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Howdy, pastor Mark here.

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Let me just take
a few moments of your time

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before we get into
the latest sermon in Ephesians.

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I want to tell you about
what's coming up for Easter.

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We will have 42 services
across 14 of our churches

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scattered across 4 states
and we'll also be live-streaming everything online.

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We only do this historically
once a year and that's on Easter.

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And so I'll be preaching live
at Mars Hill downtown

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and we'll be simulcasting to all
of our locations as well as the internet.

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You can go to marshill.com/easter
to find out more

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and to register to watch
what God will be doing on Easter Sunday.

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And I know many of you
are part of Mars Hill Global

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you pray for our chuch, some of you
have even given to our church

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and the extended mission
and ministry of Mars Hill.

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I wanna say thank you for that
and before we get into Ephesians now,

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I want to introduce you
to Pastor Sutton Turner,

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my friend,
our excecutive pastor, to let you know

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some of the things that your generosity
has been accomplishing.

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Hi there Mars Hill Church

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and the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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I'm pastor Sutton Turner
here in Dilla, Ethiopia

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and I wanted to take
a moment and explain

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what the extended family
of Mars Hill Global is.

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I was a podcaster
when I was living in the Middle East

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and consuming
those podcasts every week,

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participating, really one way, 
from Mars Hill Church.

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I was really a consumer.

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So what we're doing is setting up

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the extended family
of Mars Hill Global and saying,

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"Come, be a part of what Jesus Christ
is doing in and through our church."

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So what does Mars Hill Global do?

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Well, Mars Hill Global is doing
and participating in church planting

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here in Ethiopia and also in India.

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Also, we're doing church planting
in the United States as well.

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We're doing all of that
because in Mars Hill Church

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we believe that Jesus has called us
to make disciples and plant churches.

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So I want to ask you to be a part.
I want to as you to be a part

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of the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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Sign up today.

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Become a member
of the extended family,

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start participating online with us,

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and let's see what Jesus Christ
is going to do,

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not only in the United States,
but to the ends of the Earth.

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[music]

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[laughing]
I'm Joshua.

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I'm Spencer.
Hey, I'm Jonathan.

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I'm a lawyer
and I'm a mom.

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I'm a colorist
in the fashion industry.

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I don't know
how to not smile.

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I am a strategist.

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I work in
commercial real estate.

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Yeah, I'm just
trying to figure out

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how to phrase my work.

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People are always
coming up to me with, like,

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creative ideas.

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I carry around a baseball
that reminds me of my dad.

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I lost my home,
my car, my retirement.

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Most days look pretty,
kind of crazy.

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[laughing]

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Being a wholesaler,
we have a big warehouse space.

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I like to think
through things.

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I got a tattoo
of a tree.

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I love--I love that.

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Who do you think--
Who do you think you are?

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Well, as you guys know,
I love our church,

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and one of the things I love
about our church is Jesus,

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year after year, keeps bringing
tons of non-Christians.

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And as we anticipate Easter

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and lots of people
becoming Christians,

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I love the fact
that Jesus keeps bringing

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non-Christians to Mars Hill,
and I love having conversations

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with non-Christians
who are curious about Jesus.

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We had one recently; a guy
came up after a service.

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He said, "Okay, I'm trying
to figure out Christianity."

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Really nice guy.

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I said, "Okay, any questions?
What can I help you with?"

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He says,
"Okay, so Jesus is God?"

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"Yep, been paying attention,
good job."

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"And he died on the cross
for our sins."

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"Yes, he did."

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"He rose from the dead."

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"Yes, he did."

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He said,
"So, where's he at today?

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Does he live in Israel?"
That was his question.

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I said, "No, if he
lived in Israel,

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"somebody would have found
him by now,

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and we would all just go
to his church."

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But he said,
"Well, where is he?"

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I said,
"Well, he's in heaven."

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He said,
"Well, what is he doing?"

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It's a good question, right?

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It's the question that
Paul answers for us today.

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Alright, where's Jesus
and what's he doing today?

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And so if you've got a Bible
or a fake Bible on your phone,

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go to Ephesians 4:1-16,
as we look at the fact that

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"I Am Gifted."

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And let's just read
the whole thing together.

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Faith comes by hearing
the Word of God.

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Let's read it all together,

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and we'll answer
those questions, 

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where is Jesus today,
and what is he doing?

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Paul says, "I therefore,
a prisoner for the Lord,"

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so their pastor's in jail—

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"urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling

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"to which you
have been called,

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"with all humility
and gentleness, with patience,

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bearing with one another,"

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why?

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Because we're going
to annoy one another.

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It's one of the things
we're supposed to do.

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So you're doing a good job.

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Verse 3, "eager to maintain
the unity of the Spirit

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"in the bond of peace.

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There is one body,"
the church, "and one Spirit,"

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the Holy Spirit, "just as you
were called to the one hope

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"that belongs to your call--one
Lord, one faith, one baptism,

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one God and Father of all."

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He's talking about us all
being one and in this together.

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"—who is over all
and through all and in all.

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"But grace was given to each one
of us according to the measure

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"of Christ's gift.

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"Therefore it says, 'When he
ascended on high he led a host

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"'of captives, and he
gave gifts to men.'

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"(In saying, 'He ascended,'
what does it mean

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"but that he also descended into
the lower regions, the earth?

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"He who descended is the one who
also ascended far above

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"all the heavens, that he
might fill all things.)

