 Welcome back after the break. Just before we went for a break, we were looking at various aspects we need to keep in mind even as we handle people. So the point we're going to look at now is flattery. Don't accept flattery and do not give it. Now we might be wondering why this point in handling people, you know, because flattery, what flattery really does is when people are continually praising us, telling us how good we are, how, you know, well, how well we let worship, how well we sing, preach, you know, or how good a leader we are, how anointed, how powerful we are. It actually pops us up and it makes us feel important. It brings us to a place where we can move from being humble to a place of pride, which is very, very dangerous place to be in. And also we get so used to people praising us that when people begin to give us some helpful criticisms or some constructive criticism, we don't want to take it and we get angry with them and actually flattery is dangerous. It's a dangerous web or a net that can ensnare us. We can get our feet trapped in it. So, you know, when people compliment you in your mind, you just have to praise and thank God because, you know, as we read in Second Corinthians, we read that we are not competent enough, but God has made us competent ministers of the new covenant. I think that was in Second Corinthians chapter three, verses one, five and six. So we give him all the glory and honor and praise because we are just earthen vessels. It is an anointing that flows through us. And also we need to be mindful that we are not here to receive honor from men as we read in John chapter five verse 41. And also John chapter five verse forty four says the applause of heaven is more important than the praises of men. Okay, so don't get into the whole web of flattery. Now, sometimes people can, you know, give you ideas as a leader. But, you know, we need to be careful. If we take all of the ideas, we keep following what people saying what people are suggesting what people are telling us to do, then that can be dangerous. Because, you know, ultimately, we are responsible to God because he has made us as shepherds as leaders. He's entrusted us with a vision of plan strategies. So we need to hear from God and decide what God wants us to do. Okay, and do that. Of course, you know, we can take the suggestion and ideas of people. If it's in line with what God is calling us or asking us to do, which can improvise or bring in more creativity and more structure to what we are doing or building on what we are have planned. But, you know, if you are just doing what people are saying, you know, and going away from what God's plan and will and his idea is his agenda is for your team or for your church or for your group. Then we can't stand before God and say, God, you know, I did something because someone there thought it was a good idea and neither can I say that, you know, God, I did not do something because someone said that I shouldn't be doing it. Okay, so that's not an excuse that we can give God. We do what God has called us to do. But of course, we take ideas that can build on what God has already asked us to do. Okay, the other thing is don't let people control you. Now they can be, you know, the rich, the famous, you know, the intellectuals and, you know, some of them are so good at speaking, you know, and they can just sway the crowd. They can sway you as a leader. They can just put in thoughts and you can just get carried away. And sometimes in a very nice way, you know, these people tell the leader of the past of what they should be doing. And some of them may be very sincere in that approach they can mean well, but how they approach you and their motivation is wrong. So they, they're sincere in what they're saying, they mean well, and they, they want to do it in a nice way. But, you know, they approach and their motivation is wrong. So, you know, we can listen to people's ideas and inputs, but as a leader, we need to make the final decision, because we are accountable to God for the vision that he has given us to the church, the ministry, the prayer group, the cell group or, you know, the pulpit that God has entrusted to us. And also we need to help people who are these intellectuals, you know, the business people, the rich and the famous, that God has brought them to that place so that they can invest what God has gifted them into the kingdom. So they can bless the kingdom of God through their finances, through their, you know, through their gifts through what God has blessed them, they can use to build the kingdom of God. Okay. At the same time, you know, as leaders, it's not that we shouldn't be accountable to people. We should live our lives in such a way that we have anyone and everyone examining our lives. And, you know, the way that we live should be in clear conscience before God and man and that they should not be able to point a finger at something that is not right in our lives or that is not God honoring in our lives. In a, in a same tone, in a similar manner, we should not be controlled by these so-called super spiritual people, you know, who are prayer warriors, prophetic people, you know, who go around controlling pastors and leaders by their visions and dreams and saying, you know, this is what God says, this is what God spoke to me, this is what you should be doing. And, you know, they're trying to control the leaders through their intercessory prayer or, you know, but through their prophetic gifting. And that is very, very wrong, you know, as a leader, God has also gifted you to intercede, to pray God will speak to you. And also to make decisions based on prophetic words and revelations that God gives you. So even as you listen to them, you know, whether, you know, they have prophetic