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Ministers of God · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF. We're thrilled you're here.
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Make sure to stay with us till the end, where
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we'll share some great resources to deepen your
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faith. Now, let's dive into this week's sermon.
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And to start the teaching, the topic is actually
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ministers of God. Ministers of God. manifesting
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the kingdom of God. Ministers of God manifesting
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the kingdom of God. Ministers of God manifesting
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the kingdom of God. And while Pastor Kostin was
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speaking, I think something dropped in my heart
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and he re -echoed it. While the teaching is going
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on, we're going to see, we're going to, those
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of us that are open will hear and receive instructions.
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It's going to be very prophetic and there's going
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to be direction as we're listening to what God
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is going to be communicating to us. I want you
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to posture yourself to receive. There's a posturing
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that you take to receive. There's a posturing
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that you take to receive. And it's very important
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that you don't miss out on what God is doing
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in this season, in this church. And please let
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your phones not rob you of the opportunity that
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you have. to learn. Let your phone not rob you
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of the opportunity that you have to learn. To
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start off, I want to ask a question. I want you
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to just, I know many of us can relate. How many
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of you walked into a room and you walked into
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the room having something in mind to pick? Like
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you went to get something from the room and then
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it's almost like you walk into the room and then
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you... Almost cannot remember what you came in
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for. How many of you have had that experience?
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A couple. Some of you, you're very... Okay, I
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think this one, the next one is very relatable.
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Where you picked up your phone, you knew what
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you were going to do when you picked up your
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phone. Then after 20 minutes, you're watching
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videos. You knew. You picked it up, let me reply,
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or let me... I think I remember my... mom or
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my dad called me and I said okay let me reply
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or let me and then all of a sudden 20 minutes
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later and sometimes you can't even remember in
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fact you have it's after 20 minutes you remember
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why you picked your phone in the first place
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and what that communicates to us and it's not
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just mobile phones or coming to the room and
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forgetting what that communicates to us is that
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we have a tendency to be distracted right We
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have a tendency to be distracted, and it's not
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only in the things that we want to do at the
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moment. We can also be distracted in the things
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that God has called us to do. We can be distracted
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in our own lives, where you're just going, you're
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forgetting. In fact, it's very practical. You
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went to the market. Your goal was to go and buy
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water to drink. All of a sudden, you enter the
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market, and we see you with ice cream. The question
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is, what happened? The goal was to get water
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to drink to quench your thirst. And then here
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you are with something that will make you go
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back to the market again to get another. And
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sometimes you even go to the market and all of
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a sudden you have wandered around the market
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for like 20 minutes and you came out without
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the thing you went there for. That's another
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category of people. Praise God. So we can. And
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what will help us to check is to ask ourselves
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one very key question. Why am I here? What? am
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i here for i want you to write that down or in
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fact make it more practical turn to the next
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person and ask them why are you here so what
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are you here for some of us are just looking
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at ourselves it's a simple just why you know
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that can you know when the person when someone
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tells me they're going to the market to get water
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and they come out without the water i'll ask
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them right I've asked them, where is the water?
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Right? And you're asking that question so that
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the individual can reflect on why it is that
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they're here. Because it's going to tell them
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how they do the things that they do in church.
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You know, if you were here for the service, you
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wouldn't be pressing your phone while the service
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is going on. Right? And this is for some of us
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that are in service and you're not in service.
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Some people have the ability to be in two places
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at the same time. Some people can be in multiple
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places at the same time. I think there's a word
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for that, multi -taxing. Right? But know that
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if you want to get something done, yeah, multi
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-taxing has its place. Some of us are struggling
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with multi -taxing. Some of us do it professionally
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very well. But you are not going to be as effective
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as you will be when you focus on one tax. Some
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people have the ability to focus on multi -tax
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and they will argue that. If you are going to
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the market to buy several things, you have to
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have a list. Even on that list, you have what's
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the first, what's the second. In fact, when your
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money is not enough, you stop after you've gotten
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the most important. Praise God. So it means that
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for us as believers, we have to focus or pay
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attention to what is most important. And sometimes
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we can say this is the most important and we're
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doing something else. Hence, we have to keep
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checking and asking ourselves this key question.
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Why am I here? Those of us here in Cyprus, some
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of us were here, we had gotten the degrees, so
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what next? Know that what you are here for or
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when you know what you are here for, it tells
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us the next thing to do. You're not confused
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where to go from here because you know why you
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were here in the first place. You've done it.
