1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:02,580 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:08,500 - All right, I'm coming to preach from the floor 3 00:00:08,500 --> 00:00:11,380 this morning because I wanna spit on some people. 4 00:00:11,380 --> 00:00:16,180 And so that's why my table is down there. 5 00:00:16,180 --> 00:00:18,700 And I think I've got all the things. 6 00:00:18,700 --> 00:00:20,420 Look at somebody you don't like and say, 7 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:21,420 I'm glad you're here. 8 00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:25,800 If you're joining us on live stream, 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,420 I wish you were here this morning. 10 00:00:29,420 --> 00:00:30,900 I'm glad you're joining us. 11 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:36,140 We're continuing our series on his word, his life, 12 00:00:36,140 --> 00:00:38,060 his church this morning. 13 00:00:38,060 --> 00:00:41,100 And we're in the section of his church and guess what? 14 00:00:41,100 --> 00:00:42,380 You are his church. 15 00:00:42,380 --> 00:00:48,220 And it is such a privilege to be a part of God's church. 16 00:00:48,220 --> 00:00:50,780 And you're a part of his church. 17 00:00:50,780 --> 00:00:53,800 And so what we've been doing over the last couple of weeks, 18 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,680 and we're gonna continue today and next week, 19 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,500 is we've kind of laid a framework for the Holy Spirit. 20 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:02,180 We've been talking about the person of the Holy Spirit. 21 00:01:02,180 --> 00:01:04,940 And what we're gonna be doing between now and Advent, 22 00:01:04,940 --> 00:01:06,220 now and Christmas time, 23 00:01:06,220 --> 00:01:09,260 is we're going to be talking about the Holy Spirit's move 24 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:10,320 through the book of Acts. 25 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:11,460 And so I wanna encourage you, 26 00:01:11,460 --> 00:01:13,140 if you're not in a reading plan right now, 27 00:01:13,140 --> 00:01:15,540 I wanna encourage you, you might wanna read Acts, 28 00:01:15,540 --> 00:01:17,980 go through Acts and you'll keep up with this. 29 00:01:17,980 --> 00:01:20,260 We're basically gonna step through chapter by chapter 30 00:01:20,260 --> 00:01:23,900 and draw points from the book of Acts 31 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:25,300 as it relates to the Holy Spirit 32 00:01:25,300 --> 00:01:27,560 and what the Holy Spirit did in the early church. 33 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,480 Okay, so that's coming down the pike. 34 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,000 But today we're gonna do, 35 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 today's the first of a two-part message, okay? 36 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,260 So next week will be part two. 37 00:01:35,260 --> 00:01:37,360 But today we're gonna talk about the Holy Spirit 38 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,920 and the gifts that the Holy Spirit has available for us. 39 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:42,740 So this is what I'm hoping is gonna happen. 40 00:01:42,740 --> 00:01:44,820 Now, Kevin, if I get in front of this and mess this up, 41 00:01:44,820 --> 00:01:46,660 it's not gonna happen the way it's supposed to, 42 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:48,660 but hopefully it happens the way I'm intending 43 00:01:48,660 --> 00:01:49,920 for it to happen. 44 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,240 So today what I wanna do is I wanna talk about 45 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,720 what is the purpose of these gifts mentioned in Scripture? 46 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,800 What are the purpose of the gifts that God gives us? 47 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,400 A, and B, what is the barometer and the litmus test 48 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,920 of a believer who's living their life by the Spirit? 49 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,020 Okay, so those are the two things I wanna address today. 50 00:02:09,020 --> 00:02:10,120 And then next Sunday, 51 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:11,840 we're actually gonna look at the gifts. 52 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:12,900 We're gonna look at some of the gifts 53 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:16,140 and we're gonna unpackage what the gifts look like 54 00:02:16,140 --> 00:02:17,360 and what they're about, okay? 55 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,660 So this is part one of a two-part message. 56 00:02:19,660 --> 00:02:22,540 If I mess it up, go back and listen to last week's 57 00:02:22,540 --> 00:02:23,900 Wayne's message. 58 00:02:23,900 --> 00:02:25,820 He did a great job last week, didn't he? 59 00:02:25,820 --> 00:02:27,080 Person of the Holy Spirit. 60 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,400 So I think that's everything I need to do to set this up. 61 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,520 So we're gonna stand and read from 1 Corinthians. 62 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,880 And I want you to read like you've had three espresso shots 63 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:36,720 this morning. 64 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,420 Here we go. 65 00:02:39,420 --> 00:02:43,940 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, 66 00:02:43,940 --> 00:02:46,980 I do not want you to be uninformed. 67 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:49,140 You know that when you were pagans, 68 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:51,820 somehow or other you were influenced 69 00:02:51,820 --> 00:02:54,660 and led astray to mute idols. 70 00:02:54,660 --> 00:02:58,580 Therefore, I want you to know that no one who is speaking 71 00:02:58,580 --> 00:03:02,260 by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," 72 00:03:02,260 --> 00:03:05,420 and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," 73 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:08,180 except by the Holy Spirit. 74 00:03:08,180 --> 00:03:10,460 There are different kinds of gifts, 75 00:03:10,460 --> 00:03:13,180 but the same Spirit distributes them. 76 00:03:13,180 --> 00:03:17,060 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 77 00:03:17,060 --> 00:03:19,300 There are different kinds of working, 78 00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:22,080 but in all of them and in everyone, 79 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,900 it is the same God at work. 80 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:28,520 Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit 81 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,000 is given for the common good. 82 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,540 To one, there is given through the Spirit 83 00:03:33,540 --> 00:03:35,320 a message of wisdom. 84 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,660 To another, a message of knowledge 85 00:03:37,660 --> 00:03:40,120 by the means of the same Spirit. 86 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,060 To another, faith by the same Spirit. 87 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:46,940 To another, gifts of healing by that one Spirit. 88 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:49,460 To another, miraculous powers. 89 00:03:49,460 --> 00:03:51,220 To another, prophecy. 90 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:54,300 To another, distinguishing between spirits. 91 00:03:54,300 --> 00:03:57,420 To another, speaking in different kinds of tongues, 92 00:03:57,420 --> 00:04:01,900 and still to the another, the interpretation of tongues. 93 00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:05,580 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, 94 00:04:05,580 --> 00:04:10,200 and He distributes them to each one just as He determines. 95 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,860 Father, I thank you that your word is full, it is alive. 96 00:04:14,860 --> 00:04:17,380 I thank you, Lord, that we have access to you, God, 97 00:04:17,380 --> 00:04:19,920 and we wanna be a people that have everything 98 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,420 you have to offer us. 99 00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:24,660 So Lord, would you impart it to us today in Jesus' name, 100 00:04:24,660 --> 00:04:25,980 amen, you may be seated. 