 Well, I want to talk to you if you sense the call of God on your life. I believe God wants to use you. I really do. That's why I want to teach this message to you, because the times call for a mighty remnant, the times are calling for more to be raised that people might be saved, that the gospel might be preached. The sick might be healed, that the oppressed might be set free. And I believe God is raising you for such a time as this. No, that's not a cliche. No, that's not just something I'm saying to get you excited about your future. I really do believe that God has purposefully positioned you for such a time as this, there is a call on your life, whether you feel like there's a call on your life or not, whether you feel like God is even noticing you or not, there's a call on your life. And so I want to show you in the scripture, 15 different indicators that are proof to you or that reveal that you're ready for ministry. And this is a question that people put to me quite often. They say, well, I want God to use my life. I want to go into ministry, but I'm not really quite sure if I'm ready. I'm not quite sure how to go about it. I'm not quite sure if I'm qualified. Well, the scripture has the answer, but let me make this point. And it should be noted that all believers are called to do something for God right where they are. So when I talk about ministry, at least in this context, I'm talking about leadership, I'm talking about spiritual authority. I'm talking about divine promotion. I'm talking about places of leadership and influence that God gives to faithful believers that they might serve and minister to others. So all of us have gifts. All of us must serve. All of us must be a part of a local church. This is why I encourage you people of God. There is no substitute for gathering with the saints. Now, this is an online ministry primarily. So you would think that I would tell you, oh, no, online ministry is a great substitute. But even as someone who's an online ministry, I have to tell you this because I love you, you need to get into a local church. You need to gather locally with believers in person. There's no replacing that. So that's on a side note. But the point I'm making here up at the top of the message is that every single one of us must serve in some capacity right where we are. So this is not a legalistic message saying that there are only special Christians that can be used by God. No, you can be used by God right here right now. OK, the Bible says in Mark chapter 16 verses 15 to 18, and then he told them, go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe. They will cast out demons in my name and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety. And if they drink anything poison, as it won't hurt them, they will be able to place their hands on the sick and they will be healed. Well, here in Mark 16, it's very clear that those who believe will have the signs following them. Those who believe what? Those who believe the gospel message. Do you believe the gospel message? Well, then signs will follow you. And here, the Scripture gives us a breakdown of some of the things that we can expect, one of them being that we will handle snakes with safety. Now here, the Scripture is not saying that you should literally pick up snakes. That's a misinterpretation or a misunderstanding, I should say, of this particular portion of Scripture. Luke, look at Luke chapter 10, verses 18 through 20. And here in Luke chapter 10, verses 18 through 20, we see a clarification of what it means to handle serpents. Look at this beginning at verse 18. Yes, he told them, I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you. Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. So here in Luke chapter 10, verses 18 through 20, we clearly see from Scripture that what Mark 16 is talking about is authority over demonic beings. This means that you, as someone who believes the gospel message, immediately step into your authority over demonic powers. You also can lay hands on the sick and see them be healed. You're also called to share the good news. So all of us, all of us have been called to ministry, some form of serving because really that's what ministry is, it's serving. Again, I must emphasize what I'm talking about here is the next level. And when I say level, don't be offended by that term. Don't be put off by the idea that there are levels in ministry because there are. Look, there are, there are levels to grow in. If I can grow in something, that means there are levels to it. I've not reached the full capacity that God has called me to. Neither have you. None of us have. And we all have to have the humility in recognizing that there are levels to ministry. There are levels to walking in God's power. Now, I am not saying that there are levels of power. I'm saying there are levels of walking in God's power. The difference is that God has placed within us everything that we need. The question is, are you using what God has given to you? So not everyone fully surrenders to that, which God has given to them. So again, don't be offended by this idea of levels and authority and promotion and leadership. That's spiritual pride. We have to be willing to humble ourselves before this reality that Scripture presents to us. In fact, in order to experience spiritual promotion, we must have the humility to admit the need for growth. None of us are going to grow if we all tell ourselves, well, I've arrived. So I've clarified here that every single one of us should be doing something for God right where we are. That includes you, that includes me, all of us. Why? Because ministry is service. But the Bible also makes it clear that there are certain positions in ministry. There are certain levels of church authority that are reserved for those who've passed certain biblical tests that have these indicators that I'm about to show you. In Acts chapter six, verses two through four, the Bible says the twelve called the meeting of all the believers. They said we apostles should spend our time teaching the Word of God, not running a food program. Now, can you imagine, Steve, if somebody said something like that today? I'm not going to waste my time with the food program. I need to focus on preaching. My people today would they would they would stone them. They would say, well, how could you say something so arrogant? But this is an arrogance. This is a recognition of where they are most efficient and where their gifts serve in the highest capacity. Verse three and so brothers select seven men who are well respected and are full of the spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Verse four, then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the Word. So the apostles gathered a group together and said, look, guys, we can't be working in the food program. We're not going to be dealing with that. You need to pick people who are spirit filled, who can handle that so that we can handle preaching and prayer, teaching and seeking the face of God. Now, this isn't to say that leaders should never serve, nor is this to say that some believers aren't called to prayer and the word. All of us should have that devotion. But this does give us a clear picture to how the New Testament church functions. And in the New Testament church, there are spiritual ranks. I know we don't like this idea. I know that many people are bothered by this concept, but you can't ignore what's plainly laid out in scripture. Now, every believer should serve in the local church. Every believer should share their faith. Every believer should minister to the hurting. But we have to get past this entitled mentality. This idea that says, well, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I don't need to grow. I don't need to climb. I don't need to have spiritual promotion. I'm complete in Christ. And we understand that in the spirit we are complete. But spiritual growth is not your spirit growing. Spiritual growth is when the rest of you catches up to who you really are. So we must learn to humble ourselves before the realities that the scripture presents. And in embracing this idea that there is such a thing as spiritual promotion and embracing this idea that there is such a thing as levels to ministry. In doing so, we actually set ourselves up to experience true growth. For in order to grow, I must first have the humility to admit that I have to grow. So that's a very key concept. And I wanted to introduce the message with that. So let's make that very clear distinction here. That serving is for everyone. Being in ministry is for everyone. And all ministry is service, even the leadership ministries. Okay, that's biblical. There is a structure to God's kingdom and there is spiritual authority. That, that is undeniable when you look at the scripture. So at the same time, we also have to meet certain qualifications if we're going to experience that promotion to that platform. And remember this ministry promotion is not a reward. It's a responsibility. So many times we look at it as like, well, that's a reward. That's where that's where I can finally be celebrated. That's where everyone's going to look at me and that's where everyone's going to honor my gift. But the reality is it's not a reward. It's a responsibility. It's a responsibility to have a greater capacity to meet more needs and to serve more people, but in a different way. So now that that's been clarified, let me show you the 15 indicators that you're ready to be placed in spiritual authority. And I'm not just