WEBVTT 00:00:03.847 --> 00:00:10.349 So let's turn in our Bibles to 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, if you would, and, like Derek said, we're in the sermon series called Encounter. 00:00:10.349 --> 00:00:20.312 It's all about the Holy Spirit, who he is and what he does, and for the last couple of weeks we've been looking at how God speaks to us as individuals. 00:00:20.312 --> 00:00:23.568 Aren't you thankful that we can hear the voice of God? 00:00:23.568 --> 00:00:31.353 So important, especially in the time that we're living in, to be able to hear and recognize the voice of God as he speaks to us. 00:00:31.353 --> 00:00:33.884 But he doesn't want us to stop there. 00:00:33.884 --> 00:00:46.670 He wants to speak to us so that he can speak through us to other people, and so that's such a great privilege that we have, as believers in Jesus, to be able to hear his voice for others. 00:00:46.670 --> 00:00:51.110 So 1 Corinthians 12, verses 1 through 11, is going to be our key passage this morning. 00:00:51.110 --> 00:00:52.506 Let's read that together. 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:55.786 This is the word of God Now concerning spiritual gifts. 00:00:55.786 --> 00:00:57.951 Brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. 00:00:57.951 --> 00:01:08.337 You know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb idols I love how God says things these dumb idols. 00:01:08.337 --> 00:01:09.441 However you were led. 00:01:09.441 --> 00:01:21.069 Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 00:01:21.730 --> 00:01:24.826 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 00:01:24.826 --> 00:01:26.477 There are differences of minist gifts, but the same Spirit. 00:01:26.477 --> 00:01:29.224 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 00:01:29.224 --> 00:01:47.984 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same spirit to another. 00:01:47.984 --> 00:01:50.810 Faith by the same spirit to another. 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:54.263 Gifts of healings by the same spirit to another. 00:01:54.263 --> 00:01:56.548 The working of miracles to another. 00:01:56.548 --> 00:01:58.111 Prophecy to another. 00:01:58.111 --> 00:02:02.308 Discernment of spirits, I'm sorry, discerning of spirits and to another. 00:02:02.308 --> 00:02:15.949 Different kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues, but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills. 00:02:15.949 --> 00:02:17.753 Let's pray together. 00:02:19.141 --> 00:02:22.230 Father, I am so thankful for your Word. 00:02:22.230 --> 00:02:29.162 It is not just words on a page, it is not just something that we read for entertainment value. 00:02:29.162 --> 00:02:38.383 It is your very life-giving, god-breathed word that brings about the change in our lives that we need. 00:02:38.383 --> 00:02:44.592 And so, father, we ask that you would help us today to be more, to have a greater level of understanding about who you are. 00:02:44.592 --> 00:02:46.044 We ask that you would help us today to be more, to have a greater level of understanding about who you are. 00:02:46.044 --> 00:03:02.887 We ask that you would be glorified in everything that is said and done and we ask that, by your spirit, that you would make the words that I speak to come alive and to transform each person that is sitting here and all of those who are watching online. 00:03:02.887 --> 00:03:08.733 And, lord, we thank you and we give you praise and honor for it, in Jesus name, amen. 00:03:10.841 --> 00:03:18.570 Many of you know my story but for those of you who don't know, my dad was a cowboy, like a real cowboy. 00:03:18.570 --> 00:03:25.864 We lived in Wyoming and his dad was a mountain man, like a real. 00:03:25.864 --> 00:03:34.305 I keep saying like a real, but I mean an authentic mountain man, like with the leathers and the, you know, the elk tooth necklace and the weird hat and all of that. 00:03:34.305 --> 00:03:37.412 I mean that was, he was a trapper, he did all of that stuff. 00:03:37.412 --> 00:03:49.604 And my dad was a cowboy and he got a job in Montana on a ranch where he managed 80,000 acres of land and on that land we had horses and we had cows and we had buffalo. 00:03:49.604 --> 00:03:59.300 And I was born, and before me my brother, brian, was born, and so we lived there, the four of us, along with ranch hands and other people that were there to help. 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:34.675 But we lived there and all things were going very well, until one day when my brother, who was two and a half years old, had watched somebody else open the fence gate, and so he opened that fence gate and he and I walked out of that gate and down the hill and down below there was a pond that was not actually water, it was runoff from the sewage on all of the property and somehow my brother found his way into that pond and he drowned. 00:04:36.961 --> 00:04:45.187 My mother, when she would discover this, was obviously overcome and overwhelmed with every form of grief that you can imagine. 00:04:45.187 --> 00:05:03.634 But the thing that hit her more than anything else, believe it or not, was the fact that the very few times that she had gone to church, she had been told that unless you christen your child, if you don't christen your child and they die, they do not enter into heaven. 00:05:03.634 --> 00:05:30.771 And so my mother dealing with the physical loss of her son and my brother, that was one thing and that was one layer and one level, but on a much deeper level, the fact that she believed with all of her heart that, because we lived 80 miles from anywhere, because she had not taken him to the church to be christened, that now his destiny was eternal damnation in hell. 00:05:30.771 --> 00:05:35.009 My dad didn't know what to do with the situation. 