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You can join me in Romans
chapter 12.

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Romans chapter 12.

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Been so thankful for Pastor
Ethan being able to come in and preach

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about spiritual application, right?

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We hear these spiritual truths
that we see in God's word, but sometimes

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it's the harder challenge to
actually apply these truths to our

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lives.

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And really, that's what the
second part of the book of Romans

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is all about.

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The first part of Romans,
really, Romans 1 through 11 is talking

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all about the theological
things that we know about our walk

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with God, what He has done for
us, what he has done in salvation,

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what he has done in
forgiveness, what he has done in

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way of freeing us from our sin.

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But now he says, okay, because
of what you have learned about God,

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this is how you are supposed
to live.

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And so In Romans chapter 12,
verses 1 and 2, we're called to be

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a sacrifice for God through
our service.

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And so we all know that we're
supposed to serve God, but oftentimes

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we don't necessarily know how
we are to serve God.

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What area am I supposed to
serve in?

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What does it look like?

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Am I supposed to serve in this
ministry or this ministry in front

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of the church, behind the scenes?

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Where does God want me to serve?

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Well, he talks here in Romans
chapter 12 about these different

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motivational ministry gifts
that are given to all believers as

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we're going to see here
through the grace of God.

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And it's important for us to
identify where God has gifted us

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so that we can know where
we're motivated in service to God,

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what areas should we serve?

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And so what we're seeing here
in verse six of Romans chapter 12,

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he says, having then gifts
differing according to the grace

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that is given to us.

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Now we're going to stop right
there because there's so much in

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that first part of verse six
we see that every believer, every

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person who comes to God in
faith and trusts in the person and

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work of Jesus Christ and His
death, burial and resurrection, every

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person who now has the Holy
Spirit living within them has, as

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it says here, a gift.

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We've all been uniquely gifted
by God through His grace.

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And so what does that mean?

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That means this.

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If they're given to us by
grace, it's not earned.

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I did not earn these gifts.

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You did not earn these gifts.

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And so the things that God
gives us by way of service, gifts

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we didn't earn, they, they,
they're given to us by God, but they're

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also given to us for his glory.

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So he gives it to us through
his grace, not in what we earn.

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And he gives it to us, not so
that we can elevate ourselves, not

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so that we can gain more
praise or attention, but that God

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would receive the glory.

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We see that all the way back.

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And verse number three, he
says, for I say, though the grace

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given unto me to every man
that is among you, not to think of

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himself more highly than he
ought to think, but to think soberly,

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according as God have dealt to
every man the measure of faith.

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So as God gives us this
opportunity to walk in faith, we

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serve him and we sacrifice for him.

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Not so that people will notice
us, so that people will give him

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the glory.

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And they're given to us to
minister to the body of Christ.

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So it's not about ourselves.

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These gifts that are given to
us are so that we can edify, so that

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we can strengthen, so that we
can bolster the strength of the Lord

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within the church, so that we
can serve him more effectively, so

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that we can spread the gospel
message, so that we can share the

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love of Christ to our
Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria,

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and to the uttermost part of
the earth.

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And so God never intended for
believers to simply attend church,

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though we think that that's church.

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In America, we're told that,
hey, I'm a member of a church.

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That means I go on Sunday
mornings for an hour.

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If the pastor is long winded,
maybe an hour and a half.

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By the way, in Africa, they
have services over three hours.

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Okay, so we might adopt some
of that culture here.

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No, no, no, no, no.

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We understand that.

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Also, by the way, it's very
nice to be able to speak without

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having to stop every sentence
and have an interpreter.

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So I'm going to try to not go
too quickly today because I'm excited

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to be back.

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And by the way, there's no
place like home.

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Even though we enjoyed
ourselves there and certainly would

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love to go back again.

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It's so good to be here and to
preach to you all.

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So we see here that it's not
God's ultimate plan for us just to

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attend church, even though
attending church is so important.

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We have to attend church
because the Bible tells us that we

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should not forsake the
assembly of ourselves together.

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So.

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So there is value, there is
importance, there is a command to

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attend church, but that's not
the end all, be all when it comes

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to the Christian life, that
should be a given.

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So.

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So it's not just about
attending church.

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God designs every Christian to
contribute to the work of God.

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And so there's no pew warming
ministry at Middletown Baptist Church.

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It's a given that you're
coming to church.

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The challenge would be that I
exercise the gift of grace that God

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has given me to further the
work of the Lord within the church

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community and within the world
around us.

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And so Romans chapter 12,
verse 6 says that he gives us gifts.

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And it says they're differing
according to the grace of God.

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So they're differing, meaning
not every single person has the same

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gift.

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And that's okay.

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That's actually something that
we should celebrate.

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We talked about this, I think
the last time that I spoke.

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There's this phrase that I
think that we should repeat often,

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is that we can have unity
without uniformity.

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It's an amazing thing to see
people from different cultures, from

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different backgrounds,
different age groups, come together

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within the church and serve
with the different gifts that God

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has given us and work together
as the body of Christ.

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I was able and was such a
privilege to sit in a group of men

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there at a Bible Way Baptist
church in Gahara, Rwanda.

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And I didn't know what to expect.

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As we sat down with the men,
There was about 20 men that sat down

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with us, and we were doing a
men's conference.

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And we came in with the
understanding that we want to teach

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them about spiritual
discipleship, how we can pass on

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the truths of God to the next generation.

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And I sat down with a man.

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I didn't know what to expect.

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They didn't speak the same
language as me.

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None of them look like me.

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They all came in and sat down,
and I'm going, okay, how's this going

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to work?

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I'm just going to preach the
word of God.

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And as we were preaching and as.

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As we were talking, Brother
Bob and I, we were able to see that

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though we didn't speak the
same language and though we had different

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living conditions, and though
there's a lot of things that we don't

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have in common, the one thing
that we had in common is that we

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had faith in Jesus Christ.

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And as.

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As we were able to discuss
these things, I was able to hear

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that, hey, they're doing some
of the same things that we're trying

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to do here in Middletown.

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And they're doing that here in
another country, across another continent.

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And the beauty is, is that we
see here is that they're different,

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but there's unity there, that
we can find that fellowship of that

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one body in Christ.

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And so that's exactly what he
says here in verse six.

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He says, having then gifts
differing according to the grace

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that is given to us.

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And so what we see is that
there's really different gifts.

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Now, how are they different?

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Well, the list of gifts here
are given to us in verses, really,

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we see in verses 6, 7, and 8,
and we see that there's seven gifts

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that are listed here as
motivational ministry gifts.

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Now, today, what we're going
to do is we're going to have an overview

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of these gifts, and then we're
going to really narrow down on one

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gift here specifically today.

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And so for the next
foreseeable future, we're going to

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try to break down each one of
these gifts.

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What does it look like when we
exercise them in the spirit?

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What does it look like when we
exercise these things in our flesh?

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How can we serve at these capacities?

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Maybe look at some biblical
examples of individuals who had these

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gifts.

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And so for the next few weeks,
it will seem a little bit like we're

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having a teaching lesson here,
because to some degree, one of the

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many reasons why people aren't
exercising the gifts within the church

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is because we haven't been
taught about the gifts and how to

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exercise those gifts.

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And so I want you to turn with
me to 1 Peter 4:10.

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This is where we started this
morning in our scripture reading.

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But the Bible really tells us
that these gifts are broken down

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into two different categories.

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And we're going to talk about
these categories here for the next

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few minutes.

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Because sometimes people
think, well, I'm not a person that

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is called to be in front of people.

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I like to be behind the scenes.

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I like to be unnoticed.

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Well, we're going to see that
there are certain gifts that are

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going to naturally be more in
front and notice.

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But there's also going to be
gifts that sometimes are behind the

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scenes that are never noticed
but are just as important.

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So in First Peter, chapter 4,
verse 10, it says, as every man or

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every person hath received the
gift, even so, minister the same

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one to another.

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So the idea would be this.

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You're given a gift, serve one another.

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Then he says, as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God.

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Now, what's a steward?

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A steward is someone who's
managing something that's not theirs.

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So what God does is he gives
us something that's his and imparts

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it to us to be a good steward
of, to manage it, to utilize it.

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Well, we talked about this a
while ago, the parable of the talents,

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right?

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God gives us these gifts so
that we can utilize them and multiply

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them and grow in these areas.

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And so he says, you are given
these gifts to serve others and to

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Be a good steward of the manifold.

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In the King James, it says
manifold, but it means various or

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different, the different grace
of God, meaning God gives us all

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graces in way of gifts, but
some of those are different.

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And then he breaks it down
into two categories.

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In verse number 11, he says,
if any man speak, so we would have

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what's called the speaking gifts.

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And we're going to talk about those.

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And he says, if any man speak,
let him speak as the oracles of God.

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Meaning if you have one of
these gifts that deal with speaking,

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whether it be teaching or
preaching or exhortation, we should

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do it as a mouthpiece of God.

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It's not like, hey, this is my
opinion, these are my feelings.

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Any of these gifts that deal
with anything in public, speaking

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the truths of God, they need
to be like, as if they are directly

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from God, from his Word.

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So he says, if any man speak,
let him speak of the oracles of God.

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Then if any man minister, that
word minister just means to serve

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these.

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These would be the gifts that
are more behind the scenes, hands

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on service ministries.

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So if you wanted to break down
these motivational gifts in Romans

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chapter 12 into two categories.

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You would have the speaking
gifts, the ones that are dealing

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with actual human speech, but
then you would have other gifts that

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would deal with service.

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And so he says, if any man
serve or minister, let him do it

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as of the ability which God
giveth, meaning do everything that

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you can to serve at the
capacity that God has gifted you.

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You can't do things beyond
God's gifting.

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You can't do more than what he
expects you to do, but do everything

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that he expects you to do.

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That God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ.

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So again we see a reminder
that the whole point of this go of

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these things, the goal of this
thing is so that we can bring glory

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to God through Jesus Christ,
who is the one who deserves the praise

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and dominion.

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That's the only one that
deserves praise is Jesus Christ.

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00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,000
And so we go back to Romans
chapter 12 with those things in mind,

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and we see these gifts listed.

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00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,540
And Starting verse number six,
Peter explains that these gifts fall

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00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:25,100
into two broad categories.

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00:11:25,580 --> 00:11:28,420
So we go to Romans chapter 12
and we see the first one there, and

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00:11:28,420 --> 00:11:31,220
verse six it says, having
gifts differing according to the

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00:11:31,220 --> 00:11:33,100
grace that is given to us,
whether prophecy.

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00:11:33,100 --> 00:11:35,300
So we see the first word here
is prophecy.

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00:11:35,300 --> 00:11:38,220
We're going to talk about
prophecy in great length here this

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00:11:38,220 --> 00:11:38,540
morning.

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00:11:38,860 --> 00:11:42,740
But literally what prophecy
means is to speak forth or to proclaim

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00:11:42,740 --> 00:11:43,660
the word of God.

248
00:11:44,380 --> 00:11:48,380
To identify the truth of God
and to communicate the truth of God.

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00:11:49,010 --> 00:11:51,650
And so that would obviously
fall under, under one of those gifts

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00:11:51,650 --> 00:11:52,930
of the speaking gifts.

251
00:11:53,410 --> 00:11:55,650
And so we see here that
there's prophecy.

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00:11:55,650 --> 00:11:58,810
Let us prophesy according to
the proportion of our faith or ministry.

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00:11:58,810 --> 00:11:59,850
Now ministry, service.

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00:11:59,850 --> 00:12:01,730
So that would fall under the
service gifts.

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00:12:01,810 --> 00:12:06,370
So we see there's service or
ministry in verse number seven.

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00:12:06,370 --> 00:12:08,450
And then we see more, there's teaching.

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00:12:08,850 --> 00:12:11,210
Particularly teaching is going
to be falling under one of those

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00:12:11,210 --> 00:12:14,250
speaking gifts because you got
to speak or communicate at least

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00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:15,090
to be a teacher.

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00:12:15,090 --> 00:12:18,050
So there is that teaching or
he that exhorteth.

