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All right, great singing. Thank you so much for being here this evening. Just a few announcements before we sing our next song, which will be 191, if you want to get that right in your song books. In My Heart There Rings a Melody, song number 191. Of course, our services are as follows. Sunday morning is at 1030. Sunday evening is at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at seven o'clock, and we continue this coming Thursday with the book of 1 John. And you see the so many times and teams there as well. Please continue to pray for the list of expecting mothers. And just some important reminders, please make sure that you are supervising your children in the building. No children should be in the mother baby room alone without their parents, and then no men allowed in the mother baby room. Now dads, if you need to take out your children, you're taking turns with your wife, with the children, don't go into the mother baby room, but you can go into the fellowship hall and utilize that as a daddy baby room for now. And then you see the church announcements there. Of course, we had the baby shower, excuse me, for Ms. Chanel, and I heard everything went well there. And then also we're gonna have the ordination of Ulysses Hernandez tonight as the church evangelist. And so I'm gonna be preaching on spiritual gifts tonight. Again, we're going through the series on spiritual gifts. I'm gonna tie it into the ordination. And then afterwards, I'm gonna lay hands on them, and then we're gonna have a little bit of a celebration after the service. We're gonna have pizza and ice cream. Hey man, better way to celebrate than with food, all right? So make sure you don't leave too soon after the service. And then the men's prayer meeting at Brother Hikes' house, March 2nd. Hope to see you there. That'll be at 6.30. And then Pastor Roger Jimenez will be preaching for us on Thursday, March 25th. And I hope you don't miss out on that. It's gonna be great to have him come. He's gonna be here with his family. And so looking forward to having him come preach. And then just a couple of reminders, quiet time from 3 p.m. to 4.15 p.m. in the main auditorium and mother baby room. And so make sure that you're not here during that time. Or if you are here, that you're resting, you're taking a nap, or you're just staying quiet. But both of these rooms are basically for that. If you need a fellowship, you want a fellowship, of course we do have the fellowship hall where you can hang out there. And then no food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. And of course that includes cake. And of course that includes ice cream. And of course that includes pizza. You know, things that you eat, okay? Things that go into your mouth, you consume. And again, the exception is water and coffee, okay? Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. And so keep that in mind. And let's go ahead and take some solely numbers from Monday up until Thursday. Any salvations from Monday to Thursday? Monday to Thursday? Okay, how about Friday and Saturday? Any salvations for Friday and Saturday? No salvations, all right. How about this Sunday, this afternoon? Yes, one. Anybody else? Yes, four, okay. One, four, all right. Anybody else, did I miss anybody? Going once, twice, thrice, all right. Keep up the great work on soul winning. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. 191, In My Heart There Rings a Melody. Song number 191, lift it up together on that first verse. I have a song that Jesus gave me. It was sent from heaven above. There never was a sweeter melody. Tis a melody of love. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. I love the Christ who died on Calvary. He washed my sins away. He put within my heart a melody. And I know it's there to stay. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. Nice and strong on that last. Twill be my endless theme in glory. When the angels I will sing. Twill be a song with glorious harmony. When the courts of heaven ring. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. Great singing at this time. The ushers are going to take the offering. And if you could open up your Bibles to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. The ushers are going to take the offering. The ushers are going to take the offering. The ushers are going to take the offering. We're going to be in Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him. For they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad and covenanted them to give him money. And he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you. Bearing a pitcher of water, follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the good men of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And ye shall show you a large upper room furnished, there make ready. And they went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise also, the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth as it was determined, but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing. And there also was a strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so, but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is a chief as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth at meat, but I am among you as he that serveth. Are ye they which have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom as my father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto them, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, lacked ye anything, and they said nothing. Then he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip, and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, and ye was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, there are two swords, and he said unto them, It is enough. And he came out and went, and as he want, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them without a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and he was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And while he yet spake, behold a multitude. And he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye this far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were to come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves. And when I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me, but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house, and Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, they were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him, as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour, after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth, this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter went out, and wept bitterly. And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, and struck him on the face, and asked him, Say and prophesy, Who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphevously spake they against him. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes came together, and led them into their counsel, saying, Art thou the Christ? Tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, you will not believe. And if I also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. And then said they all, Art thou the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? For we ourselves have heard of his own mouth. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord God, thank you for our own salvation first and foremost in the King James Bible, Lord. Just fill Pastor with your Holy Spirit as he preaches your word. And just bless the fellowship afterwards. And just bless the service. And it's all in your name we pray. Amen. Alright, we're in Luke chapter 22. Look down at your Bibles at verse 23. It says, And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said, The kings of the Gentiles exercised lordship over them. And they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger. And he that is chief as he that that doth serve. And on Sunday nights, I'm going through a series on spiritual gifts according to Romans chapter 12. And in fact, if you can turn there, go to Romans chapter 12, if you would. And I'm really excited about this series because of the fact that I think an individual knowing what their spiritual gift is, is very essential in order for them to be beneficial in their local congregation, but also to be able to understand why people are wired a certain way. And there are seven spiritual gifts found in Romans chapter 12, but they're not the only gifts. And in fact, there's a list of other gifts that we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 as well that we're going to cover later on in the series. But the ones in Romans chapter 12 really give us a lot of insight in regards to how people in the church are wired. Why is it that they react the way that they do? Why is it that they behave the way they behave sometimes or think the way they think? And more often than not, it falls under the category of, well, it's because their spiritual gift is fill in the blank, and it helps us to understand why people are wired the way they are. Now, what is a spiritual gift? Well, the spiritual gift is an ability or talent that God gives the members of the body of Christ. Look at Romans chapter 12 in verse number 5. It says, And then it goes into the other ones there. And as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, basically these are abilities that come natural to you. And this is not to say that because you have one spiritual gift that it's not your responsibility to develop the other spiritual gifts. Now, we obviously understand that Jesus Christ embodied all seven of these qualities, but each of us have at least one, but we need to make an effort into developing the other ones. It's like, well, I have the gift of prophecy, so I don't even have to work on giving. I don't have to work on being a servant. I don't have to work on being merciful to anybody. Wrong. You just have one that comes naturally to you, and the other ones you have to work on. Now, I'm going to give you a really silly example of how you can find out what your spiritual gift is. And I shared this with some of the men in the church two weeks ago, and it kind of enlightens you, and it kind of makes you recognize, oh, okay, yeah, that's what I would do in a certain situation like that, okay? So hopefully if you didn't hear that, when you hear it now, it'll click to you and say, okay, my spiritual gift is X, Y, and Z. So let me give you a really silly example. Let's say, you know, there's seven of you, okay, with all these spiritual gifts here. Each one has a spiritual gift. And let's say, you know, for Ulysses' ordination, someone brings in a cake, okay? I bring in a cake. Let's say I bring the cake. I bring the cake, and I'm walking, and I'm excited about ordaining. You know, Brother Ulysses, I trip and fall, and just the cake just goes splat, okay? I just ruin the party. Let me give you the reactions to each of the spiritual gifts, okay? And you tell me, I mean, don't tell me audibly, but you tell me, you can tell me which one you are afterwards. So the prophet looks at what happens and says, you see, that's what you get. For not being careful. This is what happens when you're not careful. You need to make sure you watch where you're walking, and, you know, are you involved in sin? Maybe God allowed you to suffer shame, and this is why this is to come upon you. Now, the reason some of you are laughing is because you could actually picture some people in the church doing that, okay? That is the prophet. Now, let me just confess something. I'm a prophet, okay? That's my spiritual gift. And so I have a tendency to be a little rough around the edges sometimes, and so I have to work on the gift of mercy, okay? So the prophet says, you know, hey, you know, you probably didn't read your Bible today. This is why this has come upon you. This is why this evil has come upon you, okay? Now, let me go there myself because I need to make sure that I cover all the gifts here. So the prophet blames you for dropping the cake. The one who has the gift of ministry, or they would say the gift of being a servant, doesn't really blame anybody. They see a need, and they say, okay, and then they grab a broom, and they begin to clean it up. These are the people that really just take the initiative to fix things even when you don't ask them to, okay? Now, this is a blessing, but it can be a curse as well because sometimes they help you without asking, okay? Sometimes you don't want help, and they jump in anyways, all right? But they're wired in such a way, they're just like, they start cleaning, and they start throwing the trash where they're not supposed to throw it or something, you know what I mean? But they're just trying to be helpful, okay? So the servant comes and just doesn't say anything. While the prophet is just condemning, the servant's coming, and he's just cleaning everything up. He or she is cleaning everything up, okay? And then you have the teacher, okay? This is the teacher. The teacher sees the cake falling and says, well, the reason that fell is because you were at a certain degree angle, and actually, if you look statistically, people who typically are Hispanics drop a lot of cakes, okay? And in fact, 45% of the population, and then they're just going to all these statistics. These are typically people who just know a lot, okay? They're very knowledgeable about a lot of stupid things. I'm just kidding. No, they're knowledgeable about a lot of good things. Can you tell I'm a prophet? They're knowledgeable about a lot of things, and you know what? They're very interesting to talk to, okay? Because they always have something knowledgeable to talk about, you know? They always have some sort of knowledge. They're a well of knowledge, okay? They have a lot of knowledge, especially when it comes to their area of expertise. You talk to them about their area of expertise, I mean, they can go on forever. So they're not going to condemn you. They're not going to help clean it up. They're just going to tell you the science behind why it happened, okay? This is why this has come upon you statistically, and they give you all this knowledge, okay? That's the teacher, all right? And it's good to have teachers in the church. Why? Because they basically break down doctrine. They understand history. They have a lot of knowledge, as I mentioned, okay? So that's the prophet. That's the minister or the servant. That's the teacher. Now, the exhorter, okay, exhorter, will look at the situation and say, you know what? This happens to everyone. Everything's going to be okay. We can just get another cake, okay? And don't worry about it. You know, that happens to everyone. It happened to me one time. I was very much embarrassed. And they kind of, they're very encouraging to talk to. And these are the people who are just always kind of on the up and up. They don't necessarily ever have a bad attitude or a really overly good attitude. They're just always stable emotionally, okay? And they're very encouraging to talk to because if you're going through a tough time, they always show you the light that's at the end of the tunnel, okay? I mean, the world could be falling apart. You know, it's just like, oh, I'm so depressed. Biden is president. It's like, it's okay. You know, Trump might run in four years. Things can change and things can turn around. And, you know, I saw, you know, a stand out there. They're selling shirts saying, Vote Trump 2024. Everything's going to be okay, you know? And they're just very positive, okay? They exhort. They build up. And these people work well under tribulation, okay? When there's tribulation, they always rejoice in hope. They have, they're very positive. You know, they know how to basically problem solve, okay? They say, look, this came upon you because of this, but it's going to be okay because God is with us and they have a tendency to kind of give you a lot of hope. I love talking to exhorters. Exhorters are some of my favorite people to talk to because they