PREPARATIONS FOR CHURCH GROWTH.

SCRIPTURE REF:

Acts 2:1 (NKJV) ​1 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place".

Acts 2:41-47 (NKJV) 41 "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

1 Corinthians 3:6-15 (NKJV) 6 "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

 INTRODUCTION 

·       There is a day and a season that is coming to change the face of a church that desires growth. 

·       That day is like the day of Pentecost and it must find us prepared for what coming.

·       Sustainable growth must not be accidental but intentional just like farming and building! 

·       NB. In farming we prepare, in building we prepare, and in church growth we prepare. 

·       Psalms 11:3 (NKJV) 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

·       1 Corinthians 3:6 (NKJV) 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

Transcript

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The breaking bread, it was not God who was doing the breaking bread, it was the people. Say amen. The people who sold their possessions were the church. They are the ones who were doing the selling of their possessions and dividing their possessions among anyone who had need. Hallelujah. The people who were doing signs and wonders were the apostles. Those who continued with one accord in the temple were the people. Hallelujah. Breaking bread was done from house to house by the people. The eating of food with gladness and simplicity was done by the people. The ones who were praising God and receiving favor from people were the people. Hallelujah. Say amen, somebody. And then the last part, part B of verse 47. When all the things were put in place, God found the reason to add more people. Amen. So ask your neighbor, would you please give God the reason to bring someone else to church? Would you please give God the reason by your behavior, by your conduct? Hallelujah. Sometimes it's easier for us to jump to verse 47b, and the Lord added, we all want growth, but we have not created an environment that is conducive for that growth. Hallelujah. We have not done the necessary preparations that are needed before God adds to our number. Therefore, my message this evening is entitled Preparations for Church Growth. Before we move on into the meat of the message, 1 Corinthians 3, verse number 6, verse verse number 6 to 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 6 to 15. Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, and he says, I planted Apollos waters, but God gave the Ingries. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the Ingries. Now he who plants and he waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clearer. For the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, ye will suffer loss, but he himself will be served, yet so as through fire. Hallelujah. So the day of Pentecost was, I believe, a day of growth. Somebody say amen. And I believe there is a day and there is a season that is coming to change the face of the church, and that church must be desiring growth. So that day is like the day of Pentecost, and it must find us prepared for what is coming. When you remember the day of Pentecost, two things must quickly come into your mind. When you are meditating on the day of Pentecost, there are two things that must quickly come into your mind, which you must not forget. The day of Pentecost is a day we know that the Holy Spirit came down. Hallelujah. And the people who were in the upper room, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Say amen. So the day of the of Pentecost was the day of the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second thing that is very key that you must remember when you think about the day of Pentecost is the 3,000 people that were added. Hallelujah. Afterwards. These are the two critical things that you must remember every time you think about the day of Pentecost. Amen. And the effect, the greater effect of that, apart from them being filled with the Holy Spirit, are you here, somebody? The greater effect is that there were 3,000 people who got born again on the same day. Say amen, somebody. So as we pursue apostolic strategies of church planning and church growth and evangelism, it is also very important for us to hasten to distinguish between the strategies there because the strategies we are talking about are not worldly strategies. Somebody say amen. There are many forms of strategies, or there are many spheres wherein we can have strategies for growth. In the corporate world, they also discuss strategies for business development, strategies for expansion, hallelujah. Marketing strategies and all that. And uh allow them to do it in their sphere. But here we are talking apostolic strategies. That's the emphasis of our declaration there. Our strategies are not just strategies because there are so many strategies. Can I hear an amen? But the ones that we are interested in are apostolic strategies, and when you start talking of the apostolic, you must hasten to study the first mention in the scriptures where we find the word apostle. Hallelujah. Apostles were first and foremost disciples. Somebody say amen. Apostles were first and foremost what? Disciples. And a disciple is a follower, is a follower. And here we are talking about followers of Jesus Christ. Glory to Jesus. Hallelujah. And apostles are those who are sent. The word apostle means the sent one, the one who is sent. Hallelujah. As we see in the book of Luke, chapter number six, verse number 12. Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples to himself. Hallelujah. He called his disciples to himself. And from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles. Hallelujah. So apostles were chosen from disciples. Disciples are those who were following Jesus Christ. So, in other words, as we discuss apostolic strategies, we are talking about strategies that we take from Jesus Christ. Remember, apostles were first disciples, and disciples are followers. Can I hear an amen? Are you learning something here? So the the the strategies we are interested in are those strategies that were taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ Himself. In chapter number one, verse number one, the Bible tells us about an account, the former account of Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach. Hallelujah. Of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach. So our strategies must be derived from the things that Jesus began both to do, the things that Jesus did. We can adopt them as our strategies. Hallelujah. And the things that Jesus Christ taught are the strategies we are interested in. Glory to God. Because the book of Acts, the full title of the book is not just Acts as it is shortened in your Bible, but the full title is the Acts of the Apostles. Say amen, somebody. So it can also be called Apostolic Action, the Book of Apostolic Action. The acts or the actions, the things that the apostles were doing, hallelujah, in that book. So it is an account of apostolic action. And they were not acting their own actions, but they were rather learning and doing that which they saw Jesus Christ doing. Hallelujah. Are you here, somebody? So, like Acts chapter 2, verse number 42, where we read, the Bible tells us that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Hallelujah. In the apostles' doctrine, in breaking of bread, in prayers, and in fellowship. A doctrine is a set of teaching that makes a belief system. A doctrine is not one teaching, but it is a combination of many teachings combined together, they form your faith, they form your behavior, they form your belief system as an individual or as a people. Glory to God. So the disciples or the apostles, they had a set of teaching which was then subscribed to by those who just got born again. They are the ones we hear how they continued steadfastly in the apostles' set of teachings. Hallelujah. And we know that before Jesus Christ left the earth, he gave the apostles the great commission in Matthew 28, verse number 19. Jesus said to them, Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations. Hallelujah. