Ecclesiastes chapter 11, and reading from verse 4, it says, whoever waits for the wind will not sow, and whoever keeps their eyes on the clouds will not reap, as you do not know how the spirit works, nor how the bones grow in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know experientially the works of God who brings it all about. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not take a break, for you do not know what will succeed, which of the two will be good. Second short verse in 2nd Chronicles chapter 15, in verse 7, it says, be strong therefore in the Lord, and do not hold back, for your work will be rewarding.

Title of my message today, don't give up. Don't give up. Just over 20 years ago, God led us into a situation we weren't expecting.

We found ourselves in a foreign land, where we didn't understand the language. We weren't planning to go there. We were planning to go somewhere else, but we ended up in Mexico.

You know, that's the place you watch, you see in the movies, where you know, where the cowboys are chasing the crooks, and they go over the Mexican border. That's about all I knew about Mexico, that and the picture of a Mexican lying with his sobrera on sleeping under the cactus. That's about as much as I knew as Mexico, and we got there.

So we landed in a situation that was very different to what we'd ever been in before. We were stranded in a foreign land, we couldn't speak the language, we didn't know anybody there. The folks that actually brought us there soon left after we arrived, and so we were left all alone.

The circumstances of doing the work of the ministry were not very good. It was kind of like we'd retired. It was a lovely place down by the sea, had a beautiful view looking out over the ocean.

We were in a holiday paradise with nothing to do. It was a difficult situation, but it was fine while we were being provided with an income every month from our benefactor, but that didn't continue. Suddenly, without warning, it came to an end, and here we were stuck in a foreign land where we couldn't work, we weren't allowed to work, we couldn't earn an income, we couldn't minister because we couldn't speak the language of the people, and so really, what were we doing there? Very little we could do.

I made a decision that we would take our old camera that we'd bought, wasn't one of the latest technology, but it worked, and we'd preach. I had no people to preach to. Who was I going to preach to? Probably less people than I have here today.

It was just six of us, so I was preaching to five people, and one of them was behind the camera, but we preached into camera, and we ministered as though we were ministering to the crowds, and then we began to advertise our ministry on the internet. Well, who did we know internationally? I think I had a list of about five or six people that I knew that I could write to, and so I sent them emails, started putting bible studies out and sending them by email to the handful of people that I knew, and then we made a website which nobody knew about, and we began to build a ministry on the internet. It was a very difficult and impossible situation, and it was impossible for us to leave, come back, because we couldn't even afford to pay the air fares to come back here to our home country of South Africa, so we were in a situation where we were forced to survive, and so I began to preach into camera.

We started to provide those messages to people first on ordinary audio tapes. Now, after more than 20 years, we have a ministry that's reaching around the globe. We have people that have been trained for the work of the Lord.

We have Global Business Ministries International, a well-established ministry organization that God is using to bless and to minister to so many people. I'd like to ask you what has God called you to do, and what are you doing about it? What do you have? Well, I had something I knew. I prepared for the ministry.

I'd been in ministry. I'd been out of the ministry. I had something in my heart that I wanted to share with the people, and so that's what I began to share, and as I began to share, God began to give me more and more to share, and God began to teach me and show me things that I could teach the people.

What do you have right now that you can use to fulfill the call of God in your life? What natural resources do you have? We had this old camera. It wasn't even a digital camera. It was one of the old analog ones.

We didn't have a tripod to put it on, but I bought this old telescope with a wooden tripod, and so we threw the telescope off and tried to mount the camera on this flaky wooden tripod, and so that was our tripod. We wanted to provide tapes to the people, but all we had was one of these little portable tape recorders you had those days, and so we had two of those, and so we'd play the tape in the one and patch it from there into the other one, so an hour message would take you an hour to make a tape, and then to provide the tapes and send them out, we couldn't afford to buy stick-on labels, so we cut labels out of paper and glued them on with glue stick and wrote on them. Our resources were at a minimum.