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00:12:18,210 --> 00:12:19,330
What's exhortation?

262
00:12:19,330 --> 00:12:21,170
Exhortation's encouraging.

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00:12:21,650 --> 00:12:25,450
Literally it means to come
alongside of and and, and edify and

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00:12:25,450 --> 00:12:26,770
to build another person up.

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00:12:26,770 --> 00:12:29,010
So exhortation would mean that
you have to speak.

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00:12:29,170 --> 00:12:31,170
So that would be part of the
speaking gifts there.

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00:12:31,489 --> 00:12:34,730
So exhortation we see there in
verse number eight.

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00:12:34,730 --> 00:12:36,530
And then we see that there's giving.

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00:12:36,530 --> 00:12:39,090
Well, giving isn't always
dealt with communication.

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00:12:39,090 --> 00:12:40,770
So giving would be a service gift.

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00:12:41,340 --> 00:12:45,420
And then we see later on in
verse 8, it says he that ruleth or

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00:12:45,420 --> 00:12:47,980
administration, that would be leadership.

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00:12:47,980 --> 00:12:49,340
That's going to be a speaking gift.

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00:12:49,660 --> 00:12:53,180
And then last but not least,
we see at the very end it says mercy

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00:12:53,180 --> 00:12:55,620
or compassion, that's going to
be a service gift.

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00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:58,700
So the, the two categories
would be the speaking gifts, prophecy,

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00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:00,940
teaching, exhortation, leadership.

278
00:13:00,940 --> 00:13:02,780
And then you would have the
service gifts.

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00:13:02,860 --> 00:13:05,260
Service, giving and mercy.

280
00:13:05,660 --> 00:13:07,100
Now, there's going to be some overlap.

281
00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:10,220
There certainly there's going
to be opportunities to speak in all

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00:13:10,220 --> 00:13:10,980
of those gifts.

283
00:13:10,980 --> 00:13:14,460
But if you had two broad
gifts, that, that's or categories

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00:13:14,460 --> 00:13:17,180
of those gifts, that's what
would be in those two areas.

285
00:13:17,180 --> 00:13:20,740
And so let's look at a little
bit more about these gifts.

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00:13:20,820 --> 00:13:22,980
Every gift serves a unique purpose.

287
00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:24,180
They're all distinct.

288
00:13:24,180 --> 00:13:26,900
Though there's overlap in the
work of God.

289
00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:32,220
There's all to some degree of
method of God's grace seen through

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00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:32,900
these things.

291
00:13:33,140 --> 00:13:35,620
But ultimately we know that
there are some differences.

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00:13:35,620 --> 00:13:38,960
And so we like the human body,
which we see as an example here in

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00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:39,840
Romans chapter 12.

294
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,920
Like the human body, every
part has a different function that

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00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,040
what we would say is equally necessary.

296
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,200
So, so prophecy, proclamation,
preaching, what is that?

297
00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,200
Well, the way that we could
describe it is this.

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00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:53,560
It's.

299
00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:56,240
It's the eyes of the truth of God.

300
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:57,680
Seeing the truth of God.

301
00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,560
Clearly we're going to deal
with prophecy a great length here

302
00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:02,080
this morning.

303
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,040
But someone who has the gift
of prophecy is able to see the truth

304
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:06,520
of God.

305
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:11,520
In the Word, he or she is able
to see the truth of God in somebody

306
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:11,920
else.

307
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,480
He or she is able to see that
someone else is not walking in the

308
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:16,240
truth of God.

309
00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:20,360
And so if you were to assign a
part of the body to the gift of prophecy,

310
00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,640
it would be the eyes, it's the perception.

311
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,920
Actually, one book even says
that someone with the gift of prophecy

312
00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,040
has the gift of being a
perceiver of the truth of God.

313
00:14:29,530 --> 00:14:33,010
And so someone with this gift
has the eyes of the truth of God.

314
00:14:33,010 --> 00:14:36,810
But then we go on to see that
that ministry or service that would

315
00:14:36,810 --> 00:14:38,890
be like the hands doing the
work of God.

316
00:14:39,290 --> 00:14:43,410
So someone might be able to
see the truth of God in someone's

317
00:14:43,410 --> 00:14:47,050
life, but they might not have
the gift of service, meaning acting

318
00:14:47,050 --> 00:14:48,170
in that truth.

319
00:14:48,490 --> 00:14:51,930
And so someone who has the
gift of service is the hands of the

320
00:14:51,930 --> 00:14:52,530
work of the Lord.

321
00:14:52,530 --> 00:14:53,930
They're the ones doing the work.

322
00:14:54,090 --> 00:14:55,050
They're hands on.

323
00:14:55,050 --> 00:14:57,970
It might be behind the scenes
and it might not get any credit,

324
00:14:57,970 --> 00:15:01,530
but someone who has the gift
of service has the hands of the work

325
00:15:01,530 --> 00:15:02,130
of God.

326
00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:04,130
But then we see the next one
is a teacher.

327
00:15:04,850 --> 00:15:06,730
The teacher is the one who is the.

328
00:15:06,730 --> 00:15:11,010
The mind, the one explaining
the intellectual truths of the word

329
00:15:11,010 --> 00:15:15,570
of God, explaining the
thoughts and the application of the

330
00:15:15,570 --> 00:15:15,970
truth.

331
00:15:16,210 --> 00:15:20,530
And so someone that teaches is
able to explain to somebody the truths

332
00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:24,400
of God and bring out from the
text the meaning and the explanation

333
00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:25,080
of the truth.

334
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,240
Then you have someone who's
the exhorter.

335
00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,160
The exhorter is the mouth, the
one who is encouraging the.

336
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,120
The one who is always going to
speak truth into people's lives,

337
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,040
but at the same time encourage them.

338
00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,560
Sometimes someone with the
gift of prophecy speaks the truth,

339
00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:40,760
but it's not encouraging.

340
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:41,560
The, the.

341
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,880
The exhorter or the encourager
is someone who can speak encouragement

342
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:45,880
into people's lives.

343
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:47,760
Then we see someone who is the giver.

344
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,910
The giver is someone who is
the arms providing the resources

345
00:15:50,910 --> 00:15:51,710
for the hands.

346
00:15:51,790 --> 00:15:54,350
Sometimes the people that have
the gift of the hands, the service,

347
00:15:54,590 --> 00:15:58,830
don't have the physical or
material resources to do the work.

348
00:15:58,830 --> 00:16:01,230
And so the person who is the
giver may or may not be the ones

349
00:16:01,230 --> 00:16:03,950
with the hands, but they're
the ones with the arms providing

350
00:16:03,950 --> 00:16:08,350
the means in which the people
are serving and giving and ultimately

351
00:16:08,430 --> 00:16:09,870
proclaiming the truth of God.

352
00:16:10,190 --> 00:16:12,590
Then we have the administrator
or the one who rules.

353
00:16:12,670 --> 00:16:13,510
They're the shoulders.

354
00:16:13,510 --> 00:16:15,390
They're the ones that carry
the responsibility.

355
00:16:16,030 --> 00:16:19,310
They're the ones that carry
the weight of responsibility within

356
00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:19,790
the church.

357
00:16:19,790 --> 00:16:23,390
The planning, the organizing,
the distributing.

358
00:16:23,470 --> 00:16:26,350
That's going to Be someone
who's gifted as the shoulders of

359
00:16:26,350 --> 00:16:26,830
the body.

360
00:16:27,150 --> 00:16:28,390
And then we see mercy.

361
00:16:28,390 --> 00:16:31,310
Mercy or compassion is someone
who is the heart.

362
00:16:31,870 --> 00:16:34,590
So someone who feels what
other people are feeling.

363
00:16:35,550 --> 00:16:38,190
Someone who cries with people
who are crying, Someone who laughs

364
00:16:38,190 --> 00:16:40,830
and celebrates with those who
are laughing and celebrating.

365
00:16:41,390 --> 00:16:44,630
That's a basic understanding
of all these gifts and how they fit

366
00:16:44,630 --> 00:16:47,270
into the body of the church.

367
00:16:47,990 --> 00:16:51,270
So every Christian is called
to serve in all of these areas.

368
00:16:52,310 --> 00:16:54,430
One might be tempted to say,
well, you know what, Pastor?

369
00:16:54,430 --> 00:16:58,710
I'm not particularly gifted in
the area of mercy or compassion.

370
00:16:59,030 --> 00:17:00,870
I would fall under one of
those categories.

371
00:17:01,910 --> 00:17:04,230
I know people that if
someone's crying, they're gonna cry.

372
00:17:04,230 --> 00:17:06,310
They're not even sad, but they
see someone else crying, they're

373
00:17:06,310 --> 00:17:06,870
gonna cry.

374
00:17:07,030 --> 00:17:09,750
Just like an emotional
support, hey, that's not me.

375
00:17:09,750 --> 00:17:12,080
When I see someone else
crying, I'm like, let me try to figure

376
00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:13,680
out what's wrong with them and
get them the.

377
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:16,920
The things that they need to
get better so they stop crying.

378
00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:17,360
Okay?

379
00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:19,040
That's the way that my mind works.

380
00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:19,720
So.

381
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,840
So if I'm not naturally
inclined for mercy and compassion,

382
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:24,960
does that just mean that,
well, I'm not gifted in that area,

383
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:26,320
so I don't need to serve with compassion?

384
00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,640
No, it actually means that I
need to ask God to give me more compassion

385
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:30,760
and to help me in those areas.

386
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,720
Because all of these
categories of service are needed

387
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:35,840
in the Christian walk.

388
00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,160
We can't just identify one and
say, well, I'm a prophet or.

389
00:17:39,310 --> 00:17:42,790
Or I'm a minister or I'm a
teacher, and I don't need to do any

390
00:17:42,790 --> 00:17:43,710
of these other ones.

391
00:17:43,710 --> 00:17:49,470
No, it just means that God has
made each believer especially effective

392
00:17:49,470 --> 00:17:51,790
in one or more areas according
to his grace.

393
00:17:53,150 --> 00:17:56,550
So just because I'm not
naturally or supernaturally gifted

394
00:17:56,550 --> 00:17:59,590
in compassion, that doesn't
mean that I can avoid that.

395
00:17:59,590 --> 00:18:01,230
It means I need to grow in
that area.

396
00:18:01,390 --> 00:18:04,030
But it also does mean that
maybe God has gifted me in an area

397
00:18:04,030 --> 00:18:06,750
that I am more prone to be
motivated in serving in.

398
00:18:07,530 --> 00:18:11,010
And so God, yes, has made each
believer especially effective in

399
00:18:11,010 --> 00:18:12,090
one or more of these areas.

400
00:18:12,650 --> 00:18:14,890
So we all should have mercy
and compassion.

401
00:18:15,050 --> 00:18:17,530
We all should serve, we all
should give.

402
00:18:17,690 --> 00:18:18,410
We all should.

403
00:18:18,410 --> 00:18:20,410
Some to some capacity teach.

404
00:18:20,810 --> 00:18:24,050
But God uniquely empowers
certain believers to do things with

405
00:18:24,050 --> 00:18:26,010
unusual effectiveness.

406
00:18:26,570 --> 00:18:29,570
So if you come across somebody
that says, I'm a gifted giver, hey,

407
00:18:29,570 --> 00:18:29,890
that's.

408
00:18:29,890 --> 00:18:33,340
They have a gift of knowing
how to give and how to give in a

409
00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:35,540
way that's specific and helpful.

410
00:18:35,700 --> 00:18:37,940
That doesn't mean that if I'm
not gifted in that area of giving,

411
00:18:37,940 --> 00:18:38,980
I just say, well, I don't give.

412
00:18:39,300 --> 00:18:42,140
No, I need to learn and grow
from those people who do have the

413
00:18:42,140 --> 00:18:42,900
gift of giving.

414
00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:45,820
So when we study these gifts,
just make sure that you don't get

415
00:18:45,820 --> 00:18:48,579
into that, that trap of
saying, well, I'm not gifted in that

416
00:18:48,579 --> 00:18:49,940
area, so I don't need to do that.