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But it doesn't end there. He goes on to say, Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Hallelujah. Teaching them, teaching them to observe. So when the apostles were teaching and preaching, they were not teaching when the Bible says the apostles' doctrine, it was not their own teachings which they crafted on themselves. Hallelujah. But rather they were teaching the people all things that Jesus Christ commanded them. All things that they saw being demonstrated by Jesus Christ and what they had being taught by Jesus. Can I hear an amen? That formed their doctrine. Those teachings formed the apostles' doctrine. And that's the teaching that the believers subscribed to steadfastly. Hallelujah. And so I'm saying this to emphasize the point that our strategies must not be secular strategies. Rather, they are apostolic. And by virtue of them being apostolic, it means we can trace their origins in Christ Jesus. According to Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1, it challenges us to consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. Hallelujah. So there is no strategy that can grow the church outside Jesus Christ. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle. To consider means to learn from, to consider means to pay close attention to. Somebody say Jesus. Yes. The message in the book of Acts, if you check throughout, they preached it mainly two things. Their message was emphasizing two things. They preached Jesus and the things concerning the kingdom of God. If you read Acts chapter number eight, Acts chapter number eight, how Philip preached, the Bible says Philip went to down to Samaria and he preached Christ to them. Hallelujah. He preached Christ to them. And when you read further down, the Bible says, when the people believed Philip as he preached things concerning Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, right in the same chapter. The people believed Philip as he preached Christ and the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Am I helping somebody? So that was the main message. They preached Jesus and they preached the things concerning the kingdom of God. The book of Acts concludes by the same message. The last verse in Acts chapter 28, verse number 31. It tells you that Paul, nobody forbade Paul. No one forbidding him. As he preached, hallelujah. Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus with all confidence. No one forbidding him. Glory to God. Is the same unbroken pattern. And that's the thing that brought conviction. That's the message that brought conviction. That's the message that turned the world upside down. That's the message that led to their imprisonment and to their persecution. Glory to God. And they were not forbidden to preach or to teach other things. If you go back to X chapter number four, the Bible tells you that they were beaten and they were warned strictly not to teach or preach anymore about the name of Jesus. Because all other strategies were not a threat, but the Jesus strategy was a threat to the kingdom of darkness. That's why they tried to stop them and say, You can preach anything you want. By the way, they were not the first preachers, Peter, James, and John. There were many preachers during the day. But the majority of the preachers were not persecuted, they were not imprisoned. Why? Because their preaching was not a threat to the kingdom of darkness. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. Because the name of Jesus is a strategy. Somebody say it's a strategy, it's a strategy, not human strategy, but divine strategy, God's strategy. Can I hear an amen? Yes. So we we we need to get it right. Whatever we do, we need to locate our strategies in Christ Jesus as well as in the kingdom of God. Lest we be found building a heap of stones. Hallelujah. Because what we are discussing here is church. Somebody say we are discussing apostolic strategies for church. Yes, it's church, church strategies, and this church that we are building, we must not forget that Jesus Himself said, I will build my church. He is building it. Glory to God. He said, Upon this rock, I will build my church. Somebody say it's his church. And we are building with him. So it's very important that we get it right from the onset. Now, sustainable growth must not be accidental, but it must be intentional, just like farming and building. The growth that we are talking about here and the strategies that we want to discuss are not just haphazard strategies, but they must be very intentional. Like we read in First Corinthians chapter number three, Paul is using the analogy of a field to describe the church business. Hallelujah. He said, I planted and Apollo's watered, but God gave the increase. Are you with me? And further down, you see him using another analogy about the same church. He said, As a wise master builder, I laid the foundation. Can I hear an amen? At first, he used a garden to describe the church business, and later he used a building to describe the same business. He's referring to one and the same entity, to one and the same organism. I planted Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. Hallelujah. And he went on to say, you are God's field. We are God's fellow workers. In other words, we are working together with God, and we are working you, you are the field that we are cultivating. Hallelujah. We are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, you are God's building. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Now, when you look at these two analogies, the church as a field or as a garden, and the church as a building, you realize that there is one key principle that must guide the way we do church business, it is intentionality. Somebody say amen. You cannot just get into the garden and plant without proper preparation. Somebody say amen. You have to prepare the ground. If you are a good and a wise farmer, glory to God. There has to be preparation that is done first before the planting. For you to plant, you have to prepare. The ground, hallelujah, and after you plant it, there has to be a watering of the serm, hallelujah, of the ground for things to grow. Yes, growth belongs to God, but we do have a responsibility, a part to play. There has to be a poor who plants, there has to be an Apollos who waters for God to give the increase. Can I hear a better amen? So, what it means is you and I have got a role to play in the equation of church growth. Look at your neighbor and tell them you are a church grower. Yes, much as you are the church, but we must also see ourselves as the farmers. Say, I am both the garden and the farmer. This is the mystery of the business of the kingdom. Hallelujah. We are both the garden, we are the church, but we are also expected to play the role of a farmer somewhere. Are you learning something? So let me let me quickly remind you in case I forget, this declaration is a working declaration. It is a what? A working declaration, it's not just a feel-good declaration. Are you learning something? So if you are not prepared to work, please don't come to church. But if you don't come to church, be prepared to go and burn in Gainah. Hallelujah. If you don't come to church, because if you don't come to church because of what I have just said, it means you are not prepared to work. And if you don't work, you have no rewards, you have no results. Your work will not last. Because later on in verse number 13, Paul says, Let each man take heed how he builds, which means you are expected to build. But the material that we are using to build is not the same. Some will build quality, some will build so so so. Hallelujah. On the same foundation, glory to God. So the emphasis I'm putting across here is that there has to be intentionality. If it's in the garden, we have to be intentional about what we want to see. Who wants to build? You