Where are You Serving?

WHERE ARE YOU
SERVING?
RETREAT MANUAL
Prepared by: Dr. Oyewole O. Sarumi Date: June 15-16, 2018
FACILITATED BY
PASTORAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, LAGOS.
FOR
The Redeemed Christian Church of God, House of Jubilation, LP 33, Ikorodu

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P a g e | 1 PLI …..Raising & Empowering leaders
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
OPENING CHARGE: Are You Serving or Servicing? 2
PLI Vision & Mission 4
Call to Serve Quotes 5
Retreat Hymnals 6
PRE-WORD: Are You A Shechemite or Dothanian? 8
MODULE 1: Seizing the Opportunity 10
MODULE 2: The Spirit of Independence 15
MODULE 3: Whom are You Really Serving? 19
MODULE 4: Commitment to the Pursuit of God 21
MODULE 5: The Place and Position of the Heart in the Service of God 23
MODULE 6: The Catechism of Christian Service 25
MODULE 7: The Unprofitable Servants 29
BIBLE STUDY/GROUP WORK: Bible Study & Syndicate Group Work 34
ADDENDUM 1-4: 37
POST-WORD: True and Acceptable Service 47
CLOSING CHARGE: Labouring for the Marks of New Covenant Servants 49
PRAYER ISSUES: 52
References and Further Readings 53
PLI Short Courses for 2018 44

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OPENING CHARGE
ARE YOU SERVING OR SERVICING?
Opening Texts:
“Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself
gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).
“The Son of Man came not to be served; but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many” (Mark 10:45).
Introduction
Our texts put all the emphasis on God’s giving to us when we serve. So the kind of
service that makes God look valuable and thrilling is the kind that serves God by
constantly receiving from God. The key text to describe this is 1 Peter 4:11-
“Whoever serves, [let it be] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies —
in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” God is seen
as glorious when all our serving is moment-by-moment receiving from God’s
supply.
Self-serving Team Behaviours
Everyone who serves in God’s field must take responsibility for your own behaviour
and examine your motives before you speak. Are you more focused on yourself than
on what’s in the best interest of your team/church? Look at your behaviour. Do
you consistently engage in any of these self-serving team behaviours? These
include:
1. Criticizing or blaming 4. Blocking 7. Monopolizing
2. Subgrouping 5. Competing 8. Unprepared
3. Detouring 6. Horsing Around 9. Withdrawing
If you’re not happy with the way your church is working, instead of engaging in
these self-serving behaviours, serve your church well by being non-judgmental and
by passing your concerns across to church leaders.
Church Workers Aren’t Salespeople!
Salespeople service the account. They take pride in servicing their accounts very
well. But the term servicing is too cold and technical. We can get our car serviced
monthly or have our air-conditioning system serviced once a year.
Servicing communicates things like attending to all the details, answering
questions clearly, and responding promptly when contacted, and these are
essential—but they’re not thrilling. They may make the salesperson reliable, but
not proactive, not caring, not a preferred business partner.
The word serving sets a totally different standard. At the most basic level, it
reminds the salesperson that the client is a human, not a piece of equipment, and
that the human dimension of the business relationship is important (sometimes
it’s paramount). Serving is as warm and personal as servicing is cold and
technical. When we serve, we not only understand needs, but provide effective
solutions.

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Are you guilty of slipping into servicing mode—instead of serving mode—with the
way and manner you labour in God’s vineyard? Acceptable service is from the heart
of love, and continue in the love frequency in spite of circumstances around or
within the person and the church. Serving is powerful!
So how should we serve the Lord? First, make sure that your motivation is right.
You serve Him because of His great mercies toward you as stated in the gospel.
That motivation moves you not to be lazy, but diligent in serving Him. Serving
Christ becomes your passion, so that you do it fervently. And, remember that you’re
serving none other than the Lord Himself.
Apostle Paul wrote this to the church in Colossae: “Slaves, obey in everything those
who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but
with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the
Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance
as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid
back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your
slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 3:22-
4:1).
Simply put: all of life, whether in work or family or ministry, be it immensely
significant or utterly mundane, . . . all of life is subject to the sovereignty and
governed by the lordship and ultimately lived to the glory of Jesus our Lord! So,
whatever our lot in life, wherever we may live, for whomever we may work, to
whomever we owe allegiance, let us never forget that we do it all for Christ.
Service is dependent on Personal Walk with God
All our service depends on our personal walk with God, and that’s why Jesus
rebuked Martha: "You are bothered about so many things, but Mary sitting there
at the Lord's feet…is focusing on “the ONE THING needful". Hence Apostle Paul
in 1 Corinthians 4:2 The Living Bible paraphrase said: The most important thing
about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to." In this regard,
God wants our service to flow from a love relationship. That was the message Jesus
sent the Apostle Peter in John 21:15-17. Love must come before service. Service is
loving Jesus to the point of death.
In the service of God, we need to learn that there is purpose, place and provision
for it, a power through it, a principle to follow and a people to do it for. In this
meeting, we are carefully poised to pursue scripturally these issues to help
delegates appreciate the power of serving God acceptably.
We plead with heaven to use this forum to help us mend our lives in tune with His
purpose for our calling in the name of Jesus Christ.
You are welcome.
Pastor Oyewole O. Sarumi [PhD]
Chief Learning/Strategy Officer

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PASTORAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
VISION:
To be a catalyst for raising world class leaders who will disciple others for heaven.
MISSION:
To provide innovative and inspirational development for emerging and established
Christian leaders, by helping and giving them opportunities and resources for
personal and professional growth.
We shall accomplish these by the provision of various platforms and interface
where required information, knowledge and skills would be shared to engender
positive change and prosperity within the leadership cadre and consequently
impact the body of Christ.
OUR CALL
We are called to do the following:
 Pastors and Leaders Training
 Ministers and Workers Training
 Church Leaders’ Retreat & Conferences
 Strategic Church Management for leaders and under-leaders.
 Conference, Seminars and Workshop for Leaders.
 Church Advisory and Consultancy.
HOW TO CONTACT US
For your Training, Conferences, Retreats, Counselling and Advisory Services, please contact:
Executive Administrator,
Pastoral Leadership Institute,
Plot 1, Junaid Dosunmu Street, Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
Tel: 0818 648 9589, 0708 306 3146.
Website: www.pl-academy.org
E-mail: pastorral.leadershipinstitute@gmail.com, leadershipmgtservice@gmail.com

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CALLED TO SERVE

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RETREAT HYMNS
HYMN 1 HYMN 3
IS YOUR ALL ON THE ALTAR
1.
You have longed for sweet peace,
And for faith to increase
And have earnestly, fervent prayed;
But you cannot have rest or be perfectly blest
Until your all on the altar is laid.
Refrain:
Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the sprit control?
You can only be blest and have peace and sweet
rest?
As you yield Him your body and soul.
2.
Would you walk with the Lord, in the light of his
world?
And have peace and contentment always?
You must do His good will, to be free from all ill,
On the altar your all must be laid.
3.
Oh, we never can know that the Lord will bestow,
Of the blessings for which we have prayed,
Till our body and soul; He doth fully control
And our all on the altar is laid.
4.
Who can tell all the love He will send from above?
And how happy our hearts will be made;
Of the fellowship sweet we shall share at His feet,
When our all on the altar is laid.
HYMN 2
THE HOLY GHOST HAS COME!
The Holy Ghost has come
The Comforter is here,
Flaming up our hearts
With fire so divine
Lord we lay down our lives]
Ready to burn. ] 2x
THY WILL BE DONE!
1.
My God, my Father, while I stray
Far from my home on life's rough way
Oh, teach me from my heart to say,
"Thy will be done."
Refrain:
Thy will be done! Thy will be done!
Oh, teach me from my heart to say;
“Thy will be done!”
2.
Though dark my path and sad my lot,
Let me be still and murmur not
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
"Thy will be done."
3.
What though in lonely grief I sigh
For friends beloved, no longer nigh,
Submissive still would I reply--
"Thy will be done."
4.
If Thou should called me to resign
What most I prized, it ne'er was mine;
I have but yielded what was Thine--
"Thy will be done."
5.
Should grief or sickness waste away
My life in premature decay,
My Father, still I strive to say,
"Thy will be done."
6.
Let but my fainting heart be blest
With Thy sweet Spirit for its Guest;
My God, to Thee I leave the rest--
"Thy will be done."
7.
Renew my will from day to day;
Blend it with Thine and take away
All that now makes it hard to say,
"Thy will be done."
8.
Then, when on earth I breathe no more,
The prayer, oft mixed with tears before,
I'll sing upon a happier shore,
"Thy will be done.”