101 00:04:25,980 --> 00:04:34,580 The Holy Spirit is the most important person on the planet. 102 00:04:34,580 --> 00:04:41,900 And the glorious part of that truth 103 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:44,820 is that you and I have access to Him. 104 00:04:44,820 --> 00:04:49,800 You and I have access to the God who created the universe, 105 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,360 who breathed stars, who knows you by name, 106 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,680 who created you, who set things in motion. 107 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,300 We have access to the same God 108 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:00,560 who's gonna split the sky one day and bring us all home. 109 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,500 We have access to Him right now. 110 00:05:03,500 --> 00:05:06,320 There are many religions on the planet. 111 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,140 We are the only religion that can proclaim a God 112 00:05:09,140 --> 00:05:13,140 who is alive and active today who we have access to. 113 00:05:13,140 --> 00:05:14,320 That's incredible. 114 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:15,220 That's incredible. 115 00:05:15,220 --> 00:05:18,320 And it's unique to the God we serve. 116 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,840 I would rather serve a God who is alive 117 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:22,700 than a God who is dead. 118 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:25,820 Our God is alive. 119 00:05:25,820 --> 00:05:27,640 Our God is alive. 120 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:32,640 Now, I love, I love, I love getting gifts. 121 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,500 Anybody here like getting gifts? 122 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:37,260 I like giving gifts, but probably more than getting gifts, 123 00:05:37,260 --> 00:05:38,700 I love to give gifts. 124 00:05:38,700 --> 00:05:41,740 That's actually more, now, my daughter Nora 125 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:43,040 would not be in that same boat. 126 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,620 She, you know, yesterday was Sadassa's birthday 127 00:05:45,620 --> 00:05:46,740 and Nora was talking all day 128 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:48,740 about when she's getting gifts on her birthday. 129 00:05:48,740 --> 00:05:51,920 And so there are people who are receivers 130 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,020 and they enjoy the receiving end of things 131 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:56,220 and there are people who are givers. 132 00:05:56,220 --> 00:05:58,260 Hopefully most of us are at least somewhere in the middle 133 00:05:58,260 --> 00:06:00,180 and not just the one side of receiving, 134 00:06:00,180 --> 00:06:01,780 but you know, some of us maybe live there. 135 00:06:01,780 --> 00:06:04,060 But I enjoy giving gifts, 136 00:06:04,060 --> 00:06:06,320 but I used to be a really bad gift giver. 137 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,060 I used to be a really, really bad gift giver 138 00:06:10,060 --> 00:06:12,760 because what I would do is I would look 139 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:14,020 at somebody like Cornelius and say, 140 00:06:14,020 --> 00:06:15,040 "I wanna get you a gift." 141 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:16,020 And I would go to the store 142 00:06:16,020 --> 00:06:18,300 and I picked the first thing I see and I would wrap it up. 143 00:06:18,300 --> 00:06:19,260 Didn't matter what it was. 144 00:06:19,260 --> 00:06:20,440 It's just the first thing I saw. 145 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,860 Maybe it was something that just struck my eye or whatever, 146 00:06:23,860 --> 00:06:26,520 but it had no significant value to Cornelius 147 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:27,620 or any rhyme or reason. 148 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:29,380 I just picked it up and wrapped it up. 149 00:06:29,380 --> 00:06:31,460 And the thing that I would do that's so interesting 150 00:06:31,460 --> 00:06:33,700 is I would get a gift and I would wrap it 151 00:06:33,700 --> 00:06:36,940 in the most expensive wrapping paper I could find, 152 00:06:36,940 --> 00:06:39,760 the most expensive bow, the most expensive bag. 153 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,620 And so when you got this gift, you thought, 154 00:06:41,620 --> 00:06:45,240 whoa, this is something pretty awesome probably in here 155 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:46,720 because of the way it looks 156 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,780 on the, with the wrapping paper or whatever. 157 00:06:48,780 --> 00:06:50,980 And then the person would open it and I go, 158 00:06:50,980 --> 00:06:54,180 and they would, okay, great. 159 00:06:54,180 --> 00:06:56,660 And then it'd be regifted next Christmas. 160 00:06:56,660 --> 00:07:01,040 So, but I was really a bad gift giver, 161 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:02,880 but I would always wrap the gifts really nice. 162 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,380 Some of us are so concerned about what things look like 163 00:07:05,380 --> 00:07:07,200 on the outside that we don't pay attention 164 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,000 to what we're putting on in the inside. 165 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,780 And I want you to know that what's happening on the inside 166 00:07:13,780 --> 00:07:15,340 is much more significant 167 00:07:15,340 --> 00:07:16,640 than what's happening on the outside. 168 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,360 In fact, I would say what's happening on the inside 169 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,140 should overflow onto what's happening on the outside. 170 00:07:23,140 --> 00:07:25,480 But we are good at creating facades. 171 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,420 We are good at masking what's really going on on the inside. 172 00:07:29,420 --> 00:07:31,540 And the Holy Spirit wants to get in 173 00:07:31,540 --> 00:07:33,500 and make true what's happening on the inside, 174 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:35,680 what you're trying to project on the outside. 175 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:37,180 And he can do that. 176 00:07:37,180 --> 00:07:39,780 And he wants to do that. 177 00:07:39,780 --> 00:07:42,340 But I used to give gifts, bad gift giver, 178 00:07:42,340 --> 00:07:43,580 but now I've evolved into, 179 00:07:43,580 --> 00:07:47,520 I've evolved into I think a pretty good gift giver. 180 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,660 And that's because I know I put some thought 181 00:07:49,660 --> 00:07:50,500 into what I give, 182 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:52,540 but I don't really like to give too many times 183 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:53,580 tangible gifts. 184 00:07:53,580 --> 00:07:56,300 The gifts I enjoy giving are gifts of experience. 185 00:07:56,300 --> 00:07:57,140 Gifts of experience. 186 00:07:57,140 --> 00:07:59,700 If I could take you somewhere to experience something 187 00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:01,940 that you can connect a memory to, 188 00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:04,340 there's longevity in that gift. 189 00:08:04,340 --> 00:08:09,340 And I really enjoy giving those types of gifts. 190 00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:11,980 Paul's writing here to the Corinthians 191 00:08:11,980 --> 00:08:14,200 and he's going to list these gifts 192 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:15,860 that we're actually gonna talk about next week. 193 00:08:15,860 --> 00:08:17,820 But he's listing these gifts. 194 00:08:17,820 --> 00:08:19,620 And in this portion of scripture, he says this. 195 00:08:19,620 --> 00:08:23,200 He says, "I don't want you to be uninformed." 196 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,080 And the reason that he's saying this is he's saying, 197 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,220 "Hey, look, there's an aspect to God here 198 00:08:28,220 --> 00:08:29,660 that you have access to. 199 00:08:29,660 --> 00:08:31,180 There's an aspect to the Holy Spirit 200 00:08:31,180 --> 00:08:32,180 that you have access to. 201 00:08:32,180 --> 00:08:33,740 There are these gifts that you have access to. 202 00:08:33,740 --> 00:08:37,820 And I want you to be well-informed about these gifts 203 00:08:37,820 --> 00:08:40,660 and what they're about and how they are to be used." 204 00:08:40,660 --> 00:08:42,940 And he doesn't want, and church, I'm telling you today, 205 00:08:42,940 --> 00:08:46,320 I don't want us to be uninformed about these gifts 206 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,580 and what they are for and who they're for 207 00:08:48,580 --> 00:08:49,940 and all of those things. 