WEBVTT 00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:05.410 In the epistle of 1 Corinthians, Paul has been 00:00:05.410 --> 00:00:07.509 dealing with some of the questions asked him 00:00:07.509 --> 00:00:10.349 by the Corinthian believers which were relevant 00:00:10.349 --> 00:00:12.929 to the problems they were facing in their society. 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:15.710 We've seen that some of those problems are very 00:00:15.710 --> 00:00:18.410 relevant for our own contemporary situation as 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:22.030 well. And this is certainly true of chapters 00:00:22.030 --> 00:00:26.570 12 through 14 of 1 Corinthians as he deals with 00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:29.570 the matter of the things of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:31.850 --> 00:00:34.929 We'll read today 1 Corinthians 12, verses 1 through 00:00:34.929 --> 00:00:40.890 11. Now about spiritual gifts, brothers. And 00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:42.170 by the way, I'm reading from the New International 00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:45.270 Version. Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, 00:00:45.429 --> 00:00:49.090 I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that 00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:52.530 when you were pagans, somehow or other you were 00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:56.789 influenced and led astray to dumb idols. Therefore 00:00:56.789 --> 00:00:59.390 I tell you that no one who is speaking by the 00:00:59.390 --> 00:01:04.739 Spirit of God says, Jesus be cursed. And no one 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:08.480 can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:12.819 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:15.719 Spirit. There are different kinds of service, 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.299 but the same Lord. There are different kinds 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:21.760 of working, but the same God works all of them 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.040 in all men. Now to each one the manifestation 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.920 of the Spirit is given for the common good. To 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.180 one there is given through the Spirit the message 00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:36.079 of wisdom. To another the message of knowledge 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.920 by means of the same Spirit. To another faith 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:43.379 by the same Spirit. To another gifts of healing 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:47.879 by that one Spirit. To another miraculous powers. 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:51.439 To another prophecy. To another the ability to 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:55.060 distinguish between spirits. To another the ability 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:58.859 to speak in different kinds of tongues. and to 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:02.540 still others the interpretation of tongues. All 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:05.879 these are the work of one and the same Spirit, 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:10.860 and he gives them to each one just as he determines. 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.180 The apostle does not want the Corinthians to 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:19.159 be ignorant, as he puts it, concerning these 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.259 matters about the Spirit. Frankly, I don't think 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:25.819 the NIV has captured very well the meaning there. 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:28.460 in that first sentence when it says, now about 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.159 spiritual gifts, because it seems to be a broader 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:34.639 term here that means the things of the Spirit. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:39.800 Now about the spirituals, actually says Paul, 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:43.259 about those things relating to the Holy Spirit. 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:48.060 I don't want you to be ignorant. That means that 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:50.259 they lacked understanding of the Spirit. It was 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:53.139 not that they were ignorant of the Holy Spirit 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:56.360 or that they did not know. about the gifts of 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:59.740 the Holy Spirit. For back in chapter 1, if you 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:02.800 just want to review with me, the apostle mentioned 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.780 already to them that they were greatly gifted. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.259 Beginning in verse 6, he says, Because our testimony 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:13.819 about Christ was confirmed in you, therefore 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:19.240 you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:22.479 wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.419 And so they were aware of spiritual gifts. Paul 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.300 says, you as a church do not lack any of them. 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:32.419 But the problem was that they did not know the 00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:37.960 proper use and the proper place of at least some 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:41.479 of the spiritual gifts. The Corinthians, as we 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.280 read these chapters, would seem to have been 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:50.780 guilty of valuing the spectacular gifts over 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:55.409 some of the others. And in the exercise of their 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:59.189 spiritual gifts, there was very little love that 00:03:59.189 --> 00:04:02.069 was displayed. Last week we talked about the 00:04:02.069 --> 00:04:05.949 lack of love that was evidenced in their agape 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:08.550 feast and in their observance of the Lord's Supper. 