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11/23/2025 - Concerning Spiritual Things - Rev. Dennis Carden — Transcript

by Apostolic Pentecostal Church St. Louis, MO · 6,575 words · 1,023 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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5:14praise the Lord everyone.
5:17Good to be in God's house this morning.
5:20Special week this week, Thanksgiving.
5:22I'm sure there are a lot of plans, a lot
5:24of things probably going around in your
5:25head, but it's good to come into God's
5:28house and let's just this week off with
5:31thanksgiving in our hearts and just
5:33thankful for all the good things God has
5:35done. Why don't you stand?
5:38In fact, why don't we open the Bible
5:39class that way? Why don't you just give
5:41a thanks to the Lord for all of his
5:43goodness. Lord, we're so thankful for
5:44your grace, your mercy. So thankful,
5:46Lord, for your spirit, Lord. So thankful
5:48to know you in the power of the Holy
5:51Ghost and know your truth and your word.
5:53So thankful for the many blessings you
5:54give us throughout the year. So thankful
5:56God for your [music] people, for your
5:58house, so many blessings upon our lives.
6:01And we give you praise. We give you
6:02thanks in Jesus' name. Hallelujah.
6:05Hallelujah. Well, it just feels good to
6:07give thanks, doesn't it? In fact, Jesus
6:09asked when he comes back, will he find
6:11people who are thankful, but will there
6:13be thanks? Because he said there will be
6:15many that are unthankful. But thank for
6:18people that love God and know him. We
6:20want to go to him in prayer this
6:21morning. a couple needs that we have
6:23been holding up and then uh some that
6:26have come in. So, if you'd continue to
6:27remember Steve Adams, brother Matt Adams
6:30requested for his dad has a cancer
6:31situation. Pray for healing and strength
6:35to Steve. If you remember Thomas Carol
6:38for healing strength and then Maverick
6:40Dong also in need of a touch from the
6:42Lord today, a healing touch. And then we
6:45got one card that came in. Sister Diane
6:47Westerrup uh feeling very sick today,
6:50needing a healing touch from God. So,
6:52let's pray that God would reach down and
6:53strengthen her. Wonder if anyone else
6:55needs a healing touch. If you just lift
6:57a hands, say, "I need healing." There's
6:58a couple over here, couple over here.
7:01Amen. If someone's got their hand up,
7:03why don't you agree together? Let's pray
7:04for that right now. Lord, in Jesus name.
7:06So thankful to know that you are the
7:08healer. That you took stripes on your
7:10back for our healing. That you are the
7:12one that is able to heal all of our
7:14diseases. There's nothing, God, that is
7:16impossible with you. So we pray for
7:18these that have lifted their hands and
7:20say I need strength today. I need a
7:22healing touch Lord you know that need. I
7:24pray in Jesus name that healing virtue
7:27will flow even as we pray today God.
7:29Hallelujah. That you will do a work in
7:31Jesus' name. Hallelujah. For these that
7:33we have mentioned Lord for Steve Adams
7:35in this cancer situation. We know a God.
7:38We know a name that is bigger than
7:39cancer. So we pray in Jesus' name for
7:42him for Thomas Carol this morning. Lord,
7:45healing touch and little maverick. God,
7:47strengthen him in Jesus' name. Give
7:49healing to his body. We pray for sister
7:51Diane this morning, Lord. Healing touch
7:54to her even even right now, God, that
7:56you're able to go to where she is in
7:58Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
8:01Thank you, Lord. Let's continue in
8:03prayer for our services today, Lord. We
8:05want a covering, Lord, of your presence
8:07on all that we do. want Lord your touch
8:09Lord on every lesson that is taught on
8:11every student Lord that receives your
8:14word that our hearts and our minds would
8:16be open Lord Jesus to what you want to
8:18tell us today in Jesus' name pray God
8:20for a move of the Holy Ghost in our
8:22services Lord Jesus in every class Lord
8:25and in our morning worship time Lord
8:27Jesus we want what you want we want Lord
8:29for you to touch our hearts and our
8:31lives in Jesus' name hallelujah be in
8:33the morning worship time as we worship
8:36we praise we sing we hear your word God
8:38in everything that we do, let it glorify
8:40you. We pray it in Jesus' name.
8:43Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Give him a
8:45thanksgiving. Lord, so thankful again.
8:48So thankful that we can call upon you,
8:50that we can come into your presence that
8:52we can make our petitions known.
8:54Hallelujah. To a God that cares and a
8:56God that listens in Jesus name.
8:59Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, good to
9:00see everyone in the house, the Lord,
9:02faithful saints of God, any guests with
9:04us. We're so glad that you are here. You
9:06may be seated if you like. Let's worship
9:08in song this morning.
9:15[music]
9:18>> I need your hand.
