Transforming this empty lot is a community project. All the work under the supervision of the little league president is unpaid. They work weekends and they are all volunteers. Little eagles, their parents, and members of the United States Army Reserve, president of the little league in Falls Township, Pennsylvania. The town gave the little league 24 acres. Mr. Williams tells how he got the project started. In July of 1970, I met Colonel Fred Welsh from the 79th Army Reserve Command. And he told me that if I would contact Army Reserve, he was sure that they would oblige. After receiving permission from the trade unions and contractors associations, the ravens were made to start cleaning and excavating an area to provide activities for children of all age groups in a clean and healthy environment vital to their survival. The U.S. Army Reserve, with the men of the 851st, 939th, and the 330th of Philadelphia, New Jersey, are the only source of help we have had outside of ourselves. All of us together, including the Army Reserve, are volunteers. It won't be long now till the kids will be playing ball here instead of picking up trash that the grown-ups have dumped. In anticipation, some of them showed up today with baseball mitts. This is Christopher, and Chris works just as hard as the big boys. Keep trying, Chris, and your throwing arm will improve. What is happening here today is not an isolated instance of the Army Reserve helping out on a community project. For years, its Community Relations Program, now a part of the Defense Department's Domestic Action Program, has combined worthy projects with regular military training wherever possible. This scene is not unique. Cleanup campaigns have been started by responsible people all over America. The Army Reserve helps wherever it can. Here in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, for example, the 205th Infantry Brigade joined with Boy Scouts in a cleanup of the city's river. Soon it will again be a favorite picnic spot for camping and canoeing. Other units have recently participated in similar cleanups in Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Florida, Iowa, Georgia, and elsewhere. Strength in Reserve is the motto of the Army Reserve, and its mission is to augment the active army in times of emergency. To fulfill their mission, reservists strain constantly. These men are double duty citizens who have an interest in strengthening the defense of the nation. So it's only natural that they have an interest in their community too. Meet Sergeant John William Brent. He's assistant to the city engineer Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville is the home of three presidents. The history and tradition of the citizen soldier, incidentally, go back to the times of Madison, Jefferson, and Monroe. Sergeant Brent designs and construct sidewalks, drains, and culverts. And his duties include inspection of the various projects throughout the city. Another reservist in Sergeant Brent's outfit is Sergeant John Goodall. Sergeant Goodall is a draftsman and a designer of electronic components. Also in their outfit is Sergeant Al Tinsley. Sergeant Tinsley teaches retarded children in the Charlottesville public school system. It's training night for their unit at the Reserve Center. The three men are picked up by their operation sergeant, Ernest Annis. Interest in community affairs is a natural one, since the Army Reserve is a community activity. The Charlottesville Reserve Center is near the beautiful grounds of the University of Virginia. Reservists live, work, and train in communities throughout the United States. There is no typical Army Reserve city because it is located in so many, both big and small. Unit spends two weeks each year undergoing intensive training at military installations. Most of the training takes place here at night or over weekends. The Reserve Center soon turns into a beehive of activity. Sergeant Goodall and Tinsley are drill sergeants and are proficient instructors. And of course, Sergeant Tinsley is a teacher by profession. Once training is underway, Sergeant Brent is able to take care of administrative problems. In another classroom, the unit's first cook gives a class in field sanitation. Some units train weekends on military reservations. This company is part of the 157th Brigade, on a training exercise at Indian Town Gap, Pennsylvania. There are 260,000 young Americans in Army Reserve units. Using their equipment and snow and ice gives them an opportunity to extend their capabilities. This reservist is teaching a class in infantry patrol tactics in Alexandria, Virginia. The M. M. The Squad. Sergeant Bussey. Automatic Rifleman. Right. His name is Oliver Brown, and he's the first sergeant headquartered his company, First Brigade, 80th Training Division. Company's form, sir. Many reservists are deeply involved in community service on their own. And Ollie Brown is an outstanding example. He is a policeman, a sergeant in the Washington D.C. Police Department, and he's been a member of the Force for 22 years. He is also director of the Washington Metropolitan Police Boys Club. In the Boys Club, we have 20,000 youngsters, and we now have nine clubhouses. And in every phase of our work, via checkers, poo, basketball, we try to teach the youngsters to play by the rules of the game. On the basketball court, it is not just basketball, but it's teamwork with five fellows playing as a unit. And from this, we feel that when the youngsters leave that basketball court, he will begin to live by the rules. Ollie Brown is devoted to getting underprivileged youngsters on the right road to productive future, and he practices what he preaches. Because the Brown's two daughters are away at college, they adopted three boys from Junior Village of the Child Family Service Foster Parent Plan. During the weekends, the members from our reserve unit, those that love fishing, also love to work with youngsters. We combine our efforts with the Boys Club, a local fishing group called Angles All, and we try to carry the underprivileged kids from the ghettos fishing down at Point Lookout, Maryland. Not only does this give the kid an opportunity to be introduced to the wonderful sport of fishing, it also teaches them a wonderful lesson, patience, and also when to grab at an opportunity. The opportunity being when the fish bite, you have