Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / What comes next after the Believers Conference? (Part 2)

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What comes next after the Believers Conference? (Part 2) · 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. We're praying. I perceive that someone
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has a difficulty hearing on their right ear.
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has a difficulty hearing in their right ear,
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right now I speak to that ear. I said, every
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blockage is open right now in the name of Jesus.
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Every difficulty in hearing, we see that every
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pain is gone. Every pain is gone in that ear
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right now in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank
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you. Father, we thank you for healing. Thank
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you for healing. Thank you for healing. Thank
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you for your healing power will continue to find
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expression. Every time we're met with a difficult
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situation or any form of sicknesses, we'll continue
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to be bold to open our mouth and speak in the
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power and the authority that you have given unto
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us to cast out devils, to heal the sick. Father,
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we thank you because we'll continue to press
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on. We'll continue to insist. We'll continue
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to seek more of your power, find expression in
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and through us in the name of Jesus. In the mighty
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name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Let's have a seat.
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I want to thank God for this opportunity and
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thank the pastorate, our lead pastor and the
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ostrich pastors for the opportunity to continue
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on the teaching, to teach. I think I listened
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to the Sunday service and I discovered I was
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probably a lot, it seemed like I was very fast
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in the last Sunday. I think I was probably wanting
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to get to the part where we pray. And I will
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pick it a bit, I'll be a lot slower so that we
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can be able to. at least make the most of it
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and take proper notes on the teaching. So a topic
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is still what comes next after the Believers
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Conference, what comes next after the Believers
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Conference. And what I want to start to do is
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to make us see the reasons why we gather and
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then the reasons why we must continue. That's
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basically the two things we're going to focus
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on, why we gather and why we must continue to
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engage, continue to persist in the things and
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continue to... absorb and let the things that
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we learn always find expression because practice
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is important. Practice is very important. If
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you're learning and you're not putting into practice
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what you're learning, you will not make progress.
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There is nowhere that you, there's in fact even
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skills that you learn that requires hand, that
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requires you using your brain, using your hands,
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they will always encourage that you practice
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because It's in practice that you realize that
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there's more. It's when we practice that we see
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the need to improve. We practice that we see
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the need to go back and check our notes. Praise
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God. And this is just right after the Believers
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Conference. And what this is meant to do is to
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help us to be reminded that if we forget the
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things that we have learned or the things that
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we have received, we will lose it. We will lose
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the things that we learned. And we looked at
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Micah 4, 1 -5. Micah 4, 1 -5. And I read it to
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us because it reads like a head, but we're reading
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it in the now. Praise God. We're reading it in
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the now. And in the New King James, Micah 4,
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1 -5, it says, It has come to pass that on the
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mountain of the Lord's house that we are established
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on the top of the mountains. and is exalted above
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the hills. People shall flow to it and people
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are flowing to it. The house of Venice here,
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people are coming to the house of Venice here.
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And in this season, we'll see the increase as
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the teaching of God's word. We'll see that in
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scripture, we'll see that the teaching as people
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spread and the teaching of God's word continues,
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there's an increase. Two now says many nations,
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many nations, many nations, many nations shall
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come and say, come. and let us go up to the mountain
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of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
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I said the emphasis is on this part. He said
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he will teach us his ways and we shall walk in
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his paths. So the teaching of his ways and the
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walking in his paths happens when we gather.
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Praise God. The teaching of his ways and the
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walking in his paths happens when we gather.
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Practice teaching and learning of God's word.
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majorly. We'll see it all through scripture.
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We're going to look at some passages. It happens
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when we gather. It happens when we gather. It
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says, For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
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and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Praise
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God. It says, He shall judge between many peoples,
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and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall
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beat their swords into plowshares, and their
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spears into proning hooks. Nation shall not lift
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up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
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war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his
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vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall
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make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord has
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spoken. For all people will walk each in the
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name of his God, and he will walk. in the name
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of the Lord our God forever and ever. And I emphasize
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the fact that going up a mountain is not easy.
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Going up a mountain is difficult. It requires
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sacrifice. It requires commitment. And we say
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that the whole process of teaching and learning
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is also the same. On Sunday service, you have
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a lot more people. On a weekday, you have people
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because I saw our sister coming. You're coming
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from somewhere. You had a long day. but you still
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were able to say this place is important and
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you made it here and it requires sacrifice. Anything
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that requires sacrifice would require, would
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demand more than the usual. Anything, any form
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of sacrifice demands more than the usual. And
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these people made it, they went to the mountain
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to, as I said, there's a going up the mountain
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and there's the, what are we going to do, right?
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And we know that anytime we gather in church
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like this, we gather to learn, we gather to grow.
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And we know that it's important to us. That's
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why we always make it a habit to show up or between
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to show up. And even in the Believer's Conference,
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when we gather, and that's the thing, when we
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gather and we're stretched for that long period
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of time, coming in in a week seems like, because
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how many hours do we spend in a week and how
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many hours are we able to put into that time?
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Because if you compare and contrast, you see
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the square, this one requires us to be stretched.
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The Believer's Conference requires us to be stretched.
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And then we... In that stretch, we're able to
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see that there is more. Then when we now come
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back to the routine, we have that sustained coming,
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sustained meetings, and we have the times, our
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personal times, where we learn and we grow, and
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then we continue, and the process keeps building
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us more and more. And they go up. We say that
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there's a literal side to it where it's a mountain,
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it's a location, and there's a spiritual side
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to it because people go to make with God. Praise
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God. And we say that there are times where even...
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Because there's the practicality of the mountains,
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there's the safety and security, even with regards
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to war. The whole idea communicates a bit of
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war. And if you're on an elevated platform, it's
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easier for you to see the enemies that are coming
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at you. So there's a practical side to it. And
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even with regards to teaching, when you're on
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an elevated level, it's easier for you to be
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able to communicate. People see you and people...