build and you have not counted the cost. Hallelujah. He says if you laid the foundation and you don't finish, people will look at you and say you started doing things that you are not able to finish. And they will laugh at you because you have not counted the cost. You were not intentional about what you are doing. Hallelujah. Because when we talk about church growth, particularly, we we all get excited. People get excited because growth is very exciting. Hallelujah. We all are excited about growth. Hallelujah. But we need now to move just from being excited about growth to being becoming responsible and to becoming, you know, those who are thinking about sustainable growth, not as an event. Tell your neighbor growth, not as an event, but growth as a lifestyle, growth as a culture. Amen. Are you with me, somebody? Because the growth that Jesus wants us to experience is not growth today and it vanishes tomorrow. But for it to be sustainable, there has to be intentionality. We have to be intentional about putting up structures, we have to be intentional about who is going to do what. We have to be intentional about everything. Like I showed you from verse number 41 to 47a of X chapter number two. It was all to do with the people. So you can say those were strategies. Hallelujah. And I believe that the apostles were very, very deliberate about what they were building. Are you learning something? So you must learn this if you are a cell group leader, you must learn what I'm telling you if you are a departmental leader, and begin to ask yourself very uncomfortable questions. If you are a pastor, be honest with yourself. How am I building? And even if you are a believer, because we are all building, whether you know it or you don't know it, somebody tell your neighbor whether you know it or you don't know it, you are building, you are building consciously or unconsciously. You are building. First Corinthians chapter number 3, verse number 11. Paul says, As a wise master builder, I laid the foundation. Hallelujah. Are you with me? And another builds on it. That's verse number 10. Another builds on it, but let each one take heed how he builds. Take heed how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. And he goes on to say, if anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, and precious stones, hallelujah. And another is building using wood, hay, and straw. Tell your neighbor, be careful how you are building. You are leading a department in church, you are leading a cell group in church, you are a pastor in the church. How are you building? Have you prepared for what you are building? You will then, when you begin to ask these questions, you may be shocked that some of you are cell group leaders. You just go into a cell group leader unprepared. Oh, into a cell group meeting, rather, you are unprepared. You are a pastor, you stand before the people unprepared. Hallelujah. You are just doing things haphazardly, and you expect God to bring growth, you expect God to add to the church. Hallelujah. Ask your neighbor, how are you building? Wait for an answer. So, Psalm 11, verse number 3. The Bible says, If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? If we are not intentional as builders, what shall we do? What shall the kingdom of God do? If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. So if the builders are not intentional, how will the kingdom of God advance? Are you with me? And when we talk about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is within people. The kingdom of God must be established within you. It's not an external phenomenon, something that is somewhere far away. That when we are praying, your kingdom come, we're expecting this new heaven and new Jerusalem coming down, and then we say the kingdom of God has come. No, that's not the kingdom. Somebody tell the neighbor the kingdom of God is within you. It's within you. Hallelujah. And so when we understand that the kingdom of God is within me, is within you, and we are praying, your kingdom come, your kingdom advance from the days of John the Baptist until now. The kingdom of God suffers violently. What it means is for the kingdom of God to advance, you must first be advanced as a believer. It can't advance if there is no advancement happening inside of you. And one of the reasons why the church and the kingdom of God is not suffering violence, is not growing, is not advancing, is because of a certain orientation that is in believers. Our mindsets are not kingdom mindsets. You just need to look at your prayer life. You just need to look at the things that you pray for. That takes much of your time in prayer. That's how you know that you are not you are no way to be to be to be somebody who can advance the kingdom of God. Check the the things that concern your prayer life. When you are fasting, when you are praying, check it, check, check the the time that you spend on things that are frivolities. Hallelujah. Are you with me, somebody? Yes, so the reason why we are not seeing church growth or kingdom expansion is because believers internally, the kingdom of God in them is very shallow, is very weak, and collectively we begin to see the effects. Hallelujah. How can God add to our number those who are being saved? When he checks and examines our hearts and our value system as individual believers, he does not see a concern for souls. Are you learning something? Are you with me? This one is praying for stilettos, the other one is praying for money for lobola, the other one is praying for those are the things that concerns them. Nobody is thinking about kingdom business. Hallelujah! They are all hustling, praying for their hustles and all this and that, and this and that. And when now you call for an outreach, say, Let's do evangelism outreach. Come here, we are doing church growth seminar. Come here, we are preparing for Sunday, we are preparing for church growth. Come here, we are training, we are doing soul groups, and nowhere to be found. They tell you it's wasting of time. Hallelujah. When you listen to them praying on their own, the things that they spend most of their times throughout the whole week, nobody prays for a soul. Their prayer, look at when Paul is praying, he says, When I heard of your faith, I don't cease to make mention of you in my prayers, praying that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of these were their prayers, that you may know what is the hope of his calling. He is praying that may these people know that they are called by God. I want you to know that you are called, God has called you. I am praying that the call of God become a reality in your life. This is Paul's prayers. Hallelujah. And as a result, you begin to see the the church and the kingdom growing. Hallelujah. Say amen. So it means we must be we must be very intense now, but also we must begin to change our our perspective of the kingdom of God. Your mindset, there has to be a shift. Hallelujah. Yes. When we are coming to church, you know, we must change even our perspective. You know, we must move from being I receive, I receive, I receive, hallelujah, to being I give, I give, I give. Hallelujah. As we are coming together, what must be in your mind is who can I impact today? To the glory of God. I want to make a difference in someone's life. When you move away from being self-centered, going to church to receive a breakthrough, to be prayed for, and to be laid hands to be to be delivered. When are you going to deliver on someone else? Don't you want to december? You are just thinking about I need deliverance, I need deliverance, I need deliverance, I need deliverance. I pastor should lay hands on me. I need deliverance. When are you going to grow up? You have been in church for all these years. You have never been teaching anyone. It's because you see, we are not kingdom-minded. And we behave like babs. Paul says, I cannot feed you with bones, strong meat is for those who are mature. Hallelujah. He says, by now you ought to be