to know when to reel them in, and it also teaches them to obey the law. Fishing, like any other thing, you must have laws. Down in the Chesapeake Bay area, you have certain length that you must throw back if the fish, the spot, or the trout fish, or the rock fish, if it's not a certain length, we teach the youngsters that you must throw them back, give them a chance, and then come back next year and catch a much bigger fish. While individual reservists spend many hours on their own helping people in towns where they live, in some cases entire reserve units are able to combine their training mission with community service. Here in Hot Springs, Arkansas, a sand and gravel company donated truckloads of material to the county Girl Scouts Council. The sand and gravel is to be used in the construction of a new dining hall for the Girl Scout camp. It is being hauled by members of A Company of the 489th Engineer Battalion, which is constructing the building. A Company has three projects scheduled this weekend, and all of them require the use of equipment that these engineers must learn to use skillfully. Driver training is accomplished as the sand and gravel is carried to the Girl Scout camp in the Ozark Hills. The Girl Scouts watch as the reservists prepare for the pouring of the concrete of the foundation. The reservists work quickly on the footing against threatening skies. And then we'll spend the night in pitched tents. Tomorrow, the concrete will be poured. This platoon has already completed other facilities for this Girl Scout camp, including a boat house at the lake's edge. Another platoon on this same weekend is back in Hot Springs, clearing an area for a local orphan's home for this type of training. Coming out on weekends like this gives us a chance to help our community in doing things for our community, such as the one we're on today. We have cleared some land for the children's home, and it gives our men an opportunity to train on heavy equipment, which we have had out here today. Still another platoon of the 489th Engineers is simultaneously at work on the building of a new running track for the local high school. Training ditches are dug first. Surveyors check levels. Fill from high ground is moved to the low areas. Other companies from this engineer battalion are spread around the state, and they too work on community projects. In Conway, Arkansas, they have improved a section of road at the request of county officials. In Pine Bluff, reservists have begun a cleanup project in the local park. The men of the 328th General Hospital at Fort Douglas mobilized its members to action when the Salt Lake City medical community announced a rub-out-rebella campaign. Working together with state health authorities, they planned a full-scale attack upon this dreaded disease, commonly known as German measles. The vaccine was supplied by the Board of Health, and 18 different clinics in Salt Lake City. And after two days, they had inoculated more than 150,000 youngsters against the disease. When it was all over, the mother supplied the coffee and local blood banks are frequently made. Here, the men of the 205th Infantry Brigade at Fort Snelling visit Red Cross headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota to donate blood. Recently, when blood was needed for a patient undergoing open heart surgery, many individual reservists responded. In communities that have established eye banks, reservists have also cooperated. Units in Tallahassee, Florida signed pledges for the use of their eyes after death, as did the men of the 1st Brigade 80th Training Division in Northern Virginia. After a blood donation, the donor is served fruit juice by Red Cross volunteers. The 748th Engineer Detachment, a forestry unit in Missoula, Montana trains in all types of logging activities. Working together with the Department of Agriculture Forestry Service, they participate in a process called commercial thinning. They cut down less desirable trees to permit the younger ones to grow to full maturity. For the downed trees to their own sawmill, a cut lumber is turned over to non-profit organizations. Some of it was used to construct bleachers and a grandstand for the local Italy. Louisville, Kentucky is the home of the 100th Training Division. The Information Officer is a citizen soldier who wears several hats. His name is Bill Willis, his rank major. He is a chartered life underwriter. He is also district commissioner of the Arrowhead District Old Kentucky Home Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Major Willis frequently appears before citizen groups, encouraging them to sponsor new scout troops. He is particularly interested in organizing new troops in the heart of Louisville's inner city. For ease, the boys get tips on living and eating outdoors from reservists who know what it's like to sleep on the ground. Bill Willis is an example of an individual reservist involved in scouting. Many units across the nation work with scouts in their spare time. Here, for example, in Sioux City, Iowa, instruction is given in the use of the compass. Scouts taught by Army reservists inevitably earn merit badges for their accomplishments. They work with children of the community the year round, but when Christmas comes, they make an even greater effort. Sharonville, Ohio is the home of the 311th Field Hospital. Today, the unit is giving a Christmas party for the orphans of a local orphan's home. They carry the boys and ambulances to the reserve center. Lieutenant Colonel Robert H. Poe, Professor of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, is the commanding officer. I was the commanding officer of the 311th Field Hospital at the time of the reserve call-up in 1968. I served as commanding officer for the unit throughout its entire tour in Vietnam, but I placed a great deal of emphasis upon our relationship with the civilian community. With respect to this, we operated a clinic for a local refugee camp. We provided a local civilian hospital with a pediatrician, and we had a Christmas party for some orphaned children. We have hoped to continue this tradition now that we are here at home, and our party today was designed without purpose in mind. Sergeant First Class Ronald Thompson also served with the unit in Vietnam. I've been a member of the 311th Field Hospital since 1960. I was on the advance party. I went to