DISCIPLESHIP SERIES 4: ACCOUNTABILITY

Q1: What does accountability mean to you?

Answers:

“Accountability. From the word I hear keeping account, getting the details or run down of an event. Accountability in our context is keeping someone updated on the particular events in an aspect of your life or all of it.”  - Chelsea

“Accountability is to be held responsible for an action.”  - Chijioke

“It means being able to give details about what is being given to you either Money, task, etc” - Bisi Kalejaiye  

“The acceptance of responsibility for one's own actions.” - Ewadunni

 

Q2: Can you name 3 people you are accountable to (Please don't say God or any other member of the Trinity 😁)?

Bisi Kalejaiye - My husband, My Aunt, A sister friend.

Chijioke - My biological parents, my leader in choir unit, my fiancee

Chelsea - I'm accountable to my mum, My pastor, My choir head

Debola - My mum, My dad, My siblings and friends

 

Accountability is simply the act of submitting ourselves to at least one other person. Accountability is not just I'm accountable to xyz so I'm telling them my plans. It goes beyond that.

Accountability is submission to the people we have chosen to be accountable to.

 

Why is accountability important in discipleship?

Discipleship requires constant/consistent training and discipline and if we look at our last prophetic meeting where we all discussed our struggles, a common factor for most of us was self-discipline. This will mean that if man is left alone to disciple himself, he will struggle with it and maybe fail thanks to inability to stay consistently self-disciplined.

So yes, Accountability is also us giving another the key to helping us stay disciplined. So when we think of accountability in the body of Christ, the first thing that comes to mind is, "someone you can report another to when they mess up". Yes, the person you are accountable to is this. They hold you responsible when you fail to meet up.

But accountability is way beyond this.

Accountability is a principle that helps you not to fail in the first place, of course, you will have to be submissive.

Think of accountability as your help towards staying committed to God and keeping your commitments (to God, self and mankind), just like a life chaperone.

It is allowing another to speak truth to your life. That's such a very powerful thing.

Who can we be accountable to?

Your accountability partner can be anybody:

1. Friend

2. Spouse

3. Groups

Most importantly, spiritual leaders. The reason spiritual leaders fall into this category is that accountability involves submission and most people do not know how to submit. So because I cannot change it for my pastor, it is easier for me to be accountable to him.

For those of us that already have people we are accountable to, what is the process like?

Debola - For me, it’s informing them of my struggles or asking advice from them or just talking to them really. Alternatively, it’s them seeing me do wrong and they calling me out on my wrong and setting me straight.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - First, the person I'm accountable to has the right to question me and demand for necessary information on details concerning my life right?

A1: Yes. And you should also be submissive enough to let go of this information and take their input

Q2: So I spoke to a female pastor and told her I want to be accountable to her. Funny enough, she doesn't ask me anything? Is just like I'm forcing myself to be accountable by her. What should I do??? That's why I didn't put her as someone I'm accountable to in your previous question.

A2: On this, 2 will walk together only if they agree. If you feel led to her, this is fine. Continue to update your actions and all to her. If you are not sure this is a leading, you can find a spiritual leader more accessible to you. Because leaders are largely busy you may not be able to get their attention 24/7, but at least they should be there to an extent.

Q3: How about if you don't have someone? How about if you are not accountable to anyone?

A3: So you have to have someone. There is someone in your circle, from your friends to leaders. There should be someone you are accountable to at every point in your life

 

HEALING SERIES 2: HEALING IS GOD'S WILL

He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Psalms 107:20 NKJV

Glory.

He sent His word

His word revealed (Jesus) and this word healed us

This healing in turn meant deliverance from destructions for us

Again, the word is Jesus, who is the divine revelation of God. If you do not know Jesus, you cannot know/understand healing.

Don't get it wrong, an unbeliever can receive healing if prayed for but that unbeliever can permit sickness in their bodies cos they don't know Christ. The sickness will come back basically.

Even believers that lack this knowledge suffer same fate, which is why the bible says my people perish because they lack knowledge. Most times we are languishing in sickness because we do not know. We are yet to come to full understanding of God's will concerning sickness and diseases

And here is my belief: People need the word more than they need healing

The word enables us to not even give room to sickness in the first place. It opens us to certain truths about who we really are.