What resources do you have that you can use? So I don't really have very much. Are you prepared to take what you have and use it to do what God's called you to do? What spiritual resources do you have? You have experience in the Lord. You have a knowledge of the word, and perhaps it's not very much, but are you prepared to take what you have and give it out? Now what resources do you need that you should add to those to make you more effective? And then the next question is, have you made an effort to try to get those resources to make yourself more effective? Are you prepared to pay a price to get those resources to make you effective? The most important thing of all is, have you started sewing yet? Our problem is we wait for the right circumstances, don't we? We say, well, once I'm a bit more qualified, once I know the word a little bit better, once I've studied, maybe I've got some certificates behind my name, once somebody has recognized me and ordained me and given me license, perhaps then I will be in a position where I can start to sew and give out what God's given me.

Or you're probably saying, well, I'm still a bit young. If I were to stand up and try and preach now, people probably wouldn't listen to me. So I need to be a little bit more older and more mature.

You might be saying, well, I'm still single, and people don't really pay much attention to a single person. I want to wait until I'm married first before I do what God's called me to do. And there's this one.

Well, you know, I've got so much on my plate right now, I really don't have time. I really don't have time. You know, I'm working a really busy job.

You know, when I get home at night, I'm tired, I'm weary. And you know, the weekends are a time to at least chill out and have a break from all the hard work. Where am I going to get time to do what God's called me to do? Oh, we're full of excuses, aren't we? We'll always find some reason to justify why we won't do what God's called us to do.

You know what? You don't need to wait for the right circumstances. You don't need to wait until you're more qualified. You don't have to wait until you're the right age or have the right circumstances.

You don't have to wait until somehow you get more time, because there is no more time. Only 24 hours in a day. You don't have to wait, period.

You need to be like Jesus, who once he knew what he was meant to do. The scripture says he set his face as a flint, even though he knew the cross was before him. He set his face as the flint.

He said, I'm going, and I'm going now, and nothing's going to stop me. So where do I start? Start right where you are. Well, I have nothing.

What is in your hands? Remember when God appeared to old Moses there, and he was making excuses and feeling so helpless, and God said to him, what's that you got in your hand? My shepherd's staff. The Lord said, let me have your staff, and I'll show you what I can do with it. Let me show you what I can do with that old shepherd's staff.

I'll tell you what, that shepherd's staff did amazing things, amazing things, that part of the Red Sea, because it was given to God to use. You know, I don't have much, you know. I'm just a weak, frail little person, you know.

I'm not highly qualified. I'm not a good speaker. What do you have? You can give to him what is in your hands right now.

I believe that God wants to raise up his people, and every single believer has a purpose and a calling from God. But no, we're doing like the scripture says. We say, I'm waiting for the right wind to be blowing.

I'm waiting for the clouds to be in the right place. Then I will sow my seed. You know what? You know what? I'm more of a morning person, so you know, I'm going to sow my seed in the morning.

Well, I'm more of an evening person, so I think I would rather sow it in the evening. No, the scripture says do both. There's another passage of scripture that says, be instant in season, out of season.

Well, I've got to wait for the right season, you know. We can't plant the seeds now. You know, it's winter now.

We've got to wait for the spring and the summer to come. Excuses, excuses. What do you have in your hands? What can you sow right now? I sense in the spirit there are those who God has been speaking to, and he's been offering you opportunities, and he's been wanting to lift you up, and use you, and take you places.

But you are making excuses. You're saying, Lord, I'll get around to it when the time is right. Lord, yes, yes, yes, Lord, yes, I, yes, Lord, I will do it for you when.

Lord, I'll do it for you when you bring my marriage partner, Lord. Then we can work together. Until then, Lord, you know, I can't be too much as a single person.

Well, you know, Lord, I don't have a job right now. When I want to get more money, Lord, then, Lord says, I have called you, and I have given you a call, and I would not have given you that call if you were not ready now, says the Lord. If you were not already capable right now, because I don't require anything of you except your availability to me, says the Lord, for I am all that you need.

I have all that you need, says the Lord, and you need nothing more than me by your side, and you can accomplish great things. Therefore, make no more excuses, says the Lord, and do not turn from this call, for you will lose an opportunity. Do not look with envy on others who are rising up and accomplishing great things for me, and complain to me, and say, Lord, that's not fair.

The reason I'm using them is because they made themselves available to me, and many of them are less capable than you, says the Lord, but you are allowing them still what I've offered you for my child. Stop your excuses and make yourself available to me now, says the Lord, for I will do great things in you beyond what you can even comprehend. Sometimes we let the results stop us.