teachers. But you still need someone to teach you again the first oracles, the element. I hope you still remember that scripture. Where is your guy? By now you ought to be teachers. Tell him Sinarev was asking you, who are you teaching? You have disappeared on me. He is in Blawayo. I hope he is going to church. Okay. Show him this message. Tell him to go online and check. But I'm also preaching about you. Hallelujah. January to December. You have never preached it to anyone. If we say January to December, we have actually promoted you somehow. Ever since you got born again. There is nobody who is following you to in church to Christ. We are we are producing what I call Corona Baby. Corona baby. Hallelujah. And the sign that you are mature is your productivity. Hallelujah. You can't expect fruit from a baby. Your system is not built for it. Hallelujah. But when you are mature, your system must now respond to the demands of fruitfulness. So let's be intense now. I want to give you five fundamental preparations before church growth, before church planning, and before church or evangelism. Because we read in Acts chapter 1 or chapter 2, verse number 1. They were all with one accord in one place on the day of Pentecost. So what do you think they were doing in the upper room? These were the 120 we had followed Jesus for three years. Hallelujah. Are you here, somebody? For three years they had observed Jesus' lifestyle, they had received his teachings. Now Jesus told them that tarry in Jerusalem until you are endured with power from on high. I believe that in the upper room they were preparing. They were preparing for the 3,000. They were preparing not just for the coming of the Holy Spirit, but they were also building capacity for what was coming. Can I hear an amen? So the first preparation that we need for church growth is there has to be a right motive, preparation of the heart. Preparation of the heart. There has to be right motives. Jesus must be central to our motives for church planning. Are you learning something? Jesus must be central to our quest for church growth. Why do we want 3,000 people to be added? Why is it to promote our own ego? Is it for us just to feel good? Hello? Why church planning? Why do we want to have many branches? I want to have many black branches, but we must ask questions of motives because to God motives matter. Are you learning something? To God, what we do is as important as why we do it. Are you learning something? It's not just what we do, but also why are we doing what we are doing? Motives are key. Hello, and so the right motive for church planning, the right motive for church growth and for evangelism is to fulfill the Great Commission. Can I hear an amen? Is to fulfill Matthew 28, verse number 19, so that Jesus may be glorified, so that the kingdom of God may advance. We plant churches because Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Are you with me? We grow the church because Jesus promised that I am building my church. On this rock, I will build my church. That's why we are building. Hello. That's why we are building people. That's why we are we are we are talking of planting churches and growing churches and evangelism. It is in obedience to the command of Jesus. See, I'm learning. So our motive must be right. Because it's very easy for us to do the right things, but with wrong motives, and when we do the right things with wrong motives, there is no reward in heaven. Paul says some preach Christ out of rivalry, but others from a goodwill. Hallelujah. But of course, he says, Thank God Christ is being preached. But I want you to know that God is very interested in why we do what we are doing. Are you learning something? Yes, it's very important. As a believer, you must have a passion, a desire to plant churches, to grow the church, to contribute to the growth of the church. Why? Because you see yourself as a steward. One day you will stand before Christ to give an account of your own life. Look at me, everybody. A day will come when Christ will ask you, What did you do with the gift I gave you? Give an account of your stewardship, of the time I gave you, of the anointing that I gave you, of the notes that you wrote in church. What did you do with them? Hallelujah. Remember 1st Corinthians chapter number 3 and verse number 11, 10 and 11, and 13. It says, Let every man take heed how he builds. You must take you must be very careful how you are building, how you are serving God. Hallelujah. You must take heed. And so our motivation should be to glorify God, should be to obey God, should be to see the kingdom of God expanding. Amen. To see God happy, to be pleasing unto God. Second Corinthians 5, is it verse 9 or 8? He says, whether in the body or absent, we make it our aim to be found pleasing unto Him. Hallelujah. We want to be found well pleasing unto God. Are you learning something? So when an outreach is called for, huh? It must give you some form of restlessness. To say, How am I going to schedule my day on Saturday? Because there is evangelism outreach. I am going to eliminate some activities to give room for evangelism. Hallelujah. Why? Because I want to be found pleasing. Hallelujah. Unto God. But some of you, you would actually rather create another engagement even after you heard that there is a church program to do with soul winning. It shows you our priorities are misplaced. Hallelujah. Say amen, somebody. Yes. Where you see yourself as a co-worker, to be a co-worker means you are working together with Jesus. Jesus said, I will build my church, but he's not gonna build that church alone. He is looking for somebody like you to come and join him to build so that you become a co-builder. Somebody say, I'm a co-builder. Say I'm a co-laborer. So we plant churches so that we advance the kingdom of God. We plant churches because we want to see God glorified, we want to see the kingdom of God taking over territories, we want to see people delivered, we want to make Jesus known unto the ends of the earth. May that be your goal. Hallelujah. And when you have this goal, and this this motivation is intrinsically driven in you, you don't wait for somebody to you don't wait for an event, so to speak. You only evangelize when there is an evangelism outreach called for in the church, it becomes a lifestyle because you are intrinsically driven, hallelujah. You are motivated from within. Whether the pastor is called for a program or is not called for a program, you know Jesus said you must do it. Hallelujah. Whether it's during the day or during the night, he didn't say only preach during the day, it's a 24-7 business. Paul says, Woe unto me if I don't preach the gospel. He says, We are debtors, we are indebted to preach the gospel. So in the upper room, the people that were in the upper room, they had an understanding of the kingdom business. They had embraced the great commission. Are you with me? Somebody say amen. Yes. To them, it was not just a theory. They were prepared to be beaten, to be imprisoned so that Jesus is made known unto nations. Glory to Jesus. Number two. There has to be a tarrying in prayer. It's a preparation. There has to be a tarrying in prayer. Luke 24, verse number 47 to 49. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endured with power from on high. Amen. So there has to be a tarry. I'm describing to you the activities in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Are you learning something? Can you see the 120 who were gathered in the upper room? What do you think they were doing? Before the 3,000 were added, what do we hear about the 120 in the upper room? Acts 1, verse 14. These all continued in prayer. Hallelujah. They continued in prayer, they all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and married the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. Hallelujah. These all continued with one accord. Where were they? They were in the upper room. Who were these? The 120.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 49:55