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HYMN 4
GRACE THY GRACE ALONE
1
Grace Thy grace alone
Has brought me to Thy will
Stranger and alien I had been
‘Til grace brought me so high
Refrain:
Grace, Thy grace alone
Is all I plead for,
Grace to serve Thee aright Lord
O! Grace to love Thee more
2
Tis grace that teaches me
Thy path for me to know
And Grace day by day leads me on
My call not to let go
3
I long for this Grace Lord
To be faithful a steward
To lay my all down for the Church
Till her glory burst forth
4
Make me a battle axe
Kept Lord in Thy quiver
Tried, Trimmed, Sharpened in Thy furnace
Meet for my Master’s use
HYMN 5
CHANNELS ONLY
1.
How I praise Thee precious Saviour,
That Thy love laid hold of me;
Thou has saved and cleansed and filled me
That I might Thy channel be
Refrain:
Channels only, blessed Master,
But with all Thy wondrous power,
Flowing through us, Thou cants’ use us
Ev’ry day and ev’ry hour.
2.
Just a channel, full of blessing,
To the thirsty hearts around;
To tell out thy full salvation
All Thy loving message sound.
3.
Emptied that Thou soundest fill me,
A clean vessel in thy hand;
With no power as Thou givest;
Graciously with each command.
4.
Witnessing Thy power to save me,
Setting free from self and sin;
Thou has brought me to possesses me,
In Thy fullness, lord, come in.
5.
Jesus, fill now with Thy spirit,
Hearts that full surrender know;
That the steams of living water
From our inner man may flow.
HYMN 6
I AM THINE O LORD
1.
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
2.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
3.
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!
4.
There are depths of love that I yet may know
Ere Thee face to face I see;
There are heights of joy that I yet may reach
Ere I rest in peace with Thee.

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PRE-WORD:
ARE YOU A SHECHEMITE OR A DOTHANIAN?
Opening Text: Gen. 37: 12-17
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards
of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
Introduction
The world’s perspective on “service” is to be served. “Wait on me-now. Meet my expectations
of how I want to be - or deserve to be - served.” Cashiers, waiters, waitresses, clerks, aides,
tellers, and many others can be categorized as “servers” who are, sometimes, looked down
upon and treated as “less” in comparison to the ones being served or waited on. How many
times have we been guilty of this? Have we spoken these words-with the expectation that
we should be properly and deservedly served?
In contrast to the world’s viewpoint, God’s perspective on “service” is to serve. We are not
to be the ones waited upon, but the servants who serve. This is how we can “become great.”
And Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 20:26-28: “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants
to become great among you must be your servant, (27) and whoever wants to be first must
be your slave - (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.”
Our example is Jesus, who left His Father’s realm to live among us as a servant. He
sacrificed His life in service to each one of us so that we might live in that heavenly realm
one day. He is the King who is the Ruler over our lives - and, yet, Jesus says “the one who
rules (should be) like the one who serves” and He declares Himself as one who serves:
(25) Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise
authority over them call themselves Benefactors. (26) But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like
the one who serves. (27) For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who
serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke
22:25-27)
Humility is not usually a trait associated with high achievement in our world today. Yet,
we are called to be humble and serve. Such is the mark of “greatness” with God. In this
wise, Apostle Paul admonished us thus: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be
free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly
in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
The work we do in this life is really in service to Christ and, through Him, to each other-
our brothers and sisters in the Lord and to those we want to influence for the Lord and
His Kingdom: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for human masters, (24) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord
as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
We have noticed this trend: today’s worker or volunteer more often than not have been
poorly trained. This is because the trainer himself was poorly trained. There are too many
accelerated training programmes that over the years had taken over the long term gruelling
and deep training both spiritual and physical that used to be. The issue of serving in God’s
vineyard is a crucial matter that need to be dealt with without any ambiguity or diplomacy.

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What Does Serving God Entails?
Please find below a synopsis of what were noticed that motivated the theme of this meeting:
▪ Workers today are being churned out without rigorous weeks training.
▪ People are called up to the altar after been born again and all for just a year.
▪ Some are even without training called on board as workers who tomorrow rise to
become pastors/ministers. Many churches sort of tacitly endorse this approach today.
▪ There is a high volume of workers relocating from one branch/parish to the other and
immediately accepted and given assignments without recourse to where and why they
left where were before.
▪ There are workers who relocate without transfer. Such lack ethics and etiquettes.
▪ There are even workers who although are in one branch/parish, their loyalty is to
another pastor at another branch/parish.
▪ There are those whose loyalty is to another ministry or mission even when they remain
in a particular mission.
▪ There are those who are tale-bearers eagerly waiting to carry stories about one pastor
and his family to other pastors. There are even pastors who encourage this.
▪ There are workers who should be at point A serving, but chose to go to point B in gross
defiance of instruction like the children of Jacob in our main Bible text.
The Clarion Call from God of Heaven!
We need to note this: God only comes looking for you with a reward at your assigned duty
post, not your assumed duty post. Many workers preferred the assumed post to the
assigned because of mundane and pecuniary reasons! When you are at Dothan rather
than at Shechem where you were sent, you are likely to become a conspirator. We have
Judas as a case study here! Such people are not loyal to the One who had called them, to
the one who assigned them; and to the one who sent them.
Beloved, if you’re not where you are meant to serve, what ensue is all manners of evil plots
because that person is idle and just lazing about. We often forget this fact that
wherever you chose to go to in defiance of where you were sent to work, God sees, men
also see and there are clouds of witnesses. When you are at your assigned duty
post, you will always be remembered by the Father. You will always get refreshment from
the Father. You will always get encouragement from the Father. The Father will always
send you help. Do you indeed know the Father as you are serving?
However, when you chose to go elsewhere, i.e. you become a Dothanian, you now bear
false tales, look out only for a worker, minister or pastor you don’t like to destroy, you
pursue and search for bad tales to spread, with such traits, God cannot
use you and you will have no reward with the Father, but a reward with the devil. Away
from Shechem, you miss great opportunities. In Dothan, you are independent.
Will you permit Holy Spirit to probe your inner self and answer these questions: “Where
are you serving?” Why are you serving? How are you labouring? Whom are you serving?
▪ Are you serving with the Father or without the Father?
▪ Are you serving at your given place of assignment or at a place of your own choosing?
▪ Are you seeking independence from your earthly delegated leader?
▪ What is the condition of your heart as you’re serving?
▪ Are you indeed committed to the pursuit of God or .…. own agenda?
▪ Have you considered the opportunity of being close to the one the Father has placed
you under for service? What of the opportunity cost of being estranged from the Father?
Let’s pray!

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MODULE 1:
SEIZING YOUR OPPORTUNITY
Opening Text: Judges 9:30-34
Vs.33. “Do to them as you find opportunity”
Introduction
We won’t go into great detail about the context of this story as we are using it contrariwise
in this place. However, here we see king Abimelech looking for an opportunity to overcome
the uprising of Gaal, the son of Ebed. As the people in that city were sleeping in their beds,
they had no idea about the movements of their enemies and what was being arrayed
against them in the dark and shadows of that night. Abimelech was positioning his army
to seize the city. He was using the opportunity he had, in the cover of that night to attack.
Reading this story remind one of three enemies that the Bible says we have. These enemies
also look for “opportunity” against us: the devil, sin and the flesh. If we bring this home,
the enemies always looking for opportunity to strike. Taking a cue from this, we also must
be looking for opportunity to improve and better our life and ministry. Where we are serving
presently, the work we are engaged in, people and leaders we are working with, the kind
of training and exposure we are given are all pots of opportunity to better our life and
ministry.
The question to you in this meeting is: Are you taking advantage of opportunities presented
at the place of your assignment? Have you left the place of your opportunity? Can you even
see or feel the opportunities? Did you seize your moment and opportunities when they
came? If you didn’t, you can’t blame anyone if your ministry and life remain stunted, sick
and stagnant.
Why couldn’t people seize the opportunities that they came their way? First, they couldn’t
see or recognize them when they came. Second, you may have departed from your assigned
place to assumed place.
It is what you have seized that can ever be maximized. To seize means “to take hold of
something suddenly or violently”, and to maximize means: “use to the greatest, to increase
something as much as possible.”
A. What Is Opportunity?
It means “favourable or appropriate time or moment, occasion or set of circumstances.”
Many of you have lost a lot of good opportunities. If you lose opportunity, you are a waster.
- Some waste time, procrastinate, waste money, resources, relationship, knowledge,
and eventually their lives.
- Some are living extravagant lives – or living beyond their means or what you can
afford.
- Others spend money in excess, and on things unprofitable.
Let’s look again or our Bible reading in Luke 15:11-14, and we shall discover 5 good
opportunities that the prodigal son lost. He wasted opportunities that was his by right.

