Speaker 1: 0:07

Well, good morning again and happy Mother's Day again. I'm thankful for my mom and for my wife, jennifer, who is an incredible mom. What I've seen through watching them is that to be a mom is to be a servant. It really is about serving pretty much your whole life. A funny example of that when I was a kid, I was obsessed with playing baseball. I just wanted to play baseball all the time, and one summer I was in the middle of that obsession and there was a day when there was just no one around to play baseball with. It's really kind of hard to play baseball by yourself, and so I begged my mom. I was like mom, will you please pitch to me? And so she finally relented and she took me to a baseball field and started throwing the ball. And I was like what's the worst that could happen? She's just throwing. I mean, this is easy, right? Well, like probably four or five pitches in. I sent a line drive right back at her and nailed her in the leg, and that was the last time that my mom ever threw batting practice to me. But here's the best part this is a tradition that's passed down from generation to generation because, I kid you not, the same exact thing happened to Jennifer. She took Nathaniel out to hit one day and he did the same exact thing to her. It's just, I think you still have the bruise on your leg somewhere. Right, she'll show you later, but so it's just. You know, this is the way we show our love for our moms in my family. So it's just, you know, this is the way we show our love for our moms in my family. But really being a mom is about being selfless in ways such as that, and so we celebrate moms today.

Speaker 1: 1:55

But we also I don't know if you know this, but this past Thursday in the church was what was called Ascension Day, or the Feast of Ascension, when we remember Jesus ascending into heaven 40 days after his resurrection. You can read about that in Acts, chapter 1. And if you know how this worked, I mean, jesus dies on the cross, he rises again in glory, he's defeated Satan, sin and death, and he's got, he is in his glorified body. And everybody's like all right, well, you're going to take over the world now, right? And Jesus was like no, actually I'm going to. You guys are going to go out and share the good news and make disciples of all nations and I'm going to leave.

Speaker 1: 2:40

And the disciples were like what, why would you leave? And the disciples were like what, why would you leave? And he's like don't you remember what I said in John 16, 7? He didn't say it that way, but in John 16, 7, he said Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you, and the helper is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is saying if I'm here with you, I'm here in this one place because while I'm God, I'm also man. But if I leave and I send you the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit can be with all of you at all times, everywhere, in every Christian. And that's exactly what he did as fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Joel, the fulfillment of Jesus' very words. He sends the Holy Spirit in Acts, chapter 2, and he sends him in power. And from that point on, every Christian everywhere has had the Holy Spirit dwelling inside their hearts. And the Holy Spirit is our helper, as Jesus said, who helps us to strengthen not only each other but the church and build the church wherever we may, and the primary way that the Holy Spirit strengthens and builds the church through us is through something called spiritual gifts. And so spiritual gifts, that's what we're going to be talking about today in 1 Corinthians 12. To start, we'll just look at verses 1 through 3.

Speaker 1: 4:09

Paul writes Now concerning spiritual gifts. Brothers, I do not want you to be unformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 4:33

So often in this letter, the Corinthians have had some kind of question or issue and Paul is writing to answer their question or correct their issue. And this is the same type of thing, and it seems like what they were thinking was. They wanted to know like which gifts, paul, which gifts do I need to have in order to be a super elite Christian? Like how do I get the right gift mix, the right set of gifts, to make me like really special in Jesus's eyes? That's kind of what they were thinking and the reason they were thinking that is because of their former beliefs as pagans. So Paul is saying you are really not getting it Like. You greatly misunderstand what a spiritual gift is if that's the way you're thinking about them, because that is not at all what they're about. He's saying this is because of how you believed as pagans and now these pagan beliefs have carried over into your Christian life.

Speaker 1: 5:33

He says this in verse 2, before you were believers, you were led astray by mute idols. The Bible talks about idols as being fake. They're not real. There's not really other gods out there, they're just idols that are dead and they're represented by dead things and they're created by human beings and they mysteriously look a lot like the human beings that create them. And he's saying you were led astray by these idols, but really they were led astray by the religious leaders that served these idols, the religious leaders that led these cults.