talking about the five-fold ministry, the apostle, the pastor, the prophet, the teacher, the evangelist. I'm not just talking about the five-fold. I'm also talking about spiritual leadership. These are people who are looked to in the community of believers as people who can give advice and counsel and prayer. They're given authority from church leadership to bring correction and rebuke. And this is something that really is not talked about a lot today because it's not popular to say these things. And I'm not the only one talking about it. There's plenty of preachers talking about it. But the truth is people don't want to hear this. There's this idea now floating around and I'm going to cover this a little bit more in one of the later points. But there's this idea kind of floating around that church leadership is unbiblical, that if the church is too structured that it's religious, that somehow there's this remnant that's coming out from the ashes and God is leaving the old system of the church behind, but God would not abandon the system that he implemented. Everything that God does has order. There's a system to all of God's work. In fact, what I find more often than not is that the people who are offended at the church usually, and this is not everyone, okay? So take this, if it applies to you, but if it doesn't, then okay, dismiss it. Many times most often I find that the people who have left the church are full of bitterness and actually left because they didn't want to be corrected. They left because they wanted a platform before they went through the process. They left because they had a gift that they thought everyone should notice and celebrate, but they didn't want to go through serving in the process before they can be trusted to minister in certain capacities. So this idea that the church structure is evil, this idea that God is done with, you know, the church structure is just not a biblical one. You won't see that in Scripture, but this is something that the Holy Spirit, I think, will remind us of as we look through the Word of God. So keep that in mind as well. That though there is such a thing as church abuse, though there is such a thing as authoritarian church organizations that stifle moves of the Holy Spirit, that's all real, that can happen. At the same time, we also have to do a heart check to make sure that it wasn't just our own ego not wanting to submit to a process before we were promoted. So there's a balance to all these things and wisdom is balanced by the word. Number one, an indicator that you're ready for spiritual promotion. Number one, God calls you. Now, as soon as I say that immediately the line of questioning will lead to, well, how do I know that God has called me? And that's a great question. You'll know by the Spirit. And that's not necessarily the most helpful answer because we want to hear things like, well, if God calls you, he'll confirm it through three prophetic words within a 21 day span, or he'll give you seven dreams, each one at two o'clock in the morning, waking you and then you write down the notes and then the message will appear. I mean, these are the types of specifics that we want sometimes, but you know, it's kind of like with any other sense. How do you know when you're hearing music? You just know, you know what music sounds like because you've heard it before. How do you know when you're seeing a certain color? You just know that color because it's the sense of sight in the same way. You have a spiritual sense that senses the instructions of the Holy Spirit. So God will call you. Think of Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, the disciples, Paul, the apostle. All of them, all of them had an encounter with God before they were called. Yeah. Encounters, commission callings. Want to say that again? Encounters, commission callings. God will call you when he can trust you. And by trust, I mean, in trust to you something. God will call you when you've spent time in this presence. I think this should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. If you want a spiritual leadership position, you desire something good, as I'll show you in the scripture in a moment. That's a good thing that you want. But I think it should go without saying, sadly, I have to say it. If you want a leadership position, you want God to use you to speak to multitudes, to have spiritual authority that can affect change on a larger scale. Well, number one, you need your prayer life intact. Anyone who does not have a prayer life does not belong behind the pulpit. I know that's difficult to hear, but you need to hear it. Anyone who does not have a prayer life does not belong behind the pulpit. Now, again, I'm not just talking about the five-fold ministry. I am talking about spiritual leadership. You can serve in the church. You can be a part of ministry. You can use your gifts in certain capacities. But in order to be promoted spiritually, you have to be at least doing the basics. How are you supposed to lead people in something that you're not doing? You have to know the word. Why are you going to get up on a pulpit and share the word if you don't know the word? Or if you can't handle the word, rightly divide the word. This is important. You need a consistent prayer life. You need a daily devotion to the word. You need a lifestyle of holiness. Those three things, at the very least, is the beginning point. Now, I'm not talking about perfection because I promise you this, and most of you probably, if you've followed this ministry for any length of time, you've picked up on it already. I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be. I still have flaws. I still have issues. I still have things in me that I'm saying, Lord, I want to be more like Jesus in that area. But there's a certain place that you have to at least come to, again, which I will address in a moment. But number one, you must know that God calls you. So after you know, you have a prayer life intact. You're reading the word. You're living right. You're living clean. That's all well and good. But one of the things that has to happen is you have to know that God calls you. Acts chapter four, verse 13 says, The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John. For they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. You can't anoint yourself. You can't appoint yourself. God has to do it. And it's important that you know that God called you because pressures will come. If you're in ministry for any length of time, you will be criticized. Right. You will be talked about. You will be betrayed. You will be abandoned. You will be rejected. You will be misunderstood. Things that you say will be twisted and used against you. It will happen. There will be times when you will feel like quitting. There will be times when the pressure will be too great. There will be times when you feel distant from others because of the position to which God has called you. Ministry will at times bring hardship. That's just a reality. That's a fact. You can't avoid it. So when the hardships come, when the trials come, when the storm begins to rage in your life, you need to be able to know that you've been called. You need to know that you know that you know that it wasn't some man or woman who called you. That it wasn't your parents who pressured you into ministry. That it wasn't just some whim or ambition that you had because you thought it might be cool to have a platform. You have to know that God placed you there because if God placed you there, He'll keep you there. The anointing will protect you. The anointing will position you. People who step into position without the anointing step into that position without protection, without the grace for it. This is why I don't necessarily believe that just because you're called, that automatically means that your spouse is called. Because God may have anointed you, but not your spouse for that specific position. You don't put someone in public ministry just because they're married to someone in public ministry because that anointing was only meant to protect you. They have to also have that call. So you're not called by marriage. You're not born into the calling. You don't marry into the calling. You don't make a connection and gain the calling that way. You gain the calling in the presence of God. The calling of God is found in the presence of God. God calls you. You have to know that God has called you. So that's number one, God calls you. Now, for number two through 14, I'm going to read a portion of scripture that gives us some very clear indicators of whether or not you're ready for public ministry. But I'm going to spend some time on some points and less time on other points. I think some points, I mean, I don't like to just repeat myself again and again with the same information. So some of these points are very, very simple. So I won't need to expound upon them so much, but there's still indicators that you should absolutely write down. Others, I'll spend a little more time digging into them. So let's take a look at our primary text. I'll be pulling most of the points out from the message tonight of this primary text. It's found in 1 Timothy chapter three. I'm going to read verses one through seven. This is a trustworthy saying. If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position. So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. I know it says, man, I'm going to address that in a moment. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome. And not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? Powerful question. Verse six, a church leader must not be a new believer because he might become proud and the devil would cause him to fall. I'm going to spend a lot of time on that point right there. Verse seven, also people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil's trap. So that's the primary text. Now to be clear, I understand that there's a debate concerning women in ministry. And this portion of scripture that I just read was written to men. You saw it written to men and it's worded that way. And there's a biblical argument to be made on both sides. Anyone who tells you that there's no debate, the Bible is 100% clear, there's no indication of any other position, they're not being completely honest with you. In fact, often people say that because they're afraid of the debate and once you start the conversation, you start to realize, oh, this isn't as straightforward as you made it out to be. So we're not going to go in depth on this, but I want you to know that I am a firm believer of women in the ministry because it is biblical. Look, I have no reason to say that. What do I gain from saying that, other than a bunch of criticism? It's not like I'm a woman in the ministry. I have no reason to say that my wife has no desire for public ministry. Neither does my mother, neither did my grandmother. They're not in these public platforms. So I have really no reason to say that other than that's what I've seen in the scripture. Now I'll give you one verse again. This is not a women in the ministry Bible study, but I at least have to address this because obviously that portion of scripture seems that it would only apply to men. But let's look here. Romans chapter 16 verse 1, Romans 16 1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe. So this is obviously a woman he's talking about who is a deacon in the church in Centria. So there we see a woman deacon. Now I can give you many examples and I already know, I can already hear it. Some people in the conversation, well, Brother David, actually Romans chapter 16 verse 1 is, trust me, I've heard the other explanations, but you cannot deny that in the New Testament church, women had influence in the Old Testament, women had influence, some might say, oh well, that was just for this position and that's not necessarily the same as today. I get all that. I understand all that. I've heard both sides again and again and again. I've watched hour long debates, two, three, four hour debates on this subject. I've read various books on the topic. I understand there's a debate. I understand there's two sides to this, but I'm telling you where I stand based upon what I see in scripture and that is I believe in women in the ministry. And that's that if you don't agree, then you can go teach something different on your live stream, but here this is what we teach at Encounter TV. So having said that, let's now continue with what the scripture teaches us about qualifications for ministry. So number two, above reproach, above reproach. So you must be above reproach. This means not literally, but in application, this means that if someone were to speak evil of you, the people who know you wouldn't believe it. Below reproach, not literally, but in application would mean that you live in such a way that lends credibility to your criticisms. Think about this. For example, I'm going to use my dad a lot as an example because he's a great example of a man of God and character. So if someone were to say that my dad was late to an event, most people would not believe you because my dad is 15 minutes early at least to everything. Church functions, weddings, birthday parties, meeting for dinner, you name it. He's 15 minutes early. Whatever time you say, if you say six o'clock, he's there at 5.45. You say 5.30, he's there at 5.15. Okay, 15 minutes early to everything. And I always try to beat him there. Never works. He's always there first. So everyone knows that about my dad. So his impeccable timing, when it comes to his schedule, his timing, his time commitments, in the area of his time commitments, he is above reproach. I think of people on our ministry team. I think of people like Tim Lay, who if you were to tell me, oh, Tim was being lazy when you were gone and he didn't really put in the hours he was supposed to, I just wouldn't believe you. There'd be no way you can convince me of that, that he was slacking off for a day just because I was gone. Do you know why? Because in the area of hard work, Tim Lay is above reproach. So being above reproach means that the criticisms against you are very difficult to believe. So ask yourself in your life, are you living in such a way that you're lending credibility to your criticisms? Does the way you live lend credibility to your criticisms? Now again, we're not talking about perfection, but this above reproach statement is a good trendsetter or context setter, I should say. It really puts things into frame. So not necessarily perfection, but at least above reproach in that area. So if someone were to tell you, oh, we saw David, he was down there seeing the psychic and getting his fortune told. Even if you saw a photo of it, you would say that was photoshopped. Why? Because in that area, I'm above reproach. So we all have these different things in our lives that we're above reproach in, but generally speaking, are you above reproach? That's what above reproach means. Again, not in its literal definition, but it's in its application above reproach means that you don't live in a way that you're lending credibility to your criticisms. Number three, faithful in marriage. Now this is a big one because anyone who's not faithful in their marriage just doesn't belong in leadership, plain and simple. You're not faithful in your marriage. You don't belong in leadership. Now God can restore you. You can repent. God can forgive you. Yes, but if this is something that you're doing, you're not faithful in your marriage, and I'm not just speaking sexually here. I'm talking about in other ways because you can have an emotional affair. You can have a relationship that's out of order that has ill intention behind it. Maybe you've not fulfilled certain things, and in this case the Lord's giving you a good warning, pull it back, get back to the place of living above reproach, but consider how you are in your marriage. If you're going from person to person, is that someone who should be in ministry? This is something to consider here. Now again, I believe in restoration. We believe in the forgiveness of God. God can restore. I've seen him do it. I'm talking about how are you living right now? So don't let the enemy condemn you concerning your past. We're talking about right here right now. How are you living? Now, I want to make this clear point. This does not mean that you have to be married to be in ministry. Okay, Paul the apostle was not married. So here's what he wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. I'm going to read verses 32 through 35. I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. And all the married men said amen. His interests are divided in the same way a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit. Not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best with as few distractions as possible. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, Paul the apostle is instructing people saying, Hey, if you're married, stay married. If you're single, I recommend you stay single. It's not a sin to get married, but I recommend you stay single. Why? For the purpose of ministry. So just because you're not married, doesn't mean you're not ready for ministry or even spiritual leadership. So be broken from that idea. I think sometimes we try to compare ourselves to other people. Well, that's a power couple there. It's husband-wife team, husband-wife team. That's wonderful. But you don't necessarily have to be married to be in ministry or to even lead spiritually. You can be in ministry. You can lead spiritually even if you're not married. So being single is not some disqualifying factor. It's not some character flaw that you have. It's just a different way of living. And I think we have to stop being so judgmental about people who are single, especially in the church world where there's all this pressure to kind of conform to the culture. I do understand marriage is important. I do encourage people to be married. I do encourage people to have children. But to treat people like they're somehow second class or they somehow have a character flaw that keeps them from ministry just because they're single. That's just not biblical. And we saw the biblical proof of that. Number four, you need to be self-controlled. Again, not perfection here, but a standard that's above reproach. Remember that context setter is important. This is one of the fruits of the spirit, self-control. The ability to tame yourself and your emotions. You don't know how many times I'll want to say something. I want to do something. I want to go on the defensive or get back at someone. I always joke here at the office to say, vengeance is fine, sayeth the Lord. And Britain goes, actually it says vengeance is mine. So I understand that scripture for sure. But you know, sometimes we do. We want to take things in our own hands. We want to get even. We want to say something. We have this urge to defend ourselves. But you know, spiritually mature people are self-controlled. You don't need to say it. You don't need to do it. And this is not just