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:49.237 He pulled his hat down and pulled his boots up and tried to be even stronger than what he had been before, but he couldn't help my mom, and so he took her to a psychologist, and the psychologist was listening to her, and mom couldn't help my mom, and so he took her to a psychologist, and the psychologist was listening to her, and mom couldn't even really speak. 00:05:49.336 --> 00:05:58.423 She was overcome and overwhelmed with emotion, as you can imagine, and so the psychologist stopped and said I really can't help you, but I'm going to send you somewhere. 00:05:58.423 --> 00:06:01.151 There's a lady there that I believe can help you. 00:06:01.151 --> 00:06:23.891 And so he sent her to this little Christian bookstore in Billings, montana, and my mom walked in there and the lady, obviously seeing that she was distraught, took my mom back to this little room, the stock room in the back, and, as my mom would tell it, this lady began to pray in a language that she didn't understand and she stopped. 00:06:23.891 --> 00:06:28.002 Now here's the thing that you need to know before I go on with the story. 00:06:28.002 --> 00:06:31.850 This lady knew nothing about the situation. 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:36.045 The psychologist did not call her and tell her any of the details. 00:06:36.045 --> 00:06:38.189 My mom couldn't even speak. 00:06:38.189 --> 00:06:44.129 She was shut down so much emotionally at that point in time that she couldn't explain the situation to her. 00:06:44.129 --> 00:06:49.389 There's no way my dad was entering into any bookstore, especially a Christian bookstore. 00:06:49.389 --> 00:06:53.687 And so here's my mom in this back room with this lady who's praying in this. 00:06:53.687 --> 00:06:55.112 She didn't know it was praying. 00:06:55.112 --> 00:07:07.012 She was talking in this weird language to her and she stopped and she looked at my mom and she said your son, son Brian, is in heaven with Jesus. 00:07:11.021 --> 00:07:29.586 And in that moment, all of those layers of lies, fears and darkness that had tried to overcome my mom and overwhelm my mom began to loosen their hold and their grip a little bit, and it wouldn't be long after that. 00:07:29.586 --> 00:07:38.067 A Baptist minister would enter into my grandfather's home to try to get him to believe in Jesus, and he wasn't interested. 00:07:38.067 --> 00:07:56.113 But he pointed out my mom, and my mom listened to what this man had to say about his Jesus, who lived for a perfect life and who died a death and took our sins upon him and, boy, she needed somebody to take what she perceived to be her sin upon himself. 00:07:56.113 --> 00:08:33.788 And then he rose again from the grave and all of the great details of the gospel, and my mom gave her life to Jesus Christ and within a year's period of time we were moved out of that place because it was too much hurt and grief to remain in that ranch, and so we moved back to Wyoming and my mom went to church and she began to take me to church with her, and within just a couple of years, as I was able to understand more and more about who this Jesus is, I became a Christian because my mom asked me one day in the bathroom as I was brushing my teeth Tyler, do you want to follow Jesus? 00:08:33.788 --> 00:08:38.068 And I said yes, and I have to say grace be to God. 00:08:38.068 --> 00:08:45.591 It's been hard since then, but I've never second-guessed that decision I made as a child. 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:56.033 Obviously, to me it's very important that we hear the voice of God for other people. 00:08:56.033 --> 00:09:22.823 My mom's life and the complete trajectory of our family was changed because one lady was running a Christian bookstore which was just a front for the prayer room in the back where she would cry out to God, knowing that there was nothing that she could do to help my mom, but that she loved and served a God who cared more than she could ever care or be concerned. 00:09:22.823 --> 00:09:35.894 God desires to speak to his people, but he also desires to speak through his people, and I don't want us to lose sight of this. 00:09:35.894 --> 00:09:47.846 I want this to become something that we are so well aware of that we can't hide from it, that we can't ignore it, that we don't want to, that we want to work with God as he desires to speak to people. 00:09:47.846 --> 00:09:53.620 One of the ways that God does this is that he gives us spiritual gifts. 00:09:53.620 --> 00:10:00.888 It's not even that he just counts on us to be able to come up with the right thing to say at the right time, to be educated enough to have enough knowledge. 00:10:00.888 --> 00:10:09.788 All of those things are good and important, but he also gives us his very spirit to speak in us and through us to other people. 00:10:10.389 --> 00:10:16.969 Spiritual gifts are motivations, ministries and supernatural abilities that God gives Christians by his spirit. 00:10:16.969 --> 00:10:20.582 He gives these things as gifts to us. 00:10:20.582 --> 00:10:27.883 In the Bible, god gives Paul three different lists of these gifts that are found, and I just want to quickly run through them. 00:10:27.883 --> 00:10:33.828 So the first one is found in Romans, chapter 12, verses 6 through 8, and this is called motivational gifts. 00:10:33.828 --> 00:10:37.221 That's the kind of the label that is used to describe these gifts. 00:10:37.221 --> 00:10:55.480 So they are prophecy, or maybe you've heard the term perceiver serving teaching, the term perceiver serving teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, or administration and mercy. 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:58.345 Now, the thing that's unique about the motivational gifts is that they're given to us even before birth. 00:10:58.345 --> 00:11:07.104 They're a part of us from the very beginning, and these gifts that are given to us by God can be used for good or they can be used in a lot of different directions. 