Speaker 1: 6:09

Leon Morris talks about these leaders and he's saying that in the pagan world it was believed that those who were especially close with the divine had special spiritual endowments. At times they behaved in unpredictable ways, threw themselves about and spoke in a frenzied manner. Their enthusiasm was the mark of the presence of the divine spirit within them. So you see how people believe that if you were really a super elite religious person, you had these special characteristics and traits. It was almost like you would kind of lose control of yourself and do crazy things. That's what people believed. And so he's saying you know these people, these pagan leaders. They were skilled at convincing others that they were special in their God's eyes and really what they had was a knack for putting on a show and for entertaining, was a knack for putting on a show and for entertaining. And he's saying you have carried that errant belief into your Christianity. You're making your Christianity appear more like these pagan religions in seeking, quote-unquote, the right spiritual gifts. So they wrongly believe that worldly displays of power were signs of godly strength and maturity. They wrongly believe that worldly displays of power were signs of godly strength and maturity. They wrongly believe that worldly displays of power were signs of godly strength and maturity.

Speaker 1: 7:32

We're still dealing with this in the church in different ways today and we probably always will until Jesus returns. And one way that I think we're dealing with this is by or with this idea that celebrity Christians are super Christians. You know like we're kind of drawn to these leaders who? They're famous. They look, put together, right? They don't look like me. They have new clothes, like probably you know, every week. I'll still be wearing this exact same outfit in 20 years unless I gain a ton of weight, right? Not them. No, they're fashionable, they have style, they live lavish lifestyles. They're on that Instagram channel Preachers in Sneakers. They woo us with their slick words. They woo us with their slick words and they sell a lot of books that are on Amazon and are filled with not a lot of value.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Now, I'm not saying that there are no actual godly, mature celebrity Christians. There sure are. There are plenty of them. There are many of them who might benefit from. But what I'm trying to say is that celebrity is not evidence of godliness. Celebrity is not evidence of godliness. Just because a person is famous for being a Christian does not mean they're actually a mature Christian, or it doesn't even mean they're a Christian at all. They might just be really good at putting on a show. They might just be really good at being famous. So we have to be careful who we're listening to and who we're following. How do you know that someone is truly a Christian or that you're truly a Christian.

Speaker 1: 9:14

Well, paul here says in verse 3, that a Christian confesses that Jesus is Lord. A Christian confesses that Jesus is Lord. And the only way that we'll ever confess that Jesus is Lord truly, with a sincere heart, is if we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that any of us can say and believe that Jesus is Lord. Because, look, our default state as humans is to be Jesus' enemies. It's not like there's some neutral ground.

Speaker 1: 9:41

The Bible talks about this in Romans 5. That says that when Jesus saved us, we were still his enemies. We were hostile to him. It wasn't like we decided we wanted to join his team and then he saved us. No, we were hostile to him and he saved us even while we were his enemies, and so that's our default status as human beings. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot get out of that. So without the Holy Spirit, by nature we are cursing Jesus. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that any of us can say praise Jesus, jesus is Lord. That's my confession. So this is how Paul would say we can identify whether or not we are believers or whether or not somebody else is a believer.

Speaker 1: 10:24

But you might say what about what Jesus says in Matthew 7.21? He says there not everyone who says to me Lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven Jesus is saying, as the band Extreme said, is in heaven. Jesus is saying, as the band Extreme said more than words is all I am, I'll stop. So Jesus is saying that you could confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, but then live like a pagan, be hostile to the kingdom of God or even just be apathetic to the things of God. And guess what? Your confession is not valid. Our words need to be backed up by our actions, our lives, bearing witness to the reality that we truly do believe Jesus is Lord, that we truly do believe Jesus is Lord. This is why Jesus says in John 15, 8, that you will prove to be my disciples by bearing much fruit.

Speaker 1: 11:32

What fruit? What is that? Well, it's evidence. Evidence of what? Evidence? Of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Notice that it's not fruits plural, it's fruit Meaning all of these things. We should see all of them in our lives as evidence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. So a Christian has the Holy Spirit, bears fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. But also a Christian will have the spiritual gifts given to him or her by the Spirit. So what are those? That's the whole point of why we're here this morning.

Speaker 1: 12:19

Verses 4 through 9. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given, through the Spirit, the utterance in Scripture of what a spiritual gift is.