words or, you know, what they have received from God and prayer, you need to take that to God and prayer and ask him if this is what he has in line for you. And if it is in line, you can do that. Okay. At the same time, we need to handle these so-called spiritual ones with caution. You know, people will be in your team and they don't want to follow the agenda, the vision, the plan, the direction that you give as a leader. They want to do things in their own way. And sometimes, you know, they want to do things, what suits them, what they feel is easier for them. What they feel is going to give them prominence and a place and a position. So they will say, you know, God told me to do this, this, this. God spoke to me and he told me to do this, this, this. So, you know, it is actually cover up for their own desire to be independent and their own desire for insubordination. That means they don't want to be under anybody. They don't want to come under anybody's leadership or banner and they want to be leaders. They just don't want to be told what to do. And so, you know, they can say things like, you know, God told me or God spoke to me, which is a cover up. And we should avoid and trusting such people with the responsibilities because they are not aligned with the vision, the leading, the direction that you are giving to them. And if a person is genuinely spiritual, walking with God, you know, he does not need to impress people by saying that, you know, God spoke to me. This is what God said, you know, if he's somebody or he or she's somebody who's genuinely hearing from God, then we will see the fruit. The fruit is humility and submission. They will walk in step with the spirit in accordance with the spirit. And when the spirit leads, he will always lead in unity and in oneness. So what he's telling the leader, he will also tell this person and this person will follow in humility and in submission. Okay. The other thing we need to keep in mind is even as we deal with people, we need to raise up leaders. This is what Paul did. You know, he raised up many leaders. He mentored them, you know, people who came very raw in their faith, very young in their faith. At Timothy, you know, Paul calls him as a son in the faith, somebody who he mentored. But we see that even as Paul mentored him as a son in the faith, Timothy grows up, he matures in his faith. And he goes on to take on leadership positions. And it's wonderful that Paul does not continue calling him as a son in the faith, but he calls him as a co-worker, you know. So the same way we need to build up leaders because leaders are like pillars in the house of God. And if you want a large ministry, a large house, a large tent, you need to have different poles or different pillars to support your large structure. And so it's important to raise up many leaders who you can teach, you can train and who you can give leadership positions and authority to carry on various aspects of the ministry. Okay. So at APC, you know, we have this slogan or this belief that every believer is a minister of God. So, you know, if new believers come into church, take time to disciple them. From discipling them, we move them to be ministers. And for ministers, we move them to be leaders. Now, when we talk about leaders, we're not talking about a position in the sense of status or name and fame. But when we're talking about leadership or leader, we're talking about somebody who's willing to take on greater responsibility and greater service, which means a lot of hard work, a lot of time, a lot of, you know, job to get done, hard labor, hard work. So, you know, we need to create opportunities for people to serve in various areas of the ministry, nurture them as leaders, get them to grow, watch their lives, you know, their heart attitudes. And like we said, you know, times when there's needs to be correction that this needed to be brought in, we can do that. But take time before you appoint people into leadership roles and responsibilities before you give them titles and positions. Because like I said, you know, if they're willing to serve without any applause, title, position, recognition, then we know that they really truly have a heart to serve. Truly, they have a heart to labor, to work and are not just looking for title or position or, you know, and such people we can elevate them. We can give them leadership roles and responsibilities. Okay, so don't elevate people or don't give people roles and responsibility purely based on their talents, their gifts, their charisma. But look at their life example, whether it's Godly, they have right heart attitudes, a good relationship with people, and they're aligning themselves to the vision of the leader of the church, of the mission, of the ministry. And also they are people who are humble and submissive. Okay, so important to raise up leaders. Daniel says how to select a leader, what quality should we look for. Like I said, you know, we need to watch their life and, you know, if they're willing to serve without, you just give them small roles and responsibilities. See if they are, you know, committed, sincere, faithful, organized, you know, dedicated, and they're doing things irrespective of being applauded, given appreciation, without a role, without a title, they're sincere, faithful, they're committed. And also, you know, they have the right heart attitudes when you correct them and you tell them something to do, they're humble, they're submissive. They're aligning themselves with the overall vision, the mission statement. They're not going off doing their own things and saying, you know, God told me to do this this way. I feel this is what God, I sense this is what God is leading me, the spirit of God is telling me. We should be totally different