Vietnam in 1968. Our first Christmas spent in Vietnam. We gave a party, a Christmas party, for local Vietnamese children on our compound. We had a Santa Claus, which is represented by one of the men in the 311th, and we had a real good time. Upon returning to the States, this year, we gave another party, which was for the orphanage in the local community. This really makes me feel good to be able to be a part of this type of thing, because after all, our unit does and always will take part in community functions such as this. The American soldier has always shown compassion for children, whether at home or abroad. The men from the 787th maintenance battalion and the 376th transportation company brought Christmas gifts to children who were hospitalized at Christmas time in Dothan, Alabama. Local merchants contributed some of the toys, and the reservists donated their own funds to purchase more. One of the most unusual projects of all took place in Denver, Colorado. It's a well-planned city with broad streets, boulevards and parkways. In the 1800s, the town fathers planted elm trees. Today, Denver has 300,000 elm trees. They not only add beauty, but convert carbon monoxide in the air to oxygen. Suddenly, Denver's famous elms were in jeopardy. Many were dying. Many were already dead. The cause? Dutch elm disease, a mysterious fungus that is spread by a European beetle that first appeared in America in 1922. Denver took what action it could. Mayor William McNichols described what the city was doing. We are organizing and are using, at the moment even, a crash program to go pick those trees that we know are infected and take them out. Now, they're not replacing them at the moment, but they are getting rid of the possible source of infection. There's no cure for this. Tree has it. The only thing to do is take it down, cut it up and burn it, or bury it somewhere away from the root structures of other trees. The parks department is doing the most effective job to fight the disease.  It was easy enough to remove elms that were obviously dying. Was it possible, however, to identify affected trees scientifically before the damage became apparent? The 405th military intelligence detachment had the answer. These reservists are expert interpreters of aerial photographs. They realize that diseased elms would show up as shades of blue on aerial photos taken on infrared film. Colonel Louis La Perrière, commander of the unit, explains. Basically, there's three types of stress that we come up with. In late terms, that is a physical stress, which can be done by winter kill, chemical stress, which can be a lack of iron in the soil, and of course, a biological stress, which means a disease in the tree. When we look at the trees, what comes out as basically a healthy tree indicates itself in terms of a normal deep rich red color. And then when we get one with a biological stress, generally speaking, when we look at the crown, the whole crown will not be discolored, but only a certain number of the branches until such a time as the tree is absolutely dead. The 405th military intelligence detachment took on the project. The entire area was photographed from the air by the army, and the reservists pinpointed the infested elms on their infrared photos. Today, there is hope that the remaining healthy elms in the city of Denver will survive and prosper. Another example of community service combined with military training. The 369th Station Hospital San Juan, Puerto Rico, has been long involved in community service. Recently, in conjunction with the Lions Clubs, they gave full physical examinations to the people of a San Juan neighborhood. Announcements were distributed a few days in advance, and early on a Saturday morning, they began to assemble. By 11 a.m., over 400 people showed up. This unit comprises physicians, dentists, nurses, and medical technicians. People in this district of San Juan are eager to be examined by the reservists. A good deed travels fast and is long remembered. During the physical, symptoms are discovered, the patient is referred to a physician or to a clinic. The hearing of the young is tested. Cardiograms are made of the elderly. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Victor Rosario, MD, supervises all the activities. The work of the 369th Station Hospital reached several young men of another community in Puerto Rico. Hogar Crea, home of creativity. It is a commune of former drug addicts. The staff of Hogar Crea, all former addicts themselves, asked the reserve unit to visit them and give physical examinations to its members. None of these young men used narcotics any longer. Complete physical examinations were long overdue. Upon citizen contributions and support, they are grateful to the reservists. Again, when members of the unit discover a physical problem, the staff is notified so arrangements can be made for treatment. American tradition, this matter of service, of joining together to help others. Members of the United States Army Reserve are double duty Americans, soldiers ready at all times to back up their nation, and concerned citizens ready at all times to volunteer their time and their services to their hometown neighbors. When the nation needs them, they leave home and family. 26 Army Reserve divisions in World War II, 969 units in Korea, 75,000 reservists during the Berlin crisis, and in 1968, 45 Army Reserve units were called to active duty, 35 of them served in Vietnam. Yes, the men and women of the United States Army Reserve have a long and rich tradition of service to the nation, and it stands ready now, ready to defend America and ready to help their communities.