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hear you a lot easier there's if you've been
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to and when you shout it says the waves take
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your voice a lot farther and we talked about
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that so i will just go into and i took us to
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this situation in acts in acts 26 verse 14 where
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i i took us there to help us see the apostle
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paul's account of or recounting what happened
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in acts and And we see that in that conversation,
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we see that he was, at that point in time, making
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efforts against the will of God. And the change
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happens. And that change happened because God
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had met with the individual, God had met with
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him. And even when he met with him, which is
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the point we're going to spend time and look
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at, because we'll see the importance of the gathering,
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we'll see the importance of people, because people
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are who make up the gathering. And in Apostle
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Paul's meeting with God, he had to meet with
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an individual. It was our brother Ananias. He
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had to meet with an individual. And you see the
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importance and how it connects and how it kick
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-started and jump -started his whole growth process
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and his learning process because all of that
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is in keeping with the fact that gatherings are
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important. People that make up the gatherings
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are important. If we undermine the gathering,
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undermine people who will not make growth, will
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not learn and will not progress. That's why we
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encourage ourselves regularly as a church that
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we should prioritize the people that God has
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placed around you. Don't take for granted relationships.
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Don't take for granted the moments when you have
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people because you will not always have those
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types of people. You will not even know the value
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of those persons until when they are no longer.
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They are prioritizing and making the most of
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the meetings, ensure meetings and people, ensures
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that we don't live after our regrets. We live
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after our regrets. So I said we'll start to,
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we'll go to how God uses, how God walks through
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gatherings, how God walks through gatherings.
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We said this is central to how God meets or walks
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through his people. It's very important that
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we see all true scriptures. So if... God is going
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to do anything. He will do it in meetings and
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he will do it through people. So first focus
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on gathering because gathering is where we're
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taught. When they said, let us go up to the mountain,
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they're going to gather, praise God. And when
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they gather, what happens in the gathering is
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important or is valuable to what is necessary
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for the growth of the people. And I mentioned
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that the experience, you know, when I told us
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of the Psalms of Ascent, which is the Psalms,
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1 Corinthians to the Psalms. 1, 34. Those are
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15. There are 15 of them. Those are the sounds
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they sing on their way up. Meaning that the experience
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or the excitement to go up is not, they are excited
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to go up. You know, when David said, I was glad
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when they said to me, let's go to the house.
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It's an excitement, right? And that excitement
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is what fuels the whole process of learning,
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the whole process of the experience or the whole
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process of going up because it makes the whole
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journey worthwhile. I mean, I think that I remember
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those times when we are going as a church, we're
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going to either salamis or going to places, when
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in the vehicle we'll sing, we'll sing, we'll
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just join and sing songs and all of that. It
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makes the whole process or the whole journey
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exciting. Praise God. Just looking forward to
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going to that place. And we say that faithfulness
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is required for every meeting. Faithfulness to
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every meeting is required for growth. Faithfulness
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to every meeting and every word is required for
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growth. Because we don't see growth without commitment.
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We see growth with consistency. We see growth
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with just being fervent. We see growth with just
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putting more, just being committed, because that's
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how we go on. And every of Jesus' disciples,
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every of the disciples as well, and even the
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disciples that were made afterwards, we see that
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they were committed. We see that they were gathered.
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They're always that team of gathering together,
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that team of learning. that team of studying,
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and that is what guaranteed that they grew. Praise
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God. That's what guaranteed that they grew. So
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I want us to look at Mark 3. Let's start off
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from 13. We'll see the team of mountain, and
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then we'll go down to 14. Mark 3, 13. Mark 3,
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13, it says, And they went up on the mountain,
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and he called him to those, and he called to
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him those who himself wanted. And they came to
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him, right? So he went up to the mountain and
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he called them. And this is when he appointed
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the twelve. So then he appointed the twelve that
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they might be with him, right? And that he might
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send them out to preach. So note that the very
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key thing is that they had to first come to him.
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He was on the mountain, come to him. They were
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with him. They were taught before they were sent.
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So it emphasizes the importance of meeting together
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to be taught. And after we are taught, then we
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are sent. Praise God. Meaning that after we have
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learned all that we have learned in the course
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of the week, we have learned it. So we are going
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now. Praise God. There's a going that happens
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afterward because we have done all the teaching
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and the training. There's also the opportunity
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to practice. Praise God. So meetings are important
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because that is where we are taught. Right? And
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then what we do after we are taught is that we
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go and do. Praise God. We go and we do. So we
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don't just come and learn to have head knowledge.
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We don't just go and learn or we don't just come
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and learn and say, oh, I know contextual, I know
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canonical context, I know supernatural context,
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I know immediate context. All of those things
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are beautiful because the whole learning process
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should translate into process, translate into
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actions. It has to go beyond words. It has to
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go beyond words. All that we've learned means
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that When you see someone and an opportunity
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presents itself, as we saw in Acts 24, 25, sorry,
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Acts 25, 26, as we saw that Sunday, the opportunity,
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he took hold of the opportunity. That word there
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is, he has there is the laban, where he is not
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just, he has the opportunity. He sees the opportunity.
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He took hold of the opportunity to recount what
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had happened to him in Acts, in Acts 9. He took
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hold of the opportunity. It means that once you
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have learned, you are always looking for an opportunity
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to present that which you have learned. Praise
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God. You're always looking for an opportunity
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to present. So there is no breaks when it comes
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to practicing what you have been taught. There
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is no breaks. You don't go on holidays. You're
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looking for an opportunity and then you'll do.
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You're looking for an opportunity and then you
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do. 2 Timothy 3 verse 14. 2 Timothy 3 verse 14.
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And remember we said that Discipleship is a continue.
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You continue in discipleship. You continue in
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discipleship. Jesus' disciples, they continued.
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They learned. He sent them out to practice. So
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he says, but you must continue in the things
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which you have learned and being assured of,
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knowing from whom you have learned them. So he
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says you must continue. You must continue. You
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must continue. He didn't say you should take
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breaks. He didn't say you should stop. He didn't
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say you should just relax. He didn't say any
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of those. He says you must continue in the things
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that you have learned. Meaning that the persuasion
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that you got must be sustained. And how do we
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sustain the persuasion? It's by going back and
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looking at it again. Going back and ruminating
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on it again and again. Going back. And I know
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for some of us, you know what would have happened
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is that during the course of the teaching, there
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are certain sessions that you missed. Praise
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God. And your note has those spaces. You know,
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I was looking at somebody's note. I was saying,
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you have gap here, gap here, gap there. You want
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to go back and commit to filling in those gaps.
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Praise God. Because you want to have a flow,
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not breaks. Praise God. Don't have break in it.
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Because once you leave those gaps, you are likely
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not going to get back to it. You want to go back
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to it and use it as an opportunity to refresh
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your memory and the things that you've learned.
