1 Corinthians: Spiritual Gifts Part 2

♪ He is good, and he is a mercy that endures forever ♪ ♪ My God is good, and he is a mercy that endures forever ♪ ♪ My God is good, and he is a mercy that endures forever ♪ ♪ My God is good, and he is a mercy that endures forever ♪ ♪ My God is good ♪ We did it! I love you! ♪ Oh, I won't be silent for the Lord alone has hold me down ♪ ♪ My God is in this place, oh, I can't be quiet ♪ ♪ Cause He's worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ He has been good, He has been kind ♪ ♪ He has been faithful all the time ♪ ♪ Now with everything within me I will sing ♪ ♪ Oh, praise the Lord above all creation ♪ ♪ Oh, praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, from the earth until the heavens ♪ ♪ Let everything we've got come praise the Lord ♪ ♪ No, we won't be silent for the Lord is in this room ♪ ♪ Oh, we can't be quiet ♪ ♪ Cause His power is breaking through ♪ ♪ Great is the name that conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Above every kingdom it will reign ♪ ♪ Now with everything God's people will proclaim, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, praise the Lord above all creation ♪ ♪ Oh, praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, from the earth until the heavens ♪ ♪ Let everything we've got come praise the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one higher, there's no one greater ♪ ♪ Come on my soul, praise the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one higher, there's no one greater ♪

♪ Come on my soul, praise the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one higher, there's no one greater ♪ ♪ Come on my soul, praise the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one higher, there's no one greater ♪ ♪ Come on my soul, praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Come on my soul, praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, praise the Lord above all creation ♪ ♪ Oh, praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, praise the Lord above all creation ♪ ♪ Oh, praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, from the earth to the heavens ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, let everything we pray ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, come praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, come praise the Lord ♪ ♪ From the earth to the heavens ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, let everything we pray ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, come praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Let everything we pray, come praise the Lord ♪ I'm singing about all my God has done, yes I could Forever's even not long enough No amount of time could add it up As long as I got breath in my lungs I know nothing's gonna stop me from Giving you praise, praise, praise, praise On and on I'll be singing all my days Giving you thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks Till the kingdom comes I'll be lifting up your name Giving you praise, praise, praise, praise Listen, in my lowest low you ran to me You picked me up, put me on my feet

Turned my life around, now I believe I will testify, I'm alive, I've been set free I'm giving you praise, praise, praise, praise On and on I'll be singing all my days Giving you thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks Till the kingdom comes I'll be lifting up your name Giving you praise Oh, you've been so good to me I count the times you brought me through Yeah, you've been so good to me There's only one thing left to do Oh, you've been so good to me I count the times you brought me through Oh, yeah, you've been so good to me There's only one thing left to do God, I'm giving you praise, praise, praise, praise On and on I'll be singing all my days Giving you thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks Till the kingdom comes I'll be lifting up your name Yeah, you've been so good to me I count the times you brought me through Yeah, you've been so good to me I'm giving you praise Oh, you've been so good to me I count the times you brought me through Yeah, you've been so good to me There's only one thing left to do Oh, you've been so good to me I'm giving you praise, praise, praise, praise On and on I'll be singing all my days

We're singing, oh Oh, oh, my soul Oh, bless the Lord Oh, my soul I'm singing, oh Oh, my soul Oh, bless the Lord Oh, my soul I'm singing, oh Oh, my soul I'm singing, oh Oh, my soul I'm singing, oh Oh, bless the Lord Let's Boo! Good morning Crossgates family, what a joy it is to be in the house of the Lord this morning. We get to lift high in the name of Jesus, celebrate His goodness, His greatness, and His unfailing love for us. So let all that is within us bless His holy name as we sing to Him today. Bless His holy name for His love endures forever and His mercy's new today. We will enter with thanksgiving and fill His courts with praise, so come on church, just lift your voice and sing. We will praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord, praise the Lord forever. Just bless His name, let all within me sing, praise the Lord forever. If your life's been resurrected by the war that Jesus won, and if you wait in expectation for a kingdom yet to come, will all you citizens of heaven, sons and daughters of the King, come on church, just lift your voice and sing. We will praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord, let's praise the Lord forever. Come on, bless His name, let all within me sing, oh praise the Lord forever.