Okay, let me read from Acts chapter 20, okay, Acts chapter 20 and verse 19, maybe we'll read from verse 17, okay, Acts chapter 20 verse 17. From Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. It's referring to Paul and his ministry. And when they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught to you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Just want to draw a chin to two of these verses. There is verse 19 which says, serving the Lord with all humility and also with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. So it's talking about persecution and in the phase of persecution, continuing to serve the Lord with all humility. And verse 20, that he kept back nothing that he withheld nothing that was helpful to the believers, to the efficient church.  So we get a glimpse of the kind of preaching, the kind of ministry that Paul did. So one of the things is that he held back nothing. He kept back nothing that was useful for them. And so the thing is this, something that is useful for the people or maybe God puts it in your heart and this is not always palatable in the sense. For the hearer, it's not something that is always readily, they may not always receive it well, not always. Some of these things are hard things. Some of these things are maybe pointing out what is actually wrong. Maybe it could be with something to do with customs, something to do with whatever it is. It could be something that is the truth that is making people uncomfortable. But Paul is saying that he kept back nothing that was helpful. So we can imagine a scenario. He's going to plant a church and sharing the eternal living word of God and it's going to be a paradigm shift in thinking and behavior and everything. And some of these things can be uncomfortable for the hearer to hear. But he did not withhold anyway, which talks about the kind of person he was, the kind of ministry he did. And I just want to remind us that that is how it would be. It's not always something that's an exhortation, an inspirational one, and a motivational thing. But there's also some of these hard truths. Yes, the truth which is spoken in love, the truth which is ministered with grace, and that is always there, of course. But a truth which is spoken, which is not comfortable. And maybe we are not comfortable ourselves. We don't want to kind of ruffle the feathers, so to speak. But the thing is this could be the reality of ministry and also talks about trials, how to talk about persecution, and which happened to him. So let's pray. And then we just ask the Lord to give us the strength to speak the truth in love, to minister the truth with grace, and also to not hold back anything that will be helpful to people. Father, we thank you that you called us to this, Lord, to be spokespersons. Lord, to be ministers of the gospel. And we know, God, that there will be situations and times and places where truth needs to be spoken, Lord, and all times and all places, God. And we know that it may not be really the most comfortable of situations, God. But Father, God, we pray that even as we see these examples in scripture, that you would give us the strength, that you would so transform us from the inside out, that we will be people, who will be proclaimers of the truth, God. Not only when people are receptive, but also, God, when people could be hostile, indifferent, disinterested. But, God, I pray that we would minister with the love and compassion that comes from you, God, that we would speak the truth in love. And we would minister the truth, O God, with the grace that you give us, God. Thank you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay. So, today, we are looking at this topic of expecting fruit, right? And we are continuing with that. Last class, we looked at, okay, what kind of fruit can we expect? And also, the fact is that when we minister, we go with the expectation, right? We minister with the expectation and not just the thing of, I want to speak, I want to finish this and, you know, I just want to leave, right? Leave the scene. So, it's not just that, but we get to over all those fears, all those insecurities. And then we minister, expecting results, expecting the fruit of, expecting results, right? Fruitfulness. So, we saw some of the things that we can expect. And also, today, you know, if you look at why, the reason why we can expect fruit, okay? So, let's look at some of those reasons. First thing is, what we see in Isaiah 55 and about the Word of God, the capability of the Word of God. So, don't underestimate the capability of the Word of God, right? Isaiah 55, and we see this, verse 8, right? For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts, okay? Just to, you know, give a little bit of context, I think we will look at verses 6 and 7. It talks about the context, it talks about the fact that, you know, the exhortation to seek the Lord, and also the exhortation to forsake the wicked ways, and the exhortation for the unrighteous man to forsake the thoughts, and to return to the Lord. And in that context, the Lord gives, you know, my thoughts, he says, my thoughts are not your thoughts, okay? So, it's not like always, his thoughts are not our thoughts, not like that, okay? Whatever I'm thinking, okay, maybe the opposite of that is the Lord's thoughts, no, it's not that. So, he's talking about, he's telling the wicked to forsake his thoughts, and also the unrighteous man, sorry, the wicked to forsake his way, and unrighteous man, his thoughts. So, in that context, he's talking about how his thoughts are not our thoughts, for the thoughts of the wicked, thoughts of the unrighteous, okay? So, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways, your ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Verse 10, for as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be, that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void. But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. So, really a beautiful picture that we see in verse 10 and verse 11, says, as the rain comes down, and snow from heaven, and doesn't return there in the same form, but waters the earth, makes it bring forth. Hey, very sorry about that, I think for a moment we lost connectivity here. I hope you can hear me, see me, right, everybody, okay, that's good, fine, okay.  