9:25>> You feel that way? Sing it from your
9:26heart.
9:28>> Lord, I need you. [singing]
9:31>> I have your presence.
9:33>> I need your mercy. [singing]
9:41I need your grace.
9:45I need your mercy.
9:48>> Got to have it.
9:49>> I need [singing] your [music] grace.
9:51>> Need your presence.
9:52>> I need your hand.
9:56Leading the way.
9:59Can't make it without you.
10:04Not for one [singing] day.
10:07I need your mercy.
10:11[singing]
10:15>> I need your grace. [singing]
10:19I need your mercy.
10:23I need your [singing and music] grace.
10:27I need your hand.
10:30Leading the way.
10:33Can't make it [singing] without you.
10:38Not for one day.
10:41I need your [music] mercy, God.
10:46>> Is that how you feel this morning?
10:49>> I need that mercy and grace. [music]
10:52Let's sing it.
10:53>> I need your mercy.
10:55>> I need your mercy.
10:57>> I need your grace.
11:00>> I need [singing and music] your hand.
11:04beating
11:07I can't make it without you.
11:12>> Not for one day
11:16I need [music and singing] your mercy.
11:23>> I need your grace. [singing]
11:27I [music] need your mercy.
11:31I need [singing] your gra.
11:35[music]
11:46>> Not for [singing]
11:47a day.
11:50I need your mercy.
11:57>> I need your grace.
12:01Let's thank him for that mercy and grace
12:03today. Thank you, Father.
12:07We can't begin to fathom, Lord, the the
12:11love, as the songwriter said, that drew
12:13salvation's plan, the grace that brought
12:17it down to man. Thank you, Lord. Thank
12:19you, Lord. Amen. Amen. God is so good.
12:28Hallelujah.
12:30You're here today by the mercies of God.
12:36I'm here today because of the mercy and
12:38the grace of God.
12:41And so we're going to continue in this
12:44little study of First Corinthians, Paul
12:47writing to the church.
12:50And and we're going to delve now. He's
12:52going to take a a a little turn here.
12:59Up to this point, he's talked about a
13:01lot of messy situations in the church.
13:05Divorce, remarage,
13:07uh
13:09divisions among the people, all kinds of
13:13issues that were going on with the
13:15church, issues that arise from the
13:17flesh. And he tells us that everything
13:20that he's dealt with practically to this
13:22point, it has been issues that have been
13:26caused because we are trapped in these
13:30bodies.
13:31We're trapped in these bodies. We're
13:34this hybrid creature that God created,
13:38spirit, but flesh also. And uh that's
13:42not going to change until that day of
13:47change comes until the either the
13:49rapture of the church or we go by the
13:51way of the grave and the resurrection.
13:53Uh we are in the flesh.
13:59And there's a lot could be said about uh
14:02some of Paul's statements.
14:05He says, "You are yet carnal." Well, of
14:08course I am. I'm in the flesh. Uh that's
14:11that's just a natural thing. But it's
14:14overcome by the spirit. Uh and and we
14:18would how many would like to be
14:20spiritual today? Anybody want to be
14:24spiritual? Well, you've got this dilemma
14:27because you're you're trapped in this
14:29body. And and Paul said, "The things
14:32that I would do, I don't do those things
14:35that I would not. Th those are the
14:37things that I do because God help me.
14:40I'm trapped in this body.
14:44And so after all the messes that he's
14:47dealt with, all of these situations
14:50from chapters 12 to 14, he is going to
14:54deal specifically with spiritual things.
14:57And that's the title of my lesson today
15:00concerning spiritual things. I've dealt
15:04with all of your messes. I've dealt with
15:05all of your divisions. I've dealt with
15:07all of your your messy situations.
15:11He says in verse one of chapter 12, now
15:14concerning spiritual gifts. Now, if
15:17you've got a King James version of the
15:19Bible, uh you'll notice that that gifts
15:22is an ellipsus. It's an italicized word,
15:26which means that the translators put it
15:28in there for clarification of meaning
15:30primarily. So, literally, it says this.
15:34Now concerning spirituals uh plural
15:38spirituals
15:40typically spiritual things
15:44not just the gifts because Paul is going
15:46to talk about a lot of spiritual things
15:50during this discourse here.
15:53And he says concerning these spiritual
15:56things I would not have you
16:00ignorant.
16:02Verses 4-6 says, "Now there are
16:05diversities of gifts, but the same
16:08spirit, and there are differences of
16:10administrations, but the same Lord, and
16:14there are diversities of operations, but
16:16it is the same God that workketh in
16:19all." And then verse 31 of this chapter
16:23says this, "But covet earnestly the best
16:26gifts, and yet I show unto you a more
16:30excellent way." And he segus then into
16:33chapter 13, which is the great love
16:35chapter, we understand. But all of it is
16:39about spiritual things. He's he's going
16:41to stop talking about their their flesh
16:44and their carnality
16:46and their their messes in the flesh and
16:49start guiding them in spiritual things.
