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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now, come along, let's look
into the Bible and see what God has

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for us here today.

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As we come to the end of the
year, we've been focusing on gifts.

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We've been focusing on what
God has given us, specifically in

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the gift of salvation.

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Now we know that as a
believer, the greatest gift that

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we can ever receive is the
grace of God, the love of God, the

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forgiveness of God.

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That is the gospel message.

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And that is something that we
all must rejoice in, that we all

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must be excited in, because
the Bible challenges us to take that

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gospel message and share that
with those around us.

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We can't avoid that teaching
in our Scriptures, right, that we

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have received the gift.

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And now the challenge is for
us to, yes, be recipients of that

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gift, beneficiaries of that
gift, but also ones that are going

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to be able to share that gift
with those around us.

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And so this month we've been
studying so far the gift of God in

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his grace in salvation.

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That's the greatest gift, the
greatest gift that we could ever

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receive.

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But we're also going to study
here for the next few weeks how we

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can be recipients of that
grace and salvation, but also recipients

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of gifts that we can use to
minister or to serve others.

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And I want to take you to a
few passages of scripture that kind

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of set that up so that we get
to our main text.

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You can have some context and
you can have some background.

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Okay, so the first passage of
scripture we're going to look at

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is Acts, chapter 20.

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You weren't expecting to go to
the Book of Acts here on Christmas

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week, but that's what we're
going to do because we're going to

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be looking at gifts and we're
going to look at the perspective

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of being a gift giver, right?

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How can we be a grace giver?

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Now, we talked about this on
the first Sunday of the month, how

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we can give with the material
blessings that God has given us.

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Certainly God has blessed us
with material things, and we can

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take those things as stewards
of God's gifts and give to the church,

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give to those in need.

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But what we're going to talk
about here for the next two weeks

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is the spiritual gifts that
God has given us in our lives to

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serve others, to.

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To preach the gospel to
minister to those in need and to

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edify and to encourage those
around us.

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And so I.

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I mentioned this last week,
but I.

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I kind of want to use this as
an analogy again.

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When I was growing up,
Christmas time was all about what

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I could get, right?

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So all year, I was getting my
Christmas list ready, making sure

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that, you know, I got
everything that I wanted.

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And Christmas was all about me.

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Okay?

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It was all about me getting something.

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And you say that sounds pretty selfish.

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Well, I am an only child, and
so that's kind of how it goes.

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Okay?

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So it was all about me.

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And I was like, yes, what am I
going to get this year?

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And then Christmas would come,
I'd rip open the presents, I would

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be excited, and I can't wait
to tell my friends, I can't wait

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to tell everyone at school
what I got.

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And it was all about me.

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But then as we got older, as I
got older, the maturity level changed,

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and it wasn't all about me.

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It was now about my children.

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And now how I could find a way
to make my children have that same

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excitement, right?

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I want to share with my
children what I got to experience,

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that excitement of Christmas
getting a gift.

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And so it wasn't so much
about, well, what am I going to get

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this year?

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It was more about.

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The conversation in our house
was like this, what are we going

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to get the kids this year?

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Number one, what can we afford
this year?

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And what.

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What.

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What do we want to have in our
house for the rest of the year?

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You know, some of those gifts
that you get that you don't always

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think about the implication of
it later.

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It might be really loud or you
might step on in the middle of the

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night.

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How many of you ever stepped
on a Lego in the middle of the night?

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That's not.

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That is one of the most
painful experiences I've ever had.

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Okay?

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But the idea for us now, as
mature parents, hopefully we would

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say that we are, is that it's
all about other people.

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It's about others.

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And that's what the Christian
life's about, right?

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At first, when we taste of the
grace of God, when we hear the gospel,

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we're all excited, and we
should be, yes, I'm saved.

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Yes, I am a beneficiary of
God's grace.

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And so it is all about my transformation.

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But in the process of that
transformation, we.

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We've studied that there is
that spiritual growth process, what

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we call sanctification.

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And in that sanctification
process, the focus goes from what

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I can get to what I can give
as God has given me.

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And so we get to this passage
here in the book of acts, Acts chapter

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20, and we're going to go all
the way down to the end of the chapter

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and we're going to look at
verse number 32, verse 32, and we're

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going to see this perspective
of, you know, actually as a believer,

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as we have received the grace
of God, it's better that we give

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than we actually receive.

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And so it's a humbled focus.

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It's a selfless submission to
what God has called us to do in service.

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So first excuse, let's look at
this here in Acts chapter 20.

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Then we'll go to First Peter,
Acts chapter 20, verse 32 says, and

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now, brethren, I commend you
to God and to the word of his grace,

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which is able to build you up
and give you an inheritance among

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all them which are sanctified.

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So this speaks of we are the
ones that are built up in the grace

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of God.

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Then he says, I have coveted
no man's silver or gold or apparel.

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You know, to be a good gift
giver, you can't be coveting other

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people's stuff.

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You can't be so focused on
what you want and what you can get

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from other people.

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It's all about what you can
give to other people.

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And that humility says, I've
showed you all things how that so

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laboring ye ought to support
the weak.

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And to remember the words of
the Lord Jesus, how He said, it is

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more blessed to give than to receive.

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I want you to think about that
phrase there at the end of that verse.

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It is more blessed to give
than receive.

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And the concept of this.

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I believe that what is being
taught here is that thing that we

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see in Philippians chapter
two, that that selfless humility

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of Christ that that we should
be looking for opportunities to minister

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to other people, to build
other people up.

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We are going to naturally be
built up in Christ if we are abiding

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in Him.

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The Bible says that if we live
in Christ, if we live in his word,

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if we commune with him, if we
fellowship with him, we are going

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to be built up and established
in our faith.

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We are going to be
strengthened, we're going to be encouraged,

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we're going to be comforted,
we're going to have all of those

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things that God promises us.

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But that's not to hold to
ourselves, that is to share with

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other people around us.

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And so I want you to look with
me to first Peter, chapter four.

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So we're in Acts, chapter 20.

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We're going to move to first
Peter, chapter four, and we're going

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to kind of build this case to
the spiritual gifts being lived out

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within our church.

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So let's look at First Peter,
chapter four, and we're going to

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look at verse number 10 and 11.

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This kind of explains to us
the perspective that we are to have

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as God gifts us with spiritual
gifts that we are to share and minister

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to others in.

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So let's go ahead and look at
1 Peter, chapter 4, and look at verse

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number 10 and 11.

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So we've already established
this idea that when we abide in Christ,

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we are living in his grace, we
are living in his forgiveness, we

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are living in his love, we are
living in his power.

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And then we.

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We then see in verse 10, it
says, as every man hath received

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the gift.

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And so here, obviously he's
talking about salvation, but more

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than just salvation, he's
talking about a spiritual gift of

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service.

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We're going to see that here
in a few moments.

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So he says, you've received
salvation and now you received a

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gift, a spiritual gift in service.

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So he says, every man hath
received the gift.

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Even so, minister.

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That word minister means to serve.

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Even so, minister the same one
to another.

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So as we've received the gift,
we are to minister one to another.

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We are to serve one another.

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That's the purpose here.

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The purpose of the gift is to serve.

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That's what he's saying.

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And so he says, as you've
received the gift, even so, minister

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the same one to another as
good stewards.

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That word steward means I'm
managing what God already owns.

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And so I'm stewarding what has
been given to me as good stewards

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of the manifold grace of God.

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The word manifold is not a
word that we use quite frequently,

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but it means varied or different.

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It actually literally means
like, different colors.

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And so what we would say there
is this.

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There are going to be people
who are gifted differently within

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the church.

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And it's because of.

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What does it say there at the
end of verse 10?

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Because of God's grace.

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And so God graces us with
different gifts in the body of Christ,

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and it's his discretion.

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It's.

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It's not like, hey, I.

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I've earned this gift today,
or, you know what?

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Because I'm this type of
person, I have the spiritual gift.

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The Bible says very clearly
here that it is God's discernment,

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what spiritual gift he gives us.

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It's because of his grace.

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It's nothing that we earn.

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Sometimes it's taught this way.

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Hey, if you're saved and
you're working really hard, God might

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then grace you with a
spiritual gift.

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That's not what this says.

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This says it's because of the
grace of God that he gives you this

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opportunity to serve.

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This gift is, is literally a
free gift that we did not earn.

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God gives this to us.

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And then it says, if any man speaks.

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So this, this idea has the
concept of these are public gifts.

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These are gifts that are going
to be more on the front side of things.

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People are going to see these gifts.

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If any man speak, let him
speak as of the oracles of God.

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Mean, let him speak in the
word of God.

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If any man ministers.

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So then we see that there's
another side of this.

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There's going to be some gifts
that are exercised publicly and people

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are going to notice, but
there's also going to be ministerial

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gifts that are going to be
behind the scenes and not everyone's

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going to notice.

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And so he says, if you speak,
speak of the oracles of God.

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If any man minister or serve,
let him do it.

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Do it as of the ability which
God giveth, meaning God is going

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to give you the ability to do this.

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You have to rely on him to do this.

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And so therefore trust and
give in the grace of God.

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So it says that in all things
may be glorified through Jesus Christ,

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that God in all things might
be glorified.

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So the reason why we serve,
the reason why we exercise these

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spiritual gifts is not so that
we get glory, not so that we have

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the acclaim or the praise.

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It says that we do these
things, we serve and we speak so

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

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The point of exercising our
spiritual gifts is so that God would

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be glorified in Christ Jesus.

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00:10:16,844 --> 00:10:20,012
And then it says here, to whom
be praise and dominion forever and

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00:10:20,036 --> 00:10:20,268
ever.

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00:10:20,324 --> 00:10:24,300
So we can kind of frame this
idea of the spiritual gifts in this

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way.

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00:10:24,844 --> 00:10:30,490
They are given to us after
salvation from God through his grace,

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00:10:30,910 --> 00:10:34,262
so that we can serve publicly
and privately for the cause of the

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00:10:34,286 --> 00:10:35,926
gospel, for the glory of God.

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00:10:36,038 --> 00:10:40,166
And we do that so that we can
exalt the name of Christ.

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That's the idea of a spiritual gift.

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00:10:42,342 --> 00:10:45,206
Now we're going to go to
Romans chapter 12 and Romans chapter

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00:10:45,238 --> 00:10:48,210
12 is going to be our main
text for the next two weeks.

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00:10:49,630 --> 00:10:50,770
And there are.

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00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,416
There are other passages of
scripture that speak of spiritual

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00:10:54,448 --> 00:10:54,736
gifts.

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00:10:54,768 --> 00:10:58,880
But In Romans chapter 12 we
see a succinct list of what I call

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00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,776
and what many other people
call the ministering gifts, the service

257
00:11:01,848 --> 00:11:02,368
gifts.

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00:11:02,464 --> 00:11:05,280
These are the gifts within the
church that we would practice in

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00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,928
helping others, serving
others, and ultimately teaching and

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00:11:08,984 --> 00:11:11,056
guiding others in the truth of
Jesus Christ.

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00:11:11,208 --> 00:11:13,312
We're not going to go through
all of them here today, but what

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00:11:13,336 --> 00:11:17,232
I would like to do is I would
like for us to see how we can properly

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00:11:17,296 --> 00:11:21,260
exercise these spiritual gifts
that God has given us, how we can

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00:11:21,300 --> 00:11:24,908
properly give these gifts back
to the Lord, back to people within

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00:11:24,964 --> 00:11:28,364
our church, and so that we can
exercise these in the truth of the

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00:11:28,372 --> 00:11:28,924
Word of God.

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00:11:28,972 --> 00:11:31,532
So Romans, chapter 12, we're
going to start in verse number one.

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00:11:31,636 --> 00:11:34,220
All of you are probably
familiar in some way, shape or form

269
00:11:34,260 --> 00:11:37,564
with verses one and two, but
we're going to get down from verses

270
00:11:37,612 --> 00:11:39,596
three through eight and we're
going to look at these spiritual

271
00:11:39,628 --> 00:11:40,588
gifts that are listed.

272
00:11:40,684 --> 00:11:43,132
So it says, I beseech you,
therefore, brethren, by the mercies

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00:11:43,196 --> 00:11:46,636
of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, wholly

274
00:11:46,668 --> 00:11:49,696
acceptable unto God, who which
is your reasonable service, meaning

275
00:11:49,728 --> 00:11:50,352
this?

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00:11:50,536 --> 00:11:54,220
We are called by God to give
him everything.

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00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:55,200
And.

278
00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,032
And he says, present your
bodies a living sacrifice.

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00:11:58,096 --> 00:11:59,344
God wants our lives.

280
00:11:59,432 --> 00:12:02,112
God wants not just your Sunday morning.

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00:12:02,296 --> 00:12:02,688
He.

282
00:12:02,744 --> 00:12:03,856
He wants more than that.

283
00:12:03,928 --> 00:12:05,488
He doesn't just want 10%.

284
00:12:05,544 --> 00:12:06,992
He wants 100% of you.

285
00:12:07,016 --> 00:12:08,140
He wants everything.

286
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:13,926
He says he wants your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy or separate

287
00:12:14,088 --> 00:12:17,770
unto God, which is your
reasonable service, meaning this

288
00:12:17,810 --> 00:12:19,050
is only reasonable.

289
00:12:19,210 --> 00:12:22,074
This is how you serve God for
what he has done for you.

290
00:12:22,242 --> 00:12:24,074
And be not conformed to this world.

291
00:12:24,162 --> 00:12:27,082
So don't allow the world to
tell you what this looks like, but

292
00:12:27,106 --> 00:12:29,434
be transformed by the renewing
of your mind.

293
00:12:29,522 --> 00:12:32,122
We renew our minds by the word
of God and by the leading of the

294
00:12:32,146 --> 00:12:36,282
Spirit that you may prove what
is that good and acceptable and perfect

295
00:12:36,346 --> 00:12:36,954
will of God.

296
00:12:37,002 --> 00:12:40,442
So if you want to follow in
the will of God, be transformed by

297
00:12:40,466 --> 00:12:43,134
the renewing of your mind to
the Word, so that you're not guided

298
00:12:43,182 --> 00:12:45,678
by the world, but you're
guided by the Spirit, so that you're

299
00:12:45,694 --> 00:12:48,766
not guided by your flesh, but
you're guided by the Lord.