So, you know, I really, I really gave it, I gave it a bash. I tried, you know, I really worked hard at it, but nothing happened. Nobody responded.

You know, in our early years in Mexico, we only had the internet, so I began to send out studies online. We gradually began to build up a mailing list of people who were interested in receiving stuff from us, and I'd get this awesome word from the Lord, this awesome teaching, and we'd send it out to the list, expecting, wow, people are just going to be so excited about it, and if we're blessed, somebody may come back and say, that was nice things. Sometimes we got nothing, no response whatsoever, or we try it again, no response whatsoever.

You know, after a few times of doing that, you kind of wonder whether you really should be doing what you're doing, or whether you're wasting your time. God kept saying, keep sowing your seed, keep sowing your seed. In the morning, sow your seed.

In the evening, sow your seed, because you do not know which seed will grow. Sometimes people would write to us months afterwards, and said, you put out a word once where you said that, and you know that really blessed me and motivated me. Well, I wish you told us back there, because it may have motivated me then.

Folks, if you call to ministry, don't look for the results. Don't look for the acclamation and recognition from people. Listen for the word that says, well done, my faithful servants.

I'm pleased with you. You should know, you know a little bit about gardening, that some seeds take some time to grow. Different plants take different times to sprout and mature.

And you know what, the better fruits actually tend to take longest. You know, sometimes you you may wait for years before you see the fruit. Well, if you're the kind of person that needs to see results quickly, start by planting some simpler seeds.

Years ago, I got excited about gardening, and I raked the backyard and made these beds, and I thought, I'm going to plant vegetables. So I went and bought a whole pile of seeds and planted them. And then I waited, and I watered, and I waited, and all that came up at first was weeds.

And I waited, and I waited, and then one day, weeks later, you saw these little things coming out. Yeah, by then I was starting to get discouraged and wondering, why did I even bother with this thing? You know, it's cheaper just to go and buy the vegetables in the shop, you know. But I discovered there was one seed that grows exceptionally fast, and you see the result really quickly.

And that was radishes. You know, I don't like radishes. They burn.

Well, I like them now, but back then, I didn't like radishes. You know, I was not going to the to the grocer to look for radishes. That was not one of my top priorities.

But you know what, I got a taste for radishes, because I found radishes grow very quickly. And that encouraged me. But I tried planting onions, and I don't think they ever came up.

Oh Lord, onions. You know, and eventually, once they finally sprout, you've got to wait for the bulb to form in the ground, and that takes ages. Well, you know what, if you are being discouraged because you're not seeing results to your ministry, why don't you start with some little things that bring immediate results.

You know, sometimes we just want to aim for the top. We want the big thing first. You know, I want the big fruit tree.

That's going to take years, let me tell you. Radishes will take weeks. Before you know it, you've got those radishes you can pull out, and you can enjoy them right away.

Some trees, you may give up hope with them. I shared this story before. I grew up in a place where in our yard, we had many different fruit trees.

It was wonderful. Now, I've never experienced that again since that time. But each fruit, as it came in season, we used to be able to go and pick it from our own tree.

And there's nothing more exciting than picking a fresh fruit from your own tree. We had one tree that my folks had planted from a pip, and it was an avocado. My mom had put this pip on a bottle.

Have you seen how they do? You take the pip, and you stick some spikes in, and you sit it on a bottle of water, and eventually the root begins to come down, and it begins to sprout. So my mom had faithfully sprouted this one, and then planted it in the soil, and sure enough, it began to grow up and became a tree. Well, she planted it when I was very young, and we stayed in that place for a very long time, for many years.

And I grew up watching that tree grow until eventually it was this huge tree, but it never ever bore any fruit. We used to play around the tree. We used to climb in the tree.

We used to knock nails in the tree. It was just part of the furniture. And one day, as I walked under the tree, I saw some things lying on the ground that looked like little berries, and I thought, where did that come from? And I looked up, and there were all these little berries on the tree.

As I watched those berries grow bigger and bigger, and became avocado pears. It must have taken something like seven or eleven years. I can't remember.

It was a huge amount of time that it took for this tree to finally begin to bear. But you know, once it began to bear avos, because the tree was so huge, we couldn't eat the avos fast enough. There were just hundreds and hundreds of them.