Oh, we bless you, for the one who's brokenhearted, and it's hard to sing this song, cause you've been walking through the valley, and your faith is feeling small, well I pray peace and love surround you, from the God who understands, as your family all around you, lift your arms up when you can, and we join the choir of creation, with the song of the redeemed, so come on church, just lift your voice and sing. We will praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord, let's praise the Lord forever. Oh, bless His name, bless His name, let all within me sing, oh praise the Lord forever. Oh, we praise the Lord, praise the Lord, we praise the Lord, we praise the Lord forever. Oh, bless His name, bless His name, let all within me sing, oh praise the Lord forever. Praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord forever, all within me sing, praise the Lord forever. That's a great start this morning y'all, let's praise Him. King Jesus is worthy, He is why we are gathered here this morning, we're going to continue to lift high His awesome name as we worship Him today, if you would at this moment have a seat, and we're going to continue to celebrate and praise the name of Jesus as we look back at what He has done. in our kids' camps these past couple of weeks. So turn your attention to the screen. Living for the wait We have it all You turned my life Right upside down You set my feet On higher ground Now I'll never be the same It's not a phase I'll never be the same My heart's forever chained I know the old me is over And buried in the grave I don't care what they say Cause I'm never being shamed of His love that saved me 180 The touch that's never fading So now fold up your hands If you know Him Then go ahead and call up your friends Cause we are here on a Friday Where it be? And if you want we know that Jesus

Go do your thing! 1, 2, 3, 4! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh man, there's so much planning, preparation, and tons of prayers that go into having all the different moments we've had at so many different camps this summer. And we just want to say to you, as your church family, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your family's life story. For our church family as a whole, way to be a part of raising up future generations of the faith. Can we tell all those that served at those camps how much we appreciate them real quick? Come on. Awesome. Hey, let's do this. Let's all stand together. We're about to enter back into worship in a few moments. I want to take a moment to make sure we say to anybody here today that if you're a guest and we're having so many people that are coming just to see what God is doing here in this faith family. We are honored that you are here this morning. The only thing that we ask of you during this time, if you'll take a few moments at some point during the service, fill out the connect card. It helps us get to know you and just connect the dots in your spiritual journey. Maybe God has you on a journey to be a part of maybe this faith family. If not here, we hope you'd find somewhere to be a part of the family of God. Even right now for us, there are 45 adults that are going through our foundations membership class. Can we give God some praise for that? That's just 45 adults. When you add the kids, it's about 4,000 people. It's pretty amazing.

So we say that, man, that's, that's the next right step for many. If you'll just come and the next time that's up, just to learn more about what it means to be a part of God's family. So a good first step though, if you're a guest, fill out the card. As always, if you have a prayer request and here's the truth, I don't know a person that doesn't need to have something in their life that needs to be prayed for. If you would give us the honor, fill out that connect with God side to put it down on there. We would love, love, love to know how to pray for you. You can drop that off and the red buckets as you leave to our faith family. That's a reminder of our first fruits giving. We want to give you another, you see things like camp, but there's also things and ways in which through your faithfulness and first fruits giving that we get to be a part of moments in the state of Mississippi. Even this last Friday night, we partnered with first Baptist church, McGee, remember Ryan Wade, Will Brown, that we had the privilege of sending out from this faith family to be a part of a moment in McGee. All of our media team went, we took all of our sound equipment, man, honestly, that you through your faithfulness through giving allows us to have so that over 400 people could gather in this moment in McGee and you're ready for this. And over 30 people come to saving faith in Jesus cross, man, that's good. So again, thank you for being a part of the mission of God and the state of Mississippi through your faithfulness in given. So we're glad that you're here this morning. Anticipate God's voice. He wants to speak. We're going to continue through first Corinthians brother. David's going to come in a moment and take us back. into chapter 12 in the 13. I said this in the first service because I'm getting to know so many new people. Some people need to know brother David is a teaching pastor on this staff, but if you're new here, he was also the senior pastor for 17 years in our faith family, right? Come on.