from, you know, the main vision, the mission of the group or the organization or the church. Okay, so also important to look at their heart attitudes, whether they have a good relationship with people, whether they're trying to build unity in the team and not bring about a stripe and division. Okay, did that help? Okay, now when you appoint leaders, it's important to stand by your leaders. Okay, doesn't mean that even when they do something wrong, you stand by them. But if you hear something that they have done wrong, then you have to double check it with, you know, two or three witnesses, and then you proceed on with the correction, like what I told you how you need to correct people. And when you correct them, do it privately, encourage them, you know, and be patient with them, tell them what needs to be done, give them sufficient time. And, you know, if they don't do what is required of them, what needs to be changed and what is the remedial action, then, you know, you need to take a more stricter action like we discussed when we began the first hour. Okay, I'm the first out of this class. So the other thing we need to keep in mind is sometimes, what did you do? But sometimes we need to keep in mind that, you know, when there are people who make moral compromises on godly standards, then we need to take corrective measures and that time, you know, we need to be more serious, because this is moral standards that has been compromised to, you know, get the person of the role and responsibility. But, you know, don't throw them out of the group or church, they need help because it's something, a moral compromise that they are making. So you need to work with them, mentor them, help them, nurture them and get them back to and restore them in the way that God wants them to be restored. Okay, the other important thing is don't be passive when you have to take action. Don't just say, okay, if I do this, it's going to destroy the team, it's going to bring disunity, the team may break up, some people may go behind that person and all of those things. But, you know, we need to take action, it's very, very important. And we see in various repercussions of people not taking action at the right time, which can be even more disastrous and, you know, life threatening and life disasters for the rest of their lives. One example is about King David. Now, King David, you know, his children, Absalom and Tamar and also Amon. Amon is the half brother of Tamar and Amon is in love with Tamar and then he violates her virginity and, you know, leave alone violating her virginity. He just, after that, you know, his love transforms into sheer hatred and resentment against her and he just, you know, does away with her. He doesn't want to do anything with her and that leaves Tamar even more devastated and sad and, you know, her brother Absalom is very, very disappointed. And when King David hears what his children have done, you know, he does not take any action and it's very, very sad. And we see for two full years, you know, actually Absalom waits for King David to punish Amon for what he had done to Tamar. But we see that King David does not take any action and Absalom takes steps in and takes action. He kills Amon and then he flees for his life and he hides for three years and David moans the loss of his son Amnon or Amon and then he also longs for Absalom. But he does not do anything to bring back his lost son Absalom. Now it's five years since Absalom has, you know, has waited for King David to act two years after, you know, Tamar was disgraced. And, you know, three years after he kills Amon and he runs away, it's five years. And, you know, he's still carrying this pain of injustice in his heart against his sister and David doesn't do anything as a father to reach out to either Tamar or to, you know, to Absalom. And we see that, you know, finally Absalom, you know, reaches, sorry, it's five years so he doesn't do anything. And then, you know, we see that David's leader, Joab, you know, Absalom comes to him and, you know, after five years he says that he wants to meet his father David. Okay, so he comes to Jerusalem and then he continues two years without meeting David. So basically it is his leaders who convince King David to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. So they bring him back, but even after that two years King David does not meet Absalom. And then, you know, Absalom goes to Joab who is one of, you know, King David's commanders and tells him to get an appointment with his father King David. And finally, you know, after seven years, you know, Absalom gets to meet his father David. And we see that, you know, there is no indication that David did anything to heal Absalom's wounds or his hurt, his disappointment, his frustration, even after he met his father after seven years. And what happened really was it led to be, to lead Absalom to become rebellious. And he led a massive rebellion against his own father and David so much so that David had to flee from Jerusalem and he almost lost his. Okay. So here we here learn an important lesson that, you know, David could have done something to heal the wounds to bring correction. For even after seven years, he didn't do anything to resolve the pain and the issue. And this eventually led to rebellion in the heart and the life of Absalom. So, you know, when, when you see things that are going wrong in your ministry, don't overlook it. You know, as a leader, you should not ignore it. You, when you look at it, you know, find out what is going wrong, detect it, have a heart to heart talk with people. You know, listen to what is their discomfort, their emotions, what is their feeling and, you know, try to resolve the issue with them. If things are not getting resolved with the person, you