1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,040 All right, we continue our sermon series, Kingly Gifts. Kingly Gifts where we're 2 00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:14,080 looking at the gifts of the wise men. Gold, two weeks ago, representing the 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:19,120 Lordship of Christ. Gold is something you brought to a king, and this is again the 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,320 wise men, the magi coming from the east. And then last week, we talked about 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:28,640 frankincense. We talked about this as the aroma of the high priests and offering 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:36,360 recognizing Jesus as the high priest. And like Evan said, probably very, the 7 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:40,360 symbolic gifts mean something, though I think if it were today we'd probably 8 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:46,720 bring something more practical. What the magi is doing is actually teaching us, 9 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:53,200 teaching Mary and Joseph, teaching anyone that reads these accounts who and what 10 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,800 Jesus actually is. Though he was a beautiful cute baby, I'm sure he was the 11 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:04,160 king. He was the high priest. He was prophet, priest, king. He was the Messiah, 12 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:13,000 the Messiah. And myrrh is a very different gift where gold and frankincense 13 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:21,360 recognize the authority and the power of Jesus. Myrrh takes a really hard 90 14 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:28,960 degree left turn. So for lunch and a conversation with Pastor Jim after the 15 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:36,160 new year, okay, after the new year. I love you all after the new year. 16 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:42,000 Thank you, Wes. Wes says that's when I'm on vacation. No it's not. But understand 17 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:50,760 the question, what did myrrh represent? If gold, king, frankincense, priest, myrrh 18 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:59,800 represented what? What? Pick out lunch you're buying. And understand that myrrh, 19 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:08,360 as Larry said, burial. It is a burial incense. Think about that. It is a custom, 20 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:13,880 just a custom of that region that when someone died and they went into a tomb, 21 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:23,160 that the tomb would be filled with myrrh. That myrrh was an overwhelming incense 22 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:31,840 because it had to mask the smell of a dead body. Merry Christmas. Understand 23 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,760 that I can kind of imagine it and put yourself in the manger scene no matter 24 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:43,040 what character you want to play outside of the wise men, that the first is gold. 25 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:48,280 Beautiful gift for a king. Then you have frankincense, recognizing the temple and 26 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:53,200 the law, the high priest, the holiest of holies, that Jesus is the tabernacle 27 00:02:53,200 --> 00:03:01,680 incarnate in the flesh. Then the one wise man opens up myrrh. And you know that you 28 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:07,160 know that you know that myrrh was used for anointing, for burial, and for 29 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:16,440 medicinal purposes. That myrrh was used when there was suffering, when there was 30 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:24,000 agony, when there was death. Now I look at it from Joseph or Mary's point of view 31 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,520 and we see in the gospels the line where it says that Mary treasured all these 32 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:36,800 things in her heart. So let me speak to the mothers, grandmothers today. You knew 33 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:44,000 what these three gifts meant. Whether you knew it or not, you knew that my son was 34 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,280 going to be the king of kings, the Lord of lords. My son was going to be the 35 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:56,320 fulfillment of the Messiah. But in order for that to happen, there was going to be 36 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:03,000 pain and suffering. So not only is it symbolizing suffering and devotion, but 37 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:11,720 it's pointing us to Christ's sacrificial death. That Magi's gift of myrrh foretold 38 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:17,440 Jesus as the suffering servant, Isaiah 53. Take a moment this afternoon and 39 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:24,280 read that for your Christmas devotional. Isaiah 53 depicts exactly what the Son 40 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:29,160 of Man would go through and it encourages us to mirror Christ's 41 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:36,200 sacrificial love by dedicating our mi'ad, M-E-O-D, the Hebrew word for strength and 42 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:42,640 talents for him. You see myrrh was often burned in the religious practices and the 43 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:49,800 rising of the divine when someone dies. So really what it emphasizes for us this 44 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:55,720 morning is a continual acknowledgement and encouragement to worship the king of 45 00:04:55,720 --> 00:05:03,840 kings, the Lord of lords, the great sacrifice for sin. That the Magi's gifts 46 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:10,440 mean something. That this dual symbolism of both Jesus as king and high priest of 47 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:16,520 the line of royal priests should ultimately raise to us why all glory is 48 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:26,120 due to Jesus. All glory be to God and King amidst his manger throne. I don't 49 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,000 know if you guys have ever thought about the gifts of the Magi, but they're 50 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:36,200 actually fascinating. This recognition of a baby, a star to light the way they find 51 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:45,200 them, they offer these gifts that mean so much that they probably didn't even know 52 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:52,360 what the myrrh meant for Jesus. But that Jesus would become that living sacrifice. 