WEBVTT 00:00:04.839 --> 00:00:07.339 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:10.519 Sermons. This week we are continuing our teaching 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:12.699 series Growing Season, where we are going back 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:15.080 to the farm to learn what the farm has to teach 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.160 us about faith. And today is all about tractors, 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:21.179 those big machines that power the farm, that 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:23.019 do all of the work, the plowing, the planting, 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.280 the cultivating, the hauling, and so much more. 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:29.219 But what do tractors have to teach us about our 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:36.689 spiritual gifts? Just like the Spirit has specific 00:00:36.689 --> 00:00:40.390 jobs for us to do. That's what Rob is going to 00:00:40.390 --> 00:00:47.270 unpack for us in today's sermon. 1 Corinthians 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:54.350 chapter 12, verses 4 to 14. There are different 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:59.890 kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:03.189 them. There are different kinds of service, but 00:01:03.189 --> 00:01:06.299 the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:10.140 but in all of them and in everyone, it is the 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:16.680 same God at work. Now, to each one, the manifestation 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:20.939 of the Spirit is given for the common good. To 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:23.540 one, there is given through the Spirit a message 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:28.180 of wisdom. To another, a message of knowledge 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:33.010 by means of the same Spirit. to another faith 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:37.670 by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing 00:01:37.670 --> 00:01:42.849 by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, 00:01:43.329 --> 00:01:46.590 to another prophecy, to another distinguishing 00:01:46.590 --> 00:01:50.010 between Spirits, to another speaking different 00:01:50.010 --> 00:01:53.730 kinds of tongues, and still to another the interpretation 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:59.230 of tongues. All these are the works of one and 00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:02.609 the same Spirit. He distributes them to each 00:02:02.609 --> 00:02:07.310 one just as he determines. The word of the Lord. 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:11.509 We are continuing our summer teaching series, 00:02:11.710 --> 00:02:14.949 which we are calling Growing Season. Growing 00:02:14.949 --> 00:02:18.469 Season. And what we're trying to do is figure 00:02:18.469 --> 00:02:20.590 out what's the connection between farming and 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:22.610 faith, between agriculture and spirituality. 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:25.830 You see, the Bible was written thousands of years 00:02:25.830 --> 00:02:28.189 ago, and it was written mostly to people who 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:31.409 were farmers, which is why when you read the 00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:34.150 Bible, you see so many stories about, you know, 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:38.360 farms and fields, about seeds and soils. and 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:41.379 farmers, and so on and so forth. But I brought 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:43.919 a little tool with me today that I wanted to 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:47.759 kind of show off to you. And this is a, anyone 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:50.360 know what this is called? A scythe, that's right. 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:54.120 It's a scythe. And you might think, oh, the Grim 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:58.520 Reaper is here. The bell tolls for thee. Or you 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:00.759 may be thinking, Rob should not be handling that 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.930 thing in public. But the point is, a scythe is 00:03:03.930 --> 00:03:06.150 an amazing tool that you would use to kind of 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:10.750 cut down hay or brush or grain. And you just 00:03:10.750 --> 00:03:13.270 keep sweeping it and sweeping it and sweeping. 00:03:13.389 --> 00:03:16.689 It's got a very sharp blade, a couple of handles. 00:03:16.870 --> 00:03:19.270 The amazing thing about a scythe is, you know, 00:03:19.289 --> 00:03:23.650 no batteries, no motor. All you need is a handle. 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:26.930 All you need is a, you know, a sharp blade and 00:03:26.930 --> 00:03:30.370 then, you know, some strong arms that can wield 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:34.110 it. It works really well. It works really well 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:37.710 up to a point. right if you had you know maybe 00:03:37.710 --> 00:03:40.409 a little patch of hay that you wanted to take 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:43.229 down it's the perfect thing if you had a little 00:03:43.229 --> 00:03:45.949 patch of weeds you wanted to clean up it's the 00:03:45.949 --> 00:03:50.150 it's the perfect thing but if you had acres and 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:53.430 acres and acres of hay that you were dealing 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:57.629 with well this is not the tool that you want 00:03:57.629 --> 00:04:00.889 that would be absolutely exhausting and back 00:04:00.889 --> 00:04:05.819 breaking work there is a limit to what human 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:11.300 effort can accomplish on a farm. And that's when 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:15.520 we come to the tractor, right? The tractor changed 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:19.459 everything on a farm. Whether it was the very 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:22.980 first like steam. powered tractors of yesteryear 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:26.079 or the gigantic diesel -powered monsters today. 