 Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for connecting on today's call today's mentoring our session will be the last Session for the fall semester. We will resume again with the mentoring calls every Thursday next semester on January 11th. So for this morning, let's begin with a word of prayer I'd like to request one of our students to please go ahead and lead us in prayer Okay, brother Sanjay, would you please be able to lead us? Heavenly Father, we just wish to thank you for this power of mentoring. We also pray Father that what we would be learning in this session we will be able to absorb um Whatever you're trying to teach us Father. Let us be led by the Holy Spirit Father and let that word come alive in our lives Father. We we pray that we will be able to become more like you Lord as we hear your word as we learn your word and apply the same to our lives. We pray for a blessing upon all the teachers Father and we pray for a blessing upon all the students Father In Jesus' name we pray. Amen Amen. Thank you so much This morning we have Pastor Paul Emmanuel who will be talking to us about hearing God's voice over to you Paul Thank you so much Pastor Nancy. All right. Welcome everyone. Good morning Right like what we do each week. We just take a few moments to share on hearing God's voice and then we leave it open for questions and discussions right so In a time and season that we are living in there's there's so much of opportunities outside. There's so much that we can get advice and suggestions from the question is About hearing God's voice Is it really needed? Does God speak to us today? Right when we look at what's happening We you know, sometimes there are youth who are looking for direction careers or you got parents who are looking for you know wisdom to raise up their children Or there are youth who are looking for the right spouse and The question here is does God speak to us to people today? And secondly, do we need to hear God's voice and the answer is a resounding. Yes God definitely speaks to us today And we need to be people who can hear God's voice We must be sensitive to the leading of God's voice. Now when I say God's voice It's not always the audible voice That we can hear audibly, but we know that God speaks to us in many different ways He speaks to us through his word through through through people through prophetic words And so we just look at a few Ways that God spoke to people in the scriptures. So we have in the Old Testament record These are not the only ways there are plenty of ways that God spoke, but I just put down a few here He spoke through dreams visions prophets angels Burning bush and so through a gentle voice in the New Testament Now a lot of repetitions of that of the old but also He spoke through the Holy Spirit through signs and waters through the church God speaks to us through a direct word and from the father and through the scriptures How how does God speak to us? What is the pattern? That God normally speaks to us in now again. This is not an exhaustive look This is not like this is the only way that God speaks to us Just put down a few points Of how God speaks to us. So we must be open to different many different ways just a few points here Firstly, God speaks to each one of us uniquely If you look through the scriptures the Apostle Paul While he was on the road to Damascus. It was a dramatic Voice it was very dramatic very public everyone heard Everyone saw that light right and if you look at in the Old Testament When God called Samuel it was a gentle private call So it's a very important lesson for us to learn that when God calls us He calls he speaks to us uniquely I know many of us may want an experience like the Apostle Paul, but we must be open to The way that God speaks to us. We must be open To however, God is willing, you know speaks to us Secondly, God speaks to us personally meaning he He is involved in our lives. He's involved He knows What to speak how to speak into each of our lives also when to speak And all through the scripture you see that God intervened by nature God is A personal God he he he wants to have a personal relationship with us. So when he speaks to us Many times he speaks to us on a personal level Look at Moses You know, he spoke to Moses through the burning bush. He said I am with you you go And do what I've called you to do and Elijah and again in the New Testament as well many other places God speaks to us personally. So maybe some of us may feel hey, I'm not I'm not good enough for me to You know for God to speak to me or for me to hear God's voice That would be wrong because John 10 27 says My sheep hear my voice and I know them And they follow me So as as believers we must we must understand that God wants to speak to us personally Early another way that God speaks to us is God speaks progressively So it's not always that you know when God speaks to us. He he gives us the full picture No, it doesn't always happen that way He normally God when he normally speaks he he gives us portions of the puzzle Right and he expects us to walk in faith Look at Abraham was it's a classic example in in Genesis 12 Abraham God gives Abraham the promise of the covenant saying I will make you a father to many nations Many years go by The covenant the promise I'm sure Abraham had it in his heart But almost about 15 years later Abraham is there in his tent And God retraces that promise in Genesis 15 God tells Abraham Abraham Abraham you come out of your tent Look up onto the skies