00:11:07.104 --> 00:11:10.721 They can be used to serve God or they can be used to serve ourselves. 00:11:10.721 --> 00:11:18.847 For example, have you ever known somebody in your life and you would just say of them that person is such a giver Like? 00:11:18.847 --> 00:11:24.904 That's how you would characterize them, that was a quality of their life, or you'd say, man, that person's an incredible servant. 00:11:24.904 --> 00:11:27.729 All they do is serve, right? 00:11:27.729 --> 00:11:31.375 Maybe that was in the context of Christianity, and hopefully it was. 00:11:31.375 --> 00:11:42.051 But that same gift, that same motivational gift, that same thing that is put into the personality, the fabric of who we are, those things are given to us by God. 00:11:42.672 --> 00:11:49.163 Motivational gifts are given to us by God Motivational gifts. 00:11:49.163 --> 00:11:50.768 Right, they have a profound effect on shaping our personality. 00:11:50.768 --> 00:11:52.393 Every person typically has a dominant motivational gift. 00:11:52.393 --> 00:12:00.803 One of those that I read is your dominant gift, so that's the one that you operate in most often and, by the way, you don't even have to think about doing these things. 00:12:00.803 --> 00:12:02.868 They're just a part of who you are. 00:12:02.868 --> 00:12:05.840 It's like the natural outworking of who you are. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:12.160 Now you can suppress these things and pretend and, you know, hide from who God made you to be right. 00:12:12.160 --> 00:12:22.268 But in the normal circumstances of your life, where you are being who God made you to be, these expressions of these gifts that God's given you will come out. 00:12:22.268 --> 00:12:24.734 They will be made obvious. 00:12:24.734 --> 00:12:29.450 Gifts that God's given you will come out, they will be made obvious, and you may have a strong secondary gift and third gift, and so on. 00:12:29.450 --> 00:12:30.394 So those are motivational gifts. 00:12:30.916 --> 00:12:35.586 The second set of gifts that Paul speaks about is found in Ephesians 4, verse 11. 00:12:35.586 --> 00:12:48.986 It speaks of the apostle, the prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher, and the term that we use for that is the five-fold ministry gift, because it's apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher five-fold. 00:12:48.986 --> 00:12:56.087 And these gifts are given to some who are called to specific ministry roles within the church. 00:12:56.087 --> 00:12:59.173 Not everyone has one of these gifts. 00:12:59.173 --> 00:13:04.009 These are equipping and training gifts given to enable members of the church. 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:07.736 What is our job are equipping and training gifts given to enable members of the church. 00:13:07.736 --> 00:13:08.359 What is our job? 00:13:08.359 --> 00:13:23.341 Our job, those of us who are in the five-fold ministry our job is to equip you, to give you what you need to be able to do the work that God's called you to do, and so that's when I love, when I see you running with the gospel, when I see you doing what God's called you to do and what he's made you to be. 00:13:23.341 --> 00:13:36.970 That, really, more than even my own whatever I would want to label my own accomplishments seeing you, each and every one of you, fulfilling God's purpose for your life is rewarding beyond compare. 00:13:38.493 --> 00:13:45.081 Next, and this is the one we're focusing on here this morning, is the supernatural gifts of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians that we just read. 00:13:45.081 --> 00:13:57.994 These are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. 00:13:57.994 --> 00:14:05.368 So the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are given to each believer when he or she is filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:14:05.368 --> 00:14:12.120 These are some of the gifts that God gives to people as individuals, as they are filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:14.729 They often are imparted through the laying on of hands. 00:14:14.828 --> 00:14:16.181 It doesn't have to happen that way. 00:14:16.181 --> 00:14:19.830 God can fill somebody with the Spirit in any way that he wants to do it. 00:14:19.830 --> 00:14:23.687 Many of us have experiences in our lives that prove that to be true. 00:14:23.687 --> 00:14:33.506 Right, some of you were driving in your car, some of you were at home, some of you were at a Bible study, some of you were at a church meeting, some of you were one-on-one and the Holy Spirit fell upon you. 00:14:33.506 --> 00:14:37.049 Right, and filled you and gave you different gifts. 00:14:37.049 --> 00:14:43.594 And we understand also that the Holy Spirit is the one, ultimately, who baptizes us into the body of Christ. 00:14:43.594 --> 00:14:48.787 So if you are a believer in Jesus you are you do have the Holy Spirit. 00:14:48.787 --> 00:14:50.913 He's an active part of your life. 00:14:50.913 --> 00:14:55.706 He has filled you and filled your spirit and caused you to be alive unto God. 00:14:55.706 --> 00:14:59.621 But there are many fillings that come after that as well, right? 00:14:59.621 --> 00:15:08.514 So these supernatural gifts are explicitly supernatural in nature and tend to operate spontaneously, as the Spirit wills. 00:15:08.514 --> 00:15:13.008 This isn't according to our will or our desire, although we can at times. 00:15:13.008 --> 00:15:13.509 God can. 00:15:13.509 --> 00:15:20.331 He connects our desire with His, and I'm thankful for when he does that, when we realize that we're working with Him. 00:15:20.591 --> 00:15:26.131 Right, they're most often released because of a need that presents itself at any given moment. 00:15:26.131 --> 00:15:32.341 For example, why would there be a need for the gifts of healings to be in operation if there was nobody that was sick? 00:15:32.341 --> 00:15:34.306 Does that make sense? 