53 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:57,800 And Paul picks up on this when we start the 12th chapter of the book of Romans, 54 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,880 an infamous chapter where we talk about what does our life look like as living 55 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,680 sacrifices. So we're going to break down the first eight verses of Romans chapter 56 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:14,800 12. The first is the living sacrifice that we are called to be. I appeal to you 57 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:20,440 therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living 58 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:30,120 sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. There's a 59 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:34,480 lot in that first sentence and we have seven more to go. That Paul uses the Old 60 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:42,560 Testament as the sacrificial imagery to describe our total devotion for God. Let 61 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:48,320 me pause there for a minute. This is where I can say confidently, first to 62 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:54,880 myself in the mirror and then to all of us, God is not interested in your 99%. 63 00:06:54,880 --> 00:07:02,080 That total devotion to God, I liken it to total devotion to my wife. How would 64 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:11,360 Carrie feel if on her next birthday I write, I love you so much babe, 99%. 65 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:16,000 Curtis, how does that go in the household? No, I'm going and sleeping on your couch. 66 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:21,040 Absolutely, and then you take me. But isn't it interesting that like how many of us 67 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:28,000 would have killed for 99% in school? Are you serious? I know not all of you are 68 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,960 that's, thank you Mike, yeah Mike's waving his hands, you know, but understand that 69 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:39,720 in the general scheme of life, 99% fantastic. Ricardo, were you a 99% student 70 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:48,200 in school? You tried, yeah, that meant no. And so understand that 99, come on, I'd 71 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:54,520 kill for 99, but Jesus doesn't want it. Jesus leaves the 99 to find the one, but 72 00:07:54,520 --> 00:08:04,000 he wants total devotion of the heart, total 99% in our worship. He wants 99% of 73 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:10,240 our heart, he wants 100% of our heart, 100% of our soul, and 100% of our 74 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,960 strength. And doesn't that take a little bit of a twist when we talk about time, 75 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:20,480 talents, and treasures, that he wants 100% of it? Because really when it comes to, 76 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,800 and if we're being honest, the thing that really hits us the most of time, talents, 77 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:31,680 and treasures are what? Treasures, let's be fair. It is a great understanding to 78 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:39,760 think 100% of it belongs to God, and he goes, hey, I want to give you back 90. Now 79 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,960 some of us don't like that, and you got to work that out in your soul, but it's an 80 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:49,000 understanding that 100%, when we say we're all in, we mean and need to mean 81 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:56,680 we're all in. That this is not an earned grace, but a response to God's mercy. So 82 00:08:56,680 --> 00:09:02,520 we go from being living sacrifices to renewing our mind in verse 2, where verse 83 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:09,560 2 tells us, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal 84 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:15,320 of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is 85 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,440 good and acceptable and perfect. Cheryl, leave this one up there. This thing is a 86 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:29,200 great continuation from verse 1 that by testing, what does that look like for a 87 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:36,680 believer to be tested when they're not giving 100% to God? It leaves you very 88 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:41,720 vulnerable, very vulnerable to the evils of the world, very vulnerable to the lies 89 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:48,200 of the deceiver, Satan, very vulnerable to raise yourself up instead of Jesus in 90 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:54,120 your life. That by the transforming, by the renewal of your mind, that by testing 91 00:09:54,120 --> 00:10:00,520 you may discern. Now some of you have probably think you don't carry the gift 92 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:06,240 of discernment, and your wives probably agree, but understand that discerning the 93 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:13,600 mind of God is something all, let me say that again, all of us have the ability to 94 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:19,520 do. Now some of you, that might be the first time you've ever heard that, and 95 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:24,800 there are some of you that are going, I do not want that responsibility. I can't 96 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,640 make up my mind of where to go to eat. How many people have a spouse that 97 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,560 struggles with that? See who's dumb enough to raise your hand. Yep, they are. 98 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:38,640 Okay, so understand that it is this discerning. The mind of Christ is the 99 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:45,800 first gift that we are given when we become a believer and we grow in our faith. 100 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:51,400 So what does that look like? What does that mean for us? That means you can 101 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:56,200 think the things of God. Set your mind on things above, Paul says in Colossians, 102 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:01,720 not on earthly things. Seek the things that are above. When our minds are seeking 103 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,440 the things above, guess what we don't get distracted by? The things of earth, the 104 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,600 things of the world, worldly pleasures, worldly sins, the desires of the flesh. 