and look at the stars there That many The number of stars will be your descendants So God when he speaks to us He also speaks progressive progressively. So he brings revelation upon revelation upon revelation Right So it's as I said, it's not always that you know, we have the full picture But we walk every step of the way we say, okay, God, I know you're speaking to me And I know that you will continue to speak to me And so we must be open to that as well Fourthly when God speaks to us. He speaks consistently Meaning he's consistent in character Uh, he he does not worry. He does not change his thoughts don't change Uh, you know, his plans are constant. He knows Uh, what he is doing. He's consistent in his character. So Malachi chapter three and verse six says I the Lord do not change So sometimes, you know, when when God is speaking to us and we we are being ministered by God Through the Holy Spirit or through any other way if it is Not in line with the scriptures or not in line with the character of God, we know That maybe this is not from God because when God speaks it is he's Insistent with his word. He's consistent And with his character who he is right And another pattern is When God speaks He speaks faithfully meaning He whatever he speaks it is done. He will do it But Matthew chapter 24 and verse 35 says heaven and earth will pass away But my words will never pass away Right and there are plenty of scriptures. It says, you know, he says Oh, oh, I swear as my word that it comes out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void But not return to me empty, but it shall fulfill the task for which it has been sent out for so As people each one of us as believers, you know, sometimes we may not be faithful in some of the things we do meaning In our prayer lives or in our personal life. We may have slipped But God is still faithful God will continue to speak God will continue to minister His promises are always a yes and amen. So These are just a few points of God's patterns. Of course, there are many other ways that God speaks but why Why does God speak? What is the purpose? What is the reason? You know, we look at God the creator of the heavens and the earth. Why does he choose to speak to us Just, you know, his even though we are his children yet. He chooses to speak to us and why does he do that? Just again a few points Again, this is not just Not the only three points. There are many many other reasons why God speaks to us But just put down a few God speaks to us to reveal His character That he is loving he's just he's holy Gracious compassionate kind forgiving His nature is revealed when God speaks to us Right when he ministers to our hearts when he ministers to our spirit It is his Nature his character being revealed in us To when God speaks he reveals his purposes Right classic again a perfect example would be that of Jeremiah 2911 a very common passage God is speaking to Jeremiah. Now Jeremiah was You know prophesying during very tumultuous time You know the the Buddha was going through They were going to go into exile The temple is going to be is going to be destroyed. There was so much of turmoil that was going on During the time of Jeremiah and he speaks God speaks to Jeremiah and says for I know The plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you And not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future Now you can just picture this if you think about it Right The people of Judah in in distress are in trouble. They're going through You know the Assyrians are going to come in and You know Take captive people there's so much that's happening and God is speaking to Jeremiah and saying hey Right now it looks this way. It looks like you you're in trouble. Yes, it's true, but I'm speaking and I'm saying I know The plans I have for you And our plans are not to harm you but to give you a good hope and a good future So when God speaks he reveals his purposes Right, so maybe some of us are here. We're thinking oh god. Oh, what what is my purpose or what is God calling me for? Uh, maybe things are not spanning out the way it should look like but we can say god I know the plans You have for me and plans to give me a good hope and a good future Yeah Thirdly the reason why God speaks to us is he God speaks to us to reveal his ways right his How he How he works? Right Psalms 103 in verse 7 is he made known his ways to moses His acts to the children of israel Right gods reveals his ways of righteousness injustice To moses right so when god speaks to us the reason he speaks to us is to reveal his ways right And one of the most primary ways that god speaks to us as believers now again There are many ways as I mentioned gods can speak to us through people Gods can speak to us through his word to Many many dreams visions right all of those ways right, so today just want to No, just dive into one way Focus on one way That is the work of the holy spirit And in the lives of each one of us as believers. How does the holy spirit enable us? To hear the voice of god and I'm sure that all of us are learning this and we already heard these Our scriptures, but just it'll be good to reiterate this the work of the holy spirit in each of our lives I put down a few points here Brings assurance brings Conviction of sin Brings understanding the holy spirit guides us to truth The holy spirit brings comfort. He reveals god's will Calls us into service protects us from sin Produces through reminds us. There's many other Works that the holy spirit does in