00:04:09.610 --> 00:04:12.569 Rather than it being an indication of their unity 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.789 and of their love for one another, that feast 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:18.009 actually had degenerated to the point that they 00:04:18.009 --> 00:04:20.430 were all selfishly grabbing the food as fast 00:04:20.430 --> 00:04:23.129 as they could. And some were being gluttons, 00:04:23.129 --> 00:04:25.370 and others didn't get anything, and so it divided 00:04:25.370 --> 00:04:28.649 the church. So you see, they knew about the Holy 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:30.730 Spirit, and they knew of the spiritual gifts, 00:04:30.910 --> 00:04:35.089 but they were not exercising them properly. And 00:04:35.089 --> 00:04:38.629 so Paul writes in chapters 12, 13, and 14 to 00:04:38.629 --> 00:04:41.449 deal with this. You know, yet today there is 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:43.850 a misunderstanding of the work of the Holy Spirit 00:04:43.850 --> 00:04:47.110 in the church. It would lay to rest a lot of 00:04:47.110 --> 00:04:49.970 anxiety in some believers and clarify confusion 00:04:49.970 --> 00:04:53.069 among others if we would simply go to the Word 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:56.050 of God and let it explain the work of the Holy 00:04:56.050 --> 00:04:59.389 Spirit. In the upcoming weeks as we study these 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:01.449 chapters, undoubtedly there are going to be some 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:03.430 controversial things that we will talk about. 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:07.310 Our goal is not to be controversial. It's rather 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:09.750 to be just the opposite, to allow the Holy Spirit 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:12.870 to use His Word to lay to rest controversy and 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.920 division. allow the Bible to speak for itself 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:19.000 concerning this matter of the gifts and the work 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:22.680 of the Holy Spirit. I believe that an understanding 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.040 of the Holy Spirit and His work is essential 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:29.939 if our church is going to be unified and if our 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:34.220 ministry is going to be fruitful. And so we want 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:36.560 to understand the work of the Holy Spirit, and 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:39.240 we begin that today by the text that we have 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.610 before us. In these verses, we see two of the 00:05:42.610 --> 00:05:45.930 works of the Holy Spirit. The first one is that 00:05:45.930 --> 00:05:52.209 he reveals Christ, verses 2 and 3. And then he 00:05:52.209 --> 00:05:57.949 gifts Christians, verses 4 through 11. Let's 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:00.149 talk about those two works of the Holy Spirit 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:04.069 as we look at our texts today. The first work 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:06.990 of the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit reveals 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:12.569 Christ. In verse 2, we have the apostle's record 00:06:12.569 --> 00:06:16.870 of the pagan past of those Corinthian believers. 00:06:17.709 --> 00:06:21.250 He says, you know that when you were pagans, 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:24.410 somehow or other you were influenced and led 00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:28.889 astray to dumb idols. Now the words and the description 00:06:28.889 --> 00:06:32.370 that Paul uses here not only describes the Corinthians, 00:06:32.709 --> 00:06:37.009 but these words well describe you and me as well. 00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:41.060 Most of us, perhaps, have not gone astray after 00:06:41.060 --> 00:06:45.800 literal idols, but there are intangible idols 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:51.019 that are the gods of our generation. So let's 00:06:51.019 --> 00:06:54.279 think in those terms today as we look at our 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:58.639 pagan past and the natural spiritual condition 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:03.680 of men. First, let's notice that word, pagans. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.040 The King James puts it, Gentiles. You know that 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:11.060 you were Gentiles. The word here is ethnos. It 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:15.379 means you were nations. And the thought is that 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:20.720 you were not a part of Israel. You were separated 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.540 from the covenant people of God. You were not 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:28.180 Jews, in other words. The Hebrew word that would 00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:30.459 be the counterpart for this Greek word would 00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:34.740 be the word goyim. And today you may hear that 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:37.860 word occasionally as Jewish people speak of non 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:41.480 -Jewish people. It is a term, really, that is 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:45.560 a low -class term. It's somewhat a term of derision, 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:49.459 the goyim, those who are non -Jewish, those who 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:52.899 are foreigners to Israel. So the first thing 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:55.060 that Paul says to them, remember that you are 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:58.740 separated from God's covenant people. Now there 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:01.420 were, of course, some Jews. who had been saved 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.860 and were part of the Corinthian church. But by 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:06.740 and large, it was a pagan city, and most of the 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:09.899 people in the church were, in fact, Goyim or 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:12.879 Ethnos. They were just the nations. They were 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:16.259 separated from God and from his covenant people, 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.980 Israel. He further says about them that you were 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:24.579 controlled by sin. He uses two verbs here to 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:27.699 suggest this. He says, somehow or other, you 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:33.360 were influenced. and led astray. The word influenced 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:37.860 suggests someone who is blind being hurried along 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:42.679 in a particular direction. And then the word 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:48.460 led astray implies an habitual slavery to something. 