Well, you know what? The radishes are much easier, but they don't last long. The good things take time. The good things require a waiting period.

I read once of a missionary who went to a foreign land. I can't remember his name or which country. It was one of the one of the heathen countries that he went to.

And he worked there as a missionary, trying to preach the gospel. And it took him many years before he finally got one convert. You know, you would think the guy would have given up by now.

You know, after a year, if you've led nobody to the Lord, maybe God didn't call you. You know, or you get to the second year, and still after all your efforts, you haven't been able to bring anybody to Christ. I would begin to doubt my call and my ministry, say, well, you know, maybe I missed it.

Maybe I shouldn't be here. Maybe I'm in the wrong place. But you know, once that first soul came to the Lord, then it began to happen.

And eventually, he left a legacy behind in that country. As a result of his persistence, he didn't give up. Folks, keep planting, no matter what you see.

Something is happening, even though you cannot see it. Sometimes you'll be blessed, and you'll get a response from somebody as a result of your ministry. And sometimes the Lord, the Lord has pity on us.

And he allows some of these things just to encourage us, to make us realize we're not wasting our time. I had somebody respond to one of our publications this week, and she said, I've been following your ministry and watching your materials for the last 20 years. Well, that's when we first started, right back there in Mexico, 1998.

Never heard of her before, never communicated with her before. She's not in our schools. She's been there.

We have this periodically. Somebody says, I've been following your ministry for the last 10 years. Well, we didn't know that.

But imagine if we'd stop doing what we do. You don't know which seeds you have sown, have sprouted, and have grown. You don't know which ever trees there are getting ready now to bear forth fruit, because of what you did, because of your obedience to the Lord, to do what he's told you to do.

It's time we stop making the excuses, folks. Sometimes, the bottom line is we're just not prepared to pay the price. We're just too lazy.

Like in the parable of the talents, where the master gave his servants each something to work with. Some of them put it to work and gained more, but the one, he went and hid it away. It's only when you use what God's given you, folks, that it grows.

I'm waiting until I get a greater anointing. I'm waiting until the power of God in me increases. I'm waiting until I can pray for the sick and they get healed.

I'm waiting until I see signs and wonders. You know, can I tell you how long you're going to wait? You're going to be looking down from heaven one of these days, seeing somebody else do the signs and wonders. You'll be dead and it's over for you.

It's how long you're going to wait. You're going to hang on to what you've given and it will stay right where it is. It will never grow.

We were in an impossible situation in Mexico. We couldn't earn an income. We couldn't minister to anybody.

It was extremely difficult, but we took what we had and we gave it to the Lord and a ministry began to grow. Somebody came to visit us once from the States, the land of opportunity. They were living in one of the most wonderful countries of the world.

They came down. We tried to motivate them to get in and do what God's called them to do and the woman turned to us. She said, it's all right for you.

You've got an outlet for your ministry. I couldn't believe my ears. It's right for you.

We don't have an outlet for our ministry. We're only in this wonderful land of opportunity. We have everything.

We got the finances. We got the resources, but we don't have an opportunity. So we're waiting for God to give us an opportunity.

No, we didn't have an opportunity. We had disaster. We were left stranded.

We made a choice and we took that and we ran with it. We took our little seed and we began to sow it. I don't have much seed and if I give out all the seed I have, there'll be nothing left.

Without the seed, it'll start to grow. You'll get some more seeds back. Stop saying I have nothing.

Stop saying I'm too weak. Take what you have and begin to sow your seed and you know what? When you sow a seed, it multiplies many times. Take the knowledge you have and begin to pour it out and God will give you more.

Take the anointing that you have and begin to use it and God will increase it. You sit and wait until the time is right. You must start where you are.

What has God called you to do? What have you done so far to fulfill this call? Come on, be honest. I'm not really sure what God's called me to do. Are you saved? Are you saved? Yes? Then you really have something to do.

Yeah, but God's not told me what my ministry is. Have you tried reading his word? Go into all the world and preach the gospel. The great commission is given to every believer.

I don't have a call. Yes, you do. I'm not much of an evangelist, you know.

What have you got right now? There's no excuse. What have you done so far to fulfill your call from God and your responsibility in the body of Christ? What are you doing right now to fulfill this call? Or perhaps you stepped out and tried and it seemed to have failed. You're getting discouraged by the results.