300
00:12:48,798 --> 00:12:52,062
And so what we can see here in
this case is that there is that whole

301
00:12:52,126 --> 00:12:56,078
transformation that happens in
salvation that happens in sanctification,

302
00:12:56,174 --> 00:12:59,406
that we as Christians must
follow to live out these spiritual

303
00:12:59,438 --> 00:13:00,254
gifts in our life.

304
00:13:00,342 --> 00:13:03,806
But what I will say is that I
believe Scripture teaches very clearly

305
00:13:03,918 --> 00:13:07,470
that all Christians, all folks
that have come to Jesus Christ in

306
00:13:07,510 --> 00:13:11,060
faith, have received at least
one of these spiritual gifts.

307
00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,992
Some of you might be gifted in
many of these areas and And I want

308
00:13:15,016 --> 00:13:17,520
to preface this study with this.

309
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,312
I have heard some people say,
well, you know what?

310
00:13:19,336 --> 00:13:22,720
I'm not gifted in the gift of
fill in the blank.

311
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,632
And so therefore, I don't need
to exercise in that ministry.

312
00:13:25,776 --> 00:13:28,592
Well, I would challenge you on
that because we're going to see that

313
00:13:28,616 --> 00:13:32,192
there is the gift of
exhortation or encouragement.

314
00:13:32,336 --> 00:13:34,784
Well, I'm not really gifted in
encouraging people, so I'm just not

315
00:13:34,792 --> 00:13:35,280
going to do that.

316
00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,148
No, exercise just means all
the more we need to strive to grow

317
00:13:38,204 --> 00:13:38,788
in these areas.

318
00:13:38,844 --> 00:13:41,924
And so all of these areas are
elements of a Christian's life that

319
00:13:41,932 --> 00:13:42,948
we should exercise.

320
00:13:43,044 --> 00:13:46,004
But what the Bible says is
that some of us are supernaturally

321
00:13:46,052 --> 00:13:48,756
gifted in some of these areas
more than others.

322
00:13:48,908 --> 00:13:51,700
And so therefore, exercise in
these categories, you can be more

323
00:13:51,740 --> 00:13:55,172
effective in these categories
if you follow the Spirit in your

324
00:13:55,196 --> 00:13:55,428
life.

325
00:13:55,484 --> 00:13:57,780
And so let's look at what it
says in verse three.

326
00:13:57,820 --> 00:14:02,230
It says, for I say through the
grace given unto me to every man

327
00:14:02,270 --> 00:14:02,982
that is among you.

328
00:14:03,006 --> 00:14:06,502
And we see that it's every
person, every person, every Christian

329
00:14:06,566 --> 00:14:10,838
within the church not to think
of himself more highly than he ought

330
00:14:10,854 --> 00:14:11,542
to think.

331
00:14:11,726 --> 00:14:14,870
So we see again that there is
that theme of humility every time

332
00:14:14,910 --> 00:14:16,406
we're speaking of the
spiritual gifts.

333
00:14:16,438 --> 00:14:17,890
It's not about us.

334
00:14:18,270 --> 00:14:19,142
It's humility.

335
00:14:19,206 --> 00:14:20,290
It's about others.

336
00:14:21,070 --> 00:14:25,222
And I think that that is a
phrase that we should use in our

337
00:14:25,246 --> 00:14:27,610
society today because it's countercultural.

338
00:14:28,290 --> 00:14:29,370
What does the culture say?

339
00:14:29,410 --> 00:14:32,590
Think more highly of yourself,
exalt yourself.

340
00:14:33,170 --> 00:14:35,866
You know, you are above
everybody else.

341
00:14:35,978 --> 00:14:37,510
But what does the Bible say?

342
00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:39,034
This is countercultural.

343
00:14:39,082 --> 00:14:40,938
This is not popular.

344
00:14:41,034 --> 00:14:45,098
It says, don't think of
yourself more highly than you ought

345
00:14:45,114 --> 00:14:45,370
to think.

346
00:14:45,410 --> 00:14:47,722
Now, it doesn't say, think
less of yourself in the concept of

347
00:14:47,746 --> 00:14:51,834
like, think poorly of
yourself, but don't think about yourself

348
00:14:51,882 --> 00:14:53,030
higher than you should.

349
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:54,500
So, so what does that mean?

350
00:14:54,540 --> 00:14:56,804
That means, obviously, we
should have respect for our bodies.

351
00:14:56,852 --> 00:14:59,476
We should have respect for
what we decide to do in our lives.

352
00:14:59,628 --> 00:15:01,428
So it's not about harming
yourself here.

353
00:15:01,484 --> 00:15:04,100
It's not about degrading
yourself, but it's talking about

354
00:15:04,140 --> 00:15:06,932
having a proper perspective of
who you are in Christ.

355
00:15:07,116 --> 00:15:11,108
And the moment we don't align
ourselves with our position under

356
00:15:11,164 --> 00:15:12,740
Christ is where we have issues.

357
00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:15,444
And when we start exalting
ourselves as the center of the universe,

358
00:15:15,492 --> 00:15:18,772
like I did when I was getting
those gifts, right, I had no other

359
00:15:18,796 --> 00:15:20,358
focus other than receiving
that gift.

360
00:15:20,444 --> 00:15:22,722
The Bible says, and then we've
gotten ourselves in the wrong place.

361
00:15:22,746 --> 00:15:25,298
And so he says, don't think of
yourself more Highly than you ought

362
00:15:25,314 --> 00:15:25,938
to think.

363
00:15:26,074 --> 00:15:29,830
But also think as it says
there, but to think soberly.

364
00:15:30,730 --> 00:15:34,594
The Bible calls this sober
thinking, basically being serious

365
00:15:34,642 --> 00:15:35,874
about the right things.

366
00:15:36,042 --> 00:15:36,722
All right?

367
00:15:36,826 --> 00:15:37,138
H.

368
00:15:37,194 --> 00:15:42,098
Having a sense of gravity to
the situation that we are in.

369
00:15:42,234 --> 00:15:42,818
Right.

370
00:15:42,954 --> 00:15:45,298
Thinking soberly doesn't mean
that you have to be serious about

371
00:15:45,354 --> 00:15:45,666
everything.

372
00:15:45,738 --> 00:15:46,018
Right?

373
00:15:46,074 --> 00:15:48,314
And you can't smile and you
can't have a good time.

374
00:15:48,402 --> 00:15:51,258
No, what it's talking about
here is thinking seriously about

375
00:15:51,314 --> 00:15:53,626
the things that need to be
thought seriously about.

376
00:15:53,778 --> 00:15:57,002
And so he says, okay, these
aspects of the spiritual gift, you

377
00:15:57,026 --> 00:15:59,754
have to have humility and you
have to have that sober thinking,

378
00:15:59,882 --> 00:16:03,418
according as God have dealt to
every man the measure of faith, meaning

379
00:16:03,514 --> 00:16:07,306
each one of you in faith has
been gifted one of these spiritual

380
00:16:07,338 --> 00:16:10,218
gifts, at least one of these
spiritual gifts so that you can live

381
00:16:10,274 --> 00:16:13,516
this out amongst the members
of the body of believers.

382
00:16:13,548 --> 00:16:15,020
And we see that in verse
number four.

383
00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:18,876
For as we have many members in
one body, there's.

384
00:16:18,908 --> 00:16:21,276
There's an explanation about
this in First Corinthians, but the

385
00:16:21,348 --> 00:16:23,788
picture is, is that the church
is a body, right?

386
00:16:23,844 --> 00:16:26,572
So you have some that might be
the hand, some that might be the

387
00:16:26,596 --> 00:16:27,200
feet.

388
00:16:27,700 --> 00:16:29,276
A foot and a hand are
different, right?

389
00:16:29,348 --> 00:16:32,588
And they function differently,
but yet they are needed for a body

390
00:16:32,644 --> 00:16:34,860
to be working completely properly.

391
00:16:34,940 --> 00:16:37,676
And so what he says here is
that we as a church have different

392
00:16:37,748 --> 00:16:41,922
members, different members of
the body, and all members have not

393
00:16:41,946 --> 00:16:44,830
the same office, which means
they don't have the same job.

394
00:16:45,290 --> 00:16:47,442
So I'm looking around the
church here and I see different folks.

395
00:16:47,506 --> 00:16:50,642
If everyone said, you know
what, we're all going to work in

396
00:16:50,826 --> 00:16:54,790
the audio visual ministry, all
of us feel like that's our ministry.

397
00:16:55,130 --> 00:16:57,282
A couple things might go wrong here.

398
00:16:57,386 --> 00:16:59,522
We don't have a big enough
sound booth to have everyone get

399
00:16:59,546 --> 00:16:59,890
back there.

400
00:16:59,930 --> 00:17:00,466
Right.

401
00:17:00,618 --> 00:17:03,634
Other things is, and the Bible
says is that everyone is gifted in

402
00:17:03,642 --> 00:17:04,540
the same area.

403
00:17:04,690 --> 00:17:07,096
There's going to be different
areas where you can be gifted in

404
00:17:07,168 --> 00:17:08,344
and there's going to be diversity.

405
00:17:08,392 --> 00:17:09,736
And that's a beautiful thing.

406
00:17:09,888 --> 00:17:12,088
A lot of times we think of it
as this.

407
00:17:12,224 --> 00:17:17,100
There is unity, but not uniformity.

408
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:18,776
You understand what I mean by that?

409
00:17:18,848 --> 00:17:21,624
We have unity working
together, but there's not uniformity

410
00:17:21,672 --> 00:17:23,688
in the concept that we all
have to be the same.

411
00:17:23,824 --> 00:17:26,376
What if I got up here and
said, everyone has to be like me.

412
00:17:26,528 --> 00:17:29,208
Everyone has to serve in the
exact ministry that I'm serving it.

413
00:17:29,264 --> 00:17:31,964
Everyone has to serve in the
exact way that I serve.

414
00:17:32,072 --> 00:17:33,972
Everyone has to deal with
other people the same way that I

415
00:17:33,996 --> 00:17:34,228
serve.

416
00:17:34,244 --> 00:17:36,324
That's going to be a big
issue, because number one, that's

417
00:17:36,372 --> 00:17:38,836
anti biblical, but number two,
that's just not going to function

418
00:17:38,868 --> 00:17:39,252
well.

419
00:17:39,356 --> 00:17:42,500
And so what we see here is
that there's this diversity of gifts.

420
00:17:42,580 --> 00:17:44,852
All members have, not the same office.

421
00:17:45,036 --> 00:17:48,804
So we, being many, are one
body in Christ, and that's the unity

422
00:17:48,852 --> 00:17:49,348
there.

423
00:17:49,484 --> 00:17:52,420
So if we're not working in
step with each other, if we're not

424
00:17:52,460 --> 00:17:55,748
working in unity, then there's
going to be some problems, there's

425
00:17:55,764 --> 00:17:57,846
going to be some pain, there's
going to be some struggles.

426
00:17:57,948 --> 00:17:59,906
Now, there's always going to
be pain and struggles within serving

427
00:17:59,938 --> 00:18:00,418
the Lord.

428
00:18:00,514 --> 00:18:03,058
But what the Bible tells us
here is that when we work together,

429
00:18:03,114 --> 00:18:06,306
we're able to overcome those
difficulties when we're following

430
00:18:06,378 --> 00:18:09,650
the plan of God and the plan
that God has laid out for us as believers.

431
00:18:09,730 --> 00:18:12,818
I've used this analogy many
times before, but it's the best analogy

432
00:18:12,834 --> 00:18:15,938
that I can come up with when
it comes to having a little thing

433
00:18:15,994 --> 00:18:17,710
causing major issues in your life.

434
00:18:18,570 --> 00:18:18,978
So.

435
00:18:19,034 --> 00:18:22,402
So my body, I think, I mean,
this was probably when Micah was

436
00:18:22,426 --> 00:18:24,074
a baby, had an issue.

437
00:18:24,202 --> 00:18:27,994
And the issue was one day I
got home from school, I was teaching.

438
00:18:28,042 --> 00:18:28,602
I wasn't.

439
00:18:28,666 --> 00:18:30,970
I wasn't in school while Micah
was a baby.

440
00:18:31,050 --> 00:18:32,550
I was teaching in school.

441
00:18:33,410 --> 00:18:34,870
Make sure I'm clear on that.

442
00:18:35,250 --> 00:18:36,122
I was teaching.

443
00:18:36,186 --> 00:18:39,626
I got home from school and I
was like, man, got like some stomach

444
00:18:39,658 --> 00:18:39,866
pains.

445
00:18:39,898 --> 00:18:41,030
This is not good.

446
00:18:41,410 --> 00:18:41,818
So.

447
00:18:41,874 --> 00:18:43,946
So I was like, I'm having some
pain here.

448
00:18:44,018 --> 00:18:46,074
And I told Alicia and she's
like, all right, well, you know,

449
00:18:46,162 --> 00:18:47,146
you want some Tylenol?

450
00:18:47,178 --> 00:18:49,514
And I was like, yeah, maybe
grab some Tylenol.

451
00:18:49,562 --> 00:18:50,890
And she's like, all right, we
don't think we have any.

452
00:18:50,930 --> 00:18:52,330
So I'm going to go to the
store and get you some.

453
00:18:52,370 --> 00:18:53,140
Some medicine.

454
00:18:53,250 --> 00:18:54,688
I was feeling like just a dull pain.

455
00:18:54,704 --> 00:18:57,552
And all of a sudden that pain
got worse and worse and worse.

456
00:18:57,616 --> 00:19:00,320
And I finally was like, oh,
man, this is really bad.

457
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:01,472
And I thought I was dying.

458
00:19:01,536 --> 00:19:03,536
I literally felt my stomach
was about to explode.

459
00:19:03,568 --> 00:19:07,024
I thought I was going to, you
know, see Jesus right then and there,

460
00:19:07,112 --> 00:19:09,184
which I'm okay with, but it
hurt a lot.

461
00:19:09,352 --> 00:19:12,592
And so I didn't have my phone
by me and I couldn't walk at this

462
00:19:12,616 --> 00:19:12,800
point.

