you. That you know that he called you a peculiar
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people. Praise the Lord. So we also look at,
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in the epistle, we also see that a lot of the
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time, Paul also refers to the believers as called
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saints, or he called them saints. Praise the
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Lord. And it is God who has called them. It is
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God that is doing the calling. So being called
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out of the world, the believer is sanctified,
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right? That is declared a saint or called a saint.
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Praise the Lord. So being called out of the world,
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the believer is sanctified, called out or being
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called a saint. So we also see that in Ephesians
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that when he's using the word calling, he talks
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about it in terms of salvation. Praise the Lord.
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A lot of the places, several of the places, talks
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about it as salvation. It is used to reference
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to he that is saved, he that has received salvation.
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So there's a calling that is referred to as,
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that is those who are now saved, or those who,
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in the epistle as we see, are the called out
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ones, right, are what is known as the church.
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Praise the Lord. is what we refer to or the people
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that we refer to as church so the church are
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referred to as people that are called out so
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to go to the phrase again that some people have
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found a way to coin together that the church
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is a you know it's like a hospital we have like
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six people there six people there speak people
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there As we continue, as we have seen through
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the scriptures, the more we study, the more we
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find out that those statements are very wrong.
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Praise the Lord. But the church is a gathering
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of called out people. Praise the Lord. So when
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we come to the church, what do we do? We come
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to fellowship. Praise the Lord. We come to correct.
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We come to exalt. Praise the Lord. We don't come
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again and we're talking to you about repentance.
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Or we're talking to you about receive Jesus into
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your life. Praise the Lord. The way it should
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be is that it is a gathering of called out people.
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And when we come with fellowship, it will not
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be strange when we say you should minister to
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one another. Praise the Lord. It will not be
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strange when we say pray in tongues. It will
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not be strange when we say heal the sick. Praise
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the Lord. Because it is a gathering of kindred
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minds. It is a gathering of people that believe
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the same thing. that are taught properly. There
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are people that are called out, people that have
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believed the gospel. So like I said, this calling
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is used for salvation, all those, and then all
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those who are saved are called. Praise the Lord.
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So everybody who is saved is called. So if you're
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saved in this building, you are called. You are
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called of God. Praise the Lord. So don't wait
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for the road to the Damascus calling. Praise
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the Lord. Don't wait for the road to the Damascus
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calling or something dramatic happen in your
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life. Praise the Lord. Then we know, okay, we
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are called. You need to focus now. Praise the
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Lord. Or we need to start doing the things we
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need to start doing because something has happened
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and it has helped you to bring you back to God
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or to make you refocus. Praise the Lord. You
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are called out once. Hallelujah. Ephesians chapter
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4, verse 4 to 6. It said there is one body and
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one spirit. just as you are called in one hope
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of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
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One God and Father of all, who is above all and
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through all, in you all. Praise the Lord. So
26:00
the word one there is talking about those who
26:02
are saved. Praise the Lord. The word there is
26:06
the one is talking about those who are saved.
26:08
That no one is excluded from this. Praise the
26:12
Lord. That we have one faith. We have one baptism.
26:16
Praise the Lord. Nobody is excluded from this.
26:19
Nobody is excluded from this calling. There is
26:27
no special reference to a believer, to one particular
26:31
believer or a group of believers. Praise the
26:33
Lord. It is to all. It is common to all. Praise
26:37
the Lord. It is common to all. So all the believers
26:42
have one Lord. They have one baptism. They have
26:45
one faith. Which is from one calling. Praise
26:52
the Lord. They have one calling. Your calling
26:57
is not different though. Praise the Lord. The
27:00
calling of God upon your life is not different.
27:04
We have one calling. Maybe sometimes we mistake
27:09
it or we think about it as, you know, maybe God
27:12
has blessed you. Maybe you have a talent and
27:14
then you say, that's the calling of God upon
27:15
your life. Praise the Lord. No one is exempted
27:24
from this. We have one faith. We have one Lord,
27:28
one faith, one baptism, which is from one calling.