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.700 It's as though the master had his servant in 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:57.279 chains. As he would move in a particular direction, 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:00.159 he would yank the chain, and the slave would 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:04.000 follow him in that direction, being led habitually 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.840 in chains. And so Paul uses two words here to 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.139 describe us when we were lost. And if you've 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:13.460 never trusted Jesus Christ, these words still 00:09:13.460 --> 00:09:15.559 may apply to you today. In fact, they do indeed 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:19.379 apply to you. It means to be blindly hurried 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:24.039 along in habitual slavery to sin. and perhaps 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:26.740 to a false religion, as were the Corinthians. 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:30.100 The picture here is really of a cattle drive 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:34.179 in the Old West. Oh, we've all seen pictures 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:36.940 of those if we haven't seen them in reality in 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:40.159 our travels in the West. As these great herds 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.000 of cattle would be brought together and then 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.539 driven for hundreds of miles by the cowboys. 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:48.179 Sometimes they would drive them with whips and 00:09:48.179 --> 00:09:54.409 lariats. Sometimes they would use singing. Other 00:09:54.409 --> 00:09:56.730 times they would hoop and holler at the cattle. 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:01.090 They would use various means to lead those cattle 00:10:01.090 --> 00:10:03.909 along, to move them to market, which was the 00:10:03.909 --> 00:10:07.090 destination. And the apostle employs that kind 00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:09.529 of a picture here. He says, before you were saved, 00:10:09.730 --> 00:10:12.190 you were like cattle that were just being driven 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:17.809 blindly along. You were led by masters. And, 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:19.649 of course, he's talking about the master Satan 00:10:19.649 --> 00:10:24.899 and sin. Those who are outside of Jesus Christ 00:10:24.899 --> 00:10:29.399 are captivated and enslaved to the sin within 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:33.539 them. And though at times they may feel religious 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:36.059 and may even do good works, they are nonetheless 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:39.639 continually, habitually enslaved to their sinful 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:43.620 nature. That's how he describes us as well as 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:46.620 those Corinthians. And then he says you were 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:51.519 led astray to dumb idols. That word means voiceless. 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:56.529 Idols that were unable to speak to you and to 00:10:56.529 --> 00:11:00.490 answer you. And he suggests here the emptiness 00:11:00.490 --> 00:11:04.870 of their religious experience. They had cried 00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:08.049 out to their idols, but their cries echoed back 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:11.909 to them because their paganism, of course, was 00:11:11.909 --> 00:11:16.669 not true. It was a false, superstitious, man 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:21.769 -made religion. So Paul says you followed after... 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:27.919 a religion that was unable to satisfy you. And 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.879 once again, there are many people who are sincere 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:34.580 people who are following after religious traditions 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:39.220 that do not satisfy the inner man. Though they 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:42.879 may not bow down to idols, or they may, but they 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:45.799 may not. And yet they find that their religious 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:50.039 experience is hollow. It echoes with an emptiness. 00:11:50.889 --> 00:11:54.309 and there's no satisfaction within. Now that's 00:11:54.309 --> 00:11:56.710 the past of every one of us. It may be the present 00:11:56.710 --> 00:12:00.750 of some people here today. But he goes on to 00:12:00.750 --> 00:12:03.309 say that the Holy Spirit does a work in the life 00:12:03.309 --> 00:12:06.370 of the Christian. He reveals Christ. He says, 00:12:06.409 --> 00:12:09.250 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking 00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:11.909 by the Spirit of God says, Jesus, be cursed. 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:16.250 And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by 00:12:16.250 --> 00:12:20.659 the Holy Spirit. The wonderful message that God 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:23.019 gives to us is that though we were lost, yet 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:28.279 the Holy Spirit, by God's grace, intervenes in 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:31.820 our lostness. He interferes in that cattle drive, 00:12:32.019 --> 00:12:35.700 so to speak, and woos us off to the side and 00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:40.059 reveals Christ to us. There are many of our gospel 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:43.059 songs that speak about our discovering Christ 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:47.899 or our finding Jesus. And there is a sense, I 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:51.279 suppose, in which that is true. But a far greater 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:56.360 truth is that God found us. He sought us out. 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:02.179 He called us to himself. And he says no one can 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:05.820 truthfully say Jesus is Lord except the Holy 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:09.200 Spirit enables him to say that. Likewise, he 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:13.480 says, the Holy Spirit never leads anyone to depreciate 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:19.250 Jesus Christ. Or to say, Jesus anathema, or Jesus 00:13:19.250 --> 00:13:22.970 be cursed. Now, there were those, of course, 00:13:22.970 --> 00:13:25.429 in that day as there are today, who cursed Jesus. 