our lives now One of the most common questions that we get asked is you know I'm for example, if somebody is praying uh for a life partner or or or Or uh, you know, they have a plan to move to another relocate to another country One of the most common questions that we ask is Is it me or is it god? Or is it just my own thinking? Now these are just a few points and how we can distinguish Whether it is god's voice Or is it our own thoughts now? I'm not saying our own thoughts are wrong our thoughts Could be right as well. Our thoughts could be aligned with Right with god's word. So it's not like our thoughts are always wrong But how do we know that? Okay? This is god. I know that this is god speaking to me and know that this is god ministering to me And and how do I know that okay? Maybe this is my own thought so I need to spend more time and ask god for Clarity and guidance. So just a few points here Number one way that we know that it is god speaking to us is because God's word and god's voice never contradicts scripture Right When when when god speaks it is always in line With the scriptures with god's word. It is always in line Right Jesus said When the spirit of truth comes john 16 13 he will guide you into all truth For he will not speak of his own authority But whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come So god's voice will never contradict god's scripture Right. So for example, if we have we are praying and we're saying god For example, you're praying for a job And you know that you you know, you're putting up your resume And you feel that okay, can I add something extra on this resume something that I haven't done you know that it is not god because It's contradicting the scriptures right, so God's voice never contradicts the scriptures to God's voice is never wrong Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4 says he is a rock his works are perfect and all his ways Are just a faithful god who does no wrong in a right and just he is god's voice is never wrong It is always true. It is always perfect. It is always just right now Our thoughts on the other hand Could be wrong I'm not saying it's always wrong, but it could be wrong Our our thinking our words and actions could be wrong, but when god is leading us It's never wrong Hurley god's voice always I just put a few points that brings peace joy wisdom protection hope exhortation correction and sometimes Our own thoughts when you know brings fear brings doubt brings discouragement And no and then we know okay when god is speaking to me He will never bring in fear or discouragement because when god speaks he will Bring exhortation. He'll bring correction, but there will be a peace. There will be a joy. There will be a feeling of hope and rest Sometimes our thoughts can bring in fear discouragement doubt Uh, you know anxiety and all of that so so then we are able to distinguish right Finally just the last few things. Uh, how do we learn to recognize and respond to god's voice? A few points again here Develop your relationship, right? Pray spend time in god's word Pray meditate on his word worship your personal time with god Is very important for us to recognize god's voice and I always give this example, uh, you know if you're If you have a father or a mother and you know, you've been hearing their voice All all through your life, right? And and so even if they are, you know, maybe they could be in another room And if they call out your name, you know, it's your father or your mother You don't have to see them. You know it because you've heard the voice So many years And it's the same For for us when it comes to hearing god's voice the more we spend time The more we develop our relationship with god The more we will be able to recognize and respond to god's voice right Secondly, uh, seek to understand god's ways You know Isaiah says this so beautifully god your ways are much greater than our ways Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts But it's not like god does not want us to understand the ways he does he does want us to understand How he works so pray and ask god god help me to understand the season or help me to understand your word Or how how you're working in my life. Help me to Understand and respond in the right way I Three prepare your heart When when it comes to recognizing and responding to god's voice You know, there could be things in our heart like pride, anger any other sin and these could be hindrances To they have to hear god's voice. So it's very important that we prepare our heart let go of Pride unforgiveness anger. Let it all go and say god. I'm ready to Hear you. I'm ready to You know just hear from you and do what you have called me to do Fourthly is learn to concentrate when it comes to hearing god's voice And now this is more of a natural ability that we will have to develop roman's dwell talks about renewing of the mind because You know sometimes when you sit to pray and the moment we sit to pray there is You know all the other thoughts that come into our mind And it's a natural thing but But we must learn to put aside those things learn to concentrate In in prayer and concentrate giving our mind focus everything to god We recognize that god is speaking to us then finally develop habitual obedience obedience helps us to Grow closer to god and again the more we are obedient to god the more god begins to reveal and speak and minister to us And so obedience is very important again. This is not an exhaustive list There's so much more ways