WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.959 Hello everyone, I'm Dr. 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:01.760 Steve Holtz. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:04.799 I want to welcome you to the Road Church Podcast. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.280 Each week we go into God's Word. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.160 We teach chapter by chapter and verse by verse. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.599 We are here to build the Kingdom of God revolution through empowering people to change the world. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:21.440 So we pray this will minister to you at your heart level and change your life. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:51.359 So I want to begin on this theme for the next eight weeks on the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, maybe a little bit different because I know that you may have had teachings on spiritual gifts, you may not have, but that this is one part of a constellation of how God has wired each one of us in this room. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:58.159 And back in my days at Mountain Springs, I taught a lot on convergence. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:16.640 And I haven't taught that much on convergence here, but it was the Holy Spirit led me in my prayer time about this series to begin with kind of a Venn diagram of how I think our lives work in working toward convergence. 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.359 So if you see that, look at the top. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:26.400 Walking in our destiny, spiritual convergence through the partnership with the Holy Spirit. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:28.959 So write that down. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:33.840 Walking in our destiny, spiritual convergence through partnership with the Holy Spirit. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.719 Let me give you a definition of spiritual convergence. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:50.159 Spiritual convergence is the unifying and the joining together of different aspects of one's life into wholeness. 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:56.239 We talk a lot, especially in the men's ministry on Tuesday mornings, about being wholehearted. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.200 That's why we call it whole-hearted men. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.760 And when Liz started the women's ministry, she called it wholehearted women. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:05.680 Because we want you to be wholehearted. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:13.840 We want you to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength in your neighbors yourself. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.879 But wholeheartedness also includes how God designed you. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:28.080 The unique blend of many different aspects that we may not remember or it's never been taught before. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:29.759 So I want you to look at the diagram now. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:31.680 Let's put up the Venn diagram. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:36.719 And this is my diagram of spiritual convergence. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:52.319 So we're going to be talking about here on the right spiritual gifts, and I put God in parentheses because I really believe that spiritual gifts are sovereignly given by God when you're born again. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:58.800 So when you give your heart to Christ, God put spiritual gifts that are unique for you. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:00.639 You may not have discovered them yet. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.000 You may not be walking in them yet, but they're sovereignly given to you. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.439 It's a God thing. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.360 It's your job to discover it, but God already knows it. 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:10.479 So that's a God thing. 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.280 But look to the left, you'll see natural talents. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:20.080 When you were born physically, you are sovereignly given natural talents. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.000 And you can't do anything about that. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:23.360 That's just the way it is. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:38.080 You, some of you are, I don't care if you're, I've said this so many times, you can get saved, and if you are, if you are bad at math before you got saved, you're still bad at math after you get saved. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:40.719 Okay, so there's natural talents that God's given us. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:50.080 And some of you are engineers, you have that gifting, some of you are really good with people, some of you have kind of a counseling gift, some of you have mathematical gifts, whatever. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:51.360 So that's natural talents. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.400 Again, sovereignly given by God. 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.719 But then, moving down to the to the left, acquired skills. 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.599 Now, what acquired skills are, that's up to you. 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:07.360 That's your decision, what you're gonna do with your natural talents and your spiritual gifts. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.680 You develop skills. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:18.240 So you may have a natural gift toward being a good athlete, but if you don't have a good coach, you're never gonna reach your potential. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:31.519 If you have a natural gift toward sort of engineering and mathematics and that kind of stuff, you go to school and you get an engineering degree or you get a computer science degree or something like that. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.240 So skills are really, really important. 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:47.439 And I can't tell you, and you all would, everybody would say this, how many people we know who have incredible natural talents, who have phenomenal spiritual gifts, maybe, but they never develop it. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:53.199 They never develop the skills that go with it, which takes training, equipping, and empowerment. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.639 So that's even what Friday and Saturday is about this week. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:09.279 To grow in spiritual gifts, to be around an anointed person is gonna develop skills and thoughts and new ideas and new vision in you by being around skillful people. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.160 Then at the bottom you see character. 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:13.600 That's up to you, too. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:15.279 That's the fruit of the Spirit. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:19.839 That's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.160 As you are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, you're developing character. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:30.879 And I don't I don't know how many people I've known through the years who are incredibly gifted in all these other areas. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:37.920 They're skilled, they have natural talent, they have spiritual gifts, but they're undermining is their character. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:40.079 They lie and cheat. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:44.639 They've got a secret life, they've got a closet full of skeletons that they can't deal with. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:49.199 And so, because of that, their life falls apart, usually later in life. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:06:00.560 And by the way, I think sometimes as one who's at my age, I can say this that the latter part of your life can be some of the biggest struggles of your life. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:03.519 That is dependent on character. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:05.920 And then relational skills. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:08.399 So EQ, we talk about IQ and EQ. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:09.600 That's up to you too. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:16.000 How do you develop relationships and the importance of having friends in your life and bloodstained allies? 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.879 We need that in our lives, and so that's also a part of spiritual convergence. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:35.360 So it's the coming together, men and women, that makes you, I believe, who you are truly meant to be in partnership with the Holy Spirit to reach your full potential. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.240 Say this to me: I want to reach my full potential. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:40.319 I want to reach my full potential. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:42.160 You come to the right church. 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:43.839 Because that's what we're here for. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:52.720 We're here for you to experience Christ to the full extent that you can so that you can reach the full potential you were created for. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:54.800 That's really exciting, right? 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:56.560 I mean, I dig that. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:58.160 That's why I like being a pastor. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:05.439 And it's why I never wanted to be a pastor like the ones that I saw when I was growing up, because it felt like it was too ritualistic. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:09.680 I wanted the relationship of seeing people's lives changed. 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.759 Not the same people coming by, aging year after year. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:20.079 We take communion together, we sing some hymns together, we all go home and we think we're happy. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.160 Man, I want movement. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:24.480 I want movement in people's lives. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:25.600 So that's what we're doing. 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:36.079 The next eight weeks, we're gonna get serious about one of the areas, but I wanted you to see how all of it plays a part in convergence in our lives. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.399 So this spiritual gifts is just one part of that. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:39.199 Does that make sense? 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:40.879 So I just want to make sure you understand that. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:46.160 So let's look at the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.800 Would you turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12? 00:07:48.959 --> 00:08:04.399 And I had plenty of passages to pick from, but I felt like that the most important was 1 Corinthians 12, because some believe that there's like nine spiritual gifts. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.079 I believe there's spiritual gifts ad nauseum. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:13.360 In other words, I don't think it's, I think nine that are that are mentioned in certain passages. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:22.959 In this particular one, there's more than nine, but but nine is where a lot of authors camp on these ones that you'll see coming up. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.360 We're gonna look at, we're just gonna pick a few, okay? 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:29.680 We're just gonna pick a few because we only have eight weeks. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:31.040 And I'm gonna pair them up. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.360 You'll notice in the weeks ahead how we pair them up. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:38.159 So next week, Mark is gonna speak on faith and healing. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:39.440 Faith and healing. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:41.759 I think those go together, faith and healing. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:51.759 So you'll see these combinations of complementing of each other, like word of knowledge and word of wisdom go together. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:57.279 Okay, um, teaching and and speech gifts go together. 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:58.480 So you're gonna see that. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:08:59.759 But we're not gonna cover it all. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:05.600 I just want to let you know we're not gonna cover all of the gifts that are found in Scripture because Romans 12 has a list also. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.159 Um, Ephesians 4 has a list also. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.559 But 1 Corinthians 12 is where I want to begin. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:16.879 And here's my question for today for all of us is why teach and cultivate spiritual gifts? 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:24.720 So if you're taking notes and I encourage you to do that, that would be the title today is why do we cultivate spiritual gifts? 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:25.600 Why is it important? 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:32.159 So, 1 Corinthians 12, Paul is dealing with a very gifted church. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:39.279 Okay, so Corinthians is a very gifted church, but they've gotten kind of wild and crazy with the gifts. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:48.240 And you guys have heard me say many times, all word dry up, all spirit blow up, word and spirit grow up. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.840 So we're a word and spirit church. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:52.480 Okay? 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:57.200 Sometimes we blow up, and sometimes we dry up. 00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:58.480 We do. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.720 I mean, we we don't get it perfect, man. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:08.320 And if and if you're one of those people that likes to leave churches quickly and run to the next one, I'll give you plenty of excuses to do that this year. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:14.879 Because we because we're walking kind of like this middle aisle where we're it's on, it's the uncomfortable middle. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:18.000 Most pastors do not want to be in the uncomfortable middle. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:31.360 They want to be wildly crazy about spiritual stuff, or they wanna be dry as a, you know, dry as a as a field in Kansas in the winter because they're just gonna teach the Bible. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:32.960 We're gonna teach the Bible. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.759 So I want to teach the Bible and do the Bible. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:42.320 And if you don't like that, then you're in the wrong place. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.120 But I think we're gonna teach it and we're gonna do it. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:46.960 Isn't that fun? 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:48.320 I dig it. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:54.000 So I it's a word I want to I want to pastor the church I would attend if I wasn't the pastor. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.720 And so that's that's this church, okay? 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:58.320 So we're a word-based church. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:10:59.360 So here's the first thing. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:01.279 First thing that he says in verse one. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:07.360 Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.039 So here's the first point. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:14.960 Why teach, why cultivate spiritual gifts is we're not supposed to be ignorant about it. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:26.480 We're not supposed to be ill-founded in our understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, not only in you individually, but us as a body. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.720 We want to be a spiritually alive church. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.440 And a spiritually alive church is a church that knows its gifts. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:43.519 It allows spiritual gifts to move in different settings and in different ways in a powerful way. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:47.919 So, why do we not know more about spiritual gifts? 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.120 Why is most of the church ignorant of spiritual gifts? 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:52.159 Let me give you four thoughts. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:56.000 Let me give you four reasons why the church is ignorant of spiritual gifts. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:58.639 Number one, it's theological. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:10.159 There's a theological problem in much of the body of Christ with the power, supernatural, miraculous gifts. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:13.279 Nobody has a problem with the gift of helps. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:21.120 Every pastor wishes his whole church was just full of the gift of helps to help him not have to do the stuff he doesn't want to do. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:21.679 Okay? 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.200 Everybody, nobody has a problem with the gift of teaching. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:30.480 Nobody has a problem with the gift of exhortation, nobody has a problem with the gift of encouragement. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:38.879 But in Romans 12 are the most controversial gifts, those are the ones I'm gonna cover. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:40.799 Too bad. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:42.159 That's what I'm gonna do. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.559 I'm gonna go after the most controversial. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:45.759 Here's why. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:13:01.200 Because if we can come to an understanding of the supernatural power gifts, it can set us free in understanding how to be empowered in new ways such that, listen to this, it brings unity. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:03.200 You think, well, that's gonna bring disunity. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:04.799 No, it's not gonna bring disunity. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:11.120 It brings unity to deal with the most controversial subjects and bring it into a biblical focus. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:12.480 Does that make sense? 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:28.399 So there is a dispensational perspective called dispensational theology, which believes that the gifts of the spirit, the power gifts, the supernatural gifts of the spirit, that we read about in the New Testament, are not for today. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:35.519 That they that they ended, they ended with the completion of the canon of Scripture. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:36.480 I don't believe that. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.080 I don't see it anywhere in Scripture, and believe me, I know the argument. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.840 I know John MacArthur's argument on that, and I disagree with it. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:45.120 I love John MacArthur. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:46.320 God bless him. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.320 He's in heaven right now, rejoicing before the Lord, and now he knows that I was right. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:55.279 But um, but it's called the cessationist worldview. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.840 It's called the cessationist, it's the idea that it ceased. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:59.519 I'm a continuist. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.759 I'm not a cessationist. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:08.240 I don't believe it ceased, I believe it continues, and I think I can support it through all of church history, but I'm not gonna go into that. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.480 Number two is fear. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:17.679 We have a fear of spiritual gifts, and the reason we have a fear of spiritual gifts is because it seems like it's like too radical for us. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.240 Too radical to get into spiritual gifts. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.879 Number three is unworthiness. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.919 Some of you in this room feel unworthy. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.279 You feel like you're not worthy to minister to others. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:38.240 That's why you've never been on the ministry team, because you look at your life and you go, man, I'm messed up in this and we struggle with that in my life and with my family. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.639 I'm not worthy to go up and pray for people. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:49.679 I'm telling you, listen, all of you that have the Holy Spirit are prophets, priests, and kings in Christ. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:15:01.600 And the sooner you start to figure that out, the more you can begin to get set free from all the unworthiness that's over you and the self-condemnation that guards your heart in such a way you can't open up to anybody. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:04.960 And I want to challenge you that that's the enemy at work. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.720 And then number four is ignorance. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.120 We just don't know anything about spiritual gifts. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.840 And so, theologically, fear-based, unworthiness, and ignorance. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:15.120 Now, why do I say these four? 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.039 Because those have all been true in my life. 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:24.639 So here's the deal that I believe is so true for us is that God has given us his book, his constitution. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.320 It's called the Bible. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:30.879 And I just want to do what's in the Bible and get really good at it. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:47.759 And the only way I know how to do that is to take what God's given freely, by his grace, given me, and then learn how to articulate it, learn how to use it, learn how to love better through the spiritual gifts that have been uniquely given to me and to each one of you. 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:48.960 So that's number one. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:53.200 First thing he says is don't be ignorant of spiritual gifts. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:54.559 Look at verse 2. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:04.879 You know that you Gentiles, you were Gentiles, carried away to these, in the New King James says dumb idols. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:08.240 That almost seems like that shouldn't be in the Bible, the word dumb. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.720 But it is, okay, because they are. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:13.360 However, you were led. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:22.399 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. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.639 Circle Jesus is Lord. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:26.320 Circle that in your Bible. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:30.559 Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.799 Underlined except by the Holy Spirit. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:45.440 So Jesus is Lord is only, is only a part of the vernacular of our heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:51.120 So see what he's saying here is that you used to say that Jesus was accursed. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.399 That's demonic. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:57.600 But now you can say Jesus is Lord because of the unction of the Holy Spirit. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.519 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:06.160 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:13.039 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:18.799 So number two, spiritual gifts are evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:25.359 Spiritual gifts are evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:33.279 Now, the reason I wanted you to circle Jesus is Lord is because that's what spiritual gifts should do. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:39.839 Spiritual gifts should make Jesus Lord. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:49.279 When we're ministering in our spiritual gift to others, we're, I like what Sam Storms said in his book on spiritual gifts. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:56.000 He said, spiritual gifts are when God goes public with who he is. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:57.359 I just love that. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:19.680 So it's kind of like God's IPO is spiritual gifts, that we begin to minister to each other, and there's something about a prophetic word, there's something about a word of knowledge, there's something about anointed teaching, that when you hear it and you know that's from God, that Jesus becomes more Lord in your life. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:22.160 So it accentuates Jesus. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.279 And I'm talking about the proper use of spiritual gifts. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:33.839 The improper use through manipulation and the kind of things that can happen in a church and things that can happen in different circumstances, that's not what I'm talking about. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.519 I'm talking about the pure use of spiritual gifts that makes Jesus Lord. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:43.119 And so that's why it's such a beautiful passage in Revelation 19, 10. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:47.599 The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.519 The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.799 In other words, the gift of the prophetic should elevate Jesus in our lives. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:03.359 So it is it is proof positive of the Holy Spirit alive in our midst. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:05.119 A charisma. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:10.559 Let me just give you a let me give you two words for spiritual gifts. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.079 Two Greek words. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.559 One is pneumatikos. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:16.799 Pneumatikos. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.799 Literally, it means spirituals. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.640 It means spirituals. 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:30.400 And that's actually the word used in verse one concerning spirituals. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:35.920 The spirituals of God, meaning that they come from pneuma, which is the Holy Spirit. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.200 But then later, the word charisma is used. 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:47.279 Charismata, spiritual gifts, which is where we get the word caris, which comes from the word grace. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.160 So another way to think of spiritual gifts is gracelets. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:57.599 Gracelets like drops from the ocean of God's grace on you. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.039 I love that. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.680 I'm taking notes on myself. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.279 That's a pretty good one. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:12.720 But there's an ocean of grace, and God gives gracelets to each one of us, the charismata. 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.559 And so here's listen to this. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.279 Everybody's a charismatic who's a believer. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.039 Every Jesus follower is a charismatic. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.960 So if anyone says, if you go to you go to that the road church, it's a charismatic church. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.400 And if you go, well, where do you go? 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.359 Well, I go to, you know, First Baptist Church. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.799 That's charismatic church. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:32.079 What are you talking about? 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.079 We don't do that kind of hand-raising stuff. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.079 No, it's because do you believe in spiritual? 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:36.880 You believe you're gifted? 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:37.759 You God gives you gifts? 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:38.480 Yeah, well, yeah, I do. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:39.759 Okay, well, it's charisma. 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:40.880 It's charismata. 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.720 It means you're charismatic. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:46.400 Yeah, but I don't believe in that speaking in tongue stuff. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:47.200 Doesn't matter. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:48.400 You believe in teaching? 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.680 You believe in encouragement? 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:51.279 Everybody believes in helps. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:51.839 Okay. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.160 You're charismatic. 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:54.880 Hello? 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:56.319 Do you guys hear what I'm saying? 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:58.000 So we're all charismatics. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.839 We the the gracelets of God. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:13.039 And here's what's cool: it's like on Friday night, and then Saturday morning, and then on Sunday morning today and next week, every Sunday morning, we have people come forward, they need prayer. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:21.519 And you come forward and you just feel anybody ever come up to help people or to receive prayer and you feel all dry and like you have nothing to give? 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:23.519 Anybody like that? 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:25.839 Man, you guys are way more spiritual than me. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:29.440 Okay, I can't tell you how many times I get up to speak and I feel dry. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:35.759 I don't feel like I have anything to give, but the Holy Spirit comes because what he does is he gives me a bracelet. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:41.839 He drops a little bit of grace into my heart, and I can do it, and I can make it. 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:44.559 You ever been in an argument with your spouse? 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:46.559 And you just want to? 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.359 And yet then something in you says, Why don't you do this instead of this? 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.480 That's that's a grace was from God. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.839 That's what spiritual gifts are. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.440 They're graceless from God. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:09.920 It's God dropping a little bit of grace into your life to use it to help others, to minister to others, and to bless others in your life. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:21.839 And then he says, look at this, he talks about diversities of gifts, differences of ministries, and diversities of activities. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.200 What's he talking about? 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:25.359 Well, what he's saying about distinctions. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:28.480 Another way of diversity is distinctions of gifts. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:33.920 And I said that earlier, it's combinations of gifts that God brings. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.359 And we're going to talk about that over the next seven weeks. 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:42.240 This idea that there are combinations that work together. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:44.640 So there's a diversity of gifts. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.680 But then he says different kinds of ministries. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.480 So the teaching, let's just take the teaching gift. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.359 The teaching gift could be teaching children. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:23:00.720 The teaching gift can be teaching your children through homeschool or through devotional life in the evenings. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:09.680 It could be teaching in front of a school, in front of kids, and it's a spiritual gift and a natural talent that you have through acquired skills. 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:11.039 So you've developed that. 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:12.480 So that's what it means. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.559 And then diversities of activities. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:18.400 Now the reason it says that is because guess who you minister to? 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:20.880 You minister to people. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:36.640 So there's diverse people, there's diversities of activities, and so different gifts empowering you to minister to people is going to be as diverse as the races across the globe. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:42.319 I mean, it's so many diverse ways that God can use spiritual gifts with people. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.240 Now look at verse 7. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.720 But the manifestation of the Spirit, so underline that. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:24:17.440 Manifestation of the Spirit 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, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:19.440 I'm going to cover that one in a few weeks. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:31.519 To another, the interpretation of tongues, but one and the same spirit works all of these things, distributing to each one individually as he will. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:39.759 So number three, every believer, every believer in Christ has been given spiritual gifts to benefit the whole church. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:43.039 Everybody's been given spiritual gifts to benefit the whole church. 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:45.359 Now I want you to note what I what that says. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:46.960 That's plural. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.319 That's plural. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:50.799 So I don't believe you're just given one gift. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.920 I believe you're given a constellation of gifts. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:54.880 Now look at this. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:25:04.960 Go back to verse 7, and I want you to circle each one, and then I want you to go down to verse 11, and I want you to circle each one individually. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:08.720 Each one individually, and then I draw a line between the two. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:10.640 From verse 7 to verse 11. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:14.799 So each one, so everybody's been given spiritual gifts. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.319 1 Peter 4, 10. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:25.599 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:27.279 So here's what he's saying. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:36.160 He's saying that when you use your gift to minister to others, that's the manifold grace of God. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:37.839 Isn't that exciting? 