Speaker 1: 12:52

Spiritual gifts are abilities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit for the edification and service of the church, for the glory and praise of Jesus Christ. We can just leave that up there for a little bit. They are God-given gifts. Notice how Paul goes to the trouble to make sure he names Father, son and Holy Spirit in this passage. These are gifts given to us by the triune God. He says that is of the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit of the same Lord, the Lord Jesus, empowered by the same God, god the Father. It is a gift of the triune God, but these gifts are not the same thing as talents of the triune God, but these gifts are not the same thing as talents. Okay, scotty Scheffler is an incredible golfer, probably the best in the world right now, and he's also a Christian who is not afraid to share his faith, even on TV. And he would tell you, I guarantee you, that his talent of golfing is from God. He has given Scotty Scheffler an amazing talent for golf. Others of us not so much. But golf and things like that, they are not spiritual gifts. And the reason why is because God gives those talents to all kinds of people, not just Christians. Okay, if he only gave the talent of playing golf to Christians, well then I'd be a lot better at golf. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 14:22

And these gifts are also not for individual fulfillment. They're not about me. They're not about making me happy or personal fulfillment, finding happiness or anything like that. They're to be used to build the church through service. This is why Paul says in verse 7 that they are meant for the common good, not my good. They're not meant for me, they're meant for the church. And if I use my gifts in the church, if I'm serving in a way that God has designed me to serve, I'm going to find joy. In that Joy is a byproduct. It's not the reason why we use these gifts. We don't use these gifts thinking it'll make me happy to serve. We use these gifts thinking God has commanded me to serve. It is what the church needs. And joy, happiness, fulfillment these are byproducts of using our spiritual gifts, rightly so.

Speaker 1: 15:17

It's kind of like if you know the story of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. There's these four children, the Pevensey children, who walk through a wardrobe and come out into a magical land called Narnia, and at the time when they come out it's winter, and they find out that it's actually always winter and never Christmas, because the whole land is under the curse of the White Witch. And these children just so happen to be the key to ending the White Witch's curse, and so they are given specific gifts. Actually, three of them are Edmund goes off and follows the White Witch. The other three are given specific gifts to use for battle. Follows the White Witch. The other three are given specific gifts to use for battle against the White Witch. And Peter is given a sword and he leads the battle. He leads the army of Narnia against the forces of darkness. He uses his sword to fight the bad guys. Susan is given a bow and arrows and a horn and when she uses her horn in battle she's calling for help so people know where to go where the battle is hardest. Lucy is given a dagger and a magical healing cordial and at the end of the battle, when people are wounded, she's going around and giving them a drink and healing them. So you see that each one of these gifts is meant for a different reason and, as CJ will talk about next week and the rest of 1 Corinthians 12, none of them are better than the others. They're all equal, equally necessary for service in the church, for the good of the church.

Speaker 1: 16:50

I believe that my spiritual gifts are teaching and exhortation. I would say that what I'm doing right now is me using my spiritual gift for the church. It's not for me, it's not for my benefit, it's not to make me feel good, it's to point people to Jesus, it's to show people the truth of the scriptures and if, after the service, you come up to me and tell me, and if, after the service, you come up to me and tell me that was a great sermon, I hope my answer will be well, praise Jesus. I failed that, by the way, after first service Twice. First time someone comes up, hey, that was a great sermon. I was like, thanks man. And he's like you failed. I was like, oh, dang it. I really do believe it's for the praise of Jesus, though. So every gift is like that. Every gift is meant to strengthen the church, to build the church, to strengthen believers. They're not about my glory, they're about Jesus's glory.

Speaker 1: 17:50

So what are these gifts? You know, you've been very patient. Let's reveal. Let's have the big reveal. Some of them are listed here, like we've already read about faith, wisdom and knowledge. Others are listed in verse 28 of this chapter. Others are listed in Romans, chapter 12.