463
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,792
So I crawled all the way down
to the back room in our house, and

464
00:19:15,816 --> 00:19:18,592
I grabbed my phone and I
called Alicia saying, hey, where

465
00:19:18,616 --> 00:19:18,832
are you?

466
00:19:18,856 --> 00:19:19,648
I need to go to the hospital.

467
00:19:19,704 --> 00:19:20,688
She's like, well, I'm getting
you some.

468
00:19:20,744 --> 00:19:21,296
Some medicine.

469
00:19:21,328 --> 00:19:23,242
I'm like, that medicine is not
going to help.

470
00:19:23,266 --> 00:19:24,202
What's happening here right now.

471
00:19:24,226 --> 00:19:25,770
I'm like, I am about to die.

472
00:19:25,930 --> 00:19:28,810
So we got to the emergency
room and obviously, long story, long,

473
00:19:28,850 --> 00:19:30,666
long story, I'll make it as
short as I can.

474
00:19:30,738 --> 00:19:33,242
I had kidney, a kidney stone,
actually, two kidney stones at that

475
00:19:33,266 --> 00:19:33,830
time.

476
00:19:34,130 --> 00:19:38,602
And, and so that little thing
in my body caused my whole body to

477
00:19:38,626 --> 00:19:39,658
have pain and suffering.

478
00:19:39,754 --> 00:19:40,202
Right?

479
00:19:40,306 --> 00:19:41,242
My hand wasn't.

480
00:19:41,306 --> 00:19:44,778
There was no issue with my
hand at that point, but I wasn't

481
00:19:44,794 --> 00:19:46,394
like, well, at least my hand's
feeling good today.

482
00:19:46,482 --> 00:19:47,610
It was, it was, it was.

483
00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:51,718
The issue in my kidney was
that was the problem that my whole

484
00:19:51,734 --> 00:19:52,326
body had.

485
00:19:52,398 --> 00:19:53,990
And that's how it can happen
within the church.

486
00:19:54,070 --> 00:19:56,774
The Bible says that, hey, we
can all be functioning pretty well,

487
00:19:56,862 --> 00:19:59,670
but if there's one element of
that body that's off, the whole body

488
00:19:59,710 --> 00:20:00,678
is going to feel that.

489
00:20:00,734 --> 00:20:03,238
And we might not be able to
discern what's going on, but there's

490
00:20:03,254 --> 00:20:03,990
going to be an issue there.

491
00:20:04,030 --> 00:20:05,206
So we have to be unified.

492
00:20:05,318 --> 00:20:08,822
And the way that we're unified
is by serving in the capacity that

493
00:20:08,846 --> 00:20:10,650
God has us within the ministry.

494
00:20:10,990 --> 00:20:12,134
And so that's what he's saying here.

495
00:20:12,142 --> 00:20:16,342
He says, so, so we being many,
are one body in Christ and everyone

496
00:20:16,446 --> 00:20:17,884
members of one another as then.

497
00:20:17,892 --> 00:20:21,004
He's going to say this in
verse 6, having then gifts differing

498
00:20:21,052 --> 00:20:22,044
according to.

499
00:20:22,212 --> 00:20:23,260
We're seeing a theme here.

500
00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:27,228
The grace that is given to us,
it's a gift of grace.

501
00:20:27,404 --> 00:20:31,180
The, the fact that God has
given us an avenue of service within

502
00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:33,084
the ministry is a gift.

503
00:20:33,212 --> 00:20:34,156
It's a gift of grace.

504
00:20:34,188 --> 00:20:35,320
You didn't earn it.

505
00:20:35,860 --> 00:20:38,300
You know, there, there's a lot
of times in my life that I might

506
00:20:38,340 --> 00:20:39,692
start to be tempted to think,
you know what?

507
00:20:39,716 --> 00:20:40,620
I've done a good job.

508
00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:43,740
And maybe, maybe God has given
me this because I've earned this

509
00:20:43,780 --> 00:20:44,266
note.

510
00:20:44,388 --> 00:20:47,422
Every element of your life
that is good, the Bible says, is

511
00:20:47,446 --> 00:20:48,222
a gift of God.

512
00:20:48,286 --> 00:20:50,846
Every good gift and every
perfect gift comes down from God.

513
00:20:50,878 --> 00:20:52,206
That's James, chapter one.

514
00:20:52,358 --> 00:20:55,502
And so what we can see here in
our life is that sometimes the, the

515
00:20:55,526 --> 00:21:00,286
temptation for us is to think
about the opportunity to serve as

516
00:21:00,358 --> 00:21:02,574
not a gift, but as an inconvenience.

517
00:21:02,702 --> 00:21:03,502
You ever think about that?

518
00:21:03,526 --> 00:21:05,726
You ever think like, oh, boy,
I got to do something nice for someone,

519
00:21:05,798 --> 00:21:06,958
I got to go out of my way?

520
00:21:07,014 --> 00:21:08,446
No, the Bible says that is a gift.

521
00:21:08,478 --> 00:21:11,346
That is a blessing to be able
to, to serve, that is a blessing

522
00:21:11,378 --> 00:21:15,106
to teach, it is a blessing to
serve God in your capacity within

523
00:21:15,178 --> 00:21:16,770
the body of believers.

524
00:21:16,930 --> 00:21:19,266
You might say, well, what does
this have to do with Christmas?

525
00:21:19,298 --> 00:21:23,442
Well, not really anything but
the idea is, is that we as a, we

526
00:21:23,466 --> 00:21:26,190
as a church have been gifted
so much.

527
00:21:26,730 --> 00:21:31,106
Number one in salvation, but
number two in the concept of service.

528
00:21:31,258 --> 00:21:31,810
Like, to.

529
00:21:31,850 --> 00:21:35,752
To be able to serve other
Christians is a blessing.

530
00:21:35,946 --> 00:21:36,460
It should.

531
00:21:36,500 --> 00:21:37,516
It should excite us.

532
00:21:37,588 --> 00:21:40,508
We should wake up in the
morning and go, wow, I get to do

533
00:21:40,564 --> 00:21:41,788
this for the Lord.

534
00:21:41,884 --> 00:21:43,788
I get to do this for his people.

535
00:21:43,924 --> 00:21:47,276
I get to teach, I get to preach.

536
00:21:47,388 --> 00:21:48,732
I get to serve.

537
00:21:48,796 --> 00:21:50,092
I get to encourage.

538
00:21:50,156 --> 00:21:51,164
I get to give.

539
00:21:51,252 --> 00:21:54,828
And so the whole point here is
that we as Christians sometimes,

540
00:21:54,844 --> 00:21:57,372
if we're not careful, can be.

541
00:21:57,556 --> 00:21:59,740
You ever seen that story, the,
the Christmas Carol?

542
00:21:59,820 --> 00:22:01,584
You have Ebenezer Scrooge.

543
00:22:01,772 --> 00:22:03,544
You guys know who Ebenezer
Scrooge is, right?

544
00:22:03,552 --> 00:22:04,856
He hoards everything to himself.

545
00:22:04,888 --> 00:22:06,296
He doesn't want to give it to anybody.

546
00:22:06,408 --> 00:22:07,704
Look at all this wealth.

547
00:22:07,752 --> 00:22:09,576
Look at all these storehouses, folks.

548
00:22:09,688 --> 00:22:12,296
Sometimes we can be like
Ebenezer Scrooge in our Christian

549
00:22:12,328 --> 00:22:12,776
faith.

550
00:22:12,888 --> 00:22:13,880
It's all about me.

551
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:15,336
It's all about what I can get.

552
00:22:15,408 --> 00:22:16,632
All the prayers are for me.

553
00:22:16,656 --> 00:22:20,712
And the focus sometimes misses
the point in the fact that we are

554
00:22:20,736 --> 00:22:21,688
supposed to be here for others.

555
00:22:21,744 --> 00:22:23,272
That's what the Bible tells us.

556
00:22:23,376 --> 00:22:24,504
We're not here for ourselves.

557
00:22:24,552 --> 00:22:26,912
We're here for the Lord
ultimately and for his people.

558
00:22:27,056 --> 00:22:29,744
So it says then having gifts
differing according to the grace

559
00:22:29,792 --> 00:22:30,960
that is given to us.

560
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,304
And then he starts to list
some of these gifts, and we're going

561
00:22:34,312 --> 00:22:34,976
to talk about these.

562
00:22:35,048 --> 00:22:38,160
And, and the goal for us
through these two studies is for

563
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,208
you to see what scripture has
to say about these ministering gifts,

564
00:22:42,304 --> 00:22:45,536
these service gifts, and see
where you fall in on these gifts.

565
00:22:45,648 --> 00:22:47,648
I'm going to tell you that
each one of you, if you're a believer

566
00:22:47,664 --> 00:22:50,944
in Jesus Christ and you have
faith, have an opportunity to exercise

567
00:22:50,992 --> 00:22:52,556
these gifts within the ministry.

568
00:22:52,688 --> 00:22:53,652
Service ministries.

569
00:22:53,716 --> 00:22:56,480
Now, let me go ahead and kind
of clarify another thing.

570
00:22:56,780 --> 00:22:58,932
This is going to sound
somewhat like a teaching lesson here

571
00:22:58,956 --> 00:23:01,876
today, but I, I need to teach
you this because I think that sometimes

572
00:23:01,908 --> 00:23:03,476
I've even fallen into this trap.

573
00:23:03,588 --> 00:23:06,480
Okay, so let's say there's
someone here that's a great cook,

574
00:23:07,100 --> 00:23:08,020
okay?

575
00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:11,280
You're the best cook in town,
and I don't doubt that you are.

576
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:15,716
I've heard some people say,
well, my spiritual gift is cooking.

577
00:23:15,908 --> 00:23:18,692
Well, let me, let me stop you
on that.

578
00:23:18,716 --> 00:23:20,836
I don't see anywhere in
Scripture where it says, spiritual

579
00:23:20,868 --> 00:23:21,556
gift is cooking.

580
00:23:21,588 --> 00:23:24,972
Now, if you can find a passage
of scripture, I would love to see

581
00:23:24,996 --> 00:23:25,612
that.

582
00:23:25,796 --> 00:23:28,972
But I do see that there are
many spiritual Gifts that.

583
00:23:28,996 --> 00:23:30,684
That could fall under, right?

584
00:23:30,772 --> 00:23:32,668
So God gives us natural talents.

585
00:23:32,764 --> 00:23:35,080
Do you have to be a Christian
to be a good cook?

586
00:23:36,660 --> 00:23:37,836
I don't think so.

587
00:23:37,988 --> 00:23:41,052
I don't go and ask every
single, you know, chef that's at

588
00:23:41,076 --> 00:23:43,580
this, the, you know,
restaurants, hey, are you a believer?

589
00:23:43,660 --> 00:23:45,004
Do you have the spiritual gift
of cooking?

590
00:23:45,052 --> 00:23:46,444
No, I enjoy the food and I eat it.

591
00:23:46,452 --> 00:23:46,716
Right.

592
00:23:46,788 --> 00:23:50,222
And so there's this concept
that I think sometimes that we conflate.

593
00:23:50,286 --> 00:23:50,654
We.

594
00:23:50,742 --> 00:23:56,846
We put together natural gifts
that God gives us in our life, and

595
00:23:56,918 --> 00:23:59,150
we conflate them with
spiritual gifts.

596
00:23:59,310 --> 00:24:02,382
Now, if God has naturally
gifted you in cooking, you could

597
00:24:02,406 --> 00:24:03,934
use that for all of these categories.

598
00:24:03,982 --> 00:24:06,894
You could use this for the,
you could teach other people how

599
00:24:06,902 --> 00:24:08,590
to cook and use that for the ministry.

600
00:24:08,670 --> 00:24:10,846
You could encourage people by
cooking them food.

601
00:24:10,918 --> 00:24:11,294
You.

602
00:24:11,382 --> 00:24:12,782
You could serve people, right?

603
00:24:12,806 --> 00:24:13,902
That's a great opportunity.

604
00:24:13,966 --> 00:24:17,718
So you see the difference God
can give people with, with these

605
00:24:17,774 --> 00:24:20,406
awesome talents, let's call
them talents, right?

606
00:24:20,478 --> 00:24:22,102
Someone could get up and sing, right?

607
00:24:22,126 --> 00:24:23,046
That's a natural talent.

608
00:24:23,078 --> 00:24:26,342
But we know that that's not
only like something that a Christian

609
00:24:26,406 --> 00:24:28,134
indwelled by the Spirit can do.

610
00:24:28,302 --> 00:24:31,174
And so what we're going to
actually see is that within the context

611
00:24:31,222 --> 00:24:34,502
of spiritual gifts, you must
have the Holy Spirit indwelling you

612
00:24:34,526 --> 00:24:36,150
to exercise these properly.

613
00:24:36,310 --> 00:24:40,710
And so God gives us natural
talents in our life so that we can

614
00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:43,014
utilize them for these
spiritual gifts.

615
00:24:43,142 --> 00:24:45,798
So the first one we're going
to see here in verse number six,

616
00:24:45,854 --> 00:24:50,010
then is this says, and whether prophecy.

617
00:24:50,510 --> 00:24:54,582
Now some of you might say
prophecy, what is that?

618
00:24:54,766 --> 00:24:58,678
Literally, prophecy means to
speak forth the truth.

619
00:24:58,854 --> 00:25:01,302
Now, when we hear that word,
prophecy, what do we naturally think?

620
00:25:01,326 --> 00:25:03,798
We think about someone talking
about the future, right?

621
00:25:03,854 --> 00:25:05,974
I'm going to prophetically
tell you what your day is going to

622
00:25:05,982 --> 00:25:06,886
be like tomorrow.

623
00:25:06,998 --> 00:25:07,510
Okay?

624
00:25:07,590 --> 00:25:10,524
That's not exclusively what
this word means.

625
00:25:10,692 --> 00:25:14,188
It actually primarily is used
in scripture with speaking forth

626
00:25:14,284 --> 00:25:15,532
the truth of God.