And without a shadow of a doubt, nobody that I know that understands the ways of the kingdom of God specific to the topic we're going to walk into this morning, but beyond his voice, be prepared for God's voice. So let's do this. Why don't we turn our faces toward the heavens? Just steal yourself for a second. Why don't you just take a moment and ask God to speak to you this morning? Why don't we just take a moment and welcome his presence. Maybe you're hearing, you got all kinds of questions still about this faith thing. You're not quite sure where you've landed. Would you be brave enough even in this moment to say, God, if you're real, would you make yourself real to me this morning? You'll hear that. So Lord, I thank you that you are ruling and reigning that even now you're advancing your kingdom all over this planet. And you have so decided to make yourself known this morning in this room, in this space among these people. So we ask, teach us the ways of your kingdom. Speak to us, give us clarity. I pray that the air in this room would be crisp, the crisp air of the kingdom of God that would refresh, revive, awaken. So help us even now to worship you in spirit and in truth. I pray it in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship him together. Perfect son of God, in all his innocence, here walking in the dirt with you and me. He knows what living is. He's acquainted with our grief. The man of sorrow, son of suffering. Oh, praise the one who would reach for me. Sing hallelujah to the son of suffering. Sing hallelujah to the son of suffering. Some imagine you are distant and alone. But you chase us down in merciful pursuit. So the sin of you is grace and the broken you embrace. And in the end the proof is in your wounds. In the end the proof is in your wounds. Oh, blood and tears, how can it be? There's a God who leads. God who leads. Oh, praise the one who will reach for me. Thank you Lord for hallelujah to the son of suffering. Hallelujah, hallelujah, by your stripes we are healed, Jesus. Your cross is my freedom and your stripes, they're my healing. So all praise King Jesus. Sing glory to God in heaven. Your blood is still speaking. Your love is still reaching all praise, King Jesus Glory to God forever Oh glory, glory

Glory to God forever Oh glory to God forever Your cross is my freedom Your stripes are my healing All praise, King Jesus Glory to God in heaven Your word is still speaking Your love is still reaching All praise, King Jesus Glory to God forever All praise, King Jesus All praise, King Jesus All praise, King Jesus Glory to God forever Oh blood and tears How can it be There's a God who weeps And there's a God who bleeds Oh praise the one Who would reach for me Hallelujah To the sons of me Hallelujah Oh Lord Amen And I could sing your name For all of my life And still find more to love Each time So Jesus be the name

Ever on my lips Mmm It's sweeter every time That I call on it Cause there's a something About your name Oh there's a something About your name And there's a something About your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus you're worthy And you have been A friend who never left So I won't forget Your faithfulness Jesus be the name Ever on my lips Oh It's sweeter every time That I call on it Cause there's a something About your name Oh there's a something About your name And there's a something About your name

That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Cause Jesus you're worthy Oh Jesus we lift your name high Sing it with me church Cause Jesus your name is like The morning light The one the darkness can't deny The resurrection and the life Jesus and Jesus your name Your name can save Your name can heal Your name can make The storm be still You never fail And you never will Jesus and Jesus The king of life Forgiveness The wounded and the worthy one The first and last And soon to come Jesus, and Jesus the King Who overwhelmed the grave, the Lord who will forever reign The name above all other names, Jesus Oh, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Oh, Jesus be the name

In Him's all the glory Oh, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name In Him's all the glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name In Him's all the glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name In Him's all the glory You told us that if you'd be lifted up, you would draw all of us to yourself. And Lord, we've lifted you up. I can just feel it in my spirit. And so thank you for coming, drawing us to yourself. Lord, right now in this room, there are people here that are hurting, that are broken, Lord, that have had a bad report, have a frightening appointment this next week, or have things going on in their family or in their health, God, that, well, it's just a hard moment. And so, Lord Jesus, would you right now draw us in, take them, Father, and pull them close, minister the kingdom. And I just ask, Lord, knowing that what we're looking at today, God, it's just been in many ways misunderstood, other ways confused, but Lord, also it's been a clarion work of your kingdom since the day of Pentecost. So would you just speak to us through your word, Holy Spirit, have liberty and move in our midst. And we do give you, Lord Jesus, all the glory

because we pray this in your name. Amen. Why don't you go ahead and be seated. And if you have a Bible, want to open it to 1 Corinthians, we're in 1 Corinthians, and we've been here for a while. And last week, Pastor Kyle shared about the gifts of the Spirit that are recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, those first 11 verses, especially beginning in verse four down through first 11, talking there about them. And so today I'm going to kind of walk us through the rest of chapter 12 and then into chapter 13. And let me just kind of say that the gifts of the Spirit that are mentioned in 12, 13, and 14 function as a whole. It's a whole work that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand as the church. And so as we're walking through this, they all work together. Pastor Kyle's going to come back next week and really bring that chapter 14 home for all of us. So as we come to it, I just want to just begin by just going ahead and I've just found this to be the way I have to live. Let's just talk about the elephant in the room. And that is, why are the gifts of the Holy Spirit so controversial? If you grew up in church, if you've been around church, you have a definite opinion. Either you don't know anything about them, your church never talked about them, or you were scared to death by somebody that was working in them or doing them, or you have had a good experience by them. Now for me personally, I didn't grow up knowing anything about the gifts of the Spirit or the Holy Spirit to speak of, even though my dad's Baptist pastor loves the Lord and walked with God in amazing ways. I just didn't hear about it. And so I've told you before that I basically was introduced to the whole idea of the Holy Spirit through my mother-in-law. And man, I love her to death. Grandmommy Ann is what we call her, but Ann just