So, it was just thriving, flourishing, okay, and we see the same kind of scenario here, this is what, you know, it says that the rain comes down, it waters the earth, makes it bring forth and barred, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so everything, everything that is seemingly there under the surface, it just, there's a stirring that happens, you know, there's a life giving that happens, and it's like everything just, this life springs forth, you know, it's blossoming and all that, okay, and then the Lord is saying, you know, this is how my word will be, okay, and it's a powerful reminder that His Word is like that rain which comes and changes the entire environment, so it is almost like a before and after picture, you know, like before it was kind of dry and desolate, but then after, you know, it's like fully flourishing and fresh and all that, so it says, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, it shall not come back empty, it shall not come back without fulfilling the purpose, but it says, you know, he says that, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it, okay, so the importance of receiving from him, the importance of knowing that this is the word he's sending out, and you're the, you know, you're the agent of delivery of that word, right, and knowing fully well that, hey, the Word of God can actually accomplish this, so it gives us a lot of assurance, it's not, you know, it's not anything in us, but the Word intrinsically has capabilities, power, it's living, it's powerful, you know, and when we say Word, we are, again, you know, we're just not quoting scripture, but we're just, you know, sharing the communication and explanation, the communication and explanation of the truth of it, right, and that truth brings forth, brings forth freedom, that truth brings forth, brings forth life and transformation and change, so just like how in a place that was erred, the place that was dried, there was so much change, so also the Word of God will bring, so you can, you know, you don't have to, you know, kind of underestimate the power of the Word of God, right, sometimes we think, okay, it's so simple, God, again, talk about God's love to this audience, you know, sometimes we think, right, okay, maybe I should give something deeper, you know, but again and again, you know, when you pray, it's like the reminder is that talk about this, and sometimes you begin to feel like it's so simple, God, maybe I should add some masala to it, spice it up a bit, but then God says, no, that's it, just go with it, right, and you share it out with a lot of, you know, hesitation, and then you share the Word, and then you realize that when people say, hey, they are blessed, that's exactly what we needed to hear, and then, you know, and then you're like surprised yourself, you know, but it was so simple, it was so, you know, I didn't think it was, you know, something so deep, et cetera, but that's the power of God's Word, you know, not against, you know, sharing deep things and going, you know, having depth in revelation and all that, but just saying that the Word of God has power never underestimate the power of God's Word, right, so that's one thing that we see, so we can expect fruit based on that, we can expect results based on that, so you go with it, assure us that God's Word will work in their life, and you know that, you know, God's Word is like a seed planted, right, and we know, you know, the different different imagery of God's Word, like it's like the hammer, Jeremiah 23 talks about that, it's like a hammer that breaks the rock and pieces, it's like the fire that burns, so the Word of God will accomplish these things, so sometimes it's instantaneous, and sometimes you see that right before your eyes, and sometimes it's things that it has to germinate and grow, and you know, there will be a result, right, so we see all that happening, so just trust God, trust him, take him at his Word, minister from that place, okay, then the second thing that we see is about the Spirit of God, okay, now the beautiful thing is that when we minister his Word, the Lord has promised, our Lord works out his plans and purposes and confirms it with his power, right, by the work of the Spirit, so we see that in Hebrews 2 and verse 4, God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will, okay, so what was this in response to, what was God's work of bearing witness, what was it in response to, it says verse 2, Hebrews 2 verse 2, if the Word spoken through angels proved this steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received it just to what, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, so again talking about the Word, talking about the Word that was communicated and God bearing witness, so he's talking about the ministry of the Lord, Jesus, how he ministered the Word and how there was accompanying, you know, all these things and we know that we are called to walk in this footsteps and minister in the same way, so we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit accompanying and confirming, testifying to the work of the ministry of the Word, right, so that's again an amazing beautiful thing and the best part is this, that as the Word is being shared, the Holy Spirit, he has a parallel conversation, you know, with the hero, so many times the results are totally different, you know, because the Holy Spirit is speaking and explaining, even as we are speaking and explaining and praise God, he's a better explainer, he's a better illustrator, so the person who's actually, you know, sometimes you say certain things and then the person who's receiving it, like in a way that you never thought possible, they understand in a way that you never thought possible or maybe you haven't even looked at it and they said that made sense to me and this may not have been something that you emphasized, you may have been a passing remark at times, but they said that made sense to me or something that you didn't plan, some scripture that you, you know, didn't plan but you shared and saying that that made a lot of sense, okay, so, well, that we have the accompanying work of the Holy Spirit to take care of that, right, okay, then, so what can I do intentionally, so we, as a minister of God, as a person who's ministering the word, so what should I do, right, what should I, just give me a minute, so what should I do, here are some things to look at, okay, to expect this, what are some things, okay, firstly, to be purposeful, again, to be purposeful and to address certain things that need to be addressed, issues are there that need to be talked about to address, to be purposeful, intentional about the ministry, so that means that we're not talking about some general things, but you know this, okay, this is the background what of God has power, the Spirit of God will accompany, so you speak the heart of God for that audience, okay, be intentional, be purposeful and say, okay, this today, you know, we are talking about this and this is what God is leading and so intentionally you address those things, okay, what you've prayed, what God has put