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:52.640 So that when you share with someone the gospel, because you know you're in this situation where you can share the gospel, you're showing, whether they are open to it or not, you're expressing the manifold grace of God to that person through you. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.839 Well, I'm not a very good, I'm not a very good example of that. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:04.480 Well, no, I mean that's actually it's oftentimes at our lowest point that God can use us for his greater purposes. 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:15.359 It's oftentimes, well, I think I read somewhere that when you're weak, I bet you quoted it this way. 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:16.640 I think I heard it out there. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.400 When you're weak, he is strong. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:20.720 It's actually not what it says. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:24.880 Actually, in the Greek it says, when you're weak, you are strong. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:28.319 So when you are weak, you are strong. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:33.119 And that's in the context of a thorn in the flesh that was given to Paul. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:44.640 So when you're your weakest, that's oftentimes when God can use you the most because it gets you out of the way for the manifestation of the Spirit. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:47.279 Guess what manifestation means right here? 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.519 Guess what it means? 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:51.359 It means to be seen. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:52.799 It means to be seen. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:58.160 So when we're ministering in spiritual gifts, people see God better. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:05.920 They see the Spirit, they understand the works of the Spirit because you're ministering in the Spirit to them. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:16.720 So everybody's been given spiritual gifts, and these spiritual gifts, I pray, will come alive in each one of us in the days ahead. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:18.079 Look at verse 12. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.599 Verse 12. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:38.960 For as the body is one, circle one, and has many members, but all the members of that one body, circle one body, being many are one body, circle one body, so also is Christ. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:42.319 For by one spirit, circle one spirit, get it? 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.839 Get what's happening here? 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:57.119 We were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:01.839 For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:08.480 If the foot should say, Because I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:14.880 And if the ear should say, Because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:19.440 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.839 If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:30.319 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased. 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:35.359 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:36.720 Wow. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:43.440 So what he's saying here is that the exercise of spiritual gifts unifies the church. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.319 It should unify the church. 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:48.880 So here's my definition of a spiritual gift. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:29:02.720 My definition of spiritual gift is a God-given, gracious droplet of God's love, giving you a capacity to serve and unify the body of Christ. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:23.680 So I was invited, Liz and I were invited several weeks ago to a charismatic Catholic gathering at the Black Forest Church, the Catholic Church there in Black Forest, because one of our friends, Luke Vercolone, was going to be speaking and giving his testimony. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:29.440 So we went, and here I was with about 50 or 60, everybody's a Catholic except me. 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:38.640 And there wasn't there was not one thing in that meeting that wasn't biblical and right and in order and powerful. 00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:39.920 It was beautiful. 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:40.720 Okay. 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.519 Do I agree with everything in the Catholic Church? 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:44.079 No. 00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:48.000 But listen, do I agree with everything that's happening at the road? 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:48.640 No. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:49.599 Okay? 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.920 So, but but I saw these spiritual gifts flowing in a beautiful way. 00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:03.599 It almost felt like I was in a 1980s vineyard meeting happening there with people who identify as Roman Catholics. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:17.039 So you could argue, you could argue that the most unifying factor that's happened among denominations over the last 50 years has been spiritual gifts. 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:37.200 That when the charismatic movement began to come out in the Episcopal Church in 1963, and then up into the early in the 68, 69, with the Jesus movement, with kind of a new kind of church being coming forth, and then it began to bleed into the Lutherans, and it began to bleed into the Roman Catholics, it began to bleed into the United Methodists. 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:38.559 There was this unity. 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:45.200 And I remember my dad going to Kansas City in, I think it was 1976, somewhere in there. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:56.640 He went to Kansas City for this huge meeting in the chief stadium, which was all these denominations coming together because of the unity that he had in the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:05.200 So it's the gifts of the Spirit, properly done, should bring unity in diversity. 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:12.720 So the human perspective for us is that we have to be uniform. 00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:14.160 Uniformity. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:24.880 This is the problem in politics, is that everybody has to be uniform, and yet God's way is his beauty in diversity under the rubric of Jesus being Lord. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:28.319 There's diversity with Jesus being Lord. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:29.680 Verse 20. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:33.759 But now indeed there are many members yet one body. 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:40.559 And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:46.160 No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:52.240 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:58.559 Underlying, we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:09.599 But our presentable parts have no need, but God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:17.119 That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:20.960 And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:25.119