know, it's best to release them lovingly so that they don't continue and they don't mess up the work and the team that is there. But they can move on and step into some of the ministry area assignment and they can do well and flourish over there. Okay. The next thing is don't be partakers of other people's sin now as leaders, as, as pastors, there will be people who come and, you know, you know, whether it is giving a, you know, a recommendation for their job or for their children's schooling or for marriage, sometimes we can say things that are not right about that person, you know, we can cover up the person's fault and that is wrong. So it's important that, you know, even as we give a report, it's important that we just state the facts as is. Okay. Don't rob the person of the good that they are or don't cover up their sins but just report the facts just as is so that, you know, even if the person is upset, you know, you have done what is right in God's sight. Okay. And sometimes saying no is a sin. It's not a sin. Sorry. Sometimes saying no is not a sin. You know, as leaders, as ministers, we can't be there at all times in all places doing everything what people require of us. You know, there are times when we have to, we can say yes, there are times when we can say no and when things are practically not possible. You know, when we say no way, we can't attend, you know, occasion or an event or if it's too far away or you have some other assignments or, you know, you call to preach and teach elsewhere but it's important that you stay in your church, you feed your sheep, you teach them. So it's okay to say no and saying no is not a sin. So don't feel the pressure to say yes all the time because sometimes when we say yes to anything and everything, it can destroy our own ministry, our health and our family and so on. So it's important to draw a balance and we spoke about that in chapter one. The last thing before we, for the end of this chapter is, you know, don't stoop down to the level of your accusers. You know, people can accuse you, but you know, we can face a lot of accusations, gossip, rumors, a lot of things will be spoken about us. We don't have a control or a say what people can say and do. But, you know, we have a choice and choice is to not repay evil for evil, evil, sorry. We have a choice to live above the level of those who are offending us. But if we stoop down to their level and, you know, repay evil for evil, tit for tat or get back to them and behave like them, then we stoop down to their level and that is not what God wants us to do or desires of us. And, you know, it's not God honoring. So don't stoop down to the level of your accusers. Okay, so these are some things, practical things that we can keep in mind even as we handle and deal with people. Okay, any questions on this chapter, chapter three? Okay, there are no questions. There are no questions. We'll move on to chapter four. Okay, talking about conduct. So we look at some of the key issues regarding conduct. Now it's important to know that, you know, God is not more interested in how many places we preach, how many countries we visited preaching, how many books we wrote, how many songs we wrote, how many churches we built. You know, he's more interested about that character and our conduct. And our character and our conduct is very important because our anointing and our gifting cannot keep us, you know, or take us where our character cannot keep us. So, you know, you cannot be in the, in a place where your character cannot keep you even if you have the best gifts, the anointing, your powerful, you know, you cannot stay in that place for too long because you do not have the right conduct and the right character. So conduct is very, very important and it's important that we set an example as leaders through our conduct. Okay, look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1 and 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 12. Can somebody read that please? 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1. Imitate me just as I also imitated Christ. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 12. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Amen. Thank you. So here we see that, you know, Paul is making this bold statement in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 says, Imitate me as I imitated Christ. I mean, for him to say that means that really his life and his conduct and his character is so transparent that everyone could see it and could know that you know, here is someone who's really Christ-like and a very powerful statement to make and he's saying, you know, it's so important for us to set an orderly example that people are able to see our life and our conduct and follow us even as we are here, place of responsibility even as Christ has put us in this place of responsibility. Also, we see that Paul challenges young Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus by being an example to the believers and he says be an example in speech, which means, you know, we need to set an example in the way we speak. Not just the way we speak, the kind of things that we speak, even if you're saying a joke, even if you're talking about people, even if you're talking about situations and difficulties, what are the words that we use or what are we saying? In conduct, how we live our lives, how we manage our time, our energy, our money, our relationships, our family, you know, being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. In love means how we love and care for people. You know, in spirit means the matters of the heart, purity in our motives and in our attitudes. In faith, you know, in our trust and dependence on the Lord, we need to, you know, and in our courage to obey