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It's done and then you move to the next. And
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I'm saying all of this for us to come to that
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place where, because we're really trusting God
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to help us. To not just be all over the place,
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but to be specific. And in God's word, we find
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that specific thing that we're here for. Amongst
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all the different things, getting a degree, which
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is very beautiful. Some of us have a lot of it.
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Some of us have degrees. But those degrees will
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fade away. Those degrees will fade away. And
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some of us, it's a job. Things are changing.
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There are many things that we're pursuing that
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in the next couple of years, they'll be irrelevant.
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But there's something that will never fade away.
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Scripture says that's the thing that lasts. Praise
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God. That's the thing that lasts. And reorienting
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ourselves and realigning ourselves is very important.
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Reorienting and realigning ourselves is very
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important because that's what keeps us on track.
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And very interestingly, Apostle Paul, in his
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communication, brings that to the church, the
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Corinthian church. Even though that particular
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letter he was writing to the church in Corinth,
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we see that in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 1. Let's
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just go there and see who is addressing the letter
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to 2 Corinthians. 1 verse 1. It says, Paul, an
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apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God and
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Timothy, our brother, to the church of God, which
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is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in
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all Achaia. Praise God. And he goes in verse
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2 to say, grace to you and peace from God our
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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back
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to chapter 6. And then he starts off by saying,
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we then as walkers together with him also plead
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with you. not to receive the grace of God in
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vain. And very quickly, we'll start off by seeing
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two things he communicates. He says, as walkers
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together with him, as walkers together with God.
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And then he says, also plead with you not to
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receive the grace of God in vain. What we're
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going to be doing in today's service is that
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we're going to look at two things. One of it
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is identity. and the second of it is responsibility.
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The first is identity, and the second is responsibility.
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And we're going to see that throughout Scripture,
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those two things work hand in hand. Once you
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identify with something, someone, you have a
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responsibility that follows. First is identity,
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second is responsibility. If you are a student,
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you have a responsibility. Yes, you're identified
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as a student, but second, there's a responsibility.
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If you are a believer, that is the start. What
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follows is the responsibility. And what Paul
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communicates in the first line is responsibility.
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Because as walkers, you have a responsibility
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to do what? To walk, right? If you call yourself
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a walker, you have a responsibility to walk,
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right? If you don't walk, what do you now become?
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You say that jobless. If you don't walk, they
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say you don't chop, right? And then he now goes
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further to say, walk as wit, because walk as
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wit. God also plead with you not to receive the
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grace of God in vain. with you not to receive
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the grace of God in vain. The grace of God is
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what we're going to explain further. But we know
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that if you're confused, or if you just are hearing
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that for the first time, or you've heard that
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a lot, that you're not sure exactly what it is,
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we're going to look at it even further. In the
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previous chapter, that is chapters 5. Chapters
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5, I want us to go to Chapters 5, 17. It says,
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
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creation. All things have passed away. Behold,
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all things have become new. So note that now,
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the individual that is in Christ has an identity.
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That individual now is identified with Christ,
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establishing the identity. Then what we'll see
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next in 18 now, it's still further explained.
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It said, now all things are of God who has reconciled
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us to himself through Jesus Christ. Now we know
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that this, the agency or the person by which
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this reconciliation happened is through the person
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of Christ Jesus and has given us the ministry
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of reconciliation. Now we know that the ministry
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there is, we know that ministry is work, right?
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It's responsibility. Ministry is responsibility.
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He says, you are now in Christ Jesus, and then
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now you have a responsibility. So it means that
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you have to, you know, we can be walking, right?
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Walking and then there's no sense of responsibility.
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And that is, over time you discover that is useless
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work, where you're just doing a lot of things,
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but nothing gets, you're not even making any
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progress. Praise God. He establishes that. I
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want to read 4 to 9. We'll stop at 20. So he
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says, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling
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the world to himself, not impugning their trespasses,
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which is very key, not impugning their trespasses
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to them. He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
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Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
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God were pleading through us. We implore you
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on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. We
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implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled
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to God. So now we see the identity and we see
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the responsibility. Please, let's just walk.
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this together. We'll be seeing identity and we'll
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be seeing responsibility. And where we get the
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topic for this teaching is from verse 4. That
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is 2 Corinthians 6 verse 4. 2 Corinthians 6 verse
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4. And just take note of the word commend you.
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2 Corinthians 6 verse 4. I'll just read. It says,
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But in all things we commend ourselves As ministers
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of God, with patience and tribulations, I just
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want you to pay attention to the first line there.