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:32.339 A tractor brought new power to farm work, right? 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.980 Like farmers, all of a sudden, they weren't limited 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:38.459 by what their own arms could do or what their 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:40.579 own backs could do or what their own shoulders 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:44.100 could do. Now they had this source of power that 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:48.339 could pull and lift and haul and move and mow 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:51.500 and cultivate in ways that... that they could 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:54.220 never have managed on their own with their own 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.699 two hands. Now, on the farm that I grew up on, 00:04:57.800 --> 00:04:59.939 I can remember distinctly during my childhood 00:04:59.939 --> 00:05:03.139 three particular tractors that were very important 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:06.720 to us. First was the International 484. This 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.199 was a 50 -horsepower tractor, and we used it 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:15.040 mostly to run around wagons filled with hay or 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.720 maybe to mow the fields. That was the very first 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:19.939 vehicle, the very first vehicle I ever used. 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:23.620 ever drove as a, you know, 14 year old down the 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:27.100 concession six in Fisherville, Ontario. The second 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:31.779 tractor that I remember well was the Kubota 5040, 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.040 5030. It was a, it was a, had a front end loader 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:38.939 on it. And that meant that we used that when 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:41.319 we had to clean out our manure pit or anything 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.120 on the farm that needed lifting, got lifted with 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:46.019 the Kubota. It was also about 50 horsepower. 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:48.680 And then of course we had a slightly larger. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.939 tractor, and that was the John Deere 2750. This 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:58.699 was a 75 horsepower tractor, and it could do 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:01.740 some of the heavier work like plowing, cultivating 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:05.519 the fields, or pulling like the baler plus the 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.740 wagon behind the baler. And here's the thing 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:15.459 about tractors. Power changes what is possible. 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:20.550 I mean, yes, a scythe can cut, right? But a mower 00:06:20.550 --> 00:06:25.290 hooked to a tractor can cut down a whole field 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:28.810 in a fraction of the time. A shovel, yes, can 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:31.670 move a bit of dirt, but a front -end loader can 00:06:31.670 --> 00:06:35.750 move a mountain of it. And a person, you know, 00:06:35.769 --> 00:06:37.970 can carry a hay bale. And maybe if you're really 00:06:37.970 --> 00:06:41.269 good, you can carry one in each hand. But a tractor 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:44.910 can pull a wagon at road speed, stacked with 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:49.040 200 hay bales in it. So this morning, that's 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.379 what I want to talk about. I want to talk about 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.899 power. But I don't just want to talk about power 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:58.439 as it shows up on the farm. I want to talk about 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:04.379 power as it shows up in your life. Because many 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:08.819 of us go through life with the equivalent of 00:07:08.819 --> 00:07:13.180 a scythe in our hands, right? We do everything. 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:17.579 With our own strength. It all depends on us. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.639 It's all about our effort. And I would say that 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:24.800 even Christians are guilty of this too. We serve 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.180 God, but we want to serve God completely with 00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:31.399 our own power and our own might and our own ability. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.670 And for a while, for a while, that might... even 00:07:34.670 --> 00:07:38.610 work if we keep swinging and swinging and swinging 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:42.110 the scythe long enough but eventually eventually 00:07:42.110 --> 00:07:45.670 we're going to get tired and we're going to discover 00:07:45.670 --> 00:07:49.329 that human effort is not enough to get through 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:53.910 life is not enough no our life was never meant 00:07:53.910 --> 00:07:58.990 to run on human strength alone specifically the 00:07:58.990 --> 00:08:02.519 christian life is meant to have a whole different 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:07.040 power source. And that power source is what we 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:12.060 call the Holy Spirit. And for that matter, I 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:14.920 should say this, the church is also supposed 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:18.209 to be powered. Not by our own strength or ingenuity, 00:08:18.250 --> 00:08:21.410 but by the Holy Spirit. And churches can also 00:08:21.410 --> 00:08:23.449 become really good at just swinging the side 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:25.910 over and over again. We work hard. We plan hard. 