that we can learn to recognize and respond to god's voice so So, yes, it's like to leave it open now if you'd like to Yeah, let's hand it over to pasta Nancy and then she will take it forward. Thank you Thank you so much pasta paul. Thank you for sharing those key thoughts about why god speaks And hearing god's voice. I know the subject is So very close to all of our hearts and we all want to hear god's voice So i'm sure there must be questions that we have Please go ahead. You may ask your questions You could either unmute and ask or you could please type it on the chat and we will read it out Master paul is here to answer them for us and we have other faculty as well Do you okay? Yes, uh, kofi Please go ahead Lord bless you Where you ended? To be able to hear god voice. There's the need for obedience. I would like to ask a question from that the point of At what point will god speak to somebody? Who is not obedient to his word like that in the case of paul Whom I will say was not a christian Was not a child of god But god spoke to so is the case is where god will speak to people who are disobedient Or who are not christians So I would like to ask a letter clarification there Thank you. Thank you kofi for that question. Sorry, uh, you know the first half of the question I could not hear because I think there was a problem with my network, but uh Yes, god does speak So if we look at the scriptures, uh, we see that god does speak to even unbelievers. He has he has spoken to them And he will continue to do so right, uh, uh, if you look at King nebuchadnezzar god spoke to him through a dream And and and I'm sure there are many other examples. So yes kofi to answer your question Yes god does speak to Uh unbelievers and the reason he does it is so that you know, they may come to know the truth Yes, I also leave it open to the other faculty Kofi if I'm not wrong, thank you pastor paul. Thank you for clarifying for kofi, uh, the other aspect of what kofi was saying is also that Because we we heard that habitual obedience is necessary It's only then that we can hear the voice of god. So god speaks to unbelievers, but then With regard to habitual obedience any any thoughts Because in um, what we are saying is when When somebody is obedient to the voice of god as they hear it, um, you know, then they can hear it more So Any any thoughts regarding that? Okay, um, yeah, I just add a few thoughts too. Thank you paul, um, let's see Yeah to unbelievers, um, god definitely Speaks in many ways and also I think there is that sovereign Um Act of god when he speaks, you know, like what we think very loudly very clearly to certain people You know, like the way he encountered soul Uh, so job says in job 33 and he's talking about even the unsafe that god will speak to them in a dream He will warn them to warn the wicked from their way So god is, you know Dreams is one way that he uses to speak to every person, uh, even the unbelievers Uh, so even if it's not uh in aspectacular as what sol encountered on the road to Damascus dreams could be one way God speaks to the unbelievers So that's just an additional thought. So, uh, in speaking in very spectacular ways I think that's just a sovereign act of god, you know, the question you would ask is Why doesn't god just speak to the whole world of unbelievers the way he did to solve to show up to everybody then all become believers that That's a simple thing. But uh, that's a sovereign thing of god act of god Like he did it in salt life or other, you know, certain individuals or cornelious He was a development where he wasn't saved And uh, you know, the lord sent an angel to speak to him and From the the hearing god's voice and obedience, I think um, what jesus said in john 14 Versus 21 and 23 is um Very relevant there. He said he who has my word and keeps it He it is who loves me and my father will love him And I will reveal myself to him So I think that's very powerful because uh, jesus is proceeding Further revelation that is hearing more of him knowing more of him on this foundation of us Loving and obeying him Yeah, first Then there is Further revelation given more, you know, thanks So we kind of just reiterates what paul just shared that when we're living in that place So I'm loving him and keeping his word then jesus says I will reveal more and he says my father and I will come and dwell with him So a greater revelation greater presence Comes out of this place of obedience to what you already know Thank you pastor. Thank you for covering both the aspects of what kofi had asked about We'll move on to the next question here by Metro stars kennedy welcome So kennedy says what is the meaning of the term hearing the still voice of god? And is it considered still? Okay, um paul or any of any any of our faculty who may want to answer this question Please feel free to Sorry pastor nancy. Uh, I think there's a problem with the internet here. So I couldn't uh, The voice is completely breaking. Please repeat that. Sorry. No, no, no problem. I'll repeat that for us Uh, so the question that kennedy has is what is the meaning of the term hearing the still voice of god? And is it considered still? um So, uh, here's how I would put it, uh, and uh, I would say the still voice could be Um, uh a simple voice just just a voice Uh of of assurance right A voice of calmness Right that a calm voice speaking into your spirit right The still small voice So I would say calmness and uh, uh, a steady voice. There's no There's no wavering in that voice. It's just