 Right, good morning everyone, welcome to a new week, I hope you had a great weekend. Alright, let's begin this time with a word of prayer. Maybe one of us can please lead us in prayer? Say, if you're available, can you please lead us in prayer? Yes, Pastor, see him? Okay, good, awesome. Alright, let us pray. Dear Father in Heaven, we bless you, we glorify you. Thank you for the weekend that has passed and we thank you for all the places of worship, Lord, we encountered you this morning and yesterday morning and we bless you, Lord, for a new week and we thank you, Lord, for another time, Lord, to be gathered here to learn at your feet. We pray that this time, Lord, we will be spending, Lord, to learn, Lord, more on how to be, how to take your kingdom to the marketplace, how to be efficient Christians in the marketplace and how to be the light in the marketplace. Lord, we pray that, Lord, impact us more with more wisdom through your Son who will be instructing us. We pray that all that we have learned so far, we pray that we will put them to practice and that your wisdom in us, Lord, will continually be increased, oh Lord, each time we learn and as we continue to learn. Thank you for the Spirit of God who will give us wisdom and understanding this time, Lord, as we expose our minds of God to your truths. Blessed be your name forever and more in Jesus' name we have prayed. Amen. Amen, amen, amen. Thank you, Sayyih, for leading us. All right, so last week we came to chapter 16. We looked at challenges and tough times and some of the main things that we covered was to understand that in life, there are gonna be mountains, but God's promise is every mountain can be conquered. And that should be our understanding. That should be something that we must stand on that no matter how difficult or no matter how challenging times may look ahead, every mountain can be conquered. God himself says, if you say to this mountain, be removed and be thrown into the sea, it would be so if we do it in faith. So then we looked at maintaining a positive attitude, being thankful, especially when things are going all right, we can be thankful. But what about challenging times and difficult times? So the Bible instructs us to be thankful even through those seasons. And we looked at a beautiful example in Acts 16 where Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, they were beaten, they were flogged, they were chained hands and feet thrown into prison. They had all the reasons to probably complain or murmur or say, God, what is this? We were doing your ministry, but what did they do? They sang hymns of praise and thankfulness to God. And so we saw the outcome that God just, the chains were broken, the entire prison doors were, prison was brought down and many families were brought to Christ through that event. So maintaining a positive attitude, being thankful is very important. Now, I just wanna add this, in times when you go through these really stressful or challenging times, one of the things that we can do that has really helped me personally is we must really say to ourself. We must speak to ourself and say, okay, this is just a season, I can look into God's word, I can trust God through this season. Because if we don't look at God's word and rely on God's promises, it's very easy to just deviate and go into the negative, go into what the enemy is trying to do. And we focus on what the enemy is doing than what God can do. And so it's very important to sit and read God's word and understand that God is, even through these challenging times, he has promised us so many beautiful promises. Let me look at don't lose confidence in God. That's what David did as well. And then we also looked at tap into efficient, empowered efficiency, which means during difficult times, during challenging times, both in ministry and in the workplace, we can tap into empowered efficiency. Meaning, for example, in ministry, things may be going really tough at a season, but God can give us that additional grace, that additional strength, that additional power, which we don't normally experience in our day-to-day lives, but there's that empowered efficiency. All of a sudden, you feel there's this daunting task ahead, but suddenly we feel, okay, I can do this because God is with me. And we tap into that empowered efficiency. And we tap into God's power and say, God, I look at what's ahead, it looks big, there are deadlines, there are projects, there are things that has to be done, but I'm gonna trust in you. And we tap into that, that source, God's strength, we tap into it and say, God, empower me. And this is very beautiful because when we do that, I love that verse in Zechariah chapter four verse six, it says, I'm just going a little bit away, but I just wanted to say this. Zerub-e-Bel was a king at that time and he was ready to, God told through Zechariah, tell Zerub-e-Bel to build the temple. Now, Zerub-e-Bel is thinking to himself, how can I build the temple? Even if I build it, there are people, there are enemies who are going to come and destroy it. The Syrians, the people who are around us, they're going to come and