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:29.209 We try hard. And that is okay. That is okay. 00:08:29.310 --> 00:08:32.049 Because faithfulness and effort definitely has 00:08:32.049 --> 00:08:36.610 its place. But God has called us to work in a 00:08:36.610 --> 00:08:40.029 different way. As Zechariah said, not by might, 00:08:40.049 --> 00:08:46.759 nor by power, but by my spirit. says the Lord. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.039 Without the Holy Spirit in our lives, life... 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:56.460 and ministry becomes completely exhausting performance. 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.360 But with the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit, 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.740 ordinary people are empowered to do the work 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:06.379 of God in amazing ways they could never do on 00:09:06.379 --> 00:09:08.980 their own. So today, I want to ask a couple questions. 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:12.879 How does the Holy Spirit help us? And what does 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:15.700 this have to do with tractors? That's what we're 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:17.179 going to talk about. I've given you a few little 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:18.879 teaching notes. If you want to follow along, 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:21.809 I'd encourage you to do so. And I want to get 00:09:21.809 --> 00:09:26.610 started by talking about getting stuck and getting 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:30.269 unstuck. This is a good place to start because 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:32.549 I would say that from time to time, all of us 00:09:32.549 --> 00:09:36.980 get stuck in life. And it's in those moments 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:40.259 in life that we need a bit of power to help us 00:09:40.259 --> 00:09:43.940 get going again. I can remember a number of years 00:09:43.940 --> 00:09:46.879 ago, it was winter, and one of our neighbors 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.440 drove into our driveway to buy some eggs. We 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.659 used to sell eggs at the farm gate. And this 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:57.519 neighbor was driving. A Tesla. It was one of 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.320 the very first Teslas I had ever seen. I think 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:02.200 the year was like 2014 or something like that. 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.100 And it was a beautiful car. It was sleek. It 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:08.299 was silent. It was high, high tech. And it immediately 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:13.399 got stuck in about three inches of snow on our 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:18.179 driveway. And this impressive high tech car was 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:20.919 stuck and could not get itself out. So what did 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.419 we do? We got out the tractor and we got out 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:27.169 a chain. we hooked it up to that dainty little 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:30.289 Tesla, and we pulled it all the way back to the 00:10:30.289 --> 00:10:33.690 road with his eggs in hand, right? That is a 00:10:33.690 --> 00:10:36.690 pretty good picture of what happens in the Christian 00:10:36.690 --> 00:10:40.009 life when we try to run on our own power. Oh, 00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:42.090 we can look impressive. We've got our degrees 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:44.490 on our wall. We've got our sparkling personalities. 00:10:44.809 --> 00:10:46.669 We've got all this experience. But sooner or 00:10:46.669 --> 00:10:51.409 later, we get stuck. We get stuck in bad habits. 00:10:51.529 --> 00:10:55.179 We get stuck in... Bad relationships. We get 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:59.480 stuck in sins that are deeply entrenched in us 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:03.299 and we can't break free from them. And yeah, 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:06.019 we try harder and harder and we spin our wheels 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:09.139 a bit, but it just keeps digging ourselves deeper 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.379 and deeper and deeper. The hardest part, I think, 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:15.399 of being stuck is admitting that you're stuck 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:19.120 because we think of, you know, asking for help. 00:11:20.029 --> 00:11:23.470 as, you know, something that is a sign of weakness, 00:11:23.769 --> 00:11:27.750 right? But actually, it's not a sign of failure. 00:11:27.970 --> 00:11:31.889 For Christians, asking for help is a sign of 00:11:31.889 --> 00:11:35.690 faith. It's that moment where we stop spinning 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:37.509 our wheels and we turn to God and we say, God, 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:40.070 I can't do this. I can't do this on my own. Holy 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:44.070 Spirit, come and give me some power. I don't 00:11:44.070 --> 00:11:48.379 have enough power. You know, Jesus once said, 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:50.399 I think I have it up there. Yeah, Jesus once 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:56.820 said, apart from me, you can do nothing. Now, 00:11:56.860 --> 00:11:59.360 that's not supposed to make you feel weak and 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.200 useless. Like, oh, I guess I can't do anything 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:02.879 by myself. No, it's actually supposed to give 