00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:29.110 And what he says is the Holy Spirit never leads 00:13:29.110 --> 00:13:32.470 anyone to do that. The Holy Spirit's work is 00:13:32.470 --> 00:13:37.590 to point us to Jesus Christ. Folks, the Holy 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:43.330 Spirit never points to himself. He never draws 00:13:43.330 --> 00:13:47.559 attention to himself. It's one thing that bothers 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.860 me with some people in their religious experience 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:52.159 these days. Everything is centered upon the Holy 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:57.200 Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given to reveal the 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.980 Lord Jesus and to teach us of Him. The Holy Spirit 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:05.120 never brings attraction to Himself, but He always 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:10.659 draws men to Christ to see Him. And that's what 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:14.320 Paul says here. There was, of course, in that 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:18.340 day a... Great persecution of believers. And 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:22.679 he says here, no one can say Jesus is Lord except 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:26.659 the Holy Spirit. Cause him to see Jesus truly 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:32.919 as Lord. The word Lord is kurios. And in that 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:35.700 day, it was a word that also applied to the Roman 00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:41.860 emperors. They saw themselves as deity. By the 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:44.740 way, this word kurios is used in the Greek translation 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:47.039 of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:51.840 for Jehovah. And so clearly it is a word that 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.100 involves God himself. It's a word of deity. No 00:14:55.100 --> 00:15:00.460 question about that. He says here that no one 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:04.480 can say of Jesus that he is deity, except the 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:11.190 Holy Spirit has caused him to see that. One man 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:16.470 born, I think, in 66 AD, whose name was Polycarp. 00:15:17.250 --> 00:15:21.429 Polycarp became a believer and was a disciple 00:15:21.429 --> 00:15:26.809 of the Apostle John. He became bishop of the 00:15:26.809 --> 00:15:30.529 church in Smyrna, in what we call today Asia 00:15:30.529 --> 00:15:35.470 Minor, and served Jesus Christ faithfully. In 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:39.149 his 86th year, he was arrested by the Roman government. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:43.679 as were many other believers. The demand of the 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.299 government was that these people, including Polycarp, 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:55.799 call Caesar kurios, lord, deity. All they had 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:59.360 to do was take a pinch of incense, throw it on 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.659 the fire of the altar, and say Caesar kurios, 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:08.389 and they could go free. But the believers of 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:10.909 that day knew that they would be denying Jesus 00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:17.269 kurios, to say Caesar kurios. And they refused, 00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:21.190 many of them did, including Polycarp. He was 00:16:21.190 --> 00:16:25.350 asked again and again, Polycarp say Caesar kurios, 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:30.509 and he would reply kurios Jesus, Lord Jesus. 00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:34.649 Finally he was condemned to be burned at the 00:16:34.649 --> 00:16:38.240 stake. And as he was again asked to recant his 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:42.799 faith, Polycarp said, 86 years have I served 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:47.720 him, and he hath done me no wrong. How can I 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:53.559 speak evil of my king who saved me? And with 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:57.679 that, they lit the fires. Tradition says that 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:02.759 he would not burn. And so they killed him with 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.430 a sword and then burned his body. Not just tradition 00:17:06.430 --> 00:17:10.089 says that. But Polycarp was a great man of God 00:17:10.089 --> 00:17:15.269 and died a martyr with the words, Jesus is Lord, 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:20.670 on his lips. One did not say Lord Jesus in that 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:24.430 day flippantly. He did not say it unless he really 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:28.670 meant that Jesus was his Lord. The Holy Spirit 00:17:28.670 --> 00:17:31.210 is jealous for the Lordship of Christ in our 00:17:31.210 --> 00:17:35.019 lives, my fellow believers. He not only wants 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:37.940 us to be able to say Lord Jesus, but he wants 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.920 us to mean it with all of our hearts that Jesus 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:44.240 is Lord. He's the one who directs my life. He's 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.319 the one who tells me what to do and I do it. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:51.339 I think one of the best definitions of Lord is 00:17:51.339 --> 00:17:54.940 found in the words of Mary at the wedding in 00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:58.440 Cana when Jesus was performing that miracle or 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:01.839 before he did. She said to those around him, 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:07.230 whatever he says to you, Do it. That's a beautiful 00:18:07.230 --> 00:18:10.930 description of what it is to have Jesus as Lord. 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:16.650 Is he Lord in your life today? Is he truly kurios 00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:21.609 to you? Can you say with depth of sincerity, 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:28.549 Jesus is Lord? The Holy Spirit reveals Christ 00:18:28.549 --> 00:18:32.359 that he might be Lord. And then the Holy Spirit 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:36.819 does a different work, too, another kind of work. 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:40.319 In verses 4 through 11, we find that the Holy 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.880 Spirit not only reveals Jesus as Lord, but he 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.880 gifts you and me who trust Jesus to serve him. 