in your heart, you pray, you speak those things, right, second thing that will really help is what we, what we looked at, you know, when it comes to sermon, in the sermon outline, right, that is to apply the word, okay, now if a person receives the word and if a person does the word, right, meaning not a hearer, but I'm going to step out and do it, right, so how can we, how can I help a person do the word, right, live out the word, okay, so if we would apply our mind to it and then think creatively and even, you know, and ask for the creative work of the Holy Spirit, then you can actually apply the word, right, and we apply the, help the person apply the word and then you realize that, okay, it's really a powerful time of ministry, right, so we connect the spiritual and the natural and making things relevant, okay, to the lives of people, okay, so again we're coming back to the audience, you know, it has to be, it has to mean something to them, it has to be relevant to them, so you know the audience and you're talking about something that is, maybe some struggles that they're going through, maybe they're in that season of life where for most of them, you know, they could be facing these challenges, right, and things like that, so you're making it relevant, okay, whatever you're sharing, so then they're able to understand, connect and apply the word, okay, very important. The third thing, okay, just as practically general instruction is to pray for the audience, right, pray for your hearer, pray for the listener, and even as we pray, you know, that's actually a good place to start preparing, you know, you pray for the audience, pray for who's going to be listening, you know, and as the Lord puts people in your heart and reminds them, just keep praying and you will see that, okay, there is a message that's forming or a topic that's forming or, you know, something that he wants to address, you know, even as we pray for the listener, who's going to be hearing, okay, so these are some things to keep in mind that when it comes to expect fruit, you know, how can I, what should I do, okay, what should I do in order to, you know, in order to see the fruit, the fruit of what was ministered, how can I, what can I do, okay, so the thing is I also wanted to mention that, you know, while all these things are there, about being purposeful, being intentional, being relevant, you know, when it comes to being relevant, in the name of being relevant, let's say, you know, being relevant is very powerful, right, it's, it understands, opens up the understanding to receive the truth, okay, so remember certain things that we did, I think this was about who we are in Christ, I remember we did one exercise where, you know, this, when you're new creation, you know that the old person is dead, right, so the old Jack Ma is dead, so this is something that we did at one, I remember one of the sessions where we said, okay, you know, we're just going to write on a, or draw on a piece of paper, a tombstone, okay, so a tombstone and, and so you can imagine, you know, there's a tombstone, like what is put on a grave, and on that grave you're just writing, okay, your name, and then so and so was born on, and he died, okay, and then the date of death is the day when you accepted Christ, okay, so what does that mean, that the old Adam, or the old man, old Jack Ma is dead, okay, and I'm a new creation in Christ, right, so all things, all regrets, all things, now we know, okay, yes, spiritually, yes, you know, the old person is dead, now I'm a new creation, but to, to kind of make it relevant, so we did that exercise, so it was very powerful to see, you know, you see a couple of dates there and you see your name there, and to say that, yes, this person is no more, right, yes, my soul still carries my, you know, my mind-willed emotions, I still carry that imaginations and all that, but the fact is, spiritually, you know, according to Romans 6, you know, I've been dead, and I'm born again now, I'm alive in Christ, so it's powerful to see that, okay, so it has its place to make things relevant, okay, another thing that we did was write, and we took that, and then we, we burnt it, okay, I think it was at, I don't know, I think some camp, so we just took it, and we just burnt it, burnt it completely to ash, you know, it's like, okay, that's it, the old person is not there anymore, and, and one, one other thing, I think we did an Easter Resurrection Sunday service is we had a cross, and then we wrote about all those things that we are guilty of, you know, ashamed of, we are condemned by all our, you know, things of the flesh and everything, and we just put it on the cross, you know, it was all these stick-on papers, and we just put it on the cross saying, okay, that's taken on the cross, right, so you see these are very relevant, very powerful things, right, but in the name of, you know, being relevant, let's not dilute the truth, okay, that's the thing, so we should, you know, these are things that enhance the truth, okay, but being wanting to be relevant with the audience, relevant to the audience, sometimes, you know, we could end up doing things, you know, communicating in a way that dilutes the message, compromises with the truth of the message, okay, so, so that's, that's the danger, okay, so we need to avoid that, okay, so just wanted to mention that, okay, so yeah, so ministering, okay, let's look at chapter 12, okay, any questions so far, anything that you might want to add, any questions, anything at all, okay, so we look at chapter 12, so chapter 12 is, you know, leading people to respond, okay, so, so you shared the word, you ministered the word, okay, what are some things that I can do to get people to respond to the ministry of the word, okay, so obviously, you know, the first thing to remember is to get some kind of response, you know, now there are certain messages which you don't need to, we can just pray and close, okay, there are, maybe there are some days or some times when, you know, some meetings where, well, you don't really sense, you know, that kind of a thing, you know, like, you just pray and close and that's fine, but it's good to ask the Lord, and it's important to ask the Lord, okay, Lord, what next? What do I do next? I'm closing, of course, we can pray well in advance, but also, you know, at that moment to be in