They were preparing on their knees. They were preparing in prayer. Remember, we are talking of apostolic strategies, not secular strategies. This is kingdom business. Hallelujah. And the owner of the business is Jesus Himself. The chief executive officer is the Holy Spirit. We are the directors. Hallelujah. We have to implement his strategy. Hallelujah. We have to execute according to his value system. We are guided by specific and very clear value systems. Hallelujah. Our mission is very clearly spelled. Are you learning something? And we have been commissioned. So the way to do it is not without prayer. They were in the upper room praying. If a church grows without prayer, you must begin to be very concerned. If you see a church growing without prayer, what it means is it may have been hijacked, and you don't know that your gathering has been ejected. Another spirit is bringing people for another reason, for another purpose. If it grows without prayer, be concerned. Are you with me? It means probably another spirit has ejecting your activities. And people are no longer coming to see him crucified, but they are coming perhaps to be entertained by another spirit. Because prayer positions us to receive the mind of God. Are you learning something? Prayer shows our outer dependence on God for his business. They were praying, they continued with one accord. So in this season, one of the strategies we must be quick to identify and embrace is the strategy of prayer. Because that's what we see in the Acts of the Apostles. It's an apostolic strategy. Say amen to that. Throughout the Bible, you see how the apostles refused to give themselves to other activities while neglecting prayer. We will give ourselves continually because they say this is a very strategic uh activity or engagement. We can't neglect it. This is spiritual. Tell your neighbor, church is spiritual. Church is spiritual business. You can't just build it by downloading things, stuff, and blah blah blah on internet, Google, and then you come and present it. It is no power. What is born of flesh is flesh, but what is born of the spirit is spirit. Hallelujah. And we are not apologetic about it. Here we do spiritual business. Are you learning something? Yes, here we are very spiritual. What we do here are spiritual things. Are you with me? Yes, we are okay with it if you criticize us, because we know you are natural and you can never understand what we are doing here. Because the things of God, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. But because of your naturalness, your carnity, we know that you cannot understand what we are doing. Because the natural man cannot understand the things of the spirit of God. To you, it may be foolishness. Why? Because these things are spiritually appraised, they are spiritually descended. Are you with me, somebody? Yes. If you try to use logic, your five senses, it doesn't make sense, and that's the way it is, and we are okay with it. We love it that way. Somebody say, Amen. We tell your neighbor we love it this way. Yes, we pray, here we pray. And we must embrace this strategy because prayer is working. Prayer is working. In this business, prayer is what it's working. I know the Holy Spirit is convicting you now. Receive that conviction about prayer. Receive it. The right conviction. Don't resist it. Say amen, somebody. So in the upper room, they were praying. And I want to submit to you and say a church cannot grow beyond the level of his prayer life. And in the upper room, it was not only Peter who was praying, they all continued with one accord. Say amen, somebody. Yes. The 50 days in the upper room were days of labor pains and giving birth to a new season of growth. They were days of labor pains. Pentecost was 50 days from the day Jesus rose from the dead. 50 days. Hallelujah. These all continued with one accord for 50 days. They were praying. And in prayer, we give birth. Prayer is our our prayer room, is our labor room. Hallelujah. And we travail in prayer in order to give birth to new seasons. Say amen, somebody. Yeah. So it's a preparation. They were preparing for the day of Pentecost. That is the day of harvest. Number three, preparation. The third preparation is there is need for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They were preparing for the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. X2, verse number four. Hallelujah. These are preparations before the church grows. Jesus was not a fool, and he's still not a fool. When he said to the disciples, Yes, you I gave you the Great Commission. Go back to Luke 24. Luke 24, verse 40 43, where he says, You know how Christ suffered, and I gave you the Great Commission, and that remission of sins should be preached in the name of Jesus to all nations. Hallelujah. Are you with me? Yes. But he said in verse number 49. Now he said verse 46 to 49. Verse 49 says, But tarry. Is it 49? Oh, yes. But behold, I send the promise of my father upon you. But tarry. Tell your neighbor, I will tarry. Tell the other one, we will tarry. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until don't go before you are endued with the power from on high. Hallelujah. Are you with me? Tarry until you are endued with the power from on high. So in the upper room, they were waiting for the power from on high. Why? Because ministry requires the anointing. Hello, ministry work requires the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And I wanted to know that the key ingredients to church planting and church growth and evangelism is the anointing. Somebody say the anointing. So there is an anointing for church growth. There is an anointing for church planting. There is an anointing for evangelism. And the Bible says in Acts 1, verse number 8, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Hallelujah. Yes. The Holy Spirit is the power from on high. Until you are endured with the power from on high. And it says, when he comes upon you, you shall receive power. And you shall be my witnesses. This is evangelism now. Hallelujah. In evangelism, we are witnessing. But you don't witness without the power of the Holy Spirit. And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. You are driven by the Holy Spirit. You are given the boldness by the Holy Spirit. So in the upper room, they were waiting, they were tarrying for the Holy Spirit. Say amen, somebody. Zechariah 4, verse number 6. So he answered and said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zeruba, not by mighty nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. So as a church, there has to be a time where in prayer we are tarrying, we are praying for the anointing. Hallelujah. We are positioning ourselves for the anointing. I tell you, brothers and sisters, church growth requires the anointing. After all is said and done, after all the sermons, the preaching, the trainings, the strategies, whatever we take about, after all is said and done, get anointed. Look at how they they they did when the anointing came upon them. Glory to God. Yes, they preached powerfully. Look at Peter Simon on the day of Pentecost. He preached, and it is out of the anointing that people received his word with gladness. He was preaching under the anointing. Say amen. Receive an anointing in the name of Jesus. Everybody under my voice may the anointing of the Holy Spirit rest in you and upon you. Catch it. The anointing for church planting. One day, may you plant a great tree in the name of Jesus. May you plant a great tree that shall become a shed to many, many, many more people. May you plant a great tree that shall affect generations. May you plant a great tree that will not wither in the time of whatever of the heat. Hallelujah. May you plant a great tree because of the anointing. The anointing, somebody say, anoint us Holy Spirit. So they were preparing, they were waiting, they were expectant, anticipated. And so when he eventually came, Peter says, That's it. Now I can run. Now I can preach. Now I can raise the dead. Now I can call to the gate beautiful. Hallelujah. Because I'm anointed. You will be anointed. And the anointing will turn you into another person. You will work for God. The anointing will cause you to realize that I am called by God. I am not ordinary. Hallelujah. The anointing will give you the boldness you need to cast out demons. Receive the anointing to preach, to heal the sick, to do wonders.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:04