27:32
It is God that is doing the calling. So although
27:39
this word, calling, like I mentioned, it primarily
27:42
refers to salvation, it also, in many places
27:46
of the Scriptures, refers to as ministry, or
27:49
refers to for ministry. We see in Romans 1, verse
27:54
1. Paul, a born servant of Jesus Christ, called
28:03
to be an apostle, separated for the gospel of
28:07
God. Praise the Lord. So we see called to be
28:10
an apostle here. He's talking about ministry.
28:13
Praise the Lord. He's talking about ministry.
28:16
And then in verse 6 and 7 of that same place.
28:22
Verse 6 and 7. Among whom you also are the called
28:26
of Jesus Christ. All who are in Rome, beloved
28:31
of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and
28:35
peace from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
28:39
Praise the Lord. So this is talking about salvation.
28:42
Praise the Lord. So in the same place or in the
28:44
same chapter, we see a place where he talks about
28:47
calling in terms of ministry and also calling
28:50
in terms of salvation. Praise the Lord. And Pastor
28:59
Kosted and Pastor Emmanuel has done a lot of
29:01
justice during the catatismus in teaching us
29:04
about the different type of gifts. Praise the
29:08
Lord. So we can go on and to listen to those.
29:11
Romans chapter 8, verse 28. He said, And we know
29:22
that all things work together for good to those
29:25
who believe. Sorry, for those who love God. and
29:28
to those who are called according to his purpose.
29:31
Praise the Lord. So when he says to those who
29:33
are called according to his purpose, he's talking
29:35
about salvation. Praise the Lord. Those ones
29:39
that are saved. He's talking about salvation.
29:44
Jude chapter 1 verse 1. Also talks about the
29:50
calling of the believer. Jude chapter 1 verse
29:53
1. Jude, a born servant of Jesus Christ, the
29:58
brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified
30:00
by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ.
30:04
Praise the Lord. He's talking about the calling
30:06
of the believer. So the believer is called of
30:10
God. He's sanctified and justified and forgiven.
30:14
Praise the Lord. So this is what a believer has.
30:17
He's called of God, and in that calling, what
30:20
happened in that calling, or the context of that
30:23
calling, is sanctification, it is justification,
30:26
and it's forgiveness. Praise the Lord. So, when
30:35
he says that you are called, it doesn't mean
30:37
that they have called you out of this world.
30:40
Praise the Lord. It doesn't mean that you have
30:43
left the world. If you have left the world, you
30:46
are asleep. Praise the Lord. It does not mean
30:52
that. But you are sanctified in the world. Praise
30:55
the Lord. You are justified even as you are here.
30:58
Praise the Lord. You are forgiven as you are
31:01
in this world. Praise the Lord. So all are called.
31:06
All are called. So let's look at some interesting
31:14
things about this calling or about salvation,
31:17
about justification, about sanctification, about
31:21
forgiveness. It tells us in Romans chapter 10
31:27
from verse 8 to 13, 1 Corinthians chapter 12
31:33
verse 3 and Philippians chapter 2 verse 11 about
31:36
salvation. Romans chapter 10 from verse 8. He
31:45
said, but what does it say? The word is near
31:49
you in your mouth and in your heart. That is
31:52
the word of faith which we preach. Praise the
31:55
Lord. So he talks about how a person is saved.
31:59
Praise the Lord. So when the word is preached
32:01
and he's saying that the word is near you, it
32:04
means that you had it. Praise the Lord. It is
32:06
in your heart. Right? You've had the gospel.