417
00:18:50,100 --> 00:18:53,140
We all need to exercise
ourselves in all of these categories.

418
00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:56,380
But I do think it's very
effective for us to identify areas

419
00:18:56,380 --> 00:18:59,820
in which God has
supernaturally gifted us in to be

420
00:18:59,820 --> 00:19:01,220
more effective in, in our service.

421
00:19:02,340 --> 00:19:06,340
So why do some believers not
exercise their gifts?

422
00:19:07,060 --> 00:19:11,140
Why do some believers not even
know what their gift is?

423
00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:13,420
If you were to take a poll
today, I won't do this.

424
00:19:13,420 --> 00:19:16,820
But what if I said to you this
morning before you leave today, I

425
00:19:16,820 --> 00:19:19,020
want you to identify your
gift, and you might say, I have no

426
00:19:19,020 --> 00:19:19,860
idea what that is.

427
00:19:20,900 --> 00:19:22,020
Why is that the case?

428
00:19:22,340 --> 00:19:26,140
Why have many Christians spent
years in church without ever functioning

429
00:19:26,140 --> 00:19:28,020
in the areas that God has
designed for them?

430
00:19:28,270 --> 00:19:30,670
Well, I want to give you some
reasons biblically why I believe

431
00:19:30,910 --> 00:19:33,590
that some Christians have not
been able to exercise their gift

432
00:19:33,590 --> 00:19:34,670
or even know their gift.

433
00:19:35,390 --> 00:19:38,070
Number one, I think it's very
clear that maybe they've never been

434
00:19:38,070 --> 00:19:38,430
taught.

435
00:19:39,150 --> 00:19:42,190
Maybe there's a level of
ignorance to what the gifts are.

436
00:19:43,150 --> 00:19:45,070
Maybe it's just like, hey, I
didn't even know that there were

437
00:19:45,070 --> 00:19:46,310
specific gifts given by God.

438
00:19:46,310 --> 00:19:49,310
I thought we all just were
gifted and everyone served in every

439
00:19:49,310 --> 00:19:49,910
capacity.

440
00:19:49,910 --> 00:19:53,670
Well, simply speaking, some
don't know that spiritual gifts even

441
00:19:53,670 --> 00:19:57,360
exist or what they are,
particularly here in Romans chapter

442
00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:57,680
12.

443
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,720
Another reason why someone
might not know what their spiritual

444
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,240
gift is is maybe they don't
possess a true genuine saving faith.

445
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,880
Maybe their religion is just
simply them coming to church and

446
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,320
trying to be a good person.

447
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,720
The Bible says that the
distinction is this.

448
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,840
Those that are indwelled by
the Spirit have these gifts.

449
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,600
So if there's someone who is
not genuinely in Christ, in salvation,

450
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,240
they're not going to
understand these gifts.

451
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,180
Maybe they can produce some
level of a counterfeit gift.

452
00:20:24,180 --> 00:20:28,780
But the Bible says that there
is clearly a need for the Holy Spirit

453
00:20:28,780 --> 00:20:30,980
to empower and enable a person.

454
00:20:32,580 --> 00:20:35,380
Maybe they're spiritually malnourished.

455
00:20:35,940 --> 00:20:39,820
Maybe an individual has saving
faith, but they have not been able

456
00:20:39,820 --> 00:20:45,260
to grow in the word of God, in
the bread of life, and as the Bible

457
00:20:45,260 --> 00:20:47,060
says, the sincere milk of the Word.

458
00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:53,330
We had an opportunity to be a
part of a sponsor meal in Rwanda

459
00:20:53,330 --> 00:20:56,890
and to see these children who
are malnourished eventually get food.

460
00:20:57,130 --> 00:21:02,850
It's a really interesting and
painful, but rewarding process to

461
00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:05,290
see them eat, but also to know
that this might not be.

462
00:21:06,089 --> 00:21:08,490
This might be the only meal
that they get for a while.

463
00:21:09,210 --> 00:21:12,050
And to see children that are
malnourished and then starve and

464
00:21:12,050 --> 00:21:13,650
then start eating a lot, it's.

465
00:21:13,650 --> 00:21:17,010
It's kind of a picture, I
think, of how sometimes we are, as

466
00:21:17,010 --> 00:21:20,960
Christians, we are spiritually malnourished.

467
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,080
Sometimes we think we have
everything that we need when it comes

468
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:26,800
to the nutrients of God's Word.

469
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:31,320
But at the same time, we're
deceived because we need God's Word

470
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:32,080
every single day.

471
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,000
And so the Bible tells us here
that there are people that are saved,

472
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,000
but they haven't grown and
they've been stunted in their spiritual

473
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:39,360
growth.

474
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,880
And so maybe that's one of the
reasons why we're not exercising

475
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,930
in our gifts within the church
is because we just haven't grown

476
00:21:45,930 --> 00:21:48,770
past that stage of just
getting a meal once a week.

477
00:21:49,410 --> 00:21:51,090
What if we only ate once a week?

478
00:21:51,890 --> 00:21:52,610
That would be.

479
00:21:52,850 --> 00:21:55,610
We could maybe live if we had
enough water, maybe we could live

480
00:21:55,610 --> 00:21:57,890
by eating a meal once a week,
but we would not be healthy.

481
00:21:58,290 --> 00:21:59,410
We would not be strong.

482
00:22:00,370 --> 00:22:03,410
And so sometimes there's
Christians who are only getting one

483
00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:06,090
spiritual meal a week by
coming to church on Sunday mornings.

484
00:22:06,090 --> 00:22:06,810
That's not enough.

485
00:22:06,810 --> 00:22:09,210
We need to be bathed in the
word of God.

486
00:22:09,210 --> 00:22:12,170
We need to gorge ourselves in
the Word of God, so to speak.

487
00:22:12,170 --> 00:22:15,050
And so there are spiritually
malnourished Christians who are not

488
00:22:15,050 --> 00:22:17,050
able to recognize God's leading.

489
00:22:17,050 --> 00:22:18,250
But then there's another thing.

490
00:22:18,250 --> 00:22:20,930
I think that we can be
distracted by the chaos of this world.

491
00:22:21,810 --> 00:22:26,770
The busyness of our lives
often drown out God's direction.

492
00:22:27,250 --> 00:22:32,330
If I'm concerned about all the
things I have to do in this material

493
00:22:32,330 --> 00:22:35,330
world, about my job tomorrow,
what I have to do, where I have to

494
00:22:35,330 --> 00:22:38,450
be, all my appointments,
oftentimes we're not ready to hear

495
00:22:38,900 --> 00:22:41,940
what God is calling us to do
when it comes to the gift of grace

496
00:22:41,940 --> 00:22:42,580
in our life.

497
00:22:43,380 --> 00:22:47,020
If I'm so focused about all of
my business, I forget about the business

498
00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:48,420
that God has for me to do.

499
00:22:48,660 --> 00:22:50,180
And so there's distractions.

500
00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:55,500
Another thing that could be a
major reason in hindering our spiritual

501
00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:59,300
growth and exercising our
gifts would be sin clouding our spiritual

502
00:22:59,300 --> 00:23:00,020
perception.

503
00:23:00,740 --> 00:23:02,100
Unconfessed sin in our life.

504
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:04,500
Sin dulls spiritual sensitivity.

505
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,760
The Bible says that if I
regard iniquity in my heart, the

506
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:08,640
Lord will not hear me.

507
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,560
It doesn't mean that God won't
hear me.

508
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,560
It means that God doesn't have
fellowship with us when we're walking

509
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:15,720
in unrepentant sin.

510
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,080
And the Bible tells us in 1
John 1:9, if we confess our sin,

511
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,960
he's faithful and just to
forgive us our sin and to cleanse

512
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:23,160
us from all unrighteousness.

513
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:25,440
So the idea would be this.

514
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,680
We don't lose our salvation
when we sin, but we certainly break

515
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,210
fellowship with God and we
break that communion with him.

516
00:23:32,450 --> 00:23:36,090
And in many ways we're not
being perceptive to the way that

517
00:23:36,090 --> 00:23:39,810
God is speaking to us because
we have built a divide in our lives

518
00:23:39,890 --> 00:23:40,770
because of sin.

519
00:23:41,410 --> 00:23:46,169
Another reason might be their,
their service is motivated by fleshly

520
00:23:46,169 --> 00:23:52,250
things, by selfish things
serving to be seen rather than serving

521
00:23:52,250 --> 00:23:52,610
Christ.

522
00:23:53,490 --> 00:23:57,430
Another reason would be that
possibly individuals neglect their

523
00:23:57,430 --> 00:24:00,590
responsibility, basically
never taking a step of faith.

524
00:24:01,470 --> 00:24:07,110
Folks, we can live in America
today as Christians and not exercise

525
00:24:07,110 --> 00:24:07,630
our faith.

526
00:24:08,750 --> 00:24:11,430
I don't know about you, but I
don't have to worry about where my

527
00:24:11,430 --> 00:24:12,510
next meal is coming from.

528
00:24:13,229 --> 00:24:16,350
I don't have to stress about
being sick and not having a doctor.

529
00:24:16,670 --> 00:24:20,670
I, I, I, I have all the
material needs around me and more.

530
00:24:22,110 --> 00:24:25,540
One of the things, and I'll
try not to talk too much about Africa

531
00:24:25,540 --> 00:24:29,420
here today, it's just kind of
on me now and I'm trying not to pour

532
00:24:29,420 --> 00:24:31,980
out too much of it and
overwhelm you like a fire hose of

533
00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:32,260
information.

534
00:24:32,420 --> 00:24:34,460
But what I will say is one of
the things that really challenged

535
00:24:34,460 --> 00:24:37,540
me when I was in Africa is we,
Jeremy knows this.

536
00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:39,060
We went into people's homes.

537
00:24:39,379 --> 00:24:41,060
You know, when you're in the
city, it's one thing.

538
00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:42,780
When you go to the village,
it's another thing.

539
00:24:42,780 --> 00:24:45,580
But when you go and walk into
their homes and you see where they're

540
00:24:45,580 --> 00:24:51,470
living and you see a house
made of mud that's the size of probably

541
00:24:51,470 --> 00:24:55,190
one of our bedrooms and a
whole family's living in there and

542
00:24:55,190 --> 00:24:57,310
they're sitting there going,
God is so good.

543
00:24:57,710 --> 00:24:58,590
He's amazing.

544
00:24:58,590 --> 00:25:02,430
He's providing everything for
us and I'm thankful he.

545
00:25:02,590 --> 00:25:05,389
And I'm sitting there going,
you don't even know what you're missing.

546
00:25:05,470 --> 00:25:08,350
And I'm sitting there
complaining that my second car is

547
00:25:08,350 --> 00:25:11,950
having issues in it, you know,
and it's a wake up call for us as

548
00:25:11,950 --> 00:25:15,410
Christians to say, you know,
how many of us are willy willing

549
00:25:15,410 --> 00:25:18,970
and ready to take a step of
faith, to stretch ourselves, to make

550
00:25:18,970 --> 00:25:22,570
ourselves feel just in, in
some degree uncomfortable for what

551
00:25:22,570 --> 00:25:24,130
Jesus Christ has called us to do.

552
00:25:24,530 --> 00:25:27,090
Now I'm not saying all of you
should go sell all of your material

553
00:25:27,090 --> 00:25:30,010
things and, and move out into
a commune and live in a mud hut.

554
00:25:30,010 --> 00:25:31,210
I'm not saying that, okay?

555
00:25:31,210 --> 00:25:32,890
Because that's not God's call
for everybody.

556
00:25:32,890 --> 00:25:35,930
But what I am saying is that
there's a wake up call for us to

557
00:25:35,930 --> 00:25:40,530
say, where am I able to step
out in faith and try and do.

558
00:25:40,530 --> 00:25:41,250
Because you know what?

559
00:25:41,250 --> 00:25:43,090
I've, I've seen this, I've
been part of this.

560
00:25:43,310 --> 00:25:44,510
I could never do that for you, Lord.