16:52Ignorance was a common concern expressed
16:56in Paul's letters. He uses this phrase
16:59in some form. 11 times in his writings,
17:03I would not have you to be ignorant. I
17:08don't want you to sit there and stew in
17:11your ignorance and remain that way. But
17:14but he also after after all of these
17:18admonitions of saying, "I don't want you
17:20to be ignorant." But in verse uh 38 of
17:25chapter 14, he says this. But if any man
17:29be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
17:32It's like, I'm going to try to fix you a
17:35little bit. I'm going to try to give you
17:37some tools, but if you want to stay
17:40ignorant,
17:42that's your own choice,
17:45right?
17:48A lot of people,
17:51let me just say it very bluntly, don't
17:54make a lot of progress because they get
17:57satisfied. Like the little boy that kept
18:00falling out of bed
18:03and his mom comes in and says, "Son,
18:05what's wrong?" He said, "I don't know. I
18:08guess I stayed too close to where I got
18:09in."
18:13A lot of people just stay too close to
18:16where they got in and don't make any
18:18progress in the spirit. Now there there
18:22are biblical principles that we are
18:24given. And one of them is that the life
18:27of the body is in the blood. That's an
18:30Old Testament concept, right? It's why
18:32the blood was spilled. is why the blood
18:34of bulls and goats and animals was split
18:37spilled because the to get the blood out
18:41is the only way to become spiritual.
18:44Now, I'm not ad advocating suicide or
18:47cutting yourself or any of that stuff
18:49today. So, don't don't misconrue what
18:51I'm about to say, but we are not going
18:53to be spiritual until we are raised in
18:57that resurrection.
19:01Spirituality is not going to be
19:03perfected until we are finally done with
19:07this blood, this life in the flesh. And
19:11Paul says, he addresses this in 1
19:13Corinthians 15th chapter when he says,
19:15"You were sown a natural body that is a
19:18sucos in the Greek, a natural body, a
19:22sooulish body, but you will be raised a
19:25pneumatic, a spiritual body. You're
19:28going to be raised a spiritual body. So,
19:31we're going to be changed at some point.
19:33But again, God help us. We struggle with
19:37this flesh. There is uh there is a a
19:41familiar saying that says ignorance is
19:44bliss.
19:47I want to correct that today. Ignorance
19:50is not bliss. Ignorance is darkness. It
19:54is harmful. It is elucery. And it's
19:58totally unproductive
20:00to be ignorant. That means simply
20:04without knowledge. You're lacking
20:06knowledge. I'm lacking knowledge about
20:07certain things. The Lord even said this
20:10in the Old Testament
20:12in Hosea 4 and verse 6. He said, "My
20:16people are destroyed
20:19for lack of knowledge."
20:22They are destroyed for lack of
20:25knowledge. What we don't know can kill
20:28us.
20:31What we don't know can kill us. We
20:34should remember that uh when we're
20:38looking back at these churches, these
20:40early primitive churches, we should
20:43remember that Pentecost brought a
20:46totally new experience,
20:50especially to the Gentiles who didn't
20:52have the foundation of the the writings
20:55and the prophets that the Jewish people
20:58had. And this was what largely Paul was
21:02ministering to is a bunch of people that
21:05came from a culture
21:08who had received the baptism of the Holy
21:11Ghost but now they are totally puzzled
21:15about how it all works or how it should
21:18work.
21:20They have come uh to a uh from a culture
21:24that
21:26again we we read some of these things
21:29and and we don't really grasp what they
21:32mean in some areas of the culture. It
21:36was an honorable profession to be a
21:38thief.
21:42And so Paul says those of you who steal,
21:45you got to stop that.
21:48They came from a culture where a part of
21:51their religion was was
21:55temple prostitutes, the vestal virgins.
21:59That was the Greco Roman culture in
22:01which they lived. So their religion
22:04involved these practices. And Paul says,
22:07"Hey, you got to stop doing that kind of
22:09stuff." But understand this was a
22:13fledgling church of people who didn't
22:17have any kind of foundation whatsoever
22:22as to how everything should work about
22:24the spirit. So in the Corinthian church
22:27apparently there was all kinds of
22:29disorder and chaos concerning these
22:33spiritual things. Spiritual things. So
22:36the question of how do I live out this
22:39new what is called walk in the spirit
22:42and we we all still have our Pentecostal
22:45vernacular. I have been Pentecostal all
22:50my life
22:52all 74 years of my life I have heard
22:56this language and this speech. And so
23:00when when we talk about walking in the
23:02spirit and and uh living in the spirit
23:06and uh having the spirit indwelling us,
23:09none of that is new to me. That kind of
23:12vocabulary is ingrained in me. But this
23:16was a new experience for these people.
