Good morning church. Good morning. It is spring break week and I know that and it doesn't help when you lose an hour of sleep And it's a gloomy rainy day outside, but hey, it doesn't matter does it come on we serve a king that is alive Yes, you're glad to be at church this morning good I hope you are and listen it never matters to me to us whether there's five people here fifty people five I'd have done matter we're gonna have fun today We have been having fun today man and we're having fun in the series the forgotten God That's where we're at right now and this is week four in that series today We're gonna be looking at yet another really important aspect of who the Holy Spirit is who this forgotten God is and today We're gonna be talking about the person of the Holy Spirit as the comforter the comforter the Holy Spirit is your comforter How many of you know that I wonder have you ever thought about the Holy Spirit as your comforter? Do you see that in Scripture?
Have you known that have you read that? Have you ever picked that up whether you have or you have not you need to know this the Holy Spirit He is your comforter and I'm gonna tell you today. We got a lot of ground to cover You're gonna see me moving pretty fast There's probably more ground to cover than I would normally try to do but but there's really no other way to do this Just with the depth of what we're gonna look at so many good truths here in in this truth about the Holy Spirit being a comforter Okay, and we're gonna look at the Holy Spirit as our not our company as the aquipper that was a way another way You know what I'm in right the Holy Spirit as our equipper Why and why does the Holy Spirit equip you and I why does he do that? Why is he known as the equipper to me take the Holy Spirit equips you in I so that we may become successful in life?
That's why now How many of you want to be successful in life is that any and I want you to think about that question not just in terms of like a spiritual Sense well, I want to you know be a good man of the word or good Okay, I mean that's important and that's good, but I'm talking about successful in all ways in life Is that any takers in here? Okay, the Holy Spirit as your and my equipper he comes to us and he equips us So that we can be successful in this thing called life And what we're gonna see today is that there are two primary ways that he equips us That's what the Holy Spirit does certainly. There's a lot of ways that he equips us I do get that I understand that but we we're gonna look at two big ones today and here they are and we're gonna start working through Okay, the Holy Spirit as our equipper two primary ways number one. He gives us power He gives you an high power and number two.
He gives us gifts He gives us power and he gives us gifts and as you can imagine it's gonna take a little time to unpack especially that second one But we're gonna get there. Okay, let's start working through these already jump in there's no real warm up today We're just gonna get after this. Okay, the Holy Spirit as the equipper he gives us power What is that all about? Well come with me to loop 2449 loop 2449 and here's what it says This is Jesus.
Okay for a little background context. What's going on here? Who's saying what to who? Jesus is speaking to his disciples and he says I am going to send you what my father has promised whoa stop right there Don't read ahead.
What is that? Jesus is I'm gonna send you Peter John. I'm gonna send you what my father's promised What's Jesus talking about there that right there is he's talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit What's about to happen in Acts chapter 2 in the day of Pentecal that day is coming right and this is the promise of the Father You're gonna pick on you're gonna pick this up all the way through the New Testament You'll see it again and again again that the promise of the Father that the Father's promise to us It's talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit now. I want you to understand something This is where again some of this stuff is another reason why this is a big teaching in this series a lot of this I have tends to be the more debated more controversial subjects when you start talking about the Holy Spirit What's the baptism the Holy Spirit all about I don't know about that are you talking about tongues you talk about this and that and I hold on Yeah, this is a big deal the gift that the Father promises to you and I the gift that he promises his disciples here He's speaking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit plain and simple and the baptism of the Holy Spirit That is a second experience that is a subsequent experience.
You know anyone I say that that means it follows It's another one. It's a separate experience in the life of the believer. Well, what happened when I got saved pastor? Can you tell me about that?
I thought I got the Holy Spirit when I got saved didn't he come in and take over? Didn't I get the Holy Spirit when you and I were born again at the time of salvation? Okay, when you made Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life when you asked him to come into your heart whatever wording phrasing You want to use when you did that what happened at that moment when you were born again real simply what happened is that you were Induelt with the Holy Spirit That's what happened the Holy Spirit came and he took up residence in your in my life in our heart and so he now lives within you That is an internal deal. Okay, that's what happened at the moment of salvation But the baptism of the Holy Spirit and again, you're gonna see this echo all through scripture It is a second experience It's a subsequent experience and you'll see that the Bible talks about this as when the Holy Spirit comes on you with power That is that is an external deal.
Okay at the time of salvation We're born again the Holy Spirit comes and that indwelling that in feeling of the Holy Spirit and then we are baptized into the Holy Spirit And we receive power. Okay now, now look at this He says but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high now hold on Jesus remember He's speaking to disciples and who are these guys man? They're the best of the best they are sealtine six in my book Okay, if they don't have it then who's got it these guys have been walking talking living breathing with Jesus for three plus years now Right Jesus has been personally mentoring them training them teaching them and these are the guys who you know Jesus is saying don't go anywhere fellas until you receive the promise of the Father Well, hold on can you imagine some of them firing back like Jesus? We've been with you man We know what you're talking about hey every time you went you know down to the Episcopal Church and preach We were right there on the front row and when you did the big tent revival out there We were there Jesus do you remember then we heard you teach we heard you preach we got it and not only did we hear you get In all these things that you rolled out But after you were done so many times teaching you pulled us over on the side and you explained things to us And you make sure we got me Jesus we got it like we're good You know this is who Jesus is talking to and he says boys don't go anywhere Wait until you get this gift that the Father's promised me now.
Why is that such a big deal? Why is that so important? I'll tell you church what continues to sharpen you up until present day is how many people that you'll talk to and they'll say I don't Need this thing called the baptism Holy Spirit, you know, I mean really that was just the disciples and Jesus Yeah, I know it's there in scripture. He told them they need a way to receive it They needed that back then but I don't really think that I need it excuse me Who are you and I to think that if the disciples needed it these guys that were how much more so do you and I need it church?
Oh, we do we need this thing called the power of the Holy Spirit Acts 1 8 says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Then all Judea and Samaria and through the ends of the earth now church when it says power right there in the Greek That is that word dunamis has anybody ever heard of that word before dunamis power what is dunamis? That's where we get our modern English word dynamite from and can anybody tell me what we do with dynamite? We blow stuff up all right think about when they're when they're carving You know they're making a train tunnel through a giant mountain What do those guys do they come in there and they plant those charges the demolition and they blow holes through the mountain so that they Can lay that track and that railroad can go through there right dynamite is used to blow stuff up and that is in that interesting That's the word using the Greek there for what the power of the Holy Spirit is like in your in my life It's not this quiet, you know, you know back up power supply. That's just kind of it's nice little it's dynamite power You know and so the Holy Spirit power and you're in my life It is the power to blow things out the below things up to obliterate strongholds to level mountains in your life Oh, come on now.