Speaker 1: 18:06

So let's look at a few of these. You know faith, all Christians. You might be surprised to see that as a gift, because all Christians have faith. I mean, you can't be a Christian and not have faith. However, you can have the gift of faith, meaning that you have an unshakable confidence in God, his word and his promises. And a person who has this gift is likely the person who is encouraging everyone else around them in the darkest of times. Let's trust Jesus. Let's keep our eyes on him and his word and his promises. Let's trust Jesus. Let's keep our eyes on him and his word and his promises.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Same thing can be said of wisdom and knowledge. Every Christian ought to develop godly wisdom and knowledge, but there are certain people with the gifts of wisdom and knowledge. So wisdom would be being able to understand and speak forth biblical truth in a way that they are able to skillfully apply the Bible to life with discernment. And then knowledge is a keen understanding of deep things, of the mysteries of God's Word. You know, if you have someone in your life that has a spiritual gift, they're the person that you go to. When you need help understanding a really tough passage of Scripture, you go to them and they're able to explain it. You can see the rest of the gifts up there.

Speaker 1: 19:19

I put a star next to evangelism, and the reason is because evangelism is not expressly listed in the Scripture as a spiritual gift, but apostle is being an apostle, and, as we'll see in a little bit, I don't believe that there are still apostles, at least not the way they were at the time of the twelve apostles. But I believe that you could have the gift of what I would call frontier ministry, being like the tip of the spear in building the kingdom of God. So that's being exceptionally gifted at evangelism, at missions or at church planting. So that's why I put a star for further explanation there. How do we know which gifts you have? Well, you could actually take a spiritual gift assessment, which is basically like a glorified Christian personality test, which has some benefit. I mean, every time I've taken one, I've been like, oh yeah, that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 20:13

But really, the best way to find out how you're gifted is to serve, serve in the church, jump in, find a place to serve and see if that's how God's gifted you. Maybe it's not. Maybe you find that you're serving in kid's town and you're like you know, kids are not. For me. I really, really am drawn to serve with middle school kids. That's my gift and if that is your gift, you are a super Christian. I'll say that. But here's the thing we need you to use your gifts in the church. We are missing out on your gifts. If you're not serving, we are missing out on your gifts if you're not serving and you are missing out on growth. You will not grow as a Christian without serving and using your gifts. You are missing out on the purpose that God has given you for serving in the church and the church is missing out on the blessing of your gifts.

Speaker 1: 21:16

Now, sometimes there's a couple of warnings here. Sometimes we can do what Tim Keller calls the spiritual gift cop-out. This is like when you say I don't have the spiritual gift of evangelism so I don't have to do it. Is that true? God commands us all to evangelize. He commands us all to share our faith, to be ready to share the reason for the hope that's within us. That's not just for some people, that's for all Christians. But to use it as a cop-out, it's kind of like if you're in the army and you're a cook and the battle is raging and they need you to go join the battle and you're like, oh, I can't go fight, I'm just a cook, they're going to be like, sorry, you're in the army, you're a soldier. First Go grab a gun. And it's the same thing with the church. You may have a certain spiritual gift for administration or helps or teaching or whatever, but you might be needed somewhere else and the way that you're needed is a command that Jesus has given for all Christians, and so not having that gift doesn't make it so that you cannot or are exempt from serving.

Speaker 1: 22:28

Another interesting warning is I didn't list the gift of hospitality up on the screen. Some people do list that as a spiritual gift. I do not, and the reason is because it's mentioned four times in the New Testament and three of the four times it's mentioned as a command for all Christians, like 1 Peter 4.9, where it says show hospitality to one another without grumbling. It doesn't say if you have the gift of hospitality, no, it just says show hospitality. And that's hospitality. By the way, in the Greek means stranger love. It's a love of strangers, welcoming strangers. It does not mean entertaining. By the way, I've known a lot of people who won't show hospitality because what they think hospitality is is having people over to your house, making sure everything is spotless and clean and putting on a show for them. But what is that about? It's not about serving the Lord, that's about serving you. If you feel like you had to put on a show for everybody, that's about you. That's not hospitality. Hospitality is welcoming people in and loving them, even when the house is a wreck, letting them see hey, this is what life is really like, come be part of it. So we're all called to show hospitality, we're all called to. Most of these gifts, if you noticed, are commands that he gives to all Christians, and so we're called to honor Christ in all of these ways. It's just that some are going to have particular affinity for certain areas of these.