that Voice of direction Yeah, so I would I would say that right? Thank you for those thoughts pastor paul. Uh, just some thoughts From me kennedy. I I feel like, um Hearing the still voice of god, um May probably mean not necessarily. Um, you know here That being a very spectacular Uh boy manner in which god speaks for example in in the case of paul. We said that he had this Dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus. Uh, however, you know, that's not the case always we we kind of hear it in in a If you want to say like a simpler way in our spirit, um, and we You know, we know how our spirit has senses and then our spirit can pick up the voice of god In just simple usual ways. So I feel like That could mean what the still voice is. So If there are any any more thoughts to this Faculty I request us to please add to it All right, um, so I hope that answers your question kennedy Yes, uh, he says thank you. Uh, so thank you so much for that question. We move on to daniel oliver's Uh comment here. I wanted to know that we as human Do some commitment and then take back a commitment or don't fulfill the commitment. Does god also Do such commitment? So does god keep his word does god keep his commitment is what daniel is asking Right. Uh, thank you so much daniel for that question I think the perfect example to answer this question was is that the life of moses Now god chose moses to bring the people of israel out of egypt And god had chosen moses right and but over time what happened was he made the mistake of killing the egyptian Right where he took matters into his own hands and then because of that he had to run away for his life and the whole the whole Season was delayed to about 40 years right, so But god still kept his promise his commitment was god Said I will moses you will bring the people out of egypt Did moses make a mistake? Yes, but did god change his commitment? No so Yes, when when god makes a commitment He he he is true to his commitment, but then there is also our part Well, we must also be willing to say yes god. I trust in you Even though it doesn't it looks like an impossible situation Uh, you know, I will continue to trust in you So if there are delays, uh, it's not always from god Or it could be even our own mistakes or our own challenges Or sometimes the delay can just be there um, so If god is Saying something he will complete it. Uh, but there's also the part where we A part that we have to play in that commitment. So, yeah, thank you Paul Just like to add to what pastor paul shared. There are two scriptures numbers 29 23 19 and titus one two which Um Convey that god does not lie Whatever the lord speaks is the truth And so we can depend on god's word. So, uh, to answer your question daniel Surely god the god who makes those commitments. Yes, he is a promise keeper, but as pastor paul also pointed out We need to Cooperate with god for his purposes to unfold Really hope that this addresses Yes, thank you. Thank you daniel We'll move on to the next question here in our chat Where esther clement asks dear pastor when there are many voices in the mind Especially when one is disturbed or enduring a trial How to be sensitive to the voice of god if you can suggest uh, so esther The voices in the mind will especially right when we are disturbed. We're going through trials There will be many many voices that are coming to our mind Uh, and yes, the mind is a battlefield But robin stwell says, uh Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So there is the The the part where we have to play and say god Oh Help me to remove all of these all of these thoughts. It's a it's a part that we have to do So god helped me to remove put aside all of these thoughts That are disturbing me that i'm looking at in the natural And lord helped me to hear from you uh Right because by nature we we look at things in the natural by nature But we must understand that god is supernatural. So he's he's able to, you know Overwrite the natural things. So So I think one way that we can do that is we intentionally put aside the thoughts that are there in our mind and intentionally just say I'm going to hear from god What does god have to say? Of the situation that i'm going through And then we also keep it in our mind know that you know god you have done wonderful miracles you are god of impossibilities So i'm standing on those words. So i'm standing on your covenant I'm standing on your promise and I want to hear from you god what you have to say For the season that i'm going through Yes, thank you, uh past paul. So we We must kind of realign ourselves to what god is saying um And if any of our faculty have something to add to what paul just shared, please feel free to do that um I was reminded of one of course is what paul shared about the renewed mind. So um having our minds renewed is very helpful Because it can help us focus on god even through those tough and challenging times and there's a beautiful scripture from isaac 26 and Verse three that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the so this uh scripture promises us that as we Keep our focus upon the lord and the way we generally do it is by meditating in god's word and meditating You know about the person of uh our god So when we do that god will keep us in our mind in perfect peace even during those trials or To multistimes and help us. Uh, you know hear the voice of god. Um, so as I I really hope that This has addressed your question. Uh, please do let us know Yes, thank you as the