I want you to understand something in this church. You know this if you've been here any length of time Okay, I'm not some you know TV evangelist preacher Okay, we don't come in here teach hype and things that tickle people's ears and you know We're not you can teach stuff like this The mountains just need to be leveled in your life and the power of the Holy Spirit will feel you notice it and people say Oh, yeah, man, it sounds so good I don't have to do anything and the Holy Spirit is power just gonna come in and just blow everything up and well That sounds good. Give me some of that you got to receive the power of the Holy Spirit You have to embrace this equipper in order for that to happen There's something that you and I have to do as well, amen Zachariah 4 6 says this is the word of the Lord to Zorubable If you ladies are pregnant and thinking about having baby There's a great baby name for you right there. It's a rubable.
How about that one? Who is who's the rubable? He's a Judean governor, okay, and in this verse I'm about to read it I bet when I started a lot of you could finish it you may not have known that it came from the book of Zachariah You may not have known that it's Zachariah 4 6, but you could probably finish it this next part Not by might not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord how many of her that verse before okay That's a pretty well-known verse we say that we quote that there's songs written about that people tend to know this one again They may not know the exact address of it But like I've heard them for not by my my my my spirit Can I ask you this question because I've asked this of leaders and pastors before and they don't even know okay Does anybody know what Zachariah 4 7 says? They want to know what the very next verse says because it's really important if you don't understand what Zachariah 4 7 says I would argue that you will not get the full context the full understanding of what Zachariah 4 6 is talking about read this with me Zachariah 4 7 very next verse says what are you mighty mountain before Zorubable you will become level ground Oh, come on.
That's not just a word to Zorubable the Judean governor that time That's a word to you and I that's the eyes church Amen for you as a child of God as a son of God as a daughter of God before you with the power of the Holy Spirit behind you operating Through you mountains will be made low Oh, come on. I know it's pretty break week, but you got to give me a little more than that come on in that an exciting thought Come on How many want that power operating in your life today? How many say I need that yes? I need that power feel like I've been stuck and I feel like I'm not making any breakthrough and I know God is there But I mean this just looks impossible come on we got call on the power of the Holy Spirit He's there to equip you and I for these purposes.
I love how the G&T the news translation reads it It says in for Zachariah 4 7 obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you Oh, yeah, I go just evaporate those those things those mountains that inevitably come up right we we start out life in the Lord We give our life to him and we begin to walk the Christian walk and we find out real quickly It's not really the Christian walk. It's the Christian fight right it's a lot more than a walk in a part It's a lot more of a battlegrounds. Okay, you were fighting you were moving forward and we have our first skirmishes We have our first battles with the enemy right and it's like man This is a piece of cake, you know I mean these these struggles come up and boom we knock them out and we move forward and say man This Christian life thing is really easy, you know, but inevitably at some point there will be a struggle There will be a battle there will be something that comes up that it's a lot more than just a pebble on the path It feels like a mountain on the path, right? And these are things that want to block you from becoming the man or woman that God has called you to be They will block you and I from stepping forward into the life and the calling that he has for you And you need the that dunamis power I need that dunamis power of the Holy Spirit to obliterate those things and bring those mountains down We need this power and remember what acts one eight said it says you will receive power That's beunamis right that mountain leveling power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and what you will be my witnesses Whoa, what's that about how are we gonna be his witnesses the Holy Spirit has forgotten God the equipper How are we gonna be his witnesses?
How does that happen very simply by living out the Christian life victoriously? That's how you and I become witnesses of a God and a holy spirit a Jesus Christ that is better greater stronger than you and I Amen first Corinthians 4 20. I love this verse. It says for the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power Oh, yeah, can we just read that one more time?
The kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power and this is really big deal because sadly I think so many times when the world looks at the church of Jesus Christ today what they see is they see a lot of talk There's a lot of words. There's a lot of emotions. There's a lot of you know show There's just a lot of talk. There's a lot of this going on, but that there's not a lot of power going on and the kingdom of God It is a matter of power.
It's a matter of force That is the kingdom that you said I will align my life with this kingdom This is the Jesus. This is the king that I will observe that king that you serve that kingdom that you and I are supposed to be propelling and advancing Forward it is a kingdom that deals not in talk and in words But it deals in power and that power comes from the aquipper from the Holy Spirit like it or not That's what you and I signed up for right to live life victorious like you can power for signs and wonders Yeah, you bet so power for healing yes power for yes power to be his witnesses And this is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7 He's talking about this the struggle and I wonder how many of us can identify with what Paul saying here in Romans chapter 7 Just pick up a scattering of verses here. You've probably read this before okay, Roman 7 15 Paul says I do not understand what I do for what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do you don't have to raise your hand but it's never been there okay What about verse 18? I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Oh, what about verse 19? For I do not do the good I want to do but the evil I do not want to do this I keep on doing Man, that's a terrible place to be right. It's just a cycle again and again and again and you don't have to raise your hand But I wonder have you ever felt like that are you feeling like that right now? You said man all the things that I don't want to do that Why do I find myself doing those things?
What is wrong with me? This just must be normal This must be the normal Christian life and I want to tell you something church I have heard a lot of teachings that are false there. They're they're unbiblical. I've heard pastors teach this topic I've heard it taught seminars places here domestically internationally and it's like they just teach us as well You know brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is the way it is. You know, this is a normal Christian life You just need to try to do right. We're all just sinners after all excuse me. I'm not a sinner And if that sounds weird you hang on a second.
I'm not a I do not identify as a sinner Well pastor Matt do you do you still sin you're saying you don't know? I still sin but you know what by the grace of God I'm learning how to conquer sin in my life and and it I'm doing it less and less and by the grace of God by his blood that Washes me clean and makes me white as snow. I'm learning more and more how to conquer sin. I'm not a sinner That's who I used to be.
That's who I was, but that's not who I am now because of the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the cross I'm no longer a slave to sin. I am no longer a sinner I know who I am without Jesus, but I know who I am with him to come on how many different ways you want me to say this right? This is who we are You know that song that that quickly became one of my favorites when it came out here a few years ago by Bethel music It's called the blood you've ever heard that song the lyrics are incredibly powerful and it starts out by saying the opening lines It says it's getting harder to recognize who I am the more I've encountered Christ I can't I can't recognize who I used to be the further that I get away from that sinful life and being a sinner and Speaking and living this way and doing all these things under my own strength under my own power the further I get away from that I don't recognize who I am anymore. Oh, come on.
