John K. Jenkins Sr - Bible Study, Supernatural Provision

Thank you for being you this evening. One of the things I want to start doing on Tuesdays is following up on some of the questions that came in during the previous week. Over the years, we have received many online questions, but I always give preference to the people who are here. However, many questions that come up online are repeated, indicating a strong interest in those topics. So, I want to make it a practice every Tuesday, before we get into the lesson for the night, to spend a few moments addressing some of the questions people have.

I received several questions regarding whether it’s acceptable for us to come down front and dance as we do during worship. They said they didn’t think it was forbidden, but rather not welcomed. I’m not sure how anyone got that idea, but feel free to come down here and dance to your heart’s delight. We welcome worship and do not welcome distractions, but we do embrace true worship before God.

Many questions also came in asking if we plan a trip to South Africa and if members are invited to attend. I got a ton of questions about that. Let me tell you a few things: it is very expensive to go to South Africa, and it’s a long trip — about 17 hours by plane and longer to return. The lowest price just for the flight and hotel is around $3,000, and it could be as high as $12,000 if you prefer not to fly economy, scrunched up in the middle seat, and want to get priority or premium seats.

I have to weigh offering such a trip to our church against the history of what we have done on previous trips. We have visited the Bahamas for the last couple of years, and by the way, we are going again next year in March. Although they recently had a storm, the area we’re visiting has not been impacted, but I think it’s even more important for us to support them and their economy as they recover from the devastation of the last storm.

We take a look at all the trips we undertake, including mission trips — local trips to places like New York and Detroit. The numbers, in comparison to the size of our church, are quite small; sometimes as few as 20 people go, and a trip may cost around $600. While some trips might be a little more expensive, it’s hard to envision taking a large number of people to South Africa when we are not overwhelmingly supporting mission trips here in the United States.

I believe that many churches go overseas to do mission work but neglect their own neighborhoods. I do not want us to be that kind of church; we need to have a heart for our local community, as there is enough poverty right here. You may ask, «Pastor, why do you go?» Well, that’s none of your business, but I’m just joking when I say that. The real question is, «Pastor, how do opportunities like this arise for you?» That 's a great question.

I’ve traveled to several countries and had many opportunities to visit different places, and every one of them came about because of relationships. I cannot stress this enough: if you want to do ministry, and opportunities aren 't being presented to you, it’s likely because you have not developed meaningful relationships. Amen? Thank you, all five of you, for that. But it’s okay; I’ve got it. I am engaged; I meet people, and I try to be a nice guy. Come on, help me out here! I give support to others, and it’s easy for me to go to another church that is having a revival, even if I’m not preaching or on the program — I just want to be there to support it.

Because I do these kinds of things, the Bible says, «He who wants to have friends must first show himself friendly.» All of these opportunities happened because of relationships. For instance, I went to support my pastor, Bishop Jakes, when he did MegaFest in South Africa. While I was there, Israel Houghton introduced me to Burton Victoria’s, which started my relationship with him. Burton then introduced me to Rhema Christian Church, where I learned about their worship culture. He also connected me to the CRC church where they danced down front, ran around, and had thousands of attendees. Everything is grounded in relationships.

So, I encourage you to develop proper relationships and be mindful of how you treat people. The person you may irritate today could be the one who can open a door for your future.