Ministry of the Evangelist, Pastor & Teacher | Lecture 8 : BC-206-MEP&T-20260831

Okay, welcome back everyone. So, let's pick up on this figurative language. The Lord Jesus in his ministry used a lot of figurative language. Now, I want you to make a few notes on this, okay? So, that we understand it. Just write in your books one, two, and write one, write uh write metaphors. Just write metaphor the first one there, metaphors. So, what are metaphors? Metaphors are are simply words a saying which is which is trying to bring out a meaning out of that saying. Right? Example. If you If I give you these examples, you'll understand. Jesus says, "I am the bread of life." Was he really bread? It's a metaphor. Something to illustrate a person or a thing. Right? Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." Was he really the light of the world? No, right? He was only in Jerusalem. Wherever he was, even in his own house, he needed light. And it's a metaphor. Then Jesus says, "I am the door." Right? Was he a door? No. So, that's what metaphors Everyone understood? To bring out something or you know, to picturize something or a characteristic of someone. So, example, Jesus again says, "You are the salt of the earth." He's being a He's saying a metaphor. Right? Uh then he said, "Stay against the yeast of the Pharisees." Now, if you've done uh you know, you have dough, and then you have a little bit of yeast. Right? Now, he's saying that yeast, what it does is it goes into the dough and mixes everywhere. And it makes that dough soft or smooth or whatever. But it has the ability to go all inside You know, you make those rotis and chapatis. That little bit of yeast goes into it and makes it. The same way Jesus is saying, be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees. Were they carrying, you know, grains and were they carrying, you know, powders and yeast and walking around anywhere? No. He's trying to say, like yeast, how it goes into the dough, these Pharisees have the ability to say things and try to get into your life and try to change your whole thinking. Be careful of their yeast. Metaphor, right? I say, for example, hey, he's, you know, just common examples. He's, uh, example, right? Uh, he's standing like a door doorpost. There's a saying, right? Don't be like a doorpost. Uh, I mean, you're not a doorpost, but you know, as ugly as a duck. They're all metaphors. Right? So, Jesus used a lot of these metaphors. Now, when in our teaching and preaching, it's good. You can use it. But don't make it like a joke and make it something that is not relevant. Everywhere Jesus used metaphors, he used it in a positive sense to build people up. And he used it with good examples. He said, you are the salt of the earth. I am the bread of life. I am the door. Right? Uh, you are you are the light of the world. So, these are all metaphors. Now, think of this. What about the hearers? Those who are listening to Jesus. They are sitting and listening to Jesus. Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth." Salt? Oh, nice. Okay. I'd like to be the salt. Right? Immediately, as a hearer, they're you know, their mind is it's not something boring, right? Their mind is suddenly attentive. Salt of the earth, what does he mean by the salt of the earth? Then Jesus is goes on, he says, "Just like how salt loses its saltiness, it's of no use but to be thrown away and tread upon. The same way, you don't lose your saltiness. Don't lose your flavor." Right? Now, I mean imagine the hearers, right? Now, we've read it thousands of times, but the first time the hearers are listening to it, wow. What is he saying? Right? Nice. I I want to be like the salt. Something is catching their attention. Then he says, "Be the You are the light of the world. A city on a hill is not hidden." That means yeah, light. We all need light. Light is good. Nobody likes darkness. So, if I'm the light of the world, that means wherever I go, I should emanate light. I should bring hope. I should bring grace. I should bring strength. I should bring you know, something that is illuminating, something that can benefit people. Immediately, they are they begin to think. Right? The thinking is thinking caps are on. Then, Jesus said, "I'm the good shepherd." Was he a shepherd? Right? He was a What was he? What was Jesus' primary work? Carpenter. But he's telling to the people, "I'm a good shepherd." Now, imagine the people saying, "No, no, no. You're not a shepherd. You're a carpenter." Carpenter's son, you know, no, no. He's talking about a metaphor. "My sheep hear my voice." So, if you are my sheep, you my voice. No, I'm not a sheep. I'm a person. Yeah, but just like how the shepherd calls to the sheep and the sheep hears the voice, the same way I'm the good shepherd and I am somebody when I speak, you will hear my voice and you will obey it. Spoken metaphors. Right? Beautiful. Right? They are He spoke with such clarity and these metaphors help people understand what he's talking. He used common things around to bring out these examples, right? Then he used hyperboles. Hyperbole is simply um something that's impossible. It doesn't make sense. Right? Right? Something that is above our imagination. Jesus used that. Example, he says, "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven." Now, imagine the hearers, they're