WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:01.360 Let's pray together. 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:11.439 God, we thank you for how you're working in Betty's life and the lives literally of thousands of people around Orchard Hill. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:19.280 And God, we ask today that in this moment you would work in the lives of those of us who are gathered. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:29.199 That your word would speak to us and that my words would reflect your word in content and in tone and in emphasis. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.679 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:32.799 Amen. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:42.320 There's a verse in Ephesians that has always caught my attention from the first time that I read it. 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:53.520 And the reason that it caught my attention is because when I first read it, I said, that is not how I see myself, even if that's how it describes me. 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:58.719 And the verse that I'm referring to is in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:12.239 And the way that it reads is this: it says, For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:23.040 And when I learned the original languages a little bit and how to read the text that way, that word handiwork is a word that in many ways means like a work of art. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:28.879 And so I had always seen it as handiwork, like I'm not really God's handiwork, I'm just kind of a guy. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:40.079 And then when I learned the the way to read that, that God says, You are my work of art, my my masterpiece, if you will, created to do good works. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:42.959 It just didn't square with my self-conception. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:48.640 And I would guess that many of us who are gathered this weekend feel much the same way. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:52.560 We look and we say, Well, God tolerates me. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:02:01.840 Maybe God accepts me, maybe God is gracious to me, but but this text says that you are God's work of art. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:03.040 Now, think about this. 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:08.080 Have you ever had a kid bring you one of their works of art and present you with a work of art? 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:09.439 You know this moment. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:23.120 If you had kids or a niece, a nephew, uh you know, somewhere in your life, you've had a kid bring you a piece of art, and when they bring it to you, they're practically giddy because they're like, Look at this, I made this for you. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:27.759 That is how they feel about their work of art. 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:33.680 Can you imagine if that's how you saw the creator of the universe? 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:42.960 Saw you as you currently are, not as you will one day be, but as made in his image for good works. 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:54.560 Now it's substantial that this verse says you're created basically as a handiwork, a masterpiece of God for good works. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:56.879 It's not by your good works. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:07.439 In fact, in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, which is obviously right before verse 10, we get this statement that is very clear. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.919 It says this, for it is by grace you've been saved through faith, that not from yourselves, it's a gift of God. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.719 Not by works, so that no one can boast. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:18.400 So there's no confusion. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:22.639 Your doing stuff does not bring you salvation. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:32.479 Salvation is a gift from God given through grace to those who believe in what Jesus Christ has done, those who acknowledge their sinfulness and say, I need a savior. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:39.840 But it doesn't change the fact that verse 10 says, But you are God's handiwork created to do good works. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:48.400 Now, we're in a series on the Holy Spirit, and uh today we're going to talk about the gifts of the Spirit. 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.840 You heard a little bit of 1 Corinthians 12 read. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:57.599 And 1 Corinthians 12 begins just with a very simple uh statement. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:03.520 It's uh it's titled, is uh kind of above where the text is, says, concerning spiritual gifts. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:10.639 And verse 1 says, Now about the gifts of the spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:14.879 And so now we're we're talking about what it is that the spirit does. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:36.639 So God creates you as a masterpiece for good works, and then the Holy Spirit, when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you have have the Holy Spirit given to you, and the Spirit gives you a gift or gifts that are spiritual gifts for the purpose of doing God's work. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:44.240 Verse 6 says it this way there are different kinds of workings, but in all of them and in every one is the same God at work. 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:49.360 Verse 7, now to each one the manifestation is given for the common good. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:51.600 Why does the Spirit give gifts? 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:53.839 For the common good. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:06.240 So you have some natural gifts and talents, maybe that God has given you, but also if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, a spiritual gift that God has given you for the common good. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:12.720 And that phrase could mean clearly just the common good of the local church that you're part of. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.879 It could be the common good of humanity. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:22.800 And so I'm going to use a phrase today, a couple of phrases, to describe kind of how and the point of spiritual gifts. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:29.439 And that is, your spiritual gifts are given to you to be used in the church and as the church. 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:40.639 Okay, so in the church, what I mean by that is the way that God has designed the work of the Spirit of God in this age is to be through the church. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:47.279 And so He calls anybody who's a believer to be part of a local church and to use their gifts in the church for the common good. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:06:05.519 And then as the church, what I'm referring to here is as you live and move in your career, in your neighborhood, with your friends, in your family, you are to be the church in those places using the spiritual gifts that God has given you. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:13.120 But the challenge is that many of us approach church much more like consumers. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:22.000 And I don't say that negatively today, because it's very natural to, at least when you first uh check out a church, to be a consumer. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:22.959 Of course you are. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:24.879 What do you do when you first look at a church? 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:28.240 You say, Well, let me check it out online, see if it looks okay. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.279 And then if it looks okay, you say, I'll go and check it out. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:36.800 And as soon as you come to check it out, your first thing is the what's weird check. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:38.800 You know what I'm talking about. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:46.959 If you haven't done this in a while, if you haven't visited a church in a while, but but the what's weird check is like, are they like handling snakes in the back? 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:51.040 Are they doing anything that's weird, anything that just feels off? 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:59.199 And then if you get past the what's weird check, you have a moment where you begin to say, okay, is the music kind of what I like? 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:00.720 That does it move me toward God? 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.399 Is the teaching relevant? 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:03.920 Are the facilities nice? 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.360 Do they have good programs? 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.000 Okay, consumer decisions. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.399 And then you say, after that, am I going to fit in? 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:13.759 Am I going to make friends? 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.759 Is this a place I can see myself? 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.160 And that's a natural process. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:34.399 But if we stay as consumers and never get to the point where we say, I'm part of a body, this is the analogy that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 12, where he says we we all have these gifts that we bring, we're part of the body. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:56.800 And if we we don't move into saying, I'm not just a consumer, but I'm a participant, I have something to offer, I am God's handiwork, and my participation in the church and as the church matters for the common good, then we'll not fulfill kind of the idea of the gifts of the Spirit. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:01.040 It's not just that you have a gift, but it's that it's used. 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:07.120 And in 1 Peter chapter 4, there are a couple of verses that speak to this. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:08.480 Here's what we read. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:09.759 This is verse 10. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:20.800 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.439 So if you're a follower of Jesus, God has given you a gift to serve others. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.319 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one speaks, the very words of God. 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:38.080 If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.480 To him be glory and power forever and ever. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:43.600 Amen. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:49.919 And so this says you should use whatever gift you have, and it tells us that there's speaking gifts and serving gifts. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:56.720 If you have a gift of speaking, it says, speak as if the very words of God, and if serving, you do it basically as unto God. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:01.679 Now, there are uh four or five places in the New Testament where we get a list of gifts. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:13.120 I have a list here, and so in 1 Corinthians 12, 8 through 11, there's a list on the left, then 1 Corinthians 12, 28, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and then 1 Peter 4. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:20.639 And I think that 1 Peter 4 is probably a category uh statement rather than saying speaking, serving. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:25.519 And if you count, some say there's 19, some 21, depending on exactly how you count. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:36.720 And I believe this is probably a representative list, not an exhaustive list, meaning that you could say these are all the gifts, but there's probably other gifts that aren't necessarily listed here. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:48.240 But but but using this categorization, I would add that there's one other category, and it's the one that usually gets most of the press when we talk about the gifts of the Spirit. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:52.240 And I'm going to simply say that these are the sign gifts. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:10:02.480 And what I mean by this, I'll come to this in just a moment, is 1 Corinthians chapter 14 tells us that there is a sign that God gives in the gift of tongues. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:09.360 So when we talk about sign gifts, typically what we're talking about is the gift of tongues, prophecy, miracles, healing. 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:17.919 Now I want to be very clear that I believe God does miraculous things that God heals today all the time. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:37.759 But these gifts, you could say, are sign gifts, that they were given to the apostles in the early church as a unique work of the spirit to validate the beginning of the church and the gospel, and that now that the New Testament is done, are maybe uh different in the way that they work. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.639 So let me just show you why I say this. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:45.039 And uh by the way, I'm not going to go into this in great detail today. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:57.759 We have a couple of podcasts on our Orchard Hill Plus uh channel, which is not Orchard Hill Plus, pay for Orchard Hill Plus, that's free, but Orchard Hill Plus made sense when we came up with it as a marketing, like it's more content. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.159 But uh it's on there, it's in our perspectives. 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:09.759 There's one on prophecy, there's one uh coming this week on tongues, and there's one on some of the dangers or the distinctions of charismatic theology. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:19.120 So a church that would identify as charismatic or Pentecostal versus a church like Orchard Hill that would say we're not, what are the real differences there and why does it matter? 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.919 Okay, so all of that is there if this interests you. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:28.720 But but here's what 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 22 says. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:35.279 Says this, tongues then are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:42.799 Okay, so tongues is the idea that people speak in a language that they do not currently know. 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:59.200 Now, if you go back to Acts 2, where tongues started to kind of originate in the New Testament, what you'll see is that in the footnote of basically any Bible translation you use, it will say when it uses the word tongues, it will say in the little footnote, or languages. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:14.080 And so what happened in Acts chapter 2, which is uh Pentecost, hence you get the name Pentecostal churches, that what happened was people would hear the gospel in a language that they knew, as people spoke in languages that they didn't know. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:26.000 So when Paul says this is a sign for unbelievers, he's saying when people heard the gospel in a language that they that they knew, even if the speaker didn't know it, they would say, Oh, that's God. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:35.600 Okay, so for example, if today, here at Orchard Hill, somebody said and started to speak in a language that they didn't know. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:41.600 Okay, let's just, for the sake of argument, say it was the language Creole, which is what's spoken in Haiti. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:48.480 And there was somebody in the congregation who says, Oh, I used to live in Haiti, I speak Creole, I can interpret it. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:49.919 This person is saying this. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:55.279 Here's what would happen: you would go, Oh my goodness, God showed up today. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:56.799 That's pretty cool. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:06.080 In fact, if you were here and somebody started to speak English who doesn't speak English and they spoke the word of God, you would say, That's amazing. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:10.399 What tongues was in the New Testament was that. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:16.879 Now, you can look in 1 Corinthians 14 and say, well, maybe there's some prayer language elements to it. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:18.480 I I understand that. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:27.440 But if you read the tongues as a language throughout the New Testament, a known language, it makes perfect sense to say this is what it is. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.440 And I think the the question is really here. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:38.000 If somebody has this gift, why is it never a known language? 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:43.360 Why is it always everyone should speak in this prayer language thing? 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:51.440 Now, again, I'm not planning to go into this a lot, other than just to say the sign for the unbeliever means that this is for the common good. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:56.399 This is not just something that people get to edify themselves. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.120 In fact, think about healing. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:06.480 When people have healing, and again, I think sometimes God heals people in healing crusades. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:08.240 I've heard accounts of this. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:16.240 But if somebody really has the spiritual gift of healing, do you think that the only time that God would ever use it is when the TV cameras are rolling? 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:24.399 Or do you think maybe if they went into children's hospital and cleared a floor, that people would say, God showed up? 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.519 But it's always got to be in the context. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:34.879 Now I understand that what they would say is, well, we can't go into children's hospital because there's unbelievers there who don't believe and without faith it isn't healed. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:39.600 So we've got to be in the environment with like the cool music and all of that to make it happen. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:48.799 But but again, my point is these were signs to validate the work of God at that time. 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:57.039 And so you have these sign gifts, and and again, I'm not saying that there's no time in which God does this. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.919 In fact, I I've seen God do things that are miraculous. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.320 In fact, the very end of 1 Corinthians 14 says, Don't forbid to speak in tongues. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.879 And so if God wants to give somebody the gift of language, God can do that. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:14.480 If God wants to give somebody an experience of being part of a healing, God can do that. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:23.519 But those gifts are often the way they're practiced today, about the individual, not the common good. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:27.840 And so that leads us then to this idea of speaking gifts. 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:38.879 1 Corinthians 14, again, verse 1, says it this way follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:44.000 Now, this could lead to a debate about what prophecy is or is not. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:56.399 But again, speaking gifts generally are agreed to be teaching, being an evangelist, encouragement, exhortation, words of either knowledge or wisdom. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:12.559 And the idea is that there are a lot of gifts within the church where somebody is speaking, not always in front of a group, but sometimes with a group, sometimes exhortation, encouragement, just saying this is what God does. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:18.240 Sometimes these are gifts that show up in different ways in conjunction with our natural talents. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:29.679 And these are ways that you begin to just say, okay, God, I'm using what you've given me to encourage or exhort other people. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:41.039 And and at one point in this section, 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, you get the statement about the parts of the body that are lesser should be given more honor. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.879 And by lesser, it probably means the things that are less prominent. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:46.639 And maybe here's a way to think of it. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:52.000 I haven't used a football analogy yet this fall, so I'm gonna use one because they're easy right now. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:17:02.399 If if you're a football fan, um, one of the things you know is that if your offensive line is bad, your running backs and your quarterbacks look bad. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:10.000 But when they're good, almost nobody talks about them because the running back and the quarterback and the receivers all look good. 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:22.160 And and what this that that idea of saying that those who are thought of as lesser are are actually more important, it's almost like saying there's an offensive line that makes the ministry of the church go. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:40.720 And it isn't just about the people who are in the most prominent roles, and so give honor to everybody, and then there's these these serving gifts, which are typically gifts of giving, mercy, shepherding, administration, help, serving, leading. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.839 These are ways that that uh you serve. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:52.000 And certainly when you look at a list like this, there are some things that are commanded for everybody. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:56.640 For example, giving is commanded, but it may not be a spiritual gift for some people. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:02.559 Being merciful is commanded, it's it's not necessarily a gift for everybody, but it's commanded. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:03.440 Here's what I mean. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:11.200 You can't just simply say, Well, I don't have the gift of giving, therefore I don't give, or I don't have the gift of mercy, therefore I don't have to be nice to people. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.039 But but instead, what you do is you say, No, there's there's a difference. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:31.119 Some people, the the gift of giving is that they understand how they can leverage some of the resources God has given them, or they have the ability to make and manage money and therefore to resource ministry at high levels for the gift of mercy. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:39.599 You know the difference when somebody comes and expresses care to you when you are hurting, than somebody who just says, Well, I guess I should be merciful. 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:48.079 Okay, there's a difference there in understanding that gifting is part of understanding just how God made us. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:54.240 So what do we say about this then for you and me today? 00:18:54.400 --> 00:19:00.960 Like, like if you're not using your gift in the church and as the church, why not? 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.880 Well, some of us would just say, well, it's really a busy season in my life. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:12.880 I'm building the business, we've got the kids, I've got somebody else to take care of. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:18.240 I mean, we'll get there, but right now we're just we're just really busy. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.759 Can I just encourage you for a moment? 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.480 You may have a season, and that can be perfectly legitimate. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:36.720 But don't let your season become a year, become years, become a decade, become a pattern of a lifetime. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:45.279 Because here's something I can tell you as somebody who's lived through a lot of seasons of life now, you think that your life will slow down? 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.839 It probably will not. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:58.240 In fact, ask anybody around you who's older than you, is your life slower than when you I mean it's different, but it's but but it isn't necessarily slower. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:17.359 And and my point is just to say, say, if you're if your answer to why I'm not currently using my gifts is I'm busy and I'll get there someday, there's a chance that that someday will always be in the future for you, unless you decide to say, I'm going to start making this a priority today. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:22.319 So some of us will say, well, I don't know that it matters what I do. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:27.359 I mean, you know, the church seems to function with or without me. 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:32.880 Kind of not the point, by the way, because it's about you, not just about what the church needs. 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:47.519 But imagine for a moment if the thousands of people who call Orchard Hill their church home all said, in the church and as the church, I will use the gifts God has given me for the common good. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:53.680 Do you think that that some of the shortcomings of the church would be stronger? 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.880 Do you think some of the impact in the community would be even greater? 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:57.839 I do. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:03.680 Some of us may say, Well, I don't know where or how to use my gifts. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:05.680 I don't even know what they are. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:10.720 And we've done gift seminars here in the past, we'll probably do them in the future. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:23.359 But having been around church a long time, I can tell you that gift seminars rarely are the answer because what happens is you go through a gift seminar and somebody tells you, here's your gift, and then you you end up saying, Okay, well, how do I use my gift? 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:37.359 And it ends up being basically the same process, which is you just have to do something and say, when I do this, I will begin to discover and see if God is in it and working in my life in some way. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:42.000 In fact, some of us, the reason we don't serve is we're waiting for the perfect thing. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:49.200 We're saying, Well, one day I'll serve more, I'll do more, I'll use my gifting more when everything aligns. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.759 But the challenge with that is rarely will everything align. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:59.759 And one of the passages that I love have referenced many times is in Matthew 25. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:12.960 Where Jesus is talking, he says, at the end of time, he separates people into the sheep and the goats, and he says to the sheep, You enter my rest, you gave a cup of water to people who were thirsty. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:15.680 You fed the hungry, you visited the prisoners. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.960 No, no, the reason I love that is because they at the end are like, when did we do this? 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:24.480 And he says, As much as you did it under the least of these, you did it unto me. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:26.079 But here's why I love this. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:27.279 Do you know what it doesn't say? 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:34.960 It doesn't say you figured out how to irrigate the entire Middle East that's an arid climate. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:39.200 You figured out how to feed and eradicate world hunger. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:42.160 You figured out how to reform the prison system. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:46.720 No, it's you visited a prisoner, you gave water, and you fed somebody. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:51.200 Those are simple next steps of things that are right in front of us. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:57.279 And those were the things that the God of the universe says, I commend you at the end of time. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:04.000 And the translation is what that means for you and me is it isn't just saying, I have to get the perfect thing. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:11.920 Now, some of us may be in a place where we can do something on a grand scale, but for most of us, saying, What is the next thing that's in front of me? 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:19.119 What can I do right now to use the gift God has given me to contribute to the common good? 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:28.240 And when we do that, we start to participate in the life of the church, in the church, and as the church in the world. 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:38.160 And that becomes a way that we let the Holy Spirit work in us be a manifestation of the Spirit. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.880 What 1 Corinthians 12, 7 says. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:46.240 It's the outworking of the Spirit of God inside of us. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:55.119 Now, I get that some of you may be like, ah, you know, if I do this, if I kind of put my hand up and say, I'll do something. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:03.279 You know, what's gonna happen is they're gonna assign me to like a third grade class weekly for the rest of my life. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.559 And I don't want to spend the rest of my life with terrorists in a locked room. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:14.880 You know, most people who serve at Orchard Hill serve about once a month. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:22.720 There are those who serve weekly, those who serve seasonally even less, but but but this is not uh, hey, sign up for every week for the rest of time. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.079 This is that this is what has God given you. 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:29.680 And the church without that gift is not all it could be. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:42.160 And as you say, I'm going to serve in the church, and as the church, what happens is you begin to flourish because you were created by God as his handiwork to do good works. 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:46.880 And when you simply say, Well, I don't know, I don't see myself that way. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:53.279 What happens is you don't bring something that somebody else needs. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:36.480 And maybe that's your ministry right now, is just to be the person who other people go, you are still in the midst of bringing yourself to what God has. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:48.640 It doesn't have to be big, it's a cup of water, but but but it's saying I'm bringing who God has made me, and God made me the way that I am today, as his work of art. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:26:04.559 And as you think about this, what also we want to just hit one last idea is that 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14 is obviously in order. 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:15.680 And when we think about these chapters, the the biggest teaching on spiritual gifts is in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 14 in our New Testament, at least in terms of verses in order. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.720 But 1 Corinthians 13 is right in the middle of it. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:26.640 And usually when we talk about 1 Corinthians 13, it's at weddings, which is appropriate, although it's about work in the church. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:31.759 And we usually read the verses that are, you know, love is kind, love is patient, love is all of this. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:33.920 But let me read to you these first three verses. 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:36.160 Again, the context here is spiritual gifts. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:46.480 Here's what he says: if I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:56.319 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:06.160 If I give all that I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:11.599 Now here's what he's in essence doing in the middle of this section on spiritual gifts. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.119 He says, You know what? 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:18.400 You can use your gifts, you can do all kinds of great things, but if you don't have love, he says, What? 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.119 I am nothing and I gain nothing. 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:24.240 I remember one of the first times that I saw this. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:36.400 I was in high school, uh, early college, and I went on on this mission trip, and these people had had set up this mission for some people who were disadvantaged in our country. 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:47.920 And I still remember getting there, being impressed with the setup, and then as I started to talk to some of the workers a little bit, you could tell that they had gotten to the point where the people that they were serving were an annoyance to them. 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:52.799 And I remember seeing it and just thinking, there's something off here. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:28:01.359 And the idea is that the love that you and I have needs to be the love of God. 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:06.240 In other words, we don't come with an air of superiority saying, I have it figured out. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:12.640 I'm on a mission from God somehow to solve the world, especially as you function as the church in the world. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:24.319 Sometimes you get people, especially in this era of social media, who will say, I'm speaking for God, and the way they speak for God becomes something that doesn't help hardly anybody come toward God. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:31.440 Because instead of leading with love, it's leading with, I'm just a person who exhorts. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:33.039 It's my gift. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:44.960 But here he says, Listen, you can you can use your gift, but if you don't have love, he says, you gain nothing, you are nothing in the grand scheme of things. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:47.680 Now, where does that love come from? 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:55.359 Ultimately, it comes from understanding and continually appropriating the gospel message. 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:57.200 We talked about it right at the beginning. 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:02.000 We are not saved by our works, we don't do works to gain something from God. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:09.359 Our gain is given to us by God, meaning God has chosen to love you, to create you as His His masterpiece. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:11.759 Jesus has saved you, the Holy Spirit gifts you. 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:26.559 If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, therefore, whatever you have to offer, whatever you have to give is not because you figured it out somehow you're good, you've got it all down, but because of the grace and the goodness of the God of the universe. 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:47.680 And when that becomes your default standing, then you're able to say, Whatever cup of water I have to offer, whatever I can do, is me functioning in the church as the church in the love of the God of the universe. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:30:01.119 And that is really the essence of understanding the gifts that God has given for people as a manifestation of the spirit. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.839 Let's take a moment and pray together. 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:15.759 And I just want to just for a moment say, if you're here today and you're saying, you know, I don't really know about God. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:20.160 I don't know about myself even and how I fit. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:29.440 Maybe today the message you needed to hear was just that you God made you exactly as you are, as a work of art. 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:45.200 And he's calling you to acknowledge your need of Jesus Christ, that that your own ways are not sufficient, but Jesus' ways are. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:50.400 And through faith you can be saved today by acknowledging that. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:31:00.480 Maybe you're here today and you've believed in Jesus for a long time, but down deep you've kind of thought, well, God tolerates me. 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:02.400 I don't have much to offer. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:07.519 Maybe you feel like your best years are behind you. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:24.079 But perhaps today is just your day to say, God, I will choose to use what gifts and capacities you have given me in the church as the church, where you've placed me. 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:30.640 That can look different for so many of us. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:48.640 But if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you've been given a gift by the Holy Spirit, and anything other than saying, God, how can I use this for the common good is ultimately a rejection of the beautiful gift that God has given you. 00:31:51.039 --> 00:32:05.519 God, I pray that you would help us to be people who lean into what you have given us and use it not just for our own ends, but for the common good. 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:08.799 And we pray this today in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:09.680 Amen. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:11.039 Have a great week.