touch with God, to have that conversation, God, you know, what do I do now? How do we close this? How do you want me to proceed further, right, so it's important to do that, so the Lord might lead in a way and which would actually facilitate the people to respond to the message, you know, the last 30 minutes or 40 minutes or whatever that you have shared to respond to that, okay, so it could be a simple altar call, right, maybe you shared a gospel message, something about being born again, it could be a simple altar call saying, okay, in response to this message, now what is, you give an invitation, okay, just giving out an invitation to receive the Lord, to respond to, in faith, to invite the Lord into your heart, okay, that could be a simple thing, or in response to that, you know, what are some commitments that you can make, okay, now that's to an audience who would already believe us, what is the commitment, you know, what is it that you can commit to, maybe it was about living a holy life, maybe it was about something to do with marriage, maybe it was something, you know, about prayer, getting more disciplined in it, so it could be, you know, what is it that you can, steps that you can take and what is it that you want to commit to now, right, and you can do that, also, you know, ministering in the power or the anointing of the Holy Spirit, maybe the Lord wants to do some things in the bodies, in the minds, in the hearts of people, okay, so ministering, you know, God wants to, like we saw, right, in Hebrews chapter 2, bearing witness, signs, wonders, various miracles, so many times we think, okay, maybe today's not the day, you know, we just get the feeling that, we're just feeling emotionally, we just, you know, it's like, okay, maybe I should just finish, and I realize that those are the days when you actually step up and when you open up and when you give an opportunity or invite the presence of God, invite the, you know, the work of the Holy Spirit and it's a complete surprise, you know, it's a complete, you know, the way God changes, God steps in and does things, it's amazing, so like maybe your body is tired, maybe your mind is tired and you're weary and you're feeling like, how can I go on, right, but those are the times when you just obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, right, invite the work of the Holy Spirit, so what are some things? You can pray for physical healing, right, maybe there are people there with conditions and you can, we can ask the Lord, Lord, you know, can you just show what are those things that we could pray for and the Lord will, right, that you receive a word of knowledge, maybe the Lord is showing something visually, maybe the Lord is giving a prompting in your heart, you know, there could be this condition, maybe there are people there, something that you sense and you pray on those lines, right, you begin to pray on those lines and the reason that the Lord reveals these things is because he wants to do something, you know, it's always that he wants to do something to change something in people's bodies, you know, bring in healing and or maybe it's something to do with the emotions, you know, people in their minds, there's something that's defining and challenging, so the Lord wants to do something there or maybe in their situation, right, relationally he wants to do something, so all this, you know, people are, you know, they've heard the word and well, these are needs there and these are opportunities for really God to step into those needs, he just look at it that way, you know, these are opportunities and these are expressions of the Holy Spirit, like when we read about these gifts, right, one Corinthians 12 talks about these are manifestations or expressions of the Holy Spirit, so it's actually the heart of God being expressed in these ways and the Lord steps into those needs, okay, this is what God says, you know, this is what I think about this particular need and he steps in and does something about it, so the thing is to invite God to do what he wants to do, it gives that space, give that time and facilitate that, right, to go with that, so that can be done in several ways, so one simple way to do is to just pray, you pray, you ask God and God shows something, reveals something, maybe you can call it out, you can, well, maybe God is showing, you know, saying, okay, that person has that and so, you know, pray specifically for that or maybe it's just an impression that maybe someone has this condition or this situation, this circumstance and then you can, you know, you can call it out and you can say, okay, is there someone there or maybe someone is there with this kind of a thing, if it's something sensitive, we can always say, you know, if there is someone here with this kind of a thing and this kind of a situation, God wants to do something, you know, the God is saying, God is revealing this and obviously, it is with the intention of stepping in and doing something about that particular need, so, you know, you could minister in that way, right, another way to do it is to involve the leaders there, maybe, you know, there are others who are leaders, who are special leaders in the place, so you could invite them to be there and invite the congregation, you know, whoever has different needs to come and be prayed for, to come and be ministered to, right, so that gives an opportunity for the team, the leadership team to also engage in ministry, so they can pray, they can minister, they can intercede and have, you know, God do wonderful things, okay. Also, when it comes to, you know, getting these responses, we can also have testimonies, right, if time permits and, you know, we can do it in an orderly fashion, so if there are people who have received something right then and there, you know, like healing or maybe they have experienced the weight off their shoulders and maybe they received a prophetic word and so on, so these are things that could happen and so maybe you can take testimonies, okay. Be mindful of the fact that maybe some people are coming and then they have a testimony and then you explain to them, okay, did God do something here or now, okay, because some folks might come and then they say, okay, in the year 2002 and then, you know, that's not a great place to start, right, so you could always, you know, you hold the mic, if