sitting there. "It's easy for a camel to go into the eye of a needle." It's not easy. It's impossible. It's a hyperbole. It's not possible at all. Right? At least here in metaphors, he's bringing out something. But in hyperboles, it is beyond It doesn't make uh natural sense. Jesus saying, "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." It's impossible. Then Jesus said, "You say to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done." Now, if we go to a mountain and we stand and say, "Be removed in Jesus' name." We You'll become 100 years old, that mountain will still be there. Nothing will happen. But what's it that example is a hyperbole. So Jesus is trying to bring an example. First one, eye of a needle, he says, rich people, their heart is where their money is. So it's easier it's better it's easy for a camel to go into the eye of a needle than a rich man. If a rich man goes to heaven, good. But it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. You understand what he's trying to bring out? Yeah. And then he says, "Say to the mountain, be thrown into the sea, and it will be done." Again, he's talking about faith. Yeah. Right? So for each topic, whether it's maybe love of God, the grace of God, the power of God, um you know, your faith in God, he uses hyperboles. Right? Um and these are things that you know, even we as we can say stories, we can say uh you know, uh things that can go always remember, it should be aligning with what you're teaching. Don't just say something because you want to say it. Right? Maybe towards the end of this course, what we'll do is all of you will get an opportunity to prepare uh 10-minute sermon, and you come here and you teach it. Okay? Towards the end, we'll have some time for that. Um and that will be your internal assessment. Right? I'll mark you for it. 20 marks. Okay? Uh but you can use these things, hyperboles. Okay. Um there are many you can use, right? Then, most importantly, the most common one that Jesus used was parables. Do you all know what's parable? The Greek word for parable means parabole, which means to cast alongside. It's like you get the picture of casting a net. The boat is going, right? You cast the net along the boat. You don't cast a net in front of the boat. Right? You the the fishermen are here. They come to the side of the boat and they cast the net here. Along with the boat, the nets are normally in the side. So that they can also pull it out pull out the fish easy. They don't go to the top of the boat and then throw They never do that. It's always So you get this picture. Parable is something it's a story, an extended figure of speech which is cast alongside your main message. Now, if you're talking about faith, don't give a parable on love. Cuz it's two different things. You're talking about God's mercy, don't give a parable about lostness. It should always go in line. It's to cast alongside. Everyone with me? Right? It should it should be together. They should make sense together. Right? Uh and one of the most common ways we define a parable is it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. An earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But why did Christ use parables? Two reasons. To illustrate truth and to obscure truth from those who whose heads were hard and uh unyielding. Let's look at a few examples. Let's open to uh Luke chapter 15. Luke 15. Okay, before that before Luke 15, let's go to Luke 12. And you see here Jesus begins with the parable of the rich fool. Right? Again, he's bringing the example of a rich man who is a fool. Right? And he's casting alongside his story. What is there? What's happening in uh Luke chapter 12? Jesus is you know, thousands of people have gathered. Jesus is talking to his disciples. Others also uh, come. And then there are Pharisees, there are Sadducees, and then immediately Jesus starts warning and encouraging the people. Don't be don't go after riches because you go after riches, you'll end up being a fool. And he brings out this parable. Right? Go on to uh, chapter 13, Luke 13. Uh, Jesus heals the crippled woman, and after that he's giving them the parables of the mustard seed. He's he's sharing the example of a mustard seed. Then Jesus asked, Luke 13:18, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?" See that brilliant, you know, Jesus? He's got something to teach. He's asking a question so that people begin to think of what the answer is. That's a sign of a great teacher. "What is the kingdom of God like?" Now everyone is attentive. Attentive. Uh, what is it like? I want to know. Tell me. "What do I compare it to?" Jesus is answering it. "It is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in the garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds perched in its branches." Again he said, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It's like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 60 lbs of flour until it worked through the dough." So, he's saying two parables he's saying, the mustard seed and the yeast. That's how the kingdom of God is. The mustard seed it's small. Put it on the ground, it becomes a big tree, but there the birds come, get rest, there's shade, there's food. So, the same way the kingdom of God is small. It starts small. The work here in on earth starts small, but