627
00:25:15,676 --> 00:25:19,708
Now, in many cases in the Old
Testament, it was God speaking through

628
00:25:19,764 --> 00:25:21,884
prophets and speaking about
the future, right?

629
00:25:21,972 --> 00:25:24,988
And so the fulfilled word of
God comes along and there's elements

630
00:25:25,084 --> 00:25:26,796
of those prophecies being fulfilled.

631
00:25:26,828 --> 00:25:30,924
And obviously, we see many of
the prophecies in the Old Testament

632
00:25:30,972 --> 00:25:32,940
pointing to Jesus Christ and
the Messiah, right?

633
00:25:32,980 --> 00:25:34,594
He's going to be born in Bethlehem.

634
00:25:34,772 --> 00:25:37,142
He's going to ride in on a
donkey eventually, right?

635
00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:37,990
There's all these different.

636
00:25:38,030 --> 00:25:39,366
He's going to die on the cross
for our sins.

637
00:25:39,398 --> 00:25:41,446
Isaiah 53 is a prophetic passage.

638
00:25:41,558 --> 00:25:44,838
But I will say that that gift
of prophecy today is primarily seen

639
00:25:44,894 --> 00:25:46,710
through speaking forth the
word of God.

640
00:25:46,790 --> 00:25:50,294
So an individual who is gifted
in the area of prophecy is going

641
00:25:50,302 --> 00:25:54,710
to be someone that gets up and
is able to proclaim the truth of

642
00:25:54,750 --> 00:25:59,974
God publicly or maybe even in
the setting of private preaching

643
00:26:00,022 --> 00:26:00,726
forth the word of God.

644
00:26:00,758 --> 00:26:03,464
So you could ultimately lump
this together with someone who is

645
00:26:03,472 --> 00:26:08,168
a preacher, someone who is
able to preach and proclaim the word

646
00:26:08,184 --> 00:26:08,504
of God.

647
00:26:08,552 --> 00:26:11,128
Now, the word preach just
literally means to proclaim.

648
00:26:11,304 --> 00:26:15,528
And so someone who is gifted
in the gift of prophecy is able to

649
00:26:15,584 --> 00:26:18,440
speak forth the truth of God clearly.

650
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,008
And in this case, in many ways
would be able to speak for different

651
00:26:22,064 --> 00:26:23,740
elements of the truth of God.

652
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,872
Many times prophecy is going
to be tied in with teaching, but

653
00:26:26,896 --> 00:26:28,892
it doesn't always have to be
tied in with teaching.

654
00:26:29,016 --> 00:26:33,364
So someone exercising the gift
of prophecy within the guidance of

655
00:26:33,372 --> 00:26:38,404
the Spirit is going to clearly
and properly present and proclaim

656
00:26:38,532 --> 00:26:40,560
the truth of God to others
around them.

657
00:26:41,180 --> 00:26:44,516
And so someone who is
preaching is exercising the gift

658
00:26:44,548 --> 00:26:45,156
of prophecy.

659
00:26:45,188 --> 00:26:47,412
They're speaking forth the
truth of God.

660
00:26:47,556 --> 00:26:50,132
Now you might say, well, I'm
not a pastor, so I can't have this

661
00:26:50,156 --> 00:26:50,596
gift.

662
00:26:50,708 --> 00:26:52,320
I don't think that that's the case.

663
00:26:52,780 --> 00:26:55,654
It doesn't link this with the
office of the pastor.

664
00:26:55,852 --> 00:26:58,658
There is a list in the book of
Ephesians that speaks to different

665
00:26:58,714 --> 00:26:59,874
offices within the church.

666
00:26:59,922 --> 00:27:01,330
That's not what this is
talking about.

667
00:27:01,450 --> 00:27:04,034
I believe that this is talking
about someone who is able to proclaim

668
00:27:04,082 --> 00:27:06,418
the truth of God to those that
are around them.

669
00:27:06,554 --> 00:27:09,922
And so we see that it says, if
they are going to prophesy, let us

670
00:27:09,946 --> 00:27:12,130
prophesy according to the
proportion of faith.

671
00:27:12,210 --> 00:27:15,122
And there's a lot of scholars
who will argue about what that phrase

672
00:27:15,186 --> 00:27:15,842
means.

673
00:27:16,026 --> 00:27:19,938
But what I will say is that
we, as people that are proclaiming

674
00:27:19,954 --> 00:27:22,668
the truth of God must believe
what we are preaching.

675
00:27:22,794 --> 00:27:26,424
We must understand it, we must
believe it, and we must proclaim

676
00:27:26,472 --> 00:27:27,288
it in faith.

677
00:27:27,384 --> 00:27:30,312
And as God gives you different
elements of faith in your life and

678
00:27:30,336 --> 00:27:33,640
grows your faith, you are able
then to proclaim more truths about

679
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:35,080
God in that proportion of faith.

680
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:35,512
You know what?

681
00:27:35,536 --> 00:27:38,824
I preach much different now
than I did 10 years ago.

682
00:27:38,992 --> 00:27:42,472
Because of certain elements in
my life, my faith has grown in Jesus

683
00:27:42,536 --> 00:27:43,000
Christ.

684
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,608
I preach different than I
preached a year ago.

685
00:27:45,744 --> 00:27:48,280
Because let me tell you, most
of you understand this.

686
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,522
As you have certain elements
happen in your life.

687
00:27:50,616 --> 00:27:51,414
You are tested.

688
00:27:51,462 --> 00:27:53,190
You are tested in a trial.

689
00:27:53,270 --> 00:27:54,262
And what does that trial do?

690
00:27:54,286 --> 00:27:57,654
That trial either builds your
faith, or for many people, it destroys

691
00:27:57,702 --> 00:27:58,502
their faith.

692
00:27:58,646 --> 00:28:01,286
And so for a lot of people in
their life, because of a hardship,

693
00:28:01,318 --> 00:28:02,038
they go, you know, What?

694
00:28:02,094 --> 00:28:03,830
I just don't believe in this anymore.

695
00:28:03,910 --> 00:28:06,902
But for other people, a trial
brings them closer to the Lord and

696
00:28:06,926 --> 00:28:08,214
strengthens them in Christ.

697
00:28:08,302 --> 00:28:10,886
And so what I would encourage
you to do is, if you are feeling

698
00:28:10,918 --> 00:28:11,590
like, hey, you know what?

699
00:28:11,630 --> 00:28:11,894
I'm.

700
00:28:11,942 --> 00:28:14,198
I'm proclaiming the truth of
God to people around me.

701
00:28:14,254 --> 00:28:16,150
I'm proclaiming the truth of
God in.

702
00:28:16,190 --> 00:28:18,422
In his word, then do that in faith.

703
00:28:18,486 --> 00:28:22,166
Do that as God has tested you
and guided you in that proportion

704
00:28:22,198 --> 00:28:22,854
of faith.

705
00:28:22,982 --> 00:28:24,650
And so that's one gift.

706
00:28:25,150 --> 00:28:28,006
I'm going to say number two
here, you see the next one.

707
00:28:28,158 --> 00:28:30,102
It says verse seven, or ministry.

708
00:28:30,246 --> 00:28:31,730
Ministry or service.

709
00:28:32,110 --> 00:28:35,046
That word, ministry literally
means service.

710
00:28:35,198 --> 00:28:38,470
The Greek word is the word
that we get the word deacon from,

711
00:28:38,590 --> 00:28:38,870
right?

712
00:28:38,910 --> 00:28:41,766
The role of a deacon within
the church is to serve.

713
00:28:41,878 --> 00:28:44,380
Say, no, no, no, that's not
what it means.

714
00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:46,796
Literally, the word deacon is service.

715
00:28:46,948 --> 00:28:50,652
And so therefore, this word is
not talking about the office of a

716
00:28:50,676 --> 00:28:53,804
deacon, but this is talking
about the characteristic of service

717
00:28:53,892 --> 00:28:55,260
within the ministry.

718
00:28:55,420 --> 00:28:59,052
And so it says here, or
ministry, let us wait on our ministry.

719
00:28:59,196 --> 00:29:01,200
Let's be patient in our ministry.

720
00:29:01,940 --> 00:29:04,396
And so the Bible says that
there is a spiritual gift of service.

721
00:29:04,468 --> 00:29:05,996
Now, this is a broad category.

722
00:29:06,108 --> 00:29:08,908
This is a category in which
can be exercised in many different

723
00:29:08,964 --> 00:29:11,082
ways within the body of believers.

724
00:29:11,226 --> 00:29:12,330
How can you serve someone?

725
00:29:12,370 --> 00:29:14,266
Well, you can serve someone a
lot of different ways.

726
00:29:14,378 --> 00:29:17,082
You can serve them by
providing something financial for

727
00:29:17,106 --> 00:29:17,290
them.

728
00:29:17,330 --> 00:29:20,362
You can serve them by
providing something material for

729
00:29:20,386 --> 00:29:20,666
them.

730
00:29:20,738 --> 00:29:24,010
Maybe you can serve them by
coming and bringing them food if

731
00:29:24,050 --> 00:29:26,986
they're hungry, maybe clothing
them if they need clothing, serving

732
00:29:27,018 --> 00:29:28,074
them, supporting them.

733
00:29:28,162 --> 00:29:31,082
And so this speaks to this
idea of humility and service that

734
00:29:31,106 --> 00:29:33,114
we are called to follow in Christ.

735
00:29:33,202 --> 00:29:35,950
Christ, as it says, humbled
himself as a servant.

736
00:29:36,310 --> 00:29:39,614
And so all of us, I believe
all of us are called to exercise

737
00:29:39,662 --> 00:29:42,734
this spiritual gift within our
life, whether it's natural or not.

738
00:29:42,822 --> 00:29:47,374
I do know that in this area of
service, we all must in some ways

739
00:29:47,422 --> 00:29:50,654
grow in the element of our faith.

740
00:29:50,782 --> 00:29:52,094
And so ministry.

741
00:29:52,142 --> 00:29:54,062
Let us wait on our ministering.

742
00:29:54,126 --> 00:29:55,930
There's this idea of patience here.

743
00:29:56,630 --> 00:30:00,810
You ever been challenged to be
patient in your service to another?

744
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:03,528
Um, the Bible says to be
patient in that.

745
00:30:03,584 --> 00:30:06,184
The Bible says to wait on the
Lord in that case.

746
00:30:06,352 --> 00:30:08,632
Because, you know, one of the
things that I'm challenged with is

747
00:30:08,656 --> 00:30:10,952
I'm happy with serving
somebody when everything goes my

748
00:30:10,976 --> 00:30:14,440
way and when they're thankful
and when things go well and no one

749
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,456
complains, but, you know, when
I'm tempted not to serve, when somebody

750
00:30:18,488 --> 00:30:20,100
isn't thankful for what I do.

751
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:23,576
Or when someone says, oh, you
gave me this, well, I really wanted

752
00:30:23,608 --> 00:30:23,944
this.

753
00:30:24,032 --> 00:30:26,872
You ever got someone a gift
and they were looking at it and you

754
00:30:26,896 --> 00:30:29,210
could tell that they weren't
happy with it and they're like, well,

755
00:30:29,910 --> 00:30:30,606
thank you.

756
00:30:30,678 --> 00:30:35,422
It's like, oh man, my, my
flesh wants to say, well, you know

757
00:30:35,446 --> 00:30:37,810
what, I'm not going to give
you a gift of anyone.

758
00:30:38,390 --> 00:30:40,926
But, but, but the Bible says
that's not why we serve.

759
00:30:40,958 --> 00:30:41,470
We go back.

760
00:30:41,510 --> 00:30:41,758
Why?

761
00:30:41,814 --> 00:30:42,686
Why do we serve?

762
00:30:42,718 --> 00:30:45,326
We serve because we are called
by God and we are equipped by God

763
00:30:45,358 --> 00:30:48,110
to love others, even love
people that are difficult, even love

764
00:30:48,150 --> 00:30:49,246
people that are against us.

765
00:30:49,318 --> 00:30:51,502
And so that's the element of
service here.

766
00:30:51,686 --> 00:30:54,030
Folks, I would, I would
encourage you to think about how

767
00:30:54,070 --> 00:30:56,530
God has you to serve within
the ministry.

768
00:30:56,940 --> 00:30:57,764
Not everybody.

769
00:30:57,812 --> 00:31:01,012
Now remind, let me remind you,
not everyone is called to serve in

770
00:31:01,036 --> 00:31:02,200
the same capacity.

771
00:31:02,860 --> 00:31:06,080
Not everyone's even called to
serve in the same area.

772
00:31:07,180 --> 00:31:10,532
I know that sometimes there's
some conflict within the church with

773
00:31:10,556 --> 00:31:10,836
that.

774
00:31:10,908 --> 00:31:12,160
What do I mean by that?

775
00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:15,280
Let's say there's someone here who.

776
00:31:15,820 --> 00:31:19,572
Years have passed and there
are certain physical ailments that

777
00:31:19,596 --> 00:31:20,800
have come up in their life.

778
00:31:21,420 --> 00:31:23,732
And I've heard even people
say, you know, I wish I could do

779
00:31:23,756 --> 00:31:24,320
more.

780
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,088
And I understand that sentiment.

781
00:31:26,104 --> 00:31:30,296
But folks, not all of us are
able to do the same amount of work.

782
00:31:30,448 --> 00:31:32,420
Maybe we're not even
physically able to.

783
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,016
It doesn't mean you're less of
a Christian.

784
00:31:35,048 --> 00:31:36,856
It doesn't mean that you're
less of a member of the church.

785
00:31:36,888 --> 00:31:38,980
It just means that you're a
different stage of life.

786
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,672
What if I came up here and I
said, how many strong men do we have

787
00:31:41,696 --> 00:31:42,488
in this room?

788
00:31:42,624 --> 00:31:45,128
And you know, most of us men,
we all think at some degree we're

789
00:31:45,144 --> 00:31:46,072
kind of strong, right?

790
00:31:46,176 --> 00:31:48,648
I mean, everyone in the room
said, I'm strong for my size.

791
00:31:48,744 --> 00:31:51,532
And I brought up, and I
brought a big weight up here and

792
00:31:51,556 --> 00:31:53,644
I said, okay, if you're a true
man, you need to come up here and

793
00:31:53,652 --> 00:31:54,012
lift this.