give you a lot of hope. I have friends who are pastors who are exhorters and I always call them when we're going through a difficult time or if I'm going through a difficult time because it can, the world can be falling apart around me and they just say like a couple sentences and it's just like, oh man, everything is going to be okay, you know? And so those are exhorters. So the exhorter says, don't worry about it. It happens to everyone, you know? That's just the way life is. That's the way the ball bounces. This is the way the cookie crumbles. There'll be another cake some other day, okay? The giver, the giver doesn't help pick it up. The giver doesn't condemn you. He doesn't tell you the cause and effect. He just pulls out a $100 bill and says, go buy another cake. Problem solved. They kind of solve everything with money because God has given them a special ability to make money sometimes, okay? They have an ability to make money or, you know, through honest means, okay? Through righteous means. They're very good with money and they express their love or their service by giving of their finances and resources. So the person's like, oh man, I spent so much money. They slip you a 50 and they're like, just go buy another one. It's okay. In fact, go get a cake better than this one, you know? That's what they do, okay? And of course, givers are necessary in the church because God blesses them in order for them to be a blessing to other people who may not have as much or may have a need, okay? So that's the giver. And then you have the ruler. The ruler is like the organizer, okay? So the ruler comes and he says, Ulysses, you go grab the mop. Pastor Mejia, tell him why that happened because he's in sin. Can you explain to him the statistics also? He basically delegates everything. And he's so good at delegation that he could actually delegate himself outside of a job. He knows how to organize the situation so well and explain the steps so well into fixing the problem, he doesn't even have to do anything sometimes, okay? And these people typically are extremely organized. Go into their room, everything is just laid out perfectly in their drawer. You have the shirts here, the socks here. Nothing is unorganized. They operate as a ruler. They're able to delegate and rule and lead well and organize. You know, these are the kind of people that basically plan 12 months ahead of time, okay? They never fly by the seat of their pants. They just think ahead. These are rulers. And you can see how this is very much necessary in a church, right? And so that's the ruler. Now, the ruler oftentimes, you know, they're kind of bullheaded, okay? Because they like things done a certain way. And if you don't do them that way, you know, he's going to get mad or she's going to get mad at you. They have a short temper when it comes to you not doing it their way. It's either their way or the highway kind of thing, okay? And then you have the mercy. The mercy, what does the mercy do? I'm so sorry this happened to you. That cake was so beautiful. You're beautiful. Life is beautiful. And they kind of just weep with them that weep. They have a lot of empathy. They're just very empathetic. I mean, you tell a story, a traumatic story about your life to the mercy, they will weep with you. They feel a lot of deep emotion towards your sufferings, your tribulation, your affliction, okay? They're very sensitive. And I don't mean sensitive in a bad way because sensitivity is necessary in a Christian life to be tenderhearted, right? But this person can be so sensitive that, you know, sometimes we need someone to just cry with us, okay? And, you know, that's not me. Sometimes, you know, like I actually have a hard time producing tear ducts. I'm being serious. That's why I carry like a bottle of eye drops because my eyes are really dry and I'm constantly using them, you know? I'm not saying I don't cry, okay? I do weep. But mercies can cry very, okay? Because they feel a lot of empathy towards people. They have a lot of mercy and compassion towards people. You know, they hear a story about someone's evil coming upon a righteous person. I mean, it hurts them deeply, okay? And so they're just like consoling the individual who dropped the cake, okay? And so these are the seven spiritual gifts, all right? Now, if you don't know which one you are still, then just talk to me after the service. I'll ask you a couple of questions and I guarantee I'll find out by the end of the night, okay? But I'm pretty sure most of you probably said, I think that's me right there. I think that's me. And sometimes someone has, most of the time people have obviously one, but then sometimes they have a secondary based upon their upbringing, okay? Maybe they had a dad, maybe they're a mercy, but they had a father who was a prophet, okay? So they have basically, you know, taken on the qualities of their father or their mother who has specific spiritual gifts. So it's almost as if they have a secondary gift that they're strong in because of their upbringing, you understand? So yeah, there may be merciful. They're like, I'm sorry for this happening to you, but you deserve it because you're involved in sin. It's like Jeremiah, he's the weeping prophet. As he's weeping about the judgment that's come upon him, he's telling you, you deserve this though, you know? But the main thing is this, you need to figure out what your main spiritual gift is and it's good to know what other people's spiritual gift is as well. Because at that point, you know, okay, you know, this person is like this because they have this spiritual gift and therefore you're not frustrated with it. And by the way, it's good to know your spouse's spiritual gift because sometimes a lot of conflict in marriage happens because you don't know the spiritual gift of your spouse. And then, you know, there's conflict. It's just like, why are you doing this? Why are you so mean? Why are you so mean spirited? And then you find, oh, he's a prophet, okay. That's why he condemns me all the time or something. I'm just kidding, you know? Or he's their servant or, you know, this is why they're absent-minded or whatever, you know? They are a mercy. That's why they're constantly crying or something, you know? Maybe that might not be the only reason why, but. So that's just a brief, concise explanation, a very silly illustration on the seven spiritual gifts. But it kind of helps you to understand, okay, which one I am or which. And some of you are probably laughing because you're thinking of other people who would do that. You're like, oh, yeah, I know someone in the church who would definitely do that, you know? Or that just happened or something, you know? Now, look at verse seven, or ministry. Let us wait on our ministry. Now, why did God give us spiritual gifts? Well, the Bible tells us you don't have to turn to 1 Corinthians 12, 7. It says, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. So obviously, we have spiritual gifts, and it makes us unique. It makes us wired a certain way. But at the end of the day, it's so we can profit the church. We can profit the members of our church, okay? So these gifts are given to us so we can utilize for the ministry. We can utilize for soul winning, for the furtherance of the gospel, okay? And it just makes life a little more exciting. What if everyone was a prophet, you know? What if everyone was a mercy? What if everyone was an exhort? You know, the church would be destroyed. But when you have a variety, diversities of gifts in a local church, you know, it makes for a fun life, okay? Now, let me read to you from Ephesians, chapter 4. Actually, we're going to skip that for now. Now, again, are we limited to one spiritual gift? No, because we can have one and then be strong in another because of our upbringing. Or even sometimes people take on the spiritual gift of their pastor. You know, you have a pastor, and because you've been under that person's leadership, you end up gaining those qualities as well. Now, that doesn't mean you have that