Is anybody else in here? I'm more and more like Jesus Christ now So sin has no power over me the power of the Holy Spirit the equipper flows through my veins And I'm not doing it perfectly you're not doing it perfectly but more and more we're becoming like a Lord Jesus Christ Amen, so praise God that I've heard people teach this Romans 7 that's it, you know Like all the things that I don't want to do I do the things that I should do I don't sign Paul You know forget y'all you know praise God that Romans 7 doesn't end right there Okay, there's chapter 8 and all we got to do is keep reading and how many of you've read Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 here's is therefore there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus The law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death What is he saying there? He's saying boy before I had the power of the Holy Spirit operating in my life Well, I could there was no way I could do anything right But now that I've got his power operating in my life now that that Dunam is power is there now I can and I will now I choose to live not by my own strength and might but in the power of the Spirit Can you can you see this what what Paul is saying is that the law of the Spirit? It supersedes the law of sin and death and that's really important that you get that this morning the law of the Spirit the Holy Spirit the Equipper when his Dunam is powers working in your life that law supersedes the law of sin and death Think of it this way Okay, if you went and found yourself a cliff today a really high cliff and you threw yourself headlong off of that cliff What's gonna happen?
You're gonna die. Okay, that's what's gonna happen, right? You're gonna die and if you did that if you went to that cliff and threw yourself off of that cliff 1,000 times What's gonna happen every single time you're gonna die? Why is that gonna happen?
Why are you gonna plummet to your death in that way because of this thing called the law of gravity, right? And how many understand that the law of gravity like it or not? It's what we call an immutable law. You can't change it.
You can't fight it. You can't do anything about it. It is what it is, right? The law you can throw yourself off that cliff 999 times 1,000.
It is always gonna be the same result, right? You're not gonna survive the law of gravity everybody just don't talk about okay So if you got that's the law of gravity now, here's it what about airplanes? How does that work? Simple simple analogy here You go to an airport and you see an airplane How is it that this giant aircraft with it without people?
How is it that that plane can take off and fly and it doesn't go crashing like I would you would if it because of this other law that Supersedes the law of gravity known as the law of aerodynamics, right? Come on You know can you see what happens with the law of aerodynamics? Why does the plane not crash and burn because the law of aerodynamics supersedes the law of gravity? It does not replace the law of gravity Gravity still there right that law but but this is a higher law So come on can you see this the law of the spirit what Paul is saying?
It is higher than it's better than it supersedes it overrides the law of sin and death when it's active in your in my life And one other really important thing here that we need to know on the power of the Holy Spirit before we leave this in Luke 4 1 Look at what it says Jesus full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness and we know what happens from there Right, it's Satan comes the tempter comes in and Jesus deals with him, right? And look at what happens just 13 verses later Luke 4 14. It says Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit Oh, yeah, first of all he was led by the spirit, right? He comes back with the power of the Dunamis power of the Holy Spirit What's the point there?
What do you what can you and I learn from that the more and more that you and I walk in obedience to the power of the Holy Spirit? We follow his prompting we follow his lead the more that you're in my life demonstrates that the more and more Dunamis power will flow into your life naturally that is how that works the equipper comes to give us power Amen, so that's the first thing here's the second thing he comes to give us gifts The Holy Spirit is the equipper gives us gifts now. I understand that there's a lot of teachings out there today There's a lot there's a lot of teachings that are there they are bad teachings they are inaccurate they're unbiblical They are heretical in some cases really where people really get off into Lala land crazy stuff with this There's a lot of teachings out there today that say that the gifts of the spirit the gifts of the Holy Spirit that they somehow They died out in the first century, you know that when that when the last of the apostles died out That was it the gifts were just for a time and that you know when they're gone and they're no longer needed This is what is known as the cessationist view anybody familiar with that Okay, cessation that means that the gifts ceased to exist. That's what cessationists okay They were here for time they were given for a season they were needed then but they're not needed now And I understand there's a lot of teaching out there and I understand this dude There's actually a lot of great men and women of the faith that I highly respect and I have read their books and I've listened They're teaching that believe this as well There's a session is and you say how can somebody who is you know walks with the Lord and sister?
You know their life has such power and authority how can they miss something like that? Well, it's actually pretty easy to do and I'll tell you a lot of what makes it easy is when you just want to read things in The scripture instead of just simply reading out what's there It's amazing how that works if you and I just read out what the Bible says You don't you don't have to read anything in and twist and disorder things to make it fit your bias Or your viewpoint or your near it just let scripture work with itself let scripture to her but scripture right and so here's here's the truth about this What it comes to cessationism and I don't know about else, you know, y'all are charismatic church and you believe in the gifts you bet We do absolutely you believe that they're still alive and working today there to give so still an operation You bet we do and here's what I've come to understand. It's not that complicated People want to blow this up and say they don't understand it. No, it's not complicated Scripture is actually quite clear It really is and there's no reason to get combative or argument about just read in and look at what is there don't don't don't read out What's there don't try and force your thinking or understanding just let the Bible speak for itself and I have had conversations a few of these with people over the years and I remember the main one where I talked as a guy that's talking to me said well, I don't believe in that I think that the on the cessation is the gift died out.
Can we look at it vividly sure we can't where do you want to start? Can we talk about first Corinthians 13? That's perfect. That's actually where I was gonna take you so in that while that we both were thinking of the same Burs, okay, let's go to first Corinthians 13.
What is first Corinthians 13? The love chapter, right? The love chapter This is what gets read at weddings a lot, but and that's that's good, but but look at this first Corinthians 13 8 So we're gonna pick it up Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy then they will be done away if there are tongues They will cease if there is knowledge it will be done away now stop right there I want you to understand that there is universal agreement in the church of Jesus Christ. What do you mean by that?
I mean like all denominational lines whether your baptism method is a physical paling whatever, okay There's universal agreement that what this is speaking about here in first Corinthians 13 8 is yes There are three gifts mentioned there. There's prophecy tongues knowledge that there's universal agreement that those three represent the nine Okay, they're not just saying somehow Paul's not saying that only prophecy and tongues and knowledge are gonna be done away That's speaking about all nine what he's saying simply if possible saying is that a time is coming when all of the nine gifts They're no longer gonna be needed. There's a time when they are going to cease. Do we understand that?
Can you see that this morning? Yes, okay, that's what he's saying right? So that's verse 8 now look at verse 9 for we know in part and we prophesy in part First in but when perfection comes the partial will be done away. Whoa.
There's some really important words that we need to stop and look at That's pretty important when exactly will the partial be done away with Paul. What are you saying here? What's the answer to that question when will the partial be done when perfection comes? Can you see this it's right there?
We don't have to read things in we just got to read it out right when perfection comes the partial will be done away with Everyone is in agreement right up until this point. Okay, everybody agrees. Yeah, yeah, we got it. That's clear It's okay the disagreement comes in when we try to define what does perfection actually mean That's where it just gets pretty wild right here Okay, and what a cessationist will tell you somebody who believes it to get died out in the first century and that we don't need in the day And there's no use no that was just then what they believe is that they will define perfection as when the canonized word of God showed up on the Scene and by knowing what I mean, let's say the canonized word of God the complete that we had the Old Testament, right?