32:10
You've had it. Verse 9 now. It said that if you
32:15
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
32:20
in your heart that God has raised him from the
32:23
dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
32:28
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
32:31
confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture
32:35
says, Whoever believes in him will not be put
32:38
to shame. For there is no distinction between
32:42
the Jews and the Greek. For the same Lord is
32:44
over all, is rich to all who call upon him. For
32:51
whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be
32:55
saved. Praise the Lord. 1 Corinthians chapter
32:58
12, verse 3. Therefore I make known to you that
33:10
no one speaking by the Spirit of God Call Jesus
33:13
a curse. And no one can say that Jesus is Lord
33:18
except by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord. Except
33:21
the person he saved. Praise the Lord. And then
33:26
Philippians 2 verse 11. It said that every tongue
33:36
should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory
33:40
of God, the father, just keep that verse on that
33:45
screen. So salvation is therefore by faith. Praise
33:49
the Lord, as we have explained. Salvation is
33:52
therefore by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
33:55
So Jesus is the savior of the world, right? Or
33:59
he's a savior. And when a man believes in him,
34:02
we can say that that person, that Jesus is the
34:06
Lord of that person. Praise the Lord. Salvation
34:09
is by faith. in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So
34:14
salvation is not faith, right? Salvation is by
34:19
faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You saw
34:21
in Romans, right? That it is what you had. It
34:26
is a preaching that was preached to you. The
34:29
faith you have is in the gospel that was preached
34:31
to you of Jesus Christ. So Jesus is a savior
34:35
of the world. And when a man believes, we can
34:38
say according to this, that Jesus is the Lord
34:41
over his life. And that word for Lord means that
34:45
he's a master. It's a Greek word to mean the
34:49
master or a ruler or refers to authority or leadership
34:53
over somebody or ownership over somebody or something.
35:00
So when a person is saved, right, Jesus becomes
35:04
their owner. That's what he means. When a person
35:09
is saved, Jesus becomes their owner. 1 Corinthians
35:18
6, verse 20. He said, But you are bought with
35:31
a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and
35:35
in your spirit, which are God's. Praise the Lord.
35:38
So when he says that when a person is saved,
35:40
Jesus becomes their master. Praise the Lord.
35:43
It means that Jesus owns us. We are now his property.
35:49
And this place tells us that we are bought with
35:52
a price. Praise the Lord. We are bought with
35:57
a price. And so Jesus becomes our master. There
36:00
is an authority over us. So therefore, at the
36:07
point of salvation, Jesus becomes our Lord, a
36:12
master, a ruler. He becomes our Lord. He owns
36:16
us at the point of salvation. So Jesus has called
36:21
us, or he has called us, or to whom Jesus called,
36:25
the same person Jesus becomes the Lord over.
36:29
Praise the Lord. So let's look at what the will
36:38
of God is for us as believers or people that
36:43
he has called. What is his will consigning us?
36:48
What is his will consigning us? Before we go
36:55
to the New Testament, let's just read a couple
36:57
of places in the Old Testament. Exodus chapter
37:05
19, verse 6. We're looking at what God's will
37:11
is. Exodus chapter 19. He said, and you shall
37:14
be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
37:18
Praise the Lord. These are the words which you
37:21
shall speak to the children of Israel. Did we
37:24
read this earlier? Did we read this somewhere
37:27
in the New Testament? Praise the Lord. That what
37:30
God has called us, what did he call us? He said
37:32
we're a holy nation. Right? We're peculiar people.
37:35
Praise the Lord. So we see that this is God's
37:38
plan, even from the Old Testament, that he has
37:40
always had this plan that we should be kingdom
37:43
of priests and a holy nation to him. And so when
37:51
he was telling Moses this to tell the children
37:53
of Israel, he was saying to them that preach
37:56
these things to them. Right? And how they become
37:59
a kingdom of priests is what? That they believe
38:03
what I'm saying. Praise the Lord. So this is
38:06
the message that Moses was preaching to the children
38:12
of Israel. And how they become that is that they
38:17
believe God. Praise the Lord. It's that they
38:20
believe that he wanted them to be a kingdom of
38:23
priests and a holy nation to him. Praise the
38:27
Lord. So this is the message that Moses had for
38:30
them. It depends or it is the condition is that
38:37
they believe the message they receive or they
38:40
trust God. They believe that this is good for
38:42
them. Praise the Lord. So the preaching here
38:48
will say that Moses gave is that Moses taught
38:53
them or he tells them about the promises of God
38:57
as kingdom of priests and kings. Praise the Lord.
39:04
So the message or the sermon you see about what
39:09
the preaching Moses did to them is that he taught
39:12
them about what? That God intended you a kingdom
39:16
of priests, right? And a holy nation to me. A
39:20
kingdom of kings and priests. So this is a message
39:24
that was given to them. He said, I will make
39:26
you a kingdom of priests. And this is what God
39:33
is going to fulfill. Praise the Lord. We saw
39:36
in the New Testament that the calling, it is
39:38
God that is calling it. Praise the Lord. Right?