208 00:08:49,940 --> 00:08:52,500 And so that's why we're taking time to do this. 209 00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:54,520 Now here's the dangerous thing. 210 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,500 Here's the dangerous thing. 211 00:08:56,500 --> 00:09:01,060 We get sometimes attached to the gifts of the Holy Spirit 212 00:09:01,060 --> 00:09:04,880 and the glitz and the woo-hoo and the wow 213 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:06,780 of some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit 214 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:09,400 that sometimes we will take a left flank 215 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:11,500 and we will start chasing after the gifts 216 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:13,260 instead of the gift giver. 217 00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:14,900 That's a problem. 218 00:09:14,900 --> 00:09:16,000 That's a problem. 219 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,700 We never wanna be a people who are after the things of God 220 00:09:19,700 --> 00:09:23,220 more so than we are after God himself, God himself. 221 00:09:23,220 --> 00:09:26,100 And so I believe that this portion of scripture 222 00:09:26,100 --> 00:09:28,340 is designed to tell the Corinthians, 223 00:09:28,340 --> 00:09:31,100 to explain to us that there are some powerful gifts 224 00:09:31,100 --> 00:09:33,460 available to us if we will lean into them. 225 00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:34,300 And guess what? 226 00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:37,900 Every one of you, I believe have some type of gift 227 00:09:37,900 --> 00:09:39,420 opportunity available to you. 228 00:09:39,420 --> 00:09:42,860 Some of you multiple gifts, but every one of you have gifts. 229 00:09:42,860 --> 00:09:44,780 He told them in Acts, he said, "Listen, I want you 230 00:09:44,780 --> 00:09:47,660 to stay here and wait on the Holy Spirit. 231 00:09:47,660 --> 00:09:51,900 Do not leave Jerusalem without my power to go forth 232 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:54,380 and spread my gospel to all the ends of the earth." 233 00:09:54,380 --> 00:09:55,220 Well, guess what? 234 00:09:55,220 --> 00:09:56,980 The Lord doesn't want you leaving your house 235 00:09:56,980 --> 00:09:58,060 without his power. 236 00:09:58,060 --> 00:10:00,340 He doesn't want you leaving your sphere of, 237 00:10:00,340 --> 00:10:03,460 going into your sphere of influence without his power. 238 00:10:03,460 --> 00:10:06,500 And he's got some real incredible, unique things 239 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:09,540 available for us to tap into if we'll lean into them. 240 00:10:09,540 --> 00:10:11,320 So we don't wanna be uninformed. 241 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:12,820 We don't wanna just grab a gift. 242 00:10:12,820 --> 00:10:15,380 Have you ever been given something and you decided to use it 243 00:10:15,380 --> 00:10:17,340 but you didn't read the instructions? 244 00:10:17,340 --> 00:10:20,800 (congregation laughing) 245 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,180 Everybody, anybody try to build something 246 00:10:22,180 --> 00:10:24,600 and you had some extra screws left over? 247 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,140 Well, it doesn't matter, it's held together, right? 248 00:10:27,140 --> 00:10:29,780 No, we're being given some instructions 249 00:10:29,780 --> 00:10:33,580 so that we're not misusing the gifts that we've been given. 250 00:10:33,580 --> 00:10:35,940 There's some real instructions on how the gifts 251 00:10:35,940 --> 00:10:36,780 are to be used. 252 00:10:36,780 --> 00:10:37,980 And again, next week we're gonna unpackage 253 00:10:37,980 --> 00:10:41,120 that a little bit more, but this is important. 254 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:42,060 This is important. 255 00:10:42,060 --> 00:10:44,260 And I want us to understand, and I'm gonna read 256 00:10:44,260 --> 00:10:46,220 quite a bit of scripture today, but I want us to understand 257 00:10:46,220 --> 00:10:49,140 that even before these gifts of the Holy Spirit 258 00:10:49,140 --> 00:10:51,980 are talked about by Paul, I want us to understand 259 00:10:51,980 --> 00:10:56,060 that Jesus too also conferred gifts. 260 00:10:56,060 --> 00:10:57,500 He also conferred gifts. 261 00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:02,500 Let's look over at, we're gonna go to Ephesians chapter four. 262 00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:05,660 If you have your Bibles, a Bible is a good thing 263 00:11:05,660 --> 00:11:06,620 to bring to church. 264 00:11:06,620 --> 00:11:08,200 (congregation laughing) 265 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,740 Kinda like when you bring an umbrella when it rains. 266 00:11:10,740 --> 00:11:12,380 A Bible goes with church, yeah. 267 00:11:12,380 --> 00:11:17,340 Chapter four of Ephesians. 268 00:11:17,340 --> 00:11:20,180 There is one body and one spirit. 269 00:11:20,180 --> 00:11:21,100 Can you say that? 270 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:23,940 There is one body and one spirit. 271 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:26,500 Just as you were called to one hope when called 272 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:29,740 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 273 00:11:29,740 --> 00:11:34,300 of us all who is over all and through all and in all. 274 00:11:34,300 --> 00:11:37,180 Yet grace, say grace. 275 00:11:37,180 --> 00:11:41,900 Yet grace was given to each one of us 276 00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:46,460 in proportion to the measure of Christ's gifts. 277 00:11:46,460 --> 00:11:48,220 Skipping to verse 11. 278 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:53,180 And he himself, he being Jesus himself, 279 00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:57,620 appointed such as apostles, some as prophets, 280 00:11:57,620 --> 00:12:02,060 some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers 281 00:12:02,060 --> 00:12:05,060 to fully equip and perfect the saints 282 00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:08,260 for works of service to build up the body of Christ 283 00:12:08,260 --> 00:12:10,940 until we all reach oneness in faith 284 00:12:10,940 --> 00:12:13,160 and in the knowledge of the Son of God 285 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,900 to become a mature believer reaching to the measure 286 00:12:15,900 --> 00:12:18,380 of the fullness of Christ. 287 00:12:18,380 --> 00:12:23,340 So here we see that Jesus Christ himself 288 00:12:23,340 --> 00:12:26,300 gave very special grace gifts, 289 00:12:26,300 --> 00:12:29,940 but his gifts were in the form of offices 290 00:12:29,940 --> 00:12:30,940 or forms of people. 291 00:12:30,940 --> 00:12:31,980 And these are what they are. 292 00:12:31,980 --> 00:12:36,980 Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. 293 00:12:36,980 --> 00:12:39,780 These are gifts, these are grace positions, 294 00:12:39,780 --> 00:12:43,180 graced people, graced gifts that are bestowed 295 00:12:43,180 --> 00:12:45,140 from Jesus Christ to people. 296 00:12:45,140 --> 00:12:49,700 So Jesus gives gifts in the form of people. 297 00:12:49,700 --> 00:12:53,500 The Holy Spirit gives gifts in the form of function. 298 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:54,500 Okay, are you with me? 299 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:58,280 Jesus gifts in the form of people, 300 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,620 Holy Spirit in the form of function. 301 00:13:00,620 --> 00:13:03,140 For instance, the prophets, 302 00:13:03,140 --> 00:13:05,780 the prophet would be the gift from Jesus. 303 00:13:05,780 --> 00:13:08,900 This is the office of the prophet, okay? 304 00:13:08,900 --> 00:13:13,300 The prophet would render or bestow the gift of prophecy, 305 00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:14,980 the function of prophecy. 306 00:13:14,980 --> 00:13:16,220 Are you with me, okay? 307 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:18,740 Now, when Jesus was saying this, 308 00:13:18,740 --> 00:13:21,220 when Jesus created these offices 309 00:13:21,220 --> 00:13:23,740 that we refer to the fivefold ministry, 310 00:13:23,740 --> 00:13:26,180 when we look at this, it says that, 311 00:13:26,180 --> 00:13:28,460 how long do we need to keep these going? 