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1. He wasted opportunity to benefit from his father’s advice
He left from under his father’s tutelage before his graduation. For example, Judas walked
with Jesus for 3.5 years – he was under his preaching and instructions – he wasted them
all and became a son of perdition. Some believers are fortunate to be in a good church,
hear good preaching and well taught or instructed in the truth, yet they go ahead and do
their own thing. They waste all these good things received from the church and Pastors.
2. He wasted opportunity to be Great
The Father gave all that he had to the older son – The prodigal or wasteful son lost the
opportunity to be great like his father. His loving Father even hold a party for him on his
return, but it was too late, he won’t be great as his brother; as he has wasted his moment.
3. He wasted his position
He was a son, but ended up as a servant – he had wasted his money, wealth and
possession. This country is well positioned to be great, but because of bad management
and corruption through waste, we are just big for nothing!
There’s nothing working with being a 2nd son, or assistant pastor. Once you are fruitful
part of the larger family, you’ll grow in your position and be great.
Beloved, it is better to be leg of an elephant than to be head of an ant – Don’t waste your
position, sit well and grow in it.
4. He wasted his inheritance
This boy asked for his own portion, and went away to squander it. He then lost his
inheritance.
In the spiritual also, if you are a disciple, son/daughter to your pastor, you receive an
inheritance of anointing, spiritual gifts from him automatically once you are faithful – just
like your “father inheritance” is bequeathed to you.
For Elisha, he stayed faithful to Elijah and even called him My Father – please note that
Shaphat was his real earthly father, but he received the double portion of Elijah’s anointing
– 2Kings 2:8-15. I pray you will not lose your Spiritual inheritance.
5. He wasted his Sonship
He has lost his place as a son and now desired to be a servant – Luke 15:18-19. In his
father house, he now pleaded to become a servant because he was wasteful. A son is
different from a servant – John 8:35. He will not receive anything from His fathers’ will,
because he is no more a son now, but a servant. He is now part of the fathers’ property to
be shared! Friends, don’t walk away from your father and relationship!
C. Examining Wasteful Spirit
There are demons responsible for the wasteful of opportunities that most of us suffers. We
can look at a few of such wasteful spirits and how they affect dream/visions of people, and
thwart destinies.

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1. The Spirit of Beleyahal
Beleyahal means “Useless, worthless, good-for-nothing, valueless, cheap”. This spirit
worked on the prodigal son and made him destitute and had to even feed with the pigs –
an unclean animal.
This spirit makes a wealthy person to waste his wealth and become penniless. It makes a
lady to have sexual affairs and a man to be involved in immorality before marriage. This
spirit makes a person to be valueless and good for nothing.
2. The Spirit of Greed – Eccl. 5:10
Greedy people are never satisfied with what they have, opportunities that come before
them. They are always looking for something and neglect the real situation. For example,
Gehazi servant of Elisha in 2 King chapter 5 was greedy and covetous. He wanted to
disgrace Elisha’s ministry and he was cursed. 2 Kings5:27. Greed destroyed his ministry
and generations. Some are so greedy to the extent that they also want to be you. Impatience
and greed destroy great opportunities for a man - Luke 12:15 declared the word of Jesus
on greediness, so let us be content with what we have and what we are – 1Tim. 6:6-8.
3. The Spirit of Evil Independence
Relationship is important for great opportunity to come your way. Your breakthrough may
be connected to people you meet or their vision. Some of us are suffering from evil
independence. Independence is good, but you should be careful how you acquire it. It is
evil when you get it at the wrong time, wrong way, out of hurt, hatred/bitterness rebellion
against authority, and wrong motive.
Paul was independent, but dependent on God because of his level – Gal. 1:12, 16. Timothy
was not independent, as Paul gave him instructions for his ministry – the 2 books of
timothy is worth reading to learn more on this.
Evil independence makes you to loose great opportunities – some churches and pastors
are suffering because of this singular spirit. Look at most African countries, they got
independence out of rebellion – How far have they gone?
4. The Spirit of Foolishness - Pro. 9:8, 9:7, 15:22, 20:18
Every one need advice and counsel to face life and discover opportunities, only fools
despise instruction – Pro.1:7. Fools get angry when you give him good advice. They are
deaf to advise. The spirit of foolishness makes you to hate advice and you advisers. This
shut the door to great opportunities and blessings.
5. The Spirit of Selfishness
Those who are selfish are only concerned with themselves. They don’t care what anybody
say or think or even feels.
They spread false stories, cause problems. They prevent others from benefiting from what
they have benefited from – Ezek. 34:18. i.e. they eat the pasture and trample on the rest.
They urinate in the well that they’ve just drank from – Rom. 14: 16.

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6. The Spirit of a Wild Goose chase
Goose are very difficult to catch – To go on a wild goose chase is “to run after elusive
things.”
The prodigal son was looking for something great – he travelled – slept with harlots – spend
big – it was a truly wild goose chase. He caught nothing!
- Some student thinks – if I could just graduate – I’m OK and get a good job
- Some single says – Once I get married – have my own home – all will be alright – Is
that so?
- Those who are working; are looking for another job, new car, new house etc. It is a
goose chase!
Beloved, the hunger you have can only be filled by Jesus Christ, not anything in this world
– In Eccl 12:13, the conclusion of the whole matter is: Fear God and Obey him.
Let’s stop chasing elusive things – because only Jesus Christ can feel your thirst. Isa.55:2.
7. The Spirit of Ungratefulness
Many people, Church, Homes, Offices are ungrateful for that they have. They don’t value
those God has placed among them to help them.
Many people don’t value what their pastors do for them. They easily forget his sacrifice,
teachings, counsel and labour for them. […… 17:13]
I should be grateful for the labour of my parent upon me. They sacrificed to get me to be
educated. If I don’t, I will be putting curses upon my life. Never repay evil with good.
People are generally ungrateful. If you are grateful for any good deeds today, you will
receive more opportunities tomorrow.
Beloved, people stoned Jesus Christ in His days for His good deeds, so why would you not
face the same? – John 10:32. Are you ungrateful individual, you need to change to receive
your opportunities.
Things to know About opportunities
1. Opportunity comes in overall
2. Opportunity hide itself in problem/challenges
3. No opportunity is too small to seize
4. There is time of preparation for every opportunity
5. There’s a seed of opportunity around you
6. Opportunity comes with responsibilities
7. The alpha/omega of opportunity is God Eccl. 9:11-12.
Beloved, the following are essentials:
a. You need to look for opportunity
b. You need to recognize opportunity
c. You need to GO for opportunity

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How not to loose opportunity
1. Don’t make the mistake of being separated from your Father, Counsellors, Advisers
and God – Luke 15:13.
Separate not from fellowship of God and His people. The prodigal son went far away.
When you are in fellowship, you’ll find it difficult to commit some sins, and do some
horrible things.
Don’t be alone for long, it is dangerous –evil thoughts crowd your mind when you are
alone for a long time – Remember David – Ps.27:4.
2. Avoid Bad Company – Lk.15:30
Two things will make a man – the people you meet and the books you read. Bad
company ruin good morals – 1Cor.15:33.
Beloved, you friends affect you more that your church. You meet in Church 2 or 3 times
weekly, but you meet, see and talk with your friends on daily basis. Hence, bad
company will help you to waste away your life and destiny – Prov. 13:20.
Conclusion

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MODULE 2:
THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE
Text: 1Cor. 11:11 (NKJV)
Introduction:
I strongly believe in independence. Independence according to Oxford Advance
Leaners dictionary means: Not dependent (rely on; needing something/somebody
in order to live or survive) on other people or things “OR” Not controlled by other
people or things, OR, “Not Connected to” OR “be separated from”.
In the western world, the culture is a “stand alone syndrome”, be on your own, be
independent, you have your life to live etc. In Africa and Asia, it is a communal
syndrome of building bridges across families and clans.
Beloved, being connected to someone can become the only chance you have to
achieve your purpose in life. And if you by design severe yourself from such person,
destiny can be derailed and life becomes futile. In other words, your breakthrough
in life may be acknowledged or connected to someone’s vision, and those who
misunderstand this, had freed themselves prematurely and frustrated God’s plan
for their lives.
Types of Independence
There are two major kinds of independence that I’ve seen in my little journey in
ministry.
They are: (1) Good/ correct independence
(2) Evil/Bad independence
A. Good/Correct Independence:
It’s a state where you have the requisite freedom to take decision for your life, but
you’re not independent of your masters’ instruction, advise, relationship and
counsel from time to time.
For example, Apostle Paul was independent as he consulted no man, but God as
her stated in Gal. 1:12, 16 – “For (neither received), of man, neither was I taught
it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ,” – “To reveal His Son in me in that I might
preach him among heathen ….. I conferred not with flesh and blood.” Oh yes, he
was not dependent on man, but was not independent of God?
Can you say you’re not independent of God? Do you confer with Him for direction
in ALL things? What of Timothy? How was not also independent. Regularly, Apostle
Paul write to him on what to do, what not to do, what to preach and not to preach.
The book of Timothy 1 & 2 was filled with great instructions to a man who depended