We have the New Testament when we this is what we decided a Holy Spirit inspired divine right that this is the Bible This is the work of God and when the canonized word of God is complete they will tell you that's when perfection came so perfection has already come Okay, well, that's that's not a bad argument in one sense, but let's also be clear about this you just made that up out of Inhere we got we got to be real about that okay I mean I don't get where you're coming from but you literally just drew that out of the air and said I think that's what this means Because there's nothing in God's word that says that that's the case There's nothing here and what we're reading here or elsewhere that says perfection means the canonized word of God There's actually no reference to the word of God and it's when it talks about perfect So let's just be honest you drew that out of thin air That's what you want it to mean, but that's not actually what it means, okay? Here's the deal We don't have to guess thank you Jesus. It doesn't have to be your interpretation of it or my how about we again? We just let scripture do the talking and we do that right?
We don't have to if we just keep reading the Bible is gonna tell us okay, so let's go to verse 11 When I was a child Paul says I used to speak like a child think like a child reason like a child when I became a man I did away with childish things he said there was a season there was a time right and I put all that away verse 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly stop right there for a second Why is he saying we see in a mirror dimly? It's real simple understand that the mirrors and that day and age They were not like our mirrors that we have today. They were not pure If you came and looked in a mirror in that time that hadn't figured it out Okay, you just got a dull reflection at best kind of like looking in a really dark like chrome kind of image There's nothing there's nothing there, okay, so he's saying right now. That's not that was his equivalent That's what Paul understood.
It's like we're looking in a mirror dimly, right? But then What's then? When perfection comes right then when perfection comes face to face now? Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known Okay, and so here's the deal if you're somebody who believes that perfection came when the word of God was canonized That's what perfection means to you then here's here's the truth that you've also got except you must also believe that you today can see things more clearly Than the apostle Paul did and that's a position that I'm not about to take out about you that We're literally we're gonna stand here and say you know what the apostle Paul when he wrote these words He was still just trying to figure it out man.
You know he didn't really have any insight He didn't really have any revelation. He was still just kind of thumbing around in the dark He didn't have it figured out but us we can see it. I mean we're seeing God face to face right now like we perfection is coming Anybody want to take that position? I don't think so.
Okay, so again that just blows that out of the water There's no crutch to stand on there. Okay, that's simply not true. This is the same guy that was caught up into heaven Right? I think we can take him at his word.
Yes, right? He knows what he's talking about What is the apostle Paul really saying here? What's he talking about when he's saying he's saying when perfection comes I'm gonna know God just as fully as he knows me right now. That's what he's saying.
Can anybody tell me when is that? When is that coming when is that time when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back? That means at the end of the age when all things close out and in the last minute is out on the clock Let me tell you when Jesus is coming back for a pure spotless bride That's what this is talking That's when perfection comes when the glory of the Lord has covered the earth as the waters cover the sea That's what Habakkuk tells us and let me tell you how close are we to seeing that happen? We're still a long ways off okay contrary to a lot of public opinion and a lot of thoughts out there You know every time we have a Y2K event We have a COVID-19 event or this happens in the Middle East or whatever people say this is it This is the end of the days, you know and there's a lot of people out there making millions of dollars off of false prophecies that don't even get me Started on that they just you know on October 18.
This is it. You know Jesus is coming back and October 18 passes Oh, we missed it. Oh, it's actually October 18th of next year So let's just you know continue to support me and pour money to me and build my you know Fund my next private jet and I'm just gonna keep spewing out all these false prophecy We've got a lot of false prophets out there Okay, they're taking the stuff and making it whatever they want it to be you know what I'm talking about okay You hear it too. You see it's there and it's just it's incredibly in error Okay, just to say the least this is speaking about the end of the age Jesus comes back for victorious trying to church Right and until then it's real simple church the gifts are still in operation Okay, it's close done.
No, no, no, it's pretty simple. It's really really simple It's really clear the gifts are still in operation and get this just two verses later First Corinthians 14 one. Here's what we get a command straight out of God's word follow the way of love and eagerly desire Yes, or the spirit. Oh, and I've asked some cessation is what do you do with that?
Oh, you know, I don't think you know what to do with that, right? That's a command by the way. That's a command from God's word You mean a command just like love your neighbor. Yeah, just like love your neighbor.
Well, I like that command But I don't know about this command to eagerly and I just be really clear and blunt this morning. That okay I mean, I'm gonna do it anyway. I've got the mic okay, so just nicer to okay Let me just say it this way all right if you are not right today if you are not eagerly Desiring the gifts of the spirit if you were not living a life in obedience the first Corinthians 14 one you need to repent You do and listen don't go and beat yourself up. That's not gonna do you any good that doesn't know Don't go and beat yourself up about it But just simply change and say God forgive me for not eagerly desiring the gifts that your holy spirit wants to give Forgive me for every time that I've shied away from them or push back or said that doesn't fit my thinking or I'm uncomfortable with that Because that's where most of us find ourselves in my experience I just don't like that.
I'm uncomfortable with that I don't know about that and because I don't feel comfortable there I don't know about that I just say it's wrong and I push it away And I just don't deal with it Don't do that don't choose that response lean in even deeper and say Lord teach me to follow the way of love and eagerly desire your gifts That's where we need to find our self-church, amen. So what are the gifts of the spirit? What are they I'm glad you asked right in the New Testament? We get three different groupings of the gifts we do first Corinthians 12 Gives us what is typically referred to as the manifestation gifts All right, those are the nine gifts that we're gonna be looking at here shortly Right those are what are known as the manifestation gifts in first Corinthians 12 Romans 12 gives us what is referred to as the motivational gifts But what's that all about the motivate that means that the way that you're wired?
Okay, some of us are wired to be very black and white where those people tend to be more prophetic in nature They're very they can be more harsh even at times. They just see things black and white There's not a lot of great other people are there wired to be more mercy go with it You know that there's not a harsh moment in their body right and other people are wired for excellence It's the way that God we are all as different from each other as different could be all right And so we pick up on those gifts there in Romans 12 and then Ephesians 4 is that third grouping that are known as the ministry gifts And these are not really people say you know these are all the gifts of the spirit That's not really that's not technically true. That's not technically accurate Okay, the gifts of the spirit are what we see the manifestation gifts in first Corinthians 12 Okay, what we see with these other gifts these are just simply gifts that Jesus gives to his church That's what they are and so here in Ephesians 4 we've got what are they apostle prophet evangelist pastor teacher That's the five-fold ministry right those are the ministry gifts all right and before we dive in and look at these manifestation gifts this morning I want you to get this it's really important. Okay really important that you get this these gifts They are given to you and I today they are given to God's church to his people so that we can begin to produce fruit in our life That's why they're given they the gifts are not given so that you and I can run a ringling brothers Barnum and Bailey five ring circuits in your On Sunday, you know that and that's what you see a lot of churches doing a lot special I your hyper spiritual churches where it's like we're just praying for gold dust to fall out of events this morning And if gold does doesn't fall out then man We miss God, you know and you got people running around half naked in the parking lot and screaming and hollering It's like wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait That's a five ring circus, you know first Corinthians 14 also says that everything should be done in order right?