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Because that's how we're able to solidify and
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take in what we are. learning or what we have
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learned praise god because we have to be persuaded
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right we have to be persuaded if you're not persuaded
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about the things that you are saying you can't
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convince anybody about it praise god so and the
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more we get back to it the more we ruminate on
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it the more we this in fact discuss because what
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you can do it is what i will get around to is
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creating like having a discussion like ask the
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other person oh What part of the teaching excited
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you? What part of it? Most of it, all of the
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teachings are practical. And you can sit down
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and have discussions around it. And that makes
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it more exciting. Remember, I think we'll get
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to it shortly. Remember that there is the beauty
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of communities that we're together. And if you
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want to learn or if you cannot remember stuff,
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if you want to learn and be able to remember
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stuff, you want to rely on... Brethren, because
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when you discuss or study or gather around God's
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word, there's a likelihood that there's no way
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you will discuss about something again and again
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or ruminate on it that you will forget. And once
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you do that, you hold yourselves accountable
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to practice. Praise God. You hold yourself accountable
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to practice. And then the other point is continuing
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in prayer. Continuing in prayer. That is in Colossians
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4, 2 -4. continue, we must continue earnestly
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in prayer. Colossians 4, 2 -4. We must continue
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earnestly in prayer. For a good amount of us,
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that's stretch. You know what happens with stretches
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like that is that you are seeing yourself pulled
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to a limit where you can never do that by yourself
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in your house. You are able to do that effectively
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because you are in a gathering. Praise God. You
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are able to do that. effectively because you're
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in a garden. And when you have had that experience,
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you want to continue, right? You want to continue.
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So if you have done, if you, those of us that
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are around on Saturday, if you have prayed for
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that long, one hour will not be too long for
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you afterwards. Praise God. And it means that
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you are going to continue. And note that you
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are doing all of that to, as it says in the passage,
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it says, continue endlessly in prayer. Being
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vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Praise God.
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Being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Meanwhile,
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praying also for us, that God will open to us
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a door for the Word. Meaning that in your praying,
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you're not just praying and you're vigilant,
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you're praying for others. Praise God. You're
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praying for others because it says, praying also
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for us, that God will open to us a door. of for
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the word, meaning that you're praying for opportunities.
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Remember what we said about opportunities? You're
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praying for an opportunity to preach the word.
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You're praying for your pastors. Different opportunities
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and the chances we get to preach the word. You're
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praying for your family. You're praying for your
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siblings. Praying for an opportunity to preach
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the word to them. Praying for an opportunity
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to preach the word for their classmate. And that
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is the way we will see. And because if you're
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taking your time to pray for an individual, I
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guarantee you that when the opportunity presents
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itself, for you to minister to that individual,
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you will not shrink back. Praise God. You will
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not shrink back because you have been praying
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and you're going to seize the opportunity and
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minister to that individual who says, to speak
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the mystery of Christ for which I am also in
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chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought
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to speak. Praise God. That the words that you
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have all trans, that you are able to... Continue
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to minister. And you're doing it, as the passage
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earlier says, you're praying and praying with
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thanksgiving. Praying for opportunities to evangelize.
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Praying for an opportunity to minister. And we
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don't want to take breaks. Praise God. We don't
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want to take breaks because once you take breaks,
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you're slowing the momentum. You're dragging
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your feet back and you get back to status quo.
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Praise God. You get back to status quo. And for
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many of us, you want to fight the desire to go
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back to normal. You want to fight the desire
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to go back to normal. Because normal is easy.
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Praise God. Normal is easy. But what is difficult
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is switching to what is important for your growth,
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what is important for change to happen. And we've
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seen... Matthew 28, 16, 17, we see that the great
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commission or the instruction to go and make
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disciples was given in a gathering. It was given
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where the people were gathered under instructions,
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meaning that instructions will come for people
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to go and do in the gathering. We'll come to
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Acts 13, 1, but know that it's in the gathering
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that we get instructions. And when we get those
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instructions, we're able to go and follow through
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with instructions. When Jesus Christ appointed,
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when Jesus Christ instructed his disciples, he
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instructed them to go and make disciples. He
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instructed them to go and do all that he has
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commanded them. He instructed them to go. And
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we are actively instructed to go, right? And
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seize every opportunity that we have to make
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disciples, to bring others into and disciple
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others. Disciple others is very key. And in your
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discipling orders, you're taking your time to
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teach what you have been taught. Praise God.
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You're teaching what you have been taught. You
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don't go elsewhere. You are teaching what you
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have been taught. That's why if your notes are
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not proper, if your notes are not, you don't
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properly document the notes, your notes are like
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a map. If your notes are not properly crafted
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in such a way that you can be able to take them
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of when a customer was saying, can you be able
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to teach this thing that you're being taught?
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If your notes are not documented properly, that's
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why you want to. Pay attention to how you document
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the things that you're learning. Pay attention
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to how you're documenting the things that you're
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learning because you are going to go and make
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disciples and you make disciples by what you
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have learned is what you're going to be teaching.
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Praise God. And we said in Acts, which is what
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I alluded to, in Acts 13, verse 1. Acts 13, verse
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1. It's in gatherings where we get instructions
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and we don't want to neglect or forsake gatherings.
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So now in the church, that was at Antioch. There
23:26
were certain prophets and teachers, Barnabas,
23:28
Simeon, who was called, neither, Lucius of Cyrene,
23:33
Manian, who had been brought up with Herod, the
23:41
Tetrarch, and Saul. It says, As they ministered
23:45
to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,
23:49
Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the
23:51
work which I have called them. Meaning that it's...
23:54
In meetings like this, when we gather, we get
23:57
instructions. And for many of us, we got instructions.
23:59
Praise God. We got instructions. For many of
24:02
us, the instructions we got is a repeat of the
24:06
instructions we have gotten before. And it means
24:09
that if you are getting the same instruction,
24:11
you don't need any sign. Praise God. You don't
24:15
need any sign to do something about it. Praise
24:17
God. You don't need any sign to do something
24:19
about it. And in meetings like this, the Holy
24:21
Spirit will minister through. and people will
24:26
be commissioned, people will be sent out. So
24:29
we want to continue in the things that we have
24:32
been instructed to do, right? Instructions. Just
24:35
imagine Barnabas and Saul were given the word
24:40
and then they still hanged in. They still decided
24:43
to just chill a couple of weeks. They didn't
24:46
do that. They want to be able to get on with
24:50
it. Praise God. Get on with it. You don't know
24:53
how it's going to go. You just start. Praise
24:55
God. You start. You start. You start putting
25:00
things together and get to work. Praise God.