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:53.960 Now notice in verses 4, 5, and 6 that in this 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:58.950 matter of service, the whole Trinity, God the 00:18:58.950 --> 00:19:01.849 Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Do 00:19:01.849 --> 00:19:04.809 you notice that in verse 4 it mentions the Spirit? 00:19:06.069 --> 00:19:09.869 In verse 5 it mentions the Lord, the Kurios, 00:19:10.130 --> 00:19:15.190 Jesus. And then in verse 6 it mentions God. And 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:19.369 the understanding here is God the Father. As 00:19:19.369 --> 00:19:26.019 we serve, we serve with the... The whole Trinity 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:28.539 being involved in our service for God in this 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:33.619 world. Each of the persons of the Trinity has 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:38.819 a bit of a different function as he relates to 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:40.940 us in this matter of service. Notice that he 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:44.380 says what these functions are. In verse 4 he 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:48.920 says, There are different kinds of gifts, but 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.160 the same Spirit. In other words, there are different 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:56.259 kinds of special abilities that believers have. 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:01.099 Gifts. This word gifts in verse 4 is not the 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:05.640 same word that some translations call gifts back 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:10.220 in verse 1. This word is the word charismata. 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.519 And immediately you see the word charismatic. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:17.759 Any person who trusts Jesus Christ is a charismatic. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.140 in the biblical sense, because what it simply 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:27.200 means is that one has a spiritual gift. And the 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.019 Holy Spirit gives different spiritual gifts to 00:20:30.019 --> 00:20:33.279 us. Now, what are spiritual gifts? Well, they 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:38.140 are special abilities that we are given to serve 00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:41.920 Jesus Christ. They are not the same as natural 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:45.480 abilities. Playing the piano, for example, is 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:52.970 not a spiritual gift. Natural abilities are given 00:20:52.970 --> 00:20:58.529 to us by our genes. We have them naturally by 00:20:58.529 --> 00:21:04.029 our first birth. But spiritual gifts are given 00:21:04.029 --> 00:21:07.569 to us when we are born again at our second birth. 00:21:08.410 --> 00:21:10.990 An unsaved person does not possess spiritual 00:21:10.990 --> 00:21:15.349 gifts. Only Christians do. Natural abilities, 00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:20.180 of course, both unsaved and saved have. So there's 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:27.960 a difference there. Natural gifts, natural abilities, 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:35.400 appeal to the soul, to the emotions, to the mind, 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:40.119 to the will. And they affect us on a natural 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:46.779 plane. Spiritual gifts are deeper. For as one 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:51.099 ministers with a spiritual gift, The work takes 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:55.680 place in the spirit of a man, not his soul. It 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.500 includes his soul. But it goes into that inner 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.779 dimension, that third dimension, the spirit. 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.059 Only a spiritual gift can really minister to 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:08.339 the spirit of a man. All of us who are saved 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.000 have spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit gives us 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:15.059 those gifts. Now, our natural abilities can be 00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:20.240 channels of our spiritual gifts. In other words, 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:24.339 the Holy Spirit may use a natural talent for 00:22:24.339 --> 00:22:28.359 playing the piano to minister to people. The 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:31.480 natural gift can flow through, excuse me, the 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:34.240 spiritual gift can flow through the natural ability 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:39.059 to do its work. But they are distinct. If I were 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:41.240 to define gifts, I would do something like this. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:45.920 Special, Spirit -given abilities to perform functions 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:50.900 in the body of Christ. and to do so with ease, 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:58.039 fruitfulness, and personal satisfaction. It is 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:02.700 a special, Spirit -given ability to perform works 00:23:02.700 --> 00:23:07.259 or functions within the body of Christ, and to 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:12.559 do that with an ease, a naturalness, and with 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:17.609 fruitfulness. God blesses. Results happen. and 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:21.950 with personal contentment and satisfaction. That's 00:23:21.950 --> 00:23:25.230 what a spiritual gift is. If you're a Christian 00:23:25.230 --> 00:23:29.170 today, you have, in my opinion, more than one. 00:23:29.329 --> 00:23:31.609 You may have one major gift, but I believe that 00:23:31.609 --> 00:23:36.190 God the Spirit blends gifts along with our personalities 00:23:36.190 --> 00:23:41.650 so that each of us is unique in His service. 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:46.599 So the Holy Spirit gives the gifts. Now in verse 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:53.079 5, we find the work of God the Son. There are 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.299 different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 00:23:56.420 --> 00:23:59.240 In other words, the Holy Spirit gives us the 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:03.960 gifts. God the Son then places us in service 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:07.700 where he wants us to be. This ties together beautifully 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:11.259 with Ephesians chapter 4, where Jesus is seen 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:14.400 as giving gifts to his church. He gave some... 