destroy the temple. And Zerub-e-Bel also taught to himself, I don't have the enough resources, enough people, but Zechariah chapter four verse six, it says, it's like Zechariah is reminding Zerub-e-Bel thing, it's not by might, it's not by power, but it's by the Holy Spirit. So, Zerub-e-Bel, as a king, you may be powerful, you may be mighty, you may be a great man, people may respect you, honor you and do all those things, you are the king, as of now. But it's not by your might, it's not by your power, but it's by the power of the Holy Spirit that the temple will be built. And so, there will be times when we feel that a task is impossible. This is the worst that has always encouraged me, Zechariah four six, it's not by my mind, it's not by my strength, but it's by the power of the Holy Spirit. We tap into the power that God has for us, right? And we also looked at God being our boss, and we looked at an example of unfair bosses as well in the book of Genesis when Jacob, Jacob when he worked under Rachel and Leah's father, he worked there, but he was treated unfairly, but later on we see that God blessed Jacob more than he could imagine. So in the workplace, in the ministry, we will find people or leaders or bosses who may treat us unfairly, but don't worry about it. We know that our reward is from God, God will honor those who work diligently for himself, right? Then finally, we also looked at not to stoop down to organizational politics, gossip and all these things, to stay away from it as much as possible, stay holy, stay pure. Now in a world that we are looking at right now, gossip and politics and all of it is no more kept closed. Sometimes it's all in the open nowadays, you've got employees openly hate each other, probably 10, 15 years back, if you're working in a team, the employees would, even though they didn't like each other, they wouldn't say it to each other, but they would skip it to themselves, but nowadays in a time that we are living in, they just say, hey, I don't want anything to do with you or people will just, there's this open hatredness and all of these things, but as believers, we must stay away from all of this, gossip, politics. These will only waste our time and bring down our efficiency in whatever tasks that we have to do, right? So we'll pick up from the point, resolving business conflicts among brethren. So this is chapter 16, point is resolving business conflicts among brethren. Let's read Matthew chapter 18, 15 to 17. Matthew 18, 15 to 17. Yes, could one of us please read that? Matthew 18, 15 to 17. If your brother sins against you, go to him and sow him his fault, but do it privately. Just between yourself, if he listened to you, you have worn your brother back, but if he will not listen to you, take one or two other person with you so that every accusation may be felt by the testimony of two or more witnesses, as the scripture says, and if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a text collector. Text collector, thank you, Pastor. Thank you, Abhinash. So here, it's very interesting to see, conflicts is something that will always be there. Whether we are working in the corporate sector, whether we are working in ministry, conflicts will be there right now. As a young man, when I got into ministry, I always thought, okay, ministry is gonna be this beautiful place where everything goes on smoothly. But not so, right? There will be people, remember that we're working with different people, they have different temperaments, different characters, different attributes that they have. So there will be conflicts, but there are ways to resolve these conflicts, especially if it's in a church setting or ministry setting, it's very important to handle conflicts peacefully. Now, the right thing to do is if there's a conflict as a leader, you bring both of them together and you hear them both out, right? One of the mistakes that we make is we immediately pass judgment, right? Okay, this person has been in ministry for 10 years, but the other person has been there for one year. So the guy who's in ministry for 10 years is right. It's right because he's been there for 10 years. Now, I'm passing judgment without really understanding what the problem is, right? And so among in ministry, get both of them together, those who have conflicts, right? And as much as possible, peacefully resolve the matters. Now, if you feel that matters, the matter is, it's gone too, meaning it's been there for too long and it's not going to be easily resolved or it's very serious matter, get other leaders involved, get your senior leaders involved, right? So for example, if you're a life group leader, you see a conflict, you try to peaceably resolve that conflict, but if you see that not really working out and there's still hatred, there's still anger between them, get other leaders involved, get those who are matured in Christ involved. Now, the mistake to do is when we know that there's a, there's a misunderstanding or a conflict in our team to just ignore it and say, okay, we'll just pray, we'll just have worship times and pray, everything will go on well, God will minister to them