23:20How do I live this out? It could be
23:22comparable to a similar experience that
23:26Israel had when they first received the
23:29Ten Commandments. Moses comes down and
23:32already they're dancing around a calf
23:35down there.
23:37He's getting the law on the mountain and
23:40he's about to lay down the law to them.
23:42And instead, he got so frustrated that
23:44he just broke the tablets.
23:47They didn't know what to do. They had
23:49just come out of Egypt.
23:52They had no way no way of knowing the
23:55ways of God because none of this was was
24:00uh uh foundational to them. It was all
24:03new. And so they first received these
24:06ten commandments and and they say, "How
24:08do we supposed to do all of this?" And
24:11so Moses said, "I'll be right back. I
24:13got to go back up to the mountain."
24:16Comes back down. This time he don't have
24:1810 laws. He's got 613 laws because they
24:22ask, "How are we supposed to live this
24:25out?" And now they've got laws that are
24:28telling them how to dress, how to
24:30socialize, how to eat,
24:33civil or uh ordinances and obedience and
24:37their ceremonial religious practices.
24:40All of this from the question of how are
24:42we supposed to do this? Now, we have the
24:45New Testament. We have all the writings
24:47of Paul and the apostles. We've got
24:49those things. They didn't have any of
24:52this. And so, they were struggling with
24:55how to be spiritual. The Corinthian
24:57church was obviously plagued with a lot
24:59of issues. And here was yet another
25:02example. And apparently Paul is
25:05answering yet another question. How do
25:08we use this new found spirituality that
25:12we have? How are we to be guided in
25:14this? Because in verse one he says now
25:18about spiritual things. I'm going to
25:20answer your question about spiritual
25:21things. I don't want you to be without
25:24knowledge about these things. And so
25:27gifts appears later in verse four. But
25:31the broader context of this is uh order
25:35in spiritual activities. And so
25:38regarding the ministries and gifts, Paul
25:41later gave a key that protects misuse of
25:45these things. Verse 32 of chapter 14, he
25:50says this, "The spirit
25:53of the prophets
25:55are subject to the prophets."
25:59I've heard preachers from the pull pit
26:02shut people down who were given a
26:04message in tongues
26:06and somebody might get offended at that.
26:09But listen, God, as it was explained,
26:12God doesn't interrupt himself.
26:18If the anointing is upon the preacher
26:21who's preaching, he's not going to
26:24interrupt himself.
26:29Amen. And so there there is a there is a
26:34a protocol that's established even in
26:37spiritual things. And so spiritual gifts
26:41are never chaotic. God is not the author
26:45of confusion.
26:47Spiritual things are not chaotic. They
26:50are not confusing. A and so uh they are
26:54never to engender confusion. There is a
26:58structure of the usage of the gifts that
27:02is established and they are they are
27:06subjected to specific callings.
27:09Sometimes
27:12Paul says in verse 28, "And God hath set
27:16some in the church." Watch this, first
27:19apostles. That means first. The Greeks
27:23didn't have an idea of two things being
27:25first. Only one thing could be first.
27:28And he said the first thing that God has
27:30said in the church is one thing and
27:33that's apostles. the apost the apostolic
27:36authority was overriding in the church.
27:40And so basically he was saying what the
27:43pastor should do is grab the authority
27:47not seize it but just lay hold on it the
27:50authority that is imbued into that
27:53pastor. I still believe in pastoral
27:57authority.
28:01I believe that it is a gifting, a
28:04calling of God that the pastor has to
28:08establish. And we we sometimes get all
28:12hung up on this.
28:14And and I'm not the pastor here today,
28:17but I'm I can tell you from a pastoral
28:19experience that the pastor has the
28:23authority to establish the standards for
28:27the church.
28:31If you go to work at Chick-fil-A, you
28:34wear the uniform.
28:36If you go to work at McDonald's, the
28:39boss has the right to tell you to put on
28:42this shirt because you're being
28:44identified as a McDonald employee. The
28:47pastor can set the standards for the
28:50church that is presenting a face to the
28:54community about what this church is all
28:57about.
29:00Amen.
29:02Stay with me. So the first means first
29:05he has set apostolic authority in the
29:09church. Second, he said there are
29:10propheties uh prophets. There are those
29:13who speak under the opaces and the
29:16inspiration of the spirit. Third, there
29:19are teachers. There are those who are
29:22specifically gifted with these gifts of
29:25revelation. God has set them in the
29:28church.