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"And he gave some to be apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists,

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the shepherds," or pastors,

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"and teachers,
to equip the saints,"

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that's you guys, the church,
"for the work of ministry,

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for building up the body
of Christ," there's Mars Hill,

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"until we all attain to
the unity of the faith

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"and of the knowledge
of the Son of God,

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"to mature manhood,

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"to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ,

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"so that we may
no longer be children,

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"tossed to and fro by the waves
and carried about by every wind

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"of doctrine, by human cunning,

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by craftiness
in deceitful schemes."

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A lot of false teachers
out there who want to

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lead us astray.

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"Rather, speaking
the truth in love,

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"we are to grow up in every
way into him who is the head,

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"into Christ,
from whom the whole body,

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"joined together and held
together by every joint with

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"which it is equipped, when
each part is working properly,

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makes the body grow so that
it builds itself up in love."

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Where's Jesus today?

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Well, he tells us first of all
that Jesus is in heaven

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with believers.

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That language of "descended"
and then "ascended" explains

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the whole ministry of Jesus—
that Jesus descended down

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from heaven, that Jesus is
God—he's eternally God;

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he's the second member
of the Trinity.

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And he descended from heaven to
earth, and he lived without sin,

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and he said he was God,
and we were opposed to him,

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and so we crucified him.
And then he descended,

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it says, into the lower
parts of the earth.

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He was buried in the ground,
literally, physically dead,

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and then 3 days later he rose,
so he ascended from his grave

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back to life, conquering
death and sin,

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and then he witnessed his
resurrection by demonstrating

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he was alive for 40 days.

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Crowds large and small,
individual people, small groups,

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numbers upwards of 500 people—
1 Corinthians 15 tells us—

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he appeared to his mom,
he appeared to his brothers,

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he appeared to his
friends and his disciples.

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He evidenced that he had,
in fact, been crucified,

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showing the scars in his body.

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Everybody knew that he was
alive, conquered death,

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did the one thing that
no one has ever done,

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beat sin and death.
And then he ascended back into

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his heavenly kingdom.

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And so where is Jesus today?

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Well, that's what he tells us.

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This language of "ascending,"
this language of "descending."

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And when it says this: "'When he
ascended on high he led

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"'a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.'

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"(In saying, 'He ascended,' what
does it mean but that he also

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"descended into the lower
regions of the earth?

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"He who descended is the one who
also ascended far above

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all the heavens, that he
might fill all things.)"

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Where did Jesus go
when he ascended?

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He ascended back into heaven,

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and it says he took captives
with him.

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So if you've ever wondered,
"What happened to the people

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"in the Old Testament?

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"Jesus hadn't died
on the cross yet,

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"so their sins
were not yet atoned for,

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"so they couldn't enter
into the presence of

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"a holy and righteous God—

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what happened to those people?"

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Well, their souls
were awaiting his ascending,

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and when Jesus died on the cross
he died for the sins

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of all of God's people,
and when he ascended,

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he took those
who had been waiting.

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Their souls had been
anticipating their ascending,

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their journey with Jesus
into the eternal kingdom.

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They ascended with him.

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So, where is Jesus today?

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He's in his heavenly kingdom;
he's ruling and reigning over

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all peoples, times, and places,
and with him are those

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who have died in faith.

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The Old Testament believers
and those who have died

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over the course
of the last 2,000 years—

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that's where Jesus is at today.

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And then the next question
is, "Well, what's he doing?"

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Have you ever wondered that?

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Like, you're going to wake up
tomorrow,

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and you're going to grab your
calendar or your phone

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or your punch list
of things to do.

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What's on Jesus' list tomorrow?

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What's he doing?

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What's he focused on?

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What's he care about?

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What's he paying attention to?

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What's a priority for him?

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Where is he investing himself?

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And he keeps talking
over and over and over

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and over about the church.
And so his next point is that

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Jesus is serving the church,
and he'll use this language of,

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"The church is like a body."

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And this is the most
common language in the whole

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New Testament for all
the metaphors of the church

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regarding the church.

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It's Paul's favorite.

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And just like a body has many
parts, and they all work together

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for health and life
and progress, so you and I,

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and we—we're like a body,

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we're all a part of
this great family of God,

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and everybody has their bit to
contribute, which then leads,

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of course, into his discussion
about spiritual gifts,

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and what part of the body you
are and what gift you have

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and what contribution
that you make.

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But he says that this is all
possible by the presence

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and power of the Holy Spirit.

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This is very important
because when Jesus ascended,

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when he went back to heaven--
you read this

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in the opening chapters
of the book of Acts.

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I've actually been to the place
in Israel where they believe

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00:10:48,167 --> 00:10:49,500
he ascended from.

243
00:10:49,542 --> 00:10:50,875
It's quite beautiful.

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00:10:50,958 --> 00:10:52,667
The question is,
is he gone now?

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Are we abandoned?
Are we orphans?

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00:10:54,458 --> 00:10:56,667
Is this like a dad
who has a family,

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00:10:56,750 --> 00:10:59,375
and then turns his back
and walks out on the family,

248
00:10:59,458 --> 00:11:03,333
and all the kids are just
devastated because dad's gone,

249
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and now we're
on our own?

250
00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:09,125
There's actually a theology that
teaches that; it's called deism.

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God's just gone.

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00:11:11,625 --> 00:11:14,625
It's like a dad who just
walked out on the family,

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00:11:14,667 --> 00:11:16,250
and we're on our own.

254
00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:18,500
You could see, if you didn't
understand the teaching

255
00:11:18,583 --> 00:11:21,208
of the Bible, and you didn't
believe in the supernatural,

256
00:11:21,292 --> 00:11:24,000
where you could end up with that
kind of erroneous assumption.

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00:11:24,083 --> 00:11:27,750
So the question is, when Jesus
left, did he leave us alone?

