Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200032S
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00:01 Hello, friends, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:03 We're in the middle of the third quarter, 00:05 Making Friends for God. 00:08 This lesson, lesson number six 00:10 is titled Unlimited Possibilities. 00:12 I want to invite you to grab your friends 00:14 and your family, 00:16 pick up your Bible 00:17 and your Sabbath School Quarterly, 00:19 and join us for this study. 00:20 If you don't have a quarterly for yourself, 00:22 I encourage you to go to the following website, 00:24 absg.adventist.org. 00:29 That stands for Adult Bible Study Guide.adventist.org. 00:34 You can download the study guide 00:36 and follow along with us 00:37 on this edition of 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:13 Hello, Friends, Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 01:16 Lesson number six, Unlimited Possibilities. 01:20 What an incredible blessing this lesson has been 01:23 and this study has been, and we're so glad 01:25 that you have tuned in week by week 01:27 as we journey through the Word of God 01:30 and learn how we can better witness 01:32 for the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:34 I want to introduce our panel at this time. 01:36 To my left, pastor John Dinzey, privileged to have you here. 01:40 We have prayed and asked 01:41 for the blessing of the Holy Spirit, 01:42 and we can expect the blessing. 01:44 Amen. That's right. 01:45 To your left our evangelist preacher 01:48 Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:49 Thank you for being here. 01:50 It's always a pleasure to study the Word of God. 01:53 I'm looking forward to this lesson, 01:54 it's a good one. 01:55 Amen. Absolutely. 01:57 To your left, Pastor Ryan Day. Amen. 01:59 Always passionate about the Word of God. 02:00 Hey, Word of God is the bread of life, 02:03 and I'm certainly happy to be here to talk about it. 02:05 Amen. 02:06 And last but not least, 02:08 my pastor, Pastor John Lomacang. 02:10 Thank you, Pastor John, for being here. 02:12 Amen. 02:13 Looking forward to the lesson, 02:15 I have about growing in our gifts. 02:16 Amen. 02:17 I know it's all gonna be a blessing 02:19 all the way down the line, 02:20 so I'm waiting for the last catch. 02:21 That's right. 02:23 That's the blessing of Thursday. 02:24 Before we go any further, 02:25 we want to go to the Lord in prayer. 02:27 Pastor Ryan, would you pray for us? 02:28 Sure, absolutely. 02:30 Our Father in heaven, Lord, 02:31 we place this time of study into your hands, Lord, 02:32 and we simply ask for the outpouring 02:34 of the Holy Spirit on each and every one 02:35 of these panel members right now 02:37 that You are best represented, that Your Word is made clear, 02:41 and that each and every person at home 02:43 also will receive the Holy Spirit 02:45 and receive Your Word in their heart and mind. 02:47 May this be a blessing to us, may it be a blessing to all, 02:50 and may You be glorified today 02:52 on this Sabbath School Panel lesson, 02:54 we ask in Jesus' name, amen. 02:56 Amen. 02:58 So on lesson number six, 02:59 the title is Unlimited Possibilities, 03:01 but we're really discussing spiritual gifts 03:04 and the spiritual gifts given to the body of Christ, 03:07 to the church, to you, and to me. 03:09 You know, we're all called to be witnesses for Christ. 03:12 As soon as we accept the Lord Jesus into our heart, 03:16 we become His witness. 03:19 Isaiah 43:10 says, 03:21 "'You are my witnesses,' says the Lord, 03:23 'And my servant whom I have chosen, 03:25 that you may know and believe Me 03:27 and understand that I am He.'" 03:30 Acts 1:8, 03:31 we've quoted this verse many times on this panel, 03:34 "But you shall receive power 03:36 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 03:39 And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, 03:41 and in Judea, and Samaria, 03:43 and to the uttermost parts of the earth." 03:46 We are called to be His witness. 03:49 Now in the Word of God, 03:50 there's different words meaning the same thing. 03:52 Sometimes Jesus says we are called 03:55 as we just referenced to be His witness. 03:57 Sometimes He calls us His ambassador, 03:59 I like that, 2 Corinthians 5. 04:02 Sometimes we're called His royal priesthood, 04:06 1 Peter 2:9. 04:08 We are the light of the world, Matthew 5. 04:11 We are the salt of the earth, Matthew 5. 04:13 We are fishers of men, Matthew 4. 04:16 We are His aroma or fragrance, the sweet perfume, 04:21 2 Corinthians 5. 04:23 There is a quote in the lesson which I also have written 04:27 in the flyleaf of my Bible. 04:29 This Bible I use now I've had it few years, 04:31 Greg gave it to me, my husband. 04:33 But the Bible before I had this, 04:35 quote written in as well 04:37 because I just love it and each Bible I use, 04:39 I transfer it. 04:41 It is a quote from Ministry of Healing 04:43 page 159. 04:45 It says, "There is no limit to the usefulness of one 04:49 who, putting self aside, 04:51 makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit 04:55 upon his heart, 04:56 and lives a life wholly consecrated to God." 05:00 Did you catch that? 05:02 There is no limit to your usefulness 05:04 if you give your heart wholly to God 05:07 and live a life consecrated to Him. 05:10 If we put ourselves aside, 05:11 the Holy Spirit wants to use us as His witness. 05:16 Let us read our memory text 05:18 that is found in 1 Corinthians 12. 05:21 1 Corinthians 12:11. 05:24 This week we look specifically at the spiritual gifts 05:28 that are given to the members of the church. 05:30 We look at how the gifts are given, 05:31 what the purposes of the gifts? 05:33 How do we identify the gifts, and how do we grow those gifts? 05:38 So our memory text 1 Corinthians 12:11, 05:41 "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, 05:46 distributing to each one individually 05:49 as He will." 05:51 Sunday, we look at differing gifts 05:53 but united in service. 05:55 The lesson brought out a great point 05:57 that we are all different 05:59 and God created us to all be different. 06:03 You think about Peter, he was impetuous, 06:06 and enthusiastic. 06:07 Yeah, he possessed natural leadership abilities. 06:10 Think about John, 06:11 he was given to anger and defensiveness, 06:14 yet he loved deeply 06:16 and that anger and defensiveness 06:17 dissipated with the conversion 06:19 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 06:21 Matthew was very precise and accurate, right, 06:24 as a tax collector. 06:26 Andrew was a people person aware of his surroundings, 06:29 sensitive to the needs of others. 06:32 You see, God uses us all as the body of Christ, 06:35 different gifts, different abilities, 06:37 they all come together to help build up the body 06:41 and to witness to those, 06:45 the lost and dying world. 06:47 1 Corinthians 12 is about authentic Christian unity. 06:52 It's not just unity in diversity, 06:54 certainly not unity despite diversity, 06:57 but it is unity through diversity. 07:01 So we're going to look at the body of Christ 07:03 in that analogy. 07:05 But before we get there, I want to do a quick preface. 07:07 We're in 1 Corinthians 12, let's look at verse four. 07:11 Paul says, 07:12 "There are diversities of gifts, 07:14 but the same spirit." 07:16 That word diversities 07:17 is used three times in the New Testament, 07:19 and it's used in the next three verses. 07:21 It means diversities or differences, distinction. 07:25 The next verse, verse 5, 07:26 "There are differences of ministries, 07:29 but the same Lord." 07:30 Now that is the same word so diversities of gifts, 07:33 differences of ministries, it's the same word used there. 07:36 The word ministries literally means 07:39 to wait at tables. 