Should we fall sick, we speak to it immediately. We do not condone it at all. I had a revelation over the night and I was gisting those in Ibadan with me this morning. So lately, I've been having this pain in my legs. I stand most times when I'm praying (ministering) or kneel, then I'm usually stressed too. So I assumed this was a result of the stress and all

Usually after ministering for long, my leg gives way most times and I just want to rest. In my mind, this is my body telling me to rest more and take care of it. (PS. I'm a firm believer in resting our bodies so this message is not against it)

Since I started feeling this pain in my leg, in my head "it is not that serious", so I just ask someone around to help me massage my body. 

I've been asking everyone in Ibadan to help me massage my leg but they've been airing me 😂😂😂

Samson offered to help Saturday night but I somehow forgot and didn't meet him. So in the revelation, I saw myself asking for a massage again.

"Please help me massage my leg and my shoulders" And the Holy spirit came beside me and clapped 😂

He made a statement: Continue to pet this sickness o. Continue to pat in on the back. This was around 3am in the midnight

I stood up and I was like. "It is just body pain na, it's not that I'm sick"

And the Holy spirit helped me to realise this, that so many times we allow sickness with:

It's just headache

It's just menstrual pain

It's just body pain

It's just...

Most times the devil doesn't start afflicting believers with "big" sickness. He knows the body of Christ will rally round and speak over you. He knows you can send it out with your authority

So he starts with the little sickness, the ones we term as it's just.. He is banking on us allowing those little ones that will now generate into bigger problems. Because they've stayed too long in our body

So as we speak on healing, I want us to open our hearts and ears. We are not just talking of Cancer or those sickness with big and scary names. God's healing is valid for everything and I need us to take what is ours in this period.

It is God's will that you are healed

Even of that seemingly little headache that is getting consistent

Of that body pain

Of that menstrual period

Just name it

Emotional healing 

Physical healing 

Whatever it is, maybe it has name or not, big in your eyes or small. It is God's will that you are healed of it

Scripture says that the wholeness the Messiah brings has no limit.

I love it soooo much

No limit

No restrictions

It is complete wholeness

Your key to experiencing this is first believing it!

You know when you pray for a sick person for healing and in the middle you are putting "If it is your will God"

That's your unbelief jumping out, sometimes induced by ignorance.

Actually all times.

If you are saying "if it is your will God", then you really don't know God's will and you are not sure your prayer might be effective

It is always God's will to heal

So no need to say "If it is your will. God has said it is His will already so why are you still saying if if every time?

It is God's will!

When you use that if statement, what you are doing is destroying your words of healing. It's like somebody planting and at the same time uprooting immediately. You are rendering your words of healing useless basically.

When we say that it is God's will that all men be saved. It is God's will that our sins are washed away. Do we pray for people and say "If it is God's will to wash away your sins/save you"?

Fola: So this means it doesn’t apply to sickness only but other things 🤔🤔

Answer: No. Reason is God (through Christ Jesus) already established healing as His will. In fact, one of the things Jesus accomplished on the cross for us is healing. The only reason Jesus had to be beaten like a thief was for our healing.

So if we believe every other thing achieved in Calvary, we should not doubt healing.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was  wounded for our transgressions, He  was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4‭-‬5 NKJV

He bore our griefs and sorrows. So probably you are in need of emotional or physical healing, the first thing Christ did was carry the weight of it. Everything (past, present, future). So if I'm carrying a heavy bucket of water and someone comes to carry it for me, what does it mean?

I'm relieved from that pain. Maybe temporarily until they decide they are tired.

Now, Jesus permanently lifted this load off us.

Emotional sickness

Mental sickness

Physical sickness

All have been lifted off you. You can't afford to be carrying a load someone else has not just carried but destroyed

He was wounded and bruised for us. It wasn't just coincidental that Jesus went through that. No. There was a purpose to it.

Sickness is a result of sin (the nature), everyone that has this nature is subject to sickness. It is why man has to be born again (change His thinking through the word)

In the suffering of Jesus is embedded provision for your healing

For mine. For the world

And this provision extends to all type of healing. If you don't believe God heals emotional or mental sickness, you are not positioned to receive it

Healing is your legal right as a believer.