00:15:34.306 --> 00:15:36.551 I mean, that's pretty basic right. 00:15:36.551 --> 00:15:48.765 So if there's a need for a particular gift to be used in order to be a blessing to somebody else, god will use that gift and he'll use different people at different times to operate in that gift. 00:15:48.765 --> 00:15:57.456 And so people might have again, like the motivational gift, a predominant gift, something that they operate in most often. 00:15:57.456 --> 00:16:07.794 But I believe that all of us, at any given point in time, can be given a gift to meet a need in a particular point in time. 00:16:07.794 --> 00:16:19.076 Right, god can use us at any point in time in any way that he chooses to do that, but a lot of times we have a predominant gift or two that he tends to use us in more often than the others. 00:16:19.739 --> 00:16:31.751 So Paul is writing here in our passage to the Corinthian church and this is a church that he established on his second missionary journey and five years later he gets a report from the church at Corinth. 00:16:31.751 --> 00:16:33.063 What does the report look like? 00:16:33.063 --> 00:16:40.424 We're growing, there's a lot of good things happening, but there's an addendum. 00:16:40.424 --> 00:16:41.148 What's the addendum? 00:16:41.148 --> 00:16:43.606 These people are crazy. 00:16:43.606 --> 00:16:51.241 This church is going crazy. 00:16:51.241 --> 00:16:51.643 Nobody's in charge. 00:16:51.643 --> 00:16:52.605 It's a free for all. 00:16:52.605 --> 00:16:54.307 It's like the Wild West right. 00:16:55.289 --> 00:17:03.681 And so Paul, in his fatherly way, writes this letter again, five years after he's established this church, on his second missionary journey. 00:17:03.681 --> 00:17:07.250 And he does a lot of saying you know, good job, thank you for doing this. 00:17:07.250 --> 00:17:12.853 But most of the time he spends dealing with their lack of spiritual maturity. 00:17:12.853 --> 00:17:15.567 And how does he do that? 00:17:15.567 --> 00:17:17.488 He teaches them and he trains them. 00:17:17.488 --> 00:17:23.854 It's interesting because the greatest area of their lack of maturity was in the use of the gifts of the Spirit. 00:17:23.854 --> 00:17:27.027 And yet, what does Paul not do? 00:17:27.027 --> 00:17:33.865 If it were me and I got a report that this was going on, what's the first response? 00:17:33.865 --> 00:17:38.306 That your mind would say Shut it down, tell him to stop. 00:17:38.306 --> 00:17:42.906 He doesn't do that, but he does bring correction. 00:17:42.906 --> 00:17:47.623 He does bring correction because that's what was needed at the time. 00:17:47.623 --> 00:17:52.434 His correction is to the motivation behind them using the gifts. 00:17:53.577 --> 00:17:55.766 What is the proper motivation for the gifts of the Spirit? 00:17:55.766 --> 00:17:58.496 We're going to get there in a minute. 00:17:58.496 --> 00:17:59.941 Just be thinking about that. 00:17:59.941 --> 00:18:05.993 He also reiterates the need for keeping an orderly, edifying approach in corporate services. 00:18:05.993 --> 00:18:11.545 Things must be done what Decently and in order, decently and in order. 00:18:11.545 --> 00:18:22.211 So we're going to focus on three of the gifts of the Spirit this morning that really relate to hearing the voice of God for others, and they are the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom and prophecy. 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:29.708 Now, next week, Neil is going to come and he's going to be speaking to us about tongues, the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. 00:18:29.708 --> 00:18:31.025 So you won't want to miss that. 00:18:31.025 --> 00:18:32.082 That'll be right. 00:18:32.082 --> 00:18:38.829 Before our Servant's Heart Banquet, which again Derek mentioned, there will be wildly funny entertainment. 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:43.969 We're just speaking it forth as if it is right. 00:18:43.969 --> 00:18:52.759 Please pray for us Seriously, but first let's remind ourselves of the motivation. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.122 Okay, so what is the motivation? 00:18:54.122 --> 00:19:02.463 The primary motivation of the Holy Spirit is what To bring honor and glory to Jesus. 00:19:02.463 --> 00:19:05.711 Please don't lose that. 00:19:05.711 --> 00:19:07.655 Please don't forget that. 00:19:07.655 --> 00:19:14.651 That is the primary motivation of the Holy Spirit is to draw attention to Jesus. 00:19:14.651 --> 00:19:28.747 It says here in our passage again, therefore, I make known to you that no one, speaking by the Spirit of God, calls Jesus accursed and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 00:19:28.747 --> 00:19:30.951 What is this revelation about? 00:19:30.951 --> 00:19:36.088 Why is it that the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and helps us to see things in the supernatural realm? 00:19:36.088 --> 00:19:43.633 Why is it that he gives us the ability to pray for healing and to see miracles come about so that Jesus might be glorified? 00:19:43.633 --> 00:19:47.643 See miracles come about so that Jesus might be glorified, so that his name might be lifted up. 00:19:47.643 --> 00:19:48.684 Listen to this phrase. 00:19:48.684 --> 00:20:01.060 It doesn't matter how powerful it may seem, if Jesus isn't being glorified, it's not a gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:01.080 --> 00:20:05.682 How many of you know that there are false gifts that are used? 00:20:05.682 --> 00:20:25.509 There are a lot of people who are pursuing the occult and all kinds of practices that are out there and I promise you, a lot of times they see things that appear to be more powerful and more amazing and more revelatory than even we do. 00:20:25.509 --> 00:20:29.832 They have great faith that they're going to see those things and experience those things. 