quality, but you kind of learn those qualities and learn those strengths of that pastor and sometimes even the weaknesses, okay? And the Bible says to covet earnestly the best gifts. So if you have your spiritual gift, you know what your spiritual gift is, you need to learn the other six. So it's not like, all right, well, you know, I'm a servant, so I'm just going to stick to that. No, you need to learn all six of them, all seven of them, okay? And it shows you where your strengths are, but it also magnifies your weaknesses and it shows you what you need to work on, okay? Like, oh, man, I need to be more merciful. I don't cry with anybody. I don't weep with people. I don't even feel bad sometimes when things happen to people. I just say, that's what they get. Well, you know what? You need to be more compassionate and be merciful to them, be compassionate towards them, be sensitive towards them. It helps a lot in that area and that respect, okay? So we need to develop those. Now, two weeks ago, because we took a break, I was out of town last week, but two weeks ago, we began the series and we talked about the gift of prophecy. The Bible says in verse 6, Now, the person with the gift of prophecy possesses the ability to speak in God's stead with accuracy, authority, and power. And this is the individual who's able to dissolve doubts, they're able to explain the Word of God well, and they're also able to just spot sin, you know, which is good for a prophet to be a pastor. And look, if a pastor doesn't have the gift of prophecy, that's okay. They need to develop the gift of prophecy though, you know? And these men, these people have the ability to make sin look exceeding sinful, and that's important within the church, okay? Now, tonight, we're going to talk about the gift of ministry and how we're going to tie it into the ordination because Brother Ulysses Fernandez, I'm just kidding, Hernandez, Brother Ulysses Hernandez, in my opinion, has the gift of a servant, okay? And I think his secondary gift would be teacher. I could have those flip-flopped. Which one are you? Are you serving your teacher, huh? Yeah, so he's either a teacher primarily and secondarily a servant or vice versa. But either way, let's say he didn't have the gift of being a servant or the gift of ministry, he's developed it, okay? And I know that firsthand because I've known him for many years and obviously, I've observed him there, okay? Now, the person with the gift of ministry or the servant possesses the ability to see a need and fulfill it. And you say to yourself, well, that sounds basic, duh, you know? But the reality is most people have to be taught to see a need and then fulfill it. You know, they need to be taught, hey, you need to serve in your church. Hey, you need to pick up the trash. Hey, you need to do this. Hey, you need to do that. Hey, you need to do this or whatever. You know, most people who are servants automatically see those things, okay? The person with the gift of ministry is wired to see a need and actually desires to fulfill it. In fact, they feel fulfilled when they accomplish that specific task. Now, in order to be effective as possible, the servant needs to follow the guideline in verse 10. Look at verse 10 of Romans chapter 12. Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love, in honor, preferring one another. Now, he said, well, doesn't it come naturally? No, it doesn't come naturally. Staying busy and doing things comes naturally to them. Just fulfilling needs comes natural to them. But the reality is they need to make sure they do it in honor, preferring one another. Because the servant is often, if they're not careful, can become so busy just doing stuff, they forget why they're doing it. Or should I say they forget who they're doing it for, you understand? Because they're wired to just be busy, to work, to serve, but they forget I'm doing it as unto Christ. Or I'm doing it to be a blessing to the brothers and sisters in church. So they need to make sure they're doing it in honor, preferring one another. Go to Philippians chapter 2, if you would, Philippians chapter 2. Let me read to you from Galatians chapter 5 verse 13. It says, for brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So the Bible says that we have liberty to just kind of live however we want. No, we have the liberty to serve one another in love. We have been freed and liberated in order to prefer others before our own needs, you understand? Look at Philippians chapter 2 in verse number 5. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Go to verse 19. So we see that Jesus Christ embodies that which is a servant. And so when we want to learn what a servant is, we need to look towards Jesus Christ. And he is the epitome of what a servant is, because he is God in the flesh, who made himself in the likeness of men and became a servant for us. Look at verse 19. But I trust in the Lord Jesus sent Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state, for I have no man like-minded who would naturally care for your state. So what is Paul saying? I have a second man who will care for you just like I would care for you if I was present. He says, For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ, but you know the proof of him that as a son with the Father he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. So there's no coincidence that he's talking about Timothy in chapter 2, after he's finished talking about Jesus Christ being a servant and having that mind. And I believe Timothy was a servant. He's a man who basically didn't want to be magnified. He didn't necessarily want a position. What did he want to do? Surf. And he had a reputation of serving alongside the Apostle Paul. Now go with me if you would to, or you're in Philippians too, stay there if you would. Let me give you a couple of aspects of the servant. Now I'm going to give you my assessment of what a servant is based upon my experience in the ministry. I have about 14 years of experience in the ministry and I have run into all of these seven gifts throughout serving the Lord. And these are a couple of things that I've learned regarding servants. Now actually go to Luke chapter 10 if you would, go to Luke chapter 10. Number one, I've already mentioned this but it's worth mentioning it again. Number one, they have a keen intuition for meeting a need. So a servant will feel fulfilled in a local church when they begin to serve. Now if you think to yourself, yeah I've been coming to this church, I just don't feel like I'm a part of the church. I don't feel like, you know, I'm just like, I'm not really rooted in here. Something's going on, I feel out of place. Well, check your spiritual gift and see if you're following those guidelines of what that gift entails. So if you're a servant, what you need to start doing is serving. Whether that is, you know, cleaning the church or, you know, by the way, if you don't know what to do, just come see me, I'll give you a list of things to do, okay? Cleaning windows, you know, or cleaning the church, organizing stuff. There's plenty to do in the local church and I guarantee you, if you're a servant, you begin to do those things, you will feel fulfilled. Now obviously we feel fulfillment when we win souls to Christ. We feel fulfilled when we read the Bible. But you know, along with that, something to add to that is the fact that if you know what your spiritual gift is and you act upon it, it's like, man, I'm complete, okay? The Bible tells us in Proverbs chapter 3 verse 27, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto, I'm sorry, verse 27. That's from Galatians. Proverbs 3 verse 27 says, withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Now again, if you're not a servant and when I say you're not a servant, I'm saying you're not wired to have the gift of ministry over servant, you need to develop this gift because all of us are supposed to be servants. So it's not like, well, you know, brother Ulysses is a servant, let him clean, let him do all those minuscule jobs. No, in