In Matthew 15, Jesus told that woman who asked for healing, that healing belonged to the children. It is their legal right

Healing is bread to the children

Probably you are wondering, "Remi, if healing is God's will, why then are people sick?"

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9 NKJV

God's will is that nobody perishes but will people perish? Yes!

Here's how I feel about these things, God's will is brought to life by agreeing men. So if God's will is that nobody perishes, men have to align to this will of I am not perishing. If God's will is that nobody should be sick, I have to be in agreement to it also.

And here is the thing with healing as it is for salvation: The price has already been paid!

You know when something is bought for in your name and you just have to pick it up with a reference code? Exactly! This is the perfect picture. Your healing has been paid for. You are not just trying to negotiate it. It is already completely done

Take your reference code (the word) and get your healing: who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. I Peter 2:24 NKJV

Past tense

Done, done and dusted

Jesus is not receiving extra stripes or beating o. He did it once and for all

So this is true of healing: It is God's will that you are healed!

God has already healed you!

You have to believe the first statement to believe the second and they are both true. 

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Matthew 8:2 NKJV

The leper came to Jesus needing healing. Now look at it this way, the leper came off as being okay with just worshipping Christ even if it doesn't lead to healing. So he asks Christ, "Lord, if you are willing, heal me"

So if Jesus is not willing, that's fine too. I will continue to worship

Most times, Jesus replied people with parables first. But you see this leper man got a straightforward answer

I am willing

It was straight to the point, no room for extra interpretation. And this answer is same for you and I today, It is God's will that we are healed

Straight forward.

Don't overthink or analyse

There are no buts or maybe

This statement is true for you and the world at large. Another proof of Healing being God's will is Heaven's design.

What is the eternal plan?

What is the plan before man fell?

What was the plan before man fell?

In heaven, there is no sickness.

In eternity, there will be no sickness

"Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven"

What Jesus came down to do was also reveal the father's will. God's will is that men be saved

Healing is a full package in our salvation

If heaven has no mental sickness, emotionally sick people, people with cancer, then it is God's will that men live this way on earth too. It is God's will that you enjoy good, perfect health

Believe this and begin to live it

HEALING SERIES 1: INTRODUCTION TO HEALING

Question: I know we all know what healing is but I will like those of us online to just drop a sentence on healing. Anything that comes to your mind.

Ally: I think healing has to do with restoration of physical, mental, emotional, (financial🤣) wholeness

Pearl: Being transferred from a state of infirmity(physical mental,  emotional) to wholeness of health. (Physical, mental, emotional.)

Samson: Healing is the restoration of health and well-being

Fola of London: To be sound or to be made whole . Could be physical or mental

Jane: Restoring to normalcy

Question: Has anyone here been sick? Or you are currently sick? Or you know someone who is sick? What was going on in your mind about them (you) and the sickness?

Ibukun: When I was in the hospital on Dec 24th 2020 with ulcer pains, I was scared and in panic. I kept saying God please take the pain away

Restoring to Normalcy - Healing! 

You see sickness was never part of the plan at creation. Did we see sickness in any of the things God created? No!

Sickness did not come from God

I want us to know this truth and hold on to it like our lives depend on it.

In Genesis 1, the Bible says everything God made was good. God saw it and confirmed it was good.

To understand healing and God's divine will about it, we will have to first check how sickness came in.

If you really want to understand a disease or sickness, you should be focused more on the cause than measures to treat it. Understanding the cause helps you to know exactly how to tackle that problem.

So let's go to the very beginning. The men that lived in the beginning lived really long. For 17 centuries, men lived for long: 777years, 979 years 365years etc

None of these people died sick. They grew old and just died

No heart disease, no diabetes, no cancer. There is an expectation today for older people to fall sick. In fact, some people save ahead for it.

A lot of us have and invest in health insurance also, of course for the days we fall sick. Sickness has become a normal in our world today

Question: How and when do we think sickness came into the world?

Samson: After the fall of man and sin came into the world. Sin brought death, sickness, pain and all the paparazzi

Question: Can anyone remember the first mention of sin in the bible?