07:41 It's a service so we are called, 07:45 there's a difference in the gifts of grace, 07:47 there's a difference in how you and I serve. 07:49 Verse 6. 07:51 "There are diversities of activities," 07:53 that's the same word again diversities. 07:56 "But is the same God who works all and in all." 08:00 There are differences 08:02 in the gifts of grace were given 08:03 and how we operate in that grace. 08:06 There are differences in the ministry 08:08 that were given 08:09 and how we choose to serve. 08:11 There are differences in the task we are given, 08:13 and how we function within that operation, 08:16 but the differences are divine 08:19 because they are given by the Holy Spirit. 08:22 1 Corinthians 12:11, that was our memory text. 08:25 It says the Holy Spirit gives the different gifts 08:28 to whomever He will, 08:31 meaning these differences came from the Holy Spirit, 08:35 those differences are divine. 08:37 Now we won't go over the list of spiritual gifts 08:39 'cause I'm pretty sure someone's going to cover it 08:41 on this panel. 08:42 So we're going to go down to verse 12. 08:44 1 Corinthians 12:12. 08:47 I want to give you six lessons 08:50 that we learn from this analogy of the church 08:54 as the body of Christ. 08:57 Lesson number one, unity does not mean uniformity. 09:01 Lesson one, unity does not mean uniformity. 09:05 Verse 12, 09:06 "For as the body is one and has many members, 09:09 but all the members of that one body, being many, 09:12 are one body, so also is Christ." 09:16 And verse 14 says, 09:18 "For in fact the body is not one member but many." 09:22 So we are all united into one body, 09:25 but we have different parts, 09:27 we have different elements, we have different pieces. 09:30 Unity does not mean uniformity. 09:33 Number two, 09:34 our differences don't have to divide us. 09:37 They can unite us as long as we are in Christ. 09:41 Verse 13, 09:43 "For by one spirit, 09:44 we were all baptized into one body, 09:47 whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, 09:51 have all been made to drink into one spirit." 09:54 So that means race, ethnicity, class, origin, 09:58 the differences that we naturally 10:00 were born with or created with, 10:02 we all can be made one in Christ. 10:05 And those differences don't have to separate us. 10:08 They don't have to push us apart. 10:09 We don't have to say, "Oh, you're different than me, 10:11 I'm going to operate, I'm going to function, 10:13 I'm going to go to a church with people like me," 10:15 those differences don't have to divide us, 10:18 they can unite us. 10:20 Number three, lesson number three, 10:22 jealousy cannot exist in the body. 10:27 In fact, the way Paul puts it, 10:28 it's almost humorous if jealousy exists in the body. 10:31 Let's read that. 10:32 Verse 15, 10:33 "If the foot should say, 10:35 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' 10:37 is it therefore not of the body? 10:39 And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, 10:42 I am not of the body,' 10:43 is it therefore not of the body? 10:45 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? 10:49 If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 10:52 But now God has set the members, 10:55 each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 11:01 And if they were all one member, 11:02 where would the body be?" 11:05 You see, it is almost humorous if you were to think, 11:08 "Oh, I really wish I were the eye, 11:11 I really want, I covet," have you ever done that? 11:14 I wish I could sing like pastor John 11:16 or like Ryan, 11:17 I wish I could preach like so and so, 11:20 I wish I had the gift of whatever the gift is that 11:24 you happen to be jealous over or you happen to covet 11:27 or say, "I wish I had this gift but yet," 11:30 if we were all the eye or the hand, 11:35 the body would be hideous, the body, right? 11:38 Really literally. 11:40 The body would not look good 11:42 because we need the eyes, and the ears, and the hands 11:46 because we are all function as part of the body 11:49 so jealousy cannot exist in the body. 11:52 Lesson number four, 11:54 all are essential to the work. 11:56 All are equally important. 11:59 Verse 20, 12:01 "But now indeed there are many members, 12:03 yet one body. 12:04 And the eye cannot say to the hand, 12:06 'I have no need of you,' 12:07 nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' 12:10 No, much rather, those members of the body 12:13 which seem to be weaker are necessary." 12:15 You know, the story is told of a man 12:17 who was out in the wilderness and he was cutting down trees, 12:21 perhaps you've heard the story. 12:22 And he, in the process of cutting down a tree, 12:26 a tree limb came down, and it pinned his leg. 12:29 Now he was out in the wilderness 12:30 and his cell phone was in his pickup 12:32 and he couldn't get to it and he's there 12:34 and he couldn't move, and he thought, 12:35 surely someone's going to notice that I'm missing. 12:37 Someone's going to come and find me, 12:39 but he waited and he waited and hours passed 12:41 and his leg was pinned. 12:43 And he made the incredibly difficult decision. 12:47 I don't even like to think about it. 12:49 And he sawed off his leg. 12:51 Oh, my, my. 12:52 Wow. 12:54 Now that's extreme. 12:55 When you hear that story, 12:56 you think that is incredibly extreme. 12:58 Nobody would want to cut off their leg, 13:01 yet how often we willingly cut off 13:04 a part of the body of Christ 13:07 because we think you are not important, 13:10 your gift doesn't really even matter in the church, 13:13 we don't need the toe, 13:15 and we clearly don't need the ear on this side, 13:17 we're going to function without you. 13:20 All are essential to do the work. 13:23 All are equally important. 13:25 Lesson number five, 13:26 exercise care instead of competition. 13:30 Don't criticize, don't judge harshly, 13:34 instead we are called to build up, 13:36 to take care, to have compassion 13:39 on the weaker parts of the body. 13:41 Verses 23 to 25. 13:44 "And those members of the body 13:45 which we think to be less honorable, 13:47 on these we bestow greater honor, 13:50 and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 13:53 but our presentable parts have no need. 13:55 But God composed the body, 13:56 having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 14:00 that there should be no schism in the body, 14:03 but that the members should have the same care 14:05 for one another." 14:06 And finally, lesson number six, 14:08 all should suffer equally. 14:11 If one member suffers the rest suffer as well. 14:14 Whoever stubbed your toe, pretty soon what happens 14:17 if he stubbed it real hard not just your toe hurts 14:19 your whole leg can throb, is that true? 14:21 Oh, yeah. 14:22 And my mom once broke her foot, and she actually got a fever, 14:24 the whole body suffered. 14:27 Verse 26, 14:28 "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, 14:32 or if one member is honored, 14:35 all the members rejoice with it." 14:38 So we are called as Christians to be the body of Christ. 14:43 Pastor John. Amen. 14:44 What a blessing. Thank you so much. 14:46 Well, we move on to Monday's part, 14:49 which has the title 14:50 God, The Giver of All Good Gifts. 14:54 And this is a wonderful lesson, 14:57 and we are going to start with Mark 13:34. 15:02 And Mark 13:34, 15:05 we have this scripture. 15:07 "It is like a man going to a far country, 15:10 who left his house 15:11 and gave authority to his servants, 15:13 and to each his work, 15:16 and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 15:19 So we have this scripture that helps us understand that 15:23 to each and every person, 15:26 God gives a task 15:29 something that person can do. 15:33 Unique in such a way 15:35 that the job is done and says, 15:39 "This is your mission," let's say. 15:41 But, you know, the wonderful thing is that 15:43 as we make use of the gifts that God gives us, 15:48 He gives us more. So we praise the Lord for that. 15:51 Now I would like to point to a scripture 15:55 that is just marvelous. 