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.200 you hope. Supposed to give you hope that no matter 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:09.539 how you're stuck in life right now, the spirit 00:12:09.539 --> 00:12:13.580 of Jesus is there. help you so for that reason 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:19.799 spiritual power begins where self -reliance ends 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:23.179 when we finally surrender our own attempts and 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:25.799 our own efforts and we rely on the power of God 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:29.360 instead and this is a lesson I think we all need 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.879 to learn This is a lesson I need to learn. This 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:33.799 is a lesson, actually, that the whole church 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.460 needs to learn because that church can also be 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:41.080 like a noisy vehicle revving its engine, going, 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.200 going, going, but actually not moving anywhere 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.960 in the power of the Spirit, right? And so there 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:51.500 is this thing we often encounter that we're stuck. 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:54.879 Is there a place in your life where you could 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.000 even admit this morning, you know, I am stuck? 00:12:57.659 --> 00:12:59.600 And I don't know how to get out. Whether it's 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:03.139 our lives or whether it's our church, guys, the 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.360 Holy Spirit is there to help us in our time of 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:10.039 need. There is power there to get unstuck. So 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:14.000 that's how it starts, right? The Holy Spirit 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:16.639 helps us get unstuck. But secondly, the Holy 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.559 Spirit's work involves cleaning out the muck 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:23.639 in our lives as well. You know, on our farm, 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.899 we had a manure pit, which you already heard 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:29.539 about. And what actually as gross as it sounds, 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:32.879 one of the most fun jobs I can remember was cleaning 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.500 out the manure pit because you got to take the 00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:37.179 Kubota. And what you would do is you would back 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:39.879 it up from the pile and then you would lower 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:43.480 the bucket down just to, you know, so it's skimming 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.000 the surface. And then you would gun it and you 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.019 would run forward and you would jam the bucket 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:51.220 right into the bottom of the manure pile. And 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.299 then you'd kind of jimmy the hydraulics and you 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:56.080 would lift up this ginormous bucket of poop. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.299 and you would drop it into the loader, and then 00:13:59.299 --> 00:14:01.399 off it would go to be spread into the field. 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.340 And when the job was finished, I have to tell 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:07.980 you, there was just something really, truly satisfying 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:14.899 to see all that mess gone. This also is part 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:18.519 of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 00:14:19.309 --> 00:14:22.730 Yes, it's true. The Holy Spirit is given to us 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:25.129 to empower us to go and do all sorts of great 00:14:25.129 --> 00:14:27.710 work in the world. But often where the Spirit 00:14:27.710 --> 00:14:31.289 starts is by doing a really important work right 00:14:31.289 --> 00:14:34.990 inside of us. And that is cleaning out the muck 00:14:34.990 --> 00:14:40.409 in our hearts. And he'll do that work often before 00:14:40.409 --> 00:14:45.039 he empowers us for the work in the world. In 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.639 fact, Jesus said this was one of the reasons 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.279 why the Holy Spirit was going to come. Jesus 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:51.559 said when the Spirit comes, he will convict the 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:56.519 world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. 00:14:57.100 --> 00:15:01.159 So the Spirit comes to us and convicts us of 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:04.379 sin. He brings truth into places where we have 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:08.519 been hiding stuff and exposes resentment. and 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:13.179 pride, and envy, and lust, and anger, and greed. 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:17.019 And he shows us all the manure that is piled 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:19.379 up in our hearts. And the reason the Holy Spirit 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:22.220 does that is not to make us feel miserable about 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:25.820 ourselves, not to condemn us, but to ultimately 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:29.190 clean us. Because let's face it, the muck in 00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:32.110 our lives doesn't disappear just by pretending 00:15:32.110 --> 00:15:34.889 that it's not there. It has to be brought into 00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:37.529 the light. It has to be lifted up. It has to 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:41.210 be confessed. And then it has to be carried away. 00:15:41.590 --> 00:15:44.870 And that is often how the Holy Spirit works. 