39:41
It is God that is calling it. Did you do anything
39:43
to be saved? Was there any of your workings to
39:48
be saved? The same thing that he was preaching
39:50
to them here is that this is what he said. This
39:53
is what he is going to do. It is God that is
39:57
going to make this happen. Praise the Lord. It
40:01
is God that is going to make this happen. And
40:03
what they needed to do was to believe the gospel
40:06
or to believe what was preached to them. So God's
40:11
plan was for man to be a kingdom of priests and
40:14
a holy nation. So he doesn't want that to be
40:20
restricted to the tribe of the Levi. Praise the
40:25
Lord. He doesn't want that to be restricted just
40:27
to Moses. He doesn't just want that to be restricted
40:31
to a certain people, but that everybody will
40:35
be to him kings and priests on the earth. Praise
40:40
the Lord. So, but we see that the people, when
40:46
they were taught this message, they did not receive
40:49
it. Praise the Lord. As we see in Exodus and
40:52
the teaching that most of our pastors have done,
40:55
that they did not receive God's message to them.
40:58
They did not receive God's message. They rejected
41:00
God's plan and they decided that, oh, Moses,
41:03
we want you to be a mediator for us. We want
41:06
you to speak for us. We want you to be between
41:09
us and God. We don't want to see him or we don't
41:12
want to talk to him face to face. We reject this
41:15
message. We want something else. Even they went
41:17
for that, even when God wanted to be king over
41:21
them, they said, no, let us have kings like every
41:24
other nation. And he told them the consequences
41:27
of what that would mean, right? That your children
41:30
are going to be in the soldiers, that your children
41:33
are going to be walking in the palace. They rejected
41:35
even God being king over their lives. Praise
41:38
the Lord. So we see that they rejected these
41:40
things. And some of the examples of how God wanted
41:44
or wanted to show them or begin to see also is
41:47
that as God wanted them to be kingdom of kings
41:50
and preached on the earth, there was a few demonstrations.
41:53
to show them what that will be like. Praise the
41:57
Lord. In Exodus chapter 18, we see that in the
42:00
life of Moses. Exodus chapter 18, from verse
42:04
13 to 26. So it was on the next day that Moses
42:13
started to judge the people, and the people stood
42:17
before Moses from morning until evening. So when
42:22
Moses' father -in -law saw all that he did for
42:24
the people, he said, what is this thing that
42:27
you are doing for the people? Why do you sit
42:30
alone and all these people stand before you from
42:34
morning to night? Praise the Lord. Go back. So
42:37
he tells them that, why did you sit alone? Praise
42:41
the Lord. I don't know if Jethro knew what the
42:44
intention of God was for his people, but he said
42:48
to him that, Why do you sit alone? Why is it
42:51
only you? Praise the Lord. Or why is it, why
42:54
is it that you want your pastor to hear God for
42:58
you? Praise the Lord. Why is it that you cannot
43:00
also, or why is it that you are not exercising
43:03
what God has given you to hear God consigning
43:06
your life? Continue. And Moses said to his father
43:10
-in -law, because the people come to me to inquire
43:13
of God. Praise the Lord. When they have difficulties,
43:17
they come to me and I judge between one and another,
43:20
and I make known the statutes of God and his
43:22
laws. So Moses' father -in -law said to him,
43:26
This thing you do is not good. Praise the Lord.