has an inner... me to that. Kathy was one that also helped me begin to understand more about the things of the spirit. And so as I come into this, I didn't come into it having some weird experience happen. I just walked in and began to take the word and listen to what it says. But I also know that some of you here, when we talk about the gifts of the spirit, you may be negative about them. You may think that they're optional. You may think they've passed by, but they haven't. They're not optional. As a matter of fact, I believe the reason why there is such a division and confusion around them is because the Holy Spirit who wants to work through us is being blocked many times because the enemy knows that a church functioning in the love of God, releasing the power of the Holy Spirit is literally an unstoppable force that the enemy cannot win. When the church functions in this way, we can build buildings. We can go, we can draw crowds, but we cannot affect the work of the kingdom outside of the spirit of God, living through us, functioning in the love of God. So as we come to this, I know the controversy, but I also believe that's where it comes from. Now, let me just tell you about a year ago, I taught something similar. It was different than this, but I can't even remember what it was, what I was preaching, but it was out of a series that Pastor Kyle was in and in it, I had a part that I was supposed to share and teach about the gifts of the spirit and talked about the work of the Holy Spirit, that kind of stuff. And I felt like I did the best I know how to do to try to make it where it wasn't weird. And, and felt like I did okay at it. But on Tuesday of that next week, we received a phone call called Janet, our administrative assistant. And this was, it was a pastor from another church in an area that was irate, wanted to demand to speak to Pastor Kyle. He was out of town, refused to talk to me and didn't know who I was, just the guy. That's why I think Pastor Kyle had to tell you, Hey, I actually used to be here doing other things. But, but, but in that we had somebody who had come that didn't know me, heard it and went and called this pastor relative of his and declared and said to him, they're, they're preaching heresy over there. To which he went and listened and told the guy, I said, well, it's not heresy, but it's false teaching. And I know that some of you grew up with that. And I want to say to you, if you grew up in that, let's just stick with the Bible. The last church I was at had been taught that

those, these gifts don't exist before I got there. And so I, the first thing I did is I went through what's called the Baptist faith and message, which is what Baptists say we believe. And I told him, I said, the reason I'm going to do this is because I know some of you are going to take, and you are going to say that I am not a Baptist. When the Baptists say we believe the Bible is the inerrant and fallible inspired word of God. And we want to believe and live everything that it says. And all I'm doing is saying, okay, sounds good to me. So that's what we're doing. So as we come to this, let me just kind of say that if you were going to take 12, 13, 14, and you were going to say, what's if you could just break it down into one verse, what is it? Well, it's first Corinthians 14, verse one. And so I'm going to start here and the pastor Kyle's going to take and carry that through next week, but I'm going to start here because then we're going to come back and understand where we are. So basically here's what it says. First Corinthians chapter 14, verse one, it simply says this, it says, pursue love and eagerly desire or earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. Now, whenever we come to this, we, we have some groups that want to pursue love. We have others that want to pursue gifts, but he says, let's bring it all together in one place. You know, I have a pastor that I so enjoy reading his books. He's phenomenal. His name is Sam Storms. He actually did his PhD work at a, at a seminary that teaches that the gifts no longer exist. And yet he had a powerful encounter in the work of the Holy spirit and radically changed his life. And he's a Presbyterian pastor. So this even makes it weirder. If you want to say this, he's got a book that he wrote and it's called this, it's called confessions of a charismatic Calvinist. I thought, wow, if you know anything about theology, that's about seems like polar opposites. And yet he sees it right there. He's written another book that He's got several books he's written, but he's got another one and he, he talks about just the power of the, of the spirit life and the work of the spirit in the church. It's phenomenal. But anyway, in his book, he says this, whenever he talks about the Western church, which is us, he says, we've adopted an 11th commandment. You know, we have the 10 commandments, but we've adopted an 11th commandment. And this is where many in the evangelical church, this is the one we've adopted.