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He didn't.

259
00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:32,667
He said, "It's actually better
for you if I go, so that I

260
00:11:32,708 --> 00:11:35,042
can send the Holy Spirit."

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00:11:35,125 --> 00:11:38,083
And he says this to the early
disciples gathered around him

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00:11:38,167 --> 00:11:40,500
after his resurrection,
just prior to his ascension:

263
00:11:40,542 --> 00:11:42,042
"I'm going to leave,

264
00:11:42,125 --> 00:11:44,292
"and I'm going to send
the Holy Spirit,

265
00:11:44,333 --> 00:11:46,250
and he will come with power."

266
00:11:46,333 --> 00:11:48,875
And so Jesus has not
abandoned us; in fact, he says,

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"I'll never leave
you nor forsake you."

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Jesus sends the Holy Spirit.
And God the Holy Spirit,

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the third member of the Trinity,
is present with the church.

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He's present with
the people of God,

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and so he brings
the presence of God among us,

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00:12:04,333 --> 00:12:07,625
and so he's the one who
connects us to the Lord Jesus.

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He's the one who, in every way,

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brings to us the life
of the Lord Jesus.

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And he says it in verse 3,
talking about the unity

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of the Spirit, and in verse 4,
speaking of one Spirit.

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00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:26,667
And so what is Jesus
doing right now?

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Well, he's serving the church,
he's loving the church,

279
00:12:29,333 --> 00:12:31,125
he's paying attention
to the church,

280
00:12:31,167 --> 00:12:34,708
he's devoted to the church,
he's concerned for the church,

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00:12:34,792 --> 00:12:37,667
and he's working in
the church through the person,

282
00:12:37,708 --> 00:12:41,333
and the presence, and the power
of the God the Holy Spirit.

283
00:12:41,417 --> 00:12:46,917
Is the church
a priority for you?

284
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:51,250
If your priorities are
in line with Jesus' priorities,

285
00:12:51,333 --> 00:12:55,333
then the church will be
a great priority for you.

286
00:12:55,417 --> 00:12:58,833
You may be in school, but your
school will not be here

287
00:12:58,917 --> 00:13:01,125
in 2,000 years.

288
00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:03,375
You may have a job,
but in 2,000 years,

289
00:13:03,458 --> 00:13:05,833
your company will
no longer exist.

290
00:13:05,875 --> 00:13:08,292
You may love your nation,
but in 2,000 years,

291
00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:11,167
your nation will be
a footnote in history.

292
00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:14,792
But in 2,000 years,
there will still be

293
00:13:14,833 --> 00:13:16,667
the church of Jesus Christ.

294
00:13:16,750 --> 00:13:21,708
The church of Jesus Christ is
the most amazing group of people

295
00:13:21,792 --> 00:13:23,917
in the history of the world.

296
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,917
Nations come and go,
circumstances come and go,

297
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,125
and the people of God
continue moving forward.

298
00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:33,083
Across all the cultures,
and all the opposition,

299
00:13:33,167 --> 00:13:36,333
and all of the persecution,
and all of the ostracism,

300
00:13:36,375 --> 00:13:38,458
and all of the complexity,

301
00:13:38,500 --> 00:13:41,333
the church just keeps
pressing forward.

302
00:13:41,375 --> 00:13:44,625
And there's a few billion people
on the earth today who claim

303
00:13:44,667 --> 00:13:47,333
to worship Jesus Christ
and be part of the church.

304
00:13:47,417 --> 00:13:48,958
Why is that?

305
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:50,750
How could that possibly be?

306
00:13:50,833 --> 00:13:53,708
How could people as
disorganized as we are,

307
00:13:53,792 --> 00:13:57,833
with such a poor
giving base as we have,

308
00:13:57,917 --> 00:14:02,833
with such an offensive message
that we bring, still abide,

309
00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:04,917
and continue, and flourish?

310
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,833
God is with us.

311
00:14:06,875 --> 00:14:08,375
The Holy Spirit's
doing something.

312
00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:10,000
It's a miracle.

313
00:14:10,042 --> 00:14:12,000
So, when the world
looks in and says,

314
00:14:12,083 --> 00:14:13,917
"What is the biggest
organization on the earth?"

315
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,500
The church.

316
00:14:15,583 --> 00:14:17,292
"What's the strongest
organization on the earth?"

317
00:14:17,333 --> 00:14:18,875
The church.

318
00:14:18,958 --> 00:14:20,625
"What's the longest-lasting
organization on the earth?"

319
00:14:20,667 --> 00:14:22,000
The church.

320
00:14:22,083 --> 00:14:24,000
"How could that be?
Look at them.

321
00:14:24,083 --> 00:14:26,000
"Oh, God is with them.

322
00:14:26,083 --> 00:14:29,833
There's the variable.
That explains everything."

323
00:14:29,875 --> 00:14:32,167
So, what is Jesus
doing right now?

324
00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:35,125
Well, he is serving the church,
he is loving the church,

325
00:14:35,167 --> 00:14:38,333
he is growing the church,
he is building the church.

326
00:14:38,375 --> 00:14:41,958
What is on Jesus' heart is every
local church that loves

327
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,042
and serves him. And so
we love Mars Hill Church,

328
00:14:46,125 --> 00:14:49,000
and we love all the churches
that love and serve Jesus.

329
00:14:49,083 --> 00:14:51,958
We want our heart
to be his heart.

330
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,542
And so what is Jesus doing?

331
00:14:53,625 --> 00:14:55,833
Well, he's empowering leaders.