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on a master who had vision and could see farther than him [See 1Timothy 4:12-
16, 2 Timothy 2:1-2].
Today, many church members are too independent. They don’t consult their God
or delegated authorities for advice and counsel in the journey of life. Many are
ignorant, some are proud, you may need to repent, so as to be the man or woman
that God has envisioned you to become. Why? Your breakthrough may be
connected with someone’s else vision especially your pastor.
B. Bad/Evil Independence:
This is the kind of independence that you acquired by being satisfied and too full
of yourself, of your ability, beauty, money etc. like it was for the church in Laodicea
– Rev. 3:17-18 “Because you say I’m rich and increased with goods and have need
of nothing…. and do not know that you’re wretched, miserable, poor, blind and
naked”. This type of independence is acquired with wrong motive and in a wrong
way.
Evil independence, according to Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has the following
characteristic: when
a) Acquired at the wrong time – e.g. artisan who sign 3years, but left in 2years
b) Acquired in the wrong way – collect job without masters’ knowledge
c) Acquired out of hurt, bitterness and hatred
d) Acquired of our rebellion against authority
e) Acquired with wrong motive (The artisan says, the master is using him).
Independence when it is God led and instructed, is wonderful and a glorious thing
in ministry. But when God is out of it, the only end is catastrophe and destruction
as all needed help and opportunity melts off; and the independent man/woman
becomes miserable, disenchanted and frustrated. The key issue here is that many
realized their mistakes, but shame and pride restrict them from going back for
redress and restitution and positive amendment; for those who took this initiative,
they were promptly restored for our God in rich in mercy for the penitent.
So, there is a spirit of evil independence which propels a person to severe himself
when the time ordained has not come. Jesus Christ said to the Jews: “My hour has
not come”, and when eventually His hour came, He was not only exalted, He was
also glorified to become the King of kings and the Lord of all lords.
Are you independent of God, your visioner, and those God has planted around you
to make your life fulfilling? Evil independence will make you loose great
opportunities. Opportunity means “favourable or set appropriate time or moment,
occasion or set circumstances.” Some have wasted time, procrastinate, waste
money, resources, missed relationships, knowledge and even their lives because of
evil independence.

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Find below some biblical examples of those who seek for evil independence and
missed the great opportunity God had for them:
I. Let’s look at the story of the prodigal Son in Lk15:11-14 – Because of his
taste for evil independence, he wasted opportunity:
a. To benefit from his father’s advice
b. To become great
c. He wasted his position (Assistant to his brother)
d. He wasted his inheritance
e. He wasted his sonship – Luke 15:18-19, He now became a part of his
father property to be shared).
II. When Abraham was independent, he didn’t consult with God, and depended
on his wife’s [Sarah] instruction/advise. He slept with Hagar and brought
forth evil seed through Ishmael that still torment his generation till today.
III. When Noah because independent, he became drunk and cursed his son.
IV. Lot became independent of God and choose himself the plain of Sodom that
almost destroyed him.
V. Hymaneus, Alexandra and Dema were great followers and helpers of Apostle
Paul. When they became independent, they forsook him and followed the
world and lost eternity.
VI. Jacob was independent, and he depended on is cleverness, he lost his peace
until he depended or God for direction again.
VII. At a later part of his life when wealth came, David because independent from
God, he committed adultery and murder – when he became depended of God,
he repented and was restored.
VIII. When Joab because independent of his commander, David he created the
way and reason for his eventual death.
Conclusion
The spirit of Evil independence has been around for ages, and the devil is the
architect and proponent. Isa.14:12-15, Ezek.28:14-17. In Mark 7:24-27, is the
story of 2 builders – One built his house on the rock, trusting on the wisdom of old
on how to build. The second refused to be independent of known wisdom/
knowledge of building, so he decided to build on the sand. Both of them were tested
by the circumstances of life – storm, heat, wind etc.- and the one who depended on
the wisdom of old had his house standing after the storm.
Friends, there are so many people (Christian, Pastors, ministers. Workers) who are
working and walking on their own and many of them feel that they are too clever,

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smart or knowledgeable to be counselled or advised. That’s why the bible says “A
poor but wise old boy is better than a foolish but old king who does not listen to
advice” (Eccl 4:13(NCV)
All of us need to work in goodly and godly counsel and we need it by our dependence
on the word of God and godly men that God has strategically planted around us.
There are many good and righteous people around you ‘who are ready to give what
they have to others.’ Prov. 14.12. Some of us think we are doing right, but we do
not know that what we’re doing is wrong until we have people who can open our
eyes to see new perspectives.
Evil independence will not make you to trust people, relate with the right and
profitable lives scattered within your sphere of influence, and lastly, it will make
you ungrateful and unthankful to your maker and others when it matters.
Decide today to run away far from this spirit of evil independence for it has robbed
many promising church leaders and Christians great opportunity to affect their
lives and generations. Please may I plead with you, do hold on to those men and
women that God has attached you to, for they are there to help you become what
you’re destined to be in life.
Shall we rise to pray together!

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MODULE 3:
WHOM ARE YOU REALLY SERVING?
Introduction
When Martha welcomed Jesus and his contingent into her home in Bethany in Luke 10:38-
42, there could have been a hundred or more people. The seventy-two had just re-joined
Jesus after their itinerant ministry tours. And considering his fame at this point, no doubt
his visit attracted a number of locals.
And when the group had packed inside, Jesus taught them. But Martha wasn’t one of
“them” because she was too busy to listen. Luke describes her as “distracted with much
serving” (Luke 10:40).
Now, removed from the situation it’s tempting to be condescending. Oh for goodness’ sake,
Martha! Jesus is in your house and you’re too busy to listen to him?
What About You?
But put yourself in Martha’s place for a moment. How distracted would you be if a hundred
people crowded into your home? Add to this your high cultural value of Near-Eastern
hospitality with its keen fear of dishonouring guests, especially important ones. Then
remember that it’s Jesus in your home. He’s the Messiah, the most important person in
your nation’s history, and, in fact, human history.
Would you be distracted by how your place looked or how you would feed this crowd or
how many trips must be made to the well (no pre-packaged food or running water to help)?
It seems to me that Martha isn’t the strange person in this story. Mary is. What’s
remarkable is that Mary wasn’t distracted. She ignored the insistent to-do lists so she
could listen to Jesus.
And this irritated Martha. She was working like crazy while Mary just sat there. Martha
considered this either laziness or negligence. Exasperated, she finally appealed to Jesus:
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me”
(Luke 10:40).
How Jesus Called It
Now, Jesus loves to commend diligent servants: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,
whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.”(Matthew
24:45–46)
But in this case Jesus didn’t commend Martha. He reproved her: “Martha, Martha, you
are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen
the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)
To just about everyone else present, Martha’s serving probably appeared to flow from a
gracious servant heart. But Jesus discerned differently. He saw that Martha was serving
out of anxiety, not grace.

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Subtle and Deceptive
What was making Martha anxious? We know she was anxious about “many things.” But
we need only examine our own similar anxieties to guess the likely root. I think Martha
was anxious over how she pleased or impressed Jesus and her guests. She was troubled
at the thought that her home and serving might reflect poorly on her and her family. And
this anxiety blinded her to the “one thing necessary” — listening to Jesus — and made
many unnecessary tasks feel compulsively urgent.
This kind of anxiety is very subtle. It has a selfish root but its fruit looks deceptively like
unselfishness. It’s the desire for approval dressed up to look like the desire to serve. It’s
my caring what you think of me dressed up to look like my caring for you. It can be so
subtle that we don’t see it clearly. It looks so much like the right thing that we believe it is
the right thing. That’s why Martha was confident that Jesus would agree with her about
Mary.
But Mary had chosen the “one thing necessary,” the “good portion.” At that moment, Mary
was more enthralled with Jesus than with Mary. She cared more about what Jesus said
than what others thought of her or her home. And because of this Jesus commended her
choice not to serve.
Stop, Rest, Listen
Jesus’ gentle rebuke of Martha was an act of love — to her and to us. We are all Marthas
at times. And through this correction Jesus is asking us: whom are we serving in our
serving? No one’s motives are ever completely pure. But when we feel compelled to “serve”
out of a self-conscious anxiety over what others think, it’s likely we are serving our own
glory and not Jesus’ glory.
And Jesus seeks to free us from this slavery by inviting us to stop working, rest at his feet,
and listen to him.