Receive an anointing for boldness.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:07

To evangelize. Altogether, the number of the names was about a hundred and twenty. And he said, Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. Verse 21. One of these must become a witness with us of the of his resurrection. And they proposed to Joseph called Basabas, who was saying Justus, and Matthias. Can you see that Peter knew that the upper room is not the destination? He knew that there is work ahead of us. We were told to wait. This is just a lay-by. This is just a place of just waiting. But there is a greater work ahead of us. He said, but you know what, Christ? He says one of these must become a witness with us when in the days to come. Because we are called to work. But our leadership is not complete. Jesus has to be replaced. Our capacity is not complete. We are proposed to be 12 here, but we are 11. Therefore, because the strategy is apostolic, we can choose an apostle who has not been a disciple. From you know, of those who have been with us, this is of this man who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John. I told you, apostles must be chosen from the disciples. And Peter was an apostle. He is using apostolic strategies, even of selecting leadership. It must be apostolic. There were 120. But of the 120, there was one who was chosen. There are many who were called, but there was one who was chosen. Can I hear an amen? We are talking about leadership capacity. A church cannot grow beyond its leadership capacity. Write it down. A church cannot grow. So, Peter, what he was doing there, he was putting leadership structures in place. Don't forget that the day of Pentecost is the day when 3,000 shall be added. Send me somebody say amen. So before the 3,000 are added, we must put our house in order. We have to strengthen our leadership capacity. Okay, here is a question I always ask people. How many of you are anticipating growth of this church? We're expecting how many of you love this church to grow rapidly? Right. Alright, this Sunday we come here and we find 1,500 new people. 1500 new people. Amen. New people will you be excited? How many of you will be excited? Those of you who are not excited, so what are you saying? Those of you who won't be excited, you are you suspects? Are you for us or you are against us? Huh? Will you be excited? Please, will you be excited? You are a greeter there. Greeting 1500 people by yourself. I have seen you sometimes by yourself there. Will you be excited? It's a question. Tell your neighbor it's a question. It's a question. The question is, another question is after they come on Sunday, what will happen to them on Tuesday? Who will follow them up? These are new converts, by the way. They are not ready-made. It's not transfer growth. Are you with me? It's not transfer growth, it's people that don't know how to read the Bible, they don't know how to pray, they are the ones who need deliverance. They have demons. Hello? Yes, they are drunkards. But they say, We want to come to church. We have had Cinear F preaching. We are here. We are members of this church.

unknown 1:09:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:32

Who will follow them up? Who teach them to read the Bible? These are questions you must. Because the Great Commission did not instruct us to make converts. It says, Go ye therefore and make disciples. And a disciple or discipleship is not an overnight thing, it's a process. It took Jesus three years to raise a Peter, a John, and a James, and a Thomas, and including a Judas. Three years. It took Jesus. How many years? Commitment. Hallelujah. The former account of Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do. Clap your hands for Luke. He was so committed to following, observing, seeing and learning and listening. Hallelujah. Jesus began both to do and to teach. So when you begin to ask yourself these questions, if you are truly born again, it places greater responsibilities on you. You begin to your attitude, your motivation, your mindset about church business changes. Because the I asked you the question is who will follow them up? This 1500. Who? I need an answer. We all got excited. They come, they came on Sundays. This Sunday they are coming. We are all excited. And today, let's say they came last Sunday. Today is a Tuesday. The question we are asking is who is following up these people? Who is teaching them the book of John?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:53