his, have that courage to obey his word, just depend on his word. And purity is to live a life of holiness and godliness, you know, on a day to day basis in our motives and our attitudes should be holy and godly and blameless. Okay. So he says that we must remember that even in little things that we do, you know, our life is noticed and whatever we do as leaders reflects back on our calling, our position and reflects back on the God that we represent. Okay. So we should not put him to shame. Okay. So to set an example in speech and conduct and love and spirit and faith and in purity, okay, because our life example speaks the loudest. Okay. You know, we can preach great sermons, we can write a lot of songs, books, we can bring about healing to many people. But, you know, if our life is not a life of love and patience and humility and, you know, people can see arrogance, pride, you know, stubbornness and rudeness and anger in us then, you know, our life is not speaking. And people will forget all the, you know, the great sermons we preached or, you know, the works that we have done, but they will, our life, what who we are and what we have, how we have lived our life actually speak volumes and this is what people remember and will be remembered for life long. Okay. So look at what Paul says in his, when he exhausts the official leaders, he points to, points them to his own life and example. And he says that, you know, he says in Acts chapter 20, he tells the leaders at Ephesus that, you know, from the first day that I came to Asia in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of Jews. So he's saying that, hey, my life has been so transparent that you've been able to see that I've served the Lord with all humility. Okay. So it's important that, you know, we know that it's not what we have done, how much we have done, but it's our life that speaks volumes and people remember our actions and our words and our deeds more than what we have accomplished. Okay. Even as we serve in the Lord, you know, it's important that we have the right conduct of working hard. You know, sometimes we think that it being in ministry, you know, we can stretch to sit back, relax and do things in a very small pace in a very easy pace. You know, we're not willing to work hard. We're not willing to stretch beyond, go beyond what requires of us. We want the easy, comfortable life. We're not willing to make sacrifices. We're not willing to go the extra mile. And, you know, but it's important that we know that even as God gives us the gifts and the grace to fulfill our function, we have already spoken about this that he, you know, we need to work hard. We need to labor hard. And this is what Paul does. You know, he works very, very hard. And look at what he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 10. Can somebody read that please? 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 10, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more evidently than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Amen. So Paul is saying, Hey, I'm who I am. It's not because of how learned I am, how smart and brilliant I am, how well schooled I am. It's because of the grace of God. And he says, in spite of having this grace and this favor from God, he says, I labored more abundantly than all of them. So which means he's saying, Yes, we have the grace, we have the gifts, but you know, we have to really work hard. Okay. And because Paul labored so hard, I think it's one of the reasons, one of the reasons why God used him so powerfully to expand his kingdom here on earth. So, you know, sometimes when we think when you're in Christian ministry, everything is easy, we can become so lethargic, you know, so lazy, we do the same programs. The whole year, there's nothing new, we don't think about new ideas, how we can be more innovative, how we can reach out to the present generation, you know, because we don't want to work hard, we just want to take life very easily. And we see some of Christian ministers, some pastors, Christian ministries, very laid back, you know. So it's important that, you know, we give our 100% and more to the work of the Lord, you know, in people in the corporate and the field and in the world outside, you know, they work so hard, labor so hard, you know, day and night and, you know, they have to bring in productivity, they have to bring in business. They don't, you know, they are sent away, but in ministry, we try to take it very casual, very easy, very laid back, but that is not what God is calling us to do. God looks for fruit, he's in the parable that we, you know, one of the parables, God is looking for, you know, for multiplication, you know, he's looking for productivity. He's looking for us to invest and produce more, to multiply and he's a God of multiplication, he's looking for furtherance of his kingdom and so we need to give in our 100% to do what God has called us to do. And even as we do that, you know, there are some things we need to keep in mind, another conduct that we need to have is to, we need to be humble. Okay, what is humility? Humility is walking in submission before both God and man, you know, and we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. Paul writes about this in Romans chapter 12 verse 3, he says, do not think about yourself more highly than you ought to, but think of yourself in sober judgment. Okay, also we need to see that, you know, even as we relate to people, how can we be humble? We need to relate the same way with both the rich and the poor, you know, and also look at us ourselves as just mere human beings, you know, even though we might be gifted and used, might be by God. In God's sight, we all stand on the same level. Okay, when we stand before God, all of us are on