15:57 Another one, another marvelous scripture 15:58 is Psalms 145:9, 16:02 Psalms 145:9, 16:05 we have this message for us. 16:07 It says, "The Lord is good to all. 16:12 And His tender mercies are over all His works." 16:17 You know, 16:19 this is a message for us to remember 16:22 the Lord is good to all. 16:25 And so we should take time to consider the great things 16:28 that God has done for us, how good He's been to us, 16:31 and we will be blessed. 16:34 You may sit back and say, 16:35 "Let me think what good things..." 16:37 And you can spend some time rejoicing 16:41 that the Lord is good to all, He's good to us. 16:45 And so sometimes we 16:46 as Christians meet one another says, 16:48 "The Lord is good." 16:49 And everybody answers what? 16:51 All the time. All the time. 16:55 James 1:17, 16:59 "Every good gift 17:01 and every perfect gift is from above, 17:04 and comes down from the Father of lights, 17:07 with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." 17:12 So every good gift, 17:14 and every perfect gift is from above. 17:17 And, you know, sometimes we think 17:18 it came from another source, 17:19 but God is the giver of every single good gift. 17:24 And if you think, 17:27 oh, I can't think of anything 17:28 that God has done for me lately, 17:30 I have news for you. 17:32 Because God gives us gifts every day, every single day. 17:37 That's why we're going to read Psalm 68, 17:40 Psalm 68:19. 17:43 And listen to these words, 17:44 "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily," 17:49 how often did I say it, 17:50 "daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! 17:55 Selah. 17:57 Our God is the God of salvation and to God the Lord belong 18:02 escapes from death even." 18:04 So praise be to His name. 18:07 And so when you understand that God is good, 18:11 and He's the giver of good gifts, 18:13 you're going to realize that you have so little 18:14 to complain about. 18:16 And so perhaps 18:17 what we should be complaining is, 18:19 "Boy, I'm not suffering enough." 18:22 So let's go to Luke 11:13, 18:26 another message for us, 18:27 because we have to understand that God is good. 18:31 And He daily loads us with benefits 18:33 and every perfect gift comes from our heavenly Father. 18:36 Luke 11:13, 18:38 "If you then, being evil, 18:39 know how to give good gifts onto your children, 18:44 how much more shall your heavenly Father 18:47 give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him!" 18:52 Now please understand that there's a reason 18:55 for sharing this scripture is that 18:57 there are some gifts 18:58 that the Lord is willing to give 19:00 that we must ask for. 19:02 And Jesus, more than once said to His disciples, 19:06 "Ask that ye may receive." 19:09 And so the door is open, 19:11 the heaven doesn't have a closed, 19:15 for inventory sign, 19:16 closed until such and such a time. 19:18 The door is open for you to come 19:21 before the throne of grace, present your needs, 19:24 and God will bless you. 19:27 And so let's consider this, 19:30 you know, God gives each one His work, 19:32 and sometimes people focus on, oh, singing or speaking 19:38 but there are the diversities of gifts like Sister Jill said. 19:42 And to each one God has given at least one talent. 19:46 And so there are some wonderful people in church, 19:49 and I... 19:51 This sister has the gift of hospitality. 19:53 I know some of you may speak on this, 19:55 but God gives to every single person 19:58 the blessing of a gift to make use of it 20:04 multiplies more. 20:05 And so make use of the gifts that God gives to you. 20:09 Now 1 Corinthians 12:11. 20:12 Again, the Bible tells us, 20:14 "But one and the same Spirit 20:17 works all these things, 20:20 distributing to each one individually as He will." 20:24 So to each one, the Lord gives a gift, 20:29 a lot of scriptures to share. 20:30 Now I'm going to 1 Peter 4, 20:32 1 Peter 4:7-11. 20:37 And I like the way this begins because this is true. 20:40 "But the end of all things is at hand, 20:43 therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." 20:48 We need to be serious and watchful in our prayers, 20:50 especially in these times that we're living in, 20:53 perilous times, perilous times. 20:55 Now verse 8. 20:57 "And above all things have fervent love for one another." 21:00 Oh, we need this fervent love for another. 21:04 "For love will cover a multitude of sins. 21:06 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." 21:11 I don't know if you had any grumbling today 21:13 or yesterday or sometime in your life, 21:15 but it's time to put that stuff away 21:18 and be serious and watchful in your prayers. 21:21 Notice, verse 10, 21:23 "As each one has received a gift, 21:26 minister it to one another, 21:29 as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 21:33 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. 21:37 If anyone ministers..." 21:39 They are different areas of ministry. 21:41 "Let him do it 21:42 as with the ability which God supplies." 21:46 God supplies ability. 21:47 "That in all things God may be glorified 21:51 through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory 21:54 and the dominion forever and ever. 21:57 Amen." 21:59 So the lesson brings out very clear 22:01 that God has a special assignment 22:05 for each one of us 22:06 and sharing the gospel with others. 22:08 And I want to encourage you to ask the Lord, 22:12 "Lord, what would you have me to do? 22:16 What do you want me to do?" 22:17 You know, when you pray that prayer, 22:19 you'll be surprised at how God gives opportunities. 22:23 And at first, you might not recognize it 22:24 as an opportunity, 22:26 you may naturally see the need 22:27 and start doing what you're doing 22:30 and somehow, someway somebody will say, 22:33 you know, I really want to thank you 22:34 because you did such and such and such. 22:36 And then is when you realize, hey, God did something here. 22:40 And, you know, 22:41 it's interesting how as we get close to the Lord, 22:43 we will naturally do things 22:46 that the Lord would have us to do. 22:49 Your life can be one blessing after another 22:52 as you come to the Lord. 22:54 In the lesson, there is a quote that I like to read, 22:57 it's a letter number 260 from December 2, 1903, 23:03 and this is what it says. 23:05 "We are all members of God's family, 23:08 all in a greater or lesser degree 23:11 entrusted with God-given talents, 23:14 for the use of which we are held responsible, 23:18 whether our talent be great or small 23:20 we are to use it in God's service 23:22 and we are to recognize the right of everyone else 23:26 to use the gifts entrusted to them. 23:29 Never should we disparage the smallest physical, 23:32 intellectual, or spiritual capital." 23:34 So each one has been given a gift 23:38 and then there's the aspect of responsibility 23:42 to use that gift 23:44 for the honor and glory of the Lord 23:45 and for the benefit of the church 23:47 to edify one another. 23:50 And so there's a lot here 23:51 that we could spend more time on, 23:53 but we have to keep going, 23:55 you know, through this and limit ourselves 23:59 what we should share because time is essential here. 24:03 Oh, boy. Let's see which one. 24:04 Let's go to Acts 2:38-42. 24:11 "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, 24:13 and let every one of you be baptized 24:15 in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." 24:19 Then what happens? 