fact, we're all supposed to do those things because we're all supposed to be a servant. And if it's in our power of our hand to do it, we need to be able to do it. We need to put ourselves in a position that used to say, see the need, take the lead, okay? Look at Luke chapter 10. Now this is a great quality of theirs. You often see, you know, there's trash or, you know, something is lacking physically in the church, some organization is lacking. I want to take the lead and take care of that. But here is the negative aspect to that. If they're not careful, they can often put projects over people, okay? And they can focus so much on projects that they actually forget about the people they're actually doing it for, okay? And again, this is why it says in honor, preferring one another. We need to make sure that that which propels our service is our love for God and our love for people, okay? Not just to stay busy for busy's sake, not just to do things because I just want to get things done, but recognize the motive behind us because we want to serve people, okay? Look at Luke chapter 10 and verse 38. Here's a great example of this. It says, now it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him and said, Lord, does thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou are careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her. So what do we see with Martha? She's cumbered about much serving. She's doing a lot. And here's the thing. The individual who's a servant, if they're not careful, they become critical of others because they're not serving. How come they're not doing what I'm doing here? How come they're not throwing the trash? They're over there fellowshipping and talking. And they can develop a prideful attitude. They can become critical of others because they're serving and you're not, okay? So, hey, put that in check, servants, okay? Because at the end of the day, you're doing it for Christ. It doesn't matter who else is doing it or who's not doing it. At the end of the day, you're doing it for the Lord. And the Lord sees what you're doing. The Lord sees even if I don't see, even if other people in the church don't see, God always sees your service. But we see that Martha was cumbered about much serving and although it was important, you know, what she was doing was important, what's more important was sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing his word. So she got so encumbered with the project, she actually neglected the person, which is Jesus, okay? So that's another thing, you know, a servant can often become so encumbered about much serving that they actually neglect their walk with God. They actually neglect the Bible, they neglect prayer. That should not be. And so the servant often sees a need, will take the lead, will want to fulfill that need. But if they're not careful, they can become overly critical of other people who are not serving in the church, okay? And they just got to realize, you know, if someone else is not serving in the church, you know, then God maybe needs to work on that individual's heart or maybe you need to go help that person and say, hey, can you help me with this project? So on and so forth. Go with me if you would to Mark Chapter 6. Mark Chapter 6. Now, what's another quality of the servant? They have a hard time saying no, okay? So here's the thing is that sometimes people can take advantage of servants, okay? And I'm taking full advantage of this guy once he goes on staff, okay? Just kidding. They have a hard time saying no. Why? Because they just like to serve. It's what they do. And you can give them an entire list of things and say, can you do all 100 of these tasks and they'll say, sure, yes, I'll do it. You come back a week from now and only five of those things are done. And why are only five of those things done? It's because of the fact that they can't fulfill all of those things but they have a hard time saying no to you. And what happens is when you find a servant in the church, they're typically an extremely busy bee. Why? Because everyone's asking that person to do stuff, okay? Glenn is one of them. I'm just going to go on and say it, okay? I'm going to call you out, Glenn. Glenn's always doing stuff in the church. What is this guy doing? He's like doing stuff. I'm like, I'm just going to let him do it. He might be destroying the church. I don't know what he's doing. But he's always just a busy bee in the church, you know? And I think if I were to guess what he is, I would say he's a primary servant, secondary prophet. And those who know him best probably say, yeah, he could be a prophet sometimes, okay? But he's definitely a servant because you just see Glenn just walking around the church. He's just doing stuff, just grabbing stuff. He's just like always doing something. And I got to be careful because I know if I ask him to do something, he's going to do it. But here's what happens is that when they, because they can't say no, they'll say yes to everyone. And then something's going to, the ball's going to get dropped somewhere. You understand? So a lot of times what the servant is, they need help with their priorities. You understand? Can't say yes to everything, but if you said yes to these five things, this is the most important thing to do. Don't neglect this, okay? This is the verse that I was actually supposed to read. I have this on the other page. Galatians 6, 10, you're in Mark. Galatians 6, 10 says, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good into all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. And servants basically see serving as an opportunity. They see opportunities everywhere. That's all, that's how they're wired to operate, okay? Look at Mark chapter six, verse 22, and the apostles gathered themselves together into Jesus. Oh, I'm sorry, let me make this point first before we read that. So sometimes servants, because they take on more than they can handle, they ultimately wear themselves out. They will actually wear themselves out, and sometimes servants can actually become very sickly. The servants that I've met, that I've interacted with, they don't take care of themselves very well, okay? They don't get enough sleep, you know? They're just kind of running on fumes sometimes, and they can become very sick because they're just constantly on fourth gear, just pushing themselves and pushing themselves and pushing themselves, and then they just crash, sometimes literally, okay? So they wear themselves out. So what is the solution to the servant? Well, they have to say no sometimes, not to their boss. Not to say no sometimes, and they have to come apart, okay? Look at verse 30, it says, the apostles gathered themselves together into Jesus and told them all things, both what they had done and what they had taught, and he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile, for there are many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat, and they departed into a desert place by a ship privately. See, even Jesus saw, you guys are doing a lot, but you've got to, like, chill out for a little bit, okay? You've got to relax, you've got to sleep, you've got to take a nap, you've got to eat, just kind of come apart and just recreate, okay? And so, you know, the servants have a hard time saying no, which is great, because that means they always say yes to everything, they're always willing to serve, they want to do something, they're very active in their ministry, but that can also be a detriment. Other things can become neglected, hey, relationships can become neglected as well, because they're so busy just serving and serving and serving, they're covered about much serving that people get neglected, okay? The Bible says in Matthew 11, 28, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lonely in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, keep in mind, you know, those of you who are servants, think about Jesus, for example. He did a lot. In those three years of ministry, He did a lot. But think about this, even at the end of