312 00:13:28,460 --> 00:13:30,940 Well, it says until we all look like Christ. 313 00:13:30,940 --> 00:13:32,500 So I want you to look at your neighbor and say, 314 00:13:32,500 --> 00:13:34,060 you don't look like Christ yet. 315 00:13:34,060 --> 00:13:38,580 So until we look like Christ, 316 00:13:38,580 --> 00:13:41,180 these are still in operation, yes? 317 00:13:41,180 --> 00:13:42,820 These are still in operation, okay? 318 00:13:42,820 --> 00:13:45,180 So these are special grace gifts 319 00:13:45,180 --> 00:13:48,140 given from Jesus, created by Jesus, 320 00:13:48,140 --> 00:13:50,900 so that the Holy Spirit can through them 321 00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:52,300 use the function of the gifts 322 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:54,340 that the Holy Spirit has to offer. 323 00:13:54,340 --> 00:13:56,500 So now let's go to Romans chapter 12. 324 00:13:56,500 --> 00:13:59,580 Romans chapter 12 says this. 325 00:13:59,580 --> 00:14:04,860 "Therefore," Paul's speaking to the Romans, 326 00:14:04,860 --> 00:14:08,620 "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, 327 00:14:08,620 --> 00:14:11,940 "to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 328 00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:14,220 "holy and well pleasing to God, 329 00:14:14,220 --> 00:14:16,820 "which is your rational act of worship. 330 00:14:16,820 --> 00:14:18,860 "Do not be conformed to this world, 331 00:14:18,860 --> 00:14:21,620 "but be transformed and progressively changed 332 00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:23,180 "by the renewing of your mind, 333 00:14:23,180 --> 00:14:26,460 "so that you may prove what the will of God is, 334 00:14:26,460 --> 00:14:29,300 "that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 335 00:14:29,300 --> 00:14:31,380 "For by grace," say grace. 336 00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:32,540 - Grace. 337 00:14:32,540 --> 00:14:35,700 - "For by grace given to me, I say to every one of you, 338 00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:38,940 "not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, 339 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:41,140 "but to think so as to have sound judgment 340 00:14:41,140 --> 00:14:44,860 "as God apportioned to each a degree of faith. 341 00:14:44,860 --> 00:14:48,140 "For just as in one body we have many parts, 342 00:14:48,140 --> 00:14:50,180 "and these parts do not all have the same function 343 00:14:50,180 --> 00:14:53,020 "or special use, so we who are many 344 00:14:53,020 --> 00:14:56,300 "are one body in Christ and individually parts 345 00:14:56,300 --> 00:15:00,500 "of one another and dependent on one another." 346 00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:01,660 Listen to this. 347 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:06,380 "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace," 348 00:15:06,380 --> 00:15:07,220 say grace. 349 00:15:07,220 --> 00:15:08,060 - Grace. 350 00:15:08,060 --> 00:15:09,220 - "Grace given to us, 351 00:15:09,220 --> 00:15:12,580 "each of us is to use them accordingly. 352 00:15:12,580 --> 00:15:17,580 "If prophecy, let it be used in proportion 353 00:15:17,580 --> 00:15:19,700 "to the faith possessed. 354 00:15:19,700 --> 00:15:22,340 "If service in the act of serving, 355 00:15:22,340 --> 00:15:24,740 "if he teaches in the act of teaching, 356 00:15:24,740 --> 00:15:27,580 "he who encourages in the act of encouragement, 357 00:15:27,580 --> 00:15:31,500 "he who gives with generosity, 358 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:33,380 "he who leads with diligence, 359 00:15:33,380 --> 00:15:36,500 "he who shows mercy with cheerfulness." 360 00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:40,020 Okay, so what I want us to understand here, 361 00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:41,980 what I want us to understand here 362 00:15:41,980 --> 00:15:45,620 is that Jesus Christ appointed these positions 363 00:15:45,620 --> 00:15:48,420 as special grace gifts, okay, special grace gifts. 364 00:15:48,420 --> 00:15:52,340 So he's equipped these people with grace 365 00:15:52,340 --> 00:15:55,540 to give grace gifts to those that they are leading. 366 00:15:55,540 --> 00:15:57,180 And what kind of gifts is he giving? 367 00:15:57,180 --> 00:16:00,020 He's giving the gifts of prophecy, 368 00:16:00,020 --> 00:16:02,260 he's giving the gifts, a gift of wisdom. 369 00:16:02,260 --> 00:16:04,820 But there are more grace gifts than just the ones 370 00:16:04,820 --> 00:16:06,780 that we are used to in 1 Corinthians 12. 371 00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:08,340 This is what I wanna get at. 372 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:09,660 There are so many people 373 00:16:09,660 --> 00:16:12,020 that have walked with the Holy Spirit, 374 00:16:12,020 --> 00:16:14,020 that have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 375 00:16:14,020 --> 00:16:15,940 and you feel like you have been left out 376 00:16:15,940 --> 00:16:18,420 because you are not up here laying hands on people 377 00:16:18,420 --> 00:16:20,820 and manifesting some type of out-of-body experience 378 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:21,940 for somebody to be healed, 379 00:16:21,940 --> 00:16:25,420 but you have been given the supernatural gift of mercy. 380 00:16:25,420 --> 00:16:28,820 You have been given the supernatural gift of service. 381 00:16:28,820 --> 00:16:30,460 You've been given the supernatural. 382 00:16:30,460 --> 00:16:32,340 Hal Laughlin is one of the best administrators 383 00:16:32,340 --> 00:16:33,500 on the planet Earth. 384 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,380 It's not because Hal's awesome. 385 00:16:35,380 --> 00:16:38,100 Hal is awesome, but it's not because he's awesome. 386 00:16:38,100 --> 00:16:40,820 It's because he's got a supernatural gift inside him 387 00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:41,860 that the Lord has given, 388 00:16:41,860 --> 00:16:43,580 and he's using it to serve the body. 389 00:16:43,580 --> 00:16:44,860 Do you understand what I'm saying to you? 390 00:16:44,860 --> 00:16:47,900 Wade Hutchinson has a gift of hospitality. 391 00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:50,120 There's, it pales in comparison, 392 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,600 the way that, I mean, Wade serves 393 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:55,100 in the area of hospitality. 394 00:16:55,100 --> 00:16:57,180 There is a supernatural gift 395 00:16:57,180 --> 00:16:59,900 that he has in the area of hospitality. 396 00:16:59,900 --> 00:17:01,580 What I want you to understand, saints, 397 00:17:01,580 --> 00:17:04,540 is that whether you are a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, 398 00:17:04,540 --> 00:17:06,600 a mechanic, whatever you are, 399 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:08,640 when you have asked Jesus Christ in your heart 400 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:09,740 and you have the Holy Spirit, 401 00:17:09,740 --> 00:17:11,620 he has given you every tool that you need, 402 00:17:11,620 --> 00:17:13,540 and he has given you a special gift 403 00:17:13,540 --> 00:17:15,980 and a special assignment to use 404 00:17:15,980 --> 00:17:17,300 for the glory of his kingdom, 405 00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:19,060 for the advancement of his kingdom. 406 00:17:19,060 --> 00:17:20,340 Nobody is left out. 407 00:17:20,340 --> 00:17:23,740 In other words, I believe everyone in here has a superpower. 408 00:17:23,740 --> 00:17:26,420 Everyone in here has something that they can lean into, 409 00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:27,860 that you can gravitate to. 410 00:17:27,860 --> 00:17:29,920 Now, you might not know what that is. 411 00:17:31,100 --> 00:17:34,940 And part of being a part of a community of believers 412 00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:36,540 is somebody to call out and say, 413 00:17:36,540 --> 00:17:38,500 I see this gift inside you. 414 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:41,740 I see the Lord operating in this way inside you. 415 00:17:41,740 --> 00:17:43,380 So what I want us to understand, 416 00:17:43,380 --> 00:17:45,240 and the reason I'm starting here, 417 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,100 is I want us to understand that everyone's gift 418 00:17:48,100 --> 00:17:50,220 is not going to be the same, A. 419 00:17:50,220 --> 00:17:52,860 And B, just because you're not down here 420 00:17:52,860 --> 00:17:55,540 performing what seems to be fireworks in the altar space 421 00:17:55,540 --> 00:17:57,940 doesn't mean that your gift is any less of value 422 00:17:57,940 --> 00:17:59,940 than the person who's doing those things. 