794
00:31:54,036 --> 00:31:56,524
And maybe a few guys can come
up here and lift it and some of the

795
00:31:56,532 --> 00:31:58,028
other guys get up here and
they can't lift it.

796
00:31:58,084 --> 00:32:01,132
We don't go, well, and let's
say there's a guy, he comes up here

797
00:32:01,156 --> 00:32:03,692
and he's, I don't know if we
have any 90 year old men in here,

798
00:32:03,716 --> 00:32:06,172
but if a 90 year old man goes
up and doesn't lift it, we go, well,

799
00:32:06,196 --> 00:32:07,052
that guy's really weak.

800
00:32:07,116 --> 00:32:09,516
No, we would just say he's at
a different stage of life.

801
00:32:09,588 --> 00:32:13,372
Maybe 70 years ago, he was
able to lift that thing up over his

802
00:32:13,396 --> 00:32:13,580
head.

803
00:32:13,620 --> 00:32:14,908
But he's at a different stage
of life.

804
00:32:14,964 --> 00:32:17,484
And what we see that within
the church sometimes is we feel like,

805
00:32:17,492 --> 00:32:18,094
well, you know what?

806
00:32:18,172 --> 00:32:19,818
I can't be used by God anymore.

807
00:32:19,914 --> 00:32:21,034
You can be used by God.

808
00:32:21,082 --> 00:32:24,282
Maybe not in the same capacity
of service, but you can be used of

809
00:32:24,306 --> 00:32:24,458
God.

810
00:32:24,474 --> 00:32:26,762
The Bible doesn't say that
there's an expiration date to any

811
00:32:26,786 --> 00:32:28,186
of these spiritual gifts.

812
00:32:28,378 --> 00:32:30,650
So what I would encourage you
to do is think about, hey, how can

813
00:32:30,690 --> 00:32:33,162
I serve at Middletown Baptist Church?

814
00:32:33,226 --> 00:32:35,162
How can I serve people in my community?

815
00:32:35,266 --> 00:32:36,698
How can I serve my family?

816
00:32:36,754 --> 00:32:38,810
How can I serve others around me?

817
00:32:38,850 --> 00:32:40,426
How can I ultimately serve the Lord?

818
00:32:40,458 --> 00:32:43,950
So there's this idea of
service here, ministering.

819
00:32:44,340 --> 00:32:47,120
Let us wait on our ministering.

820
00:32:47,940 --> 00:32:51,040
Then it says here, or he that
teacheth on teaching.

821
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:55,804
Now we do see very clearly
that the gift of prophecy and the

822
00:32:55,812 --> 00:32:59,520
gift of proclamation is
separated from the gift of teaching.

823
00:32:59,860 --> 00:33:02,492
And some would argue that
those go hand in hand.

824
00:33:02,516 --> 00:33:05,564
And I would say in a lot of
cases, the gift of prophecy and the

825
00:33:05,572 --> 00:33:07,228
gift of teaching do go hand in hand.

826
00:33:07,364 --> 00:33:09,836
But what I would say is that
there are people that maybe aren't

827
00:33:09,868 --> 00:33:13,620
gifted naturally in the
preaching element, but they are very

828
00:33:13,660 --> 00:33:14,484
gifted in teaching.

829
00:33:14,532 --> 00:33:17,572
And someone who is a gifted
teacher is someone who's able to

830
00:33:17,596 --> 00:33:21,812
clearly explain passages of
scripture and clearly frame it in

831
00:33:21,836 --> 00:33:23,440
a way that people can understand.

832
00:33:24,300 --> 00:33:26,580
And so, you know, the one
thing that I would say that a good

833
00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:31,044
teacher is able to take very
complex topics and make them sound

834
00:33:31,092 --> 00:33:31,732
simple.

835
00:33:31,876 --> 00:33:35,684
The way that I explain this to
people is explain this to a 5 year

836
00:33:35,692 --> 00:33:36,240
old.

837
00:33:36,710 --> 00:33:41,262
If you are a gifted teacher,
you're able to take very complex

838
00:33:41,326 --> 00:33:43,982
issues and put them down on a
level where people can understand

839
00:33:44,086 --> 00:33:44,686
it.

840
00:33:44,838 --> 00:33:46,126
I would say it this way.

841
00:33:46,198 --> 00:33:46,894
There's a, there's a.

842
00:33:46,902 --> 00:33:47,070
You.

843
00:33:47,110 --> 00:33:48,734
I don't know if you guys watch YouTube.

844
00:33:48,782 --> 00:33:50,206
Be careful on the Internet, okay?

845
00:33:50,238 --> 00:33:51,406
Just don't just scroll everywhere.

846
00:33:51,438 --> 00:33:54,750
But there is a series on
YouTube where they take these like

847
00:33:54,790 --> 00:33:55,570
rocket.

848
00:33:56,390 --> 00:33:56,910
What is it?

849
00:33:56,950 --> 00:33:57,966
What's rocket scientist?

850
00:33:57,998 --> 00:33:58,334
Or whatever.

851
00:33:58,382 --> 00:34:00,318
They take like a rocket
scientist and they say, okay, you're

852
00:34:00,334 --> 00:34:04,942
going to explain a concept in
your field to a 5 year old, to a

853
00:34:04,966 --> 00:34:07,422
15 year old, to a 30 year old, and.

854
00:34:07,606 --> 00:34:09,822
Or they might say, you know,
you're going to explain this to someone

855
00:34:09,846 --> 00:34:13,422
who has zero intelligence in
this area, someone who maybe is like

856
00:34:13,446 --> 00:34:15,358
in high school, someone is in college.

857
00:34:15,534 --> 00:34:18,158
And there's a way that we
explain certain things to different

858
00:34:18,214 --> 00:34:18,846
people, right?

859
00:34:18,918 --> 00:34:22,590
And so with the element of
teaching comes the discernment of

860
00:34:22,630 --> 00:34:27,278
knowing who your audience is,
understanding what vernacular they

861
00:34:27,334 --> 00:34:29,758
use, understanding how someone
can hear it.

862
00:34:29,814 --> 00:34:33,086
So, for example, if I was
sitting in front of a Children's

863
00:34:33,118 --> 00:34:37,918
Church, 10 year olds and down,
and I get up here and I say, okay,

864
00:34:37,934 --> 00:34:40,382
we're going to talk about some
really complex issues today.

865
00:34:40,486 --> 00:34:44,398
We're going to talk about the
hypostatic union of, of God, of Jesus,

866
00:34:44,494 --> 00:34:47,694
and we're going to talk about
the, the justification, sanctification,

867
00:34:47,742 --> 00:34:48,798
propitiation.

868
00:34:48,974 --> 00:34:52,414
Immediately, some of you are
like, okay, I'm already lost.

869
00:34:52,502 --> 00:34:55,054
Some of you already have,
like, I've lost you already.

870
00:34:55,142 --> 00:34:57,966
But, but, right, you, you see
that there isn't the discernment

871
00:34:57,998 --> 00:35:00,432
of knowing the audience and
understanding that.

872
00:35:00,606 --> 00:35:03,916
And so with the gift of
teaching comes the gift of understanding

873
00:35:03,948 --> 00:35:07,084
and knowing who your audience
is and being able to frame it in

874
00:35:07,092 --> 00:35:08,412
a way that's obtainable.

875
00:35:08,556 --> 00:35:11,240
And so, and so we see these
three gifts and you would say, well,

876
00:35:11,620 --> 00:35:13,244
why do I need to know that?

877
00:35:13,412 --> 00:35:16,684
Because it's very, very
effective within a church ministry

878
00:35:16,732 --> 00:35:19,996
to know where you are gifted
so that you can effectively serve

879
00:35:20,028 --> 00:35:21,468
Jesus Christ in these areas.

880
00:35:21,604 --> 00:35:25,816
Now, now I have heard people
say, I'm not serving in any areas

881
00:35:25,988 --> 00:35:27,424
until I figure out my gift.

882
00:35:27,472 --> 00:35:30,304
I would say that's probably
not a good, good path.

883
00:35:30,352 --> 00:35:33,136
Because what I would say is
one of the areas that helped me understand

884
00:35:33,288 --> 00:35:36,880
where God has gifted me was
serving in a lot of capacities.

885
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:37,344
Right.

886
00:35:37,432 --> 00:35:39,792
Because if you serve in a lot
of capacities, you're able to see

887
00:35:39,816 --> 00:35:41,860
where it fits and where it
doesn't fit.

888
00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,456
And I would say, be able to
say, you know, I'm going to be flexible

889
00:35:45,488 --> 00:35:46,688
and I'm going to stretch myself.

890
00:35:46,784 --> 00:35:49,312
The best growing happens when
we are stretched.

891
00:35:49,456 --> 00:35:52,496
The best growing happens when
we're able to move out of our comfort

892
00:35:52,528 --> 00:35:53,140
zone.

893
00:35:53,540 --> 00:35:56,380
And so we see we're only going
to look at these three gifts here

894
00:35:56,420 --> 00:35:57,004
this morning.

895
00:35:57,092 --> 00:36:00,380
We're looking at the gift of
prophecy, the gift of service, and

896
00:36:00,420 --> 00:36:01,760
the gift of teaching.

897
00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:04,172
And you would say, well, look,
you know what?

898
00:36:04,196 --> 00:36:06,316
I don't know if any of those
areas are something that I'm gifted

899
00:36:06,348 --> 00:36:06,588
in.

900
00:36:06,644 --> 00:36:09,692
Well, next week what I'm going
to do, and I know that this isn't

901
00:36:09,756 --> 00:36:12,636
typical, but what I'm going to
do is at the end of the service,

902
00:36:12,708 --> 00:36:16,348
what I would like for us to do
is you could take some spiritual

903
00:36:16,364 --> 00:36:17,420
gift tests home with you.

904
00:36:17,460 --> 00:36:18,918
We have them on paper now.

905
00:36:18,974 --> 00:36:21,990
Are spiritual gifts tests foolproof?

906
00:36:22,150 --> 00:36:22,614
No.

907
00:36:22,702 --> 00:36:23,222
Okay.

908
00:36:23,286 --> 00:36:24,326
Because you can lie on them.

909
00:36:24,398 --> 00:36:24,918
Okay.

910
00:36:25,014 --> 00:36:27,062
You know, there, there's a,
there's a scale there and you can

911
00:36:27,086 --> 00:36:28,710
say, do I enjoy doing this.

912
00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:30,486
And you might say, yeah, I
kind of enjoy that.

913
00:36:30,558 --> 00:36:34,422
Like, it's, it's only a little
bit helpful to guide you in a direction

914
00:36:34,486 --> 00:36:37,110
to discern what gift God has
given you or gifts that God has given

915
00:36:37,150 --> 00:36:37,638
you.

916
00:36:37,774 --> 00:36:40,982
And, and so the idea for us
next week is for me to kind of go

917
00:36:41,006 --> 00:36:44,758
through all of these different
gifts and be able to see where you

918
00:36:44,814 --> 00:36:49,042
fall in that category and then
explain to you at what capacity you

919
00:36:49,066 --> 00:36:52,098
could use those gifts within
our ministry here in Middletown Baptist

920
00:36:52,114 --> 00:36:55,870
Church or how you could use
those gifts out in your community.

921
00:36:56,250 --> 00:36:59,282
Because my goal is not for,
for me just to tell you what these

922
00:36:59,306 --> 00:37:02,850
gifts are, but to explain to
you where you can functionally use

923
00:37:02,890 --> 00:37:04,590
these gifts within your life.

924
00:37:04,970 --> 00:37:06,194
Folks, this is not.

925
00:37:06,282 --> 00:37:09,314
We don't see in this passage
of scripture God saying you're going

926
00:37:09,322 --> 00:37:10,578
to get a gift, but it's up to you.

927
00:37:10,634 --> 00:37:12,512
You know, you really don't
have to exercise it.

928
00:37:12,626 --> 00:37:14,372
Just, you know, it's there if
you want it.

929
00:37:14,476 --> 00:37:17,892
No, the challenge is for us to
use these gifts for the cause of

930
00:37:17,916 --> 00:37:18,452
the gospel.

931
00:37:18,516 --> 00:37:21,844
What did it say at the very
beginning so that God would be glorified

932
00:37:21,892 --> 00:37:22,980
through Jesus Christ?

933
00:37:23,100 --> 00:37:27,556
And so we point people to
Jesus through exercising our spiritual

934
00:37:27,588 --> 00:37:27,972
gifts.

935
00:37:28,036 --> 00:37:29,060
They're not there for us.

936
00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:31,076
They're not there for our own
self exaltation.

937
00:37:31,108 --> 00:37:33,668
They're there because we exalt Christ.

938
00:37:33,724 --> 00:37:36,996
And so it's that humility,
it's that sober mindedness, it's

939
00:37:37,028 --> 00:37:41,016
that understanding that we are
to trust in God to give us these

940
00:37:41,088 --> 00:37:42,808
gifts and to exercise these gifts.

941
00:37:42,824 --> 00:37:44,136
Is it going to be easy?

942
00:37:44,328 --> 00:37:49,640
No, not it's not going to be
easy, but it's a lot more easy when

943
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:54,232
within our life to serve God,
when we know the framework and the

944
00:37:54,256 --> 00:37:55,160
marching orders.

945
00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:57,880
What if I just told you, what
if I got up here today and I said,

946
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,792
okay, all of you at Middletown
Baptist Church need to start serving

947
00:38:00,856 --> 00:38:01,704
right now.

948
00:38:01,872 --> 00:38:02,776
Start serving.

949
00:38:02,888 --> 00:38:04,968
And you go, okay, where do I serve?

950
00:38:05,064 --> 00:38:06,232
You're looking around.

951
00:38:06,416 --> 00:38:08,312
Okay, how can I help, Pastor?

952
00:38:08,376 --> 00:38:09,528
Well, you just better help.

953
00:38:09,584 --> 00:38:10,792
Okay, get busy.

954
00:38:10,856 --> 00:38:12,780
A good Christian is a busy Christian.

955
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:16,220
Do you see sometimes how
busyness isn't always effective?