His ministry, weren't there still lepers out there? There's still prostitutes out there, there's still unsafe people out there. Why? Because at the end of the day, those things are never going to lack, okay? So He never thought, He never said, well, you know, I've got to save the whole world, I've got to heal everyone who's here. He just did what He could in those amount of years. In a like manner, that's how the servant has to operate. Recognize, I'm going to get as much done as I possibly can, but just recognize that I'm not going to be able to do everything, okay? And look, sometimes servants, they get really distracted. They get distracted very easily, okay? And why do they get distracted very easily? Because, well, other people are asking them to do things. But also because servants are often very detail-oriented, and they focus so much on a specific detail of a project, they're like, oh man, this isn't right, and then they start tampering with it. Five hours has gone by, and it's just like, why haven't you finished this? I've been working on this specific part. So it's good because they're detail-oriented and the details aren't important, but you see how it can become a problem if that's all they focus on, and then everything else gets neglected, okay? So know your limitations, servants. Know what you're capable of doing, know your limitations. You know, if you are married to a servant, men, you know, know your wife's limitations. Know what they can handle. You know, you don't want to burn them out, okay? Go to John chapter 3, if you would. Go to John chapter 3. What's another quality that I've learned in my experience regarding the servant? They don't like the limelight, but they thrive on gratitude, okay? What I mean by they don't like the limelight, they don't really like to be like the center of attention, okay? They kind of like to be behind the scenes. And the reason for that is because they just rather just do the behind-the-scenes work and just kind of relish in the fact that a task was accomplished and everyone's benefiting from it. But here's the thing. Once they accomplish a task, if you don't say thank you, you could hurt them a lot, okay? They can become very, very hurt if you don't say thank you or just recognize the fact that they did a good job, okay? Now, obviously, we don't want to have this like, you know, mentality where it's just like you say thank you even if they did a crappy job or something like that. Oh, yeah, good job, I guess, you know, like, yeah, because you want to hurt their feelings. Well, I'm saying like if they did do a good job, you want to be able to say, hey, thank you for doing this, you did a great job. I noticed this detail right here that you put into it. And by the way, if you recognize them for the details that they do, it makes their day. But they relish in gratitude. They need people to say thank you. Now, we all need thank yous, but some people need them more than others, okay? Now, again, the detriment to this is that if you don't say thank you, they can become bitter, okay? Wow, they're going to say thank you to me. I put in all this work. I did this. They didn't even say thank you. I'm never going to go the extra mile ever again, you know? Which, by the way, is a negative aspect of the sermon. Why is it? Well, because of the fact that if you don't get thanked by someone here, just recognize that God sees what you're doing and that ye shall receive praise of the Lord. God saw. So if someone never says thank you, if you do something really good... By the way, say thank you, okay? You see someone doing something in the church and they're doing it well, say thank you. Or just recognize them for their efforts in what they're doing, you know? Hey, thank the musicians in our church. Don't take for granted the specials that they do, the offertories that they play. Don't just say, well, that's just how we do it. That's just how we operate. You should do those things. That takes a lot of work. I mean, it's not like they just learn that song on Sunday morning and then they just play it. They've been practicing all week, putting in a lot of effort all week, you know? It'd be good for people to just come up and say, hey, I really like that offertory. Thank you so much for working hard on that. And for the servant, it just makes their day. And you know what it does to the servant? It just helps them to go above and beyond and work even harder, okay? But if you don't show gratitude, you know, you can wound their spirit. And this is important in marriage, okay? If you're married to a servant, men, say thank you to your wife. I mean, say thank you, period. But I'm saying, like, it means a lot to the wife who's a servant. You know, you come home and you're just tired and she makes your favorite meal and you just wolf it down. So what else are we doing today? You know, it's like, what are you doing, you know? And you just don't show any gratitude, that could actually wound the spirit of your spouse. Because to them, it's just like, to them it's like the world, the fact that they put in all this work for this specific thing. Hey, if your wife, you know, cuts her hair a certain way, you know, does a little something different, say something. Say, wow, that looks pretty, you know, or, you know, you look beautiful. Did you do something, you know? And by the way, you better make sure you get it right. Did you do something? It's like, no. Well, it's because you're just always beautiful. So I'm just always thinking you're always doing something new because you're always beautiful. See, I'm trying to help you out here. But if they do small things for you in the house, you know, especially if they put in a lot of work for it, show some gratitude. Well, she needs to do that with the Lord. I'm the Lord of this house. If she loves God, she walks with the Lord. She better just be content with being praised of God. You're an idiot if that's how you think. Nothing wrong. Thank you so much for doing all this. You're like, wow, you did a great job. But servants typically don't like the limelight. They don't really like to be recognized. They don't really like to be called out. That's why I'm calling him out because he doesn't like it. They get easily embarrassed. They're easily shy. They're very shy people, by the way. Look at John chapter three, which is a great quality. It says, He yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all. He that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is above all. Let me give you a personal testimony of Brother Ulysses, just to show you that he doesn't like the limelight. All you guys know this, at least the ones who know Brother Ulysses. Brother Marcos, he says some pretty funny stuff, right? You guys know that, right? The guy's a comedian. But what you don't know is that Moses over there has Aaron over here feeding him most of those jokes. You say, how do we not know that? Because he doesn't care about getting the credit. Because he wants Marcos to get in trouble for all that stuff. But you can catch it. Just catch Marcos when he's on a roll. And sure enough, see, Ulysses is right next to him saying, say this, say this, say this, and then this, and then this, and then this. So Marcos is funny, but he's not as funny as you think he is. Most of those jokes come from this guy right here. He just doesn't like the limelight, okay? It's a very silly illustration, but it's a great way to express how servants are sometimes. Servants just rather get the job done. And they just rejoice in the fact that it's accomplished, that it is finished, that people get to benefit from it and laugh from the joke. Go to Ephesians chapter 4, if you would. Ephesians chapter 4. And here's my last point. I'm not going to be long-winded tonight. It's pretty basic. But servants, let me say this, is that they can become great leaders because of the fact that they are great followers. Now not every servant will become a leader. Because some of them are just content with just being a follower and they don't want to lead. But here's