25:03
And then it's also in gatherings where we are
25:06
being disciplined. Right? It's also in gatherings
25:09
where we are being disciplined. It's also in
25:11
gatherings that we learn not to take offense.
25:14
It's in gatherings that we are disciplined. It's
25:17
in gatherings that we learn not to. take offense,
25:19
and we do a lot of learning and gatherings. You
25:21
know, for people that do things by themselves,
25:24
you can't understand how to work with people
25:27
if you just work all by yourself. And that's
25:30
why God has made it important for us to gather
25:33
like this, to learn from one another, to be taught
25:36
by one another, to have your brother offend you,
25:39
and then you deal with that offense. Right? To
25:43
have your brother offend you and deal with that
25:44
offense. We see in Matthew 18. 15 to 20. Let's
25:49
just read it quickly. It gives us a protocol
25:52
for how to match you. 18, 15 to 20. It says,
25:58
Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go
26:01
and tell him his faults between you and him alone.
26:04
So it means that you'll have to meet the person
26:06
one -on -one and try to go about resolving it.
26:10
And it says that if he hears you, you have gained
26:14
your brother. 16. But if... He will not hear.
26:18
Take with you one or two more, that by the amount
26:24
of two or three witnesses, every word may be
26:28
established. Meaning that you tried one person,
26:30
you go, it doesn't work, you bring two. He says,
26:35
and if he refuses to hear them, take it to the
26:38
church. Or if he refuses even to hear the church,
26:42
he says, let him be. to you like a hidden or
26:46
a tax collector. Remember we said that when you're
26:48
18, just going back to the 70s, it doesn't have
26:52
to be to you like a hidden tax collector. We've
26:53
been taught in the house that if it's to you
26:54
like a hidden tax collector, it doesn't mean
26:56
that you cast him out. You say, that one, no,
27:00
you're a non -believer. It's not that you cast
27:02
him out. And you want to ask yourself, how did
27:04
Jesus treat the tax collectors, right? How did
27:07
Jesus treat the hidden? How do you treat people
27:10
that do not believe? How do you treat the tax
27:12
collector, people that are... that people see
27:13
as corrupt. How do you treat them? If you didn't
27:16
treat them that way, then you should. He is the
27:18
example. Praise God. Then in 18, it says, Surely
27:21
I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will
27:24
be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on
27:27
earth will be loosed in heaven. 19, it says,
27:30
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
27:35
concerning anything that they ask, it will be
27:38
done for them by my Father in heaven. Then 20,
27:42
He says, where two or three are gathered together
27:45
in my name, I am there in the midst of them.
27:49
So we see that all of this comes down to agreement.
27:52
There's a protocol, there's the agreement, and
27:54
this just points to the fact that there's a protocol
27:57
for, there's a, just here presented, it's talking
28:02
about, in fact, you're trying to reconcile with
28:04
your brother. And in reconciling with the brother,
28:06
you are able to. employ different means because
28:09
that relationship is important to you. Hence,
28:11
you employ the tool of reconciliation because
28:16
it's important to you. So you have to prioritize
28:19
the relationship enough to be able to say, I
28:22
really don't want to lose my relationship with
28:24
this brother or sister. And it might not be,
28:28
it's not the easiest thing to do, especially
28:29
when you know that the person offends you. And
28:31
when you see the passage here, it's encouraging
28:34
us that Whoever you, the offender or the offendee,
28:37
you are supposed to, that is the posture, employ
28:41
everything. So we learn all of this when we gather.
28:44
You have people offend you, you learn, you go
28:47
by, you don't like it, but you still have to
28:50
because that person is your brother and you want
28:53
to prioritize gathering. So we don't, going forward,
28:56
have our offenses. We don't do that because it's
28:59
not going to help the work, it's not going to
29:00
help the fellowship, it's not going to help your
29:02
commitment to the things, to that brother. You
29:05
know, even sometimes, you know, the way God does
29:07
these things is that you are offended by the
29:09
brother and then you don't plan it, but you end
29:13
up sitting together. And during the time of prayer,
29:15
they'll say, hold the person next to you and
29:17
pray for that person. You'll just find out that
29:19
now you have been set up because you can't be
29:21
praying, you can't be praying evil for the person,
29:25
even if you are praying evil on your own. Praise
29:27
God. So, but you will have to be able to reconcile
29:31
or you have to see the need or see the importance
29:33
too. to continue in it. And gatherings are what
29:37
happens. You don't, you don't, gatherings, you
29:39
don't, you don't do, it doesn't happen in isolation.
29:42
We group, we gather together as a group. Praise
29:45
God. We gather together as a group because God
29:48
has created us for relationships to relate with
29:51
one another. And you don't, you don't need too
29:54
much to find that all two as a team in scripture.
29:57
As a team, we see that as a team in scripture.
30:01
That God himself wants relationship with us and
30:04
he wants us to have relationship with the people,
30:06
with the church, with our fellow brothers and
30:08
sisters in Christ. And we all are products of
30:11
relationships, right? From the time of our birth
30:15
to even the time of our, even to our spiritual
30:19
relationships, right? Our spiritual relationships,
30:21
we are a product of spiritual relationship with
30:25
God and also his people. Because you're first.
30:28
You come from a family, right? And in fact, that
30:31
family is, or family, as we see family, it models
30:35
that relationship that we have with God. Because
30:40
that's why we call God our father, right? And
30:43
the first, our introduction to fatherhood is
30:45
our earthly parents, right? And then we now come
30:47
to that point where we are able to have God as
30:50
our father. So by design, we're not designed
30:53
to live. Nobody's born in a test tube. Okay,
30:56
people are born, they actually do that. But nobody's
30:59
born in isolation. That's what I mean to say.
31:01
Nobody's born in isolation. During Pastor Victor's
31:04
teaching, when he was teaching us, he emphasized,
31:07
because he talked about it when he went to Ephesians
31:10
5, where he was explaining. We see that there
31:13
are different strata of relationships, right?