It was Jack Hayford. I think he said it really well He said we are we are covetous. You're talking about the gifts the manifestation of the spirit He says we are covetous of their dimming of their we want them to come we desire them I'm gonna butcher the quote if I try to do it for memory He says what we want we covet them we want to see them but we are not gullible as to their demonstration And that's a really we're not just we'll do anything to just see you know have people jump through hoops and flaming No, no, no, no, no, no, no, we don't do that That's not how God's church is supposed to be can anybody say men to that the gifts are given so that you and I produce fruit and become more and More like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why these gifts are given so church I'm gonna try and cover these nine gifts in the very few minutes that we've got left Okay, I want you to buckle up hold on don't get scared.
All right, we're gonna work through these There's really no other way to do this and especially not having life groups on Wednesday It's just really important. This is big that we look at these I want to say this though before we get started on these nine I'm gonna do this in just minutes This is a teaching that typically takes a long time to unpack so to that end if you want a more in-depth Look at this a more in-depth understanding of what the gifts of the spirit are we put this link up on the screen You can there's a QR code there You can scan that it will take you to that length that you're seeing This is a temporary resource that we have created again if you want to go deeper and look at this deeper It's gcf Renham.org forward slash gifts dash spirit Gc Renham.org forward slash gifts dash spirit They're short for gifts of the spirit what you're gonna see there is you're gonna see a phenomenal teaching by pastor Miles where he walks for a little over an hour through these nine gifts in greater detail than I can do here today And that actually comes from less than 20 in the GMI discipleship series Okay, so if you're a student you're progressing through that you will hit that lesson That's four before you complete the series and you're done But you can pick this up and get we're gonna leave this up for a few weeks and let anybody that wants to take a deep dive into that Okay, you're ready here. We go right number one tons the first gift tons Well, why are you starting with tongues because it's the most controversial? That's why so let's just go ahead and get this one out of the way, okay?
And what people will say is they'll say with tongues that's the least of the gifts and You mean why do you say that? Well because when you look at this in first Corinthians well, that's the last one mentioned That's the last one that Paul talks about out of the nine So therefore it is the least of the gifts okay? If we're gonna take your logic there and do that then we're also gonna have to jump over to another place in Corinthians where it says Now these three things remain faith hope and love and the greatest of these is what oh yeah the last one right? So if we're gonna use that logic then then you're gonna have to say that that verse is wrong as well That doesn't work okay, so here's what we need to understand none of the gifts should ever be demeaned never none of the gifts have somehow less value Or less important than the others okay the cost that these gifts were acquired at was a huge price that Jesus paid for you And I so that we could have these gifts and then so they're all valuable They're all needed they're all critical they're all important who we to decide again We do that because of bias and thoughts and bad teaching and I don't like the time.
I'm gonna come to it So that no no no no don't do that don't do that. Let's be good students as a word man now when we speak in tongues When you speak in tongues what is that what's happening there understand when you speak in tongues somebody who's baptized in the Holy Spirit Right and they begin to speak in tongues they can be speaking in an existing language that can happen they could be speaking in a dead language You know I mean when I say dead language over all these centuries We've got lots of languages that have disappeared as civilizations came and go languages that died and were buried with people There's just hundreds of thousands of eight languages of dead language We have no knowledge about you could be speaking in an active language a dead language You could also be speaking when you're speaking in tongues when I'm speaking in tongues You could be speaking in an angelic language What I can speak in the language of the English angles used to community Yes, that is actually what 1 Corinthians 13 1 says where the Apostle Paul says if I speak in the tongues of man or I speak in the tongues of angels Right, yeah, we have we don't know which one is that's it's your prayer language Right, you're speaking in tongues now the thing that I want to point out here this gift this gift of speaking in tongues This is very different. It's very different than simply praying in tongues and there's a lot of confusion on that There's a lot of controversy about that I met with someone not even two years ago who briefly attended here and they came to me and they asked for a meeting with me And they said pastor I want to tell you that you got a big problem going on I said what's that and they said you've got I came in on Sunday and on that Sunday our worship team was up here and Tacey Bronwell Fred's wife read the worship leader She was up here and she she was just singing away in the spirit she had her microphone down But you can still hear it coming through the speakers and that really bothered that really offended this person I said that was wrong like you she should not be doing that there that the Bible says that that is not to be done And that if you're gonna do that then there has to be an interpretation of it You know and I heard people all around me. I was standing there They were sitting somewhere in the middle here and they said I heard people behind me Everybody was singing in tongues and some were speaking to sing and that's just wrong scripture says you can't do that No, what's going on there?
But is you haven't been taught properly you haven't understood what scripture talks about because scripture actually lays it out really really clearly A word in tongues is different than speaking in tongues are praying in tongues. It's very clear It's very clear in scripture. I would tell you it's very clear in English you can just read the NIV and you can see that It's even more clear in the Greek. What was the New Testament written in?
Great, right? So you can it becomes even more abundantly clear there Okay, every time that you'll see in the New Testament where it talks about somebody speaking in tongues singing in tongues that personal edification going on It uses the Greek word doriya doriya It's a D O R E A doriya, okay? And every time that the Bible talks about somebody getting up and giving a word in tongues It uses a completely different word and that word is the Greek word karismata karismata. Okay, so when somebody says hey I came in here and I heard 300 people singing in tongues and speaking in tongues and that's wrong.
No, no, no That's doriya. That's what that is. Okay, that's natural. There's nothing wrong with that Now if somebody gets up here and they come and they give they share a word in tongues that's karismata That's a different we're gonna saw and we're gonna listen to that because the Holy Spirit is trying to speak to the church He's trying to speak to you and we need to tune in we need to listen to that and that has happened here Tasty bremel was actually the last one that I'm aware of that she was up here on stage that this was Within the last year she comes off the stage and comes straight to me over here and she says I think God is getting a word in tongues And my ears immediately perked up It's like really a lot of times what you'll see is people move and guess that there are those words of encouragement You know maybe of knowledge here in it, but tongues that's a lot more rare because again a lot more people struggle with that That's just at the heart and she said I've got a word in tongues That's a girl get it and so she comes right back up here and she gives that word in tongues at the moment of karismata Right God speaking and I followed her on the mic and I said okay Here's the deal we're just gonna stop who's got the interpretation of that because that's what scripture says when a word is given in tongues There must be an interpretation right and that day we had there's like three or four people that came up I know Justin MacGothan was one Pam's fault So's another can't they all had pieces and they just all fit together and I think it was Pam's word that just like that That's exactly you can just feel it.