Who is praying for them?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:59

And as you ask who will pray for them, just examine your prayer points, the things that you usually pray for most of the time, what you spend most of your time praying for. So when you look at yourself and your prayer points and your your prayer burdens, you then ask, so if my prayer burdens are like this, or who will pray for them? Who will travail for these new converts until Christ is formed in them? Like Paul to the Galatians, my dear children, of whom I travel, as in labor pains, I travel. Galatians 4 19. Until Christ is formed in you. You are coming to church to be delivered. But you have been in church for five years, for seven years, for ten years. We have a lot of things to do. Tell a neighbor, we have the pastors have a lot of things to do. It was just one of I was driving. The Holy Spirit told me this. I was going to pick my daughter from school. And I packed while she was coming to the car. That's when I wrote that statement. It was so strong. And he was also rebuking me. You know what? Why he was rebuking me? He told me that you also pastors are to blame. Yeah. Because Sunday after Sunday, you're always saying, Deliver, come, I'll deliver you. And some of you now I ever since you got born again. Sunday after Sunday. You report you respond for deliverance, deliverance. And the Holy Spirit says, You are also to blame. Why? Because they are now having the comfort to go and sin and enjoy sin. Because they know Sunday is coming, my pastor will deliver me. Come on, demons, gender me. No matter how many, my Sunday is coming, I will go and my pastor will deliver me. I will enjoy sin. Waiting for Sunday to come. Because I know my pastor will always deliver me. And you are wasting our time with instead of us concentrating on other other new converts. You a veteran, you have been in church for ten years. You are still struggling with fornication. You are still struggling with with pornography.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:46

You speak in tongues.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:57

They haven't changed. What's wrong with you? And the Holy Spirit told me, greater percentage, 70 if not 80% of deliverance just needs repentance. It's a D. Perhaps you didn't know what I said. I said it's a what DIY. Yeah, some of you thought I don't know whether it's Greek or whatever. DIY simply means it's a do-it-yourself. Tell the neighbor you do it yourself. Self-deliverance is the most powerful and sustainable deliverance. You can deliver yourself. Do you want to know how the most powerful deliverance and sustainable deliverance is do it yourself. Where you don't need the hands to be laid. We will leave the 20% where you need us to come and lay hands and say, Come out, come out, come out. Especially after you got born again. After you got to know Jesus. Repent. And all the demons will leave you. Yes. Because demons don't just attack you without doors. You are opening doors. There are things you are doing that are that keep attracting those demons in you. The day you stop, the day you close that door is the day you don't see those things. Say amen. Jesus said, He says, if a spirit comes out of a man, it goes out to an arid place, to a dry land. Hallelujah. But when it comes, it doesn't find a house. He says, Let me go back to my former house. The Lodger wants to come back to its former house. And when it finds nothing, changed. The house is still clean, wah, wah, blah, blah, blah. He says, I'll go and take seven more. Because you didn't bother to read the Bible. You didn't bother to close that door. And so Sunday after Sunday, you always want deliverance. I think there are some people these days I will need to put a strategy, apostolic strategy, and say, This one, you go sit down, go and repent. I'm not laying hands on you. Just stop what you are doing. Just repent. I'm serious. Because otherwise, who is a manza? Why is some manza turikauska passana for the musoro? Taturika Nas Tuesday, they are back to their system. They are enjoying sin. They don't want to repent. But they want to be delivered. They don't want to what? To re I sense the anointing here. You know, my ear is so hot. I tell you, this year. It's very hot as I'm preaching. It's one of the manifestations of the anointing of the Holy Spirit on me. Like yesterday, I spent hours in there with right now as I speak, it's even hotter. Very hot. I ought to squeeze it like this. There is power here. Tell your neighbor there is power here. So you see, it's a problem. By now, you ought to be delivering new converts. By now it's you who should like Philip, who went down to Samaria and he preached the Christ and he cast out demons from there because Philip was a deacon. How come you are a deacon? You're still struggling with demons? When you should be casting out demons from other people, Aunyari. Are you not ashamed? What man of a Christian are you? What man of Jesus did you receive? Tell me what what kind of a Jesus did you receive? That is failing to deliver you from that from that demon. What kind of a Jesus is it?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:26

So leadership.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:31

Leadership is a determinant for church growth.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:44

How can the church grow? Look at the way you conduct yourself when you come to church. How can we expect increase the Lord to add to our number? Look at the time you come to the service. You have been in church for a very long time. You are not responsible for anything, you don't do anything in church. But you are the one saying the church is not growing. Look at yourself. Now, so when you look at the ratio, 3,000 were added, there were 120 in the upper room who were preparing. And by the time the Holy Spirit fell, they were fully prepared. They were fully prepared. Hallelujah. Now the ratio is if Jesus, because God is not a fool. Are you with me? God is a is is a chief strategist. He knows exactly what he was doing. Why did he not give them 5,000? Because 5,000 we hear them later further. Why did he not give them 5,000 on the day of Pentecost? Why? Why didn't he give them 1,000? Why didn't he add 1,000? Why exactly 3,000? It's a question. He first of all assessed and examined each one's capacity. And he found out that this one at this stage they have the capacity of 18 to 25. Therefore, I need to give them 3,000. Are you with me? It means such coin was able to disciple 25 people by himself. Follow them up, teach them the Bible, pray for them, and show them the way of Christ by Himself. 25 people were looking up to tafatwa. You even one person, God is you have to think twice to entrust you with one person. God will look at yourself and say, I don't see capacity. It's like a woman who gives birth, but they can't produce milk, they can't lactate. How you kill the baby. So we have to be intentional with developing leadership capacity. So here is the point. Write this down. You must begin to see yourself as a pastor. Until you see yourself as a pastor, behaving as a pastor, conducting yourself like a pastor. Forget about church growth. Yes. Are you here with me? Yes. Then in the end, see yourself as the pastor of other young adults. You want to be a pastor. See yourself as the pastor of Abelazas. Say, God bring young people of my age. I will pastor them. I will show them the way of Christ. I will teach them to read the Bible. I will teach them to pray. I will gather them once a week and begin to teach them the way of the Lord. That's how we begin to think about church growth. Say amen. Yes. See yourself as a discipler.