105 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:19,800 Not inherently bad, but if not redeemed, pretty much being sent to hell. That not 106 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:27,440 only is there a sacrifice and a transforming, but it allows us to, and I 107 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,440 mean this, safely look in the mirror, which is something not too many of us 108 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:38,120 like to do, and allow for a self-assessment, a sober self-assessment. 109 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:43,080 What do I mean by that? A sober self-assessment is looking at yourself 110 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:50,760 the way God sees you, which is cloaked by Christ. That in your thoughts, your 111 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,160 words, your deeds, the way you use your time, your talents, and your treasures, 112 00:11:54,160 --> 00:12:01,800 people should see your relationship with Jesus. I get it, that stinks to hear 113 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:08,680 because there are times my thoughts, my words, my deeds don't represent Jesus. 114 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:14,920 My time, my talents, and my treasure don't represent Jesus, and God can give 115 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:21,480 that conviction and allow us that sober self-assessment in verse 3. 116 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:27,960 For by grace given to you, I say to everyone among you not to think himself 117 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:36,000 more highly than he ought. I am not allowing you to use this as a right hook 118 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,200 for your spouse in your afternoon conversations, if you have them, but to 119 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:46,320 think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has 120 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:54,000 assigned. Wait, what? Wait, hang on. Each according to the measure of faith that 121 00:12:54,000 --> 00:13:01,720 God has assigned, that God engages you in your faith. Why wouldn't he? You have 122 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:07,240 faith in him. He should be a part of it. If you think you have faith in God yet 123 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:14,120 don't have a relationship, that's like me saying, I am married to Carrie McCarthy 124 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,760 even if I've never met her. That's crazy talk. I have crazy mouth, right? That 125 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:24,280 there's an investment, there's a relationship there. It takes time. I had 126 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:30,080 to earn my yes. We call that dating. And understand, no I'm just kidding, we don't 127 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:35,160 have to necessarily earn it, but she did say yes. Understand that this measure of 128 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:41,320 faith, God is a part of it. You cannot grow your faith without God allowing you 129 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,000 to grow your faith. And I guarantee you there's a couple people here that don't 130 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,240 like that because you want to have control over all of it. Friend, the first 131 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:55,560 aspect of faith is realizing, recognizing, and repeating you aren't the one in 132 00:13:55,560 --> 00:14:01,960 control. God's the one that deepens your faith. As you grow closer to him, as you 133 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:07,800 learn from God's word, as you use your time, your talents, your treasures for 134 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:13,840 God's kingdom, he engages you in that. He grows you in that. Here is one of 135 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,880 probably three selfish plugs to take the spiritual gifts assessment on our 136 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:24,480 website. I want the right butts on the right seats on the right bus at the 137 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:30,440 church. It makes a church hum and work wonderfully when we're all in our gifted 138 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:36,520 areas. For those of you that have been in church in a while, maybe, and I'll speak to the 139 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:40,720 ones that have been in ministries that burned them, that they felt burned, 140 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,920 whether they left the church for a time or not or just stepped out of that 141 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,760 position, if you will, in the church, volunteer or otherwise, it's probably 142 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:53,880 because you were not working in your gifted area. Well, then a natural 143 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,800 question is, pastor, how do I know what my gifted area is? There are self 144 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:02,360 assessments to help you with that. And I love it and double down on it so much, I 145 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,880 want to meet with you after you take it. So then it's not just you thinking you 146 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,520 have to figure this all out on your own because you'll get a bunch of words and 147 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:15,680 a bunch of numbers attached to them. What does it mean? I can help you with that. 148 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:20,640 Again, it's not gospel truth. It's a tool to build in to the kingdom of God, 149 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:26,340 to self-assess, what am I doing for God? But this is not a works 150 00:15:26,340 --> 00:15:34,640 righteousness thing. This is because of faith, I then serve the book of James. 151 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,280 Well, pastor, are you saying that if you're not a believer, you can't take the 152 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:43,320 spiritual gifts inventory? Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. It makes 153 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,680 absolutely no sense. It's like me sitting down to take a doctor's exam. I have 154 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:56,520 absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I have zero depth of trying to figure that out. 155 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:02,280 But a believer, someone who has faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, has been given 156 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:07,480 gifts to serve the church. And here's the thing, we help each other out. We work 157 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:14,080 together. There's connectedness in the body of Christ. I know we don't all know 158 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,440 each other and I know there's new people coming all the time and that's fantastic, 159 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:23,080 but we are connected. The body of Christ is connected. Go to 1 Corinthians and 160 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:28,080 read that chapter. Just like a body has different parts that all work together 161 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,640 and I understand that as you get older, your body tends to forget that and that's 162 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,560 how we get hurt, but understand in the body of Christ, it is all connected, 163 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:44,360 verses 4 and 5. For as in one body, we have many members and the members do not 164 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:50,680 have all the same function. So we, though many, are one in the body of Christ and 165 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:58,480 individually members of one body or one another. We are all connected. One way 166 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:02,040 that that represents itself here at Munster is we don't do one person 167 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:08,280 ministries. We don't really allow for it. We want you to have a team because if 168 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,640 everything, the rise and fall of a ministry falls on your shoulders, what 169 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:17,000 happens when your shoulders can't hold that burden anymore? Normally you get 170 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:22,000 burned out. Normally the ministry ends and almost 20 years into it, those people 171 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:28,000 end up leaving that church. What a really foolish cycle to have in a church, 172 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:33,440 to base all of it on one set of shoulders. Well, then they're the one 173 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:39,400 called to this ministry that God's gonna give them what they need. Yeah, you're 174 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,760 exactly right. He's gonna give you a team. Why? Because about 17 different 175 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:50,040 verses that say we come together as a body to make it happen. Because if we're 176 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:54,680 gonna put all of it on one set of shoulders, that's us recognizing that God 177 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,840 gives all the gifts at top level to one person. And I don't believe that's true. 178 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,440 I don't think there's anything in the Bible that supports that claim, but that 179 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:09,000 we are inner connected. One of the cool ways I see this in the church is I'm the 180 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:15,880 only person that stays in his seat in the council room. We have three year 181 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:21,120 terms here at Munster. So we'll have cohesion, but every year we're losing, 182 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:25,720 you know, elders and deacons are termed out, new ones are, their lots are 183 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:32,200 cast, they come in. It is amazing to me, amazing in the good and sometimes 184 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:39,280 frustrating at the different council and diversity that we have in the room. 185 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:44,080 It's just, it's funny because we have individuals that are gifted with kind of 186 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,360 that head knowledge of running an organization, and that's fantastic. You 187 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:52,200 don't need that in a church. Then you also have elders and deacons that have 188 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,960 more heart gifts, more benevolent gifts that want to use the works of the church 189 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,160 to help and uplift people in their life, and that's awesome. And then you have 190 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:05,080 elders and deacons that are just scared of being in there, and they have to grow 191 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,640 to be comfortable with that. But what's amazing is when you have a council that 192 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:15,760 has majority head leaders compared to one that has more majority heart leaders. 193 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,560 In a perfect world, and what my prayer is every time we get ready to cast lots, 194 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:25,560 is that it would be a blend, that we would have the blending and diversity of 195 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:31,520 gifts because it's a beautiful picture we see in verse 6 through 8. Having gifts 196 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:37,400 that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them if prophecy in 197 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:43,160 proportion to our faith, if serving in our serving, the one who teaches in his 198 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,800 teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in 199 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:53,680 generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with 200 00:19:53,680 --> 00:20:03,040 cheerfulness. Leave that up there. All of you fit into those categories. 201 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:11,720 Yesterday, Karen, so this would be Irene Decker's, Irene Boonder Decker's daughter 202 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:18,640 in law gave the final eulogy of the kind of the family. And I liken that to when 203 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:23,360 Mary Dornbos, Archie Bazine's daughter gave the one here. I really didn't need 204 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,760 to come after that. Not just because they gave all the stories I was going to give, 205 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:32,440 because they preached. They gave the good news. They gave the gospel. 