and they'll become all right. That is the wrong thing to do. I'll always remember this example. It's like, you're dusting an entire room, you're taking the dust, going to the corner of the room and putting it under a carpet so that nobody sees it. But the problem is the dust is still in the room. It's just that nobody can see it now, it's under the carpet. And so while resolving conflicts, make sure that both of them are together, the parties involved are together and it's a good discussion. Both sides of the story is heard. Now, it goes on to say that, if they don't listen, put them out of the church but what we're trying to understand here is they will come a time when we see that there is constant, constant conflicts between people in the team. Now, the right thing, especially in ministry, the right thing to do is to let them know that it's affecting everyone in the church or it's affecting everyone in the team and then probably you could give them a break, tell them why don't you just take a break for some time so that things get better, give people time. But as much as possible, do it peacefully. Now, here's another very important point to consider in terms of resolving conflicts. As leaders, we will give correction to people. Now, we must understand that there are people who are matured in Christ, there are people who are still growing. So the same feedback or the same correction we give me, the response may be different from people. So some people may say, how can you say that? Some people may say, yes, I should change, I should make sure that things are right. I'll give you this example. There was this early when I moved into the pastoral role in Mangalore and here, there were just a few of us, right? So about 10 of us and I remember telling the church, let's come on time to church, right? Church starts at 10.30 a.m. Let's try our best to come on time to church, right? Because there were only 10 of us and it shouldn't be like we are having worship and there's just two or three of us. So those families and those 10 of them, they took it well, but a few students fell bad. They said, how can pastor say that? And I didn't know about it, right? So I just said it so that we can all, you know, 10.30 is a comfortable time in the morning. So, but the students felt bad. And I noticed that after a couple of weeks that they were not, you know, themselves. And I sat down with them and I said, is there anything bothering you? And immediately they said, yes, what you said three Sundays back, you know, actually the Sunday that we came late, this is what happened and this, and so I had to really sit and explain to them why I said, you know, let's try to come on time because this is what it is. You know, we're only a few people, we're setting an example. And then as the church grows and, you know, people see that we're coming late every week, then it's like, you know, we're setting the wrong example. And so then later on they realized, so even while giving feedback correction, you know, do it humbly and love. The wrong thing to say would be like, how can you not come at 10.30, 10.30 is so comfortable. You're the only students, you don't have, you know, family, you just have to wake up, have a breakfast and come. The wrong thing to do is to react like that. Even though we are leaders, God has called us to bring correction humbly in love, right? So in the workplace as well, use the same principles as much as possible, peaceably resolve conflicts. If they decide not to talk to you or they decide, okay, I don't want to, you know, partner with this person, it's all right. But as long as you know that you have done your part and you are, you know, in line with God's word, it's all right, right? All right, let's go to the next point. Don't let male chauvinism or prejudice shake you. Just be who you are. Relations 328, I'll read that. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male or female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. This is so wonderful, right? Paul himself is saying this, you know, when we look at ministry, a lot of times they say that, you know, there's this whole understanding that women should not preach or women should not teach. They should not be on the pulpit. Now, this is, I'm first I look at ministry and then I come to the workplace. Sometimes even in ministry, male chauvinism can be strongly felt, right? Meaning, oh, this, you have a woman as a pastor. You know, they sometimes it happens in ministry as well, right? And, you know, they look as of that, okay, they're not as powerful as men. Now don't let all of these shake you. I'm talking to the women, right? So people say, no, only a man should be a pastor, not so. What does Paul say? You know, sometimes people use the words where Paul's writing to Timothy and he's saying, I do not let a woman to preach. Now, again, we must take text and put it into context. The same Paul is writing in Galatians and saying there is neither Jew nor Greek. There's neither male or female. We are all one in Christ. Of course, there are positions and responsibilities. But we must understand that male chauvinism will be there