24:20 "And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 24:23 For the promise is to you and to your children, 24:26 and to all who are afar off, 24:28 as many as the Lord our God will call." 24:32 I have to stop there. 24:33 But this is an opportunity 24:36 for each and every single one of us. 24:38 What do we have to do? Repent. 24:41 Repent is something we need to do. 24:44 Make ourselves available to the Lord 24:46 and wonderful things will happen. 24:48 Amen. 24:49 Thank you so much, pastor Johnny. 24:50 I love that because when we repent, 24:53 the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to us. 24:56 That's one of the greatest gifts of all. 24:58 We're going to take a break. We'll be right back. 25:06 Ever wish you could watch 25:07 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 25:09 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 25:13 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:18 A clean design makes it easy 25:20 to find the program you're looking for. 25:22 There are also links 25:24 to the Adult Bible Study Guide so you can follow along. 25:27 Sharing is easy. 25:29 Just click share 25:30 and choose your favorite social media. 25:32 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:36 Welcome back to our study, Unlimited Possibilities, 25:39 the gifts that god has given to the church. 25:42 We pick it up with Tuesday, Pastor Kenny. 25:44 Praise the Lord. 25:45 I like this, The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts 25:47 for Tuesday's lesson. 25:49 Now not going to go through all of the gifts, 25:51 but I'm going to encourage you 25:52 where to look in the Word of God 25:54 and spend some time. 25:55 So is it okay to give you some homework? 25:56 Oh, I'm sure it is. I'm sure you want to do that. 25:59 The Bible gives us example of spiritual gifts, 26:01 there's no doubt about it. 26:02 It's the Holy Spirit in parts, to us people so, 26:04 you know, actually, 26:06 you can pick some up in Romans 12. 26:07 You can do it in 1 Corinthians 12, 26:08 1 Corinthians 14, 26:10 you know, Ephesians 4. 26:12 So just jot those whole chapters down 26:13 and, boy, when you have time 26:14 just sit down and read all of those, 26:16 but we'll go through just some things, 26:17 the purpose 26:18 because that's the title of this lesson 26:20 is The Purpose of the Spiritual Gifts. 26:22 And if you had to, 26:24 someone challenged you and said, 26:25 "What is the purpose of spiritual gifts?" 26:27 I just want to break it down just three little lines here. 26:30 Number one is to edify the body of Christ. 26:33 Number two advance the cause of Christ. 26:37 And number three, 26:38 so that we all can become one in Christ. 26:42 I want to read Christ's Object Lesson 26:44 page 328. 26:46 It actually talks about the talents in Matthew 25, 26:50 I think maybe 14 and on. 26:51 So it says here, 26:52 "The special gifts of the Spirit 26:54 are not the only talents represented in this parable." 26:59 Matthew 25 and 14 and on. 27:01 "It includes all gifts 27:03 and endowments, whether original or acquired." 27:08 Would that be but some people seem to be born with gifts. 27:11 And then you have others who work on gifts, 27:14 you know, we often said about my brother Tommy, 27:16 he's learned to play the piano very well. 27:19 Well, he spent his time. 27:20 I think he had that natural gift in the ear, 27:24 but he had to work at it. 27:25 Of course. 27:26 And so while he was working hard at it, 27:28 I was, well, I was working, 27:30 playing ball and doing things and look what it... 27:33 Well, anyway, we'll go on with that. 27:35 So anyway, "Original and acquired, 27:37 natural or spiritual." 27:39 If I had to do over again, 27:41 I'd be out there trying to pick on the instruments, the pianos, 27:43 doing string and whatever else too, 27:44 but can't always do that. 27:46 "All are to be employed in Christ's service." 27:48 Now I like this part. 27:50 "In becoming His disciples, we surrender ourselves to Him 27:55 and all that we are and all that we have. 27:59 Sometimes we think, 28:01 "Oh, but we've got this, we've got this, 28:02 we've got this gift, we have this." 28:04 But notice how this goes on here. 28:06 "These gifts He returns to us purified and ennobled." 28:12 So this is my thought, 28:14 here is evidently they're not so pure 28:16 and not so ennobled as they're given to us 28:19 unless the Spirit of the living God 28:21 gets a hold of these gifts, 28:23 then He returns them pure 28:25 because we have so much yourself 28:26 and all these things that needs to be gone. 28:30 "These gifts He returns to us, uses for His glory 28:33 and in blessing of certainly of our fellow man." 28:37 I mean, after all, isn't that the duty? 28:39 Our duty we have we're saying hangs on all these two, 28:42 our duty to God and our duty to our fellow man. 28:44 So we know number one the God or through the Holy Spirit, 28:47 the Holy Spirit gives us gifts 28:50 according to the several ability 28:52 in Acts 11:29. 28:56 This means that what? 28:57 That God gives 28:58 as is in the Parable of the Talents 29:00 that everybody knows. 29:02 I've often wondered as a young person, so on, 29:04 it said this one got five 29:05 and then the other one got two, and the other one got one. 29:09 I mean, I'm saying "Man somebody got cheated. 29:11 Someone got cheated." 29:12 As you're younger, you're thinking 29:14 of why did he get five 29:15 and why did I end up with one, that's selfishness, 29:17 you know, we think. 29:18 But that's the way the parable went. 29:19 And you think now why did it go this way? 29:23 They received 29:24 what they could use and improve. 29:29 So if some could receive five 29:30 if they didn't use them properly, 29:31 they have to improve for the cause of Christ. 29:33 Why have the five? 29:34 Good news, God only holds us accountable 29:37 for what He's given. 29:38 So I can say here seriously, and I do it often, praise God, 29:41 you see, that you only hold me accountable God 29:44 for what you've given me up here. 29:46 I don't have to worry about 29:47 what my brothers and sisters have 29:48 here on the panel 29:50 or what somebody else may have out there. 29:51 I'm not accountable for that, 29:53 only what God has given me 29:54 and certainly, we want to improve that. 29:56 So sometimes I say, you know, God's given me one talent, 29:59 but I want to improve that 30:00 and He will certainly give us more. 30:01 Good news. Praise God. 30:03 2 Corinthians 8:12. 30:05 Notice this, He says, "He gives according to a man hath, 30:08 and not according to what he," what, "Hath not." 30:11 So that's it. 30:13 That's how God is going to judge us 30:14 and look at us. 30:15 This is what I've given you, and He expects... 30:17 I want to say dividend, 30:18 he expects a return of the gifts He's given us. 30:21 1 Corinthians 12:7, the Bible says, 30:24 "But the manifestation of the Spirit." 30:27 That word's an interesting word, 30:29 the manifestation of the Spirit 30:30 means the elevation of the Spirit. 30:32 That means the altitude of the spirit, 30:36 of the dignity of the spirit 30:38 is given to every man to profit with all. 30:42 So what God has given? 30:44 What you were working on, what you're improving, 30:46 must be not for sale, but it must be for the... 30:49 For everybody else, 30:51 it must be for the cause of Christ. 30:53 In letter 19, written in 1901. 30:55 Notice these words, 30:57 "The perfection of the church," 30:58 and it's been mentioned here, 31:00 "does not depend on each member being fashioned alike." 31:02 Isn't that good? 31:04 God calls for each one of us to take a proper place. 