I sense there are many in that category right now. The Lord says to you, my child, I did not ask you to bring the results. I asked you to do what I told you to do and if you will step out boldly in my name, if you will step out and proclaim what I've given, if you'll step out and hold me up, says the Lord, I will draw people to me, not to you.

Stop looking at yourself. Stop looking at what people think about you, says the Lord, and be concerned about what they think about me. When you step out in my name, you step out in me.

You step out as me and did I not say that the things that I do shall you do and greater things than these shall you do, says the Lord, but you cannot do it without me and perhaps the reason that you failed is because you try to do it in your own strength. You try to do it in your own ability instead of relying completely on me, says the Lord. Therefore, my child, turn back.

Turn back for you have turned around and you have walked away from my call on your life. You have walked away from the blessing that I have for you, says the Lord. Turn back.

Turn around and return and do the works that you did before, says the Lord, and this time you will succeed and this time I will be with you and this time I will confirm the word and this time I will provide abundantly for you, says the Lord, but do not give up. Keep going. Keep pressing forward in my name and you shall accomplish everything I have called you to do, says the Lord.

Gave us a promise. He said, be strong. Do not hold back or your work will be rewarded.

Keep sowing your seed, your harvest. I want to end on a passage of scripture from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 58, and he said, therefore, my beloved brothers, you should continually be firm, unmovable, at all times continually overflowing in the work of the Lord because you know that your effort is not a waste of time, but it is a blessing in the Lord. Lord, I ask you to take this word and to melt the hearts of your people.

If you choose to use it as a sword, Lord, that is your prerogative. If you choose it to encourage and motivate, Lord, that's your prerogative. It's not my word, it's yours and I leave the results with you now.

I've sent forth this word, Lord. I've sent it forth and accordance with your promise that if that word was sent forth as from your lips, it will accomplish that for which it is sent and it will not return empty. Therefore, I am trusting you, Lord, for I know that I spoke your word as you gave it to me and I know that your word will accomplish what it was sent for.

Therefore, I ask you to reach out and to touch the hearts of men and women and to stir them up and cause them to rise up and cause them to go. Bring your kingdom to bear on this world and turn this world upside down and glorify your name and lift you up, Lord. Build your kingdom in preparation for your return.

I leave it in your hands now, Father. Now, thank you for it. Shabbat Namaste Korondo.

I believe God has spoken to you. I know God has spoken to you and I want you to take heed. I want you to stop making excuses.

Just let go of your fears. I sense there are some who are not rebellious. It's just plain afraid.

It's just plain afraid. You know, one of the most common statements the Lord ever made was fear not. Fear not.

The Lord says to you, my child, fear not. I will not ask you to do anything that you're not able to do. And I will not ask you to do anything that I will not empower you to do, says the Lord.

So don't allow the enemy to fill your heart with fear. Don't allow him to discourage you and make you want to give up. Well, I am pleased with what you already tried to do for me, says the Lord.

And I do not condemn you for you have failed. Well, failure is always the doorway to success. Therefore, my child, return to me and return to what I've called you to do.

And put your fear aside for your fear doesn't come from me, says the Lord. It comes from the enemy of your soul. Your fear comes as a result of your past failures and hurtful experiences.

Therefore, bring those experiences to me and let me heal them, says the Lord, and let me purge that fear out of you. Nevertheless, go forward, not in natural strengths. Go forward still in the right kind of fear, in humility, in timidity, not in arrogance, but in total dependence on me.

Your fears will be vanquished. They will disappear. You will rise up and you will become a leader that others will look to, says the Lord.

And they will look at you in amazement. And those who knew you in the past will look at you in amazement and say, are you the same person that I knew? What has happened to you? What changed? You will change, says the Lord. My power will bring that change.

The great and magnificent things will be seen in your life and ministry as you commit yourself afresh to me. Why don't you do that now? Why don't you do that now? Say, Lord, I'm afraid. I admit it.

But Lord, I'm prepared to face my fears with you by my side. Hallelujah. Thank you for it, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for confirming your word. Thank you for drawing your people back. Thank you for drawing them into this place.

You bless each one. You lift them up and glorify your name. Thank you for it, Lord, in Jesus' name.

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