talking about in the area of defending yourself. This is also self-control in the area of sin. Control your mouth. Are you someone who's constantly running your mouth and saying foolish things? If so, should that same mouth be used to teach the word? Is it ready yet? Control your thoughts. Kind of thoughts do you allow to bombard yourself. How are you supposed to help others if you yourself are constantly defeated in your thoughts? This is not a message of condemnation. This is a message of correction and even encouragement because you can get over these things. You can. This will give you a goal, something to aspire to. Again, this is not perfection. These are just areas in which we need to be above reproach. Control your thoughts. Become a person who walks in victory. Become a person who's focused. Become a person who can think according to the word. And it's for your own benefit that the scripture puts these requirements on you. Because if you're promoted and you haven't had the character developed properly or you haven't had your spiritual life developed properly, ministry will destroy you. You guys, please hear me. If you step into public leadership ministry or preaching or teaching whatever it may be, any type of spiritual authority, you step into that leadership role in the church. It will destroy you if you're not ready. So this is God's grace. So be encouraged to know you can do this. You can aspire to this. You can reach this. Some of you maybe you're saying, Hey, you know what? I think I have these things in order. Again, not perfect in all these areas, but you have them in order. There's a good hold on them. Next, you control your ego. Are you argumentative and confrontational? Do you constantly need to be validated? Self-control. Control your life. Control your tongue. Control your thoughts. Control your actions. Self-control. The ability to say no to yourself when you want something. It's easy to say no to people when they want something. We just tell them, oh, don't do it. Ah, but when you want something, when you want to say something, do something, think something, justify something, it's much more difficult to say no to yourself because you're the one who wants it. And you don't want to say no to yourself. So that's number four, self-control. Number five, the scripture says that we should live wisely. This means you can navigate difficult circumstances. You don't make rash decisions. You don't panic under pressure. You can deal with people and conflict. You know, wisdom is really good at resolving conflict between people. There have been times when I've had to deal with situations as a leader in the church, where two people are not getting along. Now, if there's no wisdom to be applied there, and it comes from the Lord and the Word, well, then you could possibly make the situation worse. But we as people who are in leadership roles, we must live wisely. We must think according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Number seven, hospitable, hospitality. I always thought that's kind of a funny word. Hospitable is supposed to be a welcoming word, but isn't it sound threatening? But you should be hospitable. Yeah, it sounds almost like hospitable. Hospitable is a good word. It means you're welcoming. You're a people person. You're caring and welcoming. You have a servant's heart, and you're a people person. If you don't like people, don't do ministry. Some people are more interested in crowds than they are in people. Wow, that's the truth. They're more interested in follower counts and view counts than they are in people. If you're not a people person, ministry is just not a good place to be. I promise you that. So number four, self-control. And as I said, some of these points, I'll spend a little more time on others. I'll just kind of run through the list because they don't necessarily require such a breakdown. Number four, yourself-controlled. Number five, you live wisely. Number six, oh, I skipped number six. Number six, you have a good reputation. This is both inside the church and outside the church. Now, on this point of number six, good reputation. Good luck doing that in the chapters there later, Brit. Organizing that. Verse seven here, at the end of the scripture, the Bible says that they speak while of him, also outside the church. So the Bible repeats this point really twice, having a good reputation. And it repeats it twice to make it clear that you ought to have a good reputation in the church and outside of the church. If you read the full context again, that's 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 7, you'll see that it says that you must have a good reputation and then also a good reputation outside the church. So that's to say you need a good reputation within the church and outside of the church. I can't tell you how many times I almost put someone on staff or in a ministry role. I did some digging and then people outside the church said, no, they're here. They're here drinking with us every weekend. Wow, wow, wow. They're partying all the time. That's funny that sometimes people outside the church know more about you than people within the church. And they know things that you don't want the people within the church to know. But number six is, do you have a good reputation within the church and outside of the church? Or are you constantly bickering with everybody? Look, if you've had to go from church to church to church to church to church, constantly being in conflict with people, constantly being offended, then you really have to start being honest with yourself. Maybe, maybe, the issue is you. Do you have a good reputation within the church and outside of the church? That's what the Bible requires for people in leadership position. Number seven, hospitable. This is someone who is caring, welcoming, humble, has a servant's heart. They're a people person. Now, I'm going to park it here at this point for a little bit. But before I do, before I get to number eight, let me just pause here for a moment and ask everyone who's watching this right now, I want everyone to say something about the message right now. Whether you're watching live or whether you're watching the replay. Also, everybody, please click that like button, watching live or on the replay. It helps to spread the content all around. If you're new here, we live stream every single Wednesday at 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. That's California time. We also post videos, sermons, teachings on the Holy Spirit, prayer, spiritual warfare, and such topics. We also show the power of the Holy Spirit in action. If you're looking for a channel that's spirit-filled and biblically balanced, then Encounter TV is for you. Encounter TV is the Holy Spirit channel. So subscribe right now if you're enjoying some of this content and I know you will enjoy the rest. But everybody go ahead and say something and also everybody make sure you leave a like on the video right now. Steve, how's the chat doing before I get into number eight? Hey, chat's been doing amazing. I've been following up with a lot of questions here as well as a lot of people giving some great comments. I want to read a few here. This one comes from our friend Barry. Barry said, self-control is something I strive for daily because I work with a lot of people that always challenge my beliefs and try to call me out. I know God uses me in these moments to teach me self-control. And I want to read one more here. This was from Grace. God has restored me over and over and over again and I am so glad He has shown me so much grace. Well, thank you, Grace. Well, amen and God bless you all. Thank you for commenting. I'm going to get now into point number eight. I'm going to park it here for just a little bit and then I'll run through some of the other points a little more briefly. Number eight, able to teach. Able to teach. Go to 2nd Timothy 2.15. I want to show you something. Very popular verse. I'm reading out of the King James Version. 2nd Timothy 2.15 says, study to show thyself approved unto God. Not unto man. Study to show thyself approved unto God. So you're not studying so that you can impress people. You're studying so that you can impart. Study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. Okay, this is so important. The word of God is not a fortune cookie. You can't just pick some verses and say, this is what it means to me. Or this is what I'm getting out of it today. Now, you can glean a lot from many different perspectives from just one or two verses. That's true. But to change the core meaning of any portion of scripture or verse based upon whatever you want it to mean. Well, that's dangerous. Few things are more tragic than when a Bible illiterate person has a platform and zealous followers. That's tragic. And usually you'll notice that there's a lot of zeal around false doctrine. Why? Because it attracts the spiritually immature. It attracts the spiritually rebellious. It attracts those who want to skip the maturity process. So be very careful what you build your ministry on. I'm serious. This is a very important point. If you build your ministry on poor doctrine, it will not last. If you build your ministry on misapplications and misunderstandings of the scripture, that ministry will not last. Why? Because though you're using the scripture, you're not building that house upon the word. You're building it upon your opinion. Wow, right. We as a ministry really began to grow when we started the teachings. Now, we would post all the time