43:29
But you and those who are with you will surely
43:32
wear yourself out, for this thing is too much
43:35
for you, and you are not able to perform it by
43:37
yourself. Listen to my voice, I will give you
43:40
counsel. God will be with you. Stand before God
43:44
for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties
43:47
to God. And you shall teach them the statutes
43:50
and the law and show them the way in which they
43:53
must walk and the work they must do. Moreover,
43:57
you shall select from all the people able men
44:00
such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness,
44:05
and place them over them to be rulers over thousands,
44:09
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers
44:12
of tens. And let them judge the people at all
44:15
times. great matter they shall bring to you,
44:20
but every small matter they themselves shall
44:22
judge. So it will be easier for you, for they
44:25
will bear the burden with you. And if you do
44:28
these things, God, he said, if you do these things,
44:31
I also God commend you that you will be able
44:33
to endure and all these people would go also
44:37
to their places in peace. So Moses heeded to
44:40
the voice of his father -in -law and did all
44:41
that he had said. And Moses chose able men out
44:44
of Israel and made them heads over the people,
44:47
rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers
44:50
of fifty, rulers of tens. So they judged the
44:53
people all the time, and they had cases they
44:56
brought to Moses, and they judged every small
44:58
case themselves. Praise the Lord. So we see here
45:01
as well that they begin to see glimpses of what
45:06
God has intended, or the intention of God. Praise
45:10
the Lord. They begin to see some of those intentions
45:13
of God. In verse 21 and 22, we saw that Moses
45:17
judged these people, sorry, Moses judged these
45:21
people and he taught them, right? And he taught
45:24
among them. So his father -in -law's suggestion
45:27
in verse 21 and 22, right, was that these things
45:32
are too much for you. Select for yourself people
45:35
among these people that will judge them. Praise
45:39
the Lord. And we saw that the characters of these
45:41
men were people that feared God, people that
45:44
had truth in them, or people that had no truth,
45:46
and people that hated covetousness. Where can
45:49
we see this again in the Scripture? About people
45:51
and the selection of people and this criteria
45:54
to them. We see that in Acts of the Apostles.
45:58
Praise the Lord. So we also see the same thing
46:00
in Acts of the Apostles and the four Gospels.
46:03
In verse 20 of this. Chapter we just read, verse
46:07
20, Exodus 18, verse 20. So he say, and you shall
46:10
teach them the statutes of the law and show them
46:13
the way in which they must go and the work they
46:16
must do. So Moses had to teach them the ordinances
46:19
and the laws of God. He also taught them how
46:21
to do practical things, how to do the little
46:24
things. Praise the Lord. They say the way that
46:27
they must walk and the work they must do. Praise
46:30
the Lord. So that they are able to judge. So
46:33
he tells them to put people over them. officers
46:36
over them right and he's so we also see the same
46:40
thing in the new testament right when jesus chose
46:44
his 12 disciples he chose them in in the same
46:49
way or he chose them just like moses chose the
46:53
70 uh elders that he chose that will stand before
46:57
god the 12 disciples were people that should
47:00
learn from christ mark chapter 3 verse 14 Mark
47:04
chapter 3, verse 14. Then he appointed the twelve
47:08
that they might be with him and that he might
47:11
send them out to preach. Praise the Lord. He
47:14
said that they might be with him. Praise the
47:17
Lord. So in this being with him, he means that
47:20
they will learn from him. Praise the Lord. And
47:22
when they learn from him, they will go out to
47:25
preach. They will go out to preach. So they will
47:28
stay with him. And when they have learned, they
47:33
will go out to preach. So we saw that in the
47:36
Exodus, as the people were coming out of Egypt,
47:39
we saw that it is a like of what Christ has done,
47:45
right? So being called out of Egypt, that is,
47:47
Egypt represented bondage or sin, a life without
47:52
God. Praise the Lord. And into the promised land,
47:55
that is God's promises, right? The Holy Spirit's
47:58
redemption, right? That when they came out of
48:01
Egypt, that there were people that should proclaim
48:04
or should teach about God to the other nation.
48:07
Praise the Lord. So the coming out of Egypt was
48:10
coming out of bondage into freedom or into God's
48:14
blessing. And in turn, they would declare the
48:18
promises of God or in turn, they will become
48:20
ministers. Praise the Lord. So in line with that
48:23
which God has said concerning them, that he want
48:26
them to be a kingdom of kings and priests, is
48:29
that when they come out of Egypt, when they come
48:32
out of the land of bondage and the land of sin,
48:35
they are coming into the promises of God, into
48:38
the spirit of God, into the redemption of God,
48:40
so that they will become God's ministers on the
48:43
earth. Praise the Lord. The king and the priest
48:46
will become God's ministers on the earth. so
48:49
that they will preach the message of salvation
48:51
to every creature, to the people around them.