423 00:17:59,940 --> 00:18:02,300 Do you understand what I'm saying to you? 424 00:18:02,300 --> 00:18:03,540 You have a gift. 425 00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:05,900 God wants to use you in your gift. 426 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:08,560 He's given you, some of you have multiple gifts, 427 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:10,700 multiple things, and the word of God says 428 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,300 that God's gifts in his call are irrevocable. 429 00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:14,260 You know what that means? 430 00:18:14,260 --> 00:18:16,780 That means if you decide to go slide into the mud pit, 431 00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:18,100 you decide to get in your flesh, 432 00:18:18,100 --> 00:18:20,300 you decide to get away from the Lord, and you come back, 433 00:18:20,300 --> 00:18:21,680 God doesn't just snatch his gift and say, 434 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:22,520 well, you messed that up. 435 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:23,980 His gift is waiting right there for you 436 00:18:23,980 --> 00:18:25,100 whenever you return. 437 00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:27,500 He is such a gracious God. 438 00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:29,300 He is such a gracious God. 439 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:32,340 God never intended for the apostles, prophets, 440 00:18:32,340 --> 00:18:36,140 evangelists, pastors, and teachers to do all of the work. 441 00:18:36,140 --> 00:18:42,020 He intended for this group to equip the body 442 00:18:42,020 --> 00:18:44,920 for acts of service so that you as the body 443 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:46,940 are edifying the body. 444 00:18:46,940 --> 00:18:50,020 You are, your job is to edify the body. 445 00:18:50,020 --> 00:18:52,900 You have a gift inside you that is supposed to encourage, 446 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:56,040 it's supposed to edify, it's supposed to build up 447 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,100 so that whenever you're doing life on a Tuesday afternoon 448 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:00,820 or a Wednesday night or a Thursday, 449 00:19:00,820 --> 00:19:02,660 and somebody comes along your path, 450 00:19:02,660 --> 00:19:04,340 guess what, I have the gift of prophecy. 451 00:19:04,340 --> 00:19:05,340 The Lord's given me a word, 452 00:19:05,340 --> 00:19:09,340 or the Lord has given me some gift of discernment 453 00:19:09,340 --> 00:19:10,540 or wisdom or knowledge. 454 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:13,740 And you use that gift to edify the body of Christ 455 00:19:13,740 --> 00:19:16,460 so that Jesus Christ can be exalted. 456 00:19:16,460 --> 00:19:19,580 So that Jesus Christ can be exalted. 457 00:19:19,580 --> 00:19:21,580 The grace gifts in your lives are there to equip you 458 00:19:21,580 --> 00:19:24,420 to build each other up. 459 00:19:24,420 --> 00:19:27,540 And the gift of the Spirit, 460 00:19:27,540 --> 00:19:29,260 the gifts of the Spirit edify, 461 00:19:29,260 --> 00:19:31,180 edify is just a fancy word for build up. 462 00:19:31,180 --> 00:19:35,820 They edify the body of Christ, the body of Christ. 463 00:19:35,820 --> 00:19:38,220 Okay, I said I like giving gifts. 464 00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:40,320 Who likes receiving gifts? 465 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:41,440 Anybody like receiving gifts? 466 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:42,940 I bought some gifts today. 467 00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:47,060 I would like to hand some of these gifts out 468 00:19:47,060 --> 00:19:49,580 to a few chosen individuals. 469 00:19:49,580 --> 00:19:50,940 (congregation laughing) 470 00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:52,020 - Oh, okay. 471 00:19:52,020 --> 00:19:54,140 - Few chosen individuals, okay? 472 00:19:54,140 --> 00:19:56,540 So I think I'm going to give Daniel one. 473 00:19:56,540 --> 00:19:58,140 (audience applauding) 474 00:19:58,140 --> 00:19:59,580 Let's see here. 475 00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:02,060 I'm gonna give, look at people smiling at me real big. 476 00:20:02,060 --> 00:20:03,980 Like, "Choose me, choose me." 477 00:20:03,980 --> 00:20:05,800 See, show me the view one. 478 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,020 Let's see, live stream people hate this, 479 00:20:08,020 --> 00:20:09,080 the camera people, because I'm like, 480 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:10,180 they have no idea where I'm going 481 00:20:10,180 --> 00:20:12,380 and they have to follow me with the camera. 482 00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:15,420 Let's see back here. 483 00:20:15,420 --> 00:20:16,420 I don't even know if you can turn the camera. 484 00:20:16,420 --> 00:20:19,020 Carrie, man, I've been wanting to give you a gift 485 00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:21,220 all morning, there you go, buddy, okay? 486 00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:22,140 Here you go, who else? 487 00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:24,380 Who else do I want to give a gift to? 488 00:20:24,380 --> 00:20:25,220 Here, right here. 489 00:20:25,940 --> 00:20:26,780 - Zach's birthday. 490 00:20:26,780 --> 00:20:28,220 - Is it Zach's birthday? 491 00:20:28,220 --> 00:20:29,060 Is it your birthday? 492 00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:30,900 Happy birthday, I'm not giving you a gift. 493 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:32,300 (congregation laughing) 494 00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:34,380 Let's see, it's because it's not even, 495 00:20:34,380 --> 00:20:36,100 I gotta get over here. 496 00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:38,660 Let's see, I'm gonna give you a gift. 497 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:41,660 All right, let's see here. 498 00:20:41,660 --> 00:20:45,020 Ted, it's a gift, buddy, come get this gift. 499 00:20:45,020 --> 00:20:45,860 Can you pass that down there? 500 00:20:45,860 --> 00:20:47,820 Don't steal it, okay. 501 00:20:47,820 --> 00:20:50,460 Here, I'm gonna put a gift right over here, okay. 502 00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:54,360 If you received a gift from me, would you please stand? 503 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:56,120 - Uh-oh. 504 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:00,200 - Okay, can you see the people around the room? 505 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,720 Now, if you received a gift from me, 506 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,160 I have chosen you and you and you and you and you and you 507 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:07,680 to give gifts to. 508 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:08,960 Would you open your gift, please, 509 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:10,460 and hold your gift in the air? 510 00:21:10,460 --> 00:21:23,720 Chocolate, we're about to have church, people. 511 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,400 Okay, hold it up, hold up your gift. 512 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:29,760 Okay, I want you to notice something. 513 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:34,000 I handed out seven gifts to seven individuals. 514 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,140 They're all chocolate, but they're all different gifts. 515 00:21:37,140 --> 00:21:39,560 You with me? 516 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:40,500 They're all chocolate, 517 00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:43,200 but they're all different brands of chocolate. 518 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:44,880 Are you with me, okay? 519 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:46,200 Now, you have a gift in your hand 520 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:47,760 and you're holding it in the air. 521 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:49,220 Be kind of silly just to walk around 522 00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:50,780 holding your gift up in the air, right? 523 00:21:50,780 --> 00:21:52,400 Just hold it around, all right? 