956
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:18,968
Because what if everyone's
just running around like crazy and

957
00:38:19,024 --> 00:38:21,512
bumping into each other and I
thought we were going to do this.

958
00:38:21,536 --> 00:38:22,280
I thought we were going to do this.

959
00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:24,952
No, because we're going to get
to other passages next week that

960
00:38:24,976 --> 00:38:27,720
talk about there's the gift of
administration, right?

961
00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:30,232
Maybe someone that isn't
gifted in the gift of administration,

962
00:38:30,376 --> 00:38:32,712
but maybe they're gifted in
service and they're able to be like,

963
00:38:32,736 --> 00:38:33,792
hey, where should I go?

964
00:38:33,816 --> 00:38:36,256
And then we have someone who
isn't the greatest person that's

965
00:38:36,288 --> 00:38:38,288
able to be a gift of mercy.

966
00:38:38,304 --> 00:38:40,384
But maybe they're great in the
ministration and they're able to

967
00:38:40,392 --> 00:38:41,200
exercise certain things.

968
00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:44,096
Here we can't expect everyone
to be the same, and we can't judge

969
00:38:44,128 --> 00:38:46,400
other people because they
don't have the same gifts as we have.

970
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:47,840
Sometimes that's another issue.

971
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,704
Sometimes, like, right, I don't.

972
00:38:50,752 --> 00:38:51,888
I naturally.

973
00:38:51,984 --> 00:38:52,480
This.

974
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,232
I, I'm not naturally gifted in
the gift of mercy.

975
00:38:55,376 --> 00:38:57,616
I walk around, you know what
I'm gifted in?

976
00:38:57,688 --> 00:38:59,250
I'm gifted in exhortation.

977
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:01,806
And, and the gift of
proclamation to say, well, here's

978
00:39:01,838 --> 00:39:02,782
what you gotta do to fix it.

979
00:39:02,806 --> 00:39:05,646
Just do that, like, get over
it, like, get, get to work.

980
00:39:05,718 --> 00:39:06,862
But I'm having such a bad day.

981
00:39:06,886 --> 00:39:09,614
Well, just, just, just grind,
go forward, push forward.

982
00:39:09,702 --> 00:39:12,430
And, and so the gift of mercy
is not something natural to me.

983
00:39:12,470 --> 00:39:14,974
And sometimes when I see
someone with the gift of mercy, do

984
00:39:14,982 --> 00:39:15,854
you know what I do?

985
00:39:15,942 --> 00:39:19,678
I sometimes go like, come on,
how can you be so gullible?

986
00:39:19,774 --> 00:39:20,942
Like, why are you so nice to them?

987
00:39:20,966 --> 00:39:22,254
Why are you so patient with them?

988
00:39:22,342 --> 00:39:23,678
Because they have the gift of mercy.

989
00:39:23,694 --> 00:39:26,462
And it's easy for me not to
see it from their perspective and

990
00:39:26,486 --> 00:39:27,758
then get kind of frustrated.

991
00:39:27,854 --> 00:39:29,742
The truth is, is that there's
going to be different people with

992
00:39:29,766 --> 00:39:32,382
different gifts, and we're
able to be patient with them and

993
00:39:32,406 --> 00:39:35,134
love them in the grace of God
and say, we need people with the

994
00:39:35,142 --> 00:39:38,494
gift of mercy just as much as
we need people with the gift of proclamation.

995
00:39:38,542 --> 00:39:41,454
We need the gift of people
with exhortation just as much as

996
00:39:41,462 --> 00:39:43,742
we need the people with the
gift of teaching.

997
00:39:43,806 --> 00:39:43,982
Right?

998
00:39:44,006 --> 00:39:44,382
It, it.

999
00:39:44,406 --> 00:39:45,966
It goes all hand in hand.

1000
00:39:46,038 --> 00:39:49,854
And for Middletown Baptist
Church to thrive, for you to thrive

1001
00:39:49,982 --> 00:39:53,358
as an individual, it's
exercising these spiritual gifts

1002
00:39:53,374 --> 00:39:54,142
with those around you.

1003
00:39:54,166 --> 00:39:57,080
It's not so that Middletown
Baptist can build this empire.

1004
00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,000
It's so that we follow the
word of God.

1005
00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,376
Go back to what verse number,
verse number two said in Romans,

1006
00:40:02,408 --> 00:40:03,380
chapter 12.

1007
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:08,696
What is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.

1008
00:40:08,728 --> 00:40:11,880
This is the will of God to
work out in the midst, in the body

1009
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:14,200
of Christ, the spiritual gifts
that he has given us.

1010
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:16,616
Specifically in this area, the
ministering gifts.

1011
00:40:16,728 --> 00:40:19,592
Now let me tie this all back
in together with the idea of the

1012
00:40:19,616 --> 00:40:19,816
gift.

1013
00:40:19,848 --> 00:40:24,258
Now, the reason why we
exercise the spiritual gifts is because

1014
00:40:24,314 --> 00:40:27,106
of the greatest gift that was
ever given to us in Jesus Christ.

1015
00:40:27,258 --> 00:40:31,106
You know, we, we get the
opportunity to say, I am a Servant

1016
00:40:31,138 --> 00:40:34,850
of Jesus Christ because of his
gift of salvation.

1017
00:40:35,010 --> 00:40:37,362
You don't just become a
servant of Jesus Christ because you

1018
00:40:37,386 --> 00:40:37,986
want to be.

1019
00:40:38,058 --> 00:40:38,562
You have a.

1020
00:40:38,586 --> 00:40:40,658
You're a servant of Jesus
Christ because the Holy Spirit's

1021
00:40:40,674 --> 00:40:41,570
indwelling you.

1022
00:40:41,690 --> 00:40:45,640
And these gifts are perfected
through the indwelling of the Spirit.

1023
00:40:45,770 --> 00:40:48,000
But not just the indwelling of
the Spirit.

1024
00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:51,036
Because what the indwelling of
the Spirit is is that when you're

1025
00:40:51,068 --> 00:40:53,560
saved, the Holy Spirit now
lives within you.

1026
00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:54,892
That's the amazing thing.

1027
00:40:54,916 --> 00:40:57,436
As a believer, you have the
Holy Spirit living within you.

1028
00:40:57,508 --> 00:41:01,468
But these gifts aren't alone
exercised by just the indwelling

1029
00:41:01,484 --> 00:41:02,188
of the Spirit.

1030
00:41:02,284 --> 00:41:05,052
These gifts are exercised by
the filling of the Spirit.

1031
00:41:05,196 --> 00:41:06,860
What do I mean by the filling
of the Spirit?

1032
00:41:06,940 --> 00:41:09,708
The filling of the Spirit is
the opportunity for us not to just

1033
00:41:09,764 --> 00:41:11,766
have the Holy Spirit
indwelling us, but, but the Holy

1034
00:41:11,798 --> 00:41:13,490
Spirit guiding us in our life.

1035
00:41:14,350 --> 00:41:17,174
Folks, as a Christian, the
Bible says very clearly and Paul

1036
00:41:17,222 --> 00:41:17,974
talks about this.

1037
00:41:18,062 --> 00:41:21,046
There is the wrestling of the
flesh and the Spirit.

1038
00:41:21,238 --> 00:41:24,934
Okay, so, so there could be
people with these spiritual gifts,

1039
00:41:24,982 --> 00:41:27,654
but not exercising these
spiritual gifts properly.

1040
00:41:27,702 --> 00:41:30,170
Because why they're living in
the flesh.

1041
00:41:31,630 --> 00:41:35,894
Because all of these gifts can
be exercised in a spiritual manner

1042
00:41:35,942 --> 00:41:37,998
or they can be exercised in a
fleshly manner.

1043
00:41:38,134 --> 00:41:40,782
If I am guided by my Spirit,
I'm going to be like the one that

1044
00:41:40,806 --> 00:41:42,770
gets upset with people when
they have mercy.

1045
00:41:43,590 --> 00:41:47,182
If, if I'm a person of
service, I'm going to serve in the

1046
00:41:47,206 --> 00:41:47,810
flesh.

1047
00:41:48,310 --> 00:41:49,822
What does that look like?

1048
00:41:50,006 --> 00:41:52,142
Well, I'm going to serve for
my benefit.

1049
00:41:52,286 --> 00:41:54,318
I'm going to serve so that
people notice me.

1050
00:41:54,374 --> 00:41:56,382
I'm going to serve so that
people can lift me up.

1051
00:41:56,406 --> 00:41:59,490
And when someone doesn't lift
me up, I don't want to serve anymore.

1052
00:41:59,830 --> 00:42:03,412
You see how the gift of
service can then be fleshly, flesh

1053
00:42:03,446 --> 00:42:04,376
focused.

1054
00:42:04,568 --> 00:42:07,160
The gift of proclamation, the
gift of prophecy.

1055
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,620
Have we ever heard someone
preach for the praise of themselves?

1056
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:11,800
Right.

1057
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:12,808
It can happen.

1058
00:42:12,944 --> 00:42:17,576
God can allow someone to be so
gifted in the area of proclaiming

1059
00:42:17,608 --> 00:42:19,976
the word of God, but they do
it for the wrong principles.

1060
00:42:20,008 --> 00:42:21,288
They do it for their self focus.

1061
00:42:21,344 --> 00:42:24,168
They do that for praise, they
do that for acclaim.

1062
00:42:24,264 --> 00:42:26,840
And the Bible says that these
gifts are given, but they can be

1063
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,284
exercised in a very fleshly manner.

1064
00:42:29,432 --> 00:42:32,556
And so the challenge for us is
to number one, identify where God

1065
00:42:32,588 --> 00:42:33,356
has gifted us.

1066
00:42:33,428 --> 00:42:38,028
But then number two, to live
in the Spirit, to abide in Christ

1067
00:42:38,164 --> 00:42:41,040
so that we can exercise these
for the cause of the Gospel.

1068
00:42:42,020 --> 00:42:45,260
I challenge us here not to be
able to see these things as a, as

1069
00:42:45,300 --> 00:42:49,212
a Thing that we do, a thing
that we accomplish, a checklist in

1070
00:42:49,236 --> 00:42:49,532
our life.

1071
00:42:49,556 --> 00:42:51,996
But it's a way that we can
commune with God.

1072
00:42:52,188 --> 00:42:55,952
And so each one of these gifts
that we talk about can be exercised

1073
00:42:56,016 --> 00:42:57,500
in a fleshly focus.

1074
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:00,992
And so the challenge is,
number one, to find the gift that

1075
00:43:01,016 --> 00:43:03,408
God has given us or the gifts
that God has given us.

1076
00:43:03,464 --> 00:43:07,776
But then, number two, to
exercise these gifts in the guidance

1077
00:43:07,808 --> 00:43:08,928
of the Spirit in our life.

1078
00:43:08,984 --> 00:43:11,936
To yield to the Spirit and not
to the flesh.

1079
00:43:12,048 --> 00:43:14,500
I would encourage you to read
through the book of Galatians.

1080
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:20,128
The book of Galatians speaks
of the fruit of the Spirit and then

1081
00:43:20,184 --> 00:43:21,620
the works of the flesh.

1082
00:43:22,790 --> 00:43:23,790
You know what the.

1083
00:43:23,830 --> 00:43:25,502
The test will be?

1084
00:43:25,686 --> 00:43:26,126
Let's.

1085
00:43:26,158 --> 00:43:27,326
Let's go there really quickly.

1086
00:43:27,438 --> 00:43:28,414
We got to see this, guys.

1087
00:43:28,462 --> 00:43:29,278
We got to see this.

1088
00:43:29,334 --> 00:43:30,142
And then we'll wrap it up.

1089
00:43:30,166 --> 00:43:32,958
Because a lot of people might
say, well, how do I know if I'm living

1090
00:43:33,054 --> 00:43:34,110
in the Spirit?

1091
00:43:34,190 --> 00:43:36,318
How do I know if I'm yielded
to the Spirit?

1092
00:43:36,414 --> 00:43:39,774
Well, there's this amazing
thing in scripture that tells us

1093
00:43:39,862 --> 00:43:43,810
what we look like when we are
yielded to the Spirit.

1094
00:43:44,550 --> 00:43:48,480
It's found in Galatians,
chapter 5, verse 22.

1095
00:43:48,670 --> 00:43:49,724
This is the test.

1096
00:43:49,812 --> 00:43:51,212
You know, am I.

1097
00:43:51,236 --> 00:43:53,680
Am I acting in the Spirit to
my wife?

1098
00:43:54,100 --> 00:43:56,572
Am I responding in the Spirit
to my children?

1099
00:43:56,756 --> 00:43:59,500
Am I living in the Spirit at
the workplace?

1100
00:43:59,660 --> 00:44:00,840
Here's the test.

1101
00:44:01,860 --> 00:44:05,320
Galatians, chapter 5, verse 22.

1102
00:44:06,180 --> 00:44:15,712
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long suffering.

1103
00:44:15,776 --> 00:44:23,664
That's patience, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

1104
00:44:23,712 --> 00:44:24,860
That's self control.

1105
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,020
Against such, there is no law.

1106
00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,536
So your test is, am I
responding to my wife?

1107
00:44:29,568 --> 00:44:35,184
Well, did you respond in love,
joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness,

1108
00:44:35,232 --> 00:44:36,220
and the like?

1109
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:38,896
Well, no, you know, it was
just she.

1110
00:44:38,968 --> 00:44:39,936
She got under my skin.

1111
00:44:39,968 --> 00:44:42,010
And so you were acting in the flesh.

1112
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:44,742
Okay, this has been something
that's been very convicting in my

1113
00:44:44,766 --> 00:44:48,054
life because a lot of times
I'm willing to justify my actions

1114
00:44:48,102 --> 00:44:49,910
because, hey, look what
happened to me.

1115
00:44:49,950 --> 00:44:52,774
The Bible says, in anything,
have you respond in the fruit of

1116
00:44:52,782 --> 00:44:53,318
the Spirit.

1117
00:44:53,414 --> 00:44:55,894
If you have, then you've
responded in the Spirit.

1118
00:44:55,942 --> 00:44:58,678
If you respond in anything
outside of the fruit of the Spirit,

1119
00:44:58,774 --> 00:44:59,814
it's in the flesh.