it can grow and many, you know, people can get encouragement, hope, and strength through that king through the work of God's kingdom. Then he says yeast. It's like yeast. The yeast goes in into the dough and penetrates and becomes a part of it. The same way the kingdom of God is going to come on earth. When it comes on earth, it will penetrate every sphere of influence into society and become part of society. Two simple small parables, just three lines. But he got the attention of the people. He used the right example, mustard seed, yeast. Then you go on Luke 15. He talks about the parables of lostness. We've seen this many times, right? The parable of the lost sheep. Right? Now, here's what before that Jesus, you know, large crowds are following him and people are wondering, you know, the disciples are following him. Uh, we want to go with him, but Jesus is saying, "Listen, this is not just some time of enjoyment. There's a cost to being a disciple of Jesus." So, then he goes on and he talks about these parables. He's saying, "Listen, you'll have to lose some things in life for you to be a disciple of Jesus." And he talks about these parables, the parable of the lost sheep. Right? Uh, bringing out the example of, you know, the shepherd lost he had 900, but one went away. So, he leaves the 99. He goes, he finds that one. And he's saying, "The kingdom of God is like that. As a disciple, you may have 100 people. Even if one person goes astray, you go after that one person. There's a cost to ministry. Right? And then he says, "What would the shepherd do when he finds it?" He will take it, he'll put it on his shoulder, I mean, come back rejoicing saying, "The one that was lost has been found." Right? Then, the parable of the lost coin. And this woman lost a coin. And she looks all around the house, she turns the whole house upside down. And when you when she finds it, she rejoices. I can't tell you how many times this example has spoken to me in my house right now. My son will buy a big bottle of Fevicol to do his craft work. He will leave it somewhere. He'll turn the whole house upside down. "I want my bottle of Fevicol." He will throw things, he'll take search everything, he'll begin to cry, then again he'll go and search. Initially, we used to say, "Okay, don't worry, don't." Now, that also we stopped saying. Because he said, "You lost it, you will find it, you will go search for it." Because if we don't find it, the blame will come on us. "Where you kept the glue?" So, better stay away. "You lost it, right? You go find it." But he'll do all that he can. Right? And once he finds it, oh, the joy. One day, I saw my phone 15 miss calls. I thought, "What happened?" I called back. "Daddy, what I lost, know that scissors in my uh kit, I found it. So, I want to celebrate with you." 15 calls. And the joy in their face. "I lost it, but I now I found it." All right, beautiful. And I can resonate with this. Imagine you lose your phone. It's You go to the supermarket, you lose your phone. And that shop owner says, "Listen, we found your phone. Come and take it." Oh, what joy. Even if Jesus is saying, "I'm coming now." You say, "Wait, let me finish this joy. Let me get my phone back. Experience that joy, and then you come, Lord." Yes or no? What a joy that is. You know why I give you the example of the phone? It happened to me. Not to me. Me and my wife we were we we were going to another place to another We were flying out. We were going somewhere. And she went to the She left the phone in the airport on a on the sink. It's gone. I said, "Forget it." But she said, "No, I'm going to pray. I need my phone back." So, the whole journey she's praying and praying. I'm looking at her "God will give it back." I said, "Forget it. It's in the airport. How is going to Eventually, one person called. Right? Took my number. Saw my mine was the last, you know, call. Uh is said, "Okay, listen. Uh I'm heading towards another city. But what I'll do is if you give me your address, I will post the phone to your home." I said, "Okay, do it." Then I looked at her and said, "Your faith has healed you." Your faith your faith you got your phone. It's those kind of joys, you know, you get. lostness But this is not a joy on the natural. Jesus is talking about a lost soul coming into his kingdom. Right? But look at the way he's bringing it across. Parable of the lost son. One fellow said, "Give me the money. I'm going." He took the money and went. Squandered all the money. And the father is still waiting for him to come back. Right? And when he comes, he says, goes, hugs him, kisses him, and says, "My son was lost. Now he's found." And think of these. Think of the hearers. If I I'm sitting there listening to Jesus' story of the lost son. I'm thinking, "Ah, now the son has come back. Jesus, come on. End the story nicely." End it in a way that this fellow will learn a lesson. He took all the money and went End it in that way. But Jesus turned the tables. He says, "Oh, my son has come back." Cut the fattened calf, put a robe on him, put a ring. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What are you doing? Don't end the story like that. Jesus, look at the way he ends The hearers would have thought, "Why are you ending the story like this?" But he's bringing out a, you know, a powerful lesson on love and forgiveness, lostness of man. And this is some of the ways that Jesus so beautifully brought in people's attention through his teaching. Now, here's the key. Jesus didn't just, you know, get up one day and said, "Okay, I will do it I will speak like this." No. I'm sure he prepared. The Bible says he grew in knowledge and wisdom. It's not something that just happened. So, he would have he would have prayed. He would have spent time in the word, spending time in God's presence. That gave him the wisdom to come up with these metaphors, hyperboles, and parables. It's the wisdom of God. He grew in wisdom. Do you think he would have had these examples when he was 10, 12 years old? I don't think so, right? Because Luke in the Luke I think Luke chapter 2 says he grew in wisdom. He made an effort to read, to grow, to maybe he made, you know, he he thought, "Okay, if I preach like this, this is a better way to learn, better way to get people's attention. He would have tried, right? He would have seen the different things around, try to use those examples. Have you noticed he never used an example of his own profession? Carpentry. Did he? His own profession. I don't think he used. But he used what was around. He used things that people could relate to, not what he could only relate to. People could relate to him. The closest you can get is I am the door. Maybe. No examples of his own. But what people could relate to. So, very important lesson for us. When we are teaching and preaching, get examples, illustrations on what people can relate to. Look at your hearers and understand, okay, this example will work here. This other example may not work here. So, learn to discern your congregation and your crowd that you are preaching to, right? Stop. We'll go to the next page, you'll see the whole different themes of parables that Jesus taught on. He taught on forgiveness, generosity. Let's Let's look at actually one of it, right? Let's look at forgiveness. What What we have here. Luke chapter 7, 41 through 43. Let's read that. Luke 7:41-43. >> A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed 500 dinari and the other 50. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. And now, which of them will love him more? Simon answered, "The one I suppose for him he canceled the large debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." >> Now, look at the context, okay? Jesus is he's gone into a Pharisee who had invited him for dinner. He's gone and sat in that house. Suddenly one woman, who is an adulterous woman, who found out that Jesus is there, ran, came, and with an alabaster jar, put put that liquid into on Jesus' feet, and began to wash his feet, right? And she's was studying it. And she stood behind him uh at his feet weeping. She began to wet his feet with his tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him, and what kind of sinner she is." That she is a sinner. Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." Look at this. Look at the wisdom of God here. Look at the wisdom of Jesus. Jesus is sitting. Picture it in your mind, okay? The one adulterous woman is coming, coming and falling at Jesus' feet, pouring perfume, washing his feet, kissing his feet. The Pharisee, the owner of the house, is saying, "If this man was really a prophet, he would know what kind of woman this woman is, and she he would have just told her to get away from me." Jesus heard it, but he never answers him. What does Jesus say? He looks to Peter. Peter, I want to tell you one thing. What do you say to me? As if you know, Jesus pretend I won't say pretend. I'm sure he heard it, but he wanted to bring out something. He said, "Peter, I want to tell you something." Tell me teacher, he said. Cuz maybe Jesus thought, okay, if I tell Simon Peter, I know that he will not feel bad. He's my disciple. He will understand. Two people owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him 500 dinars, another 50. Neither of them had money to pay back. So So he forgave the debts of both. Now, which one would love more? Simon replied, I suppose the one with the bigger debt. You have judged correctly, Jesus said. Then he turned towards the woman and said, Do you see this woman? And said to Simon, do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me water for my feet. You did not wet your wet my feet with your tears. But she has wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my feet on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Then Jesus said to her, your sins are forgiven. What a powerful parable of forgiveness. Of course, it's it's not a parable, it's something that happened really, but he used it as an opportunity as a teaching lesson. Right? Be Simon. One person owed 50, one person owed 500. Both couldn't The master said, both of you are forgiven. Who will be more thankful? The one who owes 500. Ah. So the same way, you Jew, you're a Pharisee, you're saying this woman is a you know, is an adulterous woman, is a sinful woman. But when I came in, you never gave me water. You never asked me for forgiveness. You never honored me. But she, being a sinner, she has more sin in her life. She fell at my feet. She has washed my feet, kissed my feet, put oil on my head. And she truly shows that she is repentant of her sins, rather than you judging her. Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven." In another place he says, you know, same kind of context, Jesus goes into the tax collector's home and they're having a meal and the Pharisees come and say, "Why are you having a meal in a tax collector's household?" Jesus says, "It is the sick who need the doctor, not the healthy." End of story. They didn't know what to say. They went away. Forgiveness. Right? Then generosity, Luke chapter 12, 16 through 22. Luke chapter 12:16-22. Yes, sweetie. >> Then he spoke to spoke a parable to them saying, "The ground of a certain rich man yield painfully and he thought within himself saying, 'What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?' So, he said, 'I will do this. I will put I will pull down my barns and build greater and there will be stored for all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods many goods laid up for many years. Take your ace eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your soul will be the required of you. Then those will those things be which you have provided.' So, he So, is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God? And he said to his disciples, "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about the body, but you will put on." >> Yeah. Now, look at this parable. Small parable, yet very interesting. There was a rich man. He had lot of crops, lot of barns, and but he didn't have a place to store it up. So, he said, "Okay, what I'll do is I will tear down these smaller barns. I will make bigger ones. And I'll store up all my riches inside that. Right? And then I will make merry and enjoy. I don't have to struggle in life." Right? And Jesus said and the response was, "You fool. But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'" What do you say? Today, this very night, you want to build big barns and store up and store up and store up. But today, your life is I'm going to ask for your life. Who are you going to give all these wealth that you have accumulated? Who are you going to give it to? What is Jesus trying to say? He's trying to say, "Listen, we learn we we have abundance, learn to also give with generosity. Don't be greedy and keep everything to yourself." So, he's bringing up that parable. When you die, you can't take anything with you. So, you when you have, give. Keep what you need. He's not saying give everything. Keep what you need. Start giving others. Jesus in another place, you know, he says it's more blessed to give than to receive. Give. Have a generous life. Right? Then, humility. Luke chapter 14. Let's read that. Luke 14:7-14. Again, another parable. of the great banquet. >> Now, he told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they choose the places of honor, saying to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished distinguished than you be invited by them. And he who invited you both he will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person.' And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit Go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you." >> Okay, stop here. Stop here. Right? So, this is a powerful example of humility. And look at the story Jesus is bringing. He's bringing a story that even is relevant even now. Yes or no? Somebody is opening a have a great wedding or a great banquet open. You feel you're very important. You go straight in front and sit in the first row. And then somebody greater than you comes. They'll come and say, "Sir, you please go back and sit." And this man this other person has given your seat. How embarrassing that will be. Right? So, Jesus is saying, "Better think less of yourself. Sit at the back. Right? And then they will recognize, "Hey, this is a great person or a great leader. Why is he sitting at the back?" They will take you and bring you in front. And then they will place honor upon you. So, humility brings honor. Beautiful story. He's using simple things even now. Right? Now, we Now, for us in church as pastors, we stand in front because we have to get to the you know, the stage. But if we go for any meetings or conferences and we are not ministering, we normally sit somewhere in the middle or sit a little at the back, right? Now, it's not like false humility. Or you can sit in front also. You know, two, three chairs, two, three rows in front. But don't have a false humility. No, I'm the best leader, so I'll sit at the back so that somebody will come and see me and tell me to take me in front. Now, what will happen if you have false humility like that? No one will bother about you. You'll be sitting at the back itself. The story here is different. Humble yourself. In your heart, think that you're a simple person. Go to the back and sit. I'll tell you nine out of 10 times, like sometimes we go for weddings and all. And the wedding will be solemnized by different churches, right? Not APC. So, we go because one of them is part of our church. So, you go for a wedding. It's happened many times. We go, we just go quietly, sit at the back. Right? Or somewhere in the middle, just sit quietly. Most often, they'll call you in front. Come for prayer or come to bless the couple. It'll happen. The moment you go in front and sit, okay, I'm the main pastor or all of these things, nobody will bother. Nobody should bother. Because humility is the essence or the most