332
00:14:55,917 --> 00:14:58,458
So, Paul here talks about
that he's a prisoner of

333
00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:01,167
the Lord Jesus. So he empowers
leaders to suffer,

334
00:15:01,250 --> 00:15:04,583
he empowers them to lead, he
empowers them to evangelize,

335
00:15:04,667 --> 00:15:07,000
he empowers them to write,
he empowers them

336
00:15:07,083 --> 00:15:08,583
to preach and teach.

337
00:15:08,667 --> 00:15:11,792
Paul's doing all of those things
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

338
00:15:11,833 --> 00:15:14,167
And then he's empowering—
the Holy Spirit is—on behalf

339
00:15:14,250 --> 00:15:17,583
of Jesus, God's people,
you all who are Christians.

340
00:15:17,667 --> 00:15:21,208
And he uses language like
humility, gentleness, patience,

341
00:15:21,292 --> 00:15:25,500
love, unity, peace
in verses 1 through 5.

342
00:15:25,583 --> 00:15:29,875
In verses 13-16, he uses these
words as well: unity, knowledge,

343
00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:36,792
mature, speaking the truth in
love, growing, building, loving.

344
00:15:38,625 --> 00:15:41,750
What I don't want you to do is
turn that into a list

345
00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:43,167
of things to do.

346
00:15:43,208 --> 00:15:45,667
I want you to know that
if you're filled with

347
00:15:45,708 --> 00:15:47,833
the Holy Spirit, and you're
in relationship with Jesus,

348
00:15:47,917 --> 00:15:50,250
those things
come into existence—

349
00:15:50,333 --> 00:15:54,458
that he is the branch, right,

350
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:57,750
and our life is fruit
on his branch.

351
00:15:57,833 --> 00:16:00,292
But if we are filled
with the Holy Spirit,

352
00:16:00,333 --> 00:16:02,000
if we submit to
the Holy Spirit,

353
00:16:02,083 --> 00:16:04,000
if we are following
the Holy Spirit,

354
00:16:04,083 --> 00:16:06,125
we will treat one another
differently,

355
00:16:06,167 --> 00:16:08,125
and we'll treat one another
increasingly like

356
00:16:08,167 --> 00:16:10,500
Jesus has treated us.

357
00:16:10,583 --> 00:16:12,917
So, we've all got
something to work on,

358
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,875
but it's the Holy Spirit who
helps us to become more like

359
00:16:15,958 --> 00:16:19,667
Jesus, and as the church, to
treat one another more like

360
00:16:19,750 --> 00:16:22,417
Jesus treats us.

361
00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:26,333
And then he says that
Jesus is giving gifts.

362
00:16:26,375 --> 00:16:28,792
So, we've looked at the fact
that Jesus is currently

363
00:16:28,833 --> 00:16:31,417
in heaven with believers,
that he's serving the church,

364
00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:34,333
and one of the ways that he
serves the church is

365
00:16:34,375 --> 00:16:36,292
through the giving of gifts.

366
00:16:36,333 --> 00:16:38,333
Some of you have heard
of spiritual gifts.

367
00:16:38,417 --> 00:16:40,417
Some of you are new
Christians or non-Christians—

368
00:16:40,500 --> 00:16:41,833
you've not heard of this.

369
00:16:41,917 --> 00:16:44,917
That's going to be my theme
for the remainder of our time

370
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,042
together. And he talks
a lot about gifts.

371
00:16:47,125 --> 00:16:51,042
Do you like to give gifts?
Do you like to give gifts?

372
00:16:51,125 --> 00:16:52,750
You should.

373
00:16:52,833 --> 00:16:55,167
If you're a Christian
and the Holy Spirit's in you,

374
00:16:55,208 --> 00:16:56,542
you should like to give.

375
00:16:56,625 --> 00:16:57,958
You realize God's a giver,

376
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,875
and to be a giver
is a good thing.

377
00:17:00,958 --> 00:17:04,000
See, the more you give,
the more joy you have.

378
00:17:04,083 --> 00:17:07,000
That's why no one is
more joyful than God.

379
00:17:07,083 --> 00:17:09,208
No one's more joyful than God.

380
00:17:09,292 --> 00:17:11,000
God loves to give.

381
00:17:11,083 --> 00:17:13,167
We don't have to beg God
to give.

382
00:17:13,250 --> 00:17:16,000
"God so loved the world
he gave us his only Son."

383
00:17:16,042 --> 00:17:17,500
God loves to give.

384
00:17:17,583 --> 00:17:19,500
Our God loves, loves,
loves to give,

385
00:17:19,583 --> 00:17:22,125
and the more you get to know
the God who gives,

386
00:17:22,167 --> 00:17:25,625
the more you become like the God
who gives, the more you give—

387
00:17:25,667 --> 00:17:27,333
the more you give.

388
00:17:27,375 --> 00:17:30,375
The older I get, I think one
of the easiest tests for

389
00:17:30,458 --> 00:17:34,083
Christian maturity is whether
you're a giver or a taker.

390
00:17:34,167 --> 00:17:38,417
And he says that
Jesus gives. Jesus gives.

391
00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,750
And there's a list
in this section—

392
00:17:40,833 --> 00:17:42,833
first of all,
that Jesus is a gift.

393
00:17:42,875 --> 00:17:46,167
He talks in verse 7— he
says, quote, "Christ's gift."

394
00:17:46,208 --> 00:17:48,833
I want you guys to know
that Jesus is a gift.

395
00:17:48,875 --> 00:17:51,958
God may not give you health,
he may not give you wealth,

396
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,500
but he gives you himself.

397
00:17:53,583 --> 00:17:55,542
That's amazing.