00:15:45.450 --> 00:15:50.129 Before he works through us, he works within us. 00:15:50.590 --> 00:15:53.909 And I know sometimes we want the power of the 00:15:53.909 --> 00:15:57.490 Spirit without the cleansing. of the Spirit. 00:15:57.649 --> 00:15:59.970 You know, we want to get the tractor moving and 00:15:59.970 --> 00:16:01.850 going and do something fun and exciting, but 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:03.870 we don't actually want to clean out the manure 00:16:03.870 --> 00:16:08.049 pit first. But the Holy Spirit loves us way too 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:12.110 much to leave the muck of our lives sitting in 00:16:12.110 --> 00:16:14.450 there. In fact, in our reading this morning, 00:16:15.370 --> 00:16:18.450 Paul, he was writing to this church, and this 00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:21.590 church had so many gifts, so many powerful gifts 00:16:21.590 --> 00:16:24.750 of the Spirit there, but there were also plenty 00:16:24.750 --> 00:16:27.799 of muck. And he goes on and on about all the 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.179 powerful gifts that they have. But then he also 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:33.440 mentions jealousy. And he mentions quarreling 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:37.059 that exists among them. And so while the Holy 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:39.860 Spirit gave gifts and power to these people, 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:43.840 the Spirit must also clean the hearts of God's 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:47.179 people. And I would say here at Trinity, man, 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:50.840 oh man, God has given us... So many gifts, gifts 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:53.960 for music and hospitality and prayer, gifts for 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.759 children and youth and young adults, gifts for 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.759 alpha or camp, gifts for outreach, gifts for 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:03.100 care, gifts for leadership, gifts for generosity. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:08.720 But even good gifts can be mixed up with muck. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:13.440 And a gift. that say is mixed up with pride, 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:16.880 can have that person start to say that, oh, this 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:19.839 ministry would fall apart without me. Or a great 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.720 gift that is mixed up with comparison will have 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:24.599 a person saying, well, why do they get recognized 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:27.880 and I don't? Or a great gift that is mixed up 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:31.119 with resentment turns that work, which should 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.259 be life -giving, into something that is heavy 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.710 and joyless. So that is why the Spirit doesn't 00:17:36.710 --> 00:17:39.170 just give gifts, give gifts, give gifts to the 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:42.710 church. The Spirit also keeps mucking out the 00:17:42.710 --> 00:17:46.490 church, convicting us, cleansing us, and renewing 00:17:46.490 --> 00:17:50.769 us. So here we go. The Spirit's power can get 00:17:50.769 --> 00:17:53.740 us unstuck and get us moving again in life. The 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:56.920 Spirit's power can muck out the manure in our 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.839 hearts, but of course, of course, this is the 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.279 fun part, when we end up connecting and being 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.759 filled with the Holy Spirit and hitching ourselves 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:09.019 up to the power of the Spirit, then all sorts 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:13.339 of amazing work begins to happen. Now, I don't 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:15.140 know, if you didn't grow up around tractors, 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:17.839 then you may not use the word implement very 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.930 much. But an implement is a piece of equipment 00:18:21.930 --> 00:18:25.150 that gets hooked on to the back of a tractor. 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:27.690 And usually it connects to the hitch of the tractor, 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:31.289 but it also usually connects to that power takeoff 00:18:31.289 --> 00:18:34.210 shaft, that PTO shaft that my dad was talking 00:18:34.210 --> 00:18:37.150 about. And when you hook up implements, the different 00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:40.769 implements will do different things, right? So 00:18:40.769 --> 00:18:43.289 one implement will break up the ground. Another 00:18:43.289 --> 00:18:45.049 implement will smooth the ground and prepare 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:48.589 the soil. Another implement plants seeds into 00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:50.940 the ground. ground a manure spreader spreads 00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:54.680 fertilizer a baler gathers hay and you know condenses 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:58.200 it into bales right the tractor provides the 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:02.319 power yes but the implements are all different 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:07.160 and in some way to think about it is it's different 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:11.380 ways of transforming the power for different 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:14.269 and particular purposes And that is a really 00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:16.750 helpful way to think about how spiritual gifts 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:20.430 work in our lives. Paul makes it clear. You heard 00:19:20.430 --> 00:19:22.869 Bruce read. Paul makes it clear. Not everyone 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:26.150 has the same gift. Not everyone does the same 00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:28.990 kind of work. We're all different implements, 00:19:29.150 --> 00:19:34.329 if you will. Right? But the same spirit is powering 00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:38.029 each of us. Some people teach. Some people encourage. 