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.079 apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:22.339 -teachers. The Holy Spirit gives you the gifts. 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:25.480 The Lord Jesus puts you in service where he wants 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:29.720 you to be. He gives you the opportunity. He defines 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:32.859 for you that place where you employ your gifts. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.039 And then notice the work of God the Father. It 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.039 says there are different kinds of working, but 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:43.619 the same God works all of them in all men. The 00:24:43.619 --> 00:24:48.160 thought here is of the results of one's service. 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:52.779 God the Father gives that. He determines the 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:56.460 fruitfulness of one's service. This word for 00:24:56.460 --> 00:24:59.039 working here means the effect of a process or 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.880 the effect of something that's done. So the Holy 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:06.720 Spirit, to summarize, gives you the gifts. The 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:09.259 Lord Jesus then places you where he wants you 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:13.160 to serve him. And then God the Father is involved 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:18.079 in making you fruitful, giving you results in 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:21.740 your ministry. And sometimes the results are 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:26.900 meager, sometimes they are explosive. But whichever, 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:31.579 we serve God the Father, that's His choice, and 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:35.880 we give the glory to Him either way. And so you 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:38.680 see, the whole Trinity is involved in this matter 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:41.980 of our spiritual gifts. Now, beginning in verse 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:44.319 7, going through verse 11, he names a number 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:47.279 of the gifts. We don't really have time to talk 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:51.819 about them in detail this morning. I'll just 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:56.099 have you note them for your interest. For instance, 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:58.339 in verse 8 he says, To one there is given through 00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:02.140 the Spirit the message of wisdom. And so here 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:05.299 is one of the spiritual gifts, the gift of wisdom. 00:26:06.420 --> 00:26:09.859 To another the message of knowledge. Another, 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:14.740 the gifts. To another, by the same Spirit, the 00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:19.599 gifts of healing. To another, miraculous powers. 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:22.539 There were some miracles done that did not involve 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:25.640 healing. For example, the blinding of Elymas, 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:30.359 the sorcerer. These are miracles. To another, 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:32.720 prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.119 between spirits, to tell what's true and what's 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:37.960 false. to another the ability to speak in different 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:40.319 kinds of tongues, to still another the interpretation 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:43.599 of tongues. Now at a different time, we're going 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:45.839 to go into these and try to explain them briefly. 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:48.839 I would encourage you to do some study on your 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:52.660 own, though, in this matter. We have a very helpful 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:55.220 workbook that's available through our bookstore 00:26:55.220 --> 00:26:59.599 regarding these gifts of the Holy Spirit by a 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:03.019 fellow named Tim Blanchard. You can buy that 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:07.319 workbook and work your way through. his questions, 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.339 and the material, and you can come to some conclusions 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:16.380 about your own spiritual gifts. But I want you 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:19.180 to notice here that there are a variety of gifts, 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:23.500 and that within our church this morning, in every 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:29.160 believer, these gifts are found. Now, as we look 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:31.720 at verses 7 through 11, there are at least three 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:33.799 insights that I want to share with you before 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.970 we close. regarding this matter of spiritual 00:27:36.970 --> 00:27:41.190 gifts. The first one is found in verse 7, and 00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:45.190 again in verse 11, where it says, Now to each 00:27:45.190 --> 00:27:49.589 one the manifestation of the Spirit is given. 