there is a mic and you hold it, so you can take it out, be discerning and also be polite, right, and then you say, okay, maybe we'll, you know, have that for another time, but then, you know, did God do anything here or now, okay, I thank you, right, so we move on, okay, so these are different things that you can, we can do, so we can think creatively, we can even think of, you know, let's say, if it's an altar call for, let's say, a person has just come to church for the first time, made a decision, we can also invite whoever they came with, you know, they've come with some friends, you know, why don't you come with them, come forward and be prayed for, and that will be, they'll be more willing to do that sometimes, right, than coming alone, new place, alone, I'm there, you know, how can I do that, so they can maybe, you can say, okay, if you've come with some, you know, your friend or someone who's brought you to church, you know, why don't you just come forward, why don't you also accompany, right, and then we'll pray for you and so on, okay, so you can do that, okay, so any other ways by which you can minister towards the end or ask people to respond, you can ask people to write in, right, you can ask people to, yeah, maybe there's a number that they can, you know, they can text, there's an email that they can send, you know, all that is possible, like today, so you can do that, right, okay, so what we'll do is we have a few minutes now, I just want us to respond to what we heard just now, okay, what I just thought was, you know, we'll we'll just get into this habit of sharing, okay, and it's just for a minute, and to kickstart this, kickstart it, it's best that we do it without any preparation, okay, so here's what we're going to do, okay, so I'm just going to put some random name there and I'm just going to put a random reference, okay, script reference, and I just like you to read it, and then from the top of your head, just begin to share, okay, and it's not for a long time, I'm just going to give, I'm just going to have a minute to share, okay, so now is not the time to say I've got bad connection and, you know, exit, so now is not the time, okay, so let's say, let's start with some brave ones, okay, so, okay, any volunteers, before I start volunteering you, any volunteers, and, you know, if you're not too comfortable, you know, maybe you're comfortable in Hindi or something, that's also okay, you know, since it's the first time, right, okay, let's start, I'll start with the first John Paul, okay, so John Paul in there, okay, so scripture John Paul is, okay, second Thessalonians, okay, chapter three, and 13, he's done, you just read it out, and then you just start whatever you know, maybe you can just take a time, okay, second Thessalonians, I hope the guy, I got the worst right, second Thessalonians 3, 13, but as for you, brethren, do not grow very in doing good, so much pressure, go for it, go for it John, all right, this is an exhortation, we're written to each one of us, we're Apostle Paul, and towards the end of the epistle he is reminding us that we need to grow continually in doing good, so doing good is also a part of the work that we do as righteousness, the work of righteousness, the work of salvation, and we also read that work out your salvation with fear and trembling, so part of it includes the righteous deeds that we continue to do in our Christian living, and also it is important the word which is used there, as for you brethren, it's a word of comfort also for us understanding that we are co-heirs of Christ and understanding that we are all part of one body and reminding each other, do not grow weary in doing good, so there might be times when we do something and we get tired, there might be times when we do something good and something bad happens back to us, but even in times we feel like that God, the word of God reminds us do not grow weary, but continue to do good, so that we will finish our race in a better way. Thank you, Pastor. Awesome, good job, I think I can give a good applause for John Paul, awesome. That was good, I think that just helps, okay that's one minute done, I'm just giving blanket, okay so let's look at another scripture, okay, okay let's look at, okay, Elisha would you like to try, okay, so I'm just going to ask Elisha say, right, so Elisha you can share from let's say let's take Philippians chapter one and verse three, verses three and four, right, let's look at verses three and four, okay, thank you Pastor, Philippians chapter one verse three and four, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, okay, so I think Paul is in this epistle acknowledging God, acknowledging to the church in Philippe that he reminds, he remembers them in his prayer, that is intercession, thanking God on behalf of the people, so it teaches us that we don't only pray for God to intervene in the lives of people, we also thank God for the life of people, thank God for the miracles, the work of the Holy Spirit that he's doing in the lives of people and as we continue to thank him, the Bible says that we make way for God for his deliverance so as you continue to thank the Lord for the work he's doing, the life of other people, church members, family members, colleagues at work, friends, family, God will keep up his work in them. Thank you Elisa, yeah, anything on verse four? Okay verse four, always in every prayer of mine for you, every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, okay, so here in the verse four to Paul gives us a clue of different types of prayer, he has every prayer of mine, it means that Paul was not praying a single prayer, he used to engage in different kinds of prayer for the people, worship, intercession, transgiving, supplication, this falls into the category of the types of prayer Paul used to engage in and he encourages us that we should pray with joy, we shouldn't pray with so much anxiety, so much confusion that our prayer should be made in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Amen, thank you, thanks so much Elisa, awesome, okay that's all we have time for today so we'll stop here but anyway next class onwards just be, you know, just remember it could be your turn and so just for us to have some fun but also at the same time get used to sharing, okay, right, thank you so much, God bless, have a great weekend, bye-bye.