561
00:25:44,510 --> 00:25:46,030
I'm not, I'm not gifted in
that area.

562
00:25:46,430 --> 00:25:50,750
People might make fun of me,
people might critique me, people

563
00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:52,110
might question what I do.

564
00:25:52,590 --> 00:25:54,950
Folks, these are all things
that we have to let just roll off

565
00:25:54,950 --> 00:25:55,430
our backs.

566
00:25:55,430 --> 00:25:59,630
Because if God is calling us
to do something with our gift, don't

567
00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:01,150
worry about what other people
have to say.

568
00:26:01,470 --> 00:26:04,430
Take a step of faith and trust
God that he's going to sustain you

569
00:26:04,590 --> 00:26:08,070
and strengthen you through
whatever he brings you to in your

570
00:26:08,070 --> 00:26:08,350
life.

571
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,480
So these are some reasons why
Christians might not be exercising

572
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:14,600
their spiritual gifts.

573
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,400
So how do we discover our
spiritual gift?

574
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,800
Discovering your gift is less
about taking a test, even though

575
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,760
tests are sometimes helpful in
directing you to a certain place.

576
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:27,560
But it's more about walking
with Christ.

577
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:33,240
It's more about fellowshipping
with him, hearing from him, obeying

578
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:33,720
him.

579
00:26:34,930 --> 00:26:38,370
There was a book by Henry
Blackaby and I was reminded about

580
00:26:38,370 --> 00:26:41,690
this when we were in Africa
because someone quoted it.

581
00:26:41,690 --> 00:26:44,530
But you know, there's three
rules to following God.

582
00:26:44,770 --> 00:26:47,250
Obey, obey, obey.

583
00:26:47,810 --> 00:26:49,570
Just obey what he has for you
to do.

584
00:26:49,890 --> 00:26:51,090
Don't ask questions.

585
00:26:51,570 --> 00:26:55,210
Don't come up with your own
plan and say, God, can my plan fit

586
00:26:55,210 --> 00:26:55,890
into your plan?

587
00:26:55,890 --> 00:26:58,610
No, God, how does your plan
change my life?

588
00:26:59,490 --> 00:27:01,770
And so how do we discover our gifts?

589
00:27:01,770 --> 00:27:03,410
Well, we've got to clean the slate.

590
00:27:04,620 --> 00:27:05,620
Psalm 139.

591
00:27:05,620 --> 00:27:07,260
Some of you know Psalm 139.

592
00:27:07,260 --> 00:27:08,540
David is speaking here.

593
00:27:09,020 --> 00:27:12,620
And I think this is a prayer
for all of us as we try to identify

594
00:27:12,620 --> 00:27:14,540
what God has for us in our lives.

595
00:27:15,820 --> 00:27:18,500
You might say, I have no idea
where God wants me to serve.

596
00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:20,500
I have no idea where God has
gifted me.

597
00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:23,500
I have no idea how he has
graced me in my Life.

598
00:27:23,580 --> 00:27:28,020
Well, Psalm 139 talks about
how we deal with things in our life

599
00:27:28,020 --> 00:27:28,860
that we're harboring.

600
00:27:30,390 --> 00:27:34,110
We mentioned that one of the
things that holds us back from exercising

601
00:27:34,110 --> 00:27:35,990
our gift is unconfessed sin.

602
00:27:35,990 --> 00:27:39,590
Well, Psalm 139, verse 23 and 24.

603
00:27:39,910 --> 00:27:44,950
The Psalmist says, search me,
O God, and know my heart.

604
00:27:45,430 --> 00:27:49,510
Try me and know my thoughts,
and see if there be any wicked way

605
00:27:49,510 --> 00:27:53,590
in me, and lead me in the Way everlasting.

606
00:27:54,310 --> 00:27:56,910
It's a prayer, first and
foremost, for God to inspect our

607
00:27:56,910 --> 00:28:01,520
life, to reveal unconfessed
sin, to bring conviction so that

608
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:05,480
we can find comfort, so we can
find guidance, and so that ultimately

609
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,240
we can obey and follow God in
the light that he has given us in

610
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:09,720
our life.

611
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,560
Search me, oh God, know my
heart, try me and know my thoughts

612
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:17,080
See if there be any wicked way
in me and then this is the important

613
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,200
part, and lead me in the way
everlasting so we're calling for

614
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,570
God to come into our lives and
to change us and then to guide us.

615
00:28:25,810 --> 00:28:29,050
Often times we want God to
change us, but we still want to be

616
00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:30,130
in the driver's seat.

617
00:28:30,450 --> 00:28:31,650
We want to be in control.

618
00:28:32,370 --> 00:28:35,290
We want to be the ones that
say, hey, you know what, God, I want

619
00:28:35,290 --> 00:28:38,850
everything from you, but I
want to be able, the one to dictate

620
00:28:39,010 --> 00:28:39,890
the next step.

621
00:28:40,690 --> 00:28:44,690
And the true prayer would be,
lord, give me clarity in my gift

622
00:28:44,690 --> 00:28:45,810
and in my area of service.

623
00:28:45,970 --> 00:28:47,970
And, Lord, whatever you say,
I'm going to do.

624
00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:53,220
And it's a rewarding and
freeing feeling to know that God

625
00:28:53,220 --> 00:28:53,900
is in control.

626
00:28:55,820 --> 00:29:00,300
So we were in Rwanda, and if
you guys ever get a chance to go

627
00:29:00,300 --> 00:29:03,820
to Rwanda, which I hope you
do, they don't have taxis there.

628
00:29:04,619 --> 00:29:06,860
One of the things that they
have there is called.

629
00:29:06,860 --> 00:29:09,100
They call them motos, motorcycles.

630
00:29:09,260 --> 00:29:10,380
So they have no taxis.

631
00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:12,180
Everyone gets around by motorcycle.

632
00:29:12,180 --> 00:29:14,740
So everyone just hails a motorcycle.

633
00:29:14,740 --> 00:29:17,690
They jump on the back, and you
zip off to where your next location

634
00:29:17,690 --> 00:29:18,010
is.

635
00:29:18,330 --> 00:29:22,050
And so the first day we were
there, I was talking to the pastor.

636
00:29:22,050 --> 00:29:22,690
I said, hey, can.

637
00:29:22,690 --> 00:29:23,210
Can we do that?

638
00:29:23,210 --> 00:29:24,410
He goes, no, no, no, no, no.

639
00:29:24,410 --> 00:29:25,050
He's like.

640
00:29:25,290 --> 00:29:28,210
He's like, we can't risk you
doing that because it's organized

641
00:29:28,210 --> 00:29:28,570
chaos.

642
00:29:28,570 --> 00:29:30,090
They're all going every which direction.

643
00:29:30,090 --> 00:29:31,970
They're weaving in and out of traffic.

644
00:29:31,970 --> 00:29:34,250
And, you know, it's.

645
00:29:34,250 --> 00:29:34,970
It's crazy.

646
00:29:35,530 --> 00:29:38,770
So the very last day, we were
like, can we do it?

647
00:29:38,770 --> 00:29:39,250
Can we do it?

648
00:29:39,250 --> 00:29:40,890
And he finally is like, all
right, you can do it.

649
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:42,000
So I said, yes.

650
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,600
So a few of us jumped on the
back of a motorcycle, and we started

651
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:46,640
taking off and going.

652
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,720
And as we were riding on that
motorcycle, I started to realize

653
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,520
why they didn't want us to get
on that motorcycle.

654
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:52,400
It was like.

655
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:54,320
And the guy.

656
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:56,320
So I'm like, this guy doesn't
even speak English.

657
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:57,680
And all of a sudden, he turns
around, he goes, do you understand

658
00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:58,160
what I'm saying?

659
00:29:58,160 --> 00:29:58,880
I said, yeah.

660
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,240
He goes, you speak English?

661
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:00,840
I'm like, yeah.

662
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:01,560
He's like, cool.

663
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:02,480
So we were already talking.

664
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,240
I'm like, I am so.

665
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:04,320
I'm like, you're a good driver.

666
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,720
And I was trying to exercise
the gift of exhortation.

667
00:30:07,060 --> 00:30:09,820
I didn't know if he was a good
driver or not, but I was like, you're

668
00:30:09,820 --> 00:30:10,580
such a good driver.

669
00:30:10,580 --> 00:30:11,540
You're so safe.

670
00:30:11,540 --> 00:30:11,900
You're.

671
00:30:11,900 --> 00:30:12,180
You're.

672
00:30:12,180 --> 00:30:12,860
You're a good guy.

673
00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:14,620
I was like, I'm gonna give you
a good tip when we get to the other

674
00:30:14,620 --> 00:30:15,300
side of town.

675
00:30:15,860 --> 00:30:18,980
But when he was dipping in and
out, I was just so thankful I wasn't

676
00:30:18,980 --> 00:30:21,460
driving that motorcycle
because I would have wrecked it really

677
00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:21,940
quickly.

678
00:30:22,420 --> 00:30:23,940
So it was freeing to know.

679
00:30:23,940 --> 00:30:25,860
After a while, I realized he
was a pretty good driver.

680
00:30:26,660 --> 00:30:29,620
And it was freeing to know
that he was in control, that he was

681
00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:32,060
taking me through the town and
that we were going to get there safe.

682
00:30:32,060 --> 00:30:33,620
It's the same thing, what it
is with the Lord.

683
00:30:33,620 --> 00:30:36,310
I mean, when we're walking,
sometimes we think we're in control.

684
00:30:36,310 --> 00:30:38,750
But if we were the ones in
control, we begin ourselves in big

685
00:30:38,750 --> 00:30:40,110
mistakes, big problems.

686
00:30:40,270 --> 00:30:42,790
But when we relinquish
ourselves and trust in the Lord to

687
00:30:42,790 --> 00:30:43,870
say, lord, you got this.

688
00:30:44,190 --> 00:30:46,350
You're going to navigate
through all this chaos.

689
00:30:46,670 --> 00:30:48,750
That's when we're able to see
God working.

690
00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:49,870
So we clean the slate.

691
00:30:49,870 --> 00:30:54,550
And then, as we said first
John 1:9, if we confess, that word

692
00:30:54,550 --> 00:30:55,510
confess is very important.

693
00:30:55,510 --> 00:30:58,510
That word confess in the
original language means to say the

694
00:30:58,510 --> 00:31:03,680
same thing when we agree with
our sin, about our sin with God.

695
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,640
When we say the same thing
about our sin that God says, then

696
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,440
it says, if we confess our
sin, he's faithful and just to forgive

697
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,480
us our sin and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.

698
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:13,720
So we allow God to search our heart.

699
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:19,280
We confess and admit our sin,
and we remove anything hindering

700
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,280
our fellowship with him so
that we can hear from him and so

701
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,840
that we can follow him, and so
that we can exercise our faith in

702
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:29,160
what he has called us to do.

703
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,320
But there is a second part of
this, because, yes, we do need to

704
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:33,240
clean our slate.

705
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,440
But then secondly, we need to
admit our weakness.

706
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,640
And sometimes admitting our
weakness is the hardest thing.

707
00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,880
I know within my own ego, I
never want to admit that I'm inadequate

708
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:45,640
in some degree.

709
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,320
But again, it's also a very
freeing and rewarding feeling to

710
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,410
know that I am not enough in
my own flesh, but that God is enough.

711
00:31:54,730 --> 00:31:59,290
A principle that we can find
in Scripture is 2 Corinthians, chapter

712
00:31:59,290 --> 00:32:01,210
12, verses 9 and 10.

713
00:32:01,930 --> 00:32:04,650
Some of you know this story.

714
00:32:04,730 --> 00:32:08,810
Paul is pleading with the Lord
to Remove a thorn in his flesh.

715
00:32:11,770 --> 00:32:15,570
And what the Lord does, what
we would think that the Lord would

716
00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:17,130
do, is take that thorn away
from him.

717
00:32:18,410 --> 00:32:21,750
But God responds in a
different way to Paul.

718
00:32:21,750 --> 00:32:27,990
He says in verse number nine
of 2 Corinthians 12, My grace is

719
00:32:27,990 --> 00:32:29,190
sufficient for thee.