There's the whole the spirit falls like that's that's that's what he was saying to us And that's that's what happens came. There's dorilla. There's karismata. There needs to be an interpretation Okay, and that leads us right in the next one number two interpretation of tongues second gift We're gonna look at what is the interpretation of tongues what happened in that moment?
The interpretation of tongues is simply an ability to understand and to communicate the meaning of what was said in another tongue That's what it is okay in contrary to popular opinion a lot of popular belief The same person can both give a word in tongues and get the interpretation for it as well because I've been told that that's wrong You can't do that you know she got up and gave a word in tongues and she also had the interpretation That's not scriptural. Can you show me that in scripture? No, but it's in there somewhere actually it's not okay It's just not there what the Bible does tell us in it's right here in 1 Corinthians 14 13 is it says when you give a word in tongues pray and ask that the spirit will give you the interpretation for it So again blows that one out of the water right we can we should sometimes it happens now I will tell you that in my experience what I've seen not just here in our church But also throughout the churches in our network and I've seen this another church as I've been in is very very often I would say eight nine times out of ten somebody when a word in tongues is given You'll see somebody get up and give that word and then somebody else gets the interpretation of it Why does it work like that for me? I just this is this is me.
I don't have necessarily a scripture to give you I just after I've witnessed this for so many years. I believe it simple I think God does that he likes to distribute the gifts around you know He wants to involve all of us He wants to involve all of his children all of his people it keeps the focus off of man And it puts it back on him right on his son Jesus He is he is speaking all the time We just got to tune in and listen and you'll see somebody get it and then it just merges and it's like that's a holy spirit You couldn't have planned that if you tried, you know, that's how God works and then third gift prophecy prophecy What's this about prophecy is a short specific word from the Lord a short specific word from the Lord? It's not preaching right why do you say that because cessation is will say this they'll say that prophecy equals teaching prophecy Get up and preach and teach and say thing and prophecy that's what that gift is talking about first I mean preaching no, it's not you're making that up. Okay, that's not there prophecy a prophetic word is someone getting a short Specific word from God for someone or for something okay in the Old Testament Here's what you need to understand about prophecy when we look at the Old Testament prophecy getting a prophetic word It's not a good thing Okay, usually in the Old Testament a prophetic word was a word of correction It was a word of judgment something being pronounced against you your household your family like when the prophet Nathan comes to David and says You are that man, you know and this is what's gonna happen as a result of your sin when the prophet came to see you in the Old Testament You start shaking in your boots a little bit, okay?
But from the Old Testament into the New Testament, what do we see happens with prophecy prophecy under the New Testament under the New Covenant now It becomes all about encouragement. It becomes about comfort. It becomes about strengthening it is a foretelling meaning I've watched so many prophetic words given where you know here that people say it usually they say very clearly I'm not saying this is going to happen. This is gonna happen tomorrow at 1 30 p.m They're just God revealed this to me about your future and he's speaking this and this is what I see for you Is that if you don't make a change or you need to be aware of this could happen to you, right?
A word of prophecy can be a prophetic foretelling of some event or some circumstance or some encounter that can happen, okay? All right, so Prophecy needs to be judged in the church because you get people that say well, I'm a prophet and I just got a you know Like James Bond I got a license to kill whatever I want to do say what I want to say I'm a prophet and they label themselves a prophet and they just get up and bark things No, that's not how that works prophecy needs to be judged in the church first Corinthians 14 tells us that every word every prophetic We're given must be judged scripture says by a mature prophetic ministry That means somebody who's been doing it for a while that means somebody who can hear the voice of Holy Spirit somebody who's got fruit in their Life, that's what that means, okay? I have actually been in one of our GMI churches many years ago One of our churches I was a young guy and I watched we were in the middle of worship and this guy a random guy What's in a member of the church? He runs up on the stage in the middle of worship and and asked one of the female vocalists for her microphone Now she made the wrong choice But she was in shock and she just said she just gave it to him and this guy you know proceeded to shut down worship and just went off on This word, you know It was one of these big thus sayeth the Lord and he's gonna strike someone in here You know and this is again and I watch the pastor come right up there and just take the mic and get off the stage Yeah, like done and we're gonna go back and work and that was an awkward moment Okay, but it needed to be done.
I don't know who the heck you are scripture says you must know those who minister among you Come on. And so that's what you'll see that here at grace what we do is on Sundays We have a prophetic point person nine out of ten times. That's gonna be pastor Chris up here Right about remark is sitting if Chris isn't here, it may become to me Mark there's gonna be something like somebody's gonna be up here and they have that microphone and what you'll see is you see people come And you're ever seen that right? People come and ask me is that all planned like do people come and say it's their turn?
Is your real talking about or no no no no that's that's in the moment Holy Spirit speaking and they're gonna come to that prophetic point person This is what God shared me. Can I go share that and we will work with you on that there are times that I know when I've been running prophetic Somebody comes up to me and I can it's almost like I can just see him in my peripheral coming. You're good to go Go for it. You don't even need to hear what I had no no no I mean the Lord told me very I can see it go for it You're on that doesn't happen with everyone every time but that happens There's other times that we'll talk with people and say I got this word And I think it's for so-and-so and they begin to talk it out and the Holy Spirit That's actually for you and they'll just break it.
Oh, yeah, I thought that was for the church but really God speaking to me on that Yeah, that's for you. So take that just what Holy Spirit is trying to get holy Sometimes what people look that was really good, but that was about 15 minutes ago We're already past that point and people get kind of touchy sometimes with that You're saying that a prophetic word in the Lord has an expiration date, you know, they can go bad like milk I mean, you know, it's not that we can't go back to it But what happened most likely what I've seen a lot is that person was standing there fighting the Holy Spirit for about 15 minutes, right? They were lacking obedience. They knew I should go I should go.
They're just sweating it out, you know They finally work up the courage and come it's like we're closing worship. We're done I'm sorry come back next week ask the Holy Spirit to again I guarantee he's gonna do it because he's always speaking and next time demonstrate obedience and come on Let's do this right so that's how prophecy works. Okay. We don't do an open mic Sunday around here Okay, open mic, just whatever what do you think I'm saying to the church just come up here and have at it We don't do that.
They were not running Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus around here Okay, everything needs to be done in order and done basically that's how we handle prophecy in man Okay, number four the starting of spirits the starting of spirits This is a wonderful gift when you meet people that you know, you look at somebody who's a discernment of spirits They can look at someone and discern what's going on inside of them and the important thing to notice here is that this is not just negative It's not just bad people want it immediately go dark, but I can see spirits and I can I see things, you know, okay I'm not making fun of that. All right, the Holy Spirit does reveal like demonic activity I got there's a darkness there always this guy's dealing with a problem with lust there's a spirit of I mean I can be yes But this is also to the positive you remember when Jesus comes to Nathaniel in the Bible and as Nathaniel is coming down He says aha here's a man who is blameless in him. There's no God, right that that discerning of spirits It works both ways not always negative it can also be positive and and this is the one gift We need to be careful with all of them church We do we need to shepherd them well steward them well But I want to tell you that the gift of discernment is one that you got to be really careful with this is one of those gifts out of the nine They can get real hyper spiritual if you're not careful They can become about what I feel and what I sense and you know God showed me and what we do is we get off into La La Land We just really ate too much bad pizza last night. Okay, and now we have a word and that's actually not God That's just you or that's just me now and we never want to do that.