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MODULE 4:
COMMITMENT TO THE PURSUIT OF GOD
Opening Text: Matthew 13:44-46
Introduction
Many pulpits today exude much head knowledge about God and activities devoid of manifest
presence of God. Little wonder we have not birthed the revival to change our world. We cannot
deliver God that we have not gotten ourselves. We are not taught that after coming to faith, the
priority of knowing God is a deliberate pursuit. Rather, strategies to pursue many things in God’s
hands except God Himself are being taught!
The pursuit of God is a task, in fact it is the task of being a believer. The primary result of your
coming to him by faith is firstly to diligently seek Him – Heb.11:6…
It was AW Tozer that asserted “that the impulse to pursue God originates with God [for ‘no man
can come to me, said our Lord, except the Father which hath sent me draw him’], but the
outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. Thus, a genuine thirst after God is a
major sign of true regeneration, as genuine child longs to know his father!
Pursuit is a chase, tracking down, and a quest for something. Such expedition takes nothing less
than a commitment. According to the dictionary, the word ‘commitment is being bound
emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or another person or persons, the trait of sincere
and steadfast fixity of purpose.
A. The Priority of Knowing God
Jer.9:23-24
Phil.3:8
1. Man’s legitimate natural pursuit in life centres around
a. Wisdom: We do all to acquire and apply intellectual prowess. The scripture encourages
the pursuit of competence, excellence and dexterity.
b. Might: This talks about power, capacity and influence we exert whether politically or
otherwise. The scripture isn’t against it.
c. Riches: Treasures, assets, resources at our disposal. This is also very essential.
2. In the kingdom of God, knowing God takes priority over wisdom, might and riches. Getting
God is the mother of all pursuits!
B. Commitment to Overcome Substitute and Distraction
Read Exodus 32:21-25
God left a vacuum in every human soul for Himself! When it remains empty, a substitute is
always handy. Aaron couldn’t deliver God like Moses to the Israelites, he found a substitute
in the golden calf.
Exo.32:23….. “
Substitutes and distractions to the pursuit of God as:
a. The Voice of the People: We have misinterpreted and overstretch the concept of
‘seeker sensitive church’ to please people. The wishes of people can be a pressure that
drives us. The sinners came to us as they were and have remained so.

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b. The Voice of the Flesh: Aaron sought for relevance, popularity and honour among the
people.
c. Activities around God, which is not God and not pointing to God: Like the Israelites
after crossing the red sea, we seem to be restless in the church. We crave for events.
All manner of programs are concocted to keep people busy and soothe their emotions.
Jesus retreated with His own followers to the mountain top [Matt.5:1 MSG], showing
them the Father and kingdom values and releases them to turn the world upside down.
How many of our programs are building the inner man of the brethren and changing the
market place?
C. Commitment to Pursue God
Please read through Psalm 42:2, 63:8, Hosea 6:1-3 in AMP, NLT
1. Knowing God is an active pursuit: We must schedule time in personal devotions and
retreats.
2. Consistent and conscientious growth: We must track His dealings in our lives and yield
as He works on us. Knowing Him is cumulative and it takes a consistent, cumulative
experience with Him.
3. To press is to overcome the resistance: There’s an element of effort, so labour to
overcome resistance to knowing God. The present world system is ‘anti-seeking God’.
D. The Reward of Getting God
Please read Job 22:21-28
1. We partake of His nature – vs.23
2. All that are His is available to us – wisdom, might and riches – vs.24-25
3. Answered prayers – vs.27
4. We rule with Him in authority – vs.28
Conclusion
Dear gospel workers and beloved of the Lord, God is again instructing us that … ‘thou art careful
and troubled about many things: But ONE THING IS NEEDFUL: and ……..has chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.’[Luke 10:41-42].

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MODULE 5:
THE PLACE AND POSITION OF THE HEART IN THE
SERVICE OF GOD
Scriptural Foundation – 1 Samuel 16:1-7
“When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart instead of his head”
Introduction:
When God is searching for a right worker for His service, He does not look at the physical structure,
but rather He looks at the inner nature (the heart). This emphatically establishes the fact that the
heart of a Christian worker is the first determinant of how God will use him/her in His vineyard. It
is therefore important for us to look at the place and the position of the heart in the service of God.
Facts Concerning the Placement of Heart to God Service
❖ The state of one’s heart to God’s service is more important to God than any other thing.
❖ God does not choose people for His special service if such don’t possess special hearts.
❖ While men may be looking at the physical structure (facial appearance, beauty, height, size
etc.), God is searching for a right heart.
❖ Genuine services are first and foremost done in the heart before they are manifested on earth.
❖ Every man is qualified for God service if he has a qualified heart.
❖ It is only a man with the right heart that can do the righteous service that will produce the
right work.
❖ It takes a heart that is full of God’s love to render an acceptable service.
❖ The heart of a worker will definitely interpret his service at the end of the day.
❖ The heart is the store house of divine information that gives guidance to God’s service.
❖ Everyone is directly responsible for the state of his heart toward the service of God (Pro 4:23).
12 Heart Conditions That God Condemns in His Service
1. The condition of haughtiness – Proverbs 18:12
2. The condition of foolishness – Proverbs 12:23
3. The condition of deception – Jeremiah 17:9
4. The condition of rebellion – Jeremiah 5:23
5. The condition of evil – Gen. 6:5; Proverbs 6:18
6. The condition of dullness – Psalm 119:70
7. The condition of hardness – Ephesians 4:18
8. The condition of delusion – Isaiah 44:20
9. The condition of unrepentance – Romans 2:5
10. The condition of unbelieving – Hebrews 3:12
11. The condition of idolatry – Ezekiel 11:12
12. The condition of madness – Ecclesiastes 9:3
Positioning and Conditioning Your Heart for God’s Service
➢ Love God with the whole of your heart – Deut. 6:5

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➢ Fear God and reverence him in your heart.
➢ Hate iniquity and love righteousness.
➢ Teach your heart and condition your heart to forgive.
➢ Enlighten your heart through study, reading and meditating
➢ Empower your heart through consistent and constant prayer.
➢ Love justice and mercy.
➢ Grace your heart through consistent and constant prayer
➢ Condition God in to every department of your heart through baptism of Holy Spirit.
➢ Engage your heart through faithful services to God.
CASE STUDY
We are going to examine ‘General’ Eliab the eldest son of Jesse on what God saw in his heart for
rejecting him as ‘leader’ [king] over his people. Then, we will look at king Saul’s heart and why God
replaced him with David, a man after God’s own heart, and Uriah the Hittite, a man with a true heart
of service. Lastly, we will examine Jesus Christ our Lord as the Pattern of the Heart of Service. All
these are for our instruction and learning.
1. Eliab - The man with the incorrect heart: I Sam.16:7, 1 Chronicles 2:13-15, 1 Samuel 17:26-29
2. King Saul – The king who loved his honour more that God – I Sam.13-15.
3. Uriah the Hittite – A man with the heart of Service - 11 Sam. 11:12
4. Jesus Christ – The Pattern of Heart of Service – John 13:1-17
Note: The positioning of your heart now, determines the position of your life in the future. Your
immediate placement of your heart determines your ultimate place.
Shall we use this moment to examine our hearts, and check whether we are still in faith?
Let’s pray!