so as the Has confirmed we move on to uh a few more questions here in our chat Where daniel says I have seen in my church that pastor says many announcement That god said to say this announcement then change the schedule all of a sudden How is this possible and god has said how can god change his words? yes, uh, so so daniel One of the ways that we can you know put across things as pastors as leaders is Yes, god ministers to us. You know, we are constantly hearing from god, especially if you're leading a church We need god's direction. We come up with you know God wants us to use our own mind as well right to god is not going to say do amends ministry conference this date So so these are things that we have to plan we have to put across and uh, and I I believe that when as leaders when we are ministering or we're sharing these announcements or we're making these decisions Um, we always we can always say that it's not like god told me to do this this way But we can always say that this is how I sense that god is leading me Right and and when we put it that way so so for example, I sense that you know, uh, we must Uh, not have any conferences in december because people are traveling and it's christmas season just an example, right? uh Now it's just uh as a leader. I'm saying I sense that Right. So I think daniel, uh, we can say that you know the way we put across things to the church and can be changed, right? So in this in this situation Uh, one is you could you know, we can just say that's what I sense that god wants us to do as a church Uh, rather than saying, you know, this is what god told me to do But even if uh, you know, it's not like god has changed his mind Uh, god's god remains the same his plans. See god gives us You know, he he He's given us the vision But for us to fulfill that vision there are things that we must put our mind to and work towards Right. So there are some things that will work some things that may not work Right and uh, so if some things don't work doesn't mean that uh, god has changed his mind Oh, uh, it's just that maybe we should try it another way. So Uh, so to answer your question It's not like god has changed the schedule. It's just that you know, maybe it is the way we put across things to the church can be changed and pastor, uh, if you'd like to add your thoughts as well Um, yeah, I I agree with what paul just shared. So essentially, you know, we are co-workers with god Uh, god speaks but then we have to execute so Many times maybe what god has spoken is correct uh, and then The failure of the lack maybe on our side, but on the other hand also we must acknowledge that Uh, not everything everybody says in the name of the lord is Truly from god, that's why you know in west thessalonians chapter five West 21 20 to 23 When paul is saying, you know, do not despise prophecies the very next statement. He says is test all things Hold fast to what is good Which means that there is the human element there and uh We have to discern what is from god and what is From that one person speaking Or paul also wrote you know plus current is 13. I think in verse eight He said we know in part and he prophesied in part That means when we are prophesying Like what paul only shared god reveals only Little bits of things right. He's not going to tell you a to z about everything Uh, and then sometimes The tendency is people add their own Things to the part that god revealed So that's where we get messed up because maybe god gave one word which was truly genuine But in communicating that one word where we're speaking Added a lot of other things And so the message got corrupted and and misunderstood and Misapplied and so on and so forth and you know, so we have that's what everything has to be tested Before we act on it. Yeah Thank you. First of all, thank you first ashish for Answering daniel's question. I hope This is fine with you daniel. If there are yes, he says, thank you. So we'll move on to carls question and Maybe, you know, this might be the only question we can accommodate In today's session. So I'll just go ahead and Share what he writes here. Thank you team. I've listened to this closely my question There have been few occasions in my personal and professional life Where I and my close friend cell group bible study teachers Strongly believed that god was leading me in a certain direction Decision but in hindsight something unexpected surprising shocking came up and I realized perhaps this was not god's will How do we avoid this kind of situation in the future? It one of it one of the main reason I joined this webinar to solve it But first of all any thoughts Right. Thank you. Carl for this question Yes, this is it's not that You know only you you have gone through it, but I think All of us as believers and as leaders we have gone through it where we've made decisions But sometimes we feel it is, you know, it's not let me give you this example. I remember Uh in 20 20 2019 and we were in mangrove and I was sharing with pastor, you know, we have a place called delacate with many students and You know, we were praying as a church. Can we start a church location there and You know We quickly we prayed and then we started a church location But we had only three Sunday services and then the lockdown happened and we had to just close the the pandemic hit We had to shut down and I went back and I said god, was it your plan? Was it was it something that I heard wrong? Was it You know, was it something that I should have waited on? And so I had the