00:20:29.832 --> 00:20:43.017 But I'm telling you, the cause of those things, or the root of those things, is evil and it is dark and it doesn't lead to having life and having life more abundantly. 00:20:43.017 --> 00:20:48.578 It leads to the thief coming to steal, to kill and to destroy. 00:20:48.578 --> 00:20:59.243 If you are dabbling in any way in any expression of the supernatural that is outside of the word of God and his way of doing things and the working of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:59.243 --> 00:21:03.545 I plead you, I implore you, I beg you, stop it now. 00:21:03.545 --> 00:21:08.628 It will only lead to destruction in your life. 00:21:12.358 --> 00:21:16.756 As we go on with our passage, we see that the entire Trinity is involved in blessing believers with gifts. 00:21:16.756 --> 00:21:19.462 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 00:21:19.462 --> 00:21:22.237 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 00:21:22.237 --> 00:21:26.587 There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works. 00:21:26.587 --> 00:21:33.969 All in all, you see all three of them involved in the unity of the work of God among His people. 00:21:33.969 --> 00:21:45.298 The various gifts, ministries and activities that are manifested in their presence underscore God's desire to bless, serve and to be active in the life of his unique people. 00:21:45.298 --> 00:21:46.420 You know what God is. 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:47.642 God is a giver. 00:21:47.642 --> 00:21:54.498 He is a giver and he loves to give good gifts to his children. 00:21:56.922 --> 00:22:02.269 And next, the passage tells us that the gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good. 00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:14.015 For the common good, it says, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. 00:22:14.015 --> 00:22:23.055 If we use the gifts for selfish reasons, we completely miss the meaning of them and the purpose of them. 00:22:23.055 --> 00:22:37.375 I believe that the reason that the last great move of God came to an end is because people began to take credit for what God was doing. 00:22:37.375 --> 00:22:44.678 I healed so-and-so, I performed a miracle, I cast out demons. 00:22:44.678 --> 00:22:48.105 My friends, the disciples, came back to Jesus after Jesus sent them out with power and they had the same reports. 00:22:48.105 --> 00:22:49.236 And what did Jesus do? 00:22:49.236 --> 00:22:58.569 He was happy that things were happening, but he reminded them don't forget, the most important thing is that your name is written in heaven. 00:22:58.569 --> 00:23:11.744 There are different needs in the Christian community and different gifts are required at different times. 00:23:12.375 --> 00:23:15.305 Love should always be the motivator in the use of the gifts. 00:23:15.305 --> 00:23:31.189 Isn't it interesting that if you read 1 Corinthians, 12, 13, and 14, sandwiched in between these two very important passages on the use of the gifts of the Spirit is a whole chapter on love, a whole chapter on love. 00:23:31.189 --> 00:23:34.068 What was it that Paul was really bringing correction to? 00:23:34.068 --> 00:23:37.584 What was it that the Holy Spirit was bringing correction to concerning this church? 00:23:37.584 --> 00:23:39.662 They were doing amazing things. 00:23:39.662 --> 00:23:46.488 Power, all of these things were occurring, but they weren't motivated by love for one another. 00:23:47.855 --> 00:23:54.782 Let us never forget that God is much more concerned with the fruit of the Spirit developed in our lives than he is the use of the gifts. 00:23:54.782 --> 00:23:57.021 And here's how I can prove that, when we get to heaven, are we going to need the gifts of the Spirit developed in our lives than he is the use of the gifts. 00:23:57.021 --> 00:23:59.943 And here's how I can prove that, when we get to heaven, are we going to need the gifts of the Spirit? 00:23:59.943 --> 00:24:03.480 Are we going to need the fruit of the Spirit? 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:06.007 So which one is eternal? 00:24:06.007 --> 00:24:12.247 God cares about both of them and they're both a huge part of who he is and what he does. 00:24:12.247 --> 00:24:14.339 But let's not mistake one for the other. 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:21.626 Right If you had to focus on only one, which we don't have to, but let's work on God developing character within our lives. 00:24:23.115 --> 00:24:25.807 Love is considered primary among all of these characteristics. 00:24:25.807 --> 00:24:28.698 In fact, the greatest commandment that God gives is what? 00:24:28.698 --> 00:24:31.306 What did Jesus say when he was asked what's the greatest commandment? 00:24:31.306 --> 00:24:33.397 Love God and love people. 00:24:33.397 --> 00:24:35.982 Love God and love people. 00:24:35.982 --> 00:24:41.482 If we are using the gifts with any other motivation than love, we're utterly failing. 00:24:41.482 --> 00:24:45.023 Listen to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13. 00:24:45.023 --> 00:25:01.945 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 00:25:01.945 --> 00:25:11.061 If I give away all I have and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing. 00:25:11.061 --> 00:25:22.751 God is love, and those of us who are his children will also love, as we've been loved and as he loves through us. 00:25:22.751 --> 00:25:25.362 So let's look at these three gifts. 00:25:25.575 --> 00:25:30.083 The word of wisdom first of all, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit. 00:25:30.083 --> 00:25:30.395 What is? 00:25:30.395 --> 00:25:31.842 Let's give a definition to this. 00:25:31.842 --> 00:25:37.367 The word of wisdom is a revelation of wisdom, usually about the present or future. 00:25:37.367 --> 00:25:45.619 So it's either today or in the future, beyond natural wisdom, that enables a person to know what to do or say to someone else. 