31:06 As you mentioned, I think that Sister Jill mentioned 31:08 if everyone else was just like it, we kind of... 31:11 Can I say born? 31:13 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 31:14 So we're all just alike. That's true. 31:15 You know, God gives these different gifts 31:17 to different ones. 31:18 And so He take access to what He gives us 31:21 to stand in our place in His lot. 31:24 That reminds me of Daniel 12, isn't it? 31:26 Where to stand in our place and where to stand in our lot 31:29 as God has blessed us with it our appointed work to do. 31:33 The big question, 31:34 maybe that we should ask 31:36 is not how many, 31:38 and I think probably I've done this in past, 31:39 how many talents, how many gifts? 31:41 Not how many talents do I have 31:44 but what am I doing 31:46 with the ones that God has given me? 31:49 That's typical. 31:50 What am I doing with what God has given 31:52 because we know everyone's got at least one talent, 31:53 isn't that right? 31:55 One gift. 31:56 Through the parable it can be seen clearly 31:58 that God uses, 32:00 notice this, He uses us to develop 32:02 all that He's given to develop it, develop it. 32:06 And so that would increase 32:07 and break dividends to the glory of God. 32:09 'Cause I found this out early in my experience. 32:12 If we're not growing, then we're dying. 32:14 There's no such thing in the cause of Christ 32:16 to just a standstill, 32:17 I'm going to take time out, I'm going to take a year off, 32:20 it's not in the cause of Christ. 32:21 We don't have time to take a year off, 32:22 my brothers and sisters, now is the day, 32:24 now is the acceptable time, 32:26 that God wants us to move forward 32:27 with great power of the Holy Spirit 32:29 that we've been talking about, 32:30 taking those gifts, 32:32 those things that God has given us, 32:33 send them back to him, 32:35 and then he's going to bless them, 32:36 He's going to purify them, 32:37 and send them back to you for His honor 32:39 and for His glory. 32:40 If we're not growing, we're dying. 32:42 God wants all that we can be through, 32:46 be all that we can be through Him, 32:47 I've heard that advertised. 32:49 Be all that you can be, 32:50 be all that you can be in the world. 32:51 Why can't we say that here, 32:53 be all that you can be in the power 32:55 in the name of Jesus Christ? 32:57 Through Him, 32:58 you can do some great good by the grace of God 33:00 through power and his strength. 33:02 I want to read something 33:03 I think from Christ's Object lesson 33:04 here in page 330 that really touched my heart. 33:07 It said, "God will accept only those 33:08 who are determined to aim high." 33:10 Praise God. 33:11 If we haven't been aiming high, 33:13 now is the time we need to aim high. 33:14 We need to aim high because we serve a high God. 33:16 We don't be looking down, we're looking up right now. 33:19 He places every human agent 33:21 under His obligation to do his best. 33:24 Notice, moral perfection is required of all. 33:30 And we need to understand 33:31 that imperfection of character is sin. 33:34 Wow, it's pretty big, isn't it? 33:36 All righteous attributes of character dwell in God 33:41 as a perfect, harmonious whole. 33:43 Everyone who receives Christ as a personal Savior 33:47 is privileged to possess these attributes. 33:51 It means to be like Jesus, and then He requires that, 33:54 you know, to those of us who are saying 33:56 He's our example we're to strive to be like Him, 33:59 not just do the very... 34:00 "Oh, I'll do the best I can, and it's gonna be alright." 34:02 That's not what He says. Right. 34:04 He asked us to be like Him, 34:05 and He asked us to have the mind of Christ, 34:07 not the mind of anything or anybody else. 34:10 I could hear someone say right now 34:11 "Oh, well, I can't do, 34:12 I can't gain the victory over this, 34:14 I can't gain the victory over my defects of character 34:17 while I've, you know, 34:18 all these things have been in my life too long, 34:20 knows what Christ's Object Lesson 331 says, 34:24 Let no one say. 34:25 So if you said... 34:26 Man, I'm sure probably we've all thought in the past. 34:30 Only by the grace of God can we do that absolutely. 34:32 But let no man say, 34:33 "I cannot remedy my defects of character." 34:36 If you come to this decision, 34:38 you will certainly fail of obtaining eternal life. 34:42 So if we've ever said, "Lord have mercy." 34:45 I take it back. 34:46 We need to take it back 34:48 and ask God to forgive us right now 34:49 because we want heaven to be our home. 34:51 Never say no, you can't, you can't, you can't, 34:54 you know, do these things. 34:55 You can't gain the victory by yourself. 34:57 Only through the power and the might 34:58 of the Holy Spirit. 35:00 But we can certainly obtain what God has in mind for us. 35:04 Ephesians 4:11-16, 35:06 you know, it just, it gives us the nature 35:08 and the purpose of all these gifts. 35:09 If you have time just read all that when you can. 35:12 Because I thoroughly believe with all my heart here, 35:14 God has given the gifts to the church. 35:16 God wants us to be using these gifts for His honor 35:18 and for His glory, there's no doubt about it. 35:21 And as God's people 35:22 why not use these gifts God's given you... 35:24 Don't say, "Oh, we don't have any gifts." 35:25 And well, we don't have 35:27 God's given every man several as He will. 35:30 I believe this is the time that God wants us 35:32 to put those things into action right now 35:35 is for the good of others, for the good of the church, 35:37 to win souls to the kingdom of God. 35:39 We need to be ready right now 35:41 just saying, "Lord, by your grace, 35:43 by your strength, by your power, 35:45 I commit myself into your care and keep me 35:47 and, Lord, use me where You see fit. 35:51 Amen. Amen. 35:53 That was awesome. Praise the Lord. 35:55 I always enjoy listening to everyone else. 35:58 I'm on Wednesday's lesson, Discovering Your Gifts. 36:01 So if you're watching right now, 36:03 and you're wondering, "You know what, 36:04 you've been talking a whole lot about these gifts, 36:05 but I want to know how can I get this gift? 36:08 And how can I discover which gift is mine 36:10 that God wants to give me?" 36:12 And so I want to start off with a couple of promises 36:15 first, from the book of 1 Corinthians, 36:17 and then we're going to jump over to 2 Corinthians. 36:18 So first reference, 36:20 we want to read from is 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, 36:25 and notice what the Bible says. 36:27 Again, this is coming from 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. 36:31 The Bible says, "I thank my God always concerning you 36:35 for the grace of God which was given to you 36:37 by Christ Jesus, 36:39 that you were enriched in everything by Him 36:42 in all utterance and all knowledge, 36:46 even as the testimony of Christ 36:47 was confirmed in you, 36:49 so that you come short in no gift." 36:51 Okay, God doesn't want us to come short in any gift. 36:54 "Eagerly waiting for the revelation 36:56 of our Lord Jesus Christ, 36:57 who will also confirm you to the end, 37:01 that you may be blameless in the day 37:03 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 37:05 God is faithful, 37:06 by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, 37:09 Jesus Christ our Lord. 37:11 So we have the promise 37:13 that God wants to gift us with special gifts, 37:16 and for the purpose of using these 37:19 for God's kingdom 37:20 as brother Kenny beautifully brought out. 37:22 Now let's jump over to 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, 37:25 again, these are beautiful promises 37:27 that we can hang on to in reference to God, 37:29 desiring to equip us with these special gifts. 37:33 So 2 Corinthians 1 beginning in verse 20. 