00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:40.910 Some people organize. Some lead. But they do 00:19:40.910 --> 00:19:44.490 it all by... The power of the same spirit, right? 00:19:44.569 --> 00:19:47.329 Some care for the suffering. Some work beautifully 00:19:47.329 --> 00:19:49.990 with children. Some work with youth. Some are 00:19:49.990 --> 00:19:53.880 gifted with hospitality. Some people here aren't 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.059 even 100 % sure what their gift is even. Maybe 00:19:58.059 --> 00:19:59.839 they haven't even fully discovered that yet. 00:19:59.940 --> 00:20:02.299 But we're all implements. We're all implements. 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:06.460 We're all created to do God's work. Not necessarily 00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:09.960 the same work, but we're all powered by the same 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:14.599 spirit. Paul says to each, to each is given the 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.299 manifestation of the spirit for the common good. 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.380 To each, not to a few, not to the professionals, 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:22.420 not to the clergy, not to... to the staff, not 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:27.480 just to the extroverts, to each. And why does 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:31.119 God do it that way? Why does he give gifts to 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:35.259 each person? It's for the common good, for the 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:38.220 common good, which means that though not everyone 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:45.200 has the same gift, everyone is needed. Your gifts 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.559 aren't just for you, right? But they're for the 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:53.980 common good. to become a spiritual implement 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:58.079 connected to God is not just about finding your 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.299 passion or finding your place or finding your 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:03.200 sense of fulfillment. Those things may indeed 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.539 come to you, but they are not the point. The 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:09.019 point is that the Spirit gives gifts so that 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:14.480 the whole body can be built up. You know, a plow 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:19.059 is not offended that... it's not a baler or a 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:22.940 wagon is not jealous of a planter and a cultivator 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:24.759 doesn't say, well, why don't I get to do the 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.720 mowing? I want to do the mowing. No, each one 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.539 has its own work, right? Each one has its own 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:32.380 place and it's powered and it's pulled maybe 00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:35.700 by the very same tractor. And each one matters 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:38.180 because it plays an instrumental role in the 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:40.660 purposes of the farm. And that is exactly how 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:44.079 it works with us. Every gift in this room matters 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:48.130 because every gift serves the body. And every 00:21:48.130 --> 00:21:50.549 one of those gifts is powered by the same Holy 00:21:50.549 --> 00:21:52.829 Spirit. Now, again, you could be sitting here 00:21:52.829 --> 00:21:55.630 this morning and saying, I am unfamiliar with 00:21:55.630 --> 00:21:57.769 this language. I don't know what a spiritual 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:01.569 gift is. I don't know what I've been created, 00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:04.289 what unique work I've been created to do. And 00:22:04.289 --> 00:22:08.170 that is okay. Because most people don't discover 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:10.829 their gifts by sitting there listening to a sermon, 00:22:10.910 --> 00:22:12.930 trying to figure it out. No, we usually discover 00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:17.410 our gifts as we hitch up to God. And we start 00:22:17.410 --> 00:22:20.390 serving. We figure out what our gifts are when 00:22:20.390 --> 00:22:23.509 we pay attention to see where our work is especially 00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:27.150 fruitful and blessing other people. And we discover 00:22:27.150 --> 00:22:30.490 our gifts when other members of the church body 00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:34.049 start to recognize in us things that we're doing 00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:38.230 in especially powerful ways. So like I said, 00:22:38.329 --> 00:22:41.410 sometimes you just discover your gift by trying 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:45.859 something. Sometimes you don't know what an implement's 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:47.740 going to do until you get it out to the field 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:49.779 and hitched up and going. And so if you're not 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:52.460 sure what your gift is, I would say, you know, 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:57.259 serve, right? Try something, you know. And then 00:22:57.259 --> 00:23:00.839 listen to what others are saying. You know, someone 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:03.359 might say to you, you know, you have a real gift 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:06.730 for making people feel welcome. Or you explain 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:09.750 things in a way that just helps people understand. 