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:54.919 How many of you have ever experienced something like this, where you did not know what to do and God spoke to you and gave you specific information on what you should do, moving forward? 00:25:54.919 --> 00:25:58.398 He either spoke to you directly or he spoke to you through somebody else. 00:25:58.398 --> 00:26:00.765 Right, that is a word of wisdom. 00:26:00.765 --> 00:26:03.356 Knowledge is the accumulation of facts. 00:26:03.356 --> 00:26:04.219 So what is wisdom? 00:26:04.219 --> 00:26:08.228 Wisdom is the proper use of those facts. 00:26:08.228 --> 00:26:14.804 So, having a word of wisdom, is God telling us what we're supposed to do with facts that he gives us? 00:26:14.804 --> 00:26:17.970 God telling us what we're supposed to do with facts that he gives us? 00:26:17.970 --> 00:26:19.813 How do you walk this out? 00:26:19.813 --> 00:26:23.455 What should you do? 00:26:23.476 --> 00:26:25.240 The word of wisdom is one of the most subtle supernatural gifts. 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:26.945 It's not flashy or dynamic in a lot of ways. 00:26:26.945 --> 00:26:28.549 In some ways it can be just very simple. 00:26:28.549 --> 00:26:29.977 But how many of you know? 00:26:29.977 --> 00:26:32.065 Just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not powerful. 00:26:32.065 --> 00:26:40.382 We need the wisdom of God, and James tells us that if we lack wisdom, that we can ask him and that he will give it to us liberally. 00:26:40.382 --> 00:26:49.987 He loves to give us wisdom and sometimes, a lot of times in my life, god has used other people to speak words of wisdom to me. 00:26:49.987 --> 00:26:54.157 Right, so it doesn't. 00:26:54.157 --> 00:26:57.932 Word of wisdom doesn't refer to a wise person, but a spontaneous gift. 00:26:57.932 --> 00:27:01.882 It's something that God is speaking in the moment through you. 00:27:01.882 --> 00:27:03.305 God gives to. 00:27:03.305 --> 00:27:06.376 God gives to bring his wisdom to bear on the situation. 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:08.503 A word of wisdom was given to the magi. 00:27:08.503 --> 00:27:10.759 Remember when they came to worship Jesus? 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:11.903 And what was the? 00:27:11.903 --> 00:27:12.445 What were? 00:27:12.445 --> 00:27:15.096 They told that they should depart and go a different way. 00:27:15.096 --> 00:27:16.220 Right, it was a word of wisdom that was given to them. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:16.661 How about Joseph? 00:27:16.661 --> 00:27:17.724 He was given a word of and what were they? 00:27:17.724 --> 00:27:17.865 Told? 00:27:17.865 --> 00:27:18.929 That they should depart and go a different way. 00:27:18.929 --> 00:27:20.233 Right, it was a word of wisdom that was given to them. 00:27:20.233 --> 00:27:20.615 How about Joseph? 00:27:20.615 --> 00:27:24.284 He was given a word of wisdom through a dream that he was to take his family to Egypt. 00:27:24.284 --> 00:27:27.202 All kinds of examples in the scripture. 00:27:28.336 --> 00:27:42.105 We rely on this heavily as elders when we counsel people Because, man, I can tell them all kinds of information and refer to books, and we do all of that and give them just basic life skills and all that. 00:27:42.105 --> 00:27:50.916 But, man, if God would speak to us and through us in a moment in time that can do so much more than a thousand words, that sound really good. 00:27:50.916 --> 00:27:52.799 Does that make sense? 00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:00.962 Also, when we make decisions as an elder team, we ask God for words of wisdom and, by the way, we're going away tomorrow. 00:28:00.962 --> 00:28:14.284 The elder team will be gone Monday through Wednesday this week and we're doing nothing but going to seek the Lord and asking him to speak to us concerning this church, concerning each of you, for this next year, for 2025. 00:28:14.284 --> 00:28:16.207 And so we covet your prayers. 00:28:16.207 --> 00:28:30.065 We ask that you would join with us in praying and asking God to speak clearly to us, to confirm it and to give us a footpath, a pathway that we can take to walk towards being obedient to what he asks of us. 00:28:30.065 --> 00:28:30.987 Will you do that with us? 00:28:30.987 --> 00:28:32.759 Thank you very much. 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:37.561 I can have Tricia drop you a text every morning at 6 am as a reminder. 00:28:37.561 --> 00:28:39.799 No, no, I'm just kidding. 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:42.166 I trust you that you're going to do that, so thank you for doing that. 00:28:43.635 --> 00:28:46.685 Let's look at Acts 13 just quickly as an example of the word of wisdom. 00:28:46.685 --> 00:28:55.060 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers Barnabas, simeon, lucius Manian a friend of Herod, the Tetrarch and Saul. 00:28:55.060 --> 00:29:07.689 And while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said Set apart from me, barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 00:29:07.689 --> 00:29:12.472 Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 00:29:12.472 --> 00:29:19.176 How many of you realize? 00:29:19.176 --> 00:29:20.219 This cost this church in Antioch a lot. 00:29:20.219 --> 00:29:31.862 They sent out two of their very best, but it was a word of wisdom that God gave this group, that this is what they were supposed to do, that they were supposed to send out, separate out Saul and Barnabas and send them out, and that was the beginning of their first missionary journey. 00:29:31.862 --> 00:29:33.266 So that's the word of wisdom. 00:29:33.755 --> 00:29:34.858 Next, the word of knowledge. 00:29:34.858 --> 00:29:40.307 Word of knowledge is a revelation of information, usually about the present or the past. 00:29:40.307 --> 00:29:45.000 So word of wisdom is present future Word of knowledge is present past. 