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But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers
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of God. We say this in all things, we commend
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ourselves as ministers of God. You know, from
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the previous verse, all of it is anchored on...
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what he has been saying, several things he has
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said. Committing ourselves as ministers of God.
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We want to first ask ourselves, who is a minister?
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Who is a minister? And the word there for minister
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is the Greek word diakonos, which is D -I -A
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-K -O -N -O -S. D -I -A -K -O -N -O -S. And the
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word implies servant. If you look at some certain
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translations, you will see servant, someone who
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serves or someone who serves to serve with another.
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It implies a servant or someone who serves or
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to serve with another. And this word is used
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for a deacon. Not a deacon. It's used for a deacon.
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It's good. It's used for a deacon. And going
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back to the passage where he says, in all things
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that we recommend ourselves, meaning that Apostle
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Paul is speaking of himself and the people he's
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talking to. And it's not just certain groups
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of people, right? And even when he started the
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first verse in 1, he says, Then as walkers together.
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As walkers together. Everyone is included in
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this. As walkers together. As walkers together.
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So a minister of God is called to the work of
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God. And I want us to look at what this work
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entails. I want us to examine. I want us to pay
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close attention to what this work will be. Because
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if you say you're called to a work, you need
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to know what the work is to do the work, right?
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If you don't know the walk, you can do the walk.
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Yes, you can answer walker, but you're not responsible.
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Because responsibility is actually doing the
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walk, right? Responsibility is actually doing
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the walk. So I said that when he says walkers
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or ministers, he's not talking about an individual.
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Yes, you can be a minister. But note that when
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he says ministers, it's plural, right? It's plural,
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which goes back to what we have been. Pastor
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Victor has been teaching us on the fact that
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in our service, we don't serve individually.
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Even when you're doing your service, you're serving
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someone, right? You're not serving yourself.
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Your service is in a body. Praise God. Your service
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is in a body. So it means that you can't do service
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alone. You cannot do service alone. Even a church
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service, you can't do it alone. You need encouragement,
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right? When you're talking to someone, someone
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is talking back to you and you're getting feedback,
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it's encouraging. Praise God. And we say that
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we're part of a family. We're part of God's household,
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right? We're part of a family. And that is in
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the household of God that we minister. It's in
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the household of God that we minister. Because
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you will have to minister to someone. And you
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can only do that effectively in... And please
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pay attention. I'm still repeating myself again.
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That this ministry or this walk of ministry is
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not to a particular group of people. It's not
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to, you know, it's not to the pastor. You know,
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I think we started. It's not to, it's not everyone
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that believes. We said it. The moment you identify
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as a believer, you have a responsibility. The
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moment you identify as a believer, you have a
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responsibility. And it's very interesting that
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we should note that as a minister, you don't
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have to think about it. You will minister, right?
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As a minister identity, you will minister responsibility.
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As a minister, you will minister. As a minister...
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you will minister. Going back to what Apostle
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Paul was saying to them in verse 1. He says,
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as workers together with him also plead with
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you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
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Your identity, there's work, means that there's
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a responsibility. What he'll be charging them
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to do is to identify with the responsibility
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that they have. And certain translations will
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use fellow workers, right? God's fellow workers.
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The Amplified Classic will say God's fellow workers.
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And then the NIV will say co -workers, God's
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co -workers. In what work? It says the work of
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ministry, right? In the work of ministry. And
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observe, I will say it again, I will repeat myself
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till you get it. That a believer... is saved,
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and then what follows afterwards is that the
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believer is strained for the work of ministry.
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A believer is saved, then what happens immediately
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afterwards is that the believer is strained for
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the work of ministry. We have read 2 Corinthians
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5 .17 down to 20, and I'll bring our attention
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to the 19 and then the 20. It says that God,
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that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world
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to himself, not imputing their trespasses to
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them, and also committed to us the word of reconciliation.
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He committed it to us. Remember, he said, I commend
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you as ministers of God. Commended it to us.
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He said, now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,
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ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading
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through us. Meaning that the individual now is
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a conduit. The individual is a conduit. What
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the individual is communicating is what they
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have received. We implore you on Christ's behalf.
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Meaning that the person that is a minister is
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representing, is standing on behalf of Christ.
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Be reconciled to God. Praise God. So what we're
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going to take time to do next is that we're going
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to look at what this grace is, the grace of God.