Thou shalt not do at all what others do badly. In other words, somebody acted like a fool claiming it was the Holy spirit. And you're saying, well, I'm not going there. And you've adopted that as a commandment. So as we come to this, let me just say that that first Corinthians chapter 14, verse one has two commands that it gives. One of them is to pursue love. The other one is to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. The first command about pursue, what does it mean to pursue? He simply says this, to do something with intense effort and with a definite purpose or goal. In other words, we must each pursue. That means daily ongoing. It's an unending pursue a walk in the kingdom and love of God. That is, that's a daily pursuit. It's not a side issue. It is something that the Holy spirit is saying, do this. But on the other side of that, it also says earnestly desire. What does it mean to earnestly desire? Well, this is what that word means. Actually in the Bible, it means to be deeply committed to something with the implication of accompanying desires. In other words, you are committed to and deeply committed to the expression of spiritual gifts. So that's the two sides that we must all, if you say that you've given your life to Christ, these are the way we do it. This is a way we walk it every day. So as we come to this, I'm going to share five things, five words, four of them come out of first Corinthians chapter 12. And then the last one comes out of first Corinthians 13 on how we do this, what we do and what I believe when we do will happen in the church.

So the first word I want us to look at as we kind of look at this, we're going to be walking in. If we're going to walk as the church in the way we're to walk in that pursuing love, earnestly desiring the gifts is first of all, we must walk in unity. What do we need to understand about unity is that we are one body. We are one body. Look at what it says in verses 12 and 13 of first Corinthians chapter 12. It says for just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit, we were all baptized, plunged into one body, Jews and Greeks, slaves are free and all were made to drink of one spirit. When you gave your life to Christ, what happened is the Holy Spirit plunged you into the body of Christ. You became a member of the body of Christ, not just here on earth, but for all eternity. You and I are part of that body. That's who we are. That's not what we do. That's just simply who we are. As a result of that, he says, we need to understand we are one body, so we must pursue that idea of unity at all costs. Here's what he says to the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter four, verse three, he says, make every effort to keep yourselves united. Look at this in the spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. Here's what he's saying to us and we need to understand this. Our unity is not our agreement on things. Unity is not because we look alike, dress alike, talk alike, whatever that is. That's just simply uniformity. Unity is the work of the Holy Spirit in you that literally connects you to other believers. That's why I can go to places like Brazil or India or Africa or Nicaragua or any other place like that, go in, don't know a word they're saying.

They don't know a word I'm saying, but immediately we connect and it's not a connection because we look alike, act alike, or talk alike. It's a connection that goes from the spirit and he says, that's what we must function. That's the unity that we have. The second word that we have here is the word diversity and this is this. We each have unique functions. Each of us have a unique function within the body. Look at what he says beginning in verse 14, for the body does not consist of one member but many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body. "'That would not make it any less a part of the body. "'If the whole body were an eye, "'where would be the sense of hearing? "'If the whole body were an ear, "'where would be the sense of smell? "'But as it is, God arranged the members of the body, "'each one of them, as he chose. "'If all were a single member, "'where would the body be? "'As it is. "'There are many parts, yet one body.'" I heard a story that just kind of went with this. It's a story about a body, and the big toe in the body decided it didn't want to be a big toe. It decided that it wanted to be an eye, so it went to the mind and said, "'Hey, I don't want to be a big toe anymore.

"'I want to be an eye.'" And the mind started saying, "'No, it's really important that you're the big toe. "'You need to stay being the big toe.'" And the big toe said, "'I don't want to be. "'I want to be an eye. "'I'm tired of not ever seeing what's going on. "'I want to be out there to see everything.'" And the mind kept saying, "'No, but we need you as the big toe, "'because if you're not the big toe, "'we're gonna be limping everywhere we go. "'We're not gonna be able to do "'all the things we want to do.'" And that went back and forth for some time until finally the big toe said, "'I don't care what you say, I want to be an eye.'" And so the mind said, "'Okay, you can be an eye, "'but all you're gonna ever see is the inside of a sock.'" And... For some of us, we think ministry or giftedness has to do with somebody coming up on the stage, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Literally right now at this church, why I love this church so much, right now we have weekend and week out for this church to fulfill the assignment

that God has given this church. We have literally over 1,000 of you that volunteer to allow the kingdom of God to live through you, whether it's in the parking lot, whether it's a greeter, whether it's a life group leader, whether it's a deacon or elder, or it doesn't matter what it is, but we are functioning as one. And that's what makes this place so special. And so I would say to you, what's your part? You say, well, I can't do what you do, Ali. You know what, I can't do what you do. But God made you you. And he's gifted you uniquely, and he wants to live the kingdom of God through you. And I love the fact that we have people here that are greeters, and literally you know this, and many of you are practicing this, that whenever somebody's coming up, you don't know what's going on in their life, but the Holy Spirit in you does. And your smile, the way you greet, does something to them here. Because the spirit of God's living through you. That's the diversity that we all function in.