29:31They are the overriding authorities
29:34led by the spirit of God. Folks, we have
29:38got to have confidence that the man of
29:41God is speaking for God
29:45and the gifts of God when they are in
29:47operation. I know what we do
29:51because I'm human. Somebody gives a
29:54message in tongues and I bow my head and
29:56I look over there to see who it is.
30:00You do the same thing. That's why you're
30:02laughing. We do the same thing. We we we
30:05want to see who it is. It doesn't matter
30:07who the voice is. What matters and this
30:11is so awesome. That's the voice that God
30:15is using to speak to his congregation.
30:19and I should receive it as that is the
30:22voice of God. We'll get into discernment
30:24in just a a few minutes, but Paul then
30:27drove a a a point home to address any
30:30doubt that may have clouded the issue of
30:34order in the church.
30:38He asks this question in verses 29 and
30:4130 of First Corinthians. Verses 29 and
30:4430.
30:46And he says this, "Are all apostles?
30:50Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
30:54Are all workers of miracles?
30:57Have all the gifts of healing? Do all
31:00speak with tongues? Do all interpret?"
31:04And in every case, brother Jury, the
31:08expected answer is no.
31:12Not everybody's an apostle.
31:15Not everybody's a prophet. Not everybody
31:18is a miracle worker. The expected answer
31:22is we are not all of those in one
31:27person.
31:29Not everybody is all of those. But
31:32nonetheless, we are gifted. You
31:37This is so important. I encourage young
31:39ministers that I talk to, find your
31:42ministry gift. Because if you don't find
31:45your ministry gift, you will never find
31:48your identity in God.
31:51You will not find what you are supposed
31:54to do, your the place where you fit in
31:57God. And so it's an important concept to
32:01know the spiritual things and how they
32:05are to be exercised and how it all fits
32:07into God ordained cosmos or order.
32:12And so there are nine charismata, nine
32:15gifts that are listed with a common
32:18thread. Although they are distributed to
32:21various individuals, they are divided uh
32:24to other uh different and and this means
32:27another of the same kind all uh we it it
32:32and the common thread is this even
32:34though it's a different individual
32:37it's by the same spirit
32:41by the same spirit and the ministries
32:44are under the same authority
32:48and the effects are worked by the same
32:51God.
32:52Hallelujah.
32:55It's the same God that works in all of
32:57these gifts that that are given.
33:01Verse 11 says, "But all of these
33:04workketh that one and selfsame spirit
33:09dividing to every man individually." It
33:13says severally, but it means
33:14individually as he will. These are all
33:19gifts to the church that help to shape
33:23and maintain order within the body.
33:28It can get very chaotic if we just allow
33:33unbridled
33:35giftings
33:38to take place is what was happening at
33:41Corenth. People just speaking in tongues
33:43all the time. no interpretation and
33:46nobody gets edified by that. It was all
33:49kinds of things going on. It's it's
33:52actually the internal workings and this
33:54is where the spirit guides the spiritual
33:58things. The internal workings. Listen,
34:02most of us are not going to die from
34:04external causes.
34:06Most of us are not going to get
34:08murdered.
34:10Most of us when we die it's going to be
34:12from internal
34:15causes.
34:16What's happening in the body? And so
34:20it's the internal workings of the body
34:24that determine the life of the body. I'm
34:28not a very good example of this. My
34:31quality of life could be better if only
34:34I ate better.
34:37If only I did certain things better, my
34:40my everything could be. But I I've said
34:44this, I don't want to be laying in the
34:46hospital bed gasping out my last last
34:49breath wondering why am I dying.
34:52I at least know what I'm dying from. I
34:54didn't take care of myself, right?
35:00I ate that stuff that I wasn't supposed
35:02to eat.
35:06But boy, what a ride it's been. At least
35:09I'm not laying there dying and not
35:10knowing what I'm dying from. Right.
35:14The life of the body is important. A and
35:19the internal workings are what
35:22determines the life of the body. If you
35:24have internal failures in the body of
35:28doctrine, of holiness, of disobedience,
35:33there's no amount of giftings that is
35:36going to take care of that. The internal
35:41the internal workings of the spirit are
35:45what takes care of the life in the body.
35:49Unified diversity is the hallmark of the
35:53body. God distributes the gifts.
35:59Hallelujah.
36:00I got some things to say here.
36:03Just being used by the spirit doesn't
36:06mean that you are perfect.
36:11Sometimes it doesn't even mean that
36:13you're right.
36:15It means that you are yielded.
36:18So don't be confused when you when you
36:21see maybe in other denominations the
36:23giftings of the spirit people talking in
36:27tongues and interpretations going forth
36:29in other places. And you say I don't
36:33know about all that. God uses and
36:36distributes severally individually as he
36:39will.
36:41It is a It is not a confirmation of your
36:45rightness or your righteousness.