clips of the power of the Holy Ghost moving. And those would get a lot of views. But very few people would stick around on a consistent basis to receive from the ministry. It wasn't until I started teaching regularly on the channel that we started to see the real growth and sustainable growth. You can teach something that's heresy. You can teach something that's wild. You can teach something that's seemingly new. And man, it will attract views. It will attract clicks. It will attract plays. But that burns out quickly. Don't be a shooting star. Be a stable star. Wow. Shooting stars, they get attention, then they're gone. And then everyone goes back to looking at the stable stars. Now, this is not about becoming someone who people look at. That's not what I'm saying. I'm talking about letting your light shine in such a way that people are helped. But if you build your ministry on poor doctrines, on a wild conspiracy theories, on misapplications of the word, you're in trouble. You're in danger. You're endangering the future of your ministry. Because A, you're going to lose more credibility than you think you are. Remember, there's a very deceptive effect that the loud minority has. Please hear what I'm saying, because I'm sharing some real hard, heavy truth with you here. And this will spare you a lot of trouble. When we put things out there, when we teach the word, whether from a pulpit or from a YouTube video or from a podcast or from a blog or website, a book, you name it. Sometimes we will listen to the loud minority who's very excited about what we're saying, rather than comparing what we're saying to the scripture. And because we have a very zealous small group around us who are encouraging us, well, we become filled with pride. And we double down on doctrines of devils. We double down on poor applications of scripture. We double down on the wild and the bizarre and the interesting, but unhelpful. Be very careful about that. Because now, even though you're impressing a smaller group, you're losing your ability to minister to the body of Christ at large. Now, that's a deceptive effect that some people may have. That's why you can't be swayed by criticisms or compliments, because certain people will cheer you on. Oh, yeah, keep going, keep going on this, keep saying that, keep telling me what I want to hear. And what begins to happen is you cater to that person. But it's very difficult to build a ministry with longevity like that. You must be able to teach what the Bible actually says. Right. Don't mistake information with truth. Don't mistake information with truth. What do I mean by that? It means that just because I'm talking and saying things, doesn't mean that what I'm giving is truth. You have to be able to show it from the scripture. You have to be able to show it from the word. Not always chapter and verse. I'm not one of these guys who show it to me chapter and verse, but at least in biblical principle. Like, you won't see the word rapture in the Bible, but in principle, you see that doctrine. Very clearly laid out. So, you know, we can be tempted to just throw things out there because we're lazy in our study of God's word. I'll give you an example of what I mean. And I use this example a lot, but I think it's really helpful. And again, I'm giving this to you because I want you to succeed in ministry. I want you to do well. I want you to be spiritually promoted. I want that for you more than anything because that means there's gonna be more of us out there spreading the word. That's what I want. And anyone who knows this, ministry knows that we love to promote other ministries and support other ministries. And as long as they're biblically balanced, we're gonna stand behind them. That's just what we do. But I'm giving you these truths because you need to hear them. And they're gonna spare you a lot of trouble. But there's this portion of scripture in the book of Acts where the story goes that there's a young man listening to a sermon and he falls out of the window and he lands on the street and he's killed. He's dead. Then he's raised from the dead and the people rejoice. Now, what is that portion of scripture telling us? Well, it's a historical church account about a young man who was listening to a sermon, who died and then rose from the dead. And it gives us this hope because it demonstrates to us that God controls even death. He has power even over the grave, right? So, but I've heard it preached almost like allegorical, but I've heard it preached almost like allegorically to where I've heard some say, well, what this represents is he had one foot in the church, one foot out of the church, and that represented Luke's warmness and that's why he fell out of the window. Or this represents spiritually asleep people and then if you're spiritually sleeping, you're gonna fall away from the church and into death and I'm thinking, that's not what it says. Or I heard it preached another way where this one text I've heard preached so many different ways. Or that young man represented your dreams and God's gonna resurrect your dreams and it may look dead, but God's gonna resurrect. I thought, how did I don't even get that? And people will say, oh my goodness, I never saw that before. And I'm saying, yeah, because it's not there. And we do this with the scripture. You guys, this is sad, this is what happens. And what happens is we'll just pick a verse and we'll go, okay, I'm gonna use that, that, that. We just kind of make up things that sound neat and just go preach them. Like that's what the Bible's saying. You have to understand that when the Holy Spirit inspired the scripture, that he inspired the scripture with intention. Every verse, every chapter, every story has a purpose and a message. This doesn't mean we can't glean multiple perspectives on those truths. What I'm saying is don't change the truth. Don't add your own truth. Don't just be lazy and slap some life lessons onto a story that has no symbolism spiritually, but you just pick out little things and say that's symbolic for spiritual principles. We can't do that. We have to be very careful with how we handle the word. Not what can I get out of this? Not what would be a great analogy? Not how would this make a great allegory? But what is the Bible saying? Sometimes, yes, there are stories that should be used allegorically. Sometimes, yes, there are clear instructions in scripture given to us that are for life application, but you have to study to know which is which. So the Bible's not a fortune cookie. We can't mistake information for truth, but we just go off listing things that we've heard, this, this, this, this, this, and people write them down. You gotta realize, when you preach, people are writing stuff down. You're just saying things, people are writing them down, and then they go and take that, and they say, this is what I've learned, and they don't realize there's no scriptural backing for it. So it's very dangerous, very, very, very, very dangerous if we're just saying things without really studying the scripture. Guys, this is so important because you will be used by God. You may be someone who believes that God is going to give you a teaching or preaching platform, and I pray he gives it to you. I really do. That's my hope. But I'm saying this as your brother who loves you. I'm not trying to condemn you. I'm not trying to say, even I have it all perfectly worked out. I'm saying that we as leaders must commit ourselves to teaching according to what the Bible says and not superimpose our own ideas on the scripture. That's so important. So able to teach that is a very clear sign that you're ready for public leadership ministry. Number nine, not a heavy drinker. And that's what the Bible says. This applies to drugs and yes, to weed. You can see that in the scripture. I showed that. I think I have a lesson. I think I did that on open doors to the demonic. I talked a little bit about how that's sorcery. That's sorcery. And yes, the Bible does say a little wine for the stomach's sake, there's a difference between using substances medicinally, which is biblical and recreationally, which is not. Now people say, well, David, doesn't the Bible say that we could drink a little or can't you examine the scripture and find in there that we can if we want to drink a little bit of wine here and there. Look, you can do that if you want. You can do that if you want. And if you don't get drunk, okay, yes. You're following biblical guidelines. You can live that way. Here's how I see it. I'm not asking God, how close can I get to the line and still be used by you? That's not what I want to know. I want to say, Lord, how far can I get that line from that line and how far can I go in you? How far can I go in ministry? How much power can I demonstrate through the obedience that you've allowed me to have through your grace? I want to get as far away from that line of compromise as possible. I'm not saying, Lord, what's the closest? What's the most I can drink, Lord? What's the most I can do? Well, if I, and only you can know this if you're doing things in this way, you know your own heart for the most part. You know what your intentions are. You know what your motives are. There's just no benefit for it. Yes, biblically speaking, I admit that the Bible does leave room if you want to drink now and then as long as you're not getting drunk. Why then you would drink? I don't know. I thought that was the purpose of getting alcohol. You tell me, I don't know. But as far as for me, I'm going to