We need one another. The third word that we have in this, as we're walking through it, is the word humility. And that is, we need each other. We all have unique functions, but guess what, we all need each other. Look at what he does whenever he goes down beginning in verse 21. 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. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. Here's the reality. There's no such thing as a long ranger in the kingdom of God. I've had people tell me, well, you know, I don't have to go to church. I don't need to go there. I can live the life.

No, you cannot. I'm not saying you're not saved. I'm just saying you're not functioning. You're not receiving. You're not allowing God to do God's stuff in you, but also through you. There is a powerful reality. Whenever we step in with humility, I need you, and you need me. We need each other. It's important that we see that. In Philippians chapter two, says this in verses three through four, it says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others, which brings me to the fourth thing. The fourth thing that we have here, and it is the word necessity. And it's this. We must all work together. I know that may not seem like a big deal, but let me say this about the American church. And I would say the church, really the Western church in a lot of ways. We've created this idea about Christianity that it's become a spectator sport, a consumerism idea.

That basically I can sit and soak and it's okay. I can come and listen and it's okay. But I wanna tell you, that is not New Testament. That is modern culture. That is not New Testament. The New Testament is the necessity of the reality that we need each other. In other words, I would say it this way. When you are not functioning in the gifts of the spirit through yourself, your personality, we miss it. We're the losers. In a similar way, it's kind of like the body. If I have a part of my body that's not functioning correctly, then the rest of my body feels it. When I was 29 years old, I had to have back surgery. I had a ruptured disc, had to have back surgery. And then a few years later, I got to where it shot, got numbness down this leg. So right now I could stick a pin in this leg, I wouldn't feel it. But I said, I'm not gonna let it stop me from running and exercising and working out and all that stuff. And I've done that. And I've continued to do that even though it's numb back there. But let me tell you, because of that, I've had to overcompensate because I've got a leg that doesn't work quite right. This knee right here.

I mean, the doctors, they've done an MRI on it and they're like, yeah, dude, you need to have that whole thing replaced. You probably just need to cut that leg off, start over, you know. And I want you to understand something. I want you to think about that with regard to the church. Could it be that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this nation is limping? Not powerful, not functioning, because other parts are not doing what they're called to do. I know this about a body. When I have a part of my body that isn't able to function for whatever reason, like that leg not working, should other parts overcompensate? In fact, other parts in your body would run to the aid. They'll go do other things in there. They'll try to fix it. They'll try to do what they can to help it. But all the body is affected, not some, all of it. Because I have that in that knee right there, man, the rest of my body goes, what in the world, man, we're just getting old. But I would say to us, we all need the Spirit of God through you. And it doesn't matter where the Holy Spirit lands you, how He's gifted you. We need you. And so as we think about those things,

we wanna understand that's the way God made us. Listen to how it says it. I love the way it says it in 1 Corinthians 12. It says it this way. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. We're in this thing together. 1 Peter chapter four says this. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. And that brings me to the fifth one. And this is the one that's really, I believe the one, because it's been neglected, has brought a lot of the confusion, a lot of the discord, a lot of the neglect, and even rejection of the works of the gifts of the Spirit. And it's the word integrity, which just means wholeness must guide our effectiveness. I really don't care if you have a prophetic gift. If the love of God is not flowing through you, I promise you the chances of you causing division are much greater than if you didn't even exercise the gift. Here's the way, it says it here in 1 Corinthians 13. It says, if I speak in the tongues of. men and of angels." Now note, he just came out of talking about the gifts of the Spirit.