00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:13.950 Or you just bring calm into stressful situations. 00:23:14.089 --> 00:23:16.990 Or when you pray, it really, really comforts 00:23:16.990 --> 00:23:22.089 people. To each one is given a manifestation 00:23:22.089 --> 00:23:25.670 of the Spirit for the common good. And that includes 00:23:25.670 --> 00:23:30.849 you and me. But here's the thing about those 00:23:30.849 --> 00:23:34.210 implements. They only work when they're connected. 00:23:35.049 --> 00:23:38.049 An implement can be beautifully designed, it 00:23:38.049 --> 00:23:41.769 can be strong and sharp and perfectly suited 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:43.809 for a job, but if it's just sitting there in 00:23:43.809 --> 00:23:46.589 the garage, it is not doing anything. You saw 00:23:46.589 --> 00:23:48.950 in the video how my dad and I were walking around 00:23:48.950 --> 00:23:54.490 this machinery lot full of all these big, shiny 00:23:54.490 --> 00:23:57.309 implements with great big price tags on them, 00:23:57.390 --> 00:24:00.670 but none of them was doing anything. None of 00:24:00.670 --> 00:24:05.210 them were actually connected and in use. If an 00:24:05.210 --> 00:24:08.789 implement isn't connected to the tractor, then 00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:12.450 the tractor just drives away and leaves the implement 00:24:12.450 --> 00:24:15.470 behind. The tractor may have power, but again, 00:24:15.609 --> 00:24:18.049 if there's no connection between the tractor 00:24:18.049 --> 00:24:21.490 and the implement, that power does not have any 00:24:21.490 --> 00:24:25.910 purpose. The power can't be transferred unless 00:24:25.910 --> 00:24:29.829 there's a connection. The same. It's true in 00:24:29.829 --> 00:24:34.950 the Christian life. Spiritual gifts only do good 00:24:34.950 --> 00:24:39.789 work when we stay connected to the source of 00:24:39.789 --> 00:24:43.490 the power. The spiritual gift that is disconnected 00:24:43.490 --> 00:24:48.329 from Jesus Christ just becomes a big ego or performance 00:24:48.329 --> 00:24:53.619 or exhaustion. But a spiritual gift that is connected 00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:57.460 to Christ becomes service. It becomes a blessing 00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:00.559 to others. So the question to ask yourself this 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:03.819 morning is not just what might be my spiritual 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:07.759 gift, but the question is, how am I staying connected 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:12.759 to Jesus? You know, Paul says there is one spirit. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:16.960 We were all baptized into one body and we were 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:20.400 all made to drink of one spirit. In other words, 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.680 we are all meant to be connected to this one 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:26.380 spirit. But notice also, we're also meant to 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:30.779 be connected to each other. So how do we stay 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:34.420 connected to God? Well, we stay connected, I 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:37.940 think, through spiritual practices. Practices 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:42.640 like prayer or practices like worship, like scripture 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:47.140 reading, like confession, silence, solitude. 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:50.039 In all of those ways, when we're spending time 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:54.059 with God, God is transferring power to his people 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:58.440 to do good work in the world. But just be clear, 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:03.339 spiritual practices do not create that power, 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:07.869 right? They keep us connected. to the power right 00:26:07.869 --> 00:26:10.910 so so ask yourself this question what practices 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:14.150 in your spiritual life are keeping you connected 00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:17.970 to the holy spirit because the church is not 00:26:17.970 --> 00:26:20.690 supposed to be a showroom full of impressive 00:26:20.690 --> 00:26:24.130 equipment just sitting there on display we are 00:26:24.130 --> 00:26:26.970 supposed to be a group of people connected to 00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:29.849 christ filled with the spirit's power and sent 00:26:29.849 --> 00:26:35.089 into the world for the common good so Let's just 00:26:35.089 --> 00:26:39.509 recap so far. Spirit's power gets us unstuck 00:26:39.509 --> 00:26:41.569 in our lives like that Tesla in the driveway. 00:26:41.990 --> 00:26:45.750 The Spirit helps muck out the mess of our hearts 00:26:45.750 --> 00:26:49.259 like the Kubota in the manure pit. And the Spirit 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:52.279 enables amazing work through our lives because 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:54.720 we're all like different implements doing different 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.900 things for the common good. But we must stay 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.900 connected to God in order for that to happen. 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:04.880 And we stay connected through those spiritual 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:10.640 practices. Let me just end with this. Anyone 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:12.859 who's ever worked on a farm knows that when one 00:27:12.859 --> 00:27:16.319 piece of equipment breaks down, the whole operation 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:19.500 feels it. I mean, imagine this. Imagine the hay 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:22.339 has been cut. It's all been raked into nice windrows. 