in the workplace, will be there in ministry as well. There will be these situations, but women don't be discouraged, right? God is the one who called us. God is the one who will, you know, empower us, right? So sometimes it could be racial, it could be cultural, it could be social prejudices as well. So now all these things against women, but don't worry, God used women in the past. God uses women even right now. And, you know, don't let those things shake you. And we're coming to a, thankfully, we are now in a season where, you know, everyone are treated equally. And hopefully things will get better even in the workplace as well. So next one is say no to sexual, male sexual advances and requests. Let's read, Proverbs chapter five was 21 to 23. Proverbs five, 21 to 23. Yes, any one of us? Proverbs five, 21 to 23. Yes, any, anyone's there? Can I read the question? Yes, yes, go ahead, go ahead. Let's go ahead, Shri Kuman. Yeah, yes, yes. Proverbs five, 21 to 23. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. And if one with all his goings, his own iniquity shall take the wicked himself. And he shall be holding with the courts of the sin. He shall die without instructions, sorry, without instruction. And in greatness of his folding, he shall go astray. Right, thank you, Shri Kuman. Thank you, Shri Kuman. So there will be times and it's very sad to say this. In the corporate sector, there will be times when bosses who are male will make sexual advances and requests to women as women, stay strong and say a big no. No matter what the outcome is, remember that God is with you. You're doing the right thing. Remember this when Joseph, part of his wife came running to him. Joseph was in prison. Somehow, Potiphar took a liking to Joseph and said, okay, I'll get you out of prison. You just work in my house. And here Potiphar's wife comes and what does Joseph do? Joseph runs away. Now, Joseph doesn't think, if I run away, what if Potiphar, no, my boss, he's my boss, what if he gets upset? And what if there are some false accusations on me and what if I end up in the prison again? Oh, I don't want to end up in the prison. And what if he had gone ahead with those advances and requests from Potiphar's wife? Things would have just gone completely wrong. Maybe he would have never ended up in that prison again. Maybe they wouldn't have called him to interpret the dreams. Everything could have gone wrong. So remember, when you as women say no, it is you're protecting yourself and you're aligning yourself to God's will. Now, the outcome at that moment may be wrong, meaning it may not be in favor of you, but remember that God is with you, right? I remember this story that I read. It's a real life story and event that happened many, many years back. This happened in the West where this pastor, he had just begun his church. He was a young man, he began his church and church began to grow 100, 200 people. But what happened was he began to look at girls and women and they would come for counseling and meetings and all of these things. His ministry really got really good and he got married, good children, but there was all these things that were happening. And after many years, some of the women came out and they just went directly to the wife and said that, you know, this is what happened. This is what happened five years back. This is what happened three years back. This is what happened before he was married. I used to come to this church. This is what he did. And the wife was shattered, right? And the whole ministry was in question during that time. So as women, just say a big no and no that you're protecting yourself and keeping yourself clean in the eyes of God, right? Again, another point would be to stay away from the woman seducer. Don't play with fire. Like I said, those in ministry, those in the corporate sector, stay away from sexual favors, stay away from expectations and rewards through sexual favors, right? Proverbs 6, 26, 29, it's really a verse that brings out a very good meaning. A man can hire a prostitute for the price of a loaf of bread, but adultery will cost him all he has, right? Can you carry fire against your chest without burning your clothes? Can you walk on hot coals without burning your feet? It is just as dangerous to sleep with another man's wife. And so the outcome, now Solomon is talking out of experience. He's saying the outcome's gonna be bad. It could be just that moment of pleasure or enjoyment just to satisfy the desires of that moment. But can you play with fire? Can you put fire on your chest and can it be that your clothes won't get burned? And so as Christians, as believers, we must stay away from it, both men and women. I believe that as a church, a global church when I, we see that a lot and a lot of leaders in the ministry are falling in this area. Falling in this area of sexual immorality, fornication, adultery. And the enemy knows whom to attack, how to attack and when to attack. He knows, right? So we must always be on our guard. Why do you, why is it that Paul writes in Ephesians? Paul is writing to the church in Ephesians where it's a place which had more