1120
00:44:59,942 --> 00:45:01,862
And we don't have time to go
in Galatians 5.

1121
00:45:01,886 --> 00:45:04,454
But it talks about all these
different things that are works of

1122
00:45:04,462 --> 00:45:05,210
the flesh.

1123
00:45:06,110 --> 00:45:09,638
And so when we exercise our
spiritual gifts, when we serve other

1124
00:45:09,694 --> 00:45:14,170
people, the true test is not
are we serving right as Christians?

1125
00:45:14,590 --> 00:45:17,366
Actually, we see in Scripture
that basically it's the assumption

1126
00:45:17,398 --> 00:45:19,494
that Christians are going to
be serving that Christians are going

1127
00:45:19,502 --> 00:45:20,570
to be ministering.

1128
00:45:21,070 --> 00:45:24,534
So, so it's a really rare
thing to see people that proclaim

1129
00:45:24,582 --> 00:45:26,854
to be Christians but have no
action in their life.

1130
00:45:26,942 --> 00:45:28,982
That, that, that's not really
even seen in Scripture.

1131
00:45:29,126 --> 00:45:31,350
Jesus says, when ye fast, when
ye pray.

1132
00:45:31,430 --> 00:45:31,718
Right?

1133
00:45:31,774 --> 00:45:34,310
It's just the assumption that
if we love God, we're going to be

1134
00:45:34,350 --> 00:45:34,886
serving him.

1135
00:45:34,958 --> 00:45:38,532
But the true test that we see
in First Corinthians is, why did

1136
00:45:38,556 --> 00:45:39,520
you do this?

1137
00:45:39,980 --> 00:45:41,492
Why did you do this?

1138
00:45:41,676 --> 00:45:43,236
What are your motives?

1139
00:45:43,428 --> 00:45:46,148
And so I would, I would go
deeper in the spiritual gifts.

1140
00:45:46,164 --> 00:45:48,084
It's like, are you giving
gifts to other people?

1141
00:45:48,172 --> 00:45:50,324
Are you serving in the grace
of God?

1142
00:45:50,372 --> 00:45:52,640
Yes, but why are you doing that?

1143
00:45:53,580 --> 00:45:54,580
That's the motivation.

1144
00:45:54,660 --> 00:45:57,240
Why, why do I get up and
preach on Sundays?

1145
00:45:57,580 --> 00:46:00,324
Why do we have a Sunday school class?

1146
00:46:00,492 --> 00:46:02,580
Why do we have a ministry over here?

1147
00:46:02,700 --> 00:46:03,780
That's, that's the true test.

1148
00:46:03,820 --> 00:46:06,122
Like, why, why am I giving
gifts if you are giving?

1149
00:46:06,186 --> 00:46:08,330
So, so here's how it goes
sometimes in, in the world.

1150
00:46:08,450 --> 00:46:10,202
Okay, let me give you a gift now.

1151
00:46:10,226 --> 00:46:11,178
I've given you a gift.

1152
00:46:11,274 --> 00:46:13,338
The assumption is, is that
you're gonna, what are you gonna

1153
00:46:13,354 --> 00:46:14,230
give me now?

1154
00:46:14,530 --> 00:46:18,362
Like, you know, like,
sometimes I struggle with that.

1155
00:46:18,466 --> 00:46:21,322
Like, someone gives me a gift
that I wasn't expecting, I'm like,

1156
00:46:21,346 --> 00:46:22,938
oh, now I gotta go get them a gift.

1157
00:46:23,114 --> 00:46:24,282
I gotta go do that.

1158
00:46:24,386 --> 00:46:26,074
And, and I understand why we
do that.

1159
00:46:26,162 --> 00:46:30,026
But, but a lot of times, if
the motivation is that I'm gonna

1160
00:46:30,058 --> 00:46:34,168
give something to somebody
because I want something back, that's

1161
00:46:34,184 --> 00:46:35,064
not the heart of giving.

1162
00:46:35,112 --> 00:46:36,056
That's not the heart of service.

1163
00:46:36,128 --> 00:46:38,456
That's not the heart of agape love.

1164
00:46:38,608 --> 00:46:42,088
And so the Bible says that we
give these gifts not for response.

1165
00:46:42,184 --> 00:46:44,824
We don't give these gifts for
any type of praise.

1166
00:46:44,872 --> 00:46:47,032
We give these gifts out of the
humility of our hearts.

1167
00:46:47,096 --> 00:46:48,440
We saw that in First Peter.

1168
00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:50,008
We saw that in Acts, chapter 20.

1169
00:46:50,064 --> 00:46:51,704
We saw that in Romans, chapter 12.

1170
00:46:51,792 --> 00:46:53,064
It's all about humility.

1171
00:46:53,112 --> 00:46:56,888
And so it's the why behind the
exercising of these spiritual gifts

1172
00:46:56,904 --> 00:46:57,240
in our life.

1173
00:46:57,280 --> 00:46:59,622
We're going to come back next
week and we're going to look at the

1174
00:46:59,646 --> 00:47:00,486
rest of these gifts.

1175
00:47:00,518 --> 00:47:03,062
We're going to look at the
gift of exhortation.

1176
00:47:03,126 --> 00:47:07,014
We're going to look at the
gift of ruling or administration.

1177
00:47:07,142 --> 00:47:10,214
We're going to look at the
gift of mercy, and we're going to

1178
00:47:10,222 --> 00:47:14,710
see all of these things lived
out in our midst, hopefully within

1179
00:47:14,750 --> 00:47:15,530
the church.

1180
00:47:15,950 --> 00:47:19,446
Now, I, I, I challenge you to
think about this from the perspective

1181
00:47:19,478 --> 00:47:23,686
of not like, well, hey, I
wonder what their gift is, or I wonder

1182
00:47:23,718 --> 00:47:25,452
if they're exercising this in
the flesh.

1183
00:47:25,566 --> 00:47:28,160
I want this to be a time of
introspection for you to say, like,

1184
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:31,072
you know, I really want to
design our desire.

1185
00:47:31,136 --> 00:47:34,560
I really want to desire and
discern what God has given me in

1186
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:36,260
my life in ministering.

1187
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:41,792
The idea for us at the church
is for that you can serve at the

1188
00:47:41,816 --> 00:47:44,060
capacity that God has you to
serve in.

1189
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:49,072
I don't want to put someone in
a box, you know, if I sat in your

1190
00:47:49,096 --> 00:47:52,150
Sunday school class, I might
be like, I would teach that this

1191
00:47:52,190 --> 00:47:52,774
way.

1192
00:47:52,942 --> 00:47:55,334
But if you're teaching the
truth of God, it's not my job to

1193
00:47:55,342 --> 00:47:57,142
tell you whether it's the
right or wrong way, because you might

1194
00:47:57,166 --> 00:47:58,690
have a different path than me.

1195
00:47:59,710 --> 00:48:00,662
You know, service.

1196
00:48:00,766 --> 00:48:01,078
I.

1197
00:48:01,134 --> 00:48:02,950
I might not have served that
way to that person.

1198
00:48:02,990 --> 00:48:03,542
Well, you know what?

1199
00:48:03,566 --> 00:48:04,678
I'm not the one doing the service.

1200
00:48:04,734 --> 00:48:06,854
They're doing the service if
they're doing it with the spirit

1201
00:48:06,902 --> 00:48:10,822
of God and they're doing it
for the cause of edification, the

1202
00:48:10,846 --> 00:48:13,702
cause of exhortation, the
cause of the gospel, you know what?

1203
00:48:13,726 --> 00:48:16,374
It's not my job to judge and
look over there and say, you know

1204
00:48:16,382 --> 00:48:16,502
what?

1205
00:48:16,526 --> 00:48:17,824
I would have done it differently.

1206
00:48:17,982 --> 00:48:20,604
And the truth is, is that
that's how we function within the

1207
00:48:20,612 --> 00:48:20,844
church.

1208
00:48:20,892 --> 00:48:22,492
That's how the body of
believers function.

1209
00:48:22,556 --> 00:48:27,100
So God has gifted you so, so
well in your life to do the things

1210
00:48:27,140 --> 00:48:28,604
that he has called you to do.

1211
00:48:28,692 --> 00:48:31,788
The truth is, is, are we going
to be willing to exercise those gifts

1212
00:48:31,884 --> 00:48:33,756
within the body of believers?

1213
00:48:33,868 --> 00:48:36,524
Are we going to be willing to
humble ourselves, to say, you know

1214
00:48:36,532 --> 00:48:36,796
what?

1215
00:48:36,868 --> 00:48:39,580
This doesn't bring me any
benefit, but I'm going to do this

1216
00:48:39,620 --> 00:48:41,276
because Jesus expects this
from me.

1217
00:48:41,348 --> 00:48:44,560
I'm going to do this because
he calls me to be a living sacrifice,

1218
00:48:44,700 --> 00:48:47,272
holy, acceptable to God, which
is our reasonable service.

1219
00:48:47,376 --> 00:48:51,048
I want to be transformed and
not conformed to this world.

1220
00:48:51,184 --> 00:48:55,032
And I encourage you to think
about how you as a believer can exercise

1221
00:48:55,096 --> 00:48:56,900
these gifts in 2025.

1222
00:48:57,440 --> 00:49:02,232
There's nothing more rewarding
in your life behind salvation than

1223
00:49:02,336 --> 00:49:05,208
to exercise the will of God
out in your life.

1224
00:49:05,264 --> 00:49:07,112
The safest place to be is in
the will of God.

1225
00:49:07,176 --> 00:49:09,272
The most rewarding place to be
is in the will of God.

1226
00:49:09,336 --> 00:49:11,872
The most joyful place to be is
in the will of God.

1227
00:49:12,056 --> 00:49:13,920
And I would encourage you to
think about that this year.

1228
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:15,152
We want to be joyful Christians.

1229
00:49:15,216 --> 00:49:18,080
Walk in the way that God has
you to walk in your life.

1230
00:49:18,200 --> 00:49:21,088
Exercise the gift that God has
given you in your life, because that's

1231
00:49:21,104 --> 00:49:22,320
how you should function.

1232
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:25,184
You know, it's using the right
tools for the right situations.

1233
00:49:25,232 --> 00:49:26,048
My dad's here today.

1234
00:49:26,104 --> 00:49:28,000
And I remember when I.

1235
00:49:28,040 --> 00:49:32,208
When I first got married and,
you know, I needed help at my house.

1236
00:49:32,264 --> 00:49:33,120
What would I do?

1237
00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:34,896
Hey, dad, come over to my house.

1238
00:49:35,048 --> 00:49:35,440
I need.

1239
00:49:35,480 --> 00:49:36,720
I need this fixed.

1240
00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:37,158
So.

1241
00:49:37,184 --> 00:49:39,962
So that was cool for a while
until I moved to Delaware, and he

1242
00:49:39,986 --> 00:49:41,866
wasn't able to hop on a plane
every time that happened.

1243
00:49:41,898 --> 00:49:45,002
So I call him, I say, dad, I'm
underneath the car and I don't know

1244
00:49:45,026 --> 00:49:45,402
what to do.

1245
00:49:45,426 --> 00:49:46,522
And he's like, well, what tool
do you have?

1246
00:49:46,546 --> 00:49:47,642
And I'm like, I don't know.

1247
00:49:47,666 --> 00:49:49,002
It's this thing that looks
like this.

1248
00:49:49,026 --> 00:49:50,682
And he's like, no, no, no, no, no.

1249
00:49:50,706 --> 00:49:51,754
You got the wrong tool.

1250
00:49:51,842 --> 00:49:52,186
Okay?

1251
00:49:52,218 --> 00:49:54,218
I admittedly, I'm not handy in
any way.

1252
00:49:54,274 --> 00:49:54,842
And so I'm like.

1253
00:49:54,866 --> 00:49:56,666
And he's like, just grab this
tool over here.

1254
00:49:56,738 --> 00:49:59,914
And I grabbed that tool and it
just was like, it worked really well.

1255
00:50:00,002 --> 00:50:01,994
I was like, well, you got to
have the right tool, right?

1256
00:50:02,082 --> 00:50:03,330
And sometimes what we try.

1257
00:50:03,410 --> 00:50:05,122
Sometimes what we're trying to
do in the church is we're trying

1258
00:50:05,146 --> 00:50:08,258
to jam a square peg into a
round hole.

1259
00:50:08,274 --> 00:50:10,594
And we're trying, we're
trying, we're trying, we're working.

1260
00:50:10,682 --> 00:50:13,586
But sometimes it's about the
idea of submitting to God and allowing

1261
00:50:13,618 --> 00:50:14,978
us to do the right thing.

1262
00:50:15,114 --> 00:50:17,298
That might mean that we need
to change certain things.

1263
00:50:17,434 --> 00:50:21,858
Well, Pastor, we've always
done it this way, and we can't change

1264
00:50:21,914 --> 00:50:22,130
that.

1265
00:50:22,170 --> 00:50:23,794
Well, what if the Spirit is
guiding us?

1266
00:50:23,882 --> 00:50:24,722
A separate path.

1267
00:50:24,786 --> 00:50:27,906
Not an unbiblical path, but a
path that says, you know what?

1268
00:50:27,978 --> 00:50:30,770
This ministry could be more
effectively in the cause of the Great

1269
00:50:30,810 --> 00:50:32,230
Commission in this path.

1270
00:50:32,870 --> 00:50:33,278
Not.

1271
00:50:33,334 --> 00:50:35,854
Not to remove ministries for
the sake of removing.

1272
00:50:35,982 --> 00:50:38,574
I had one, one pastor friend
say, the first thing you gotta do

1273
00:50:38,582 --> 00:50:41,518
when you become a new pastor
is just flip the script, do everything

1274
00:50:41,574 --> 00:50:44,078
different just to change them,
put them on their toes.

1275
00:50:44,254 --> 00:50:46,062
I was like, no, I don't want
to do that.

1276
00:50:46,246 --> 00:50:46,542
So.

1277
00:50:46,566 --> 00:50:50,350
So it's not changing just the
change, but it's changing as God

1278
00:50:50,510 --> 00:50:52,478
directs and wills it.