37:36 The Bible says, "For all the promises of God 37:38 in Him are Yes." 37:42 I saw a sermon years ago, 37:44 I think it was by David Asscherick 37:45 for someone who said, 37:46 you know, God has always, 37:48 you know, He's always given 1,000 yeses 37:49 to maybe one no in the sense 37:51 he was talking about the Garden of Eden, 37:52 you know, got 1,000 trees, 37:54 there were 1,000 trees in the garden. 37:55 It was 999 yeses to one no, and I love that. 38:00 It says here in verse 20, 38:01 "All the promises of God in him are yes, 38:04 and in Him amen, to the glory of God through us. 38:07 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ 38:10 and has anointed us is God, 38:12 who also has sealed us 38:14 and given us the Spirit in our hearts 38:18 as a guarantee." 38:20 Praise God for that promise, amen. 38:22 God has promised to bestow upon us, His people, 38:26 special gifts from the Spirit, 38:28 He wants to give us these gifts 38:31 for the functionality of His church 38:33 and the advancement of His kingdom. 38:35 And I praise God for it. 38:37 So the ultimate question is, 38:38 brother, how do we obtain these gifts? 38:40 How can I know which gift is mine? 38:42 How can we obtain these gifts? 38:44 Well, the simple, 38:45 very biblical, correct answer is 38:47 you have to receive the Holy Spirit. 38:49 You can't receive a gift of the Spirit 38:52 if you don't have the Holy Spirit, right, 38:53 if you haven't received the Holy Spirit. 38:55 So the simple answer, 38:57 you must receive the Holy Spirit 38:58 and with that reception of the Holy Spirit, 39:01 God bestows upon you a special gift from Him. 39:05 But how can I make sure 39:06 that I can receive the Holy Spirit 39:08 that I can get this gift? 39:09 Luke 11:13. 39:12 Again, this is Luke 11:13. 39:14 The Bible says, "If you then, being evil," 39:16 and I think we've read this a couple of times, 39:18 "know how to give good gifts to your children, 39:21 how much more will your heavenly Father 39:23 give the Holy Spirit to those who," 39:26 and what does it say there?" 39:28 Ask. Ask Him! 39:29 So we have to receive the Holy Spirit 39:31 in order to receive the gifts 39:32 but in order to receive the Holy Spirit, 39:34 we have to say, "Father, I desire to have that Spirit. 39:38 Lord, give me your Holy Spirit." 39:39 We must ask Him genuinely and desire it. 39:43 And pastor, I want you to just take a moment here 39:45 because when people think of, 39:46 you know, receiving the Holy Spirit, 39:48 will I have to receive the Holy Spirit? 39:50 But, you know, they're saying that I can't have this gift 39:52 or, you know, what does it mean for God 39:54 to give you the Holy Spirit 39:56 to work on you, in you, and through you? 39:59 Because we know the Holy Spirit works on us 40:00 but that doesn't necessarily mean that 40:02 we have received it or that is working on us. 40:03 So tell us a little bit of that. 40:05 Right. 40:06 When the Holy Spirit works on us, 40:07 He brings conviction. Right. 40:09 When we accept the conviction, 40:10 He works in us to bring conversion. 40:12 Right. 40:13 When He brings conversion, He works through us 40:15 to accomplish commission. 40:17 So beautifully worded. 40:18 That's why I just gave it over to him, 40:20 'cause he explains it so eloquently. 40:21 That's beautiful. 40:23 So the Holy Spirit is always working on us. 40:25 But we have to receive the Holy Spirit to work in us 40:28 and through us for His divine mission. 40:31 James 1:5-8, 40:33 again, we're confirming how can I receive this gift. 40:36 How can I receive the Holy Spirit? 40:37 James 1:5-8, I love this. 40:41 It says, "If any of you lack wisdom, 40:43 let him ask of God." 40:45 Lord, give me wisdom. 40:46 That's what we should be asking. 40:47 "Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, 40:51 and it will be given to him. 40:52 But let him ask in faith, and no doubting, 40:55 for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven 40:58 and tossed by the wind." 41:00 Verse 7 says, "For let not that man suppose 41:03 that he will receive anything from the Lord, 41:05 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 41:08 When you ask the Lord and you believe 41:10 that the Lord can give it to you, 41:11 and that He will give it to you, 41:13 believe that He will. 41:14 Do not suppose, 41:15 "Well, I might have received this gift, 41:17 but I'm not sure." 41:18 The Holy Spirit is surely going to be given to those who ask. 41:21 Matthew 7:7, 8. I love this. 41:24 That famous verse where Jesus says 41:26 in the Sermon on the Mount here, 41:28 "Ask, and it will be given to you, 41:30 seek, and you will find, 41:31 knock, and it will be opened to you. 41:33 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, 41:36 and to him who knocks it will be opened." 41:39 And I love just bringing this out 41:41 because right there in the original Greek, 41:43 it doesn't just mean to ask once, 41:44 you know, I've heard people say, 41:46 "Well, you know, I asked for the Holy Spirit 41:47 back in 1979. 41:49 And I just never received it." 41:51 Well, but in the original language 41:52 here it says keep asking, keep knocking, 41:56 you know, keep seeking 41:57 because the Lord wants that perseverance. 41:59 He wants us to persevere in pleading. 42:01 That's why Paul said, "Pray without ceasing. 42:03 Seek the Lord constantly." 42:04 So, you know what, 42:06 if I've pleaded for the Holy Spirit, 42:07 but it doesn't seem like there's much of a change, 42:09 do I just give up and say, "Well, I've asked." 42:11 Eventually, He'll give it. You keep persevering. 42:13 Keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking, 42:16 and the Lord will give you the Holy Spirit. 42:18 And with that comes His gift. 42:20 We receive the gifts of the Spirit 42:22 as we consecrate ourselves to God 42:24 and ask Him to reveal to us the gifts, 42:28 He has given us. 42:29 When our hearts are emptied of self-glory, 42:33 and our priority is to serve Jesus, 42:36 His spirit will impress us 42:38 with the spiritual gifts he has for us. 42:41 So once we received the Holy Spirit, 42:43 you know, it may not be very clear at first, 42:45 you know, you might be asking, Lord, what are my gifts? 42:47 What have You bestowed upon me? 42:48 What can I use for the advancement 42:50 of Your kingdom 42:51 and for the functionality of Your church? 42:53 I love this quote from Ellen G. White. 42:55 Christ's Object Lessons page 327. 42:59 It says here, "Not until through faith 43:02 and prayer, 43:03 the disciples had surrendered themselves fully." 43:07 Excuse me, not until, I mean, let me start over. 43:09 "Not until through faith and prayer, 43:11 the disciples had surrendered themselves fully. 43:14 For his working was the outpouring 43:16 of the Spirit received, 43:18 then in a special sense the goods of heaven 43:21 were committed to the followers of Christ. 43:23 The gifts are already ours in Christ, 43:26 but their actual possessions depend upon our reception 43:30 of the Spirit of God. 43:32 I love that. It's very, very, very clear. 43:34 And of course, when we receive the Holy Spirit, 43:36 it's just automatic. 43:38 We automatically receive power 43:40 to be a witness unto Him according to Acts 1:8, 43:44 one good way you can tell if you have the Holy Spirit, 43:46 that you can't keep your mouth shut about Jesus, 43:49 you want to tell everyone about Jesus, 43:50 you usually can't help. 43:52 It's just like, it's just natural. 43:53 It's like, it's like breathing. It's as constant as breathing. 43:56 You just want to tell people about Jesus 43:58 when you're around them. 43:59 And that is one indication that you have received 44:01 the Holy Spirit. 44:02 But back to these gifts. 44:04 Now, pastor, you're going to read to us 44:05 this list of gifts in just a moment. 44:08 But I just want to cover something 44:09 in the closing minute and a half that I have here. 44:11 You know, I was taught growing up that, 44:13 you know, all must receive a certain gift 44:15 in order to make sure that you have the Holy Spirit. 