Samson: Genesis 48 vs 1

The fall of man caused a lot of things. Sin resulted in sickness. Man became sick

And not just physical sickness. Sickness is being in a state or condition of illness. A state that is not normal, something that opposes the original wiring of man. 

The minute man fell, man became sick all round. Man became sick in the spirit, body, everything you can think of. Man's normal wiring changed. So man started living a life that is not in accordance with the original creation template.

There is this myth that AA genotypes have malaria easily So I used to claim it. Oh! I'm AA so malaria is a normal thing for me. I can have it like 10 times in a year because I'm AA. And the Holy spirit opened my eyes to it that I was confessing a normal that is not my template. 

It's normal for people to become sick now. It's normal for people to build hospitals today

Imagine Adam and Eve building hospital before the fall. For what? The world became corrupted and cursed at the fall of man. And it will keep deteriorating till this world is ended.

Does this mean we have to accept sickness until our new world? No!

“For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” Jeremiah‬ ‭30:17‬ ‭NKJV

I will restore you back to the original order. What I had in mind when I created man. Though God did not cause sickness in the world, God did not push man to sin. Yet God still actively found a way to restore man to the original order.

Today, as we celebrate Easter, one of the things we actually celebrate is the fulfilment of God's word to the prophet Jeremiah. So if we accept sickness as a part of us, we are really not true partakers of sickness. One of the things Jesus' death accomplished for us is healing.

"I don't know why God made me sick" "I know God wants to use this sickness for a purpose"

Erhm...

God is not using anything. God is not responsible for that sickness. His wish is that you are in good health always. 

Jesus bore so much pain just to make sure we were healed. Do you know how they beat Him? Even the person that steals in open markets does not get beaten up that much o

And that was allowed for just one reason: Your healing

A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good. John 10:10 ERV

A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to  give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow! John 10:10 TPT

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10 AMPC

Christ came so we will enjoy life. Sick people are always in pain, that's not enjoyment. Sickness leads to Death. The aim is to kill, so we can be assured it is from the devil

One thing most of us struggle to get is that the same power that saved us healed us. These things were worked at the same time.

Do we believe we are saved? If yes, why then do we believe we are not or can't be healed?

The first time I had this conversation with the Holy Spirit

I kuku responded

Nobody can see salvation physically na. So it's just a thing of the heart. But health can be seen. I can see if I'm healed or not

And the spirit reminded me of this saying: Faith precedes manifestation

Seeing is believing ❌ This is not kingdom principle, so it is a lie.

We believe then we see. 

If we doubt healing, then we can as well start doubting salvation. Because that one is even more complex

There is no ID number given to you to confirm you are saved except that faith. So what if you get to heaven and they say you did not get saved on earth 😂. It sounds somehow abi?

Exactly.

That faith that we have that we've been saved, we need to have it that we've been healed to. 

One of the things I've found that makes believers to allow sickness is this belief that God sends sickness, allows sickness or uses it. 

God is not planning to prove anything through that sickness. God always works things out for our good

We should not mistake this to be God causing sin Himself so He can prove a point. That is wicked

Remember we just finished the gospel according to  John and we all agreed that Jesus is the living expression of God. 

If Jesus cannot do it, God cannot do it!

We've discussed sickness coming in as a result of sin. There are also human actions that lead to sickness

Bad health habits

Bad eating habits can lead to sickness. Gluttony can lead to obesity which leads to sickness

Health compatibility in marriage

This is another reason for sickness

Before now, our parents didn't know so much.

They were ignorant about these things

But now, our generation is very much aware of  health compatibility, yet people still marry without giving a care about genotypes. And it's more of carelessness than faith on their part

If it were faith, they will activate the healing before they get married and even heal the person ahead. 

There are so many other physical causes of sickness. But everything still points back to the fall of man. And the devil

If man didn't fall. If we decide to eat all the food in the garden, I doubt that we will get obese and be sick. I don't even know if we will be hungry in the first place

So we must know, recognize and accept that only one person is responsible for sickness and it is the devil. If you are sick or you know anyone who is, let this be your thoughts and belief:

The devil is responsible for that sickness

This determines our reaction and how we treat sickness in the long run

So I want us all to believe this strongly

We will stop here tonight and continue on Sunday. Please don't miss any part of this teaching.