1279
00:50:52,534 --> 00:50:53,886
And that's what we have to do
within the church.

1280
00:50:53,918 --> 00:50:57,450
You say, well, I've been in
this ministry for 50 years.

1281
00:50:58,080 --> 00:50:58,680
Great.

1282
00:50:58,800 --> 00:50:59,736
That's awesome.

1283
00:50:59,848 --> 00:51:04,536
Maybe God has you moving from
that ministry to another ministry.

1284
00:51:04,728 --> 00:51:07,400
Would we be willing to say,
you know, I've been here for this

1285
00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:08,632
long, but I could do this?

1286
00:51:08,736 --> 00:51:10,328
Or maybe you could say, you
know what?

1287
00:51:10,384 --> 00:51:12,696
I've been doing this ministry
this way, but these kids aren't acting

1288
00:51:12,728 --> 00:51:17,336
the way they used to act 25
years ago, I might be able to benefit

1289
00:51:17,368 --> 00:51:19,672
from someone coming in
explaining to me how some of these

1290
00:51:19,696 --> 00:51:21,620
kids start to think
differently these days.

1291
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:24,456
We don't just say, well, these
kids are different, so we just forget

1292
00:51:24,488 --> 00:51:24,872
about them.

1293
00:51:24,896 --> 00:51:25,800
We just throw them to the side.

1294
00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:27,160
We adapt and we adjust.

1295
00:51:27,240 --> 00:51:27,456
And.

1296
00:51:27,488 --> 00:51:29,872
And so that's the idea here in
Romans chapter 12.

1297
00:51:29,976 --> 00:51:30,256
It's.

1298
00:51:30,288 --> 00:51:33,680
It's seeing the gifts and
being able to move and adjust and

1299
00:51:33,720 --> 00:51:35,888
say, lord, you have me here
for this purpose.

1300
00:51:35,984 --> 00:51:40,704
And so I encourage you to
think about that here in 2025 as

1301
00:51:40,712 --> 00:51:41,200
we come into.

1302
00:51:41,240 --> 00:51:41,696
Is it.

1303
00:51:41,768 --> 00:51:42,592
Isn't it amazing?

1304
00:51:42,656 --> 00:51:43,424
We're right here.

1305
00:51:43,512 --> 00:51:45,264
We're almost to the end of the year.

1306
00:51:45,432 --> 00:51:48,192
We look back on 2024, and we
see all the things that God has done

1307
00:51:48,216 --> 00:51:49,456
this year, and it's been a
great year.

1308
00:51:49,528 --> 00:51:52,144
One of the goals at the very
beginning of the year was discipleship.

1309
00:51:52,192 --> 00:51:56,502
Our theme for 2024 was through
the discipleship direction.

1310
00:51:56,646 --> 00:51:59,766
And I believe that we have
fostered an environment where there's

1311
00:51:59,798 --> 00:52:03,222
more desire for that
discipleship process to happen and

1312
00:52:03,246 --> 00:52:06,134
to grow and to individually
invest into people's lives.

1313
00:52:06,302 --> 00:52:09,958
But what I would say is that
there is that point where we internally

1314
00:52:10,134 --> 00:52:14,582
build ourselves up, but there
also is that desire for us at a point

1315
00:52:14,606 --> 00:52:15,606
where, hey, you know what?

1316
00:52:15,678 --> 00:52:16,930
We're ready to go.

1317
00:52:17,790 --> 00:52:19,738
We're ready to take these
gifts and.

1318
00:52:19,774 --> 00:52:23,026
And utilize them for other
people, because it was about me growing,

1319
00:52:23,058 --> 00:52:25,870
but now it's about how can I
help other people grow.

1320
00:52:26,330 --> 00:52:28,674
And I would encourage you to
think about how that transformation

1321
00:52:28,722 --> 00:52:29,746
can happen in your life.

1322
00:52:29,818 --> 00:52:32,018
You know what, as God buil and
he's always going to be building

1323
00:52:32,074 --> 00:52:35,394
us, but there is a point where
as we are being built up in him,

1324
00:52:35,482 --> 00:52:36,402
that we say, you know what?

1325
00:52:36,426 --> 00:52:38,066
I want to take someone along
with me.

1326
00:52:38,218 --> 00:52:38,530
I.

1327
00:52:38,570 --> 00:52:40,910
I want to take another group
along with me in this process.

1328
00:52:41,370 --> 00:52:42,962
That's how we grow the church.

1329
00:52:43,106 --> 00:52:45,746
We don't grow the church by
saying, hey, I heard that other church

1330
00:52:45,778 --> 00:52:47,058
across town is having issues.

1331
00:52:47,114 --> 00:52:49,576
So we just want to, like, go
in and get a bunch of other Christians

1332
00:52:49,608 --> 00:52:50,632
and bring them over here.

1333
00:52:50,736 --> 00:52:51,048
That.

1334
00:52:51,104 --> 00:52:51,640
I mean, we.

1335
00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:53,336
We welcome other Christians
into our building.

1336
00:52:53,408 --> 00:52:55,672
But you know, what an amazing
thing is, is biblically, there is

1337
00:52:55,696 --> 00:52:59,080
a model for us to reach the
lost and to bring them into the church

1338
00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:00,712
and then grow them up.

1339
00:53:00,816 --> 00:53:03,288
That is an amazing opportunity
that we have.

1340
00:53:03,424 --> 00:53:04,808
All of us have been on that process.

1341
00:53:04,864 --> 00:53:08,040
At some point in our life, we
need to see more, we need to grow.

1342
00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:08,680
We need to go.

1343
00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:12,344
And that's how we show is the
spiritual gifts for the cause of

1344
00:53:12,352 --> 00:53:12,968
the Gospel.

1345
00:53:13,064 --> 00:53:14,664
I'm gonna ask if you're able
to to stand with me.

1346
00:53:14,672 --> 00:53:16,840
Every head bowed, every eye
closed as the music plays this morning.

1347
00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:19,608
I know this was a different
type of message, but I think it's

1348
00:53:19,624 --> 00:53:21,940
a message that we all need to
hear in the Christmas season.

1349
00:53:22,560 --> 00:53:24,408
See, why do we need to hear in
the Christmas season?

1350
00:53:24,464 --> 00:53:27,672
Because we are more
spiritually focused on gifts, right?

1351
00:53:27,776 --> 00:53:28,552
Man, you know what?

1352
00:53:28,576 --> 00:53:29,864
It's better to give than receive.

1353
00:53:29,912 --> 00:53:35,608
Well, the way that a Christian
gives is not just by vaguely being

1354
00:53:35,664 --> 00:53:36,744
kind to people.

1355
00:53:36,912 --> 00:53:41,000
The Bible says very clearly
that there are specific areas of

1356
00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:44,504
service that we are all
challenged to exercise ourselves

1357
00:53:44,552 --> 00:53:45,140
in.

1358
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:48,224
Specifically in the area of ministry.

1359
00:53:48,272 --> 00:53:50,544
That word ministry sometimes
gets confused.

1360
00:53:50,672 --> 00:53:53,936
Sometimes people think that,
oh, ministry is just pastors.

1361
00:53:54,048 --> 00:53:57,072
Ministry is just people
running the ministry.

1362
00:53:57,136 --> 00:54:03,520
Folks, all of us, every single
believer here today is called to

1363
00:54:03,560 --> 00:54:04,464
have a ministry.

1364
00:54:04,512 --> 00:54:07,952
You might not even have a name
to that ministry, but the ministry

1365
00:54:08,016 --> 00:54:10,416
of its servants, it's serving others.

1366
00:54:10,488 --> 00:54:12,264
How can I serve others?

1367
00:54:12,352 --> 00:54:15,460
Is it in the area of
proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ?

1368
00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:18,900
Is it in the area of service
to others?

1369
00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:21,352
Now, two very different ministries.

1370
00:54:21,416 --> 00:54:24,104
Remember in First Peter,
Chapter 4, it said that there's going

1371
00:54:24,112 --> 00:54:28,584
to be some that are speaking
ministries, upfront ministries, ministries

1372
00:54:28,632 --> 00:54:30,856
that are going to receive notice.

1373
00:54:31,048 --> 00:54:33,800
But there's other ministries
like the service ministry that many

1374
00:54:33,840 --> 00:54:35,080
times never gets noticed.

1375
00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:37,624
But the beauty of that is that
those are the ministries that God

1376
00:54:37,672 --> 00:54:38,366
notices.

1377
00:54:38,528 --> 00:54:42,194
Those are the ministries that
may be overlooked in the concept

1378
00:54:42,242 --> 00:54:44,050
of leadership and administration.

1379
00:54:44,210 --> 00:54:44,882
But you know what?

1380
00:54:44,906 --> 00:54:47,186
That ministry of service is a
vital ministry.

1381
00:54:47,218 --> 00:54:48,690
It's the heartbeat of the church.

1382
00:54:48,770 --> 00:54:49,794
And you might say, you know what?

1383
00:54:49,802 --> 00:54:50,994
I'm not able to get up and teach.

1384
00:54:51,042 --> 00:54:53,666
I'm not able to lead a Sunday
school class.

1385
00:54:53,738 --> 00:54:56,770
But what I can do is I can
serve and I can lift others up.

1386
00:54:56,890 --> 00:54:59,618
I can lift others up so that
the cause of the Gospel is pushed

1387
00:54:59,634 --> 00:54:59,954
forward.

1388
00:55:00,042 --> 00:55:01,314
You don't have to be upfront.

1389
00:55:01,362 --> 00:55:03,170
You don't have to have a
ministry title.

1390
00:55:03,250 --> 00:55:05,324
The Bible says all of us can serve.

1391
00:55:05,482 --> 00:55:07,400
And maybe for some of us, you
say, you know what?

1392
00:55:07,440 --> 00:55:08,680
I want to be a teacher.

1393
00:55:08,840 --> 00:55:11,032
And teaching is something that
I love.

1394
00:55:11,216 --> 00:55:12,168
Teaching is something.

1395
00:55:12,224 --> 00:55:14,264
And teaching isn't always in
the classroom.

1396
00:55:14,312 --> 00:55:17,176
I would say a lot of teaching
happens within the church outside

1397
00:55:17,248 --> 00:55:18,216
of the classroom.

1398
00:55:18,328 --> 00:55:21,480
By the way that we live our
lives, nothing resonates more with

1399
00:55:21,520 --> 00:55:25,096
people than when a life is
backed up with what is being taught

1400
00:55:25,128 --> 00:55:25,976
in the classroom.

1401
00:55:26,088 --> 00:55:27,976
People can talk to talk.

1402
00:55:28,128 --> 00:55:31,736
But how about let's walk the
walk and Teaching the next generation

1403
00:55:31,848 --> 00:55:33,266
about Jesus Christ.

1404
00:55:33,448 --> 00:55:35,422
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation.

1405
00:55:35,486 --> 00:55:37,230
I pray that you work in hearts
and lives.

1406
00:55:37,350 --> 00:55:40,318
I pray that you allow us to
see you clearly here this morning.

1407
00:55:40,454 --> 00:55:43,742
Lord, I pray that you
challenge us to a place in which

1408
00:55:43,766 --> 00:55:47,710
we can follow you in giving
those gifts of service to other people.

1409
00:55:47,830 --> 00:55:48,382
We love you.

1410
00:55:48,406 --> 00:55:49,598
In Jesus name, Amen.

1411
00:55:49,614 --> 00:55:52,302
As the music plays here this
morning, you can come forward.

1412
00:55:52,406 --> 00:55:55,934
You can rededicate your life
to serving the Lord in those spiritual

1413
00:55:55,982 --> 00:55:59,066
areas of service, of teaching,
of exhortation, of.

1414
00:55:59,158 --> 00:55:59,922
Of mercy.

1415
00:55:59,986 --> 00:56:01,666
And I would also challenge you
on this.

1416
00:56:01,738 --> 00:56:04,590
You know what, if you're not a
believer in Jesus Christ this morning,

1417
00:56:05,130 --> 00:56:07,794
you can't exercise these
spiritual gifts.

1418
00:56:07,922 --> 00:56:09,970
So what I would say is that if
you've been trusting in something

1419
00:56:10,010 --> 00:56:12,914
else outside of Jesus Christ,
if you've been trusting in anything

1420
00:56:12,962 --> 00:56:15,714
outside of faith in Jesus
Christ and what he has done for you

1421
00:56:15,802 --> 00:56:19,202
by coming to this earth,
living a perfect life, dying on the

1422
00:56:19,226 --> 00:56:21,282
cross, conquering death of the resurrection.

1423
00:56:21,346 --> 00:56:21,922
Hey, you know what?

1424
00:56:21,946 --> 00:56:23,330
You can trust in Jesus today.

1425
00:56:23,370 --> 00:56:25,340
What better season than the
Christmas season?

1426
00:56:25,490 --> 00:56:28,120
Turn your life over to Christ
and receive that gift of salvation

1427
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:29,620
and the gift of service.

1428
00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:32,952
So as we have prayed, you can
come forward, you can kneel in your

1429
00:56:32,976 --> 00:56:33,176
pew.

1430
00:56:33,208 --> 00:56:35,320
We're going to take a few
moments to focus on the Lord here

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00:56:35,360 --> 00:56:35,816
this morning.

1432
00:56:35,888 --> 00:56:37,740
Respond to him as the Lord leaves.

1433
00:56:38,240 --> 00:56:40,824
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1434
00:56:40,872 --> 00:56:41,624
podcast.

1435
00:56:41,752 --> 00:56:44,420
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1436
00:56:44,720 --> 00:56:47,016
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1437
00:56:47,048 --> 00:56:50,568
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1438
00:56:50,664 --> 00:56:53,590
or or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1439
00:56:54,090 --> 00:56:58,546
You can also email me directly
at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch

1440
00:56:58,578 --> 00:57:03,010
dot com if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1441
00:57:03,050 --> 00:57:06,070
along for future podcast and updates.

1442
00:57:06,410 --> 00:57:07,570
Thank you so much.

1443
00:57:07,690 --> 00:57:08,514
God bless.

1444
00:57:08,642 --> 00:57:09,690
Have a wonderful day.