44:18 In other words, the evidence of the Holy Spirit, 44:21 some teach is the gift of tongues. 44:23 And I just want to slide in here to make this clear, 44:25 the evidence that you have the Holy Spirit 44:27 is not the gifts of the Spirit, okay? 44:30 The evidence that you have the Holy Spirit 44:31 are the fruits of the Spirit, 44:33 which is in a different place in the Bible, 44:35 but we want to be clear on that, 44:37 you know, if you go out to a tree 44:38 and someone says, "Hey, that's an apple tree." 44:40 And there's no ultimate evidence 44:42 that there's an apple on that tree 44:45 you're going to wonder 44:46 and, you know, kind of be a little skeptical that 44:49 that's an apple tree. 44:50 You know that that's an apple tree 44:51 when you see the fruit of an apple hanging 44:53 on that tree, right? 44:54 The same thing of a Christian. 44:56 And I just want to clarify this. 44:57 You do not confirm 44:59 whether or not you have the Holy Spirit 45:01 on exercising some spiritual gift, right? 45:04 It's the fruits of the spirit that are the evidence 45:06 that you have the Holy Spirit. 45:07 And as brought out clearly in 1 Corinthians 12 45:11 and more specifically, 45:12 we've read some of these verses already, 45:14 verse 11. 45:15 And then you can read all the way 45:16 through to verse 29 and 30, do all... 45:18 Verse 30 says, "Do all have gifts of healings? 45:20 Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" 45:23 The answer is no, not everyone, 45:25 God is not going to give everyone the same gift. 45:28 So indeed, the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues 45:31 is a real gift. 45:32 And it is used for the purpose of communicating the gospel 45:35 to those people of different languages 45:37 on earth. 45:38 But not everyone is going to speak 45:39 in the gift of tongues 45:41 or manifest the gift of tongues. 45:42 I just wanted to clarify that 45:44 'cause I have a lot of people questioning me 45:45 and asking me today, you know, I haven't spoken in tongues 45:47 and someone's told me that I must 45:49 in order to receive the Holy Spirit. 45:50 Hey, you just ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit 45:53 as we've clearly just read, believe you have received it. 45:56 And the Lord in time will reveal that gift to you. 45:59 Amen. Amen. 46:00 That's right. 46:02 Just to recap what Ryan asked me 46:03 to point out, you know, when the Holy Spirit works, 46:04 He works first on us to bring conviction, 46:07 then in us to bring conversion, 46:10 then through us to accomplish commission. 46:13 When He works to bring conviction, 46:14 that's the transmission of the gospel. 46:16 When He works to bring conversion, 46:18 that's the transformation of the gospel. 46:21 And when He works to accomplish commission, 46:22 that's the transportation of the gospel. 46:25 So you have to remember that. 46:26 So when people say, "Well, Holy Spirit spoke to me today." 46:29 Well, the question is, did you respond? 46:32 Because until you respond, 46:33 you will never be worked on, worked in, 46:36 and definitely not worked through. 46:38 And the amazing part is the last part, 46:41 He works through. 46:42 The Bible made it clear, the apostle says, 46:45 "He gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey." 46:48 That's right. Amen. 46:50 Now very quickly in Matthew 25:14-30, 46:52 I'm not going to read it, but I'm going to summarize it 46:54 because pastor Kenny alluded to it. 46:56 Talents were given, 46:58 five what else, two, and one. 47:02 And the one who chose 47:04 not to use the single talent he had was 47:06 he thought, "Well, if I lose this only talent, 47:10 then the master is going to be upset with me. 47:13 Well, you know, that's not the case. 47:15 I remember a number of years ago, 47:16 Pastor T Marshall Kelly, from Oakwood, 47:19 I just always admire his, 47:21 he's to me, one of the last of the best, 47:25 what a man of God. 47:26 And when he came to 3ABN 47:27 when I first came to 3ABN years ago, 47:30 he said, he pulled me aside on the floor. 47:32 He said, "Young man, I've been following you 47:34 throughout your ministry. 47:35 And I want you to know by God bringing you here, 47:37 He gave you one more gift, 47:40 but you're still responsible for all the rest." 47:43 So that's an amazing thing. 47:44 And here's what the Bible says in Luke 12:48. 47:47 Luke 12:48, 47:49 "But he who did not know, 47:50 yet committed things deserving of stripes, 47:53 shall be beaten with few. 47:55 For everyone to whom much is given, 47:58 from him much will be required, 48:01 and to whom much has been committed, 48:03 of him they will ask the more." 48:05 So the more gifts God gives to you 48:08 and, you know, what Ryan brought this out. 48:11 He doesn't give you a gift that you don't need. 48:13 This gift of tongues is not needed 48:15 in an English-speaking congregation. 48:18 Just make it very clear that some people teach you 48:20 that is somehow a spirit language 48:21 or a prayer language 48:22 or you talking to God without the devil knowing, 48:25 that's deception. 48:26 There's nothing you can say that the devil doesn't know. 48:29 Well, all right. 48:31 Since when you thought 48:32 you were smarter than the devil. 48:34 That's right. 48:35 So the only one that could wrap your prayers up 48:37 where the devil can't affect them 48:39 or infect them is the Holy Spirit. 48:41 Romans 8: 26-28, 48:43 the Spirit of God 48:45 intercedes with groanings you can't even utter 48:47 so don't try to look for some arterial language. 48:50 That's the word there in the Greek 48:51 called glossolalia. 48:52 Meaning simply confusion. 48:54 And just in the interest of time, 48:56 I might communicate this at a different time and again, 48:59 but God does not give gifts to create confusions, 49:03 He gives gifts to create cohesion. 49:05 That's right. 49:07 1 Corinthians 14:33, 49:09 I'm jumping down to my sixth point 49:10 which I have now made my first point. 49:13 - Okay? - Okay. 49:14 "For God is not the author of confusion 49:18 but of peace, 49:19 as in all the churches of the saints. 49:23 He does not give gifts to create confusion, 49:26 He gives gifts to create cohesion 49:28 until we all come to the unity of the faith. 49:32 And if I don't know what you're saying, 49:33 how can I be unified with you. 49:36 Absolutely not. 49:37 But Let's go on further. 49:39 The first one, the Holy Spirit gave gifts to the church 49:41 so that the church would be able to flourish. 49:44 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. 49:46 "There are diversities of gifts, 49:49 but the same Spirit. 49:51 There are differences of ministries, 49:53 but the same Lord. 49:54 And there are diversities of activities, 49:57 but it is the same God who works all in all." 50:00 Now I'm not with any intention to diminish, 50:03 but somebody once said I heard the most wonderful illustration 50:06 of different gifts. 50:07 Some gifts are not seen in public. 50:09 But if the custodian decides not to operate in his gift, 50:14 the church will know. 50:15 That's right. 50:16 It'll be clear. 50:18 If the custodian or the person who cleans the church decides 50:21 I'm not using this gift this week, 50:23 everybody would know. 50:25 So the gifts offer the benefit of everyone. 50:28 Some gifts are not displayed publicly, 50:31 but the public benefits from that gifts nonetheless. 50:35 Secondly, 50:36 1 Corinthians 12:7, 50:38 "None of the gifts have been given 50:40 for personal benefit alone. 50:44 But the manifestation of the Spirit 50:45 is given to each one for the profit of all." 50:49 I add this one more time. 50:50 How can Ryan profit if I start sitting next to him 50:54 saying things that he didn't even understand? 