31:17
There's the relationship, there's a different
31:20
strata of relationship. There's the husband,
31:22
the relationship between husband and wife, there's
31:24
a child. The father's relationship, there's the
31:27
brother and the sister's relationship. There's
31:30
a relationship, the different status of relationship.
31:32
And we see that scattered through scripture.
31:35
And it's a we thing, right? Not an I thing. It's
31:39
like, it's a we together. And there's protection
31:43
in we than I, right? There's a protection in
31:47
we than I. And we are called to we, right? When
31:51
I say we're called to, we're called to this.
31:53
I think that was very interesting. We're called
31:55
to a communal lifestyle. We're not called to
32:00
an individual lifestyle. We're called to a communal
32:03
lifestyle, not an individual lifestyle. And that
32:05
is what sustains growth. That's what sustains
32:09
growth. That's what sustains increase. And even
32:12
as a church, the way we are to grow, or the way
32:16
we are to grow numerically is the same way. We
32:21
grow numerically on the premise of... You relating
32:25
with someone and bringing them to church. Right?
32:28
And if you are living your life, and you know
32:31
there are people that say, I'm an introvert.
32:33
I just talk to myself, I'm by myself, I go into
32:36
the class. And what I've learned in this short
32:40
time is that anybody can be anything. You decide
32:45
what you want to. Because you have lived your
32:48
life as an introvert, if you need a job, you
32:51
will speak. Right? You know, there's the hardship
32:54
and difficulty that will hit you, that will make
32:57
you open your mouth and scream. Praise God. That
33:01
will make you open your mouth and scream because
33:02
you cannot need help and see help, but people
33:05
do. You cannot need help and see help and you
33:07
desperately need that help and see help. You
33:09
will always get to that point where you do what
33:13
you have never done before. Praise God. So, that
33:17
desire for even... Being part of. Because naturally,
33:24
even when you come here, you are always, even
33:26
when you arrive at the island, by default, you
33:29
just want to be lit with your fellow people.
33:31
You want to hang around. You want to ask them,
33:33
so what's going on here? By default, you don't
33:37
come and then you don't know anything. You know,
33:39
people have missed their flights because they
33:41
are very, like, I know my way around. Like, you
33:46
have to relate with someone to get direction.
33:48
You have to be lit with people and that's...
33:51
the team. So, and in God's word, we see that
33:54
scattered around. We see it from Genesis. Genesis
33:57
127, we see that he created male, female. He
34:00
had already put that there in us, that union,
34:05
that partnership, that family. So, humanity,
34:08
making humanity in pairs is a pointer. It's not
34:11
a coincidence. He didn't just fit one person
34:15
with everything. There's a reason why he had
34:18
designed that so that It creates that sense of
34:21
interdependency, right? That you don't come and
34:25
wake up and say, I can do it by myself. It brings
34:28
us to that place where we are very dependent
34:30
on one another. And it's beautiful when you don't
34:34
rely on yourself for everything. It's very beautiful.
34:36
And that's what God wants to, God had started
34:40
to model for us so that we can be able to appreciate
34:44
it when appreciating in despair or in the realm
34:48
of... of the relationship that we have in God.
34:50
Praise God. So we see in Genesis, Genesis 23,
34:57
Genesis 2, 23. Genesis 2, 23 says, and Adam said,
35:04
this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
35:10
flesh. She shall be called woman because she
35:15
was taken out. She was taken out of man. So he
35:21
says, this is now bone of my bone. That's Adam
35:24
speaking. This is now bone of my bone and flesh
35:27
of my flesh. And we see that most of the times
35:31
when we see that phrase, that phrase is used
35:33
exclusively, most people use it exclusively for
35:37
marriage. Anytime somebody says bone of my bone
35:39
and flesh of my flesh, what comes to mind is
35:43
marriage because that's basically where it is
35:45
used. more often but i want us to see that that
35:49
is used in this sphere of relationship right
35:53
because remember we said relationships are different
35:56
relations but of different kinds you have you
36:01
have and and i was i think before the service
36:03
started i was talking to some people that sometimes
36:06
we as people in our daily dealings with people
36:10
we We fail to understand that you can have one
36:13
person, you can have different levels of relationship
36:16
with one person, right? Meaning that you can,
36:19
like some people here, I taught them, in the
36:22
class I'm their teacher. When I come to church,
36:24
they're pastor. When, like, outside of church
36:29
or just without, I can be their elder brother,
36:31
right? You can have all of those relations. And
36:33
sometimes you can, you know, you can be so used
36:35
to a person and you forget that that person...
36:38
The way you have access to that person, not everybody
36:40
has that kind of access. And you can do overlap,
36:46
right? When you should be relating with that
36:48
person in this space, because that's why you
36:51
meet somebody in the class environment. And then
36:57
I've had that thing happen several times because
36:59
when I walk into a class and then the person
37:02
sees me like a first year student, right? And
37:05
then... because I just walked in and the person
37:08
will assume I am at the same level as them until
37:12
when they see me or I come and then I set my
37:15
things up and then I'm starting to teach. And
37:17
then I think a lady one time, she almost wanted
37:20
to, I could tell she was very embarrassed. She
37:22
was just doing like this, like she was seriously
37:25
pleading. But it's like I said, it's totally
37:27
fine. It's not, you assume that the relationship
37:30
is to your fellow student. And it wasn't that
37:32
she was even rude. She just asked me, are you
37:34
here for the class? I said, yes, I'm here for
37:35
the class. Until she found out. I said, yes,
37:40
because I actually told her the truth. I'm here
37:43
for the class, but as what? Praise God. So relationships
37:47
are very, and especially in the church, where
37:49
you can be so cozy with somebody and then all
37:52
of a sudden, because you have to be able to tell
37:54
what the dynamics of relationship, because they
37:56
are different, right? The same way you are with
37:58
your father. You can't come and say, hey, what's
38:00
up? You know, you do that way. In Africa, at
38:06
least most of us here, if that's not the way
38:10
you roll with your dad, you will remember something
38:13
that you will never forget. You will get something
38:16
that you will never forget because they are different
38:18
classes or different strata of relationships
38:21
and you want to be able to understand that. And
38:22
we said that bone of my bone and flesh of my
38:25
flesh is used at different, we'll see that, that
38:28
will show us in. We saw, I think the first bit
38:32
is in 2 .23. We'll see 29 .14. Let's go to 29
38:36
.14. And this is Laban to Jacob. 29 .14, Genesis
38:41
29 .14. And I want us to see that again. So,
38:45
and Laban said to him, that's Jacob, you are
38:49
my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him
38:54
for a month. Praise God. And if that... To you,
38:58
it was marriage. You can just imagine a man telling
39:00
another man, you are my bone and my flesh. But
39:04
we understand that, what's the relationship between
39:08
Laban and Jacob? So his uncle and nephew. So
39:12
the relationship is that of family, right? It's
39:15
that of family because that and that place will
39:17
be communicating a relationship of like a blood,
39:21
relationship by blood because it was his mom's
39:23
brother, right? His mom's... So in that case,
39:27
we see that this is clearly not just marriage.