524 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,600 But you know what, you have an option to do 525 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,920 with what you're gonna do with the gift. 526 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:58,320 You could put it back in the package 527 00:21:58,320 --> 00:21:59,820 and put it under your chair. 528 00:21:59,820 --> 00:22:02,640 You could throw it in the trash can on the way out. 529 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,000 You could put it in your car in the 100 degree weather 530 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:06,760 and let it melt. 531 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,420 You could say, man, forget this message. 532 00:22:08,420 --> 00:22:10,920 I'm just gonna eat all this chocolate right now. 533 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,280 There's a lot you could do with this chocolate. 534 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,960 It's a gift that's been given to you, 535 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,360 and I'm not gonna take it back 536 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,280 because I've given you the gift. 537 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:20,880 It is your gift. 538 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:21,720 It's your gift. 539 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:23,480 I've given it to you, okay? 540 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,680 Now, I want you to open your gift, 541 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,800 and I would like you to distribute 542 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,120 as much as you're willing to distribute of your gift 543 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:32,360 to the people around you. 544 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,520 (audience chattering) 545 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,880 Just as much as you are willing to distribute. 546 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:56,240 (audience chattering) 547 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:15,020 Okay, my seven people who are handing out the gift. 548 00:23:15,020 --> 00:23:16,920 Look at me, if you're one of the seven people 549 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:17,760 who are handing out the gift, 550 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,600 how does it feel to distribute gifts right now? 551 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:21,440 How's it feel? 552 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:22,280 Kerry, how's it feel? 553 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:23,560 Feel pretty good? 554 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:24,380 Feel pretty good? 555 00:23:24,380 --> 00:23:25,220 Okay. 556 00:23:25,220 --> 00:23:28,200 If you're one of the people who received a gift, 557 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:29,320 I want you to stand up. 558 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,480 (audience chattering) 559 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:37,400 Okay, now I want you to look around the church. 560 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,780 I want you to look around the church. 561 00:23:41,780 --> 00:23:45,240 There are many more people standing. 562 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:46,960 There are many more people standing 563 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,600 than the original seven who were bestowed the gift. 564 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,240 Because the people with the original gift 565 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,560 understood something, that they were to take what they had 566 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,040 and to distribute it amongst the body. 567 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,280 And once they distribute it amongst the body, 568 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,680 look who's being built up, look who's being edified. 569 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,080 I'll tell you what, the minute I said, 570 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,700 let's give those out smiles all across the room. 571 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:10,580 People so excited, I might be the one who's chosen. 572 00:24:10,580 --> 00:24:13,040 Now, if you're still sitting, it's because you are sinful 573 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,600 and you need to get your life together. 574 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:16,120 No, I'm kidding. 575 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:17,120 I'm kidding, listen. 576 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,720 So listen, listen, listen. 577 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,080 Listen, imagine, guys, go with me. 578 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,040 All of you have a package of candy 579 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,360 that have 10 bars in it and if everyone is handing out, 580 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:31,240 not only does everyone get edified, 581 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,800 but there's abundance in the house. 582 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,920 Do you understand that God wants to use his gifts 583 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,740 to edify his body to build us up? 584 00:24:39,740 --> 00:24:40,820 That's your job. 585 00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:43,960 We're supposed to be doing this with one another every day 586 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:45,920 all the time, all the time. 587 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:47,680 We should be building each other up. 588 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,060 We should be experiencing this type of joy. 589 00:24:50,060 --> 00:24:53,580 Now, here's another question, ready? 590 00:24:53,580 --> 00:24:55,100 Who gave you the gift? 591 00:24:55,100 --> 00:25:06,860 If you were one of the original seven, raise your hand. 592 00:25:06,860 --> 00:25:09,880 Okay, here's the danger. 593 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:15,200 The danger is when we say, Ted, thank you for this candy 594 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,960 and Ted says, you're so welcome. 595 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,320 I did such a great thing by giving you that candy. 596 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,600 I am the provider of this candy. 597 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,040 Look at me, I'm gonna go get some more candy 598 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:27,800 so that everybody can look at me 599 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,120 and I'm gonna get a business card that says I'm a prophet 600 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:33,340 and hand it to people and say, call me for 19.95. 601 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:35,840 Okay, I'm being just a little facetious. 602 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:37,560 Listen, listen. 603 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:42,500 It is so easy because we are flesh 604 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:46,680 to get in a posture of either A, putting the spotlight on us 605 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,940 when we're the one the Lord is using 606 00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:52,320 or for everybody else to begin to look and praise 607 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,340 and elevate you because you're the one with the goods. 608 00:25:55,340 --> 00:25:57,260 You're the one with the, and so it's so important. 609 00:25:57,260 --> 00:25:59,400 There is a story in the book of Acts, you may be seated. 610 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,440 There's a story in the book of Acts chapter 14. 611 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:07,440 Paul and Barnabas, they go to Lystra and they heal a man 612 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,780 and then they healed this man and all of the people 613 00:26:10,780 --> 00:26:13,560 begin to worship Paul and Barnabas. 614 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,960 How easy would it be to stand up and be worshiped? 