398
00:17:55,625 --> 00:17:59,125
Of anything you could
ever want, nothing,

399
00:17:59,167 --> 00:18:02,375
nothing could even remotely
compare to God

400
00:18:02,458 --> 00:18:04,708
giving you himself.

401
00:18:04,792 --> 00:18:07,417
You know the greatest gift
Grace, my wife, ever gave me?

402
00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:09,500
Grace.

403
00:18:09,583 --> 00:18:13,000
Not just all the things she does
for me, and I appreciate them,

404
00:18:13,083 --> 00:18:15,417
but she's given me herself.

405
00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:19,500
She's given me her whole self
for her whole life.

406
00:18:19,583 --> 00:18:21,000
She's a gift.

407
00:18:21,042 --> 00:18:23,333
God gives himself.

408
00:18:23,375 --> 00:18:27,333
Jesus gave his life,
he gives his righteousness,

409
00:18:27,375 --> 00:18:30,500
he gives his salvation,
he gives his love,

410
00:18:30,583 --> 00:18:33,500
he gives his affection.

411
00:18:33,583 --> 00:18:36,375
And when the Bible uses
the language of grace,

412
00:18:36,458 --> 00:18:38,500
that's what it's talking about.

413
00:18:38,583 --> 00:18:41,125
Our God, the Lord Jesus—
he's a giver.

414
00:18:41,167 --> 00:18:44,667
And I want you to know
how radical this is.

415
00:18:44,708 --> 00:18:47,417
If you look at other religions,
their god is a taker,

416
00:18:47,500 --> 00:18:50,333
and their god is a taker,
and their god is a taker,

417
00:18:50,417 --> 00:18:53,125
and their god is a taker,
and he's going to take

418
00:18:53,167 --> 00:18:55,542
through karma, and he demands
a certain percentage,

419
00:18:55,625 --> 00:18:57,542
and he demands
certain good works,

420
00:18:57,625 --> 00:19:00,625
and he demands certain
pilgrimages to sacred places.

421
00:19:00,667 --> 00:19:04,000
And Jesus shows up to give.

422
00:19:04,042 --> 00:19:06,917
First of all,
our God is not a taker.

423
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,208
He's a joyful giver,
and he gives us himself.

424
00:19:11,292 --> 00:19:13,917
So in verse 7, when he
talks about Christ's gift,

425
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,083
Christ is our gift.

426
00:19:16,167 --> 00:19:19,000
Mars Hill,
we've been given Jesus.

427
00:19:19,042 --> 00:19:20,417
What a gift!

428
00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:22,708
All of his righteousness.

429
00:19:22,792 --> 00:19:25,500
Number two,
he gives us the Holy Spirit.

430
00:19:25,583 --> 00:19:27,708
In verse 3,
he talks about, quote,

431
00:19:27,792 --> 00:19:31,833
"The unity of the Spirit,"
and in verse 4, "one Spirit."

432
00:19:31,875 --> 00:19:35,917
So God has given us his
Spirit, so we're not orphans,

433
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,833
we're not abandoned,
we're not alone.

434
00:19:38,917 --> 00:19:41,208
We don't have to live
by our own power;

435
00:19:41,292 --> 00:19:43,333
we can live by
the power of God.

436
00:19:43,375 --> 00:19:45,667
We're not left
to our own thinking;

437
00:19:45,708 --> 00:19:49,125
he can direct
our understanding.

438
00:19:49,167 --> 00:19:52,250
The Holy Spirit
is present in the church.

439
00:19:52,333 --> 00:19:54,625
To some degree,
the Holy Spirit is present

440
00:19:54,667 --> 00:19:56,458
and at work in the world,

441
00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:59,333
but he is particularly
and powerfully at work in

442
00:19:59,417 --> 00:20:04,333
the people of God, particularly
when we assemble together.

443
00:20:04,417 --> 00:20:07,500
The Holy Spirit loves it
when we get together.

444
00:20:07,583 --> 00:20:10,542
He loves to show up
at our Community Groups,

445
00:20:10,625 --> 00:20:13,333
he loves to show up
at our Redemption Groups,

446
00:20:13,417 --> 00:20:15,625
he loves to show up
at our services.

447
00:20:15,667 --> 00:20:18,417
He loves to help us
work out our conflicts,

448
00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:21,042
he loves to help us love
and serve one another,

449
00:20:21,125 --> 00:20:26,250
he loves to be present
wherever Jesus is praised.

450
00:20:26,333 --> 00:20:27,958
God's given us Jesus.

451
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,042
God's given us
the presence, the person,

452
00:20:30,125 --> 00:20:32,542
the power of the Holy Spirit.

453
00:20:32,625 --> 00:20:36,667
Number three,
God gives us people as gifts.

454
00:20:36,708 --> 00:20:40,792
You need to know
that you are a gift.

455
00:20:40,833 --> 00:20:44,500
You're a gift to others,
you're a gift to our church.

456
00:20:44,542 --> 00:20:46,792
And here, he's talking about:
these people have these

457
00:20:46,833 --> 00:20:49,000
abilities, and these people
have these abilities,

458
00:20:49,042 --> 00:20:50,750
and these people make
these contributions,

459
00:20:50,833 --> 00:20:52,583
and these people make
these contributions.

460
00:20:52,667 --> 00:20:55,083
Let me just say that people
don't just have gifts;

461
00:20:55,167 --> 00:20:57,667
people are gifts.

462
00:20:57,750 --> 00:21:00,708
People don't just have
gifts; they are gifts.

463
00:21:00,792 --> 00:21:03,208
And if we only think
that people have gifts,

464
00:21:03,292 --> 00:21:05,500
then we use them
for their gifts.