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What is the grace of God? What is the grace of
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God? First, let's just, is it something? Is it
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someone? Is it something? Is it someone? We're
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going to look at a couple of passages to establish
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that. The word grace is a Greek word. Charis.
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That's C -H -A -R -I -S. C -H -A -R -I -S. It
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means what is freely given. It means what is
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freely given for the benefit of the recipient.
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What is freely given for the benefit of the recipient.
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It's a gift. And sometimes you see it as a gift
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of God. The grace of God. You see it as, and
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it's not something that you work for, right?
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It's not something that you work for. Remember,
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we said your identity, you didn't come into relationship
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with God by us, by what it is that you've done.
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We have to very much establish that how you came
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into the relationship you have with God is not
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by what the things that you've done. It's not
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because you did certain things. It's by what
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Christ has done. It's by what Christ has done.
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So the grace of God is freely given to us at
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Christ's resurrection. Know that it is his death,
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burial, and resurrection that brings us into
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the relationship. Remember what it says, we're
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reconciled to God by what Christ has done. We're
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reconciled to God. And know that that reconciliation
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brings us to that place of where we are serving.
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We're serving. We're serving. And for everyone
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of us to serve and serve effectively, there's
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a need for training. And where training happens
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is in meetings like this. Midweek service meetings.
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Friday cell meetings. And I want you to ask yourself
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why this teaching is going on. Are you part of
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the midweek service meetings? Are you part of
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the cell meetings? Because those are avenues
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where we are trained for the work that we're
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called to do. When we say, okay, we're doing
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our Bible in one year, we're doing all of those
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things, avenues that we have to be trained. For
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some of us, we have never. We have never read
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our Bibles. In fact, somebody can say something
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and tell you it's in there, and you say yes.
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Because you are not familiar with it. And you
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can't be a minister without knowing what it is
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your ministry is. And it's in the Word of God
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that we are better. we have better clarity as
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to what we are called to do. So we want to now
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look at the things that God has done and the
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things that he's doing. The things that God has
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done, he had done them in Christ Jesus. The victory
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that we have, we're not walking for that victory.
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It has already been done. And we're going to
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see what it is that he is doing because we know
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that God is walking in us. He's walking in us.
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At the agency by which he does that is the instrument
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of his word, by his spirit, by teachings, by
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fellowship, we're able to be built. We're able
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to be built. I want us to look at 1 Corinthians
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15 .10. 1 Corinthians 15 .10. And Apostle Paul
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speaking, he says, but for the grace of God,
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but by the grace of God, sorry. But by the grace
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of God, I am what I am. Apostle Paul is speaking
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that what he is, is because of the grace of God.
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And we say the grace of God is freely given.
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He didn't work for it. He says, and his grace
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towards me is not in vain. I'm going to first
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remember 6 verse 1, right? He says, the grace
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of God, let the grace of God not be in vain,
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right? Same thing here, he's saying, and the
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grace of God towards him is... Not in vain, meaning
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that he has a responsibility. He says, but I
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labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not
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I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Praise
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God. He says, yet not I, but the grace of God.
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Meaning that he's doing the things he's doing,
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but he knows that it's not that. It is the grace
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of God. He's taking his responsibilities seriously.
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He's not sleeping. He's taking his responsibilities
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seriously and he knows that that is all attributable
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because if he isn't identified with Christ, everything
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he's doing will just be useless work. In fact,
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before he was saved, he was responsible. Praise
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God. He was responsible for killing Christians.
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He was responsible for... He went all out. And
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then now that he's identified with Christ, he
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now has a responsibility. And we say that this
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responsibility is the responsibility that God
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has given unto him for the work of ministry.
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Praise God. And he works hard. He works hard.
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And you don't want to sleep on the grace of God
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that you have received. You want to make the
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most of it. Right? If you're not being trained,
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you will not be effective. Without training,
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you will not be effective. Without training,
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you will not be effective. And we are in a world
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where people don't want to put in effort. They
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just want to do less and see more. You know,
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even when you are doing useless work, there's
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still results, right? You're just working. And
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people can be busy, but still doing nothing.
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You're very busy, but you can't... You know,
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you need to have... When we started, we said,
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you want to have a sense of direction. I'm going
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to accomplish this. I put everything in that
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direction to get the work done. If I spread myself
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wide... There's so much you can do with the amount
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of time that you have. We all have that same
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amount of time. And we're in a world where people
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do this work smart. And we use that work smart.