He's talking about the gifts here. Speaking in the tongues of angels is speaking in tongues. That's what that's talking about. But have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. You see, here's a truth we need to get into our spirit. Our gifts are only whole when the inner character of Christ matches the outer expression of the gift. You want to know why there's division over gifts? I can tell you why. One is bad theology. People who are intellectuals, who believe that they're already walking in spiritual maturity, and if they aren't functioning in those gifts, well, obviously, they're not really needed anymore. I'm telling you, it's where it comes from. It's nothing more than intellectual liberalism. But on the other side, because of that, we've got another group that aren't caring about the love of Christ flowing. They just want the gifts to flow. And what they do is, first of all, actually, they lean into fanaticism and even paganism. And I've been around it. I've been around people who say they've got and even seen the gift of prophecy through them and be mean as a junkyard dog. I mean, causing rebellion and strife, and I don't care. It's the Holy Spirit. What does it matter? And I'm like, well, maybe you need to go back and read what it says in 1 Corinthians. It says you gain nothing. But when we bring these two together, the love of God dwelling in us, the inner character of Christ woven in through daily surrender, allowing him to live in us, then what exudes from us is a kingdom that is unstoppable and ministers the love of God to any who are around us. So what that looks like, what does it look like? Well, here's what it says. Let's go down to it and see what it says in verses four through seven. It says, love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And I want to tell you, I cannot produce that, but the Holy Spirit dwelling in me produces that through me. In this, whenever he talks about love, he's not talking about having a fleshly love for other person. In other words, just moms is not talking about you loving your kids and praying for them, even though do that. He's talking about the inner

love of God, having the love of God, literally exuding in you, churning in you, walking the Christ life where the character of Jesus is flowing. And then what happens is out of us flows the kingdom. And that's where the gifts flow. When those two are brought together, I can tell you there is an unstoppable power that the enemy hates so much that he has thrown everything he can to bring confusion, division, even corruption and rejection all because he knows if you start walking in the love of God, releasing the gifts of God that he has in you, his kingdom is doomed. He knows that it's a play I would make. I mean, if I was the enemy, I would say, I'd put, I wish what I'd do. I'd bring enough crazy people around you that you would say, I'll never do that. Or I'd bring enough intellectual people around you to say, Hmm, that makes sense. When God says, if you'll surrender your life to me, put your yes on the table and say, God, I'm yours. He'll surprise you and what he'll do through you. Several weeks ago, we had at the end of the service. A lot of times what I'll do is I'll, I'll kind of hang around down here. If anybody needs anything in several weeks ago, now we had a, a man come, he was a pastor at another church in the region. And, uh, he was visiting and anyway, a friend brought him and. And I said, hey, would you pray over him? Well, sure. And so here's what I do, and it's not, I'm telling you, it's just the way God works, okay? I don't know how to explain it, I've just been doing it a long time and watched him enough. But as I'm praying for him, I just start sensing some things to pray. It's not like weird, I didn't start levitating, I didn't start, you know, speaking in King James English or something like that. And I didn't know the guy, I still don't remember his name. But you see, God knew him. And after we prayed, I finished, I just went about and went on my day.

A couple of weeks ago, I found out that guy was on a sabbatical, pastor. He and his wife had already decided they were gonna go back and resign and he was getting out of the ministry, he was done. He was hurt. But God knew, he just needed the kingdom touch. And the Holy Spirit just spoke some things that I don't remember what they were. But it changed his life. And he and his wife were so blown away that God cared that much. That man, it reignited the work of the kingdom through them, the calling that God has on them, and they're doing the work. And what I'm saying to you is I didn't know that, but I know this. If I walk in the love of God, say yes to God, I'm here. It's not weird, he'll shock you in what he'll do. And many of you know that. You have those things, the Holy Spirit comes on you to give something to someone, to make a call to someone, to be a smile at a moment in someone's life. And in that, that's the body functioning as one. Now, some of you are here and you've never given your life to Christ. And hey, I get it, I understand that. In fact, I said it in the first service and it's really the truth. Had I not given my life to Christ at 22,

I'm pretty sure, because I know the way my intellectual side works and the way I see phony, I would have rejected church after a while. I just know me that well. I know Kyle would have never darkened the door. And some of you, maybe that's where you are. Maybe you have been burned by church or maybe church may have been something, you've been around, it was boring, or maybe it was a little crazy. And you just kind of said, hey, I don't want anything to do with that. And you've kind of de-churched. But for whatever reason, God's kind of brought you. And you're here and you're saying, maybe there's something to this, but there's this stir. Not, I mean, it's been going on in you. It's not because of what I'm saying right now. It's because of God's got you here. He's doing something. And for you, today may be your day. Where God's saying, I brought you here because I want you to become part of my family. And I would say this to you. If that's you, this is your time and your chance. I remember mine. In fact, in a couple of months, I'm coming up on 45 years.