206 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:39,240 They used that platform to share Jesus, to watch those gifts in awe as a preacher 207 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:44,680 is awesome to watch. That they are exhorting over that funeral and given the 208 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:49,160 opportunity to point people to Jesus. They could have talked more about their mom or 209 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,960 their dad given the situation and they did, but they pointed people to Jesus. 210 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:59,200 They were clearly using their gifts. And I remember when I said to Mary, I said, 211 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,720 Mary, that was fantastic. She goes, well, I learned from the best. And I was like, 212 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:10,800 Ellie. And she laughed just like a third of you did. The rest of you didn't get it. 213 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:15,720 Archie was the preacher. Ellie was, anyway, it doesn't matter. But then I went up to 214 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,960 Karen yesterday and she goes, that was God teaching me to home school my kids and 215 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:25,000 using that voice. Isn't it funny how God uses other aspects of our life, 216 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,560 the diversity of things we're going to do to uphold the church? Now, 217 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,360 that doesn't mean all of our school teachers need to be teaching in Sunday school. 218 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:37,920 Because I also know that you do that every day. You may not want to do that on 219 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:43,520 Sunday. I get it. But if you actually look at a lot of our Sunday school teachers, 220 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,400 a lot of them have that experience one way or the other. Teaching in some 221 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:53,120 different kind of field or being in a field that is caring and understanding the 222 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:59,000 giftings. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. There's not only diversity in our 223 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:06,240 gifts, but it's a sovereign design. It's a design of a creator. It's a beautiful 224 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:11,680 thing. And here, because of that, you don't need to have all the gifts. You don't 225 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:16,920 want the burden of having all the gifts. Because what is the expectation? If you 226 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:25,840 have gifts, you're going to use them. Right? Hide it under a bushel? No. That is 227 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:30,120 our time, giving time to come to worship, giving time to be a part of what the 228 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:35,040 kingdom is doing, not only here, but in other ministries in our area or overseas. 229 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:40,880 Giving the talents, hide my talents under the bushel? No. I'm going to let them be 230 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:45,960 used. Taking that step of faith, it's something we pray every summer. We're 231 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:51,320 still looking for youth leaders to use those talents. Again, I love what Daniel 232 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,520 said months ago. You don't have to be interesting. You just have to be 233 00:22:54,520 --> 00:23:01,840 interested. And our youth are going to care. They're going to eat that up. 234 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,320 Because let's be honest, Rachel, I'm going to ask you, if you have an adult come 235 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,000 that's trying to act, imagine me coming to youth group, right, because that's 236 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:17,280 something I would try to do, what are you taking from that? What? That they're 237 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:21,080 trying too hard, right? That they're trying too hard. The kids don't want that, 238 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,080 right? They're no, be genuine. Come and just be yourself. Because isn't that what 239 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,480 you can show one of our young people? What it means just to be an adult of 240 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,880 faith? Why? Because in a couple years, they're going to be there. That's using 241 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:39,840 our talents. So how do we offer those? How do we pivot? We've talked about it. 242 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:44,840 We see that these gifts are being utilized. How do we offer our strengths 243 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:50,160 and our talents? I just broke it down to four. That we recognize your talents are 244 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:55,400 God given. Go back, Cheryl. We can recognize that our talents are God 245 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:00,640 given. And the reason why we do that is so that our head can fit in the 246 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:07,760 sanctuary. If we think we're God's gift to whatever, understand you're not. Sorry 247 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,320 to pop that bubble. That bubble should have been popped long ago, right? You're 248 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,800 not the guru. I'm not the guru of preaching, right? You don't need to be. You 249 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:20,600 just need to use them. Be good stewards of your gifts. You have the gift, use it. 250 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:24,360 That we need to recognize first and foremost our talents are God given. 