720
00:32:30,470 --> 00:32:32,470
Some of us don't want to hear that.

721
00:32:33,190 --> 00:32:34,310
I don't want to hear that.

722
00:32:34,390 --> 00:32:36,470
I want God to give me all the answers.

723
00:32:36,630 --> 00:32:38,790
I want God to work out all of
my problems.

724
00:32:38,790 --> 00:32:43,310
I want God to make it all make
sense for me here right now, because

725
00:32:43,310 --> 00:32:44,230
it's all about me.

726
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:46,200
But what does he say here?

727
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,560
He says, no, it's not that I'm
going to take away the thorn.

728
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,880
It's not that I'm going to
remove you from the storm.

729
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:52,840
It's not that I'm going to
give you everything that you've ever

730
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:53,320
wanted.

731
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,120
I'm giving you all that you need.

732
00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:56,000
And what is that?

733
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,520
My grace is sufficient.

734
00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,200
God's grace is sufficient.

735
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,840
And he says, for my strength,
God's strength is made perfect in

736
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:04,200
weakness.

737
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,240
And then Paul says, most
gladly, therefore will I rather glory

738
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:12,080
in my infirmities that the
power of Christ may rest upon me.

739
00:33:12,690 --> 00:33:15,450
Therefore I take pleasure in
my infirmities and reproaches and

740
00:33:15,450 --> 00:33:18,890
necessities and persecutions
and in distress for Christ's sake.

741
00:33:18,890 --> 00:33:23,490
For when I am weak, then am I
strong, folks?

742
00:33:23,490 --> 00:33:27,370
It's when we admit our
limitations and say, lord, I am not

743
00:33:27,370 --> 00:33:27,890
in control.

744
00:33:28,370 --> 00:33:29,570
I can't do this.

745
00:33:29,650 --> 00:33:33,010
That's when God takes over and
that's when we can see true strength

746
00:33:33,170 --> 00:33:33,970
in our life.

747
00:33:35,010 --> 00:33:37,530
Sometimes we lie to ourselves
and we think, well, I can do this

748
00:33:37,530 --> 00:33:39,300
in the church without God's help.

749
00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:41,540
I can do this in my life
without God's help.

750
00:33:41,620 --> 00:33:44,620
No part of identifying the
gift is saying, lord, I need to clean

751
00:33:44,620 --> 00:33:49,060
the slate and I need to
recognize my need for you in my life.

752
00:33:50,420 --> 00:33:53,300
The other thing I would
encourage you to do is to pray for

753
00:33:53,300 --> 00:33:54,260
opportunities.

754
00:33:55,380 --> 00:33:59,940
The Bible says to pray without
ceasing, or we're called to in everything,

755
00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:03,500
give thanks by way of prayer
and supplication in our lives, folks,

756
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:07,450
if we are not characterized by
prayer, if we are not going to God

757
00:34:07,450 --> 00:34:10,530
and pleading with him to give
us clarity and direction in our lives,

758
00:34:10,690 --> 00:34:13,810
how are we expecting God to
reveal Himself to us?

759
00:34:13,810 --> 00:34:17,410
And so if you are serious
about identifying your spiritual

760
00:34:17,410 --> 00:34:22,410
gift and exercising in that
spiritual gift, ask God to give you

761
00:34:22,410 --> 00:34:24,290
clarity and opportunity.

762
00:34:24,930 --> 00:34:29,290
One of the gifts that God
always gives us in a positive manner

763
00:34:29,290 --> 00:34:32,440
is when we ask God for an
opportunity to serve him, or an opportunity

764
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,600
to Share his gospel message
with someone around us.

765
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,240
There's been times in my life
where I've reluctantly prayed, well,

766
00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:39,440
Lord, give me an opportunity today.

767
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:41,840
Guarantee you that opportunity
is going to come.

768
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:42,120
Now.

769
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,800
It's whether or not I'm going
to perceive that, obey it, and walk

770
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:46,320
in that.

771
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,600
But one of the things that I
would encourage you to pray about

772
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,920
in your life is, lord, reveal
to me where you want me to serve,

773
00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:53,760
how you'd want me to serve.

774
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:55,360
And then I would say this.

775
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,120
Develop where God is leading.

776
00:34:57,750 --> 00:34:59,950
Maybe God gives you a little
nugget of wisdom.

777
00:34:59,950 --> 00:35:02,390
Maybe he gives you a little
heart of desire.

778
00:35:02,390 --> 00:35:05,390
Maybe you're saying, well, I
don't know much about where God has

779
00:35:05,390 --> 00:35:06,790
me, but I really love kids.

780
00:35:07,910 --> 00:35:08,470
Well, great.

781
00:35:09,110 --> 00:35:11,830
Maybe God's calling you to
teach with children.

782
00:35:11,990 --> 00:35:14,270
Maybe God's calling you to
encourage children.

783
00:35:14,270 --> 00:35:17,030
Maybe God's just calling you
to give to the children's ministry

784
00:35:17,030 --> 00:35:17,510
folks.

785
00:35:17,510 --> 00:35:19,430
I hope you understand that
they're in scripture.

786
00:35:19,430 --> 00:35:22,310
It doesn't just say, hey,
there's a spiritual gift of children's

787
00:35:22,310 --> 00:35:22,790
ministry.

788
00:35:24,010 --> 00:35:27,210
Spiritual gift of children's
ministry is not in scripture.

789
00:35:27,210 --> 00:35:29,290
What's in scripture are these
motivational gifts.

790
00:35:29,370 --> 00:35:31,970
So believe it or not, you
could exercise any of these gifts

791
00:35:31,970 --> 00:35:33,290
within children's ministry.

792
00:35:33,530 --> 00:35:37,130
So, so God is going to give
you opportunities to serve at whatever

793
00:35:37,130 --> 00:35:40,730
capacity God has gifted you in
at what areas that you are desiring.

794
00:35:40,730 --> 00:35:42,570
So don't wait until you're certain.

795
00:35:44,570 --> 00:35:50,450
Grow as God gives you those
little areas of confirmation in your

796
00:35:50,450 --> 00:35:50,690
life.

797
00:35:50,690 --> 00:35:52,970
Grow when you are serving.

798
00:35:53,250 --> 00:35:57,970
I when I was planning and
preparing to get into ministry, pastoral

799
00:35:57,970 --> 00:36:01,970
ministry, I went to my pastor
and I said, what should I do?

800
00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:06,290
And part of me was like, I'll
start serving when I become a pastor.

801
00:36:06,290 --> 00:36:09,129
And the pastor was like, no,
start getting involved right now

802
00:36:09,129 --> 00:36:11,690
and as much as you can get
involved with, and you'll very clearly

803
00:36:11,690 --> 00:36:14,890
find out sooner or later what
you are called to do and what you're

804
00:36:14,890 --> 00:36:15,650
not called to do.

805
00:36:16,050 --> 00:36:18,970
But we have to start taking
that step of faith and be willing

806
00:36:18,970 --> 00:36:22,280
to be used by God to see God
open and close doors.

807
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:25,920
And so God, yes, sometimes
will close doors, sometimes he will

808
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:26,600
open doors.

809
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,360
But develop as God is leading
and then evaluate your motivation,

810
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,040
evaluate your heart.

811
00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:37,120
Remember, it's not about
giving glory to ourselves, but going

812
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,520
back to what naturally excites
me, what burdens my heart.

813
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:45,080
Where do I consistently see
God pulling me to and guiding me

814
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:45,400
in?

815
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:48,170
Those are areas that we need
to evaluate because we what's our

816
00:36:48,170 --> 00:36:48,770
motivation?

817
00:36:48,770 --> 00:36:53,650
Is my motivation and service
about people noticing me and giving

818
00:36:53,650 --> 00:36:54,370
me praise?

819
00:36:54,770 --> 00:36:57,610
Or is it, hey, I'm feeling
drawn to this.

820
00:36:57,610 --> 00:37:00,210
To give glory to God, well,
that's our motivation and we need

821
00:37:00,210 --> 00:37:00,850
to go to that.

822
00:37:01,490 --> 00:37:04,570
Then I would also say seek
wise confirmation and counsel with

823
00:37:04,570 --> 00:37:05,970
other Christians that we trust.

824
00:37:06,690 --> 00:37:08,050
Number one, search your heart.

825
00:37:08,610 --> 00:37:11,410
Number two, look to other
believers for wisdom and advice.

826
00:37:11,410 --> 00:37:12,850
Look to church leadership.

827
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:17,510
Look to ultimately the Lord to
give you wise confirmation in your

828
00:37:17,510 --> 00:37:21,630
life because God will confirm
your heart as he guides you in certain

829
00:37:21,630 --> 00:37:22,270
directions.

830
00:37:23,150 --> 00:37:24,910
So I would say get busy serving.

831
00:37:25,630 --> 00:37:29,390
You rarely discover your gift
when you're on the sidelines.

832
00:37:29,710 --> 00:37:31,470
I think I mentioned this a
couple weeks ago.

833
00:37:31,550 --> 00:37:34,670
You know, we, we have someone
here, maybe they have an amazing

834
00:37:34,750 --> 00:37:38,750
gift in athletics and we have
an athletic team in our church and

835
00:37:38,750 --> 00:37:40,750
they sit there and go, yeah, I
have all these skills, but I don't

836
00:37:40,750 --> 00:37:41,870
really want to exercise those.

837
00:37:42,430 --> 00:37:43,230
It would be a waste.

838
00:37:44,110 --> 00:37:47,990
So how can we know if God is
having us work in a certain capacity

839
00:37:47,990 --> 00:37:50,990
if we're not willing to take a
step off the sidelines and get onto

840
00:37:50,990 --> 00:37:51,870
the battlefield?

841
00:37:52,670 --> 00:37:54,350
And so where is God blessing you?

842
00:37:54,350 --> 00:37:55,590
Where is God teaching you?

843
00:37:55,590 --> 00:37:58,750
Well, I would say that he's
going to lead you to areas.

844
00:37:58,990 --> 00:38:01,470
All you have to do is be
perceptive and go after that.

845
00:38:02,350 --> 00:38:05,230
And so what we're going to do
here just for the next few moments,

846
00:38:05,230 --> 00:38:07,030
we're going to conclude here
in a few minutes.

847
00:38:07,030 --> 00:38:10,090
But what I will say is this, I
want us to dive deep into this first

848
00:38:10,090 --> 00:38:12,730
gift, this first gift of prophecy.

849
00:38:14,010 --> 00:38:17,690
This morning we look at this
gift and we say, okay, so a prophet.

850
00:38:18,010 --> 00:38:18,890
What's a prophet?

851
00:38:18,890 --> 00:38:22,690
Well, I think of Elijah and
Jeremiah and Isaiah and all these

852
00:38:22,690 --> 00:38:26,450
people, sure they were, they
were people that had the role of

853
00:38:26,450 --> 00:38:27,210
a prophet.

854
00:38:27,290 --> 00:38:29,930
But there's also something
here called the gift of prophecy,

855
00:38:30,090 --> 00:38:33,130
the gift of proclamation, the
gift of identifying truth.

856
00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:35,980
And so what is this New
Testament gift?

857
00:38:35,980 --> 00:38:38,700
Well, the New Testament
motivational gift of prophecy is

858
00:38:38,700 --> 00:38:42,540
not primarily predicting
future events, even though that one,

859
00:38:42,540 --> 00:38:44,580
that would be one angle of prophecy.

860
00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:50,700
Most often it is a spirit
enabled ability to perceive and to

861
00:38:50,700 --> 00:38:55,620
proclaim and to apply and to
defend God's truth.

862
00:38:56,020 --> 00:38:56,900
I'll say that again.

863
00:38:57,220 --> 00:39:01,860
The gift of prophecy most
often is seen through the spirits

864
00:39:02,130 --> 00:39:06,720
of ability through our lives
to perceive, proclaim, apply and

865
00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:07,880
defend God's truth.

866
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:09,400
The prophets.

867
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:14,600
The person who is working in
prophecy is always motivated by truth.