36:49God spoke through a donkey
36:53which was an unclean animal.
36:56And if God can speak through a donkey,
36:58surely he can use me.
37:03Amen.
37:06So the first three gifts that are
37:09mentioned are revelatory gifts.
37:11Everybody say revelatory.
37:14They they are gifts of revelation,
37:18insight, a message of wisdom. Not note
37:22how he phrases this. He says he says
37:26that it is a word of wisdom. a word of
37:29wisdom
37:31that logos as used in context here. It
37:35has a broader meaning of a message. Paul
37:38talked about the preaching of the cross.
37:41That word there, same word, it means the
37:44message of the cross. And so here it
37:48means a message of wisdom through the
37:52means of the spirit.
37:54This is not native intellect. I don't
37:57care how smart you are. It doesn't have
37:59anything to do with IQ, common sense, or
38:02conventional wisdom. We're talking about
38:05spiritual things. This is what Paul's
38:06talking about. Spiritual things here,
38:09not things that come from your own
38:11intellect, not a uh not not something
38:14that comes from your own mind, not come
38:18because you've got a high IQ, but God
38:21inspires. YOU HAVE these aha moments
38:24sometimes. I I've talked to preachers
38:26about this and and and sometimes we
38:29speak outside of ourselves
38:32and you can tell it. We call it the
38:34anointing when someone gets anointed.
38:37I've I've sat back there and I've
38:39watched people in the pull pit and you
38:42can tell at that moment that this wasn't
38:46something that they had planned to say.
38:48It wasn't something that was in their
38:51notes necessarily, but it is a gift and
38:54and it takes you, if you've experienced
38:57this, you know that it kind of takes you
38:59a back because you go, "Whoa, where did
39:01that come from?"
39:05It's a gifting, a word, a message of
39:08wisdom that comes by means of the spirit
39:11and it is imparted through seeking God
39:15in prayer and is not necessarily always
39:20an inddwelling gift.
39:23Words fitly spoken is what the Bible
39:26says are like apples of gold and
39:29pictures of silver. You ever run into
39:32anybody like that? Especially when you
39:34needed just that word and somebody would
39:37come up to you and speak that word to
39:40you.
39:41God knew that you I've been in I've been
39:45in situations where I was at a loss. I
39:48didn't know what to do. And and then a
39:51word from God through a man of God or a
39:54a woman of God would come and and it
39:57would be inspirational and just the very
39:59thing that I needed at the time. That is
40:02the wisdom of God being reflected.
40:07James 3:1 15
40:11says, "This wisdom descendeth not from
40:14uh from above." Speaking of earthly
40:17wisdom,
40:18but it's earthly and sensual and
40:21devilish, but there is a wisdom that
40:24comes from above.
40:27And and the writer said that if you lack
40:30wisdom that ask of God who gives to all
40:34men liberally,
40:37he will impart this wisdom. And so it's
40:40an imparted wisdom that comes from God,
40:43not from your own intellect or my own
40:46mind. A and uh it he went on to say
40:51there is also a word of knowledge.
40:54It's also not a collection of data
40:57that's gleaned from your education.
41:02It's knowing through the spirit of God.
41:05And again, none of these things will
41:08ever be hurtful or harmful. They are not
41:11designed to destroy. They're designed to
41:14edify us. A word of knowledge. And so
41:19the the preposition that's used here is
41:22down from the spirit. It comes down from
41:25the spirit. And and so this is what
41:28James was clarifying. It's not a a
41:31worldly wisdom. It is a heavenly
41:35knowledge that comes down from the
41:38father of lights. One of those gifts
41:41from from him that is perfected in the
41:44spirit.
41:47So wisdom and knowledge are two sides of
41:51the same coin.
41:53Wisdom is the judicious exercise of
41:57knowledge. Somebody well said, "You know
42:01that tomato is a fruit,
42:05but you're wise if you don't put it in a
42:07fruit salad."
42:09Right?
42:13Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a
42:16fruit, but wisdom is not putting it in
42:19your fruit salad. it just doesn't work
42:22out. The judicious the judicious use of
42:27knowledge
42:28is wisdom. It's how it's applied. And
42:32and so uh let me go on. The discernment
42:36is the the third of these three
42:39revelatory gifts. We so sometimes demean
42:44the aspect of judgment.
42:47If we lay aside judgment, folks, we are
42:50lost.
42:51The Bible does not even advocate that we
42:54should just lay aside judgment. We
42:57should lay aside the judgment that is
42:59condemnatory.
43:01Right?
43:03I can't put you in heaven or hell.
43:06Only God can do that. But I can tell you
43:10what the word of God says. And I can I
43:12can look at the word of God and I can
43:14adjudicate things from the perspective
43:16of the spirit by using the word of God.