251 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:34,280 Second, we need to offer our talents as worship. What does that mean? I'd love, I 252 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:39,560 will ask, but I can leave it rhetorical. I don't know how many of us prepare 253 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:44,920 ourselves to come on a Sunday morning outside of getting dressed. I don't know 254 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:49,720 how many, because being a pastor of a church I don't have that vantage 255 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:55,680 point, but for the average Joe Jane churchgoer that we come to worship, maybe 256 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,400 we're thinking about it. Maybe we're going, man, I hope they play more hymns. Or, 257 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,280 oh man, hopefully we do this Christmas song. Or, man, I hope the 258 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,920 decorating committee did a good job. Maybe that's how we prepare. And if that 259 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:13,280 is, please stop. That's not helpful. But understand that we should be preparing 260 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:19,960 to come. And if I had to guess, 75% of you don't really give it a second 261 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,600 thought. And as your pastor, I'm totally fine with that. That you come and you 262 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:30,160 want to be present and you worship. We learn. We try not to fall asleep and then 263 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,320 we leave. That is your typical Sunday. I get it. I'm here. I see you, especially 264 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:41,160 those that are sleeping. But understand that we are here to offer our talents. 265 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:48,640 This is an action word. Offering is a verb. So I can say with kind of biblical 266 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:55,480 clarity, if you're not using your gifts, you probably want to rethink that. Now, 267 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,480 some of you are going to come to me and say, Jim, I was a Sunday school teacher 268 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:07,520 longer than you've been alive. Great. And if you need a break, that's fine. 269 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:12,560 But if you think you're done, that's a different story. Because these gifts are 270 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:18,360 given to the church for as long as you are in the church. Because our sister, 271 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:21,640 Jeri Phillips, isn't offering your gifts anymore because she is receiving her 272 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:27,360 reward in glory. I don't know what to do as a Christian. I don't know how to live 273 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:33,480 out my faith. Yeah, you do. You have gifts. Use them. Offer them as you do your 274 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:39,600 worship to God every Sunday. And then more practically, sacrificially serving 275 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:44,800 your community. If the only time you ever use your gifts is when you're here on a 276 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:51,120 Sunday morning, I know not all of you have the gift of singing. So you're 277 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:56,000 offering it as a joyful noise. Fantastic. But your gifts are somewhere else too. 278 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,720 We should be using them somewhere else. Not only in the church, but in the 279 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,680 kingdom work all around. Whether that's the school you're a part of, maybe the 280 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,760 groups that you are a part of, that we are called to bring our gifts to those 281 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:16,280 even. And then finally, why we do it is to build up the body of Christ. To build 282 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:22,520 up the body of Christ. That that is part of your job and my job. It's easy to say 283 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:28,000 it's part of my job because this is my livelihood. But it's all of us. I have 284 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,240 absolutely no problem being the lead. That's why you call me the lead pastor. 285 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:37,880 But understand, you guys aren't paying me to go on this journey by myself. That we 286 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,520 are called to do this together as the community of faith. And I see 287 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:48,320 generations of that in the sanctuary today. People that have been using their 288 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:53,880 gifts longer than I've been alive. Fantastic. Well done. That is the mark of 289 00:27:53,880 --> 00:28:00,200 a healthy church. That Paul emphasizes the diversity of gifts and encourages 290 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:07,320 unity and mutual edification. Whether it's saying, man Randy, you put that 291 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:13,800 cheese on that plate as an artist. Build up the body. You got claps. I don't know 292 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:20,720 if anyone's ever gotten claps for cheese laying. Or if I look at Nancy and Larry 293 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,120 and how how many of you drink the coffee here? I know a lot more of you do since 294 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,520 we switched. But understand all that's made possible because of Nancy and Larry 295 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:35,720 and their team. That Larry stays up nights when he knows we're running low 296 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,800 on that coffee you all like. He's taking that burden because I'm not gonna take 297 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,960 it. But understand you don't have to worry about it. We're gonna always have 298 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,960 coffee here. I am so sorry I just said that out loud because the day we don't 299 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:54,520 they're gonna blame you. And understand that we build up the body. We recognize. 