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MODULE 6:
THE CATECHISM OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE
Text: John 8:28-29, 9:4, Eccl 9:10
Introduction:
We have learnt many things thus far. First, that our service to God is very important. Second, it must
be done with a perfect heart if we want Him to take glory in whatever we do for Him. Thirdly, God is
not and will never be a taskmaster, He never place any burden on you but He always want you to
know and do the best at every point in time. Fourthly, whatever we do for Him and for the Kingdom
must come out from the depth of our heart and must be done without complain. Fifthly, we can serve
at home, work and in the real world, and must be acceptable to God. Sixthly, Jesus Christ exemplify
the epitome of heart of service during His earthly ministry. Lastly, serving means to do what God
says in a way that makes him look supremely valuable in himself.
As we study the catechism of Christian service, may the Holy Spirit ginger us to fulfil our calling in
Jesus’ name, Amen.
What Does Is It Really Mean to Serve The Lord?
Joshua said “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). What does that mean?
It means to do what he says in a way that makes him look supremely valuable in himself. It means to
submit to him in a way that makes him look thrilling. There are ways to submit to God that only make
him look threatening, not thrilling. There are ways to do what he says that only call attention to the
fact that he is an authority, not a treasure. That kind of service is not the service God commands.
What’s the difference? The difference is that God has told us not to serve him as though he needed
anything. “Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives
to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). “The Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Both these texts put all
the emphasis on God’s giving to us when we serve.
So, the kind of service that makes God look valuable and thrilling is the kind that serves God by
constantly receiving from God. The key text to describe this is 1 Peter 4:11 - “Whoever serves, [let it
be] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be
glorified through Jesus Christ.”
God is seen as glorious when all our serving is moment-by-moment receiving from God’s supply. We
receive this supply by faith. That is, we trust moment by moment that what we need, in serving him,
he will supply (“life, breath, and everything”). This is the opposite of being anxious. Such serving is
happy. And it makes God look no less authoritative, but infinitely more desirable. This is the glory
he means to have. The giver gets the glory. Therefore, “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2).
<John Piper, http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/>
The Various Ways You Can Render Acceptable Service
There are various ways that God look at our services before given approval of acceptability. Beloved,
is your service acceptable to God? The Word of God says in Hebrews 12:28 that, “since we are
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and SERVE God ACCEPTABLY with
reverence and awe (in a way that is pleasing to God).”

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Are you serving God in a holy way? Are you sure your service is acceptable unto God? Have you asked
God if the service that you are rendering is acceptable? Did you know that the whole purpose of our
existence is to serve and worship God acceptably? Are you aware that, God wanted the people of
Israel to be released by Pharaoh so that they can serve Him? Exodus 8:1 says that: “And the Lord
spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that
they may SERVE me.” Service is very important to God and even earthly kings as we could see in
Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar was looking for wise men to serve him.
Let’s note that God can also reject your service if offer in an unreasonable way, awkward manner
with a wrong heart motive. Lev. 10:1-5.
The following were excerpts from the Holy Scriptures for our learning:
1) Serve God because you love Him and to pleasing Him. Col 3:22-24, Eph. 6:5-8
2) You must serve God in the Spirit - John 4:24.
3) You must serve God with a perfect heart: Psa. 101:2, Matt. 5:48.
4) You must serve God with a gladness of heart and Joy: Psa. 100:1-2, 2 Sam. 6:13-15
5) You must serve God faithfully: I Cor.4:1-2
6) You must serve God sacrificially: Rom.12:1
7) You must serve God in righteousness: Matt.6:33
8) You must serve God continually: Luke 17:32; Gen. 19:26.
9) You are to serve God with SINCERITY and in TRUTH. – Jos. 24:14a
10) You are to serve God with ZEAL. Psa. 69:7
11) Your life must be WORTHY and Blameless unto God. Eph. 1:4
12) You must serve the Lord in humility. 1 Pet. 5:5, Matt. 11:29
<http://thekingscourtcalabar.blogspot.com.ng/ & http://www.believeall.com/>
Christian Service - CASE STUDY
The story of Eliezer, Abraham’s servant in the twenty fourth chapter of Genesis is a wonderful case
study of excellent Christian service. For him, he was under a covenant that must not be broken. It is
our belief that today’s workers’ ability to enter into our inheritance at the end of this race depends
on how much of Eliezers’ characteristics we possess or can imbibe.
The Testimony of Eliezer
❖ He was faithful, loyal and truthful.
❖ He was trustworthy.
❖ He had strong relationship with the Holy Spirit
❖ He was business-like i.e. not slothful.
❖ He was a praying worker.
❖ He loved his master
❖ He loved his work.
❖ His master’s business and satisfaction were paramount in his heart.
❖ He was full of humility as he became Isaac’s servant.
The Type and Manner of Service
We must know what is rightly called ‘a work of God before we serve Him. Acts. 6: 1-2; 2Cor. 5: 18-
20. There are two types of work: God’s work and devil’s work. According to Prof Charles Finney,
there 2 kinds of work: The Gospel work and the legal work. Gen. 2: 1-2, John 5: 17; 2 Cor. 1: 14
How can we distinguish God’s work from devil’s work? Please note these: the success of a work
doesn’t make it God’s, and apparent lack of success doesn’t eliminate a work being Gods. God’s work
is not known by the spiritual or biblical name which men called a work. Thirdly, the motive that the
workers have does not necessarily make a work God’s work. Fourthly, the degree of sacrifice involved
in the work does not make it God’s work. Lastly, the purity of those involved in the work does not
necessarily make that work a work of God for you may be pure and mis-guided. <Fomum. 1990>

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Knowing God’s work – The How’s and manner? – 1 Cor. 15: 58
Any work that is a work of God must have all the following characteristics:
❖ Must originate in God – Gen. 1: 1, 3, 26
❖ Must fit into God’s purpose – Col 3:11
❖ Be executed by God – Gen 1: 4; 2:7; Mark 16: 20
❖ Be done in Holy Ghost power - Zech. 4: 6; Act 1: 8
❖ His workers must be called by Him – Gen. 12: 1-2; Exo 3: 10 Jos. 1: 2; Jud. 6: 14
❖ Only God’s method should be used – Exo. 23: 9, 31-40, 26-30; 27:8
❖ Expressly done within God’s timing – Gal. 4:4, Jn 2: 4; 27:8; 7: 6-10
The Four Key Issues in Service
There four important issues that every discerning servant who will last in ministry need to take to
heart as they serve in God’s vineyard. They are:
1. The Greatest Demand for Service:
To serve God, we are not called to make sacrifice, to deny oneself, bear the cross (all are important
in service). Rather, the greater desire of Jesus Christ is for all His Ministers to fulfil God's purpose
by obeying God's instruction. 1 Sam. 15:22
If we are to allow authority to be fully expressed there must be complete and total subjection. If there
must be subjection, then our cross must be borne. Self-denial must come in, there must be sacrifice,
and otherwise, no subjection is practicable. Lk. 9:23.
All of the above is not possible under the influence of the flesh. We must come under the workings
of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that help God's servant to meet authority. We cannot work
with God until we are turned inside out by His authority. Once a minister has meet authority,
wherever, he goes he shall encounter authority and be restrained by it, thus, such minister is now
ready to be in service for the master. Let no minister find work to do when he has not found God's
authority. It is wasteful if done, for nothing of flesh shall inherit the Kingdom.
The principle of service is and must be authority. If a minister has not met authority, why be in
service? He should resign, and retreat to encounter God's authority so that his eyes might be opened
to know what is lawless or lawful in himself and the people under him.
2. Service without Order or Obedience: Lev. 10: 1-2
True service is to be initiated by God. All service is acceptable when it is carried out under authority.
For example, preaching, teaching, counselling, visitation, follow-up etc must be done under
authority. Anything contrary is unacceptable and it is a strange fire.
The fact of service is that God's work ought to be coordinated under His authority. God's desire is for
Nadab and Abihu to serve under Aaron's authority. God set Aaron to be High Priest and was ordained
so. His sons were to help or assist him in obedience to Aaron's instruction. It wasn't God's intention
that Aaron son should serve independently outside of Aaron.
Everything in the tabernacle sacrifice or service begins from Aaron, not more; not less. To offer
strange fire means “to serve without an order or coordinated order, to serve without obedience to
designated authority”. The principle of service is that God set some to be responsible, while others
should help. In effect, God set some to be in authority, while others are set to be under authority. Let
us ask our self as an end time Army whether we are serving in the true principle of service, or
according to the order of strange fire.
For in today's Church, several are refusing to occupy a minor role. God has no place for a one man
isolated ministry, but many are struggling to serve God independently. In this spiritual business, we