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Some people use the work smart as an excuse for
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laziness. Say, I'm working smart. You know, you're
27:44
working hard. I'm working smart. And you... And
27:50
there's no progress in the smart walk. Because
27:54
every hard walk has its result. And we know we
27:58
can see that. We can see it in the results it
28:01
produces. Praise God. We can see it in the results
28:03
that it produces. And it's very important that
28:06
we are doing it God's way. We're doing it God's
28:11
way. Many of us like doing things in our own
28:17
terms. They say, okay, do it like this. You say,
28:19
no, no, no, this is easier. I prefer this way.
28:25
Preferring your way will produce your results
28:28
or produce the result that is not expected. If
28:31
we want to do things for God, we walk by His
28:36
instruction. You believe and you're saved and
28:42
then you're trained for the work of ministry.
28:44
Once you're done, it's something else that you're
28:46
going to be doing. Not ministry. You can call
28:48
it whatever it is. And many people do that in
28:50
this day and age where they say, I'm doing ministry.
28:52
What are you doing? They can't explain it. And
28:56
by the way, just for context sake, standing and
29:00
preaching to you, yes, it's part of ministry,
29:03
but it's not. You can't do one thing as part
29:07
of it and then you say you're doing the whole
29:08
thing. Sometimes we want to make our way with
29:11
that. The grace of God says, In that particular
29:15
passage, in the next passage we're going to be
29:17
seeing, we want to see that the grace of God
29:19
was very much, which we have seen previously,
29:22
was very much made available by what Christ has
29:25
done on the cross. Very important. We'll see
29:27
that in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 4. 1 Corinthians
29:30
1 verse 4. Apostle Paul speaking and says, I
29:33
thank my God, always concerning you, for the
29:37
believers, for the grace of God which was given
29:40
to you by Christ Jesus. for the grace of God
29:45
given to you by Christ Jesus. He very spells
29:50
it that it's Christ Jesus that made that grace
29:54
available. And we know that the means by which
29:57
that was accomplished is by what he had done
30:01
for us to be reconciled to God. Amen? What he
30:05
has done for us to be reconciled to God. And
30:08
in Acts 11, I want us to read Acts 11, verse
30:12
21 to... Acts 11, 21, 23. Even though I think
30:22
when I look at 19. Okay, it says, And the hand
30:25
of God was with them, and a great number believed
30:29
and turned to the Lord. A great number believed
30:33
and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things
30:37
came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem.
30:42
And they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.
30:49
When he came and had seen the grace of God, he
30:56
was glad and encouraged them all that with purpose
31:01
of heart they should continue with the Lord.
31:04
Praise God. That with purpose of heart they should
31:07
continue with the Lord. I want us to see something.
31:12
The preaching of the gospel by the believers
31:15
that were scattered abroad, we'll see that in,
31:17
let's go up to 19. 19. Yeah, it says, now those
31:24
who were scattered after the persecution that
31:27
arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phenicinia.
31:39
Cyprus and Antioch preaching. the word to one,
31:45
preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
31:50
Then 20 now is where we see the results. But
31:54
some of them were men, some of them were men
31:59
from Cyprus and Cyrene who, when they had come
32:03
to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists preaching
32:06
the Lord Jesus. That's 21. And the hand of God,
32:13
was with them and a great number believed and
32:16
received and were turned to the Lord. Believed
32:19
and were turned to the Lord. They say, and now
32:20
this news reached them and then they sent Barnabas
32:23
to confirm. And what we see there is the preaching
32:25
of the gospel by the believers that were scattered
32:29
and the result of them being scattered is persecution.
32:32
And I think I was saying this one time in our
32:34
cell. I said, if you are being persecuted and
32:38
then you run, How you know that you take what
32:42
you're doing seriously is that anywhere you find
32:43
yourself, you continue what they were persecuting
32:46
you for. Praise God. You continue. It's like
32:50
the reason why they chased you, in the negative
32:54
sense, it is why they chased you from my house.
32:56
It's because you now go to the next place and
32:58
then you continue the same thing. That one makes
33:00
sense. You continue the same thing. But these
33:03
people were, because of preaching the gospel,
33:07
and then they went to that new location. They
33:10
continued. And they continued and they did it
33:12
so well that a lot of people, right, it says
33:16
there that a great number believed and were turned
33:21
to the Lord. And Barabbas came and he saw what
33:28
God was doing in the lives of these people. The
33:30
way the gospel was preached, what was happening
33:33
in their lives, not just the fact that they were
33:36
numbered, but the... The training and what has
33:39
happened. Because for you to have that amount
33:42
of... It's not one person doing the whole work.