615 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,000 Isn't that one of the fatal sin of man to be lifted, 616 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,960 that we would be acknowledged, that we would be lifted up? 617 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:27,520 So as you are conferring these gifts, 618 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,960 it is super important that you are giving 619 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,980 the acknowledgement to God. 620 00:26:31,980 --> 00:26:34,220 In this instance, when somebody says, 621 00:26:34,220 --> 00:26:36,180 Daniel, thank you for this chocolate, 622 00:26:36,180 --> 00:26:38,160 the appropriate response would be, you're welcome. 623 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,040 Kevin is the one who originated it. 624 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:41,660 He's the one that needs to get the praise 625 00:26:41,660 --> 00:26:45,080 because none of you had chocolate before I came into the room. 626 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,080 Do you understand what I'm saying? 627 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,000 Okay, so God's saying, none of you have 628 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,460 the gifts you think you have without me. 629 00:26:52,460 --> 00:26:54,600 So I'm the one who needs to be acknowledged. 630 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,460 I'm the one who needs to have the gratitude bestowed. 631 00:26:57,460 --> 00:26:59,780 And so when God does something, you get out of the way 632 00:26:59,780 --> 00:27:02,960 and you make sure that it exemplifies Christ, 633 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,300 that it exemplifies Christ. 634 00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:08,760 Now, what is the barometer of a person 635 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,720 who is living life by the Spirit? 636 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:12,720 What is the barometer? 637 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,180 It is not the gifts that you possess. 638 00:27:15,180 --> 00:27:20,140 I said earlier that I like to give gifts of experience. 639 00:27:20,140 --> 00:27:23,080 Do you know, there have been people that I have lavished, 640 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,080 I say such humility, truly, truly. 641 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:31,080 I have given above and beyond gift to individuals. 642 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:36,560 And when it gets just so far away 643 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,640 from whatever that gift is or that time, it's forgotten. 644 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,080 The gifts pass away. 645 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,060 The gifts pass away. 646 00:27:46,060 --> 00:27:49,120 The litmus test of whether or not you're living 647 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,520 by the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit. 648 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,160 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 649 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,580 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 650 00:27:56,580 --> 00:27:59,300 gentleness, and self-control. 651 00:27:59,300 --> 00:28:00,980 The gifts are not the indicator 652 00:28:00,980 --> 00:28:03,120 that you are walking by the Spirit. 653 00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:04,360 I'm gonna say something that's a bit 654 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,440 of a hasty generalization, but I'm gonna say it, okay? 655 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:07,280 Here's the deal. 656 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:11,960 I cannot stand, okay? 657 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,880 Believers who lay their hands on people to heal them, 658 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,520 speak in all sorts of tongues, swing from the chandeliers, 659 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,920 jump up and down in a praise worship concert, 660 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,080 but then go out those doors 661 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,440 and they are the unkindest, ugliest people 662 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,920 who don't, aren't considerate, selfish, 663 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:31,960 self-seeking, all of those things. 664 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,240 But boy, they can come in here and jump up high 665 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,100 and raise their hands and shout to the ceilings about Jesus, 666 00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:38,680 but when they're out there modeling it, 667 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,640 they have none of this going on in their life. 668 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,040 The litmus test of your life 669 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,400 of whether you're living by the Spirit is this right here. 670 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,720 And this is what we are trying to achieve. 671 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,480 This is the baseline, this is the framework 672 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,220 that says that person's living by the Spirit. 673 00:28:51,220 --> 00:28:52,240 Give me somebody like this, 674 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,520 I'll receive from them all day long. 675 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,880 I'll be happy to receive from them all day long. 676 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:58,080 Here's the thing. 677 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,540 The gifts of the Spirit are temporary. 678 00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:02,960 The fruit of the Spirit is everlasting. 679 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:04,360 When it comes to prophecy, 680 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,600 prophets gonna come prophesy and it's gonna be, 681 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:07,640 it's gonna pass. 682 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,400 The wisdom that you asked for, it's going to pass. 683 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,080 All of these moments and these gifts, they're going to pass, 684 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,240 but the fruit of the Spirit is everlasting. 685 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,480 And that is what we wanna lean into. 686 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,140 I wanna read this. 687 00:29:19,140 --> 00:29:19,980 I wanna read this to you. 688 00:29:19,980 --> 00:29:22,060 This is a very familiar passage, 689 00:29:22,060 --> 00:29:23,980 a very familiar passage of scripture, 690 00:29:23,980 --> 00:29:25,560 but if you're anything like me, 691 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:29,120 sometimes the most familiar things I need to be reminded of 692 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,440 over and over and over again. 693 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,820 I want us to pay attention with our hearts this morning 694 00:29:33,820 --> 00:29:38,000 as I read this scripture that follows this passage. 695 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,240 You know that you can't take scripture 696 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:41,400 and just pull a section out and say, 697 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,240 I'm gonna run with it over here. 698 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:44,880 The scripture is the whole piece. 699 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:46,260 It's the whole picture. 700 00:29:46,260 --> 00:29:49,360 Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, all about these gifts. 701 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,560 And then he has something very important to say 702 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,040 in chapter 13. 703 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:54,320 So here we go. 704 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,440 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, 705 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,880 but I do not have love, 706 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,460 I'm only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 707 00:30:04,460 --> 00:30:07,280 If I have the gift of prophecy 708 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,040 and can fathom all the mysteries and all knowledge, 709 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,940 and if I have a faith that can move mountains, 710 00:30:12,940 --> 00:30:16,280 but I do not have love, I am nothing. 