43:20God doesn't want us to lay aside
43:22judgment in that respect. In 1 John 4:1
43:27he said, "Beloved, believe not every
43:32spirit,
43:35but try the spirits
43:38whether they are of God, because many
43:40false prophets are gone out into the
43:43world." 1 Timothy 4:1 says this, "Now
43:47the spirit speaketh expressly that in
43:50the latter times some shall depart from
43:52the faith, giving heed to seducing
43:55spirits and doctrines of devils." How do
43:58we avoid this? Listen, we are in such a
44:01deceptive age today. You cannot believe
44:07what you read on screen.
44:14The Ukraine has a diplomatic agent. Her
44:16name is Victoria Shei.
44:19And they have to scroll across the
44:22screen. She is their spokesman for the
44:24government.
44:26And she's not real. She is totally AI
44:29generated. And they have to scroll
44:32across the screen. I am not a real
44:36person
44:37because she is totally believable.
44:41as a person. I heard sister way talk
44:44about uh brother Ken Gurley's daughter
44:47talking about this and said 80% of what
44:50is upsetting you and you're responding
44:53to
44:55is AI generated
44:5980%.
45:01We have got to be careful because
45:04deception is a hallmark of this age in
45:09which we live. You can't believe what
45:11you see.
45:14Thank God there is a word in which we
45:17can have confidence, a more sure word of
45:21prophecy. And when all else fails, try
45:24the spirits. Put them to the litmus test
45:27of what thus saith the word of God. And
45:30if it fails that test, reject it.
45:35This is not an adjudication of natural
45:39outward things but supernatural
45:43spiritual things.
45:47Jesus had this discernment of the
45:50spirit.
45:53When he came to the coast of Gera,
46:01he didn't ask the man, "What
46:02prescriptions are you on?
46:06What medications are you taking for
46:08this?
46:13The demons responded in kind and fell at
46:17his feet. And Jesus recognized them for
46:20what they were.
46:23This man is plagued with demons.
46:28Demons must have gone into hiding in the
46:31modern age because we don't see a whole
46:34lot of calling out of demons anymore.
46:41Amen.
46:44So where have they gone?
46:46They're hiding in plain sight.
46:50Amen.
46:52They saw an uncontrollable man. Jesus
46:56saw a tormented spirit.
46:59He went right to the root of the
47:01problem.
47:02Many things that manifest themselves in
47:05the flesh is rooted in the spirit
47:09and it can't be taken care of with any
47:12other methods or means
47:15gets quiet when I talk about this topic.
47:19But if we ever become
47:21so cerebral
47:24that we think we can take care of
47:27spiritual matters with our heads and our
47:30mindsets,
47:32we are lost.
47:35We'll be lost to the spirit.
47:38The woman had a spirit of divination in
47:41Acts chapter 16. Her manager saw her as
47:45a freak for profit, but Peter and John
47:48saw her as a slave to the supernatural
47:51and turned and cast the devils out of
47:54that woman.
47:58In this era of psychologizing every
48:01human issue, we still need to see things
48:04from a spiritual perspective.
48:07Some problems are not rooted in the
48:10natural. They have their origin in the
48:13spirit and they will not be cured in any
48:17other way. Let me go on. The next group
48:20of three are dynamic power gifts. Faith
48:24in the same spirit. Not by or through
48:27but in the same spirit has as many
48:29applications as it may encounter. You
48:32can have faith for all kinds of things.
48:34There are many.
48:36It's all in the same spirit. I've used
48:38this analogy before, but in your house,
48:42hopefully you've got electricity running
48:44water, too. You know, modern era, you
48:47got electricity in your house. We got
48:49these outlets up here. They power
48:51different things. This this this
48:54keyboard is plugged into the same outlet
48:56as the organ is plugged in.
49:00Those guitars and and all of those
49:02things are plugged in to the same thing.
49:05You got things in your house that range
49:08from your a your air conditioner, which
49:10is a 220 volt, right, power,
49:15and and it goes all the way down to when
49:17you plug your phone charger in to
49:19milliamps and and and short small
49:23voltages, right? But it's the same power
49:26you plug into the same outlet. And there
49:30all those devices are being powered by
49:33the same source of power. And so it is
49:38with faith. Faith has many many
49:42applications.
49:44Somebody might need faith for a
49:45financial miracle. Somebody might need
49:48faith for healing. Somebody might need
49:50faith for a family situation. But it's
49:53all the same power that we plug into to
49:58receive the things that we need.
50:01So faith is an outlet into which we plug
50:05and we find the exact power we need for
50:08every situation. A word of faith, we get
50:12on this sometimes scared off. A word of
50:16faith is not necessarily predictive.