stay away from that line as far away from that line as humanly possible. I don't even want the appearance of it. So not a heavy drinker. So yeah, we can debate all day on if you drink a little bit of wine or have a little sip of beer now and then. That is debatable. I must admit that because I can't force the scripture to say something that it doesn't. But what is clear is that you shouldn't be getting drunk all the time. You shouldn't be a heavy drinker. You shouldn't have a lifestyle of alcoholism. And that would apply to other substances as well. Number 10, not violent. Are you angry? Do you fly off the handle? Are you constantly getting into fights? Okay, not time for ministry. Number 11, gentle, not quarrelsome. Now this is not talking about a personality type because some people have more gentle personality types than others and some people just kind of have a rough personality and that's not what the scripture is talking about. So we mustn't dismiss people who have just a little bit of a rougher personality. But this is talking about people who love to get into arguments. You know what people like to argue? People like to argue because they like to show off how much knowledge they imagine they have. People like to argue because they want people to look and see look how intelligent they are. I'm all for discussion and really trying to understand each other. But to me it's not about winning a debate. It's about understanding my brother or my sister. To me it's not about winning an argument. It's about explaining myself clearly so that people can walk away with the application for their lives from the teachings and maybe clear up some confusion. So yes, I'll discuss things with people because I want to explain things or explain my position or even discuss things so we can understand each other a little bit more. But to argue just because you want to argue that's just not that's not becoming of a minister of the gospel or a Christian leader. If you're constantly getting into arguments, constantly getting into debates, constantly getting into quarrels and feuds and confrontation, there's something wrong. That's, and by the way guys, that's a red flag to you in your own life for other things, not even just for ministry. There's something off there. It's ego inflated. Number 12 does not love money, okay? The ministry account is not your personal piggy bank. The ministry account is not there so you can wear Gucci. The ministry account is not there so that you can line your pocket. Yes, you can get a salary from the ministry that's approved by a board is the biblical way to do it, at least in my opinion. But if you're looking at ministry income, just because you want to consume it for yourself, you love money. If you're preaching for what you can get, that's the spirit of a hireling and you're just doing it for money. And only you know that, here's the thing, only you know that because it's biblical to take offerings. It's biblical to raise support for the gospel. But the question is, are you in ministry so that you can raise money? Or, are you in ministry just for raising money or do you raise the money for the ministry? But only you know that because it looks exact, on the outside looking in, that's gonna look exactly the same. Let's just be real. One ministry raising money over here, one ministry raising money over there. It looks the same to me from the outside, but only you know why. Only you know what your goals are. Do you dream of growing the ministry to grow your bank account? Or do you dream of growing your resources and bank account so you can grow the ministry? It looks the same on the outside, only you know the motive. Does not love money. Number 13, manages their household. Now, you have to have personal affairs and order if you're gonna be in ministry. And this I believe extends to your finances too. This is talking about being able to manage earthly matters. How can you be trusted with spiritual responsibilities if you can't manage earthly responsibilities? How do you manage the responsibilities of the job you work at? How do you manage your financial responsibilities? How do you manage your household responsibilities? How do you manage your marriage, your children? Now, let me say this. This is not talking about people who have backslidden children because then there would be such a mass disqualification that I think a lot of qualified leaders biblically wouldn't be in ministry. Look, I know many wonderful men and women of God whose children have gone astray, but this is talking about the children under your household that you still have authority over. Are you just letting them get away with anything? Or are you implementing discipline? So this is talking about the parents who don't discipline their children and don't attempt to teach them the ways of God. Ultimately, they're going to make their own decisions. They're going to possibly backslide. That's just a fact that happens in some households, but that wouldn't necessarily automatically disqualify the parents. This is talking about managing what's under your control and taking care of earthly affairs. Number 14, this is important, not a new believer. Okay, new believers can serve in ministry. New believers can minister the gospel on the streets to their loved ones. New believers can pray for the sick. Sure, but as far as leadership positions, you shouldn't give it to a new believer. Let me show you some signs here. I'm going to give you a list here. And this is how you can tell if someone was put into ministry before they had spiritual maturity. I'm going to give you some red, you know, this little trend, red flags. And this is not, let me tell you this, this is not so you can go around criticizing other people. This is so you can do a heart check on yourself. Okay, so don't use this as ammo against people. That's not the way of Christ. We are to examine ourselves here. Okay, this is why I'm giving you this. Okay, you can tell someone was promoted too soon by number one, their inability to receive any correction. Number two, their inability to handle criticism. I got a constant anger and tension on them. They're constant criticism of other ministers. You hear talk like this when nobody says what I'm saying, nobody does what I does. Well, your pastor, this, this and this, and your pastor's weak like that. And your pastor doesn't have my power and your pastor doesn't do what I do. Constantly criticizing other ministers. That's a sign someone was promoted too soon. A constant need for validation. This comes in the sharing of constantly bragging about numbers and accomplishments. Now, if you wanna share an accomplishment or your ministry is growing and you wanna share something about that, by all means do it. But I'm giving this to you so you can check your heart when you do it, okay? So some people that say your book becomes a best seller, I would wanna see that. If one of your books becomes a best seller, please post it, I'd love to see that because I would celebrate with you. But you have to check your heart as to why you're doing it. Another sign someone was promoted too soon, they have a habit of exaggerating. I can't tell you how many times I've been scrolling online and I'll see on Instagram or Facebook, a picture of maybe a hundred people. I saw one time and I won't say who or what and I won't even give the exact caption because I'm not here to criticize anybody. This is just for your own examination. I saw a picture, there maybe was like 150 Steve, 150 to 200 people in the photo and the caption said thousands gathered to receive. Da, da, da, da, da. I thought, why? I thought, okay, A, most people know what they're doing. There was very few people who I'm sure didn't catch on to that. And B, what is the need for that? Why do that? Why would that be necessary? You have to ask yourself why you exaggerate if you do. If you're an exaggerator, why do you do that? Why do you feel the need to exaggerate? It's because there's some insecurity and that insecurity comes usually because someone was promoted too soon. And then finally, their inability to rightly handle God's word just constantly all over the place with doctrine. So again, guys, this is not ammo against people. This is tools for examining ourselves. Now there's nothing wrong with sharing accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with posting goals and all that, that's wonderful. Do it, but check your heart while you do it. So those are signs that someone was promoted too soon and really there's an epidemic of this. Why? Because anybody can have a podcast. Anybody can have a YouTube channel. Anybody can have a website. Anybody can have a social media following. And the problem is that if it gets any traction suddenly they have validation when they shouldn't have been put there in the first place. Scary because it's headed toward disaster. Now this may sound like some, I'm not even old, I'm a young guy, but this may sound like some old disgruntled guy trying to hold people back. No, if you know this ministry and you know me, you know we're all about platforming others and promoting others. You've seen it firsthand over and over and over again. So I'm not saying that we shouldn't write a blog or start a channel. I'm saying that when it comes to public, spiritual, leadership authority, that there has to be a process before there's a platform. And people can skip that process today because the platform now is on our phones. Wow, wow, yep. There has to be a process before there's a platform and people are