the same level. No one is on a higher pedestal because they have the greater or nothing. And just imagine that, you know, when God, when we are born again, we are made righteous in God's sight, which means, you know, and God loves us just the way he loves his son, and we are in right standing with God. That means he places us in the right standing with Christ Jesus. So there's nothing to boast about. You know, when you look at that, when you think about that, you must think that, hey, you know, here is a God who's so great and so mighty, and he thinks so great about me that he loves me just as he loves his son, and he's placed me in the same level as he places his son. Who am I? And that should be sufficient enough or humbling enough for us to say, God, I don't deserve that place, you know, where you have put me beside your son, the same level as your son. But God helped me to be worthy of this place in this position that you have placed me with. So we should not come to that place where we're looking down on others and thinking that we are great, later in our anointing and how well we are, how much of charisma we are, our intellectual we are, but thinking of ourselves as unworthy to be in that same level as Jesus is, but yet God has placed us. So we need to keep that always in the back of our mind, in the front of our mind, and be mindful of who we are and where God has placed us. It will really humble us. So no matter how great we are, we all stand on the same level. So don't look for power, place, position, prominence of seat of honor and people applauding you, people recognizing you and all of that. Just irrespective of anything, keep a humble heart before God. Even if you don't get any of these things, it should not stop you from serving God, from ministering, and you need to be satisfied with who you are in Christ. So it's important to know your identity in Christ. If we do not know who we are in Christ, then Satan can fill us with wrong identity and that can lead us to wrong places and to a place of pride where we can literally fall. So, you know, we just don't desire for all of these high places and positions, but it's God who will exalt us, God who will raise us up, so we just have to wait for him in his time. He will do it, but humility is true strength, and it's a place where God releases even more grace. So if you want to do great and mighty exploits for God's kingdom and, you know, flow in the gifts and be used mightily be God, now you need to come to a place of humility, because humility is a place of strength, and it's a place where more grace is given, and when you flow in that grace, you can do great and accomplish great things for God. Another important conduct to keep in mind is to pursue peace. So if you look at various scripture passages, you know, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 23 and 24, Romans 12, 18, E plus 12, 14, all talk about how we need to, you know, pursue peace, as far as it's possible with you, you know, as far as it depends upon you. Paul is writing to the church at Rome in Romans chapter 12, verse 18, as far as it depends upon you, you know, look peaceably with all men, which means he's saying, hey, I understand, it's not possible to live in peace with all men, but as far as it's possible, you know, live in peace. And then look at what Hebrews 12, 14 says. Can somebody read that, please? Ma'am, Hebrews? Yes, Hebrews 12, 14. Hebrews 12, 14, pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. So here he's saying, you know, pursue peace, don't quarrel, don't get into arguments, contention, strife, contention, sorry, and strife. Keep your life free from strife, you know, because when you quarrel and, you know, strife comes in, it opens a door for all kinds of evil, and you're just unnecessarily wasting your time and energy, and it drops you of all the things that you want to do. And it's also carnal minded, a carnal minded person engages in strife and quarrel and not a minister of God. Okay. So when somebody accuses you, criticizes you, you know, try to settle the matter with them. And if it's not, you know, just let it pass. You can't do anything. You can't change people. But what you can do is promote peace. Okay. An example given here is about Nehemiah. Nehemiah was called to build the walls of Jerusalem. And even as he was building the walls of Jerusalem, the Arabs sent ballot to Bia and Gresham. You know, they saw the work was progressing in great speed and they were very angry and upset. They tried to do everything to stop Nehemiah. So they, you know, called him to meet with them. And, you know, and he, and he sent the message for these men sent the message four times. But all the time, you know, what does Nehemiah do? He knows that they're trying to trot God's plans. They're going to trying to stop him from building the wall. So he says, I'm going, I'm doing a great works that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave and go down to you? So he's more interested in the work that God has called them to that in just meeting with these men. So we need to keep focused on what God has called us to do. And, you know, if there's some strife settle the matter quickly, peacefully and keep going on with the work. Sometimes it's okay, even if it's not your mistake to just overlook it to apologize just to keep the unity of peace so that God is honored and the work continues. Okay. The other thing we need to keep in mind as a good contact is be teachable. You know, we need to always be in a place. However, anointed smart intellectual, how many degrees we have from different Bible colleges have come to a place where we're willing to learn from others. We need to keep learning also keep our spiritual eyes and ears open to hear from God to learn from God and