465
00:21:05,583 --> 00:21:07,833
But if we believe
that people are gifts,

466
00:21:07,917 --> 00:21:09,542
we love and appreciate
the person,

467
00:21:09,625 --> 00:21:11,333
not just their function.

468
00:21:11,417 --> 00:21:13,208
People are gifts.

469
00:21:13,292 --> 00:21:16,833
People are gifts. And some
of you, let me just say,

470
00:21:16,875 --> 00:21:18,458
are great gifts.

471
00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:21,542
Others of you are painful
gifts, but you're all gifts.

472
00:21:21,625 --> 00:21:24,542
You're all gifts.

473
00:21:24,625 --> 00:21:27,542
And number four, what happens
then--so God gives us Jesus,

474
00:21:27,625 --> 00:21:29,958
the Holy Spirit, one another,

475
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,208
and then he gives to each
Christian spiritual gifts,

476
00:21:34,292 --> 00:21:35,833
spiritual gifts.

477
00:21:35,875 --> 00:21:38,500
And he speaks of
this in verse 8.

478
00:21:38,542 --> 00:21:41,875
He says, quote,
"He gave gifts to men."

479
00:21:41,958 --> 00:21:43,500
He gave gifts.

480
00:21:43,542 --> 00:21:45,667
Who determines
what gift you get?

481
00:21:45,750 --> 00:21:47,208
He does.

482
00:21:48,042 --> 00:21:49,750
He does.

483
00:21:49,833 --> 00:21:53,083
God determines what you do,
God determines what they do,

484
00:21:53,167 --> 00:21:55,250
God looks at the church
and he says, "Okay,

485
00:21:55,333 --> 00:21:57,750
"we're going to need this,
we're going to need this,

486
00:21:57,833 --> 00:22:00,333
"we're going to need this,
we're going to need this,

487
00:22:00,375 --> 00:22:03,333
"so I'm going to give them this
ability, and them this capacity,

488
00:22:03,375 --> 00:22:05,500
"and them this experience,
and then they're all going

489
00:22:05,583 --> 00:22:07,917
to come together and it's
going to be far better."

490
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,417
Paul uses the language in
1 Corinthians like, you know,

491
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:11,833
"We don't need 17 feet.

492
00:22:11,875 --> 00:22:14,500
"We need a body that has all
the right parts, orchestrated,

493
00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:16,750
"organized together, so
there's a lot of diversity,

494
00:22:16,833 --> 00:22:19,667
but we're all unified
in this together."

495
00:22:19,708 --> 00:22:21,458
"He gave gifts to men."

496
00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:24,625
So let me say some things about
spiritual gifts, and then we'll

497
00:22:24,667 --> 00:22:27,250
talk about individual,
particular gifts.

498
00:22:27,333 --> 00:22:29,958
Number one, it doesn't
really matter whether it's

499
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,250
a natural talent
or a supernatural gift.

500
00:22:33,333 --> 00:22:37,333
A natural talent is something
you just innately have

501
00:22:37,417 --> 00:22:41,125
from birth; a supernatural gift
is something you have

502
00:22:41,167 --> 00:22:42,833
from your new birth.

503
00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:45,542
A natural talent is something
you can do before you're

504
00:22:45,625 --> 00:22:49,500
a Christian; a supernatural gift
is something that accompanies

505
00:22:49,583 --> 00:22:51,750
the presence and the power of
the Holy Spirit

506
00:22:51,833 --> 00:22:53,250
when you become a Christian.

507
00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:58,167
And let me just say, I don't
care which one you use.

508
00:22:58,208 --> 00:23:00,167
Some people ask,
"What's my spiritual gift?"

509
00:23:00,250 --> 00:23:03,000
Well, your primary area of
service to Jesus Christ

510
00:23:03,083 --> 00:23:05,000
and the church
may not be according to

511
00:23:05,083 --> 00:23:06,417
your spiritual gift;

512
00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:08,417
it may be according to
your natural talent.

513
00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:10,875
The Bible never says that
there's the spiritual gift

514
00:23:10,958 --> 00:23:12,708
of singing.

515
00:23:12,792 --> 00:23:15,917
That's a natural talent.
Non-Christians can sing too.

516
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,708
If you become a Christian, and
you have some musical ability,

517
00:23:19,792 --> 00:23:22,833
just use that for Jesus.
Or if you're a programmer,

518
00:23:22,875 --> 00:23:25,917
or if you're an accountant,
or whatever the case may be.

519
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,417
Maybe you're an engineer
or an architect,

520
00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:30,417
maybe you're a graphic designer.

521
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:32,417
I don't know what
your skills are.

522
00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:34,583
And you say--you become
a Christian and you say,

523
00:23:34,667 --> 00:23:36,000
"Well, what do I do?"

524
00:23:36,042 --> 00:23:37,958
Well, maybe these abilities
God's already given you

525
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,333
are for ministry.

526
00:23:39,417 --> 00:23:42,333
So, it doesn't matter whether
or not it's a natural ability

527
00:23:42,417 --> 00:23:44,250
or a supernatural ability.

528
00:23:44,333 --> 00:23:46,458
As long as it's
used for ministry,

529
00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:48,625
that's all that really matters.

530
00:23:48,667 --> 00:23:51,208
Number two, the way you find
your spiritual gift

531
00:23:51,292 --> 00:23:52,958
is trial and error.

532
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,958
You try something,
you're no good at it,

533
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,333
or you don't like it, or
everybody else says stop,

534
00:23:57,417 --> 00:24:00,125
that can be an indication that
maybe that's not your thing.