711 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:21,160 If I give all I possess to the poor 712 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,880 and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, 713 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:29,400 but I do not have love, I gain nothing. 714 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:31,200 Love is patient. 715 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:32,640 Love is kind. 716 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:33,760 It does not envy. 717 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:34,700 It does not boast. 718 00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:35,920 It is not proud. 719 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,480 It does not dishonor others. 720 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:39,880 It is not self-seeking. 721 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:41,920 It is not easily angered. 722 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,260 It keeps no record of wrongs. 723 00:30:45,260 --> 00:30:48,600 Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with truth. 724 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,820 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, 725 00:30:52,820 --> 00:30:54,740 always purse of ears. 726 00:30:54,740 --> 00:30:57,880 Love never fails. 727 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:02,880 But where there are prophecies, they will cease. 728 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,800 Where there are tongues, they'll be stilled. 729 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,480 Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 730 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,820 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 731 00:31:10,820 --> 00:31:14,640 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 732 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,920 When I was a child, I talked like a child. 733 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:18,000 I thought like a child. 734 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:19,880 I reasoned like a child. 735 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,080 When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 736 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,440 For now we see only reflection as in a mirror. 737 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,700 Then we will see face to face. 738 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:29,880 Now I know in part. 739 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,840 Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 740 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:35,160 And then he ends with this. 741 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:40,160 And now these three things remain faith, hope, and love. 742 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,840 But the greatest of these is love. 743 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,160 Why is love the greatest? 744 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,320 Because faith and hope are gonna come to completion 745 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,240 when we meet him in his faith, in the fullness of his love. 746 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,760 Faith, hope, and love remain. 747 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,760 Not the gifts, not the woo-hoo, not the thing. 748 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:57,600 It's wonderful. 749 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,800 It's a great, wonderful thing. 750 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:02,340 When we had the birthday party yesterday, 751 00:32:02,340 --> 00:32:04,960 two days ago for Hadassah, when people are giving her gifts, 752 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,700 what's the first thing a parent says to their child 753 00:32:06,700 --> 00:32:07,920 when somebody gives them the gift? 754 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,520 Make sure you, make sure you say thank you. 755 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:11,360 Why? 756 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:16,240 Because I don't want the gift to supersede the gift giver. 757 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:20,760 Nor should it be with us in our lives. 758 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,520 He is a good God. 759 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:28,320 So church, I do not want us to be uninformed. 760 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,760 Not just about what the gifts are, 761 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:33,800 but the purpose of the gifts, 762 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,300 so that we may use them to edify each other 763 00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:38,420 and build the body of Christ. 764 00:32:38,420 --> 00:32:41,200 The gifts are important, but they are never as important 765 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,920 as the one who gives them. 766 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,520 I give gifts, they get forgotten, I get forgotten. 767 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,560 So what? 768 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:50,680 He's the gift giver. 769 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,840 He's the one that we remember. 770 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:57,620 All of this to say that the primary job of the Holy Spirit 771 00:32:57,620 --> 00:32:59,700 is to point people to Jesus Christ. 772 00:32:59,700 --> 00:33:03,200 And so the gifts that he gifts, 773 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,680 that we would be pointed to Christ Jesus. 774 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:06,880 Would you stand with me this morning 775 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,780 with those who are gonna pray with people, come forward? 776 00:33:09,780 --> 00:33:15,980 We have been given a mighty, mighty gift in the Holy Spirit. 777 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,760 And some of you this morning, I'm sure came with all sorts 778 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,720 of things going on in your life that you need a touch 779 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:24,960 from this mighty God. 780 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:25,920 And guess what? 781 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:26,840 He wants to meet you. 782 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:28,120 This is so cool. 783 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:29,320 He wants to meet you. 784 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,000 And I hope that you do come and you agree with somebody 785 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,100 in prayer 'cause in a gathering like this, 786 00:33:35,100 --> 00:33:37,400 the Holy Spirit does convict and he does speak 787 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:38,240 to your heart. 788 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,000 But can I just encourage you, 789 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,240 the same Holy Spirit that's here right now at 11 45, 790 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,620 this morning is the same Holy Spirit 791 00:33:45,620 --> 00:33:47,880 that you have access to on Monday morning, 792 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,800 on Tuesday night, on Wednesday afternoon, on Thursday, 793 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:53,240 you do not have to wait to get into this setting 794 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,600 to get things right with the Lord. 795 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,400 That's a lie. 796 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,140 He loves you. 797 00:34:02,140 --> 00:34:03,920 He wants to do life with you. 798 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:05,800 He wants to communicate with you. 799 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:12,000 So let us be people who lean in to this God 800 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,560 with every waking hour. 801 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:18,240 If you have a need, come and pray as we worship. 802 00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:21,600 [MUSIC PLAYING]