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must serve in a coordinated manner and in obedience, as any service wholly done through own zeal
and sense, result in death.
3. Why God Terminates A Man’s Stewardship
God is patient with us, but when it comes to accountability, He demands response from His stewards.
Lk.16:3-4, 45, Matt.25:24-25. In Lk. 16:3-4, the servants said some things in his heart: The heart is
the seat of man’s destiny Pro.4:23. Something must have propped up in his heart. The Holy Spirit
must have gnawed at him in his heart telling him to dig deep into his life and bring out all the things
that are suffocating his faithfulness.
That is, dig out your mistakes, your errors, deception, confess your unfaithfulness or you will be set
aside. But he said he cannot dig them out into the open for people to see because of the arrogance of
his heart, the pride of life. As soon as a man refuses to dig and beg, he runs into problem with the
master. As he refuses to go with God, he must go with something else. When a man of God who has
been found unfaithful in service refuses to dig up his faults and will not agree to beg, the only
alternative left is for him to begin to manoeuvre on how he can be accepted by the people.
4. The Steps Of Unfaithful Stewards
The following represents the summation of the steps of the unfaithfulness as noticed in the life of
men in the Bible. Let us learn from their mistakes as every step of unfaithfulness is sin.
a. They are always with a group, never isolated.
b. They have received the heart of unbelief which strengthens them.
c. They usually make friends with the wrong people.
d. They are desirous of gains – it could be monetary, fame. Position or commendation.
e. They seek opportunities to harm – they seek for the weakest moment in their prey – Jn.18:1-
4,12, Lk.22:39-47,54.
f. They behave as if they care – the spirit of pretension is manifest in them. They can buy things
for you, eat/sleep with you – Lk.22:47-48.
g. They sleep at the time of work – the wrong time – Lk.22:39-46.
h. They are full of excuses, sometime very frivolous – Lk.14:15-20,24
Points to Ponder On!
❖ Something must rule a worker’s life.
❖ Wrong allegiance brings problem in ministry Korah & Company.
❖ Working with God is a blessing and a priviledge
❖ You will ‘die’ if you quit working with God.
❖ As you work, you grow and mature
❖ Maintain the right environment while you work.
❖ There is time for cutting before setting in His work
❖ Any worker that works to please men has lost heavenly reward.
❖ God is a worker, we must be like Him.
❖ Work increases your resources. Please work and work
❖ Expend the necessary efforts at the right time; expect the fulfilment of your work.
❖ You can only fulfil your purpose by working positively and productively.
❖ If you are a worker, but not working, you are a thief.
Conclusion:
God desires a worker who is truly in service, not for what he can get, but what he can give. Those who
are ready to give their all for the Gospel would not go empty handed. Shall we stop the rat race for
earthly but perishable reward, and set our affection on those eternal inheritances already prepared
by God Himself?
Let us pray!

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MODULE 7:
THE UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS
Text: Luke 17:7-10
Introduction
God’s people, who are saved by His grace, are to be servants. Beloved, also I understand
from other passages of Scripture that we are more than servants. We are friends because
Jesus our Lord tells us all things that He has heard of His Father (John 15:15), yet if we
are His friends, we will do whatsoever He commands us (John 15:14). We are also God’s
children, and heirs of God in Christ, therefore we are higher in status than mere servants
in His eyes, yet as children of God, we are to be obedient children (1 Peter 1:14).
In any regard, we are to be servants of the Lord, especially in our own eyes as we serve the
Lord in this world. This was taught by our Lord in all four gospels. The New Testament
writers including Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and John all referred to themselves as servants
of God and of Jesus Christ in their writings. Often times in the New Testament, believers
in general are referred to as servants of God and of Jesus Christ.
Therefore because we are servants of God, we want to notice several aspects of a servant’s
duties and life from our text.
1. First we want to see the servants duties and work (READ verse 7).
1. A servants work is hard, labor intensive.
First, much of the servant’s work is performed outside in the fields:
In our text, the servant spent his day laboring in the fields. Beloved, we should expect most
of the work of the Lord to be outdoors, that is, outside the four walls of God’s House. In
reality, most of the service of the Lord is performed outside, in the fields of the world. This
service involves sowing the seed as we preached about this morning, or tending to the
sheep of the Lord’s pasture. In some church houses I’ve seen signs above the door of the
sanctuary, “Enter to worship”, and “Exit to serve”, or something like that.
Well beloved, farming in those days was very hard work. They used hand plows or an oxen
drawn plow, which both were labor intensive. Cultivating, and sowing, and watering were
all done manually by hand, and were all hard work. Feeding cattle, or tending sheep as
some interpret this passage, was laborious, tedious, aggravating, and dirty work.
I don’t want to spend much time here, but suffice it to say that a servant’s work is expected
to be hard work. As servants of the Lord, expect serving the Lord to be hard at times.
Expect to exert energy and effort; we might even have to sweat from time to time. Expect
the work to be tedious and even aggravating and frustrating at times. I know I am talking
to preachers especially, but to every servant of the Lord this is true.
Now, in old times this outdoor servitude began before sunrise, and lasted till sunset. These
servants knew what a sunrise looked like; they saw it everyday. And work was done in the

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heat of the day, and in all kinds of elements and climates. The work had to be done no
matter what, you see.
As servants of the Lord, the work must go on. Rain or shine, hot or cold, in the summer of
our lives, or in the deep, dark winters, the work goes on. Servants don’t retire until they
expire!!!
Next, the servant’s work includes the domestic duties of caring for His Master’s
house (verses 7-8):
The servant was responsible to prepare and serve his master’s meals. And what kind of
meals do you suppose the Master would expect, and accept from his servant? The servant’s
duties also included all the domestic duties of maintaining and cleaning his master’s
house.
Well, I would liken this kind of work to the services in the Lord’s House, which is His
Church. The pastors and teachers prepare meals to serve to the God’s saints. I believe we
ought to spend much time in preparation of our lessons and sermons. It might not always
be evident beloved, but your pastor spends a good deal of time preparing your spiritual
meals to serve youin God’s House.
And there are many other things to be done for the services in the Lord’s House. There are
many preparations to be made if we are to do it right, and there are many people involved.
Beloved, if I understand this parable correctly, every servant involved in serving in the
Lord’s House, should put the Lord’s House and His service before everything else in our
lives.
Only after that we have made certain that all of our preparations and all our service in the
Lord’s House is complete, does He bid us to take care of our personal needs and wants.
But mind you, this is only after we’ve completed our service to Him. Beloved, what
unprofitable servants we are at times!
And so we’ve seen that the Lord’s work can be hard and long, and that our service to the
Lord comes before everything else in our lives. This is the nature of a servant’s duties and
work, and beloved, we are called to be servants to our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Secondly this evening we want to notice the servant’s life.
1. Servants belong to their masters.
In Bible times servants were bought with a price or they were taken as a payment for a
debt, or else they were taken captive in battle, and therefore the master owned them.
Likewise the Lord owns us, as He bought us with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20, 7:23). And we
are debtors to His mercy, love, and grace for saving our miserable souls from hell. And we
were taken captive in battle, as it were, when we were delivered from the power of Satan
and of darkness, and were translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. (Col. 1:13).
2. Servants are not there own.
Servants are not in control of their lives to do with as they please, but they are to be under
subjection and obedience to their masters. Servants are not their own boss. They are not
in the driver’s seat of their lives, so to speak.

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Likewise, Christians are not their own boss. We are not in control of our lives, but we are
to be under subjection and obedience to our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He owns us and we are subject to obey His every command. But sometimes we like to try
and test our Master. We sometimes disregard His commandments. Sometimes we throw
off the yoke of His Lordship, and His control on our lives. And it may even seem like we get
by with our rebellion against our Master, but we haven’t seen the end of the story yet!
Beloved, please hear me tonight, it is a dangerous thing to trifle with God, and to rebel
against the Lord of Lords. We won’t get by with it, but the Lord will bring all of these things
into judgment. Its just a matter of time before He calls us to give account of our service.
Jesus taught this in the parable of the pounds, and the parable of the talents, and other
places. May we have ears to hear tonight!
3. All of a servant’s possessions belong to their master.
Not only does the servant belong to their master, but all that they own also belongs to him
as well. The master gives his servants all that they have. Their food, and clothes, and their
shelter. All of a servant’s possessions belong to their master to use as He sees fit.
Is that not true of us, and of our Master the Lord Jesus Christ? He gives us all that we
have; our food, our clothes, our shelter; all things we have come from Him. And beloved,
we are to use these as He sees fit, to honor and glorify Him and not to please ourselves.
I could spend all night on this point, but how do we use our money? The Lord gives us
everything we have, but do we give back the tenth that He requires of us for His work? Or
do we spend the Lord’s blessings on useless frivolities, and sinful pleasures, and the vanity
fare of this world, and fail to give to His work? Shame, for shame doc!!!
4. All of a servant’s time belongs to their master.
24/7, as we say, the servant’s time belongs to his master. A servant was not in charge of
scheduling his own time, but his master scheduled all his days, and the hours in his days.
Beloved, this is where the servants of Jesus Christ really like to make exception. But since
when does the Bible give us license to schedule our time to forsake the Lord’s House? Now
beloved, when we miss the services in the Lord’s House, especially on the Lord’s Day, as
His minister I cannot excuse your absence.
What I mean is this, when we miss church, each one of us must give an account to the
Lord of our absence. You must give an account to Him for it, and not to me. I might
excuse you, but the Lord might not excuse you, and might punish you sore! On the other
hand, I might not excuse you and yet the Lord might excuse you. The Lord knows our
hearts. He knows our thoughts and our motives. He knows whether our heart’s desire is
to be in His House and to serve Him or not.
Beloved, I try not to be too hard on folks for missing services for work, or for other reasons,
but I fear that the Lord might be much harder on you than I am when you miss. If I am
His messenger and I fail to warn you about these things, then what kind of friend am I
to you, and what kind of pastor am I?