535
00:24:00,167 --> 00:24:02,208
You do something else,
you're like,

536
00:24:02,292 --> 00:24:03,708
"Hey, I'm pretty good at that,

537
00:24:03,792 --> 00:24:05,292
"and people seem to
appreciate that,

538
00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:08,292
and God seems to bless that,
and I kind of like that,"

539
00:24:08,333 --> 00:24:09,792
maybe that's your thing.

540
00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:11,375
So, trial and error.

541
00:24:11,458 --> 00:24:13,500
In addition,
you can have multiple gifts.

542
00:24:13,542 --> 00:24:15,167
So, it's not like
they're exclusive.

543
00:24:15,250 --> 00:24:18,208
Some of you have one gift, some
of you have multiple gifts,

544
00:24:18,292 --> 00:24:20,500
and the gift mix is
combined to give you

545
00:24:20,583 --> 00:24:22,917
a particular ministry capacity.

546
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,625
People have differing
amounts of a gift.

547
00:24:24,667 --> 00:24:26,708
So, let's say you've
got a leadership gift.

548
00:24:26,792 --> 00:24:29,000
You're like,
"I can lead people one on one,"

549
00:24:29,083 --> 00:24:31,417
"I can lead small groups,"
"I can lead large teams,"

550
00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:33,417
"I can lead
a massive organization."

551
00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:35,917
There's different levels
for each giftedness.

552
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,667
Some of you say,
"I'm a teacher."

553
00:24:37,750 --> 00:24:40,833
"I can teach one on one," or,
"I can teach a small group,"

554
00:24:40,917 --> 00:24:42,542
or,
"I can teach a large group,"

555
00:24:42,625 --> 00:24:44,542
or, "I can teach
a really large group."

556
00:24:44,625 --> 00:24:46,250
There's different
levels of gifting.

557
00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:48,708
In addition,
you need to cultivate them.

558
00:24:48,792 --> 00:24:51,708
Let's say you have the gift of
teaching. You can't just say,

559
00:24:51,792 --> 00:24:53,458
"Well, I have
the gift of teaching.

560
00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:54,833
I will teach."

561
00:24:54,917 --> 00:24:56,333
"Do you read?
Have you studied?"

562
00:24:56,417 --> 00:24:58,750
"No, I haven't, but I have
the gift of teaching."

563
00:24:58,833 --> 00:25:00,833
Well, you don't have
the gift of discernment,

564
00:25:00,875 --> 00:25:03,000
I can tell you that,
because before you teach,

565
00:25:03,083 --> 00:25:04,417
you're supposed to study.

566
00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:06,167
So, you've got to cultivate
your gift.

567
00:25:06,250 --> 00:25:08,667
Some of you say, "I have
the gift of leadership."

568
00:25:08,750 --> 00:25:11,667
Well, you're going to have to
cultivate and grow in that gift.

569
00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:13,667
Let's say you have
the gift of administration.

570
00:25:13,750 --> 00:25:16,000
You're going to need to start
with simple responsibilities

571
00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:18,333
and grow and get more
training and learn.

572
00:25:18,375 --> 00:25:19,833
So, we've all got to cultivate

573
00:25:19,875 --> 00:25:21,625
and grow in whatever
our gift is.

574
00:25:21,667 --> 00:25:24,625
In addition, we need to learn
to serve outside of our area

575
00:25:24,667 --> 00:25:26,208
of gifting.

576
00:25:26,292 --> 00:25:27,792
Alright, somebody walks in,
they say,

577
00:25:27,833 --> 00:25:29,792
"I'm really hurting.
Can you pray for me?"

578
00:25:29,833 --> 00:25:31,167
"Sorry, that's not my gift."

579
00:25:31,250 --> 00:25:33,625
Alright, come on, you don't
have the gift of mercy?

580
00:25:33,667 --> 00:25:36,333
To some degree, we need
to be humble enough to say,

581
00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:39,208
"There are times when we have
to serve outside of our area

582
00:25:39,292 --> 00:25:41,167
of gifting
because there's a need."

583
00:25:41,208 --> 00:25:44,833
It's not about our gifts;
it's about their need.

584
00:25:44,875 --> 00:25:47,042
So you can't say,
"Well, that's not my gift."

585
00:25:47,125 --> 00:25:48,917
They'd say,
"But that is my need."

586
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,917
So perhaps you need to serve
in an area that's outside of

587
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,125
your gifting, at least
for a season until God

588
00:25:54,167 --> 00:25:55,500
brings somebody else.

589
00:25:55,583 --> 00:25:58,333
And let me say this--this
will be perhaps helpful.

590
00:25:58,375 --> 00:26:02,125
If you come to our church and
you are annoyed by something--

591
00:26:02,167 --> 00:26:04,500
alright, other than me--but
if you're annoyed by

592
00:26:04,583 --> 00:26:07,208
something—it just bothers you,
it's like fingernails

593
00:26:07,292 --> 00:26:09,125
on a chalkboard. You're
like, "I hate that.

594
00:26:09,167 --> 00:26:11,417
"That's not right.
That just drives me crazy.

595
00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:13,417
"I don't know why
they don't fix that.

596
00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:14,833
Why is that like that?"

597
00:26:14,875 --> 00:26:17,500
That might actually be your
gift—not to be annoyed,

598
00:26:17,583 --> 00:26:20,500
but to help fix the thing
that annoys you.

599
00:26:20,583 --> 00:26:23,417
If you walk in and you say,
"Why don't they fix that?"

600
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,333
That may be that you have
the gift that no one else has,

601
00:26:27,375 --> 00:26:30,000
and you're seeing the need
that no one else is seeing.