Healing gifts will be activated before the end of this series

Testimonies will flow. Before we meet next week, I want you to start praying for the sick around you.

If it is not the will of God then it should not be. So start praying for the sick now

FAITHFULNESS IN GOD'S SERVICE

What is faithfulness? What do we understand by faithfulness?

Ally: I think faithfulness is being "committed" to something or someone

Some synonyms of faithful include, loyalty, allegiance, fidelity. All these are strong words that we use in everyday speeches. They sure mean a lot to us.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Galatians‬ ‭5:22‬ ‭NKJV

“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭TPT

KJV actually renders the word "faithfulness" as "faith". The Greek word used there does not mean "faith" but "faithfulness". This means that faithfulness is already a fruit we have, produced in us by the Spirit of God residing in us. We can be faithful because we're born again. What this means is, God does not require from us what he has not given us capabilities to be or do

Having established what faithfulness means, what then is service? By English definition, service is an act of being of assistance to someone.

Ally: Doing something for someone

I want us to properly understand the terms used in the definition of service 

1. Assistance

2. Someone 

If we say God's service, it means we're being of assistance to God. Think about it for a minute

Will God, the God of the Heavens and Earth, that created everything by the word of mouth? Is there anything he cannot do? We all say "what God cannot do does not exist" and we say right. If so, why will God, needing no help require my service? i.e. my assistance?

We'll unravel as we proceed.

WHY SHOULD WE BE FAITHFUL IN GOD'S SERVICE?

1. God is faithful 

God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 NLT

“God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭NLT

We see that scriptures established that God is faithful. Firmly committed to us. He is loyal. 

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 2 Timothy 2:13 NLT

2. God requires faithfulness 

And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. Luke 12:42 NLT

The Lord Jesus himself told parables on faithfulness. It shows how highly he requires it.

3. The Apostles demanded faithfulness even as they were faithful

You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. 2 Timothy 2:2 NLT

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 1 Corinthians 3:10 NLT

In 2 Timothy 2:2, we see a plan for 4 generations to receive the gospel simply on the premise of faithfulness. 

Paul was faithful and committed to Timothy

Timothy should be faithful in commuting to faithful men

The faithful men should be faithful in committing to others! What a big deal! 

Apostle Paul called himself a wise master builder! What an accolade!

4. We're beneficiaries of faithfulness

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18‭-‬20 NLT

Post resurrection, Jesus committed the gospel to 11 people. 11 unlearned people. Those 11 men ran with the gospel with faithfulness and that's why we've the gospel today. Think of Paul, who suffered many perils, yet wouldn't relent in the preaching of the gospel, even in prison, he still was concerned for his converts. 

What is going to happen to the next generation? Can they boast on our faithfulness as a reason while they heard the gospel?

5. Ministry requires it 

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 1 Corinthians 3:10 NLT

If you're going to build, it requires carefulness and faithfulness. We've been called to build men! We might say, oh, I'm not a pastor or evangelist or any 5 fold ministry. But all believer have a ministry of reconciliation

In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God. 2 Corinthians 5:19 TPT

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF FAITHFUL MEN

The Bible is replete with men that served God, from the old testament to the new Testament and served with faithfulness.

a. Our Lord Jesus Christ 

We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! Hebrews 12:2 TPT

Jesus showed the example of faithfulness! Faithful to the end! I want us to know that Jesus died as a man like you and I, not with a body higher than ours with maybe higher threshold of pain, no! I mean Jesus could have taken the beatings, mockery, spitting, carrying the Cross etc. And then on the cross, even with nails and crown if thorns on, he could have looked at the people mocking his kingship and come down, pull out the nails and say "una no even worth am"😃

What made Jesus stay? Faithfulness to the cause! This is to say that faithfulness would require us pushing through the inconveniences, pain, rejection, tiredness, discouragements etc! 