868
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:19,360
He or she desires to expose
error and call people back to the

869
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:20,120
word of God.

870
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:22,880
And so some of the
characteristics of someone who is

871
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,360
gifted in the area of prophecy
would be that they discern spiritual

872
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:27,480
problems quickly.

873
00:39:28,050 --> 00:39:30,330
You could walk into a room and
you can immediately say, okay, that

874
00:39:30,330 --> 00:39:35,210
person's burdened with the sin
of whatever it is that that person

875
00:39:35,210 --> 00:39:38,770
right there is obviously not
discerning the word of God.

876
00:39:38,770 --> 00:39:42,370
Clearly, they detect hypocrisy
very easily.

877
00:39:42,930 --> 00:39:45,770
I think some of my kids are
gifted in the gift of prophecy because

878
00:39:45,770 --> 00:39:47,810
they can see right through my
hypocrisy sometimes.

879
00:39:47,970 --> 00:39:49,090
The idea would be this.

880
00:39:49,170 --> 00:39:52,210
They can detect someone who is
not being authentic.

881
00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:57,820
A person gifted in the area of
prophecy values truth over popularity.

882
00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:01,500
They desire holiness for
themselves and for others.

883
00:40:02,300 --> 00:40:04,220
They warn against sin.

884
00:40:04,540 --> 00:40:06,220
They speak with conviction.

885
00:40:06,380 --> 00:40:08,300
They protect others from deception.

886
00:40:08,300 --> 00:40:11,460
So there's an element of
protection with someone who is gifted

887
00:40:11,460 --> 00:40:12,300
in prophecy.

888
00:40:12,940 --> 00:40:14,220
They pursue justice.

889
00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:17,180
They want justice to be had.

890
00:40:17,340 --> 00:40:19,340
They want people to be treated fairly.

891
00:40:19,850 --> 00:40:22,970
And they feel compelled to say
what is true.

892
00:40:23,450 --> 00:40:26,010
Some of you are compelled to
say, what's truth?

893
00:40:26,010 --> 00:40:27,370
You say, that's their problem.

894
00:40:27,690 --> 00:40:28,570
That's their thing.

895
00:40:28,730 --> 00:40:29,770
That's not my issue.

896
00:40:30,090 --> 00:40:32,970
And some of you can't help but
tell someone what the truth is.

897
00:40:32,970 --> 00:40:34,890
Okay, I'm going to tell you
that you're wrong.

898
00:40:34,890 --> 00:40:36,690
And I'm going to tell you the
five ways in which you need to get

899
00:40:36,690 --> 00:40:36,970
right.

900
00:40:37,130 --> 00:40:39,090
That's the person who's gifted
in prophecy.

901
00:40:39,090 --> 00:40:43,610
Now, those are all when
someone is walking in the spirit.

902
00:40:44,650 --> 00:40:47,090
So when someone surrendered to
the Holy Spirit with the gift of

903
00:40:47,090 --> 00:40:49,010
prophecy, they're going to
speak the truth, but they're going

904
00:40:49,010 --> 00:40:50,090
to speak it in love.

905
00:40:51,190 --> 00:40:52,990
Because in a few moments we're
going to talk about how someone can

906
00:40:52,990 --> 00:40:56,750
exercise the spiritual gift of
prophecy not in the spirit, but in

907
00:40:56,750 --> 00:40:58,310
the flesh, and not do it in love.

908
00:40:58,790 --> 00:41:02,310
But someone who's walking in
the gift of prophecy is going to

909
00:41:02,390 --> 00:41:05,750
do it in the spirit as someone
who is speaking the truth, but speaking

910
00:41:05,750 --> 00:41:06,630
the truth in love.

911
00:41:06,710 --> 00:41:08,630
Most of you know that passage
of scripture.

912
00:41:08,630 --> 00:41:11,110
In the book of Ephesians,
we're called to speak the truth.

913
00:41:11,110 --> 00:41:13,030
Yes, but we're called to speak
it in love.

914
00:41:13,750 --> 00:41:17,770
Someone that's walking in the
gift of prophecy that spirit filled

915
00:41:17,770 --> 00:41:19,690
will be someone who corrects
with humility.

916
00:41:20,250 --> 00:41:22,770
So, yes, I want to correct the
problem, but I'm going to do it with

917
00:41:22,770 --> 00:41:23,130
humility.

918
00:41:23,130 --> 00:41:24,730
Remember verse three of Romans 12.

919
00:41:25,050 --> 00:41:25,890
To do to.

920
00:41:25,890 --> 00:41:26,810
To do it in humility.

921
00:41:26,810 --> 00:41:28,970
To not to think of myself
higher than I ought to think.

922
00:41:29,530 --> 00:41:32,410
Someone who is spirit filled
in the area of prophecy would be

923
00:41:32,410 --> 00:41:34,090
someone who wants to protect
the church.

924
00:41:35,610 --> 00:41:39,690
Someone who is in this gift
would also call people to repentance,

925
00:41:41,130 --> 00:41:43,370
to balance conviction with compassion.

926
00:41:44,090 --> 00:41:47,050
But someone who is not being
filled with the spirit in this gift

927
00:41:47,130 --> 00:41:50,410
that would be exercising in
the flesh Might look differently.

928
00:41:50,570 --> 00:41:54,850
They may overreact to
someone's failure, might go overboard

929
00:41:54,850 --> 00:41:56,170
on someone who makes a mistake.

930
00:41:56,730 --> 00:41:58,330
How could you ever sin?

931
00:41:58,730 --> 00:42:00,410
Don't you know what God's done
for you?

932
00:42:00,410 --> 00:42:01,610
We're going to write you off.

933
00:42:01,770 --> 00:42:02,810
No second chances.

934
00:42:02,970 --> 00:42:06,930
That's someone who has the
gift of prophecy but might be walking

935
00:42:06,930 --> 00:42:07,530
in the spirit.

936
00:42:07,690 --> 00:42:10,170
Someone who would expect
instant repentance.

937
00:42:10,710 --> 00:42:11,750
You ever met someone like that?

938
00:42:12,230 --> 00:42:13,630
Like, you got called out in
your sin?

939
00:42:13,630 --> 00:42:14,470
Okay, well, forgive.

940
00:42:14,470 --> 00:42:15,750
You get forgiveness right now.

941
00:42:15,750 --> 00:42:16,870
Well, I got to work through this.

942
00:42:16,870 --> 00:42:18,230
No, no, you got to go right now.

943
00:42:18,390 --> 00:42:18,830
Okay.

944
00:42:18,830 --> 00:42:20,710
That's someone who would be
walking in the flesh.

945
00:42:20,790 --> 00:42:23,590
Someone who would judge before
gathering all the facts.

946
00:42:24,470 --> 00:42:27,190
Someone who is exercising the
gift of prophecy in the.

947
00:42:27,190 --> 00:42:30,510
In the flesh might not wait
for all the facts to come in.

948
00:42:30,510 --> 00:42:31,590
They might just act on it.

949
00:42:31,670 --> 00:42:34,190
Well, you're obviously in
rebellion to God if you're doing

950
00:42:34,190 --> 00:42:34,470
that.

951
00:42:34,550 --> 00:42:35,590
So here we go.

952
00:42:35,750 --> 00:42:36,910
You're going through judgment.

953
00:42:36,910 --> 00:42:38,550
You're going through church
discipline right now.

954
00:42:39,050 --> 00:42:40,650
And now it's hearing all the facts.

955
00:42:41,370 --> 00:42:42,890
They might become unforgiving.

956
00:42:43,370 --> 00:42:46,490
They might focus only on the
wrong things, the bad things.

957
00:42:46,650 --> 00:42:50,010
They might leave little room
for grace, and they might mistake

958
00:42:50,010 --> 00:42:51,530
harshness for holiness.

959
00:42:51,850 --> 00:42:56,690
They might say, hey, I'm being
harsh because I'm holy and they need

960
00:42:56,690 --> 00:42:57,290
to be holy.

961
00:42:57,290 --> 00:42:58,570
So, hey, that's a harsh thing.

962
00:42:59,050 --> 00:43:03,570
But again, I think that we
need to understand those that are

963
00:43:03,570 --> 00:43:04,570
gifted in this area.

964
00:43:05,070 --> 00:43:06,750
Truth without love wounds.

965
00:43:08,190 --> 00:43:11,390
Truth without love can be painful.

966
00:43:12,430 --> 00:43:16,510
And so we're not called to
remove the truth, but we're called

967
00:43:16,510 --> 00:43:18,270
to infuse the truth with love.

968
00:43:19,070 --> 00:43:21,790
Love, though, without truth, deceives.

969
00:43:22,910 --> 00:43:25,710
So we're going to talk about
the one who's the mercy or the compassion

970
00:43:25,710 --> 00:43:26,670
later on in the study.

971
00:43:26,830 --> 00:43:28,910
They're the type of people
that might say this.

972
00:43:29,070 --> 00:43:31,310
Well, I'm just going to lie to
them to make them feel better.

973
00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:32,420
Okay.

974
00:43:32,420 --> 00:43:35,500
I'll just sacrifice truth to
make that person feel good and feel

975
00:43:35,500 --> 00:43:36,100
encouraged.

976
00:43:36,420 --> 00:43:36,780
So.

977
00:43:36,780 --> 00:43:37,940
So that's another error.

978
00:43:38,420 --> 00:43:42,820
So the gift of prophecy would
say this truth with love.

979
00:43:43,140 --> 00:43:44,660
God calls us to both.

980
00:43:45,460 --> 00:43:48,380
And so I would encourage you
that might say, hey, some of those

981
00:43:48,380 --> 00:43:48,580
things that.

982
00:43:48,580 --> 00:43:51,980
You're listening, Pastor, that
characterizes me, I. I'm like, I'm

983
00:43:51,980 --> 00:43:53,500
ready to tell people where
they're wrong.

984
00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:56,100
I'm ready to tell people how
to come to repentance.

985
00:43:56,340 --> 00:43:57,700
That is fantastic.

986
00:43:58,080 --> 00:43:58,320
Great.

987
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:02,400
But remember to exercise it
filled by the spirit and have grace

988
00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:05,280
and mercy and patience as we
do so.

989
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:09,360
Some examples of a biblical
prophet would be John the Baptist.

990
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:10,480
Remember John the Baptist.

991
00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:14,079
I. I want to read a Few quotes
from John the Baptist because I think

992
00:44:14,079 --> 00:44:16,440
it's important to see John the
Baptist because maybe some of you

993
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:19,480
guys might say, yeah, that's
me, that whatever John the Baptist

994
00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:20,040
says, that's.

995
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,000
That's kind of how I exercise
myself there.

996
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,080
So Matthew, chapter 21, verse 32.

997
00:44:25,260 --> 00:44:28,060
For John came unto you in the
way of righteousness.

998
00:44:28,620 --> 00:44:29,740
This is Jesus speaking.

999
00:44:29,740 --> 00:44:35,780
So he says, john the Baptist
comes to you in the way of righteousness

1000
00:44:35,780 --> 00:44:36,700
or the way of truth.

1001
00:44:36,700 --> 00:44:40,060
And ye believed him not, but
the publicans and the harlots believed

1002
00:44:40,060 --> 00:44:40,300
him.

1003
00:44:40,460 --> 00:44:44,140
And ye, when ye had seen it,
repented not afterward that ye might

1004
00:44:44,140 --> 00:44:44,740
have believed.

1005
00:44:44,740 --> 00:44:47,980
And so the Bible says that
John the Baptist came to the people

1006
00:44:47,980 --> 00:44:49,840
in the way of righteousness,
meaning he.

1007
00:44:49,910 --> 00:44:51,350
He preached righteousness to them.

1008
00:44:51,350 --> 00:44:52,790
He preached holiness to them.

1009
00:44:53,190 --> 00:44:56,830
We also know in another
occasion that John the Baptist calls

1010
00:44:56,830 --> 00:44:59,270
out the sin of the people
around him.

1011
00:44:59,510 --> 00:45:00,630
Luke, chapter three.