33:45
Praise God. That's why we are ministers of God.
33:48
It's not one person that does it. And if you
33:51
sit down and say, No, it's not my responsibility.
33:55
You are not being responsible. Praise God. You
33:59
are even walking in disobedience. That's what
34:01
it is. Because the scripture instructs us to
34:03
do so. Right? Not that it encourages, it's encouraging,
34:09
right? When you come here and there's a lot of
34:12
people, no space, you know, that is encouraging.
34:14
And it gladdens our heart that the work of God
34:17
is going and we encourage ourselves, right? And
34:22
our hearts are encouraged. And how that continues
34:24
to happen is that we stay. He says something
34:27
very important, that all with the purpose of
34:31
heart, that it should continue with the Lord.
34:35
Because continuing with the walk of ministry
34:38
or continuing with what the Lord has instructed
34:40
was what got them there in the first place. And
34:43
once you regress, you see something else. Praise
34:47
God. Once we regress, we see something else.
34:50
And in 2 Corinthians 9 verse 14, 2 Corinthians
34:55
9 verse 14, it says, And by their prayer for
34:59
you, we long for you because of the exceeding
35:05
grace of God in you. The exceeding grace of God
35:10
in you. Note that this grace is in us, and every
35:15
believer has it, right? Every believer has salvation,
35:19
and it's not just for a certain group of people.
35:21
It's not just like Apostle Paul, only it's just
35:23
him. You know, when he says, if not for the grace
35:27
of God, I am what I am, and it's only him. It's
35:32
for every believer. Don't exclude yourself. And
35:35
for some of us, we have excluded ourselves. We
35:37
just feel like our work is just to come, make
35:41
attendance, and then move. And for some individuals,
35:43
you have been restraining yourself from the calling
35:47
of God upon your life. You have been restraining,
35:50
you have been doing all that things to numb what
35:53
God has been instructing you to do. Doing a lot
35:56
of things to numb what God has been instructing
35:58
you to do. Know that you want to reorient yourself.
36:05
You want to realign yourself to what God has
36:08
called you to do from the very beginning. From
36:11
the very beginning. And I want us to see second,
36:18
let's see Ephesians. Ephesians 3. Ephesians 3.
36:26
Verse 2. Ephesians 3 verse 2. It says, For indeed
36:34
you have heard of the dispensation of the grace
36:39
of God which was given to me for you. Let's stop
36:43
there. I'll read it from the New Living Translation.
36:47
It says, Assuming by this way that you know God
36:54
gave me the special ability to extend His grace.
37:01
to you Gentiles. I want you to see the special
37:05
responsibility, sorry, the special responsibility
37:07
to extend his grace. And he also causes the responsibility,
37:13
gives it that responsibility to extend his grace
37:17
to the Gentiles. And then three in the same,
37:20
let's continue on the three. It says, how that
37:25
by revelation he made known to me the mystery
37:28
as I have. Briefly written already. As I have
37:35
briefly written already verse 4. It says, by
37:40
which when you read. Remember that he said the
37:44
revelation was given to him. And he had written
37:48
it down. And now the responsibility of the believer
37:52
is to read. You may understand my knowledge in
37:57
the mystery. of Christ. Know that the understanding
38:00
will only happen when you read. And what kind
38:04
of, what is that read? That read is not just,
38:07
I think we've said this in the church, by thought,
38:09
I think I can remember, Pastor Victor, it is
38:11
a diligent reading. It's a careful reading. It
38:17
means to read again. It means to read with attention
38:23
to details. It's not just a casual reading. It's
38:28
And we know that the source of it is the revelation
38:33
that was given to him. And we know that this
38:35
revelation is made available to him by the grace
38:39
of God. Let's continue to 7. Verse 5. apostles
38:58
and prophets, that the Gentiles should be fellow
39:02
heirs of the same body and partakers of the promise
39:05
in Christ through the gospel, the gospel of which
39:10
I became a minister according to the gift of
39:15
the grace of God given to me by the effective
39:18
walking of his power. Praise God. All of this,
39:23
he says, I am a minister. according to the gift
39:28
of the grace of God given to me by the effective
39:32
walking of his power. That's the power of God,
39:35
the gift of God. All of that is what brought
39:38
him to that place. And the revelation made available
39:41
by the Holy Spirit, he gives the revelation and
39:45
he wants every other person that is reading,
39:48
us included, to come to that place of an understanding.