unknown 1:23:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:29

You are discipling someone. They were gathered together with one accord. With this is teamwork. Just look at how you behave in a department and ask yourself: can this behavior lead to other people being added to the church? One accord. They were together. Does your behavior contribute to the growth of the church? With the way you are behaving, can somebody look at your behavior and say, I want to stay in the church? Let me tell you something, which is a warning. Some of you, you will be accountable before God because you are responsible for the people that exited the church. They came to church, but they left the church because of your behavior and your attitude. And God will require an account. Yes. They've been observing you, they've been watching your conduct, they've been listening to your to your to your to your to your to your words, to your statements, they've been even following you on your on social and media handles. And when they watched all your statuses just for three weeks, the your statuses were pointing them more to where they are coming from than where they want to come. They are pointing them more to the world than to Jesus. There is nothing in you that communicates Jesus Christ. In your words, in your conduct, and whether physically or social or online, there is nothing in you that resembles Christ. But they found you in church. So in the upper room, they were preparing themselves leadership to say, Lord, when they shall come, help me to pastor them, help me to handle them, help me to be a good steward of souls. Matthias was headed, and everyone was being told, guys, we are waiting for the Holy Spirit so that we be witnesses of his resurrection. They all understood why they were waiting, they all understood the reason why the Holy Spirit was coming. Everybody knew when the Holy Spirit comes, we must be witnesses. But today, you want the Holy Spirit just to give you a financial breakthrough, and thereafter you leave church. Once you get that lots of money, those lots of monies, that's the last time we see you in church. You just want to enhance your own image. Nothing about kingdom business. I can tell you, if God was to open our motives, why we want breakthroughs, you will be shocked that probably a few motives are to do with kingdom business. One of these days I was saying there is a figure I looked at, I said, Lord, just give me a financial miracle in some of my endeavors. I just need to attend to this thing. I need to attend to it. Help me. Where we are concerned about when they come. What shall happen to them? How can we keep them? What role do I need to play for them to stay? Lord, show me my role. What do I need to do? Am I the one to open the house for them to come and have meetings? Am I the one to preach the apostolic doctrine to them? Am I the one who prayed to them? This is what the people are getting for when you say one to twenty-one to twenty-three. They had a system of accounting for money and they brought the money at the feet of the apostles. I want us to pray for internationality and conviction for church growth. As we pray, I want you to pray according to how the Holy Spirit ministered to you personally. I believe as I was preaching, he was convicting you in many ways. Lift up your voice and begin to pray as we commit this declaration into the hands of God. Father, we pray in the name of Jesus. Pray in response to the way you have been convicted. In the name of Jesus. The anointing is here. Anointing, I say, so my strong conviction. God has called you. Conviction of the call of God. You are not just a number in the church. You are not just a praying liberty of the call of God. You may wake for God and work with you. In the name of Jesus. There is so much of the anointing. The conviction. Pray that you be chosen. In the name of Jesus. What is code you? Pray for the conviction. It's time to grow up. It's time to grow up. It's time to be responsible. It's time to mature. In the rika bandia, ma mapa. You may not be an apostle. But you are an apostolic son. You are an apostolic believer. Yes, therefore we subscribe. Apostolic strategies, apostolic mindset. In the name of Jesus, pray for yourself. In the name of Jesus. The right way God is planted you. Become apostolic. In the name Sikina. In anika mayapina mama. You and I report to play. We may be plantless. We may be waterless. But God is the one who shall give English. But he's counting on us to plant. It's counting on us to water. It's counting on us to count the pit. Those that have been planted.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:10

Babita manika pariah pariah pariah mania cosina. Awaken me, awaken me. I want to work for you. I want to leapa for you. So maybe my send the kingdom. I don't want to leapa you. I don't want to build with wood heads.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:37

As I build on this foundation.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:53

I pray, Lord, for clarity of the core. We pray for boldness. We pray, Lord, for the conviction. In the name of Jesus. Babita Malito, the leper cate peanda. You say give me away, the harvest is plenty. But the leparas are few. But we pray for more leopardas. We pray that you send more leopardas. In the church, may we get more leparas? May we get more leparas and spectators? May we get more leopardas and critics? May we get more leparas? And we pray that you raise more lepas. In the pilandia makate pilanda. Zima mantepia teleper-tepele. In the name of Jesus. Father, we are sorry. For big batteries, for big fruitlessness, for our fruitlessness, we are sorry, Lord. In the name of Jesus. For so long a time we have been in your house, we have water dust. But we have refused to bear fruit. We are like the fig tree, but we pray, have mercy on us. Have mercy! For our lack of fruit! In the name of Jesus! Patika bayatira manataka! Thank you, Father! Thank you, Holy Spirit! Forgive us! For refusing to grow up! For refusing to bear fruit! Forgive us, Holy Spirit! In the name of Jesus, everybody lift up your hands!

SPEAKER_02 1:36:31

In the name of there is an anointing here! There is so much of it! There is so much of it!

SPEAKER_00 1:36:37

There is so much of the conviction unto the maturity of the saints! In the name of Jesus! The happiness of the call of God is getting stronger and stronger upon you now! The clarity of the core, the fear and the passion for the core is getting stronger on you, receive the conviction of the call of God in the name of Jesus. We thank you, Holy Spirit. We pray that you help us, we pray that you help us, convict us in the name of Jesus. That we may prepare for what is coming our way, that we may prepare for growth, that we may prepare for evangelism in the name of Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:29

We want to be vessels for honor. Help us, Lord, help us, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Oh, thank you, Father. In the name of Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:58

Yes, Lord.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:14

So long a time we have been playing church. Forgive our misplaced priorities. Forgive us, Lord. Our misplaced value system.