the funny thing, those are the perfect candidates for being leaders, though. That's actually who God's looking for. God's not looking for the leader who wants to be the leader. Right? The person's like, well, I should be the leader. I should be the one in charge. I should be the pastor. I should be a deacon. I should be an evangelist. It should be me. God's like, you're not the one I'm looking for. Jesse's other sons, that's not what I'm looking for. He's looking for the one who's just serving. And they're perfect candidates to become leaders because of the fact that they know how to follow well. They know how to follow instructions. They know how to follow orders, which is important. Now if you're not a servant, you're like, well, I feel like I'm a natural leader. Okay, well then you still need to learn how to be a servant. You need to learn how to follow another person, another man. You need to learn how to take orders so you can learn that quality. But for the servant, this often comes naturally. Now, as I mentioned, they can become great leaders, but again, they have to develop those qualities of being a leader. Because remember, if a servant is to become a leader, they can't have this mentality that they can never say no. Because as a leader, you have to say no. As a leader, you have to make the hard decisions. You have to crack down and crack some skulls sometimes. You have to call out sin. You have to deal with issues in the church. You have to excommunicate people from the church. But if the servant can't say no, then obviously they don't qualify to be a leader. But if he's a servant, if she's a servant, or more specifically as a leader, if he's a servant, he can learn those leadership qualities and have those balanced qualities in his life. What did I have you turn? Ephesians 4? Let me read to you from Joshua chapter 3, verse 6. It says, And Joshua spake unto the priest, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. You see, a common principle in the Bible is this, is that when you humble yourself, God will exalt you in due time. He will exalt you in due season. He will exalt you because of the fact that you've humbled yourself. He will begin to magnify you in the sight of others. First Peter chapter 5, verse 5 says, Likewise, younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resists at the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble. Humble yourselves therefore into the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Now, I know Ulysses, how long have we known each other? Eight years or something like that? You know, I've known Ulysses for a while, and I know that he wants to be a pastor one day. Obviously, those desires might change. But one thing that I've always noticed about Ulysses is he's never tried to impose that upon me as a pastor. It was just something that he'd said, maybe one day I'll be a missionary, maybe one day I'll be a pastor. I would like to do that one day. But he's never necessarily placed himself in a position to do that. He said, well, what has he done? Well, he's just been a servant. He's just been content to serve at his capacity. Understand? So he's never been like, you know, hey, so what's up with the ordination, bro? We're going to get ordained soon. I mean, come on. We've been here for three years. He's just been content to just serve. And even prior, you know, prior to me hiring him part time, he already served. That's one of the reasons I hired him in the first place, part time. It's because I thought to myself, maybe I should hire him for doing the things that he's already doing. He's already cleaning the church. He's already just kind of there. He's there in the middle of the night with me setting up wires, and he's never said no to me. He's just always been reliable. I'm just going to hire him part time to do what he's already doing because he just loves serving. He's never complained. You know, he's just been a great worker. Okay. And so today, tonight, I'm going to ordain him as the evangelist of the church. All right. And let's read from Ephesians chapter four. You say, well, evangelists, I thought we're all evangelists, pastor. Aren't all of us evangelists in the church? You know, aren't we all supposed to just go out and preach the gospel? Yeah, but here's the thing. He's going to be the full-time evangelist. Okay. Because, yeah, we're all evangelists in the church, but not everyone is sowing all the time. You know, they've got jobs. They have a family. They have all these things. Whereas, Brother Ulysses, this is going to be his primary ministry that he's taking care of. Obviously, with other things, he's going to be my assistant. He's going to be doing things in the church. And I believe the church is going to grow because of this. Okay. But make no mistake about it. The evangelist of the church is an office of the church. Look what it says in verse number 11. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Folks, you know, some of you are preachers, but not everyone's a prophet. Not everyone's a pastor. Right. Not everyone's a teacher. And all of us are evangelists, but not everyone's a full-time evangelist in the church. Okay. And so this is one of the reasons why I'm ordaining him. Look, maybe in the future, he will become a deacon. You know, obviously, we don't know. Things can change. Things happen. But he can become a deacon. And then later on when we start a church, he will be sent out to go do that. But it might be that Brother Ulysses says, well, you know, I'm content to dwell here. I love what I'm doing here. And I'm content to just serve in this ministry. And that would be fine as well. Okay. But no matter what happens, you know, obviously, God has something planned for Brother Ulysses. His hand has been upon him. He's been a servant. He said, well, I don't think Brother Ulysses is the best soul winner in the church, though. And let me just say this. There's no such thing as a best soul winner in the church. A soul winner is just a person who's able to win people to Christ. Okay. And we're not looking to have, like, a soul winner in the church. We're not looking to have, like, a superstar soul winner or something like that. We're just like this guy has the best illustrations, the best verses. He's got the best Bible. He's got the best feeling of the Holy Spirit. We just want to find people who just know how to win souls. Right? Go to 2 Timothy, Chapter 4, if you would. 2 Timothy, Chapter 4. So I'm going to lay hands on Brother Ulysses to be the evangelist of the church. And obviously that's going to be a special place for him. Go to second Timothy chapter four if you would second Timothy chapter four So I'm gonna lay hands on brother Ulysses to be the event church and obviously that's gonna be his primary ministry and There's gonna be a lot of tasks to go with that. But even aside from that he's gonna be assisting me and Making this church better. Amen Doing different work here and I'm gonna give him a lot. I got a lot of work for you my friend Okay, cuz look folks, you know in order for a church to grow. I need some help And I believe that our church will continue to grow It's grown and I mean it's grown since we first started at dr. Rita's house You know when we started dr. Rita's house, yeah, like 30 people or something, you know We've got way more than that now and it's gonna continue to grow but there's only so much I can do by myself Okay, and so he's coming in on board He's gonna do a great job. I know he is look at second Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing it and it's Coming his kingdom. Excuse me Preach the word be instant in season out of season Reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But after their own less shall they heed to themselves teachers having itching ears And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables but watched out in all things and Endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist make full proof of thy ministry So what are some of the things that brother you lease is gonna be doing