300 00:28:54,520 --> 00:29:01,040 We recognize the team that put on, albeit the longest children's program we ever 301 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:08,120 had, but one of the best that I've seen. All these kids, you know how much work 302 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:14,720 that takes because they're your kids. And the team that was here making sure from 303 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:20,360 some of our junior hires helping out through our adults. We build up the body 304 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:25,360 of Christ. We acknowledge the body of Christ. It's one reason why I close the 305 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:30,000 offices during Christmas and New Year's. To give our staff a break. Because 306 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,520 whether you know it or not, Advent's a kind of a busy time for the church and 307 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:38,760 its volunteers and its staff. We build up the body of Christ. So my challenge 308 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:45,160 today as I land the plane, how are you building up the body of Christ? Take a 309 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:51,480 self-assessment because, and this may sting so please offer me grace, some of 310 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,440 you may find yourself in more of tearing down the body of Christ than building it 311 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:06,240 up. Let that hang for a minute. That some of us actually use our giftings to tear 312 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:10,800 down the body of Christ through contentiousness, through divisiveness, 313 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:16,880 through causing drama. Now it's all, it's gonna happen. We're sinful and we're 314 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:21,520 human beings. And sometimes we kind of do this. Even though the church should look 315 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,400 like this, let's be honest, it's not always gonna be like that. But if we can 316 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,800 say we're building up more than we're tearing down, I think that's a good thing. 317 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,280 But maybe you're in a season right now where you're bitter or angry about the 318 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:38,080 church or about your giftings or something that happened. Please let's sit 319 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:44,440 down and work through that because you've been gifted for this purpose. Let 320 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:49,440 us use those giftings. Even if it's a new one, even if it's your first time 321 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:54,560 using the gifts. Absolutely, right? I don't know what the equivalent of training 322 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:59,160 wheels is when it comes to church gifts but we'll figure it out. That's why we 323 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,280 don't put it on just one person. That's why we have a team base so we can build up 324 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:11,560 together. So my challenge as I close, go back one more Cheryl, challenge as I 325 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:16,840 close, this Advent, how are you using your strength and your talents for 326 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:24,720 God's kingdom? One thing we, Cheryl's doing a great job. This is her first time 327 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:30,240 solo on the slides. That builds up the body of Christ. You can clap for her, go ahead. 328 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:38,880 Clap for her. That's fantastic. Trying to follow me, that's not easy. So you didn't 329 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,560 have to laugh that hard over there. Good night. But this Advent, how are you using 330 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:48,480 your meod? How are you using your strengths and talents for God's kingdom? 331 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:53,480 And my encouragement as we're over halfway done, my encouragement for this 332 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:59,800 Advent is like the Magi who brought myrrh, offer your gifts sacrificially. 333 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:05,280 Meaning you don't know what the return is gonna be. You're just gonna use it. 334 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:10,520 Well I thought my giftings were for teaching but they put me in pre-k and I 335 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:15,680 can't stand them. I love them but I can't stand them. Then maybe we find a 336 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:22,080 different age group. We'll put you in the nursery. Just kidding. But understand that 337 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:26,840 when we use our gifts sacrificially, it doesn't mean we're trying to count the 338 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:33,360 return. Well I was in first grade this year and none of my kids came to know 339 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:39,400 Jesus. I'm a failure. No you're not. You're planting the seeds. Maybe they'll 340 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,960 get it in second grade. Maybe they won't. But when we offer our gifts 341 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:48,440 sacrificially, I'll give you a little vulnerability from my end. There 342 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:53,560 are some sermons when I'm walking down the center aisle as I'm done, Satan just 343 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:58,920 throws that arrow right as I get to the back and the thought is, Lord hopefully 344 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:02,960 you can make sense of whatever mess that was. It's a legit thought that I've had. 345 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,600 And it's usually those sermons where I have someone that comes up to me and 346 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:13,120 says, were you in my week? You were talking directly to me. And there are 347 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:18,880 days I go, yeah there may be 251 but it landed on one. I'm good. But that's, I 348 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:23,720 can't worry about it all the time. I got to study. I got to do my thing. But 349 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:28,400 understand as we offer our gifts sacrificially, we're not counting the 350 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:34,800 cost all the time. And why not? Because if Jesus counted the cost of his 351 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:40,160 sacrifice for us, do you think he would have done it? You think he would have 352 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:47,240 gone through the agony and the pain? He did it out of love for us so we do this 353 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:52,400 out of love for him. So like the Magi who brought Mir, offer your gifts 354 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:59,920 sacrificially, trusting God to use them for his glory. And we're going to talk 355 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:13,920 about that final gift next week. Let's pray.