what he's asking us to do. Okay. The next one is, you know, as far as possible, we need to keep our word. If you promise somebody something, you know, keep it. But don't make those promises. You know, sometimes some of us do not know how to say no. So we promise to do things for people that we're not able to do or visit them or call them or help them. You know, eventually people get disappointed. You know, they're expecting something from us and then they get disappointed. At that point, we lose our credibility and it eventually reflects back on us as people and our ministry and people lose their trust on us. They feel hurt, they feel let down, and they may even leave the church or our cell group or Bible study group and leave. So if you're not able to, you know, it's okay to say no, it's not the sin not to say no. But if you make a promise and you're not able to keep it called, apologize, tell them why you're not and also learn. You know, you can learn from these things and understand what is your own areas of limitation so that you don't repeat it. But what did Jesus teach us to do in Matthew chapter five was 37. He says, let your yes be yes and your no be no for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Okay, another good conduct to maintain as leaders and as those in ministry is to be punctual. You know, some good examples pastor is written here, you can take a you can read it, you know, but we always see in when it comes to church activities, Christian, you know, crusades or any conventions always start late, they never start on time. You know, I remember going for a meeting where we waited almost for more than an hour and a half just to for the person to come and they started the meeting one an hour and a half. You know, I went for another, you know, worship leader would come from abroad to our city, and we actually waited, I think for more than three or four hours just to listen to him. At least the organizers could have come and announced in the mic saying that hey, the things are delayed because of this, this, this, we're sorry, we apologize, no announcement, nothing. We waited for four hours and finally the worship leader came he just sang three or four songs and just left it was so disappointing. So as, as a practice at APC, we, the worship team is five minutes up on the stage before worship start before the service starts. And, you know, we start right on time. And pastor always has told us that even, you know, if you call for any meeting or any workshop or any seminar, even if there's one person we honor that person who's come on time and we start the meeting on time, even if it is just one person, which means we're teaching people that hey, we start on time, we mean business. So next time you, you know, make sure that you're starting, you're there on time, otherwise you will lose out on it. Okay. So good to be on time and also start our meetings on time. It's God honoring because we serve a God of order and a God who works things perfectly in with, you know, perfection and in order. Okay. Be be be blameless before God and man. So it's important that the way we conduct ourselves a character is blameless before God and man the way we live our lives. The things that we do in our ministry, you know, there should be nothing that is hidden should be blameless. Even if we make mistakes, you know, we must come before God, ask for forgiveness, receive correction, you know, pull ourselves up, move forward and put those things behind but learn from the mistakes that we have made. Okay. But choose not to continue doing things that are wrong. You know, whether we are at home with our family with our spouse, our children, you know, in the church with our staff know the way we use our time. Money, the resources that God has given to us, people are watching us. And so we should show ourselves as true ministers of God, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of man. Okay. Just two more things before we end this lesson is enjoy life, but avoid who's talk and foolish jesting. You know, as men and women of God, we need to be careful what kind of jokes we say. But we speak about people, how we make statements, you know, avoid things that are foolish and lose talk. As we read in Ephesians chapter four was 29 and chapter five was three and four. The last thing is, you know, don't demand comforts and luxuries. You know, as ministers of God and as leaders when they're called to minister in different places, you know, we can ask for flight tickets and we can go by train or bus. You know, or we can ask big five star accommodations because, you know, you know, for services, we ask them to pay us big. But if we had to do that in our own way, you know, we would not be going by flight. We would choose bus or train. We won't stay in a five star accommodation. So, you know, let's not manipulate and use people. But even as we're called to serve, let's be humble and, you know, fit into whatever people give us so that, you know, we are going to just serve God and not demand from people. Okay. Okay, Sanjay says the lessons we're learning here in Bible College are more valuable and practical for personal development than those thought in most professional courses today. Thank you, Sanjay. Okay, I hope it's please read. I just kind of pointed highlighted the important points, but please take time to read because very, very important. All of you are going to be involved in some kind of church ministry activity. All of us are called as peace to build God's kingdom where a royal priest would important to follow what is there and live godly lives and blameless lives. Any questions before we end today's class. Okay, no questions. Thank you all for joining class have a blessed weekend and I will see you next Friday. Thank you.