than thousands of prostitutes and he ends Ephesians chapter six and he says, put on the armor of God. Because at any time, at any moment, the enemy can use any tool to destroy what God has done for you in your life. And there are many, many examples of the past where not only in the West, not only in other countries, but even in our nation, many examples, pastors and leaders have fallen in this area. So we must be on our guard. Set boundaries. Set, you know, here's the thing, right? I always say this to the leaders that we are raising up. We can know all everything about the Bible, right? We can know about, okay, old Testament and New Testament revelations and know all these great revelations, right? We can know revelation upon revelation upon revelation. We can know all of these things, but we can fail in the smallest area of our life. We can have great revelations, right? Oh, you know, we may know the whole of, you know, the end times and the whole of what's gonna happen and, you know, do a whole study on the Old Testament and New Testament, no Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew and all of these things, wonderful. It's wonderful to study and learn all of it. But the Bible says that if we falter in this, we have failed. Revelation is not going to help when the enemy is using, you know, sexual favors. Revelation is not going to help at that time, right? So it's very important to stay away, right? Stay away from things that can, you know, destroy us. Fire destroys, natural fire, they destroy. So why do we want to play with it, right? Sometimes we take the chance also, right? No, let's stay away from it. Sometimes we are ridiculed for our faith. Next point, we're ridiculed for your faith, but stay strong, know that you are being blessed, right? People in the workplace, especially Christians, we can be ridiculed, right? Oh, this guy is, you know, he thinks he's Jesus incarnated or, you know, hey, don't talk against him. You know, don't talk anything wrong with him because he, you know, I remember when I was in the workplace, they used to say, share this. They used to get me, they used to get a bottle of water and they'd say, hey, Paul, can you turn it into wine? You know, this is say things like that. And I used to just laugh it off and say, I wish I could, but I'm not Jesus. And they knew that, you know, I knew that they were mocking, they were ridiculing me. Many times they would say, hey, you know, Paul, can you come to the smoking zone? I wanted to give you this file and they know I don't come there. And so they ridiculed and all of that will be there, but stand strong, right? Know that God is going to bless you, right? Sometimes they may, you know, I remember one time this, my boss came up to me and said, Paul, you know, the entire team has agreed that, you know, we must say this. It was to say a lie to some of these senior, other senior bosses. So the team has agreed. Not all depends on you. I said, I'm sorry, I can't lie. They said, okay, if you don't, then we'll have to, you know, remove you from the team and you'll have to put your papers down. I said, it's all right. But I can't lie to an entire, to my bosses and say that, you know, when we didn't do something, how can we say that we did it? You know, eventually it's going to come out. Eventually they're going to know that it's a lie and you can't hide it. So I was telling them that and they said to me, hey, don't preach to me. You can keep your preaching on Sunday and all of that. So yeah, there will be times when you're ridiculed, but stand strong, stand strong on your principles. You know, I remember that whole thing, they asked me, I said, no, I can't. They said, okay, pack your bags. I actually packed my, I opened my drawers, packed everything. I said, I'll go, I mean, it's all right. There are many companies we can, I can join another company. And that same day I packed my drawers and kept all my things. And I said, okay, I'll not come back. I even typed the email and kept it ready. But then my team leader came up to me and said, so we've decided not to go ahead with this. We've decided we'll just, we'll not lie, we'll just say the truth and we will work on the project again. And so it turned out to my favor. Of course, the whole team were very upset. They hated me. They said, how can, because of you, we have to work on this project again. I said, it's all right. I remember that week was a very difficult week for me because every time we would come and they say, oh, because of him, we have to work on this, but it's all right. Know that you're being blessed, right? Next point, wisdom or answers, nepotism. There will be times and we see nepotism even in church. Pastor's son, okay, you also began to preach whether they are called, whether they are, I remember speaking to this pastor and he said, I want myself, it's good that pastors want their children to be in ministry and all of that, but never force your children. I was speaking to a pastor and he asked me, so you have two children. I said, yes, I have two boys. Okay, so they go to be great preachers. I said, God willing, but I want my elder son to