beautiful characteristic of a leader. It's It's It's number one. Humility. There's beauty in simplicity. There's beauty in humility. Each one of us must learn to walk in humility. And you may be very good in preaching, teaching, music. All that is secondary. Humility. Right? Now, humility doesn't mean whatever people say, you take it. Right? Oh, you keep shouting, I'll keep listening. I'm humble. I'm humble. Uh you know, pastor, I'm humble teacher. No, no, no. In humbleness, then you read Matthew 23. And you tell me if Jesus is humble or not. Cuz there he's giving it nicely to the Pharisees, the Sadducees. He's saying, "You are like whitewashed tombs. You are useless. You You only want You're like hypocrites." Humility doesn't mean not bringing correction. Not, you know, there's a there's a balance. There's leadership where you there's authority, but there's also walking in humility. Right? And that balance we have to learn. Then again, judgment. Uh he talks about judgment. And let's read maybe Luke 13 6 through 9. >> And he told this parable, "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine vine dresser, 'Look, for 3 years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on put on manure. And then if it is should be a fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it all down." >> Here, Jesus is talking about the coming judgment. Very simple example. Man planted a fig tree. Three years is over, no fruit. What's the What's the point of it? Cut it, throw it into the fire. It's like saying God has given us the life. We are not bearing fruit, eventually things in our life you will be cut down and thrown into the fire if we are not bearing fruit. But then the man replied, "Leave it alone. Give it some time. I'll dig around it. Fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, we'll cut it down." That means again God's grace and his mercy. Give him some more time. He'll come to repentance. He will change. And beautiful parable. Right? The same way Jesus spoke about the kingdom, about the law, about the Lord's return. Let's look at one example from the Lord's return. That's uh Luke chapter 21. Let's see that. Luke 21:29-31. Even for Jesus' return, he spoke of with parables. Luke 21: 29-31. Yes, read. >> And he told And he told them a parable, "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." >> Yeah. That's small Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is here. The same way, when you see certain things, you will know that the kingdom of God is near, right? Talking about his return. Then there are parables on mercy and also prayer. And here are a few discussion questions, right? How is Is to be authoritative and loving at the same time? Is it something that we can do? Everyone understood this question? God's God is love. Hey, I have to love everyone. That is number one. Rule is God loves us, we have to love everyone. But Lord, they're all sinners. Still love them. That is number That's our hearts as the key of the gospel, right? Love. But now, how can we be authoritative and love? It means Now, in leadership, I've been given you and I have been given certain authority. And Paul writes to uh uh Timothy and he says to bring correction, rebuke, exhortation. So, all this is part of leadership. So, as a leader, how do I love and be authoritative at the same time? What do you think? How do you How do I How do I do that? How do I balance it? What are some things that Maybe one thing that you would do. Anyone? See, you understood, right? Now, you become a pastor. You have 50 people in your church. You have to You love everyone, right? You really care for your church people, right? But there's a problem in the church. There's gossip and backbiting. And you know that there are two people causing it. What are you going to do? Talk to them. Yeah, but you should be authoritative. So, how how will you talk to them? You have to show them that you're exerting your authority as a leader, but also you should make them understand that you love them. And that's a balance you must find. How How would you, you know, firstly is it right to bring the correction or should we just leave it because you love them should we leave it we have to bring because just because you bring correction doesn't mean you don't love them right the reason you're bringing the correction is because you love them and the natural of father and a mother will correct their children because they love them if they don't love them they won't bother go do what you want the same way How how can I how is it possible a nice very simple way that can be very beneficial for us is you call the people whoever is involved you tell them see you know that I care for you you know that I love you you know that I care for the church as well and I love the church but here's the thing I've noticed that these are problems that are happening and it's happening for quite some time now so I want to encourage you to stop this maybe gossip or backbiting because it's causing confusion in the church people are getting hurt right so now you can also give like a first warning or something like don't do this next time and ensure that you're speaking out of love but you're also being authoritative like you're saying see this has to change because I love you if it doesn't change it'll be a problem the church will get