I mean, how many of us leave our secular job (assisting a man)  because of tiredness?  Why then would we leave God's work?

b.  Moses

Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My household. Numbers 12:7 HCSB

See God boast of Moses' faithfulness! 

c. Timothy 

This is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 1 Corinthians 4:17 HCSB

We all know how Paul worked, yet he acknowledged Timothy's faithfulness. 

d. The disciples of Jesus 

The disciples of Jesus were faithful and supportive of Jesus' ministry and of course after his early ministry - Acts 4:19-20

e.  David and Jonathan: 1 Sam 23:15-17

f. Other believers in the bible 

 Epaphras - Col 1:7

Onesimus- Col 4:9

Silvanus - 1 Peter 5:12

Tychicus - Eph 6:21

The list is inexhaustible.

Jesus in Matthew 24:45 says 

“Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? Matthew 24:45 HCSB

The master cannot be in charge of his household, so he requires a faithful slave!

Ministry is doing for God, what God cannot do for himself. Think about it. Does God need help? No! But this one thing, he does! 

If we see service to God as the God who made the worlds relying on us to do stuff for him, to wins souls he died for, to cater to the needs of his body (the church), to look after that brother or sister, to give to that needy, to pray for that person, just this one thing and we cannot be faithful? 

Let's have a sober reflection. 

Faithfulness is big to God, it must matter to us. 

Just as we won't do our secular job anyhow, let's not do same for God.

This is the assistance, this is our service. And you know what, like we started with, it's not a demand from God, what we cannot give. 

Remember Galatians 5:22...the fruit of our spirit is... Faithfulness. We have it's! Let's draw from within!

EVANGELISM

We already started the conversation on Evangelism last month and some of us already started doing this physically.

First of all...:What is Evangelism?

Samson: Evangelism is the act of telling people about Jesus, the Good News, using every media available.

Ally: Evangelism, I think, is letting people know about Christ's sacrifice. Drawing men to accept Christ and serve God. Can be through speech, music, dance, etc etc

Chelsea: I think it is preaching the Gospel of Christ to people

Evangelism is simply sharing the gospel.

What is the Gospel? Good news

Let’s look at News stations for example. Imagine that they are hoarding news. Imagine they are shy to share news. Imagine Arise TV expects people to know the truth of what is happening by just looking at their body language.

It sounds odd, funny and stupid at the same time right? That’s because news is meant to be shared. It’s meant to be amplified. Everyone should know about it. If nobody shared the news, we’d live in ignorance about so many things and we will pay for it.

Imagine there is a curfew at 9pm today and the news houses refused to broadcast it. People will go out at that time and be arrested, because someone failed to do their job.

As believers, we’ve been called to broadcast. You are a broadcaster in this kingdom. Our duty is to share the gospel. It is the commission Jesus gave to everyone of us

So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time.” Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 ERV

We’ve talked about following before here. Followership/discipleship is such a strong word

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans‬ ‭10:14‬ ‭NKJV

People do not become followers to who they don’t believe in. There is no way they can also believe in a person they’ve not heard about. The only way people get to know about Jesus is when we open our mouth to preach.

Jesus was very strategic in His time here on earth. He definitely could not reach everyone directly in His life time, so what did He do? He trained some directly with the commission to tell this good news and raise followers of Him (Christ). And these men in turn raised other men. And those ones, more men.

Somebody told somebody that told somebody that told another person till it got to us. If people had broken the chain, the gospel might probably have gone extinct today. We can’t afford to break the chain

Here’s the thing: A lot of us believers know that the gospel should be shared. We understand the importance of it. But we are sometimes still reluctant to share. Some of us are also looking for “perfect moments” Or people that will reach out to us like Nicodemus in John 3 to know about the gospel. We will most likely sleep here. It is our duty to reach out to unsaved people

Jesus said: Go ye into the world

Some of us are also trying to be politically correct. We do not want to come off offensive. So we only talk about Jesus to people that talk about Him with us. If we do it with outsiders, we are very diplomatic

We don’t want to offend anybody

Flash news: The gospel itself is offensive (to those on the path of destruction)

To everyone that is unsaved, this good news doesn’t first sound to them as good. In fact, they do not think on the good in the news at first but how it strips them. “How dare you come and tell me I’ve been on the wrong path all my life with my 2 PhDs”

I remember Maraji (Maraji is a Nigerian comedian) posting on IG that Jesus is the only way