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Those of you who have to miss a lot of church for work, I am concerned about you. I know
that, regardless of the reason for missing church, it is not good for you. We need the Lord’s
Church. We all need to be in church for the good of our souls. I’m afraid that in the long
run you will lose far more than you stand to gain in the short haul. Please think and pray
about this, and I will pray for you about it. I am not preaching this to make anyone mad,
trust me. I love and care for you, as one who watches for your soul!
Those who just plain miss the services in the Lord’s House without even a good excuse,
there can be no question about their misuse of their Master’s time. I don’t follow church
members around to see where they were when they missed church, but the Lord
knows where they were, what they did, and why they missed His House.
There are many other ways that we can misuse the time the Lord has given us. We can
spend it on the vanity fare of pleasures in this world. We can spend it in front of the TV or
the computer, or out in the world doing things that dishonor the name of our Master.
Americans, as I’ve said before, are professional time wasters, and Christians are no
exception to this. But may we not forget, beloved, we will give an account of the use of the
Lord’s time that He gives us.
3. We have a Good Master!
I’m glad to report this evening, that our Master is not a harsh or cruel taskmaster, yet
beloved, He is our Master just the same. He is our Master and our Lord, so may we not
abuse His goodness and His mercy to His servants. But at the same time, I’m glad that He
is good, and that He is pitiful, and merciful, and longsuffering toward His people.
He doesn’t demand more of us than we are able to perform, yet He does make demands.
May we not take advantage of His leniency and His light demands upon us. Yes, His yoke
is easy, and His burden is light, but may we in turn endeavor to meet or exceed His light
demands. But I am thankful that our Master is more than fare with us, and that He doesn’t
demand more us of than we are able to perform.
Our service to our Master works out for our ultimate good and blessings. Most servants
receive only the bare necessities of life from their masters. But we receive not only our
necessities, but also the abundance of blessings, far over and above what we deserve, both
in this life and in the life to come. Yes beloved, we serve Him in our lifetimes, but in the
final tally of our service, we receive a billion times more than we ever give back in service
to Him. Oh, what unprofitable servants we really are!
Not only this, but our Master has even made us heirs of His estate. He has given each one
of us an inheritance. He has divided to each one of us, a piece of that promised land in
glory. Its already staked out. The survey is complete and recorded in that great Records
Office in glory, so to speak. It won’t be changed, it can never be annulled. It is sure and
steadfast, and reserved in Heaven for us.
Yes, beloved, our Master is good to His servants!
4. Fourthly and finally, we are just unprofitable servants (verse 9-10).
At best, beloved, we are all just unprofitable servants. There is nothing that we give our
Master that He needs from us. There is no good thing that we have to offer Him that He
doesn’t already own.

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At best beloved, we are all unprofitable servants some of the time, and the rest of the time
we’re a pain in our Master’s neck, so to speak. Well, I’m just kidding, but may we never
think that we are anything in and of ourselves. Jesus told His disciples this parable
because they got a little too big for their britches at times, and needed to be humbled.
Beloved, we all need to be brought into our rightful perspective to our Lord and Master
from time to time, lest we think too highly of ourselves.
May God help us to see that we are servants, and help us to see our place of service in His
Church. And as we serve Him, may we serve Him humbly, realizing that at our best we are
just unprofitable servants.
Finally, may the Lord help us to realize and to appreciate what a good Master that He is.

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GROUP BIBLE STUDY:
LIFE OF COMMITMENT: TIME TO DO MORE WORK
Opening Text: I Peter 1:3-11 and Mal.2:2-3, 2Timothy 2:20-21
Memory verse: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the
things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:1,2)
Introduction
Several words are utilized to express commitment. First, commitment communicates the
entrusting of something valuable to another person [Gk tithemi— to commit, commend,
assign; paradidomi— to give over, commit]. Second, commitment additionally includes the
responsibility to practice specific activities [Gk poieo— to do, cause, commit; prasso— to do,
practice, commit]. God has entrusted or committed a valuable deposit unto each believer that is to
be guarded and protected, that is to be faithfully proclaimed, followed, or exercised, and that in turn
is to be committed to others.
Each believer is responsible to respond to God’s call by committing their heart, mind, body, and life
to serve Him, to share the Gospel, and to be His ambassadors in this world. commitment is a two-
edged sword. When you commit yourself to God, you commit yourself to obey Him -- with
commitment comes responsibility.
Read Luke 14:1-35
In the first section of Luke 14:1-14), there are three challenges as to how Christ expected His disciples
to live out their lives. They are: the law of mercy v.1-6, the principle of humbling oneself v.7-11 and
the heart of being gracious v.12-15. Furthermore, in Luke 14:15-35), Jesus challenges the crowds as
to their commitment to Him. They might be curious or interested in what Jesus had to say but
without making a commitment to allow those truths to shape your lives, then their faith will be found
insufficient.
THE STUDY OUTLINES
Jesus challenges those following Him to make a commitment to following Him in two ways:
1) Prioritizing Spiritual Matters (Luke 14:15-24)
• What are we to prioritize in the work that we do presently?
• Many were invited but many also made excuses. Name three excuses (Luke 14:18-20).
2) Developing a Committed Heart (Luke 14:25-35.
• How do we develop a committed heart from this passage?
3) Read Matthew 16:24-26
Jesus asserts that the only ones who will be saved are those who are committed exclusively to His
life, and not to their lives. We can only be alive in Christ through death.
• What does Jesus mean when He says we must “deny” ourselves?
• How do you practice self-denial in your life?
4) Read Romans 12:1-2
Paul teaches that our bodies must be completely sacrificed to God and our minds must be completely
conformed to His will.
• What does it mean to be a “living sacrifice”?
• How is a person “holy and pleasing” in doing so?
• Describe what being a “living sacrifice” would look like in your life.
Conclusion - Let’s pray!

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SYNDICATE GROUP
EXERCISES:
CRITICAL ISSUES IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE WORKSHOP
Opening Text:
Introduction
This exercise is to help ministers and gospel worker to interact, deliberate and
brainstorm on focused areas of this training, thereby engendering harmony,
accommodation of broad views and ideas that will stimulate other creative niches in
participants’ mind.
In this regard, we are all enjoined to fully participate and contribute to broaden
knowledge and develop new horizon in problem solving as we explore this case study
in detail.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT
The Work: In a group of 20-25, Read Genesis chapter 24, and deliberate, discuss and
agree on the list of the what Virtues Of Christian Service you can glean from the life
and conduct of Eliezer, Abraham’s servant. You can state reasons for all deductions on
your list.
Materials: A Marker pen, 2 sheets of Flip Chart Paper and paper tape.
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: Choose a Leader and a Scribe to write your distillates for presentation.
SECOND ASSIGNMENT
The Work: In your group, [20-25 people], read Leviticus Chapter 10: 1-5, and chapter
21. Now discuss and agree on What God Demand for Service from His
Ministers/Workers. You can then list down your distillates in bullet points after
exhaustive discussion.
Materials: One Marker Pen, 2 sheets of Flip chart paper and tape.
Time: 30 minutes
THIRD ASSIGNMENT
The Work: In your group of 20-25, read Luke 12:41-48, 16:1-13, Matt.25:14-30. Discuss
extensively and agree on the Why God Terminates A Man’s Service. List your
responses or distillates in bullet points.
Time: 30 minutes

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FOURTH ASSIGNMENT
The Work: In your group of 20-25, read Luke 14:15-24, 22:39-54, John 18:1-12 deeply.
Discuss extensively and agree on The Steps of Unfaithful Servants. List your responses
or distillates in bullet points.
Time: 30 minutes
SYNDICATE GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Instructions:
a. A presenter, and 4 others will come out to make presentation for your group in 5
minutes using your distillations already written legibly on the flip charts.
b. Other group members will listen attentively without interruptions.
c. There may be questions and comments from listeners after each presentation.
Conclusion
The facilitator will thereafter make general comments to buttress, amplify and embellish
the presentations as may be necessary. Have wonderful deliberations. Enjoy it beloved!
Thereafter, we shall plead in prayers with God of heaven for needed Grace in measures
to do this labour effectively and be ready to receive our Lord’s commendation on the last
day!

Where are You Serving?

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