39:53
And what this means is that we... are brought
39:56
into it and we are able to have that understanding
39:59
by the grace of God. And in 2 Peter, which is
40:03
where we'll see that we grow in the grace of
40:05
God. The grace of God will mean the knowledge
40:07
of God, right? The grace of God will be the knowledge
40:11
of God. 2 Peter 3, 18. It says, but grow in the
40:16
grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, of
40:20
our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. To him be
40:24
the glory now and forever. Amen. Meaning that
40:27
as a believer, we grow. And how do we grow? By
40:32
training. We grow by training. We grow by the
40:36
word of God. We grow in evil. And we'll see in
40:40
the same, we'll see Ephesians 2 verse 8. Ephesians
40:46
2 verse 8. We'll see it with respect to it. It
40:49
says, For by grace we have been saved through
40:52
faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift
40:56
of God. You see, by grace we have been saved
41:00
through faith. The means by which we are saved
41:03
is by faith and believing in what Christ has
41:06
done. And then we come to that place where we
41:12
are able to be responsible. Very key that we
41:15
further re -establish the fact that the grace
41:17
of God is... the agency by which an unbeliever
41:23
is saved. And the means by which that happens
41:27
is by the preaching. It's by a believer preaching,
41:30
not an unbeliever preaching to an unbeliever,
41:32
right? That's not how it happens. It's by someone
41:35
who believes, because when you don't believe
41:38
something, you can't convince someone of that
41:40
thing with you. And even when you believe, you
41:44
have to be trained to do it effectively, right?
41:47
Even when you do believe. Without training, you
41:50
cannot preach or effectively communicate that
41:53
which you have received. Praise God. And then
41:56
Timothy 2, verse 11. We'll read down to 14. Timothy
42:01
2, verse 11. I'm sorry, Titus. Titus 2, verse
42:07
11. It says, Teaching us that denying ungodliness
42:23
and worldly loss, we should live soberly, righteously
42:28
and godly in this present age. 13. Looking for
42:34
the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our
42:36
great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14. Who gave
42:41
himself for us that he might redeem us. from
42:45
every lawless deed and purify for himself his
42:49
own special people, zealous for good works. Zealous
42:54
for good works. I want us to go back to the 11.
42:58
And we see that it's the grace of God that brings
43:01
salvation, right? It's the grace of God. It's
43:03
Christ, what Christ has done. And how that happens
43:07
is when the word of God is preached. When the
43:11
word of God is preached, The person believes
43:14
and receives it. Now that person is saved. And
43:19
once that person is saved, what happens next
43:21
is that the person now is trained for the work
43:24
of ministry. And this is not excluding anybody.
43:27
Everybody is part of that. Once you're trained,
43:30
you serve. And if you look at what it says, it
43:34
says, teaching us. That same grace, teaching
43:39
us. That same grace, teaching us. that denying
43:44
ungodliness and bodily loss, we should live soberly,
43:47
righteously, and godly in this present age. What
43:52
that establishes very clearly is that you can
43:55
be saved, but if you are not taught or trained,
44:01
you will still be living like as before, but
44:05
you are saved. Because you have... situations
44:11
like that where you're confused. The person believes,
44:13
the person loves the Lord, but the person is,
44:15
you're not sure. Praise God. Know that you're
44:21
not living out your identity. It's when you're
44:26
responsible, you do what is instructed. And when
44:30
you don't know, how do you do? You can't do anything
44:34
when you don't know what that is. Praise God.
44:37
You can't do anything when you don't know. what
44:40
it is. That salvation, what should follow afterwards
44:43
is, remember what I said, believer is saved and
44:47
trained for the work of ministry. Believer is
44:49
saved, trained for the work of ministry. And
44:51
once that doesn't happen, you have a believer
44:53
that is living in ungodliness and the problem
44:59
is lack of training. The person is not taught.
45:03
And once the person is taught, the person does.
45:06
And we see that in Acts of Apostles. They come
45:09
into a place, oh, what's going on here? The gospel
45:12
is preached and then there's the laying of hands
45:14
and then the person is equipped for ministering.
45:18
Equipping for ministering. And I'll just read
45:21
1 Peter. 1 Peter 4 verse 10. 1 Peter 4 verse
45:27
10. It says, as each one has received a gift,
45:31
minister it to one another. Minister it to one
45:37
another. As good stewards of the manifold grace
45:40
of God. Says, as each one has received the gift.