00:27:49.990 --> 00:27:54.170 In verse 11, he says, And he gives them to each 00:27:54.170 --> 00:27:59.029 one, just as he determines. So please do not 00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:01.809 think that you are a Christian who has no spiritual 00:28:01.809 --> 00:28:09.980 gifts. Such an oddity does not exist. Every Christian 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:14.740 has spiritual gifts. You may not know them at 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:18.039 this point, but you have them. They are within 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:22.099 you. And I would encourage you to pray and to 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:24.839 seek to discover your spiritual gifts. Now, frankly, 00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:26.720 there are some people who get so hung up on this 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:31.279 that they become no earthly good. Because they 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:33.579 almost get paranoid about this matter of spiritual 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:36.420 gifts. That's not God's will. One of the ways 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:38.619 that we find our spiritual gifts is to get involved 00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:42.420 and begin doing things. And when we find an area 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:45.319 of service where we have results and where we 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:48.000 feel a lot of personal satisfaction in doing 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.099 it and there's ease in doing it, then that's 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:54.380 a strong indication to us that that's an area 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:57.599 where we have a spiritual gift. For some people, 00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:00.640 that may be teaching. With some people, it may 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.000 be helping a teacher in a class, the gift of 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:06.619 helps. For someone else, it may be going to a 00:29:06.619 --> 00:29:10.200 person who's needy and just encouraging them 00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:13.240 with a word, the gift of mercy, showing mercy. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:20.180 For somebody else, it may be the ability to make 00:29:20.180 --> 00:29:24.259 money and to give it to God's work and to give 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:27.099 it so freely and generously that God has glorified 00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:31.650 the gift of giving. But my friend, if you're 00:29:31.650 --> 00:29:33.609 a Christian today, you have a spiritual gift 00:29:33.609 --> 00:29:37.309 or gifts. It's important to find out what they 00:29:37.309 --> 00:29:42.250 are. Now, another insight in verse 7 says that 00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:46.329 these gifts are given for the common good. In 00:29:46.329 --> 00:29:49.630 other words, the spiritual gifts are never given 00:29:49.630 --> 00:29:53.509 just for personal edification. They are given 00:29:53.509 --> 00:29:58.900 for the good of all, the profit of all. The gifts 00:29:58.900 --> 00:30:01.059 that we have are given so that we can make a 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:05.000 positive contribution to the Lord's work and 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:10.299 to His church. So remember that. Your gifts are 00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:12.440 not just given for you, but they are given for 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:17.019 everyone to profit. And then insight number three 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:20.779 in verse 11, and we also see it out of our text 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:25.660 in verse 18 as well. The gifts are given sovereignly 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:29.000 by the Holy Spirit. In verse 11 it says, and 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:33.380 he gives them to each one just as he determines. 00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:39.500 We are not commanded in Scripture, we are not 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:42.920 permitted in Scripture to seek spiritual gifts 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:46.339 for ourselves. It does say at the end of chapter 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:49.740 12 that the church as a whole is to emphasize 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:55.559 the best gifts, to value them highly. And some 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:57.279 have felt that that verse, I think it's verse 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:01.640 31, would suggest that we are to individually 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:06.099 covet the gifts. It says, but eagerly desire 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:08.380 the greater gifts. That is written to the church 00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:11.640 as a body. As believers, you and I are gifted 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:14.480 as the Holy Spirit wills. Now, what does that 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:18.480 mean? That means that nowhere am I told in Scripture 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:21.460 and nowhere am I authorized in Scripture to get 00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:24.079 down on my knees and say, now, Lord, This is 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.779 the spiritual gift I want. That is not your choice 00:31:28.779 --> 00:31:33.339 or mine. Our gifts are given to us sovereignly 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:37.359 by the Holy Spirit, and they are given at the 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:41.640 moment of our salvation, when he causes us to 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.119 come alive, to be quickened in our spirit. At 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.099 that moment, he brings not only his own presence, 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:51.980 but he brings these gifts, these abilities at 00:31:51.980 --> 00:31:56.759 that instant. Now as we conclude this morning, 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:58.299 there are a couple of things I want to say. Number 00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:00.299 one, we should be knowledgeable about the gifts, 00:32:00.380 --> 00:32:02.240 and I've suggested some ways you can do that. 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:05.880 Secondly, we should be investing our gifts in 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:09.859 the local church. There are some people who, 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.839 may I affectionately call them church tramps, 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:18.460 they go from one church to another, and they 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:22.539 never really settle down in a church. I recognize 00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:27.559 as students, There is a tendency to want to see 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:30.599 a lot of churches, and there's nothing wrong 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:34.079 with that. I think it's healthy, in fact, for 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.259 you to be able to see different kinds and styles 00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:40.240 of ministry. But there comes a point when one 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:43.740 needs to say, Lord, I thank you for the variety. 