39:30
It's not just any way you see it. It's not blanket
39:32
marriage. And we also see it in Judges. Judges
39:36
9 verse 2. Let's look at Judges 9 verse 2. We'll
39:40
see Abimelech. Judges 9 verse 2 says, Please,
39:44
speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem.
39:50
This is Abimelech speaking now to all the men
39:53
of Shechem. He says, which is better for you,
39:55
that all 70 of the sons of Jeroboam reign over
40:02
all, or that one reign over you? Remember that
40:09
I am your own flesh and blood. So, him here is
40:16
saying, remember that we are part of the same
40:18
tribe, right? The same family, the same tribe,
40:21
so it's not. saying that, oh, we are married
40:25
together. Praise God. So he is just pleading,
40:29
he's making an appeal to the leaders of Shechem.
40:32
And we'll see it even in the case of David. We'll
40:34
see 1 Chronicles 11 verse 1, and this is between
40:38
the tribes of Israel and David. So all of this
40:42
is just to establish to us that when you see
40:44
a word, so 1 Chronicles 11 verse 1, let's go
40:48
there quickly, and you can see it. Similar thing
40:50
in 2 Samuel 5 verse 1. The exact same thing in
40:54
2 Samuel 5 verse 1. You can write that down in
40:56
your note. We don't have to read that one. So
40:58
in 1 Chronicles 11 verse 1 and then 2 Samuel
41:02
5 verse 1, it says, Then all Israel came together
41:06
to David at Hebron, saying, Indeed, we are your
41:10
bone and your flesh. Indeed, we are your bone
41:14
and your flesh. And we say, what relationship
41:15
would that be? What relationship would that be?
41:19
You see? Family. So they're the same because
41:22
they're the same tribe, right? They're the same.
41:25
So we're all out of, you see, where you're born
41:28
and you're flesh. So that's the tribes of Israel.
41:31
And we say the different tribes of Israel. So
41:33
we're related in that. So because you know that
41:36
the children of Israel, that was Jacob, Israel,
41:38
that are all the children. And David is one.
41:41
He's from the tribe of Judah, right? So we say
41:44
that that is. the relationship. So we see even
41:46
another incident. You can write it down. David
41:48
also appeals to the elders of his own tribe,
41:51
right? The elders of his own tribe. In 2 Samuel
41:55
19, 12 to 13. 2 Samuel 19, 12 to 13, it says,
42:01
it says, you are my brethren, right? You are
42:05
my bone and my flesh. You are my brethren. You
42:09
are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the
42:13
last to bring back the king? That is David 13.
42:18
And say to Amasa, Are you not my bone and my
42:26
flesh? God did so to me and more also if you
42:31
are not commander of the army before me continually
42:35
in the place of Joab. So he is... still stating
42:40
the appeals to Judah and also to Amasa. And then
42:43
he tells them that you are my bone and my flesh.
42:47
And then we've seen all that in the, let's see
42:50
it in Ephesians 5 verse 13. So this is Apostle
42:55
Paul using it in a relationship to, in the relationship
42:59
to Christ and the church. So 30, 30, 3 -0. So
43:04
he says that for we are members of his body.
43:09
and his flesh and his bones. We are members of
43:13
his body, his flesh, and his bones. So when we
43:16
see the word flesh and bone, or when we see the
43:20
word, because it's an idiomatic, when we say
43:23
flesh and bone, because you know that that's
43:25
not, it wouldn't make sense. Remember when we
43:27
said to kick against God, not gold or gold, it's
43:33
gold, toad, road. To kick against the gold. He
43:37
is saying to, it's useless for you to fight against
43:39
my will. So it means that it's an expression
43:41
that means something, right? So when we say we
43:44
are, when you say you are my bone and my flesh,
43:47
it means that we are close families or we belong
43:49
to, related in that sense, or we're from the
43:53
same tribe. So it's a difficult, and in this
43:55
passage, we know that it's communicating shared
43:58
spiritual identity, that they say we are, it
44:01
says we are members, right? It's a shared spiritual
44:03
identity that is anchored in Christ, right? shared
44:07
spiritual identity. And we know that it's not,
44:09
it's not by blood. Like it's not by physical
44:12
blood. It's supernatural. Praise God. It's supernatural
44:15
relationship. And that is, that is, that requires
44:21
a, like, you know, when, when you know this person
44:24
is your brother, your blood brother, you know
44:26
that there's a lot, but you need to know to be
44:30
able to hold on to a relationship that is not
44:33
like, you can't see the physical type. Right?
44:36
Because you understand what Christ has done.
44:39
You understand that this person is your brother
44:40
and sister in Christ. You will defend and fight
44:43
and pray for that person. You will be serious
44:46
with regards to that relationship because you
44:49
know what it costs or what brings you together.
44:54
Praise God. That makes the gathering so important.
44:58
When we come together, we come together as...
45:01
brothers and sisters in Christ, to worship, to
45:04
fellowship, and we're serving the same God. And
45:07
he says, God places in others what we ourselves
45:14
need. Meaning that it's very important to know
45:18
that there's a reason why we have a family. There's
45:21
a reason why we have different people, different,
45:23
and this church is functional. We have different
45:26
nationalities, and we're not self -sufficient
45:28
by ourselves, but we are. dependent and reliant
45:31
on, it's not a private work. Our work with God
45:34
is not private. And in fact, there's no passage
45:37
of scripture that will confirm the concept or
45:40
the idea or confirm the whole idea or concept
45:43
of working alone. Praise God. The work is in
45:47
a gathering. The work is together. And by design,
45:50
God did not, he places us in the family. And
45:54
that's why you see that team of family going
45:57
on and on. So we function and we live together.