Speaker 1: 24:05

Now, as we wrap up and go to our final point, we're going to look at verses 9 through 11. And we'll see some gifts in here that I have not listed. So let's read, starting in verse 9. He says To another gifts of healing by one spirit, by the one spirit To another, the working of miracles To another, prophecy To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits To another, various kinds of tongues to another, various kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Speaker 1: 24:41

So when I was a kid, I remember going to visit my grandparents' Pentecostal church and at one point in the service this elderly woman stood up just kind of like elderly woman stood up just kind of like if somebody stood up right now and just started talking. She stands up and she starts talking and the words that were coming out of her mouth were not English words, as far as I could tell at a very young age, whatever I was, they weren't any normal language. They sounded just like gibberish. And come to find out what she was doing is she claimed to be able to speak in tongues, and speaking in tongues was a spiritual gift given, we believe, at the time of the apostles, specifically for building up the church. But there are certain gifts like that tongues being an actual apostle, the gift of healing, the gift of miracles, the gift of prophecy that I would define, or that our denomination would define, as what's called sign gifts or miraculous gifts.

Speaker 1: 25:42

And the question is does the Holy Spirit still give out these miraculous gifts to people today? That's a great question that a lot of Christians disagree on. So, as I said, westtown is part of the PCA. We're what's called a cessationist church. That doesn't mean that we're in favor of seceding from the union. It means that we believe that these sign gifts have ceased to exist. They no longer exist. God no longer gives these gifts out to people. Let me give you some explanation of that.

Speaker 1: 26:14

We see in Scripture very clearly that people had these gifts In the Old Testament, especially the prophets, and obviously Jesus had all of these gifts. By the way, jesus had all of the spiritual gifts. Think about that, it's pretty amazing. And then the apostles, of course, had these gifts, and even some other people during the time of the apostles you read in the book of Acts in particular there are other people who were gifted with healing. And so during that time, the age which corresponds to the age when the scriptures were being essentially written these gifts existed, but no longer. At least that's our belief. And I want to be clear.

Speaker 1: 26:54

When we say that we don't believe that the miraculous gifts still exist, we are not saying that we don't believe God can do miracles. That's different. God can do miracles whenever he wants. God can heal anyone anytime, whenever he wants. God can do anything he wants. He's God. He's the creator and sustainer of the universe. That's a whole different category, and you could even pray for someone to be healed and God might respond by healing them. So that does happen. What I'm saying is we don't believe there are people anymore who have the gift of healing so that they can walk up to a paraplegic, put their hand on their forehead, say in the name of the Lord, jesus be healed, and that person starts walking immediately. That's what we're saying does not happen anymore. Let me give you some explanation as to why.

Speaker 1: 27:43

So if you look at the use of these miraculous gifts, particularly in the book of Acts, particularly in the book of Acts, you always see that they're accompanying the apostles preaching the gospel, the word of truth. They go hand in hand with the preaching of Jesus as Lord. A great example is Acts, chapter 3, where Peter heals a lame beggar. In verses 11 through 16, he says while he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's, and when Peter saw it, he addressed the people men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us as though, by our own power or piety, we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy One and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith that you see.

Speaker 1: 28:59

Peter and the apostles were out and about preaching God's word. Everywhere they went, they were preaching that Jesus is God, the Son of God, that he died on the cross, that he rose again from the grave in power and that he alone can forgive sins. He alone can save a person, he alone will bring about the kingdom of God. And guess what? That was a weird message. That was a strange word. It was not well received. It was not easily believed well received. It was not easily believed. At best, people thought wow, this is really weird. At worst, people were absolutely livid and hostile towards these guys for saying these things. They were thrown in jail, beaten and killed as a result.