1012
00:45:01,350 --> 00:45:04,670
Luke, chapter three, verse
number two, all the way down to verse

1013
00:45:04,670 --> 00:45:09,150
number 20, tells us that John
the Baptist called out Herod for

1014
00:45:09,150 --> 00:45:09,710
the sake of time.

1015
00:45:09,710 --> 00:45:12,750
We won't go through this whole
passage, but you remember John the

1016
00:45:12,750 --> 00:45:17,030
Baptist saw Herod and the sin
that he had by taking his brother's

1017
00:45:17,030 --> 00:45:17,350
wife.

1018
00:45:17,650 --> 00:45:20,250
And he called that sin out at
great cost.

1019
00:45:20,250 --> 00:45:24,050
By the way, John the Baptist
was killed for his speaking the truth.

1020
00:45:24,530 --> 00:45:27,530
But John the Baptist spoke the
truth no matter what the outcome

1021
00:45:27,530 --> 00:45:27,970
would be.

1022
00:45:28,130 --> 00:45:29,850
That would be an example of a prophet.

1023
00:45:29,850 --> 00:45:32,210
Another prophet in Scripture
would be a guy named Peter.

1024
00:45:32,610 --> 00:45:35,850
Some of you know Peter, some
of you know how Peter acted.

1025
00:45:35,850 --> 00:45:36,610
He wasn't perfect.

1026
00:45:36,850 --> 00:45:40,410
Sometimes he exercised his
gift of prophecy in a way that was

1027
00:45:40,410 --> 00:45:41,170
very fleshly.

1028
00:45:41,490 --> 00:45:44,530
Think about the time Peter
took out his knife and sword and

1029
00:45:44,530 --> 00:45:45,570
he cut the ear off of.

1030
00:45:45,570 --> 00:45:47,130
Of the guy there, right?

1031
00:45:47,130 --> 00:45:49,330
He was doing that because he
was like, I'm fighting for Jesus

1032
00:45:49,330 --> 00:45:53,010
without understanding the
whole scheme of what Jesus was doing.

1033
00:45:53,170 --> 00:45:56,090
But other times Peter preached
in the book of Acts, Acts, Chapter

1034
00:45:56,090 --> 00:45:59,690
5, Acts, Chapter 8, even Acts
Chapter 2, he preached the message

1035
00:45:59,690 --> 00:46:00,730
to the Jewish people there.

1036
00:46:00,730 --> 00:46:04,050
To say basically this, you
guys are the ones that are in rebellion.

1037
00:46:04,050 --> 00:46:05,330
You need Jesus Christ.

1038
00:46:05,490 --> 00:46:06,690
You need forgiveness.

1039
00:46:06,850 --> 00:46:09,930
And so Peter was the one who
could identify the truth of God.

1040
00:46:09,930 --> 00:46:10,420
There was.

1041
00:46:10,490 --> 00:46:13,770
And we even know that in
Matthew chapter 16, and in John chapter

1042
00:46:13,770 --> 00:46:17,570
6, when Jesus comes to Peter,
he says, peter, whom do men say that

1043
00:46:17,570 --> 00:46:17,850
I am?

1044
00:46:17,850 --> 00:46:20,370
And he says, well, many people
say that you're a prophet.

1045
00:46:20,370 --> 00:46:22,290
And then he says, who do you
say that I am?

1046
00:46:22,290 --> 00:46:25,010
And Peter goes, well, you're
the Christ, the son of the living

1047
00:46:25,010 --> 00:46:25,370
God.

1048
00:46:25,690 --> 00:46:29,050
Peter was able to identify the
Truth of God in Jesus Christ.

1049
00:46:29,770 --> 00:46:31,850
Other time, many people left Jesus.

1050
00:46:31,850 --> 00:46:35,010
If you remember, Jesus was
preaching some hard messages and

1051
00:46:35,010 --> 00:46:36,010
a bunch of people left.

1052
00:46:36,010 --> 00:46:38,250
And he turns to Peter and he
says, are you gonna leave me too?

1053
00:46:38,250 --> 00:46:39,090
And Peter goes, no.

1054
00:46:39,090 --> 00:46:39,770
Where could I go?

1055
00:46:39,770 --> 00:46:41,290
Who else has the truth of God?

1056
00:46:41,530 --> 00:46:42,970
Who else has the way to life?

1057
00:46:43,610 --> 00:46:46,970
Peter was able to identify the
truth of God around him.

1058
00:46:47,450 --> 00:46:51,490
And so Peter was a man who was
gifted in the gift of prophecy.

1059
00:46:51,490 --> 00:46:53,770
He was quick to identify truth
and error.

1060
00:46:53,850 --> 00:46:56,650
John the Baptist was
fearlessly confronting sin around

1061
00:46:56,650 --> 00:46:56,970
him.

1062
00:46:56,970 --> 00:47:00,010
Others in the Old Testament,
like Jeremiah, Jeremiah called Judah

1063
00:47:00,010 --> 00:47:02,650
to repentance, and he was rejected.

1064
00:47:03,130 --> 00:47:05,370
Isaiah boldly proclaimed God's holiness.

1065
00:47:05,690 --> 00:47:09,130
Jonah is a great example of
someone who had the gift of prophecy,

1066
00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:11,760
but he also struggled with
compassion, if you remember.

1067
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:12,960
What, what did God say?

1068
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:14,720
Jonah, go preach to the Ninevites.

1069
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:17,120
And Jonah didn't want to go
preach to them.

1070
00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:18,720
Why did he not want to go to
preach to them?

1071
00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:21,160
I was always taught that Jonah
was afraid that he was going to get

1072
00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:21,600
killed.

1073
00:47:21,680 --> 00:47:25,000
But if you look deeper into
Jonah's narrative, there in that

1074
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:28,440
book, he did not want to go
because he said, I know that they're

1075
00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:29,600
going to believe in you, Lord.

1076
00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:31,040
I know that you can change them.

1077
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:33,280
And I don't like them and I
don't want them to be saved.

1078
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:38,410
He lacked compassion, and he
had more compassion for that plant

1079
00:47:38,410 --> 00:47:40,890
that gave him shade than the
people of Nineveh.

1080
00:47:41,130 --> 00:47:41,450
So.

1081
00:47:41,450 --> 00:47:44,570
So Jonah was someone who had
the gift of prophecy, but he was

1082
00:47:44,570 --> 00:47:47,090
exercising in his flesh and he
lacked compassion.

1083
00:47:47,090 --> 00:47:51,730
So any of us that are gifted
in the area of prophecy, we have

1084
00:47:51,730 --> 00:47:55,730
to understand that, yes, there
is a stand for truth, but at the

1085
00:47:55,730 --> 00:47:57,370
same time, we have to have compassion.

1086
00:47:57,370 --> 00:48:00,850
And those have to be pulled
together to understand the full scope

1087
00:48:00,850 --> 00:48:02,650
of how that gift should look.

1088
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:04,640
Jesus is the perfect example.

1089
00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:07,600
Jesus spoke the truth, but he
did it in love.

1090
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:10,000
He didn't back down to the truth.

1091
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:11,880
He never compromised the truth.

1092
00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,680
But at the same time, he
exuded love in every aspect of his

1093
00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:16,320
ministry.

1094
00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:20,320
So our theme could be
Ephesians 4:15, speaking the truth

1095
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:20,880
in love.

1096
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:25,360
And I would say, even if you
are not gifted in the area of prophecy,

1097
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:28,400
every Christian is commanded
to speak the truth.

1098
00:48:29,410 --> 00:48:31,970
Truth is everyone's responsibility.

1099
00:48:32,370 --> 00:48:35,690
Whether or not I'm gifted in
perceiving it, or I need God's help

1100
00:48:35,690 --> 00:48:39,890
in perceiving it, I must stand
in truth if I am a believer.

1101
00:48:40,690 --> 00:48:44,690
The gift simply gives certain
believers unusual effectiveness.

1102
00:48:45,090 --> 00:48:47,330
But all of us should stand in
the truth.

1103
00:48:47,490 --> 00:48:49,250
Jesus tells us this.

1104
00:48:49,250 --> 00:48:51,730
I just want to point out a few
passages, and then we're going to

1105
00:48:51,730 --> 00:48:52,050
be done.

1106
00:48:52,050 --> 00:48:57,580
John 8, 32, John chapter 8,
verse 32, Jesus is speaking about

1107
00:48:57,580 --> 00:48:59,180
what it means to be his disciple.

1108
00:49:01,020 --> 00:49:03,580
And I think it's so important
for us to see this, because In John

1109
00:49:03,580 --> 00:49:05,900
chapter 8, he talks about the truth.

1110
00:49:05,900 --> 00:49:10,220
And he says, verse 31, if ye
continue in my word, then ye are

1111
00:49:10,220 --> 00:49:11,420
my disciples indeed.

1112
00:49:11,420 --> 00:49:15,340
And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.

1113
00:49:15,820 --> 00:49:19,260
So to be a disciple of Jesus
Christ, it's to walk in his truth.

1114
00:49:20,390 --> 00:49:21,270
There's other verses.

1115
00:49:21,270 --> 00:49:23,990
John 17, 17, Sanctify them by
thy truth.

1116
00:49:23,990 --> 00:49:25,590
Thy word is truth.

1117
00:49:26,790 --> 00:49:31,790
Many other passages speak to
this idea of being a Christian grounded

1118
00:49:31,790 --> 00:49:32,350
in truth.

1119
00:49:32,350 --> 00:49:33,830
Now, where do we find our truth?

1120
00:49:33,830 --> 00:49:36,830
I asked the guys in Rwanda,
where do we find our truth?

1121
00:49:36,830 --> 00:49:37,390
And you know what?

1122
00:49:37,390 --> 00:49:38,430
They gave me the right answer.

1123
00:49:38,430 --> 00:49:41,350
They held up their Kirwandan
Bibles and they said, this is where

1124
00:49:41,350 --> 00:49:42,310
we find truth.

1125
00:49:42,470 --> 00:49:43,310
I said, amen.

1126
00:49:43,310 --> 00:49:46,870
It's not from culture, it's
not from media, it's not from.

1127
00:49:46,940 --> 00:49:48,540
It's from the word of God.

1128
00:49:48,940 --> 00:49:52,500
And so when we're gifted in
the gift of prophecy, it's not about

1129
00:49:52,500 --> 00:49:55,740
giving our opinions, it's not
about giving our feelings.

1130
00:49:55,820 --> 00:49:58,140
It's about saying this is what
God has said.

1131
00:49:58,220 --> 00:50:02,860
Thus saith the Lord, as hard
as it is, we have to proclaim that,

1132
00:50:02,939 --> 00:50:06,500
but at the same time, we do it
in the measure of our faith.

1133
00:50:06,500 --> 00:50:11,020
Romans 12:6 says, those that
have the gift of prophecy, they do

1134
00:50:11,020 --> 00:50:13,730
it according to the proportion
of faith.

1135
00:50:14,290 --> 00:50:15,250
What does that mean?

1136
00:50:16,050 --> 00:50:19,490
It means that God has
connected the gift of prophecy, the

1137
00:50:19,490 --> 00:50:23,570
proclamation of truth, and
tied that to what we're believing

1138
00:50:23,570 --> 00:50:23,970
in.

1139
00:50:24,690 --> 00:50:28,450
So the prophetic believer
should not speak to impress others,

1140
00:50:28,770 --> 00:50:32,850
should not speak beyond
biblical conviction, not seek personal

1141
00:50:32,850 --> 00:50:33,650
recognition.

1142
00:50:33,970 --> 00:50:37,410
But instead, the person who is
gifted in the gift of proclamation

1143
00:50:37,410 --> 00:50:42,410
of the truth should only
proclaim what he or she believes

1144
00:50:42,410 --> 00:50:44,250
about God and His Word.

1145
00:50:45,290 --> 00:50:49,490
The issue is not about how
loudly we speak, but how faithfully

1146
00:50:49,490 --> 00:50:50,170
we speak.

1147
00:50:50,650 --> 00:50:55,170
And so what it means here to
prophesy in proportion of faith,

1148
00:50:55,170 --> 00:50:56,250
it really means this.