We gotta be very careful when it comes to these gifts Amen here's number five miraculous powers. What is miraculous power is all about this one of the nine miraculous powers involves power over natural elements That's what miraculous power is okay. We see a lot of biblical examples of this remember Jesus with the with the wind and the waves and the disciples are in the boat He tells Peter comes him what does he do? Be still and the waves still and everything guys wow that's power over natural elements, right?
What about when Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding? That's power for now What about Peter when he's there in prison and the shackles fall off him and inscription says that he walks through the walls That's not natural. That's not normal. That's supernatural.
Okay. That's miraculous power at work, right? And we have seen so many instances of this Again, I have firsthand seen some incredible things over the earth No men and women that move very powerful they speak and things begin to happen And again, you can get real flippant with that. You can get real that there's an all to that too You know, it's not we know just command things.
I just go around speaking things out. They're gonna happen No, no, no, no, if it's in alignment with God's will there you will see miraculous powers and signs that they can happen It's one of the gifts. What about number six words of wisdom number six and seven we're talking about words of wisdom and words of knowledge That's the next one there's a lot of confusion on these people say which one is it? Wisdom is a word of knowledge.
It's pretty easy. Okay. What is a word of wisdom? A word of wisdom is when the Holy Spirit supernaturally fills your mouth with words Something that you didn't play on saying something that you didn't maybe know that you were saying you ever been there where you were speaking To somebody and you're like man, I had no clue what to say they're asking all these hard questions And I just opened up my mouth and just word started coming out.
Yeah, the scripture says open your mouth and I will fill it That's what's happening. Okay, and so many times God will just give us words of wisdom for people And you'll know it later on when you're sitting there thinking like man, that was really good You know, I don't know where that came from if that had been me it would have been really bad But that was really good that must have been you Holy Spirit and it was I want to tell you that this is one that I believe the Lord does very often with me A lot of it naturally comes through speaking teaching preaching There's so many times whether I'm up here or maybe I'm in Georgia where I'm at and I'm just and it's like I have no clue I have it's not in my notes and I just probably went through a page of my notes And I had none of it It's just as I open my mouth the Lord begins to speak through me My goal is to be usable to him that he can break into my thought all the my notes that I'm looking at right now On this tablet and all the plans that were as I prepare for this morning, Holy Spirit You can come in and modify that you can break that if you want to move there and use for someone someone's then do it And as the Holy Spirit will just begin to speak and he'll do that for you He'll do that for me. He'll do that for any of us. That's a word of wisdom when the Holy Spirit supernaturally just begins to fill your mouth Okay, what about a word of knowledge?
Word of knowledge. This is very powerful. This is a word of knowledge is exactly what it sounds like number seven Okay, it is inside knowledge. It is insight that is given by the Holy Spirit There's no way that you could have known that that's what a word of knowledge is there How in the world did you know the Holy Spirit revealed it to me?
I have seen people move in this gift in just sounding ways and I remember years ago I was watching a guy named John Winber. I can never think about without crying. It's very powerful. John Winber was a pastor The vineyard church and my parents took us there and they said man, you're gonna see something incredible tonight boy We did I was pretty young.
I think I was 15 years old and what John did he was in his 80s at this point Just snow white hair and there was 2000 3,000 people that were in massive church in Houston and or San Antonio I can't remember and we're there and people just did a lot of expectancy because this guy moved and words of knowledge so powerfully And he was preaching teaching was working on the verse and then I remember he just taking his glasses off And he just laid him down and he said there's somebody up here in the balcony You're sitting about three or four rows back and your name is Jill and your husband's name is Mark and you're about to get a divorce You're about to leave him aren't you and the Lord saying you're not supposed to do that It just starts reading people's mail and you have a daughter Her name is this and you have a son that's about seven years I mean just and just shifted from preaching and teaching and just went for about 45 minutes an hour just straight reading people's mail We're incredible accurate words of knowledge in in great detail and yes I get it if you're sitting there and you're more skeptical you say I mean I've seen that on YouTube I know there's you know there's all these scams There are there's a lot of scams and scandal people got microphones and your pieces and they're talking they collected data and they plan I get that there's a perversion of that today But let me tell you what happened that day and what I've seen in other places that was real and that was the Holy Spirit just speaking Somebody that's so in tune with him and God just begins here here here and just I mean people just standing up and saying that's me That's me. That's me and people set free so powerful And so a word of knowledge. It's not generic in nature. Okay, a word of knowledge is not there's nothing wrong with this I don't hear what I'm not saying here Okay, but you'll see people come up sometimes and they'll say I think that God wants to touch somebody for healing today Somebody here is from God wants to heal you.
That's that's great. That's great. You're being led by the Spirit Okay, and people yeah, good. Yeah, thank you God.
Thank you. God. Thank you. I want to minister somebody through healing That's one way.
Okay, another way a word of knowledge is when somebody comes up and they take the mic and they say your Name is Mark. Mr. Your name is Mark, right? Yeah, my name is Mark.
Okay, your wife's name is Michelle Yes, okay, and you've got these kids and you still live in Hawaii and your house Your the trim on your house is this kind of reddish orange color. Okay. Yeah, that's yeah, that's all true Okay, God wants to touch and God wants to heal this in your life right now. That's a word of knowledge.
Okay, that's great detail That's great path. That's not generic in nature. That's something completely different Okay, and we need to strive for this church Not that we received glory and look at what he could do look no no no that Jesus Christ be glorified Because I tell a word of knowledge has it I have watched it break chains off the people There's no way that you could have ever known my wife doesn't even know that you know, how could you know? Yeah, the Holy Spirit speak anybody and that they're so powerful.
Okay, next one number eight faith The gift of faith. What's that about it? Don't we all have faith? I mean, and that kind of what's that doing in this list of nine?
Now the gift of faith is different than just the normal Christian faith. Okay, this gift of faith It is a supernatural infusion of faith If they supernatural infusion of boldness of courage think about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, right? When the king says if you don't bow down this, I'm gonna throw you into the fire and they said go for it, buddy throw Chunk is in sin. That's fine.
Right. That is that uncommon valor that uncommon boldness that says I don't care what you can do to me. I don't care what you may say no and and faith just rises up in that moment That's a gift of faith and you'll see that's like a like in the body. It's like a shot of adrenaline You know, but it says a shot of faith.