here? Well number one He's gonna watch in all things He's gonna be my eyes and ears in this ministry as well Okay, he's an extension of the pastor to help me fulfill the work that God has for us here But not only that he's gonna endure afflictions and I would say this he has endured afflictions Okay Because he's the one who called me when the church blew up the church He's called me for a lot of other reasons and I told him I said don't call me unless someone blows up the church Come 1 30 in the morning calls me and says pastor you told me not to I'm following instructions You told me not to call you unless someone blows up the church. Well, someone blew up the church I'm like this guy follows orders way too. Well, he takes it too literal Why didn't he just wait until like six o'clock in the morning? But you know what Ulysses was there with me with the FBI He was there with me, you know making the statements and trying to figure out a plan He's he's been my right-hand guy throughout this whole thing And you know what never once did he come to his old pastor? I don't know if I could do this like, you know Blowing up the building and stuff. That's just a little too much for me and I just don't know how to deal with this You know, it's just no he's indoor And anybody who knows brother Ulysses know that his temperament is pretty just like right here You know slow monotone, you know, it just stays like right here Okay, it just stays right here. And even when he screams it just goes here, you know, who's like But you know what that's what I want in this ministry right now, I need someone just endure afflictions it's not a flincher You know if the sodomites come again, he's able to endure it That gonna be scared and run away with his tail between his legs he's gonna be let's fight again. Let's do it. Okay Do the work of an evangelist he's gonna be sowing a lot Okay, and only that but he's gonna be in charge of the soul winning and missions program at our church Okay So we're gonna take our sowing to him to the next level and he's gonna make full proof of the ministry What does that mean? He is gonna just make sure that nothing is lacking within the church Okay, so those of you who've been in here looking at everything like oh man, we still this is still like that carpet He's got it, okay, he'll come on and take care of it This is what he's gonna be doing, okay, and so, you know, I'm excited for him I'm excited to ordain him as the evangelist and I believe again God's gonna do a great work in his life and You know pray for him Okay, pray for him and show him the respect and honor that he does deserve. Okay You know, don't don't you don't have to call me evangelist Hernandez or something like that, you know, but I'm saying, you know, don't don't spite him, you know And I don't think that ever happened, but I'm just saying, you know, obviously He God is magnifying right now elevating him. He's promoting him Okay, and it's for the work of the ministry and so I'm excited brother Ulysses why don't you come on up at this time? I'm gonna lay hands on you as the evangelist of the church. And so let's go ahead and pray together Father we thank you so much for your word Lord. We're thankful for prayer Thankful for our salvation and thank you that you've allowed us throughout the years to come across individuals that Will be became our co-laborers and I'm thinking of it the first day that I met brother Ulysses and what a blessing it was Years ago, and he's just been Going forward ever since then and on fire for you. Just be steady Unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord and God I pray for this individual right now I pray for him and his wife and his children Lord. I pray that you'd give him a fresh anointing fresh oil and power of the Holy Spirit to do a great work and Working full-time at the church. It is a privilege It's also a lot of work and I know he's gonna do a great job and I pray that you use a mightily Lord to continue to serve and to take his responsibilities not just seriously but take it to the next level and Help us Lord here to to fulfill the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ And I pray father God that you would continue to clarify your will for his life as the years go by Whatever it is that that may be I'm thankful that he's content wherever he's at at the moment And for that reason I pray that you'd continue to clarify what it is that you would want him to do in the future bless him as the evangelist of our church Lord as he as he leads people to Christ as he leads others as He refines the soul winning in our church and makes full proof of the ministry here at first works Baptist Church May you use him greatly Lord fill him with your power and your spirit give him boldness Help him to endure afflictions because obviously the afflictions are not over He's gonna have to deal with not only afflictions in the church but even personal afflictions afflictions in his marriage afflictions with his children just the the the things of life and I prayed that you give Him a special measure of grace Lord to be able to endure those things and please use them I'm so thankful for his friendship for his fellowship And may you be with him Lord and all that he does and help him to be a blessing here at first works Baptist Church First in Jesus name we pray. Amen Congratulations, brother. Give him a round of applause Thank you This is all a dream Wakes up. No, I'm just kidding. So tonight we're gonna have by the way, we have some Some flowers here for Miss Vanessa. It's not for me. Miss Vanessa. Okay Can you brother John? Can you give these to Miss Vanessa there? Well, I please pray for brother Ulysses but also pray for his wife pray for his family Okay, you know he would not be able to do this if it wasn't for his wife Okay, because our wives enable us to do the work of the ministry understand And so, you know, she has to put up with the fact that you know The pastor is calling him out at midnight to come do a job or something like that, you know And she's never complained as far as I know, you know, you know, she's been behind him 100% She's been behind the church 100% And so I'm very proud of these two and I'm looking forward to see what God's gonna do in and through their lives And so amen to that. Let's go ahead and pray. We're gonna have a cake no wait Pizza pizza and ice cream. That's what we have. How do you know mark Martin? He knows man All right, we're gonna have pizza and ice cream And so just as a reminder no food in the main auditorium right only in the fellowship hall. Let's pray. We'll be dismissed father we thank you so much for your word and Lord we're thankful for Those who have the gift of ministry those who have the gift of servant of being a servant Lord I'm thankful for those people in my life Lord and and the helps in the church Lord and they help us with so much of things that we can't do just by ourselves and We're so thankful that you blessed our church with people who are just servants and Lord May you continue to exalt them? May you continue to magnify them Lord and and help them to refine their gift In order to to benefit the ministry and others so much the more Lord and I pray you help us to be conscious of the servants In our church that we don't we don't take them for granted Help us to be thankful for them Lord and for every little thing that they do help us to notice that Help us to thank them for it. Give them a pat on the back even sometimes a reward For what they do because they are special in the church And I pray God that you bless the fellowship to follow in the food in Jesus name we pray. Amen 145 in your songbooks You Song number 145 it is well with my soul All together on that first verse when peace like What Me to say it is well My soul With my soul It is well It is well It is well With My soul Though Satan Should Buffet Though Trials should come Let this Blessed Assurance Control Oh Oh Oh Shall be Oh My soul With my soul My soul It is well It is well With My soul Amen Wonderful singing you are dismissed You