1149
00:50:56,490 --> 00:51:02,690
We can only truly proclaim the
truth of God according to what we

1150
00:51:02,690 --> 00:51:04,570
believe about God and what he
has done.

1151
00:51:04,570 --> 00:51:08,870
So if I got up here today and
said to you, trust God in everything,

1152
00:51:09,270 --> 00:51:13,030
believe that he's got you
under his love and his grace, and

1153
00:51:13,030 --> 00:51:16,510
that I don't act like that, I
don't believe that myself, it will

1154
00:51:16,510 --> 00:51:18,630
not be compelling obedience to
the Lord.

1155
00:51:18,790 --> 00:51:21,990
I can only preach to the level
of my faith.

1156
00:51:22,710 --> 00:51:26,230
I can only proclaim the word
of God that I believe.

1157
00:51:26,710 --> 00:51:28,470
Now I can get up here and lie
to you.

1158
00:51:28,470 --> 00:51:31,670
I could get up here and
proclaim something that I truly don't

1159
00:51:31,670 --> 00:51:32,190
believe in.

1160
00:51:32,190 --> 00:51:32,410
But.

1161
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:35,760
But what the Bible says is
that a true prophet can only proclaim

1162
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:38,160
what he believes in or what
she believes in.

1163
00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:41,480
So what we would say here
today is that, by the way, a prophet

1164
00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:43,200
is not just someone from
behind the pulpit.

1165
00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:46,680
There are women that are
gifted in the area of prophecy.

1166
00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:47,440
You say what?

1167
00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:50,960
Pastor, you're about to upset
the apple cart.

1168
00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:53,160
I didn't say they're called to
be a pastor here.

1169
00:51:53,160 --> 00:51:55,120
I didn't say that they're
going to be preaching from behind

1170
00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:55,600
the pulpit.

1171
00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:58,320
What I'll say is that there
are people that are individually

1172
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:00,480
gifted to proclaim the word of
God wherever they are.

1173
00:52:01,170 --> 00:52:01,330
So.

1174
00:52:01,330 --> 00:52:02,530
So what I would say is this.

1175
00:52:02,610 --> 00:52:05,730
Don't isolate these gifts to a
specific position.

1176
00:52:06,770 --> 00:52:09,890
There are pastors who are
naturally gifted in prophecy, and

1177
00:52:09,890 --> 00:52:12,290
there's pastors that are not
naturally gifted in prophecy.

1178
00:52:12,450 --> 00:52:14,530
It doesn't mean that you're
limited by your role.

1179
00:52:14,770 --> 00:52:17,090
You don't have to be a
ministry leader to have this gift.

1180
00:52:17,090 --> 00:52:19,930
These are all gifts that are
given to everyone to exercise at

1181
00:52:19,930 --> 00:52:22,930
the capacity God has called
you to exercise them in.

1182
00:52:23,810 --> 00:52:25,010
So understand that.

1183
00:52:25,650 --> 00:52:28,850
So we can only truly proclaim
the truth of God according to what

1184
00:52:28,850 --> 00:52:29,730
we believe about him.

1185
00:52:30,220 --> 00:52:34,740
One commentator I read this
week said we are to proclaim God's

1186
00:52:34,740 --> 00:52:38,500
truth according to the
confidence and conviction God has

1187
00:52:38,500 --> 00:52:42,380
given us, doing so in humility
rather than pride.

1188
00:52:42,380 --> 00:52:45,100
Our authority comes from God's
word, not ourselves.

1189
00:52:46,060 --> 00:52:48,780
So in conclusion to all of
this, it's simply this.

1190
00:52:49,660 --> 00:52:51,580
Every believer has been gifted
by grace.

1191
00:52:52,460 --> 00:52:56,480
The church functions best when
every member serves where God has

1192
00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:57,160
equipped them.

1193
00:52:57,800 --> 00:52:59,960
If God has given you the gift
of prophecy.

1194
00:52:59,960 --> 00:53:03,000
So if what I've said this
morning about the gift of prophecy

1195
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:09,440
speaks to you, well, love the
truth, speak the truth, defend the

1196
00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:09,800
truth.

1197
00:53:10,040 --> 00:53:13,440
But always remember when we do
it, to bring it together with truth

1198
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:14,040
and love.

1199
00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:16,200
Truth without love becomes harsh.

1200
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:19,480
Spiritual love without truth
becomes compromise.

1201
00:53:20,040 --> 00:53:24,610
So may we ask the Lord to give
us the power to speak God's truth

1202
00:53:24,610 --> 00:53:28,250
with both conviction and
Christlike compassion?

1203
00:53:28,810 --> 00:53:31,890
The two words I want you to
think about if God has gifted you

1204
00:53:31,890 --> 00:53:36,410
in the area of prophecy or in
the area of trying to proclaim God's

1205
00:53:36,410 --> 00:53:38,490
word more in your life,
whether you're gifted or not.

1206
00:53:38,970 --> 00:53:43,210
Think about those two words,
compassion and conviction.

1207
00:53:44,410 --> 00:53:48,210
Compassion for those that are
hurting, compassion for those that

1208
00:53:48,210 --> 00:53:52,020
need the truth, but also
conviction to the truth, to not waver.

1209
00:53:52,740 --> 00:53:56,740
Folks, you know, one of the
areas that I struggle in is seeing

1210
00:53:56,740 --> 00:53:57,980
Someone who is broken.

1211
00:53:57,980 --> 00:53:59,860
And I look at them and I say,
you know what?

1212
00:53:59,940 --> 00:54:02,180
They're broken because of all
their bad decisions.

1213
00:54:02,420 --> 00:54:05,620
If they wouldn't have just
done that sin, they would be fine.

1214
00:54:06,100 --> 00:54:08,820
That's conviction without compassion.

1215
00:54:09,380 --> 00:54:12,220
But then if I look at someone
with compassion and say, oh, you

1216
00:54:12,220 --> 00:54:12,500
know what?

1217
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:13,460
They're good people.

1218
00:54:13,860 --> 00:54:15,380
They didn't mean to do this.

1219
00:54:15,460 --> 00:54:15,730
So.

1220
00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:17,160
So we don't need it to have
them change.

1221
00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:19,080
They can just keep doing what
they want to do.

1222
00:54:19,160 --> 00:54:20,520
We just keep giving them things.

1223
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:22,600
That would be compassion
without conviction.

1224
00:54:23,240 --> 00:54:26,880
So as a Christian, the way we
do this is we say, yes, that person

1225
00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:30,200
has sin in their life and they
have problems because of that sin,

1226
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,440
and they need to have the
truth, but at the same time, they

1227
00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:36,400
need to have the love of God
imparted to them and so that they

1228
00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:38,120
can understand the compassion
of Jesus Christ.

1229
00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,760
I'm thankful God didn't write
me off on my first mistake.

1230
00:54:41,410 --> 00:54:45,250
And so as we come to the end
here, what we see is this.

1231
00:54:46,690 --> 00:54:47,810
A few questions.

1232
00:54:48,530 --> 00:54:51,250
Am I serving where God has
gifted me?

1233
00:54:51,810 --> 00:54:53,650
Do I know where God is gifting me?

1234
00:54:53,970 --> 00:54:57,010
Is there any unconfessed sin
in my life that's hindering my work?

1235
00:54:57,090 --> 00:54:59,250
Are there distractions that
are pulling me away?

1236
00:55:00,130 --> 00:55:03,170
Am I operating under the power
of the spirit or under the energy

1237
00:55:03,170 --> 00:55:03,970
of the flesh?

1238
00:55:05,170 --> 00:55:08,910
And if God has given me the
gift of prophecy or perception, do

1239
00:55:08,910 --> 00:55:12,510
people experience both truth
and grace when I minister to them?

1240
00:55:13,150 --> 00:55:15,870
And so spiritual gifts are
expressions of God's grace.

1241
00:55:17,550 --> 00:55:21,070
We're empowered by the Holy
Spirit, and God intends us to build

1242
00:55:21,070 --> 00:55:22,950
up his body, not ourselves.

1243
00:55:22,950 --> 00:55:27,550
With these gifts, those gifted
in prophecy are called to courageously

1244
00:55:27,550 --> 00:55:31,350
proclaim the truth of God
around them, but always in the character

1245
00:55:31,350 --> 00:55:32,110
of Jesus Christ.

1246
00:55:32,750 --> 00:55:35,070
And so we're going to come
back next time and we're going to

1247
00:55:35,070 --> 00:55:36,350
look more at these other gifts.

1248
00:55:37,020 --> 00:55:39,420
If you say I'm not the gift of
prophecy, that's okay.

1249
00:55:39,420 --> 00:55:42,060
It's maybe an area that you
need to grow in and proclaiming the

1250
00:55:42,060 --> 00:55:43,100
truth of God around you.

1251
00:55:43,500 --> 00:55:46,980
But I guarantee you, if you're
honest and you're open to what God

1252
00:55:46,980 --> 00:55:50,380
is doing in your life, one of
these gifts will jump off the page

1253
00:55:50,380 --> 00:55:53,500
to you and you will say, this
is where God has called me.

1254
00:55:53,500 --> 00:55:55,580
Now how do I exercise that
within the church?

1255
00:55:55,660 --> 00:55:58,780
And we'll talk more in the
study about the application of these

1256
00:55:58,780 --> 00:56:00,380
gifts within the church body.

1257
00:56:01,020 --> 00:56:04,020
And so if you're able to this
morning stand with me, every head

1258
00:56:04,020 --> 00:56:06,700
bowed, every head closed,
we're gonna come to the end here

1259
00:56:06,700 --> 00:56:07,260
this morning.

1260
00:56:09,500 --> 00:56:10,860
Thank you for your patience.

1261
00:56:11,340 --> 00:56:14,900
But I never want to end a
sermon without an opportunity to

1262
00:56:14,900 --> 00:56:15,420
respond.

1263
00:56:17,660 --> 00:56:20,380
What is God speaking to you
about here this morning?

1264
00:56:21,100 --> 00:56:23,340
Is it number one, just having
faith in Him?

1265
00:56:23,420 --> 00:56:27,300
Maybe you've gotten to a place
in your life where you're religious,

1266
00:56:27,300 --> 00:56:32,230
but the truth of God has not
pierced your heart and brought you

1267
00:56:32,230 --> 00:56:35,830
to a place of humble
submission to him in faith and repentance.

1268
00:56:36,150 --> 00:56:39,110
Folks, the first step of
identifying how you can serve God

1269
00:56:39,270 --> 00:56:41,270
is by knowing him in a
personal way.

1270
00:56:41,990 --> 00:56:45,350
But secondly, if you have
trusted in Jesus as your Savior,

1271
00:56:45,350 --> 00:56:51,070
are you asking him to identify
and to recognize and to exercise

1272
00:56:51,070 --> 00:56:53,750
your gift within the church body?

1273
00:56:54,550 --> 00:56:56,190
If so, praise God.

1274
00:56:56,190 --> 00:56:57,430
Continue on that path.

1275
00:56:57,890 --> 00:57:00,130
It's a never ending path of
spiritual growth.

1276
00:57:00,690 --> 00:57:03,530
But if not today, make that
your goal.

1277
00:57:03,530 --> 00:57:09,850
To identify areas of service
opportunities within the church and

1278
00:57:09,850 --> 00:57:10,610
within the community.

1279
00:57:11,250 --> 00:57:13,529
Lord, I pray that you be with
us in this time.

1280
00:57:13,529 --> 00:57:15,010
I pray that you work in hearts
and lives.

1281
00:57:15,010 --> 00:57:18,770
Lord, help us to be the ones
who proclaim truth, but to do it

1282
00:57:18,770 --> 00:57:20,850
in a way with conviction and compassion.

1283
00:57:21,010 --> 00:57:23,890
I pray that you walk with us
as we leave here today.

1284
00:57:23,890 --> 00:57:25,050
We thank you and we love you.

1285
00:57:25,050 --> 00:57:26,210
In Jesus name, amen.