skipping the process because the platform is on their phones now. Share what you wanna share. Post what you wanna post. I'm not some disgruntled guy saying stop doing that. We need to get the gospel out. But I'm saying this does not position someone as an official church leader. That comes by the Lord's grace. That comes by God's appointment. And so we have to be very careful with this. Again, don't take this and attack others. This is for you. This is for me. I have to constantly check myself on these things too. Don't rush the process. If you rush the process, all you get is responsibility without experience. Wow. If you rush the process, all you get is responsibility without experience. And I'm not even talking about a length of time because there's people who are saved for 10 years and they're still new believers. It's a matter of spiritual maturity. Putting in the time with God, going through the process, allowing yourself to be corrected and guided. This is so important that we do these things. Not a new believer. Not a spiritual newborn. Because, please hear me, you'll destroy their lives because they'll get into this position and then they won't be able to know who to receive correction from. Why? Because they're so puffed up. That's what the Bible, let me show you this again. Let's read it again. Verse six, a church leader must not be a new believer because he might become proud, right? And the devil would cause him to fall. This is not, this is not God being mean. God is not being mean and saying, I want to hold you back from accomplishing your dreams. The scripture is not trying to stifle your gifts. The scripture is giving you safety nets. This is not a matter of God trying to keep us down. He wouldn't do that. Rather, this is the Lord giving us protection because what happens is they can't handle correction when they get into these places. You could see it, there's just this angry tension in everything they say and do. They can't handle criticism. They can't receive correction because I know and you don't. Everyone else is wrong and I'm right. That's what they think. Constant criticism of other ministers and ministries. They don't do it like me. They don't have the power like me. Your pastor's this, your pastor's that, your leaders are this. Leave your church because they're not like me. It's sad. Constant need for validation. Constant exaggeration of numbers. Inability to rightly handle the word. Make sure this isn't you people of God. That's what the scripture's describing here. Finally, number 15, you know you've been called if you've been appointed. Acts chapter 14 verse 23, Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord in whom they had put their trust. Here we see Paul and Barnabas appointing elders. Now, this is gonna be a point that's rather difficult for some to receive. Because if you're coming from this frame of mind that there's no structure to the church. There's no authority in the church. There's no protocol to becoming a spiritual leader. Well, then this just isn't gonna sit right with your spirit as they say. That's what people say. Whenever they hear something they don't agree with. Well, this doesn't sit right with my spirit. Well, who cares if it sits right with your spirit or not? Does it sit right with the scriptures? The question, and here the Bible makes it clear that they must be appointed. The disciples didn't just go. They were sent. Right. By a spiritual leader who themselves had been sent. In the New Testament, works are begun through sending. Even Saul when he became Paul had Ananias. Why didn't he just go start preaching? Why didn't he just go right from that road and start doing things? Well, he had to have the scales removed. Okay, why didn't the Lord do it himself? Why? Because Ananias needed to lay hands on him. Paul the apostle, think about this. Please think about this. Paul the apostle saw Jesus right there in front of him. And God still told him, go have Ananias lay hands on you so you can be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why didn't Jesus just, the Bible says that Jesus is the baptizer or teaches that Jesus is the baptizer. Why didn't Jesus just give him the Holy Spirit? Well, because there's order in God's church. There's order in God's house. And so Paul needed to have hands laid upon him. Paul needed to have that appointment. They weren't just rogue believers who said, I feel this, so I'm gonna go, no, in the New Testament church, God's way of doing it is to send, to send. And this is why people leave churches, not all the time. This is why, because they don't wanna submit to the process, they'll leave a church, say, oh, they're so controlling. Granted, there are very controlling churches. I'll admit that. I run into some of them and I say, this isn't a church, this is a cult. I have a whole sermon on YouTube on how to know when you're in a cult and not a church. But you know, sometimes we do that. We'll go in while they don't validate my gift. They're not giving me the platform I want. They're not listening to me like I wanna be listened to. So they go from church to church. They can't find the validation because they're not willing to submit to the process. So what do they say? They just label the pastors as controlling. Oh, they're controlling over there. They're, oh, they're legalistic. Well, wait a minute. Are they legalistic or are they orderly? And then they just roam around so they can find someone online like me until I tell them what they don't wanna hear and now they're gonna go watch something else. Maybe they'll watch the space shuttle launch from tonight. I don't know. And look, I know I'm being a little humorous with this. I try to add some levity through some humor, but I know this is a tough topic because these emotions go so deep, don't they? We really do feel betrayed. We really do feel we were controlled. And so what happens, especially after the pandemic, we have a mass of people who left their churches because they saw themselves as some spiritually elite group that didn't need a process. Wow. And they'll go anywhere that will tell them what they wanna hear. Isn't that funny? We can control what we hear now. I don't like what they're saying. So they changed the video. I don't like what I'm seeing. So they changed the podcast. Everything's just catered to us now, isn't it? We can decide what we hear and what we don't wanna hear. And anything that corrects us, if we have ego, it's, oh, well, this doesn't sit right with my spirit. That guy's way off. Let me change it. Anything that agrees with us, ah, this guy now. Preaching truth. I've had some people do that with me. When they like what I say, I'm bold. When they don't like what I say, I'm arrogant. So it depends whether I agree with them or not. This is why we all, all, me included, okay? I'm throwing myself right in there with you. This is why we all have to bow to the word. And the word teaches that there was appointment, submission, authority. They didn't just go out and say, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a this. I'm an evangelist. I didn't just get up one day. I'm an evangelist. No, I served in a church. Come on. A body of people, elders around me. There's safety in that. Don't you see there's safety. Now maybe you did go to a church that wasn't so godly. And yes, there are legalistic churches out there. Okay, we've, we've admitted this, but that doesn't mean that all churches are legalistic or all churches are controlling. I think God, I think God, Steve, that you and I go to a church where we have solid leadership. We have great church we go to. And there's a lot of churches I know that are like this, you know, where our church has such awesome leadership. It's, it's not like a dictatorship. It really is. Yes, we have our one pastor and he's the senior leader, but he surrounded himself with other ministers who have influence and there's this safety of elders in the body of, and the church is like a family. This is what it was supposed to be. And it was actually out of that that Steve and I were launched. Right. Steve was appointed as a worship minister through that work. I was appointed as an evangelist through that work. I'm ordained, I'm not ordained under David Hernandez ministries. The guys who come after me, I'm working with a lot of other evangelists and pastors who God is raising, but who I have the privilege of helping along that process. So I will ordain them eventually, but as far as my automate, I'm under a different ministry. Why, why? Because it's God's plan of appointment. They didn't just go, they were sent. And in order to have that, you have to be known. Why? You have to be known. You have to be trusted. You have to be respected. You have to be familiar. That's why God designed it that way. True success is when those who know you the best respect you the most. You see, you can't get away with being a hypocrite inside a real family. You can't get away with being a hypocrite inside of a real body of Christ where there's accountability, because they all know you. And if you're appointed within a body of believers, well that shows there's validation from the leadership in the community of believers. Now this is not to say that God needs man to raise people. This is to say that when God raises someone, he will use people in place. God will do that. So don't rebel. And guys, I may lose a lot of viewership. I may lose a lot of support for saying this, but I have to tell you the truth. Some of us are in rebellion. Wow. Because we don't want the process, we want the platform. In anyone who doesn't give us the platform, we label them as controlling and we leave with bitterness and offense and we heap unto ourselves people who will tell us, oh no, no, no, they're just jealous of how anointed you are. You're so spiritually elite that they can't handle you. Really? Sounds like the flesh to me. And I say this because I love you and I care about you. And I want you to do well. I want you to go far. I want you to have a solid foundation. So yeah, all of us should be in ministry, but there are levels to spiritual influence. And if you want a spiritual position of leadership, there are going to be qualifications that you have to meet. That's what the Bible teaches. This isn't legalism, this is order. It's God's order. Legalism is trying to earn your salvation by works. This is just obedience to the word here. So number one, God calls you. Number two, you're living a life above reproach, not perfection, but above reproach. Number three, you're faithful in marriage or if you're single and married people and single people, this is talking about sexual purity. Number four, you're self-controlled. Number five, you live wisely. Number six, good reputation. Number seven, hospitable. Number eight, able to teach. Nine, not a heavy drinker. 