45:45
Minister. We have received the gift, so we minister.
45:49
We have received the gift, so we minister. We
45:52
have received the gift, so we minister. And we
45:54
minister what? As good stewards. We minister
45:57
as faithful stewards of that which we have received.
46:02
And a minister, we said earlier, I'll repeat
46:05
again. Serves, right? Someone who serves is a
46:11
servant. And it's also to serve with another
46:15
or to serve one another. A minister is someone
46:19
who serves. And I want us to see in the Acts
46:22
while we close. In Acts 2, we'll continue from
46:25
here in our next meeting. In Acts 2, verse 42,
46:30
47. I want you to see this very practical. In
46:36
Acts 2. It says in Acts 2 .40, it says, And with
46:41
many other words he testified and exalted them,
46:45
saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.
46:49
Then those who gladly received the word were
46:52
baptized, and that day about three thousand souls
46:56
were added to them. And they continued steadfastly
47:00
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and
47:03
in breaking of bread and in prayers. Says, then
47:08
fear came upon every soul and many signs and
47:13
wonders were done through the apostles. Now all
47:17
who believed were together and had all things
47:20
in common and sold their possessions and goods
47:26
and divided them among all and everyone as anyone
47:31
had need. So continuing daily with one. In one
47:36
accord in the temple and breaking bread from
47:39
house to house, they eat their food with gladness
47:43
and simplicity of heart, praising God and having
47:46
favor with all men. And the Lord added to the
47:50
church daily those who are being saved. Praise
47:54
God. And the Lord added to the... And what I
47:57
want us to see is the fact that the believers
47:58
were saved and what they go to do is we see them
48:01
taking up the responsibility and... Meeting the
48:05
needs of others and serving others, right? They
48:08
were saved and then all of them, it didn't say
48:12
some of them. It didn't specify that this person
48:14
did it, that person did not do it. All of them
48:16
were responsible and were doing the work of ministry.
48:20
And we see that these individuals went on to
48:22
serve. It's from this group of people that we
48:25
see people like Philip, people like Stephen.
48:27
The church kept on growing as a result of believers
48:31
coming in to save. coming into service, and doing
48:35
the work of ministry, and then the church expands
48:37
that way. And I'm bringing it down to the church
48:39
of NECF. The way we can grow and grow more effectively
48:42
is by not just, like you don't just come to church,
48:48
but you take the responsibility of ensuring that
48:52
you look out for other believers. And you can
48:57
go out and preach, but the work is in discipling.
49:02
You can get someone saved, but the responsibility
49:05
there, you know, when you do that, that's one
49:08
phase. The phase that continues is that responsibility
49:11
of ensuring that they grow. You teach them to
49:14
the point where they can do the same for others.
49:16
Praise God. And our responsibility is to preach
49:20
so that men will be saved. And the gospel is
49:25
the only way. Preaching the gospel is how men
49:28
get saved. And if we are not trained to do so,
49:31
if we don't, Our tie is doing so. I'll just close
49:34
like this. In our cell units, I think on Friday,
49:39
I think I was just, we're just going and I said,
49:41
we have to, because we already, we know they
49:43
say going from house to house. We're already
49:45
in a region where houses are around. Nothing
49:48
stops us from going and asking, are we okay?
49:53
Because there are a lot of people, there are
49:56
a lot of people that need to hear the gospel.
49:58
In fact, you have friends that you've never spoken
50:00
to about. about the gospel. And it's something
50:03
that we should prioritize. It's important to
50:07
God. It should be important to us. Praise God.
50:09
I want us to declare these words as we close.
50:12
See, I am a minister. I am a minister. I am serving
50:17
in the Church of NACF. And if you're not serving,
50:20
you should. I'm serving the Church of NACF. I
50:23
am receiving training faithfully. And I am training
50:29
others. I diligently seek opportunities to grow
50:36
in the knowledge of God. I am not afraid to preach
50:39
the gospel that gets an unbeliever saved. I am
50:44
patient with the unbeliever and get them saved
50:48
and see them grow. I am patient with the unbeliever.
50:53
Some of us are very impatient. I am patient with
50:55
the unbeliever to get them saved. and see them
51:00
grow. I want us to just pray and just say, Father,
51:04
I thank you because I am a minister. We're thankful
51:11
you joined us today. Don't forget to subscribe
51:14
so you're always connected to our latest sermons.
51:18
You can also explore more about NECF on our website
51:21
or follow us online. We look forward to having
51:25
you with us next time. God bless.