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:49.319 My heart is satisfied in this particular ministry, 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:54.289 and now I'm going to commit myself to it. Now, 00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:55.950 when one gets out of college and gets married, 00:32:56.130 --> 00:32:57.990 there sometimes is still that same tendency. 00:32:58.789 --> 00:33:00.829 They want to say, well, I want to try this church 00:33:00.829 --> 00:33:03.069 and go there and try it over there for a while. 00:33:03.849 --> 00:33:07.049 You know the problem with that? It doesn't give 00:33:07.049 --> 00:33:10.589 the individual who does it edification, number 00:33:10.589 --> 00:33:14.009 one. He gets a little taste here and a little 00:33:14.009 --> 00:33:16.769 bite there, but there's no continual feeding 00:33:16.769 --> 00:33:20.549 along a certain line. There's not the personal 00:33:20.549 --> 00:33:22.650 edification there ought to be. And secondly, 00:33:23.849 --> 00:33:28.690 The church is robbed of the gifts of the individual 00:33:28.690 --> 00:33:31.109 who does that because no church profits from 00:33:31.109 --> 00:33:34.670 them. The spiritual gifts are given to us that 00:33:34.670 --> 00:33:37.970 we may get involved in a local church at God's 00:33:37.970 --> 00:33:41.589 leading and commit ourselves to that ministry, 00:33:41.769 --> 00:33:45.710 to work to build it, to work for the glory of 00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:48.710 God, and to invest our gifts for spiritual profit. 00:33:49.869 --> 00:33:51.750 And I want to challenge some of you to think 00:33:51.750 --> 00:33:55.119 about that today. Some of you have been coming 00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:57.980 for months, and we thank God for that. We want 00:33:57.980 --> 00:34:00.619 you to keep coming. But I want to challenge you 00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:03.079 to pray earnestly, if you haven't already, that 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:06.380 God would show you what he wants you to do regarding 00:34:06.380 --> 00:34:09.619 the commitment of your life to his work and to 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:13.440 his body. He's given you spiritual gifts to employ 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:16.960 in the church somewhere, if not a grace church, 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:20.420 somewhere else. The important thing is for you 00:34:20.420 --> 00:34:25.800 and for Jesus' sake. that you make a commitment 00:34:25.800 --> 00:34:33.139 and begin to build and work and grow. May God 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:35.380 give us wisdom as we discern his will for each 00:34:35.380 --> 00:34:42.380 of us in this matter. Let's pray. Now, our Father, 00:34:42.500 --> 00:34:47.559 I pray that in this matter of the spirituals, 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:50.739 you would help us not to be without understanding. 00:34:52.199 --> 00:34:54.619 Give us insight as to what you teach in your 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:56.880 word, and then I pray that you'll give us conviction 00:34:56.880 --> 00:35:00.300 to follow through with what we understand and 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:04.280 commitment that will enable us to invest our 00:35:04.280 --> 00:35:08.079 lives in your work to bring glory to yourself. 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:11.719 I pray for some friend who may be here today 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:15.639 who's still lost and whose religious experience 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.679 is so empty and who is led astray to various 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:24.889 impulses of sin. who's outside of the family 00:35:24.889 --> 00:35:29.510 of God. I pray that that person today, Lord, 00:35:29.650 --> 00:35:33.190 would trust you and come into your family. Oh, 00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:36.489 save those outside of Christ today within the 00:35:36.489 --> 00:35:40.449 hearing of my voice. Then for those of us who 00:35:40.449 --> 00:35:43.050 are in your family, give us understanding of 00:35:43.050 --> 00:35:46.369 your will for our lives that we may truly then 00:35:46.369 --> 00:35:52.909 say, Jesus is Lord by the Spirit. And we pray 00:35:52.909 --> 00:35:58.650 this in Jesus' name. Amen. To close our service 00:35:58.650 --> 00:36:00.869 today, I'd like for us to turn in our hymnals 00:36:00.869 --> 00:36:06.349 and sing together number 92, which expresses 00:36:06.349 --> 00:36:08.210 some of the thoughts we've talked about this 00:36:08.210 --> 00:36:12.570 morning. And if the Spirit of God is leading 00:36:12.570 --> 00:36:16.150 you today to make a commitment to this ministry, 00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:20.900 Or perhaps a commitment to follow Christ faithfully 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:24.519 and you've been away from him. Perhaps the Spirit 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:26.960 of God has revealed Jesus Christ to you and you 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:29.159 know you need to trust him today as your Savior. 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:34.079 If we can pray with you and counsel with you, 00:36:34.179 --> 00:36:38.280 we'd love to do that. And as we sing, I'm going 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.019 to ask you to slip out from where you are and 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:42.920 come here to the front. Now that may seem like 00:36:42.920 --> 00:36:46.420 a big deal, but it's not. It seems like a fearful 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:49.219 thing to do, and yet once you take one step, 00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:52.619 you'll never remember the rest of them. The Spirit 00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:56.400 of God will help you. He'll strengthen you. May 00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.760 I say to you what Mary said to those people at 00:36:58.760 --> 00:37:01.460 the wedding that day. Whatever He says to you, 00:37:01.619 --> 00:37:06.639 do it. Let's stand and sing together, number 00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:23.949 92. How I praise Thee, precious Savior, that 00:37:23.949 --> 00:38:12.389 Thy love... We're glad this morning for this 00:38:12.389 --> 00:38:14.849 couple, the Abshires, who are coming to be a 00:38:14.849 --> 00:38:17.710 part of our fellowship. Come on, fellas. We rejoice 00:38:17.710 --> 00:38:20.860 in that. Whatever God is saying to you, do it 00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:23.360 now as we sing that second verse of that hymn, 00:38:23.420 --> 00:38:26.480 Channels Only. Empty that thou shouldest fill 00:38:26.480 --> 00:39:25.150 me. Let's sing it together. Empty. Let's bow 00:39:25.150 --> 00:39:34.670 our heads together. We were to pray the words, 00:39:34.710 --> 00:39:39.769 Jesus, fill now with thy spirit. We have to be 00:39:39.769 --> 00:39:44.690 able to say also that our hearts are fully surrendered. 00:39:47.289 --> 00:39:48.869 I hope today that your heart is...