48:55
So the disciples being with Jesus is that they
48:59
also learn from him. Praise the Lord. So he called
49:03
them from their different professions. He called
49:05
them from the different things that they were
49:07
doing so that they will be with him. They will
49:09
learn from him. Just like the same way Moses
49:11
taught the children of Israel, the same way Jesus
49:15
was teaching the disciples so that they will
49:17
learn from him and do the same. They will go
49:20
out and they will preach the gospel. So the 12
49:23
disciples were to learn from Jesus so that they
49:27
could be trained enough to... to be in his stead.
49:31
Like when he's gone, they will be able to continue
49:34
preaching the word. In Mark chapter 1, verse
49:37
16 to 20. Mark chapter 1, verse 16 to 20. Mark
49:44
chapter 1, verse 16 to 20. So this is Jesus calling
49:48
out, calling the disciples. And as he walked
49:52
by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew,
49:55
his brother, casting out a net into the sea.
49:59
for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,
50:01
Follow them, and I will make you fishers of men.
50:04
And they immediately left their nets and followed
50:07
him. And he had gone a little further from there,
50:11
and he saw James the brother of Zebedee, and
50:14
John his brother, who were also in the boats,
50:17
mending their nets. And immediately he called
50:20
them, they left their father Zebedee in the boat,
50:23
with a hired servant, and went after him. Praise
50:26
the Lord. So we see here also Jesus calling out
50:29
his disciples, calling them from where they were
50:32
to something much more better. And they followed
50:36
him, right? He would train them to do the things
50:40
that he's doing. So to be with him is that he's
50:44
training them to be in, to do the things that
50:48
he's doing. In Luke chapter 5 verse 10, we see
50:50
that Luke used the word that he will make them
50:53
catchers or to catch men. Praise the Lord. Luke
50:57
used the word to catch men, meaning that they
51:00
are going to preach, right? What it means to
51:02
catch men is to preach and to teach the gospel.
51:05
This implies that Jesus' focus was that he was
51:10
making people or he was building people that
51:13
will continue the things that he's doing. Praise
51:16
the Lord. He's drawing men or he's bringing men
51:19
so that they will continue the things that he
51:21
has been doing. So he reached out to the 12 and
51:24
he called them and he trained them and he sent
51:28
them out to do the same thing. Praise the Lord.
51:31
To reach out and to train and to send out. Praise
51:35
the Lord. We see that those were the works of
51:37
the apostles. Wherever they were, they were reaching
51:40
out to men, they were teaching them and they
51:42
were telling them to continue the same thing
51:45
that they were taught. We learned from some of
51:47
our previous... that a faithful servant is one
51:54
that do the same or one that gives exactly what
51:56
he was given. Praise the Lord. That the gospel
51:59
did not come to you so that when you are giving
52:02
it out, you begin to preach something we don't
52:04
understand. Praise the Lord. Or something that
52:07
cannot save anybody. Or something that cannot
52:09
make somebody's life the way that God intended
52:12
it to be. So we learn that a faithful servant
52:15
is one that gives exactly that which they were
52:18
taught. So Jesus taught his disciples, he trained
52:21
them and he sent them out to do the same, to
52:24
reach out to men and to train them and send them
52:29
out. It is the same thing that the church ought
52:32
to be doing. The same thing that we are doing,
52:34
that we are teaching you the word or we are teaching
52:36
you or we are training you so that when you go
52:39
out, you will do the same. You have the manual
52:42
for training. You have the manual for training
52:45
and when you have trained people, you will send
52:47
them out. Praise the Lord. You will send them
52:51
out. Even as you are doing the little things
52:54
that you are doing, you are filled with the Spirit.
52:56
In Acts chapter 6, talking about Philip and the
53:00
other people that were chosen, when there was
53:02
a problem in the church because some people were
53:04
neglected, these men were chosen to handle these
53:08
matters so that the apostles would focus on the
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world and in prayers. Just like the same way
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Moses chose men because of the advice of his
53:18
father -in -law and the 70 that he also chose.