50:56 That's why Paul says it's better to speak five words 50:58 in my understanding 51:00 than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue, 51:02 by the way, the word unknown was added 51:05 it meant in a tongue. 51:07 So there was no such thing as an unknown tongue. 51:09 It simply meant unknown to the hearer. 51:12 Kenny decided to speak in German, 51:14 I have no idea what he's saying because it's unknown to me. 51:17 But it's known to him and to God until Ryan says, 51:21 "Hey, that's German," and then Ryan interprets it. 51:23 But this was never a language that was to create confusion 51:26 but the gifts always were to create cohesion. 51:29 Third point, 51:31 all gifts work in harmony to accomplish a complete work. 51:34 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 51:37 "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, 51:39 to another the word of knowledge 51:41 through the same Spirit, 51:42 to another faith by the same Spirit, 51:43 to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 51:45 to another the works of miracles, 51:47 to another prophecy, 51:48 to another discerning of spirits, 51:50 to another different kinds of tongues, 51:51 to another the interpretation of tongues. 51:54 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, 51:58 distributing to each one individually 52:00 as He wills." 52:02 He decides what you get. 52:04 Here's the point. 52:05 I know that kids have done this. 52:08 But they decide which one they're going to give you. 52:11 You might put the list together what gift you want. 52:13 But the Lord said, this is the one you need. 52:15 And they might say, 52:16 "Mom, you didn't give me what I want." 52:18 She said, "Because you didn't need that." 52:19 See, that's the key. 52:21 The Spirit of God doesn't give you what you want. 52:24 He gives you what you need. 52:25 He looks at your situation and says, 52:27 "You know, you're about to build a house. 52:29 You don't need a model airplane, 52:31 he needs some hammers and some saws 52:33 and some paint and some wood. 52:35 So if you're about to speak to English people, 52:37 you don't need to gift of tongues, 52:39 not to beat that up 52:40 but that's the one that Satan has used to deceive most. 52:43 But here's the way it says in the NIV, 52:45 just the last part, 52:47 New King James, 52:48 "He gives individually as He wills." 52:51 NIV says, "He gives them to each one, 52:53 just as He determines. 52:56 He decided it, not us. 52:57 So don't ask for what the Lord 52:58 doesn't see that you have need of. 53:00 Number four, 53:01 none of the church have all the same gifts. 53:04 Ryan just with it, are we... Do we all have work... 53:07 Are we all work as miracles? No. 53:09 Are we all prophets, teachers? No. 53:12 Do we all have administrative gifts? 53:14 No. Are we all... 53:15 Do we have all the gifts of health? 53:16 No. The gifts of healing? No. 53:20 Now I want to say this, you're going to get this, 53:22 you will never forget it. 53:23 If all I was ears, my body will be in trouble. 53:27 Okay? 53:28 If my whole body was an ear, 53:30 my rest of my body would be in trouble, okay? 53:32 That's the point. 53:33 We don't all need the same heart. 53:35 We must all... 53:37 The parts must all work harmoniously 53:38 so that the entire body can benefit. 53:41 What an illustration. I like it. 53:44 Number five. 53:45 The church functions 53:47 as God provides each component of ministry 53:50 by qualifying the membership. 53:52 Romans 12:4-8. 53:54 "For as we have many members in one body, 53:57 but all the members do not have the same function, 54:00 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, 54:04 and individually members of one another. 54:06 Having then gifts differing according to the grace 54:09 that is given to us, 54:10 let us use them if prophecy, 54:12 let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry, 54:16 let us use it in our ministering, 54:18 he who teaches, in teaching, he who exhorts, in exhortation, 54:21 he who gives, with liberality, he who leads, with diligence, 54:25 he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." 54:27 All of this is making it very clear. 54:29 Don't use these things inadvertently, 54:32 use them intentionally 54:34 and always one other avenue of counsel, 54:38 never use your gift to glorify yourself. 54:42 That's right. 54:43 'Cause some people, 54:45 I'm not talking about Ryan at all, 54:46 but some people sing for themselves. 54:49 Now we loved it in Australia. 54:51 Ryan serenaded us every morning when he was vocalizing, 54:55 we love they said, "Hey, the singer in Israel." 54:58 But we were blessed by it and that's the whole thing. 55:01 When God gives you any gift, the gift of preaching, 55:03 teaching, administration, whatever the gift is, 55:06 it's for the benefit of those who are given to you 55:09 to minister to. 55:11 Number seven, oh, number six, 55:13 God does not take away the gift that He imparts to us. 55:17 We're the only one that could lose 55:19 the use of the gift. 55:20 Romans 11:29, 55:22 "For the gifts and the calling of God 55:24 are irrevocable." 55:26 But here's the caution. 55:27 The only way that the gift can be a blessing, 55:30 efficiency grows through exercise. 55:33 Together, efficiency grows through exercise. 55:37 Hebrews 5:12 says it this way, 55:40 "But solid food belongs to those 55:42 who are of full age, that is, 55:44 those who by reason of use 55:48 have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." 55:53 Use your gifts, exercise them so that everyone benefits 55:57 and God receives all the glory. 56:00 Amen. What an incredible study. 56:02 This has been an amazing lesson. 56:04 I want to give each one of you a moment 56:06 to share something about your day or the week? 56:09 Well, I am going to read from Matthew 20, 56:12 and you'll pick up the parable that I'm talking about here 56:14 and about the 11th hour he went out 56:16 and found others standing idle, and said to them, 56:19 why have you been standing here idle all day? 56:22 So I will say to you, 56:24 if you've been standing there idle, 56:25 not using the gift that God has given you, 56:28 use it for God's glory. 56:30 Amen. 56:31 Desire of Ages 658, I like this 56:33 'cause it gives evidence that You are my disciple. 56:36 It says right here, "As you administer to Me," 56:38 Jesus say, "and as you administer to Me, 56:40 so you are to minister to them. 56:43 This is evidence that you are My disciples." 56:46 Amen. 56:48 Paul says, desire the best gifts. 56:51 But I think the appropriate prayer 56:52 would be for us to pray, Lord, not my will but Yours. 56:56 He knows which gift, 56:57 as Pastor Lomacang brought up beautifully. 56:59 He knows exactly the gift 57:00 that you would use best for His kingdom 57:03 and the agenda of His kingdom. 57:05 And here's the last one, don't desire commission 57:08 if you don't want conversion until you get conviction. 57:13 Amen. 57:14 That's powerful. Thank you so much. 57:16 I got to write that down. Drop the mic. 57:17 Pastor John, Ryan, Pastor Kenny, Pastor Johnny, 57:20 thank you all so much for sharing your study 57:23 and your hearts with Jesus with you at home. 57:26 Thank you for joining us as well. 57:28 I want to leave you with this quote 57:29 and you might say 57:31 what does this have to do with gifts? 57:32 This is Desire of Ages page 224, 57:36 "Of all the gifts 57:37 that heaven can bestow upon men 57:40 fellowship with Christ in His sufferings 57:44 is the most weighty trust and the highest honor." 57:49 Think about that for a bit 57:50 as we contemplate the gifts of the Spirit 57:53 that God has given to us as the church. 57:55 Join us next week for lesson seven, 57:57 Sharing the Word. |
Revised 2020-08-07