And man, I've just been excited about, I'd say my birthday, September the 20th, 1981, when I gave my life to Christ. And maybe today, July the 19th, is your birthday. And if it is, I want to ask you to step out in faith. In fact, why don't we just close our eyes right now? Take this moment. God's here. He brought you here because he's radically in love with you. And hey, look. If you're saying this morning, man, we've tried church stuff. And that stuff just didn't work for us. I, listen, I get it. But there's a stir inside you just can't run from. You've tried, but the Lord brought you because he's drawing you to him. And if you've never given your life to Christ, I'm not asking you if you've gone to church. church, prayed a prayer, been dunked in a Baptist tree. I'm saying, given you're like the Holy Spirit's dwelling in you. If you've never done that, then this is your moment. Hey, listen, if you've never done that, but you're saying right now, you're saying, you know what? I need to do that now. And I just want to ask you to do something. Just do this. Would you be willing to just look up? Just lift your hand up. If that's you saying, I need to give my life to Christ right now. So anybody, anyone that would say that in this moment, anyone here saying, Hey, you know what? I need to do this. Hey, that's you. Here's what you do. You just give him your life. You put your yes on the table. Say, God, I'm yours. There's others of you here that, you know, you're saved, but you also know, and it's inside and the enemy's using it as condemnation. Don't go there. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring conviction. He's real clear. You've not been active in really active in,

in, in part of the ministry of God through the church, but you're saying I need to do that. Just tell God. Yes. So yes, I'm in, and your part's going to be different than mine, but your part's important to God. And it's important to us. Would you just be willing to say, I mean, tell the Lord that you say, I mean, others of you, and I want to say this. I didn't say it in the first service, not because I, I don't know why I didn't, but I want to say this. There are many of you here, and I want you to know that God is pleased with you. What you've been doing, some of you for decades, your faithfulness has not gone unnoticed to God. And he is proud to call you his child. If you need a refresh, then refresh in the, in the joys of the Lord. Others of you, you need us to pray with you. You've got some things going on in your life. Maybe you need a healing. Maybe you've got a report that you've had that you need God to work a miracle in. Come in just a moment. We're going to be standing and singing. Let us pray Come in just a moment. We're going to be standing and singing. Let us pray with you. We're here and we're ready to, so father, just ask you to have your way in all of our lives and pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand together. Would you come while we sing? You came to the world you created, trading your crown for a cross. Willingly died, your innocent life paid the cost. And counting your status as nothing, the king of all kings came to serve. Washing my feet and covering me with your love. If more of you means less of me, take everything. Yes, all of you is all of me, take everything. You are my life and my treasure, the one that I can't live without. Here at your feet, my desires and dreams I lay down. Here at your feet, my desires and dreams I lay down. If more of you means less of me, take everything. Yes, all of you is all I need, take everything. If more of you means less of me, take everything. Take everything. Yes, all of you is all I need. Take everything. Oh Lord, change me like only you can. Here with my heart in your hands. Father, I pray, make me more like Jesus. This world is

dying to know who you are. Show us the way to your heart. Father, I pray, make me more like Jesus. Make me more like Jesus. More like Jesus. Father, make me more like Jesus. If all of you means less of me, take everything. Yes, all of you is all I need. Take everything. If all of you means less of me, take everything. Yes, all of you is all I need. Take everything. Good morning, church. Please extend your hands and your spirits to receive this blessing. May the Lord bless you with unwavering faith, a faith that believes his word and trust not only in the hope for tomorrow, but in his power at work today. Because if the grave is empty, then anything is possible. May his kingdom come and his will be done through your life as it is in heaven. And may you walk confidently in the works he has prepared for you through Christ. May you remember that every good thing in you comes through the righteousness of Jesus. Let no one boast except in Christ for every gift, every victory and every good work is a testimony to his grace as one body with many members. May you joyfully embrace the unique gifts God has given you, using them to love his church and to glorify his name. May you eagerly receive his gifts, not by striving, but by faith. And above all, may the love of Christ be the heartbeat of everything you do as you pour yourselves out before the Lord each day. He will faithfully fill you again with his spirit and with his love so that your lives overflow with the goodness of Christ to love one another and to love a world that desperately needs him. Thank you for thank you for worshiping with us today. Amen. Amen. Amen. . . . . . . . . . .

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