Elder Andrew H. Montgomery, Sr.
A multipurpose book written with several motives and purposes:
I. to serve as an inspirational and provocative scriptural study guide and a prayer prompter,
II. to inspire beginning preachers to scripturally examine and research the authority and dominion they’ve been given to exercise in their daily environs,
III. to encourage unchurched \ unsaved readers to invite Jesus into their lives as their personal Savior and daily companion.
IV. to prompt young people NOT to judge the validity of salvation on the basis of prevailing negative attitudes about church, but encouraged to personally examine and evaluate worldly daily offerings to determine their positive and rewarding eternal benefits.
V. to convince Christians that they have the potential to change the atmosphere wherever they are and to demonstrate attributes of godliness and exude HIS presence with whomever they interact.
Elder Andrew H. Montgomery, Sr. or “Rev” as he is affectionately referred to by his students, is very passionate about urging individual believers to not settle on being just another non-chalant churchgoer. He has devoted much of his life’s ministry into preaching and teaching about the valuable role of the individual believer in the schema of the local church, the district, the conference, and the universal church of the Living God. He has sought to raise the conscience level of believers about their verbal and literal portrayals of the Kingdom of God and HIS Righteousness. He teaches about the reality of the power of God, the anointing(s) of God, the signs of the spirit, the gifts of the spirit, and the fruit of the spirit, that can direct ministries, that can empower ministries, and that can be incorporated into pertinent and relevant ministries amidst a world that diligently seeks to discredit the existence of God.
In a world that seeks to relegate the living breathing vibrancy of the word of God and instances of miracles, signs and wonders to the first century church, this author seeks to encourage all believers to seek God’s counsel and direction as to how HIS WORD and HIS miraculous power can be channeled into ministries that address problems of our daily environs. Rather, he emphasizes that individuals pursue their own personal relationship with God to unleash the full potential of life altering talents and abilities that God has placed within them. As they discover the gifting(s), the talents, and the abilities, they are to serve as obedient and cooperative members working under the tutelage of their pastor and the mentorship of the Holy Ghost. Tantamount to the severity of today’s myriad of evils and problems is the love, the joy, the hope, the peace, and the answers that must be modeled, that must be exemplified, that must be witnessed, and that must be taught as individual Christians co-mingle with mankind in their daily environs. His book, WALKING AMONG MEN, seeks to teach such principles.
Elder Montgomery delights in preaching and teaching and he takes great pleasure in participating in cooperative Bible study classes. Further, he loves working with Christian Educators and beginning preachers. In fact, while he pastored the Tynes Chapel (AME Zion) he was blessed to have five members embark upon a career as a Gospel Preacher. He has stated that “he does not ask you to accept every word of his teachings as principles etched in stone.” Rather, he has offered a plethora of scriptures whereby you can study and prayerfully seek God’s guidance and direction about your personal role as a powerful witness for the Kingdom of God and HIS Righteousness.
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The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be wrapped up in completing HIS MISSION daily.
Lu 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because
• he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
• he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
• to preach deliverance to the captives,
• and recovering of sight to the blind, to
• set at liberty them that are bruised,
• 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Have you examined yourself lately, to discover or rediscover the fact that each of us is a minister even though each of us may not be considered to be an ORDAINED CLERGYMAN? The pew can’t feed the hungry, but you can. God’s sweet words from Your mouth can help heal the broken hearted. Neither the microphone stand, the “mike”, nor the amplifier has words of their own. Your intercessory prayers can help to deliver the captives. Your living testimony coupled with your verbal testimony may very well open the spiritually blinded eyes of an onlooker that is questioning the validity of God’s existence and his intervention into mankind’s personal affairs.
We say and sing “we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The true test involves whether we are boldly and joyously acting out our beliefs in our daily practical environs, away from the church house and away from worship service settings. Jesus’ crucifixion was not done in seclusion but openly and publicly. If the world is going to see Christ Jesus in us and they are not frequenting our church services; they must experience Christ Jesus in our interactions with them in their daily settings. Can the world see a clear picture (true enactments of the teachings of Holy Bible, as well as hear scriptural conversations) of Jesus and HIS CHURCH through your life? Now, don’t start talking about I’m putting too much pressure on you! Take a moment and think about how many ways we’re just like our parents and how many things we do just like our parents taught us, directly or indirectly. As it is in our natural resemblances of our parents physically and in the ways we conduct our every day settings, we should bear startling spiritual similarities to Jesus, our BIG BROTHER \ Kinsman-Redeemer in our Christian walk. Meditate on what Jesus said in John 14:10. “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” Now, think about the title of this chapter again. Can the Father, Son, the Holy Ghost likewise prompt our actions, our inactions, and our speech in a manner that captivates the Heart of onlookers and listening bystanders?
The commission to planet Earth’s original set of parents has never been rescinded or diminished, even though SIN entered the world and greatly clouded and distorted mankind’s vision, hearing, and understanding and therefore his life’s response to the commission. This commission in found in Ge 1:28. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” YOU, my Brother \ my Sister have been called to use whatever, faculties, possessions, gifts, abilities, or talents, to make a meaningful, positive, and uplifting impact on the world. Your “WORLD” encompasses your immediate locale and whatever broadening circles of the world the Father may empower you to reach and touch. Whether, you are a care giver at a day care center, the mayor of a town or big city, a school teacher, a truck driver, a pro sports personality, a parent, a religious leader, an actor \ actress, or a policeman, it makes no difference. Whatever the task \ the profession, you’ve been called to live your life and carry out your profession in such a manner that it becomes a very strong link in the Chain of Human Brotherhood. This Chain of Human Brotherhood is supposed to help hoist mankind closer and closer to linking with and becoming ONE with our Creator. We should not be an excessively weak link that will easily pull apart and allow mankind to fall into the deep and dark recesses of utter deplorability, degradation, and destruction.
The third Nugget is the fact that YOU, yes, little old you, have been CALLED. For what you might ask? You’ve been called to be the Recipient, the Transmitter, and the Conveyance of HIS GLORY. My first opening scripture is 2Pe 1:3 which states that: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” This verse plainly states that we (mankind) have been well equipped with talents, gifts, abilities, faculties, for successful living. It also states that mankind has been called to a stage or level of life that reflects GLORY and VIRTUE. This knowledge becomes more apparent and palatable as we learn of and believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and his redemptive acts on mankind’s behalf two centuries ago. Some of these gifts, talents, abilities, capacities, callings are opened and operable in an unrepentant (non-believing) state. This is witnessed by Rom. 11:29: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Others are revealed to us only as we pursue an increasingly intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus. Let me urge you to read and study prayerfully these other such scriptures that attest to the tenant that we are called to be a tool in the Master’s Hands.