into a problem it'll cause divisions in the church so it's you're making it in a way that hey it's important that you take what I'm saying but it's also important to understand we're doing this out of love correction out of love right now here's the most difficult part that I have seen in ministry you'll have three responses. Some of them will say yes, take it and move ahead. Some of them will say how can he correct me? How can he say that to me? I've been with him from day one in ministry and he's correcting me. They get angry and upset. Another reaction is out of all the people he corrected me I don't want to have any argument. Quietly I'll go away from here. You have these different reactions to it. But you cannot control those reactions. Always remember. Your responsibility is to walk in authority and to walk in love. Right? Make sure you do it the right way. See, there are times we have asked people don't do this in the church. Right? We've asked them lovingly, then we were a little stern, we've given them a warning as well because it's out of love and you're protecting the church. You're protecting your ministry. So, as a leader, you are the shepherd. As a shepherd, you protect it. If a shepherd is there and there's a bear coming is the shepherd going to look at the bear and say, "No, no, it won't come here." Bear is there, it won't come, don't worry. And the sheep are going on, you know, making noise, alerting the shepherd. And imagine the shepherd is saying, "No, it won't come. Relax. That bear will be there only." It's not going to work. Immediately the shepherd is alert, he's trying to protect his people. Immediate action. Same way, there is something that is coming into the church which can affect the church. It's the role of the leader to be authoritative, to take action, yet do it in love. Right? So, something that we do in APCs we have something called as uh like, you know, we give them two warnings. After two warnings, stricter action will be taken. Right? The first two times we tell them, we talk to them, we say, "Listen, this is what it is. This is the problem. If you don't listen, these are the things that will happen. So, you have to change this." So, it is possible to be authoritative and walk in love. And that's a journey that we will keep growing into. Okay, why would Jesus sometimes obscure the truth by his parables? Why did Jesus speak in parables? Do everyone know what's obscure? Obscure means to cover. Why did Jesus speak in parables to cover the truth from those who are hearing? Why do you think? Sometimes, it's also to mainly to fulfill prophecy. They Remember, Isaiah says, "They will hear They have ears, but they do not hear. They have eyes, but they did not see. They have a mind, but they did not conceive. They did not perceive. They did not understand." Right? So, there was a reason he spoke in parables. Some of them received it. Some of them didn't receive it. Right? So, it was not like Jesus purposefully, "I don't want them to understand, so I will speak this way." No. That's his style of teaching. But, he fulfilled prophecy that they they have eyes, they they did not see. They have ears, they did not hear. They had mouths which they could not even speak. They had a mind that they could not even understand the things of God. Right? So, we'll stop here. And then, next class, we'll pick up on certain instructions or guidelines in the teaching ministry. But, everyone understood this, right? Um so, I want you to start developing this attribute of teaching, right? Uh, if you can you know, choose a book or choose a person, choose a character. Maybe start doing a study about, you know, the the book in the Bible or a character. Example, you look at Daniel, right? So, if you're going to do a teaching on the book of Daniel, there's so much you can learn. Okay, what was he? Where was he? Why did he come to Babylon? What was his age? What was his work in Babylon? What was the culture in Babylon? Now, culture and all is not there in the Bible, no. So, you have to go back. Now, we have all tools available. Go back, read. Okay, what is the culture of Babylon during that time? Right? Something interesting that caught my attention when I was doing the study of Daniel, I think this was in 2020 192020, uh, was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are the demon gods of Babylon. I never knew it. So, Nebuchadnezzar named them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were gods of Babylon. Right? You see, it adds so much of flavor when you're teaching this. Oh, they were gods of Babylon, yet their name did not change how they looked at themselves, their identity. They knew they said to the king, "You throw us into the fire also, we will not bow down." Right? So powerful. And then you learn the culture of Babylon. And then you see about Daniel, what he did. And it becomes a wonderful, you know, the book of Daniel, we can teach it for a entire year. One year we can take. Beautiful book. So, like that you see what you want to do. Take up topics or characters from the Bible, start preparing, right? Teaching. Right? And so, next week class we look at some guidelines on teaching. Right? Okay, any questions? Any thoughts before we close? All right. All right, thank you everyone. Have a great week ahead. I'll see you next next week. God bless.