10, not violent. 11, gentle, not quarrelsome. 12, he does not love money. 13, manages household. 14, not a new believer. Remember, it's not just a matter of time, but of maturity. Number 15, you've been appointed. Get with the community of believers who could recognize the gift on your life and be a part of your appointment. There's safety in that. There's real safety in that. I wanna pray with you now. I wanna pray that the enemy wouldn't use this message in a twisted way to condemn you. And I wanna pray that God would inspire you, the Holy Spirit would inspire you to pursue this. And again, you guys, this is not a standard of perfection. I could probably go through this list and point to you a couple of ways I fail in a lot of these things. Like, patient or gentle, sometimes I'm not so gentle. Able to teach, sometimes I miss it on certain topics. There's lots of things that we all use help in or we all could use help in. The Father in the name of Jesus. Father, first I pray that the enemy would not try to twist your word against your people. I come against the spirit of religion and legalism and condemnation. And I rebuke the lies of the enemy. Holy Spirit, I pray your people would be inspired to pursue the work of the ministry. Help us, Lord, to live to this standard that you've presented. And Father, I pray you would bring spiritual promotion to your people. As they've been faithful to your word, bring spiritual promotion to your people. It's the presence of the Holy Ghost. I want you right now to begin to talk to the Lord. Ask him to use you. I want you live or replay. I want you to write it in the comments. Write, use me, Lord. Just those three simple words. Write, use me, Lord. And Father, I pray you would use them. Raise them for your glory and use them to honor your name. In the matchless name of Jesus, we pray. And Father, let your presence be sensed even now. Let your healing virtue flow. Remove every sickness and disease. Break every bondage. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, we're gonna chat with you in a moment. We're gonna read your comments. But first, I wanna talk to you about a reality that we will possibly all be facing one day. You don't have to be necessarily discerning in order to see what's happening in our world today. The enemy is fighting hard against the gospel. And the powers that be, if they could, they would silence the church. This is why our ministry is working toward a major goal. And that major goal is to establish our own video platform that will be hosted on a third party but backed up with our own data center. This is important because should anyone ever decide to pull the plug, we need to make sure that everything we've put together, all that we've recorded, all the teachings would still be available to those who still wanted it. That's not the only reason we're doing this, but we wanna expand. It's not just surviving, guys. We're talking about thriving here, going to the next level in ministry. I wanna show you this quick video. Don't go anywhere. I want you to see it. We're gonna chat afterwards. I wanna show you this quick video about the latest project from EncounterTV. It's a big one. It's the biggest project we've ever undertaken. We will finish the project. And I need your help with it. Watch this. Countries around the world have now reported more than one million coronavirus cases. More than three billion people have been asked to stay at home. Protests started at about noon today at Seattle but turned destructive right now. The Bible says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Jesus is the only way to God. We are witnessing the greatest miracle of all, the salvation of the soul. Creation cries out for a move of the Holy Spirit. It's time to take the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to the nations of the world. The harvest is ready. God has given David Diger Hernandez a plan to reach the masses as this ministry continues to experience rapid growth in favor. We now turn our sights to the next phase of the vision. We are building a new media center in Austin, Texas. We have the keys to the building and we've already begun to build. This media center is more than just a building. It's a heavenly stronghold, a victory for kingdom expansion and advancement of dominion. Not only will this be a place that produces spirit filled media that touches the nations but this will also be a place of gathering, prayer, in the home of our own data center which will help us to back up our own video platform so that we aren't subject to the whims of worldly big tech companies. This will be the Holy Spirit's video platform. Dare to believe big with us. Put a little faith in a big guy and watch what he will do. You can be a part of something that changes everything. Even in these chaotic times, God's church is victorious. Get involved by going to DavidHernandezministries.com slash expand. We've secured our building and now we need to get to work. Help us build this next level soul winning work. I need your help. Get informed about and involved with this project by going right now to DavidHernandezministries.com slash expand. With over 1.2 million followers and supporters from across our various platforms, we can make this God given vision a reality. If everyone, including you, does their part. There's a remnant that's going after the soul of this generation. Together and with our God, we can do this for nothing is impossible with God. So we need your help and we need your help big time, big time. There's a huge goal that we have. You can read all about it at DavidHernandezministries.com slash expand. We're putting that link in the comment section right now. So whether you're watching live or on the replay, we need you. If even just, I think we did the math that even just half of our viewers, even if just half of our YouTube channel members or our subscribers, I should say, even if just half of you on YouTube who subscribed to EncounterTV gave anywhere between 25 to $100. And I'm talking just half of our subscribers. We would meet the funding for phase one, two and three and possibly even go over our goal. So don't say someone else, don't say some other time, do it now. Now, the reality is that not everybody can participate. So if you can do more than what I just mentioned, do that and just know that you're helping to make up for those who will be unable to help. But if you're watching this and it's in your ability to do it, then join forces with us. I saw in the comment section, somebody said it's like a superhero movie. Well, in a way, Jesus is coming to the rescue to save the world and we wanna be a part of what he's doing in the earth. So join forces with believers from all around the world and help us meet this goal. Now some of you, business people and people whom God has blessed financially, we need you to consider doing larger gifts. We just had a couple, actually before we put this video out, we had a couple give $200,000 from one couple. And we would have never suspected that that was something they would have done right off the bat. They gave $200,000 toward the project and they said, we just felt in our hearts, this was something we wanted to do, something we wanted to help with. This is something that they did, be inspired by their generosity. Maybe there are some others watching. You're a business person or God has blessed you financially. You can do those larger gifts. We need as many of you to join forces with us as possible. So together, the large donors, the average gifts, all of it together. And by average, I don't mean that as a criticism, I mean that just as a whole, the average gift is about $25 to $50. But all of us together, do your part, big or small, all of us together with our faith in God can do this. We can make this a reality, take everything to the next level and win more souls than ever before and build that video platform. It's gonna be amazing. DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash expand. I need everyone watching this. Live or replay. To go and do something for this project right now. Again, the links are coming up in the comment section. It'll be pinned as a comment later on. DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash expand.