Speaker 1: 29:49

So if they're out here preaching what seems to be a very strange thing to people, how does a person just like, let's say, it's a common person who's at least willing to listen? How do they know that this is true? How do they know that what they're saying is legit. That's the reason for these gifts, because they would preach these things and at the same time or at a similar time, they would heal a dude and people will be like, oh, I've never seen that before. Their words must be true. You see, this is these sign gifts were God's cosmic notary stamp, as if he was saying I verify that these words are true Because look at the power that accompanies them, power that's not as a result of these people, but as a result of Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 30:46

But you see, this only lasted until the end of the apostolic age, when John, who wrote John in 1st, 2nd and 3rd John in Revelation. But you see, this only lasted until the end of the apostolic age, when John, who wrote John in 1st, 2nd and 3rd John in Revelation, was the last apostle to die. He died in somewhere between probably 90 and 100 AD, the only one who wasn't actually martyred for his faith. And when he died, the apostolic age ended and thus also did the giving of the word of God. And even John at the end of Revelation in verse 22, chapter 22, 18 and 19, says I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book if anyone adds to them, god will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city which are described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city which are described in this book. He's saying we're not going to add anything else to the Bible. It's done. God's word is complete. And so, because God's word is complete, because God is not giving any new revelation out to people, there is no longer a need for these signed gifts to testify to its validity. And that's the whole point of why we would say these gifts have ceased.

Speaker 1: 31:59

Now I do want to say again that there are many Christians who disagree, who believe that these gifts are still active, and this is a secondary or tertiary issue. It's not a salvation issue. You can believe that these gifts are still active and still be a Christian. Many do, like the people in my grandparents' church so long ago. But I would say that, like many of these types of beliefs, there are dangers that come with believing them. There are benefits, of course, but there are also dangers potentially. There are benefits, of course, but there are also dangers, potentially. And I would say prophecy if you would still adhere to the fact that there could be a gift of prophecy is possibly the most dangerous one, and the reason is because if you hear someone saying I'm a prophet and I'm hearing new words from God, that's dangerous.

Speaker 1: 32:50

How do we know that their words are actually from God? How do we know? At best it's subjective. I've heard an innocent example of this would be I've heard of young men going up to young women and saying you know what God's told me? I'm supposed to marry you. Young girls like well, do I have a say in the matter or is this just decided now between you and God and young men? I would say that's not an advisable pickup line, even for Christian girls. But do you see, how do we know that that's actually from God? It's not written in His Word. At worst, these new words from God quote unquote could be words that cause us to value the words of men more than we're valuing the words of God. Or, even worse, they could just be lies from Satan. I would say that's what the Quran is. Muhammad claims to have gone into a cave and received words from an angel that were the words of God. No one else was there except for him. How do we know that angel wasn't actually Satan? So that's one example.

Speaker 1: 34:03

Another example there's a book that came out recently a few years back called Heaven is for Real. It was supposedly about a boy who died and went to heaven, saw visions of heaven and came back and told his story. And man, I remember when that came out, people loved this book. They were so excited about it and I had one person in particular that was just in tears with excitement because he was saying this is evidence that heaven is real. Because he was saying this is evidence that heaven is real and my pastor at the time said why do you need more evidence than what we already have in God's word? God's word says heaven is real. You don't need a book that some kid supposedly wrote to tell us and come to find out. I actually just learned this after the first service. It was all fake. The story wasn't even true. The kid was like seven when supposedly this happened. When he was a teenager he came back and said no, I made all that up. My dad pressured me to make it up. You see what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 35:04

Like you hear someone say I'm hearing new words from God, hear someone say I'm hearing new words from God, meet that with skepticism. Always, if what they say is consistent with God's word found in the scriptures, okay, maybe they are hearing from God I'm not going to put it past God to speak to somebody. But if they're saying no, I'm hearing something new, something different, that's a lie, that's not from God and that's not a spiritual gift and that's something that is being used to glorify man and not King Jesus. Here's the point. We don't need any more word from God than what we already have in the Bible.

Speaker 1: 35:50

God's word is sufficient. God's word is clear. God's word is enough to tell us how to find salvation in Jesus Christ, to tell us how to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to him, to show us how to walk by the Spirit and therefore not gratify the desires of the flesh flesh and to show us how to use our spiritual gifts for the good of the church. God's word is sufficient, it is enough. It's all we need to know for how to please God in this life and when we get to the next life, I'm sure he'll tell us all kinds of mind-blowing things that we never could have known, but for now this is all we need. So we praise Jesus for giving us his word and for giving us his Holy Spirit, who is growing his church through the gifts he's given to each of us. Let's pray together.