be, he's more interested in airplanes and he likes fixing toys. He's very fascinated with airplanes. So he wants to be an aeronautical engineer. Said, what, how can you tell him to be an aeronautical engineer if he should be a pastor? I said, no, he wants to be an aeronautical engineer. He can be an aeronautical engineer and do ministry and he's only six years old, right? So this happens in ministry where if you're a boss, you want your children, they also should become bosses or if you're a pastor, the children also should become pastor. Now remember, your wisdom will get your noticed and give you access to places and otherwise, you know, that are retained for family members. Deal with wisdom, right? Don't get angry and upset and say, that's my place, I should get that position, it's all right. Let it go, but walk in wisdom. The next point, last point in this chapter is the pink slip and honorable exits. Let's read Romans 8, 28. Any one of us, it's a common verse, Romans 8, 28. Romans 8, 28. We know that in all things God works for good, but those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Thank you. Thank you, Christopher. Now, our time in an organization may come to an end. Sometimes we may be asked to leave, the employer may ask us to move on. Sometimes we choose to leave. So whatever the reason is, we are to do it in a friendly and honorable way. And very important is to plan and prepare for your next step as well, right? For example, if you're moving to another job, make sure that you have a job in hand next before you leave your current job. Now, many young people have made this mistake. I remember talking to this very knowledgeable young man and he said, it was somewhere around 2019. He's doing a wonderful job, but he quit his job. And he said, you know, I want to rest for two years. So it was all right. But what happened was the pandemic hit in 2020. Unfortunately, after that, he was finding it very difficult. What he thought in his heart was he had a lot of work experience, a lot of credentials under his name. He thought that, you know, I could get a job anywhere. Let me just take a break. He had saved up some money as well to help him during the time of the break. But then the pandemic hit. The whole of 2020 went, whole 2021 also he was struggling because what he saved up was all getting over and on the work front, people are saying he's too qualified. Oh, you're too qualified. I can't pay you so much. So he was not getting a job. So it got into a problem. Now, when we are leaving a company, always do it in an honorable way. No, I remember when I was exiting out of, I wanted to join the Bible college. And I told my boss, you know, I'm giving a two months notice before I sent him an email. I sat, I spoke to him. I said, I want to give my two months notice period. And he asked me, what do you want to do? Because there were IJPs coming up. They said, you could become a manager. Why don't you stay? I said, no, I want to join the Bible college. And he was so taken aback. He said, your house is walkable distance from the office. You've got a morning nine o'clock shift, right? People wait to have a day shift. You know, usually it's a, you know, graveyard shift. They call it a night shift. You've got a morning shift. You walk to office and go back home. You go home for your lunch. Nobody questions you. You're a good performer here. And it looks like you're online for a promotion in a couple of months. And you're saying you want to leave to join Bible college. And he said, no, you can't go and all of it. But I said, no, I have nothing against the company. I really enjoy the team. I enjoy. And he started apologizing. He started saying, is it because we make fun of you Christian? And I said, no, at all. I understand that you're all just, you know, all our friends, but this is what I want to do. You know, and it was an honorable exit. And I remember they, they all got together. The best thing that they did. And I was really moved by that was they had a, you know, farewell party. And usually they would, you know, have all kinds of liquor and they would have it in a place. That farewell party, right? They booked a hall. Not one of them had liquor. All of them brought Pepsi and, you know, all kinds of juice and chips and snacks. And I was there and I said, what, no alcohol for any of you? They said, no, because you've set the example, right? So, you know, alcohol in this party, but they all were there. And they all stayed back. And so remember that my, it was just one and a half years in that organization, but I was pleased that, you know, God helped me to make an impact. So make your exits honorable as well. Right. So we close with that chapter. Let's quickly, I know we have eight minutes left, but let's get into stewardship or we can probably do that. Right. Let's get into stewardship, right? We can have a few minutes left. So stewardship. Okay. Any questions? Any questions? Any thoughts? Any questions from anyone? I hope this is helpful. I hope you guys are learning. Any questions? Anyone would like to add your thoughts? Any situations that you faced in the workplace? Everyone