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So we see that although these men are believers
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and they have made them... People who serve tables,
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like the way we say in the church, let's say
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welfare team now, you are serving tables. But
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it doesn't mean that you cannot preach the word.
53:38
It doesn't mean that outside of this place, you
53:42
will not be able to cast out demons. Praise the
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Lord. We saw later on in Acts chapter 8 that
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Philip went on to continue to preach and to heal
53:52
the sick and to do mighty things for God. Praise
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the Lord. Because in the place of training, there
53:58
are a lot of things that is acts of them. So
54:00
as you are in church and as you are receiving
54:02
training from God, as you are receiving training
54:04
from the church, you might not be doing a lot.
54:07
Praise the Lord. You might not have the opportunity
54:09
to come to the pulpit and preach. You might not
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have the opportunities to be in the front or
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to lead a team. Praise the Lord. But it doesn't
54:16
diminish your training. It does not diminish
54:19
the main thing that you are here for. Praise
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the Lord. It's that you're in a place of training.
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That this calling is common to all. Praise the
54:27
Lord. If they point you and say, next two weeks
54:30
you are preaching, you are able to come out and
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preach properly. Praise the Lord. That you have,
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it's like you are capable of doing things and
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you're just sitting down. Praise the Lord. You
54:41
are capable of doing many things, but you're
54:43
just sitting. So we saw that Philip, although
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he was serving tables, was a man full of the
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Holy Ghost. He was preaching the word. He was
54:51
healing the sick. So even as you are in the place
54:53
of training, do not neglect the things that we're
54:56
doing. Do not neglect the things that the church
54:58
is trying to help you or trying to instruct you
55:01
to do. Because something will happen tomorrow
55:03
or your studies will finish and you'll be in
55:05
a field and you'll be in a place where you have
55:07
to teach, where you have to preach. Praise the
55:10
Lord. Where you have to cast out demons. I remember
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one time, and I'm going to share this story as
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we close. There was a time where the house that
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I lived, I don't know what happened to the guy.
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He just started, you know, displaying so many
55:24
things. He looked like he was sick. He was not
55:27
breathing properly. We're waiting for ambulance,
55:30
all of so many things like that. And we begin
55:32
to call the neighbors. So please come and help
55:34
us. The guy is a heavy guy. Come and help us.
55:37
Let's take this guy downstairs, take him to the
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hospital. And then nobody, everybody refused
55:43
to come. All the hefty guys, nobody came out
55:46
because what he was displaying was first. So
55:50
I hope this is not a demon or something like
55:52
that. And he's all, he has a medical condition.
55:55
Praise the Lord. And so they came and called
55:57
me downstairs and I was like, what will I do?
55:59
We're waiting for car to come. But in the back
56:02
of my mind, I was thinking, let this guy not
56:04
die here. Not in this place. There's so many
56:06
explanation to be done. I mean, nothing happened,
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but you're going to spend a lot of time doing
56:11
a lot of explanation, right? So I just started
56:14
to pray. I don't know what's going on, but I
56:16
still started to pray. continue to pray. And
56:19
I continue to pray. Continue to pray until his
56:23
situation was such that he needed to go to the
56:25
ICU for days. So, but everybody else was running.
56:34
Praise the Lord. Everybody else was running because
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they don't understand what is going on. I also
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had the choice to run. I also had the thought
56:43
in my heart that, ah, may this guy not hold my
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neck. Do you understand? Or something else should
56:50
not happen there. But if you know that you have
56:52
the Spirit of God in you, what do you turn to?
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Praise the Lord. You turn to do that which you
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have been equipped to do. So as you are in church
57:03
here, there's a lot of equipping that has happened
57:05
to you. There's a lot of investment upon your
57:08
life. As the opportunities come to you, you take
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it. Praise the Lord. As the opportunities come
57:13
to you, you take hold of it. And let Christ be
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glorified. Amen. Just close our eyes and just
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begin to pray. We appreciate you being here today.
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We hope you carry this word with you throughout
57:28
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
57:31
for additional insights. Stay connected with
57:34
us through our website or follow us on social
57:37
media. If you are encouraged, share this message
57:40
with someone you care about. Until next time,
57:44
stay blessed.