Not Buddha 

Not Allah

Not Sango

Just Jesus

And guess what? Even Christians got offended. Their excuse? She said it on a Muslim festive day

“So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:20-21‬ ‭NLT

So many times we are trying to package the gospel in such a way that is not offensive so much that we water down the message itself. We want to translate the gospel in a way that our hearers will like. Feel good messages. There is no feel good way to tell someone that they are on a destructive path and are subjected to the wrath of God. Even when we show them what Christ has done for them

Have you noticed that usually when people accept Christ/meet Him, their first reaction borders tears and soberness? Anyone noticed this? That a new convert is most likely not jumping around at the time of conversion

Samson: Yes

It is because people do not accept to be made right unless first they acknowledge they’ve been wrong. You cannot tell someone to come and join path to life if they believe that is where they are already

The Gospel is truly good news. The acceptance of this news means stripping of self. Some people would rather die than be emptied in such a way.

So what we are doing with these people is pat them on the back and really deceive them that they are on the right path. That is wickedness. You see that first confrontation that brings people’s defense up? We cannot avoid it. This doesn’t mean you should go and be confronting people and be harsh on them in the name of preaching o.

The Gospel will do its work in its own. Ours is to just share it. It’s a loving news so share it lovingly. There’s a difference between sharing in love and patronizing people to avoid backlash. 

One thing God has been hammering to me is the aggressiveness we should apply to evangelism in this season. It’s not a once in a while thing. We evangelize like our lives depend on it

God cares for souls. God cares for men. And He is really counting on us to just tell them about Jesus.

Some of us, it is shame that stops us from preaching the gospel “So people don’t look at us as if we are too spiricoco”. We don’t want to look like uncool kids. 

Hell fire is not cool one bit. Please, preach the gospel to men. 

“So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Romans‬ ‭1:15-16‬ ‭NLT

How many believers look forward to evangelism? Paul looked forward to it. He was eager

By identifying strongly with this gospel, people will leave you. 

You are dating cool Christians? They will walk out on you  “How can my girlfriend be preaching and constituting a nuisance in public transport”. The person is a Christian too 😁

But will we stop?

No! You see that salvation for everyone who believes ehn, is our motivation. And truly, people will believe. I already explained the success part of evangelism to us before now

A strong evangelism key is prayer. Paul longed to preach the gospel in Rome but long before then he was praying for them

“God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.” Romans‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NLT

Pray for people. Don’t stop. Don’t be weary

Prayer opens the doors to soul winning. Prayer also gives you discernment and helps you with the right words in presenting the Gospel. Cos we can’t go to people reciting the same 4 lines (60s) pastor taught you. Jesus approached the Samaritan woman with discussion on water and introduced Himself as the living water.

Another thing is Love for people. When you love people, you automatically carry the burden to preach

Note that you can’t love people if you don’t love God. And your love for God is seen in how you love people. 

How best do you love he unsaved? Show them the father’s love. This is a prayer point for us all

That God should help the church love people truly so much that our hearts yearn for their salvation. There was a bad habit the Holy Spirit called my attention to

If I’m in a ride ehn (Uber or taxi) and I’m not in the mood or led to preach the gospel, I will fix my earpiece in. I don’t want to hear a word from the driver.

Don’t talk to me abeg

But you see, when I want to preach, I’m all smiles and ready. What if the driver wants to be silent?

What if he doesn’t want small talks like me too?

Another thing was, I used to set out with mindset to evangelize. So it’s like I’m looking for fish to catch with my net 😂😂

We want the Uber driver to listen by force but we don’t want to listen to them

God listens to people. God has an agenda for men o. But He listens to men 

He allows us express.

Genuinely listen and connect.

Also don’t listen to fish out what is wrong in what they are saying 

A lot of us believers do this (even with other believers ). It’s not good. Don’t wait for such perfect moments.

Be led by the spirit: If you are inviting anyone into a life of the spirit, then you yourself must be led by the spirit

Be very sensitive in evangelizing

Good news if not delivered rightly will sound bad

Who determines mode of delivery? The spirit! Allow Him lead you

I’m going to share the remaining part of the messages I got at the  spiritual pool on Feb 20