okay? Are you guys able to understand? Is it something that is, you know, relevant to what you're doing or what you're also going to be doing in the future as well? So, all right. Yes. Go ahead. Yeah. Thank you, pastor. My question is a little strange, pastor, but I just wanted to ask, is it okay in politics as a believer, pastor? This is my question. Oh, yeah, it's all right. It's all right. Yeah. So, you know, there are seven mountains that we usually study about, right? And government is one of them. So, yes, it's all right. We can make an impact in the government sector. For example, you know, in Mangalore, there's this, you know, very well-known politician, right? But he's a believer, right? And, yeah, he's in the politics. He, you know, he tells me at times the things that happen in politics. But, you know, he's been, he keeps telling me how God helps him to different situations. There's been tough times, there've been difficult times, saying no to bribes and how he was ridiculed and mocked for all of this. They tried to get him off the, you know, the role that he has. But God was with him, right? And he was able to, you know, actually make a lot of impact. You know, he helped in children's homes, you know, supporting children's homes. He helped in getting approvals for old age homes. And, you know, basically, you know, doing his part for the society. And he did it in an honorable way. And he's still doing it in an honorable way. So, but he keeps telling me it's a battle. Every day is a battle, right? Because he's well known. And, you know, one of the things I do is, you know, we have a small Bible study, so we don't really, I mean, it was a one-on-one thing earlier on. So, because he can't come to church, right? He can't just openly just come and sit in church because he's, and we understand that, right? He's well known. But he's a believer. And, you know, he does honor the Lord. He loves the Lord. And that's what God has called him for. It's, you know, it's challenging for him. He keeps telling me it's really challenging. You know, one of the things he said was, you know, I'm just waiting. And at the right time, I'll just, you know, launch into ministry. And I was telling him, you know, God has called you on this. You've done so much. You're doing so wonderful. Continue. So, he's encouraged. So, Abinas, to answer your question. Yes, definitely. Look at Daniel. Look at Joseph. They were all in the government. Joseph was the prime minister. David was, sorry. Daniel, again, was prime minister. Shadrach B. Shadrach Bednego. They were in the, you know, decision-making processes there. So, yes, it is, it's going to be a challenge because there's more temptations, more, you know, you're more exposed rather than, you know, being in the ministry or more exposed to the works of the enemy. So, calls for, you know, a higher level of principles and higher level of God's strength upon their lives. Yes. Yes. Thank you, pastor. Actually, the reason I asked pastor, I have seen many believers, they get into the politics and they just lost their faith and they just distract from God. So, that's the reason. Yeah. Thank you, pastor. Yes. That's true, Abinas. Again, it's like, you know, as I said, they're more exposed than others. So, you've got to be really strong. There needs to be times of, you know, daily prayer, reading the word, trusting God. So, it's not as easy as it looks. But, yes, it is difficult. But there are wonderful, you know, politicians who are strong believers in Christ. Yes. Anyone else? Yes. Anyone else have any thoughts? I just thought we'll start with the next chapter next week. So, tomorrow, sorry. Any thoughts? Okay. All right. So, let's take some time to close in prayer. One of us, Salome, is it okay if you can close in prayer for us? Maybe Sri Kumar? All right. Anyone? Anyone of us? Just go ahead. Close in prayer. Yes, pastor. I can bring that. Yeah. Go ahead. Precious Father, we thank you and praise you, Father God, for this wonderful morning which you have given to us. We give you all the glory on our end. Precious Father, we ask you, Holy Spirit, everything what we learned today and what we are learning a lot in this entire class today. Precious Father, let me, Lord Master, use this Lord Master key. Let me be able to use this tool in our life for God, Master. Let me be able to Lord Master, hold on, Lord Master, every instruction is what we learned today, Father God. Help us, Lord Master, to be bold enough to say no to the things which is against your will, which is against your word, Father. Help us to stand strong. Help us to be very, very careful in our work with you, Father God. Protect our relationship with you, God. Give us that grace that we should have a closer intimacy with you, Jesus. We should be able to go deep and deep in you, Jesus. We thank you and praise you, Lord Master. Thank you for blessing your servant, Lord Master, and using him mightily. I give you all the glory on our end, Precious. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Master. Sorry to respond. No problem. No problem. All right. Have a great day ahead. I'll see you tomorrow. God bless.