50:19It's not always about the future, about
50:22what is coming down the pike, but it
50:24also can serve to inspire or instill
50:28faith in the hear. Romans 10:17 says,
50:31"So then faith cometh by hearing and
50:34hearing by the word of God." We let Let
50:37me just admonish us today. We have been
50:39scared off by thinking, "What if I'm
50:42wrong?"
50:44We don't say things sometimes that we
50:46should say. I have seen I have known of
50:49preachers who have gone into deep
50:51depression because what they said didn't
50:54come to pass. It's a misunderstanding
50:58that sometimes faith is just a word of
51:01faith that is to inspire
51:05faith in the one that's hearing it.
51:08Don't reserve that faith. Don't hold
51:11back on speaking a word of faith because
51:14they might be taken as predictive.
51:17You're trying sometimes just to get a
51:19person's faith built up to the point
51:22because faith comes by hearing
51:26and hearing by the word of God.
51:30And so when we hold back, we reinforce
51:32fears and we resist faith. Isn't it
51:35ironic that we go to the doctor and we
51:38believe every word he tells us
51:42and we go to church and we sit as
51:45skeptics when the word of God comes
51:47forth,
51:48right?
51:50You might as well nod your head because
51:52it's the truth. We'll believe every
51:56we'll sit there and swallow everything
51:57that doctor gives us.
52:00Every word must be true. And the
52:01preacher gets up and says, "God will
52:03heal you if you've got the faith for
52:06healing." And we go, "I'm not sure about
52:08that in my case anyway." You know,
52:12hello.
52:15Faith is given to all of us. You got
52:17faith today. According to Romans 12
52:22verse three, he says, "God hath dealt to
52:25every man the measure of faith." You've
52:30got faith. It don't have to be big. We
52:34quantify faith, but all God is looking
52:37for is faith.
52:39Speak a word of faith. It's saving
52:42faith, but it's also dynamic faith.
52:45Faith to believe when needed. The next
52:47two gifts are based in that same power
52:50source. Healings in the same spirit. And
52:54so, healings, all healings are not
52:56miraculous. Let me just say that.
53:00All healings are not miraculous. There
53:03are some healings that are not
53:04miraculous. They're just they're
53:06healings
53:08over a period of time. And so James said
53:11in verse uh verses 14 and 15 of chapter
53:145, is any sick among you? Let him call
53:17for the elders of the church. Let them
53:19pray over him, anointing him with oil in
53:21the name of the Lord. And the prayer of
53:23faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
53:25shall raise him up. And now our skeptics
53:27are all going, "Yeah, that works for
53:29some people, but not not for me."
53:32No, it works. There is a connectivity.
53:37This is it's passed from human to human.
53:40This this faith that one has can be
53:43generated in another person. I I firmly
53:47believe that that's why we are
53:49admonished to put our hands on the
53:51problem.
53:53lay hands on the sick and your faith has
53:56the kind of power that they shall
53:59recover.
54:01Amen. Miracles inexplicable by any
54:05natural wisdom. I am very careful when I
54:08use the term miraculous
54:11because if I have used exercise any
54:14other means that can be disputed
54:19then I just don't use the term miracle.
54:24Hello
54:26miracles defy natural norms established
54:31norms natural principles circumvent all
54:34of that. They don't follow convention.
54:37Every barrier, listen to me, every
54:41barrier that we face, every obstacle
54:43that we have has the seeds of the
54:46miraculous in it. If you can believe,
54:51all things are possible to him that
54:54believes. That does not speak of
54:57inevitability.
54:59It speaks of possibility.
55:01Every situation we faith contains the
55:04seeds of the miraculous if we can
55:08believe. The last group of three are
55:10romatic. They are utterances,
55:14prophecy,
55:15unknown tongues, interpretation of
55:18tongues. I still believe that these
55:22gifts are in operation. I am not of the
55:25the group of cessationists who believes
55:28that all these things have passed away.
55:30They're still in the church. The church
55:33still needs the gifts in operation.
55:35Let's stand together. This should not be
55:38some esoteric alien idea for anyone who
55:42walks in the spirit. The gifts are
55:45available. Paul says on the heels of
55:47this, but covet earn earnestly the best
55:51gifts. Covet zealously desire
55:56zealously desire the best gifts. And yet
56:00I as we launch into the next chapter, he
56:04says, "I'm going to show you the best
56:07thing." The best thing. This church was
56:11impressed by showy gifts. And Paul says,
56:14"You got to strive for the greater
56:16gifts. Strive for the greater gifts."
56:20And this is a segue into the following
56:22chapter that says, "The greatest of
56:25these is what?"
56:28love, charity, love. You can't supersede
56:32love because God is love. Amen. God
56:39bless you. Thank you for your
56:40attentiveness. And you can take a little
56:42break here.

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