It's just as super not it's a gift that gets called up and it comes out I've got faith. We're gonna see this thing happen. I know that I know I have no doubt I'm not shaken and you'll see people that are very quiet very timid that you would think would be an easy pushover boy faith Just begins to well up and it's strong like that's the Holy Spirit. That's not you.
That's not me. That's a Holy Spirit movie That's the gift of faith last one number nine. You're doing okay? Okay.
Okay number nine healing healing Now this is the only one interestingly enough in this list that is referred to in the plural You may have not caught that but it's in there in verse 10. It says the gifts gifts s plural healing The Bible doesn't really tell us why it doesn't it doesn't say why that one is plural and none of the others are again I want to tell you just simply concisely what I personally hold to what I believe over this And I don't have you know a verse again to back this up You just see this enough you see the evidence that you just begin to think is that why God maybe just maybe that's why I personally believe that it's gifts plural because I have watched different people that have very Operate in a gift of healing for very specific things. You will find that again and again I've known a guy that he when he prayed for somebody of all things a headache every headache that he prayed for it Just immediately went away And so did that guy pray for other things like a left knee or aren't he did where those things healed? Not all the time.
No, not that I know it But every headache was there's a guy that we know of he went home to be with the Lord a number of years ago from Sweden And he was known not only in the nation of Sweden But all over Scandinavia if you could not conceive to have children You you got in line to see this guy and every it's documented every couple that he prayed for that I trouble could everyone Concedent had children and that guy prayed for a lot of different things if you got the gift of healing But it was a very specific gift. God just used him very powerfully in that area for him. That's up to God That's not the answer. Why is that?
I don't know you don't I don't know we'll find out one day not here, right? But that's just that's how that happens. Okay, so maybe just maybe that's why it's in plural Right the gifts of healing now scripture is very clear that all believers Everybody say all all believers should pray for healing in other people you should that's not just pastors elders You're like that's all of us as believers should pray and have faith for healing We should that is a command in scripture. You mean like the waitress want to go to chilies and if she's sniffles or not I should stop and pray for that.
Yeah, you should absolutely why not? Come on, right to command But we understand all are commanded to pray and believe we're healing yet. We understand that it's a gift Some people will operate in it very strongly compared to others It's just a gift that God can give right and I want to tell you that in this network we have seen blind eyes see again We have watched club feet be just unraveled come out straight. We've watched people that have lost hearing had hearing fully restored We've had pray for a young lady who was thought she was losing a baby She had an issue with leading the late hands on her side begin to burn She went to the doctor weeks later and and she's there for checking the doctor the baby's fine all's good And all of your organs of this and you're both your kidneys are there said both my kidneys only have one My left one was taken out when I was told years old and he went and got the extra No, man, you got to super for the homeless that you are just for whatever reason grew that kidney back and that one of the powerful right praise God He moves this way.
We see these things happening. We need to have an expectation and be eagerly desiring them in church We do right and church. Let me assure you this we're coming to a close. Okay, you sat here long enough It was just worth it to you.
I learned something new today Okay, good reminder good primer maybe for some of us, but no doubt a good refresher for us all and in that refresher I hope it renews the desire and I want these things come on God do these in this church do it in my church So we're doing in my church family. I hope that you want this even more, right? Let me show you that with all that we're talking about here listen this church will never ever center on the gifts of the spirit Not gonna do that and if that sounds weird to you, maybe this statement will make it more clear, okay We're not ever gonna center on the gifts of the spirit We're not gonna center for example healing is never gonna become the primary thing that GCF random is all about we just want to see healing It's all about healing we're not gonna do a healing right now with prophecy, okay? We're all about prophetic words No, what this church will always remain always has been centered on what this church will always remain centered on is the cross and what Jesus Christ did for us, amen?
We're not gonna get caught. Yes. God gives us these gifts where to eagerly desire them They're wonderful beautiful gifts that he gives but this is not gonna we're not gonna become all about these things because this reason It's not how many get healed, okay? It's about all those how many get to spend an eternity with Jesus in heaven, right?
One of those is more important than the other come on, amen? That's not to the detriment of what that's just one the issue of eternity where you have a lot more important than I get healed in this life Did I carry this infirmative with me to the grave with me? Did God touch me? Where am I going?
All right? Where am I gonna stay on that day? It's not about how many people got a prophetic word on the Sunday morning in church It is about having a living active relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and living a life that brings glory to him, amen? One of those things is more important than the other second Corinthians 3 6 says it this way God has made us able ministers of the new covenant.
Oh, yeah God has made us able ministers the new covenant now can I just ask you as we close how many of you believe that that is true For other people in this room that other people are able ministers. Do you believe that? Come on just raise your hands. Yeah, I believe that if you believe that don't see your hands.
I believe it Okay, here's the harder question How many of you believe that you are an able minister of the new covenant? Come on. I hope every hand that was up the second it goes back up Because when I want you to turn around and tell and if you're sitting far away from people, you're gonna have to work at this one a little bit today Okay, so I want you to find find two three people just look at me now and tell them you are an able minister of the new covenant Let's tell them somebody sit around and tell them you're an able minister of the new covenant Don't tell them you are Okay, and I look here now do this now now last thing okay Look at those same people same two or three people look at me again in the eye and tell them I'm an able minister of the new covenant. It's a little harder to do but it's nonetheless true.
Amen? Come on. Thank you Jesus. Yes.
We are able ministers through Christ Jesus. Amen church. What are you saying with me? Let's say let's pray to close Thank you God Father.
We do we thank you that you have made us through the power of your holy spirit You have made us able ministers of your new covenant of your blood that was shed for us on the cross Your plan of redemption for humanity for all of mankind for your kingdom to advance on this earth You have made us able ministers. We are capable We are able to do all that you've called us to do and holy spirit today. We take up that mantle Father Would you forgive us holy spirit would you forgive us for any time that we have backed away From these wonderful truths from the power this dunamous power that you came to give us from these wonderful gifts that you came to give us Forgive us for any time we backed away shied away. We're uncomfortable unwilling We just we relinquish those things right now in the name of Jesus and we say holy spirit.
We want more Father God, I just I speak that over this church family. We want to see your gifts operate in this place We want to see words of knowledge. We want to see healings We want to have more prophecy flowing. We want all we eagerly desire that father God when you look at grace community fellowship Abberene would you see a church would you see a church family that eagerly desires the gifts not for our own glory?
But that all glory points back to your son, Jesus Christ and what he did that those that don't know you those that have never heard of you Never felt the touch from you that they will see you they will send you they will feel you in a way that maybe they never have before God we want to be a church that operates functions in these gifts We thank you for your holy spirit the aquipper and we choose to walk with him from this day forward It's in the mighty name of Jesus that we all pray and we say amen amen. Thank you for being here today. Have a great week. Amen