45:59
And we move on now, walk on the basis of our
46:03
relationship with him, on the basis of our relationship
46:05
with his people, God's people, every one of us.
46:08
Praise God. So it is through people that we are
46:11
blessed, right? It's through people that we are
46:14
blessed. It's through men that we are able to
46:18
hear the word. It's through men that we are able
46:20
to be taught the word. It's through men. And
46:22
if you say, oh, take for example, the example
46:27
of Apostle Paul that went on Saul. If Brian and
46:31
I decided that I don't want to be persecuted,
46:36
and decided that he was not going to go and minister
46:38
to Paul, or if Paul himself decided to help with
46:45
anybody, I don't care. If God cannot come directly
46:50
and minister to me, it will be to his own detriment,
46:53
right? It will be to his own detriment. There's
46:56
an importance that we have to place on the people
46:58
that God has given to us. And no matter how small
47:02
they are, right? He did not say Apostle Ananias.
47:07
He says brother, right? No matter how small they
47:09
are, right? We don't want to undermine God's
47:12
ability to walk in and through that person. Same
47:15
applies to ourselves. No matter how small we
47:18
may think that we are, we don't want to undermine
47:20
God's ability to walk in and through us. Because
47:22
many times we can look at ourselves and fail
47:25
to look at ourselves through the lenses of our
47:27
identity in Christ. Our identity in Christ should
47:30
be the way we see and carry ourselves. Right?
47:33
Because God sees us that way. The way we see
47:35
and carry ourselves is the way we see because
47:38
God sees us that way and that should be what
47:40
is at the forefront of our minds. And there's
47:43
also the importance of being available. The importance
47:47
of being available. Meetings. requires that we're
47:51
there because there are several things because
47:54
you are there to be a blessing to the other person
47:55
the other person to be a blessing to you because
47:57
if you're not available there is no like you
48:01
will not be you will not have you will not have
48:03
the opportunity praise God if you're not available
48:05
you will not have the opportunity if you're not
48:07
available you will not be able to make the most
48:09
of the opportunity right and I think we're talking
48:11
who are we talking with I was saying I said you
48:14
see the most committed set of people or set of
48:18
objects let me use objects in This place are
48:21
the chairs because we leave them every time we
48:25
go, right? The chairs are always here for the
48:28
meeting because they can't be anywhere else but
48:31
in the meeting. But note that the chairs don't
48:34
necessarily participate in the activities that
48:37
we do. You know, when we're laying hands on each
48:39
other, the chairs don't lay hands. Why do we
48:41
lay our bags on each other? The chairs are...
48:45
So it means that... Availability goes beyond
48:48
your being there. Praise God. Availability goes
48:52
beyond your being present. Your availability
48:54
should translate into actions, into participation.
48:59
Praise God. Your availability to translate to
49:02
the participation. And you don't even have any
49:04
excuse. We don't have any excuse of not participating,
49:08
of not being present in every meeting, or being
49:11
present in every gathering, or being present
49:14
to. minister to one another. We don't have any
49:16
excuse. Because even Jesus Christ as a boy was
49:20
available for meetings. But at a very young age,
49:23
he was available for meetings. Let's see Luke
49:25
2, verse 46. We see him in the temple. We see
49:30
him in the temple being taught. Luke 2, verse
49:33
46. So now, so it was that after three days,
49:38
they found him in the temple, sitting in the
49:41
midst of teachers, both listening to them, and
49:44
asking them questions praise god so he was in
49:48
a temple listening to teachers speak and also
49:52
asking questions right so he himself prioritizes
49:56
or was and look he says so it was that after
50:00
three days praise god after three days it's good
50:06
so so it tells you a lot about the It goes beyond
50:12
just being available. It goes beyond that. This
50:14
person was curious to learn. He was curious to
50:18
learn. He was curious to take steps. And even
50:20
when it was time for him to start ministry, right?
50:24
Even when it was time for him to start ministry,
50:26
he also still did not say, oh, he attended meetings.
50:31
It was in probably, John the Baptist probably
50:34
had thrown a conference, right? Probably had
50:38
thrown a conference. because he was, and then
50:41
he showed up in the conference and you, you can,
50:43
and you know, you know the thing about relationship
50:45
where I said, he could have said, it's a cause.
50:49
It's a cause. You know, you know, it's funny.
50:52
It's not that boy. It's not my cousin. It's not
50:56
my cousin. You just, just talk down on the person
50:59
while it's, and you can tell that John the Baptist
51:04
did not have that. John the Baptist, even in
51:07
John 3 .30, he was like, no, right? He saw him
51:12
for who he is. John looked at him and said, behold,
51:15
the Lamb of God takes over. He did not look at
51:17
him as, behold, my cousin. Praise God. He saw
51:22
him and he was, and I just tied that in there,
51:25
but the point is this, that Jesus Christ was
51:27
very much there. He didn't ignore John the Baptist.
51:32
He didn't ignore him. who was there, who was
51:35
available, and that should communicate something
51:37
to us. That every meeting should be important
51:40
to us because something happens in every meeting.
51:43
And when you decide to, I said it on Sunday,
51:46
because the meeting is important to you, you
51:48
will show up even when you eat. You know, how
51:52
you know that something is important to you is
51:54
when there is no means to come, you will make
51:57
a way. Because they say when there's a will,
51:59
there's a way, right? You know that there's no
52:01
bosses. You know that there's, oh, you see, because
52:04
I don't want to meet, not because you are going
52:06
to function in that meeting or because there's
52:09
something that happens in that meeting that you
52:11
don't want to miss out on. And that is the, that's
52:17
how you know that there's growth. That's how
52:19
you know that you're learning because you know
52:21
that this meeting will not, you're not, you're
52:24
not, you don't cop out. You don't say, oh, we
52:27
can do something else and leave it at that. So
52:29
we see that, and we see that even when it was
52:32
time to select a replacement for Judas, it was
52:37
someone that was not just available for the meeting,
52:41
but was part and parcel of the different things
52:44
that we're doing. We see that in Acts 1, Acts
52:47
1, 15 to 26. Acts 1, 15 to 26. So it says, in
52:53
those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the
52:57
disciples. altogether the number of names that
53:01
was a hundred and twenty, and said, Men and brethren,
53:06
the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the
53:11
Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David
53:15
concerning Judas, who became a guide to those
53:18
who arrested Jesus. And for he was numbered with
53:24
us and obtained a part of this. He says, Now
53:29
this man purchased a field with the wages of
53:32
iniquity, and falling headlong, he busted open
53:36
in the middle, and all his entries gushed out.