same questions like you Carl. So I think what helped was One of the things I learned from that was to you know, don't be in a hurry but to Wait on god. Maybe even if it's if god extends, you know Especially if it's an important decision Wait more on god get clarity. Maybe, uh, you know, ask god for two or three ways You know, maybe a dream or a prophetic word or you know Just somebody just giving you a word of knowledge or something like that Where you know for certain this god And Secondly, there are going to be unexpected things happening like for example the pandemic nobody for For seen that right nobody knew that this is going to happen So there are some situations that are not in the control of our hands Right, but god knows what he's doing. So we can just let go and say, okay god This is something that I it was not in my control But I know that even though it has affected the ministry or my personal life or my professional life I continue to trust you and I know that You will work out things for me in the future. So um to avoid You know Things like this may be important decisions. I would say spend more time Don't be in a hurry. That's what I learned right don't be in a hurry. Just just stay on god's word Ask god for complete even if it there's a delay because I think by nature we And when god speaks to us, we want to immediately do things That's the mistake that I made. I said, okay, let's do it But I think god is also expects us to wait on him And by waiting on him, I think we can avoid A lot of mistakes and I believe it opened pastor ashish pastor from nancy if you'd like to share your thoughts Thank you. Thank you. Carl. Thank you pastor paul. Uh, Carl. Does that address Your question? Do you have any? Any follow up question to that? Could you please let us know? So Carl says, uh, thank you How do we relate with faith and risk? risk taking faith and risk taking Okay, maybe I'll just direct this to pastor ashish Once we've answered this weekend after this call. Thank you So very quickly. Yeah, so faith So we need to I think this is fair for many of us. We need to differentiate faith And presumption, right? So, um, faith is based on god's word trusting god And uh, when we are taking risk or a faith risk, so to speak, it's it's very important that we do it based on a word that god's spoken But many times we act Not based on what god has spoken to us But maybe what, you know, we've heard somebody else's testimony as somebody else's story or somebody else has done this, you know Or we presume something. So that's called presumption And when we act on presumption, uh, that's really very dangerous. That's a that's when we end up with problems so there is faith and yes faith Obviously is beyond our mind and that's why there's risk But faith is always acting on a word from god, whether it's a written scripture or something god has spoken to you You know god has spoken But when it's not a word from god, then we would refer to it as presumption. And so we need to be very careful of presumption Yeah, I'll pause here because time's up. Yeah Thank you pastor. Thank you for clarifying that and gal Uh, is that okay? Yes. Thank you. Thank you for confirming So there's one last comment here on the chat from Daniel Oliver He says I want to thank the complete apc faculty for providing such good knowledge in this complete semester Your dedication hard work was visible exams were helpful in learning. Thank you so much. Thank you, Daniel for that encouragement. I want to thank pastor paul for Taking up this very important subject for us to Think about this morning. Uh, so thank you for presenting Also, I just want to thank all the faculty all the students for You know this this entire semester. I know we are almost at the close of the semester You know Trusting that each one of you has been blessed and you're enjoying this journey. Thank you for being a part of this journey So this morning, we will wrap up this mentoring last mentoring our session with the word of prayer I will request um If pastor Selena is on the call Yes, yes By the way, thank you god for the way that you enabled us to go through the semester Thank you for all the learnings. Thank you for the way that you spoke to us Thank you for teaching us god. We thank you for your word your word that Trains us in righteousness and holiness and rebukes us and corrects us and guides us father We thank you for your word We thank you for the way you enable each one of us god to go through the semester father god We pray that even as you have taught us From your word and even as you've taught us so many practical things that we can implement that in our lives So that we can grow to be more christlike god and in everything that we do and also we pray that we would live to Glorify you and honor you and extend your kingdom here on earth father. We thank you. We bless you We pray that even as the students go for their break We pray that you'd bless each one of them and god this christmas season would be a blessed time of Just renewing their time with you god and Just experiencing your presence your goodness your faithfulness in and as they celebrate You're coming into this world and even as you they celebrate what you've done in each of their lives Even as you celebrate with their families god that to be a time of refreshing and time of just enjoying your presence god We bless you. We thank you in jesus name with rain amen Amen, thank you pastor salina. Thank you everyone god bless you. Have a wonderful day. Bye for now