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:50.799 It's for a person, a group or situation that could not have been known by any natural means. 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:55.148 This is what happened with my mom in that bookstore. 00:29:55.148 --> 00:29:59.837 This is what happened with my mom in that bookstore. 00:29:59.837 --> 00:30:01.402 God gave the lady a word of knowledge about my brother. 00:30:01.402 --> 00:30:06.438 God gives this type of knowledge for encouragement, for faith, for warning and sometimes even for correction. 00:30:06.438 --> 00:30:21.849 I was just thinking about Jordan, was talking about me being a teacher to him and I appreciate his thoughts on that, but there have been so many times in my life that God has used my kids to bring correction into my life. 00:30:23.055 --> 00:30:24.239 I don't, I don't. 00:30:24.239 --> 00:30:26.164 How can I say it? 00:30:26.164 --> 00:30:26.445 Right? 00:30:26.445 --> 00:30:28.519 I got to be honest. 00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:29.640 I don't love it. 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:44.086 I mean, I understand the need for it and I receive it as being from God, but you know it's like seriously, and now, like I said last week, I'm waiting for him to start using my grandchildren next. 00:30:44.086 --> 00:30:45.921 You know out of the mouth of babes, right? 00:30:45.921 --> 00:31:02.340 And when they start correcting and speaking the word of the Lord to me, I think I'll just rejoice and I'll just say you're exactly right, baby, and my kids will look at me and say what's happened to you? 00:31:02.340 --> 00:31:06.075 You didn't raise us like this and I'm like that's right, because you're raising your kids and I get to be the grandfather. 00:31:06.075 --> 00:31:07.376 It's a different world, right? 00:31:07.376 --> 00:31:08.700 Amen? 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:09.782 Some of you understand that. 00:31:09.782 --> 00:31:15.762 So these impressions that God gives are easily ignored and risky in application. 00:31:15.943 --> 00:31:20.125 As an inaccurate word, maybe damaging to the person for whom it's intended. 00:31:20.125 --> 00:31:27.449 We need to make sure that we're hearing from God when we speak these kinds of things to somebody else, right? 00:31:27.449 --> 00:31:31.377 This is not something we want to be wrong about Now. 00:31:31.377 --> 00:31:38.720 If we poise it right, if we say it in the right heart and spirit, we can say something in a humble way and ask questions. 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:42.510 You know, do you have a brother? 00:31:42.510 --> 00:31:51.116 For example, If you feel like the Lord is giving you a word of knowledge about somebody having a brother, that's a prodigal son, you know, prodigal child, do you have a brother? 00:31:51.116 --> 00:31:52.998 If they say no, you can stop right there. 00:31:52.998 --> 00:31:54.779 If they say yes, if they say no, you can stop right there. 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:57.682 If they say yes, you can say so. 00:31:57.682 --> 00:31:59.603 What's their relationship with God like? 00:31:59.603 --> 00:32:07.470 See how you're getting there, without necessarily saying something that I'm saying practice. 00:32:07.470 --> 00:32:10.132 It's okay to use some training wheels with this right. 00:32:10.132 --> 00:32:14.605 So practice as you're going along, and what you're going to recognize is that you are hearing from God. 00:32:14.605 --> 00:32:17.605 The Holy Spirit is speaking to you to speak through you. 00:32:18.588 --> 00:32:23.685 This word of knowledge doesn't mean that it's just somebody that's smart, that's saying these things or has a high intellect. 00:32:23.685 --> 00:32:27.624 This is a spontaneous gift given by God in the moment. 00:32:27.624 --> 00:32:32.403 To speak to somebody, jesus demonstrated supernatural knowledge. 00:32:32.403 --> 00:32:33.547 How about the woman at the well? 00:32:33.547 --> 00:32:35.577 Remember what he said to her? 00:32:35.577 --> 00:32:37.243 Go get your husband. 00:32:37.243 --> 00:32:40.044 She said Lord, I don't have a husband. 00:32:40.044 --> 00:32:42.676 I don't think she said Lord yet, but she said I don't have a husband. 00:32:42.676 --> 00:32:43.961 What did Jesus say? 00:32:43.961 --> 00:32:49.477 You're right, but you've had five of them and the man you're living with now isn't your husband. 00:32:49.477 --> 00:32:53.222 Boom, who wants to give that word of knowledge right? 00:32:53.222 --> 00:32:55.164 Who wants to give that word of knowledge right? 00:32:55.164 --> 00:32:57.628 You better be sure. 00:32:57.628 --> 00:33:03.816 You're right on that one, absolutely. 00:33:03.816 --> 00:33:04.136 But Jesus did. 00:33:04.136 --> 00:33:06.326 He spoke those words and he didn't speak them to condemn her, how many of you know. 00:33:06.326 --> 00:33:08.013 It was part of the process of bringing her to a place of freedom. 00:33:08.013 --> 00:33:09.698 Come on to a place of freedom. 00:33:09.698 --> 00:33:13.227 Jesus didn't say that to leave her there to rub her nose in it. 00:33:13.227 --> 00:33:18.527 Jesus said it to give her a pathway out of that to freedom. 00:33:18.527 --> 00:33:22.096 Moving on. 00:33:22.176 --> 00:33:23.380 Third one is prophecy. 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:32.104 Prophecy is speaking a message from God in a known language for a particular person or people in a specific moment in time. 00:33:32.104 --> 00:33:41.875 Pretty generic Prophecy is a message from God for somebody or some people at a particular point in time In the New Testament era. 00:33:41.875 --> 00:33:50.875 We should be thankful, actually, that we live in the New Testament era, because if you were a prophet in the Old Testament and you said something and it didn't come to pass, guess what? 00:33:50.875 --> 00:33:55.085 You were no longer a prophet because you were no longer on this earth. 