53:40
19. He says, And he became known to all those
53:45
dwelling in Jerusalem, so that a field is called
53:48
in their own language, Akeldema, that is, a field
53:55
of blood. For it was written in the book of Psalms,
53:59
Let the dwelling place be desolate, and let no
54:01
one live in it, and let another take his office.
54:06
Therefore, of those men who have accompanied
54:10
us all the time, that the Lord Jesus went in
54:16
and out among us, beginning from the baptism
54:19
of John to that day when he was taken up from
54:24
us. One of those must become a witness with us
54:29
of his resurrection. I want you to notice the
54:32
fact that this is from the time of John, this
54:37
time, and the person must be there, not with
54:40
some time. A person shows up there and there's
54:43
no boss, there's no income, and there's no food
54:46
that morning, or there was no water, there's
54:49
no income. It says they proposed to, like Stephen
54:53
called. Basavas and the sign name Justus and
54:57
then Matthias and we know that it goes on and
54:59
on and then Matthias was the person that was
55:00
selected. Notice that all these persons were
55:03
not, they were committed to the meeting. They
55:05
were consistent in the gatherings. They were
55:08
there and then they said, okay, this too. They
55:10
had two persons that was there and then they
55:14
picked one of the two persons. So it means that
55:17
you, for any form of growth increase, for you
55:21
to be patterned, you have to be committed, not
55:24
just And it's not just you are close, you see,
55:28
you are close to the person and then that closeness
55:30
will translate to you being picked. That's not
55:33
how it works, right? Because, you know, sometimes
55:35
it's like, that's a corrupt practice, right?
55:39
Where on the basis of closeness, you are now
55:41
being selected. Most of the time, it's the person
55:44
that is selected on that premise will not even
55:46
get the job done. Praise God. The person will
55:48
not be able to get the job done because it takes
55:50
more than that. It takes more than. And we say
55:55
that availability is essential and very important.
55:59
Being available, and when I say being available,
56:01
it's 360. It's not just you being physical. I've
56:05
said this a couple of times. You can be physically
56:07
present, but your mind is somewhere else. I said
56:09
like the chair. It is present in every, like
56:12
we will leave the chairs, go out, we'll come
56:14
back, we'll see the chair. The chairs are the
56:16
first thing we see when we come in, and they're
56:18
the last thing we see when we're leaving. But
56:20
it doesn't mean that they're committed to the
56:21
work. Praise God. And the first thing we say,
56:24
the last thing we say, so you want to challenge
56:26
yourself to not be a chair. Always there, but
56:28
you do nothing. Oh, you just function as where
56:32
people sit on. Praise God. So God does not call
56:36
and equip people in isolation. Praise God. He
56:42
doesn't call and equip people in isolation. There's
56:44
always a network of our family. He has placed
56:47
us. In fact, when we come, we come into a family,
56:50
right? We come into a family from different nationalities,
56:53
but we are one in Christ. Praise God. And he
56:57
does that through our gathering consistently.
57:00
Our gathering consistently. And it's in our gatherings
57:02
that we are a tool of blessing to people. I remember
57:05
what I told us on Sunday as we closed. Remember
57:08
what I told us on Sunday? That these friends
57:10
that wanted to get their friend healed, know
57:15
that that friend was... For you to, you know,
57:19
when you are able to go out of your way and say,
57:22
see, this is our friend. We don't like his situation.
57:26
We want to see our friend get well. And then
57:30
go out of your way to the point that you had
57:32
several, you know, you can come and then you
57:35
see a crowd and you say, let's just go back.
57:37
Maybe we'll try some other day. But because you
57:40
want to see your friend, you will push everything
57:42
and anything on the path to get that person healed.
57:46
And I think I heard the testimony of someone
57:49
that wanted to get healed of a particular condition.
57:52
And they showed up in a meeting and they were
57:54
like, how will we have this? But they just stayed
57:57
there. And Holy Spirit just ministered to them
57:59
to just stay at the point. And they are staying
58:02
there because they insisted that something was
58:04
going to happen. All of a sudden, someone just
58:06
opened the door from the side and told them they
58:07
should come in. And that was how they were able
58:10
to. Because they knew that just waiting around,
58:12
by the Spirit of God, they knew that waiting
58:14
around there will... Somehow, they didn't know
58:16
how it was going to happen. These friends, they
58:18
pulled out the roof and ensured that he landed
58:21
where he would meet with Cillian. And you want
58:24
to be that faithful friend to someone. And you
58:27
yourself want to be that person that is postured
58:30
to know. You want to be that faithful friend
58:31
to someone. And you want to be that faithful
58:33
friend to your family member, to that friend.
58:35
Because that's basically what we're called. Because
58:37
we know what the solution is, right? And we're
58:40
able to communicate that effectively to anyone,
58:42
right? Because we say, when an opportunity presents
58:45
itself, it should demand that we go all in because
58:49
we know that the result is there, right? We know
58:52
we have been taught, right? And we know that
58:54
the gospel is this, this, this, and this. We
58:56
should be able to open our mouth and say, this
58:58
is the gospel. Opportunity presents itself. This
59:00
is what it is. Praise God. We should never be
59:03
scared to proclaim that which we have received.
59:07
We should not be scared to proclaim that we have
59:09
received because it is going to mean that someone
59:11
will miss out on. something that God has an abundance
59:15
of. Praise God. God has an abundance. God does
59:19
not delight in holding back healing that is going
59:21
to turn the situation of a family member, a friend,
59:25
right? But he requires that we are able to stand
59:28
our ground and say, okay, this thing has to change
59:30
and this is he who can change it. Praise God.
59:34
So I want us to open our mouths and just give
59:36
God thanks because we are not people that will
59:40
relent. We're not people that will hold back.
59:43
We are like those faithful friends. We appreciate
59:47
you being here today. We hope you carry this
59:50
word with you throughout your week. Don't forget
59:53
to check the show notes for additional insights.
59:55
Stay connected with us through our website or
59:58
follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,
1:00:02
share this message with someone you care about.
1:00:05
Until next time, stay blessed.