00:27:22.420 --> 00:27:25.200 The sun is out. It's shining. It's perfect for 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.440 baling. The time has come. The moment is here. 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:30.460 So you get out the tractor. You hook it up to 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:33.980 the baler. But guess what? The baler breaks. 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:40.119 And now you've got a major crisis because if 00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:42.819 the baler cannot work in the moment when it's 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:47.279 called upon to work, everything backs up. And 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:51.900 the same way, the whole body suffers when gifts 00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:56.559 are unused. The church needs the gifts that God 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:00.160 has placed in you. It's not because you're so 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:03.019 great or you're so indispensable by yourself, 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:06.940 but because the Holy Spirit has chosen to work 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:12.059 this way, to work through the whole body. Paul 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:16.059 says, if one member suffers, all suffer together 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:20.119 with it. If one member is honored, all rejoice 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.059 together with it. Now you are the body of Christ 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:27.779 and individually members of it. When people withhold 00:28:27.779 --> 00:28:30.519 their gifts, the body is weaker. When people 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:34.960 compare their gifts, the body is divided. But 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.900 when each person offers what the Spirit has given, 00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:45.759 the body grows stronger. When Jesus gave his 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:50.019 life on the cross, that looked like the biggest 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:52.180 breakdown you could ever imagine. The Son of 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:56.299 God, dead on a cross, buried in a tomb. But again, 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:01.059 it was the power of the Holy Spirit that raised 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:04.400 Jesus from the dead. And when Jesus appeared 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:07.079 to his disciples again, do you know what he did? 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:11.180 The scriptures tell us he breathed on them. And 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:16.839 he said, receive the Holy Spirit. Paul put it 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:20.680 this way. He said, the same spirit of him who 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:25.079 raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:31.319 So our lives, our church doesn't run on our strength, 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:33.839 does not run on our talent or our personalities 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:39.279 or our programs. The church is the body of Christ. 00:29:40.649 --> 00:29:45.390 empowered by the spirit of Christ, continuing 00:29:45.390 --> 00:29:50.390 the work of Christ. And like we said at the beginning, 00:29:50.529 --> 00:29:57.250 with power like that, anything is possible. So 00:29:57.250 --> 00:30:02.930 are you stuck? Are you carrying muck that needs 00:30:02.930 --> 00:30:05.730 to be cleaned out? Are you still swinging the 00:30:05.730 --> 00:30:09.180 scythe? in your own life, right? Trying to do 00:30:09.180 --> 00:30:12.539 things by human strength that only God can do. 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:18.559 Are you hitched up to God? Are you connected 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:22.019 to Jesus through spiritual rhythms and practices? 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:25.019 Are you offering the gifts that you have for 00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:29.039 the good of the body? What work has the Spirit 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:34.019 created for you to do? And imagine this, what 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:39.000 might happen? If every person in this church 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:43.240 offered the gifts that the Spirit has given them. 00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:46.819 Guys, the Christian life is not a call to try 00:30:46.819 --> 00:30:49.180 harder by your own strength. It's a call to be 00:30:49.180 --> 00:30:51.140 filled with the Spirit, connected to Christ, 00:30:51.339 --> 00:30:54.460 joined to the body, and out in the world doing 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:59.920 God's work. A tractor without implements has 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:04.539 power, but no purpose. An implement... without 00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:07.599 a tractor, has a purpose, but it has no power. 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:11.960 But when the power and the purpose come together, 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:17.359 then the Spirit accomplishes amazing work in 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:19.700 our lives and in our church and in our worlds, 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:24.259 not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:33.170 says the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen. Thanks 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.130 for tuning in to this week's episode of Trinity 00:31:35.130 --> 00:31:37.849 Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity 00:31:37.849 --> 00:31:40.849 Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on 00:31:40.849 --> 00:31:43.450 July 19th, 2026.