00:33:55.085 --> 00:34:05.209 You were killed, you were stoned, whatever it was, they took care of lying prophets right In the New Testament. 00:34:05.315 --> 00:34:10.181 Thankfully, we don't have the same level of import as the Old Testament prophets did. 00:34:10.181 --> 00:34:10.844 And why is that? 00:34:10.844 --> 00:34:14.619 Can you think of one reason why that things would be different in the New Testament instead of the Old? 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:21.264 Why I hear Jesus, which is always a good Sunday school answer? 00:34:21.264 --> 00:34:24.641 It's because of the Bible. 00:34:24.641 --> 00:34:38.177 We have the written Word of God right, and so no longer do we have to rely on just one individual in the Old Testament being anointed by God at one time to be able to speak for the entire nation. 00:34:38.177 --> 00:34:48.958 Now we have the written word of God that gives us the character and the nature and the wisdom and the direction of God and all of those things, and so the New Testament prophet. 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:58.088 We should still strive and desire to be accurate in the words that we give, but it's not on the same level as it was in the Old Testament. 00:34:58.088 --> 00:35:01.757 So why is prophecy important at all If we have the Bible? 00:35:01.757 --> 00:35:02.679 Why do we need prophecy? 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:18.981 Because God desires to speak to people right now, in their current situation, and let them know that he's there, that he's there Messages that are specific to those who are hearing it at a particular point in time. 00:35:18.981 --> 00:35:25.003 These words never trump scripture and must be in line with God's word, but they are very, very important. 00:35:25.003 --> 00:35:28.791 1 Corinthians 14, must be in line with God's word, but they are very, very important. 00:35:28.791 --> 00:35:29.815 1 Corinthians 14,. 00:35:32.594 --> 00:35:37.387 Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy, For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him. 00:35:37.387 --> 00:35:39.438 However, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 00:35:39.438 --> 00:35:44.737 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 00:35:44.737 --> 00:35:47.786 So we are to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. 00:35:47.786 --> 00:35:50.461 It says here especially that we should prophesy. 00:35:50.461 --> 00:35:52.860 And what does it say? 00:35:52.860 --> 00:35:55.461 What are true prophetic words supposed to do? 00:35:55.461 --> 00:35:59.846 Scare you, shame you, curse you? 00:35:59.846 --> 00:36:06.047 They're supposed to edify us, to encourage us and to comfort us. 00:36:07.016 --> 00:36:21.505 When people are suddenly confronted with the inescapable reality that God truly knows their hearts and has heard their prayers and is intimately acquainted with all their ways, they are encouraged to press on and to persevere. 00:36:21.505 --> 00:36:23.762 Have you ever experienced that? 00:36:23.762 --> 00:36:26.827 What an amazing gift to be given. 00:36:26.827 --> 00:36:28.195 Do you need to be built up? 00:36:28.195 --> 00:36:29.197 Do you need to be encouraged? 00:36:29.197 --> 00:36:30.201 Do you need to be comforted? 00:36:30.201 --> 00:36:33.556 Prophecy is one of the ways that God does that. 00:36:33.556 --> 00:36:40.007 Now, none of these gifts are to be used to dazzle people. 00:36:40.007 --> 00:36:46.501 It's not show and tell, it's not check me out right. 00:36:46.501 --> 00:36:49.255 All of this needs to be done with the spirit of humility. 00:36:49.255 --> 00:36:56.228 It is not to draw attention to ourselves, it is to point attention to God and to Jesus. 00:36:56.228 --> 00:37:04.543 It is the word of God for his people, to confirm his presence and power in our lives and to show his providential care. 00:37:04.543 --> 00:37:06.836 Prophecy can include warnings. 00:37:06.836 --> 00:37:14.722 We see that in the New Testament A word of exhortation, invitation to some ministry, opportunity, guidance for decision-making, and on and on. 00:37:14.782 --> 00:37:16.407 Let me just finish with a few examples. 00:37:16.407 --> 00:37:19.239 So let's look at edification. 00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:20.603 What does it mean to edify something? 00:37:20.603 --> 00:37:24.260 It means to build it up, to shore it up right. 00:37:24.260 --> 00:37:35.688 So when I first came to Trinity, clem Ferris came and he prophesied over me that God was going to make me like a wagon train master. 00:37:35.688 --> 00:37:45.045 And if any of you have watched a Western at any point in time where there's a wagon train involved, you know that there's a guy that's in charge of the wagon train. 00:37:45.045 --> 00:37:54.545 It doesn't mean that he's the only one that does anything or that even people would necessarily know for sure who it is that's leading the wagon train at any point in time. 00:37:54.545 --> 00:38:05.268 But he said that God's going to make you like that and he's going to put a lot of wagons behind you and they're going to hitch their wagons to yours and you're going to be leading them moving forward. 00:38:05.268 --> 00:38:10.563 And at that point in time I was not doing really much of anything. 00:38:10.563 --> 00:38:11.865 I wasn't preaching, I wasn't. 00:38:11.865 --> 00:38:15.440 You know, here at Trinity I was serving, I was behind the scenes, working. 00:38:15.440 --> 00:38:18.836 So I had no idea what does this even mean, god? 00:38:18.836 --> 00:38:24.536 But it was in preparation for what God was calling me to do, even now, as I stand before you today. 00:38:24.536 --> 00:38:34.706 And God knew all that time ago and he spoke it to me so that I could be encouraged and edified and built up, even though I felt like maybe he was overlooking me. 00:38:35.235 --> 00:38:43.786