602
00:26:30,083 --> 00:26:32,000
And you shouldn't
get frustrated;

603
00:26:32,083 --> 00:26:36,417
you should assume it's a call
from Jesus to go to work.

604
00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:38,000
You're welcome—got you.

605
00:26:38,083 --> 00:26:44,042
So--but honestly, this is
true; this is how it works.

606
00:26:44,125 --> 00:26:46,250
Sometimes you'll be frustrated.

607
00:26:46,333 --> 00:26:50,042
It's because someone with your
gift is not fixing that.

608
00:26:50,125 --> 00:26:52,333
Well, maybe God's showing you,

609
00:26:52,417 --> 00:26:56,167
so that you can be
the one to fix it.

610
00:26:56,208 --> 00:26:57,917
So, why does God give gifts?

611
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,167
He says in verse 12, and this
is one of the more important

612
00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:03,708
Scriptures in the New Testament
about the church.

613
00:27:03,792 --> 00:27:05,792
Why does he give
gifts and leaders?

614
00:27:05,833 --> 00:27:08,333
Quote, "To equip the saints
for the work of ministry,

615
00:27:08,375 --> 00:27:11,417
for the building up
of the body of Christ."

616
00:27:11,500 --> 00:27:15,083
So, what Paul is saying here is,
there's a difference between

617
00:27:15,167 --> 00:27:17,917
a consumer mentality
and a Christian mentality.

618
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,833
In a consumer mentality,

619
00:27:19,875 --> 00:27:22,833
the leadership
exists to serve you.

620
00:27:22,875 --> 00:27:24,792
In a Christian mentality,
the leadership exists

621
00:27:24,833 --> 00:27:27,833
to equip you to serve others.

622
00:27:27,875 --> 00:27:29,417
So, in a consumer mentality,

623
00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:31,375
it's more like
a business transaction.

624
00:27:31,458 --> 00:27:33,792
"How can I give
the most--or rather,

625
00:27:33,833 --> 00:27:36,625
"how can I give the least
amount of money and commitment

626
00:27:36,667 --> 00:27:38,750
and get the most return
on investment?"

627
00:27:38,833 --> 00:27:41,250
That's a consumer mentality.

628
00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:46,417
A Christian mentality is, "How
can I give my money, my time,

629
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:49,458
"my gifts, my capacities,
my abilities,

630
00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:53,417
"and where could I help
bring unity and health

631
00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:55,958
to our church family?"

632
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,208
See, the first perspective
is really business;

633
00:27:58,292 --> 00:28:00,333
the second is really family.

634
00:28:00,375 --> 00:28:03,125
There's--I don't know of any
mom who looks at the family

635
00:28:03,167 --> 00:28:06,167
and says, "How could I give
the least and get the most

636
00:28:06,250 --> 00:28:08,417
like a business transaction
and negotiation?"

637
00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:10,500
Right?

638
00:28:10,583 --> 00:28:13,333
The moms chuckle
because the moms know, no,

639
00:28:13,375 --> 00:28:14,833
that's not parental thinking.

640
00:28:14,875 --> 00:28:16,333
Parental thinking
is, "It's a family,

641
00:28:16,375 --> 00:28:18,625
"and I'm here to love,
and serve, and give.

642
00:28:18,667 --> 00:28:20,875
"This is not
a business transaction.

643
00:28:20,958 --> 00:28:22,833
"This is a family interaction.

644
00:28:22,875 --> 00:28:26,417
This is not a consumer mindset.
This is a Christian mindset."

645
00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:30,667
You need to be very careful
because we live in a day

646
00:28:30,750 --> 00:28:34,000
that really is about
Christian consumerism.

647
00:28:34,083 --> 00:28:36,833
Parachurch ministries
competing, churches competing,

648
00:28:36,875 --> 00:28:39,042
and then people shopping
for churches

649
00:28:39,125 --> 00:28:40,833
and shopping for ministries.

650
00:28:40,917 --> 00:28:43,167
We use this language;
it's all consumer.

651
00:28:43,208 --> 00:28:46,250
"How can I get this, and this,
and this, and this program,

652
00:28:46,333 --> 00:28:49,167
"and these contributions,
and how can I give the least

653
00:28:49,208 --> 00:28:50,833
but get the most?"

654
00:28:50,875 --> 00:28:53,833
That's consumer thinking,
and it doesn't lead to joy

655
00:28:53,917 --> 00:28:56,167
because it's not
the heart of Jesus.

656
00:28:56,208 --> 00:28:58,208
Christian thinking says,
"Where am I needed?

657
00:28:58,292 --> 00:28:59,708
"What can I do?

658
00:28:59,792 --> 00:29:02,708
How could I help
to build up the church?"

659
00:29:02,792 --> 00:29:06,375
And let me say, for those of
you who are Christian consumers,

660
00:29:06,458 --> 00:29:11,125
there is a great illusion that
Christianity is doing well.

661
00:29:11,167 --> 00:29:16,000
The latest statistics say that
between 7%-9% of Americans

662
00:29:16,042 --> 00:29:18,792
are practicing, Bible-believing,
church-attending,

663
00:29:18,833 --> 00:29:21,083
evangelical Christians.

664
00:29:21,167 --> 00:29:24,000
Let's say it's 8%,
to set a number.

665
00:29:24,083 --> 00:29:27,625
Eight percent of people
are giving, serving,

666
00:29:27,667 --> 00:29:30,000
participating in a church.

667
00:29:30,042 --> 00:29:33,833
That means that 92% of people
don't know Jesus

668
00:29:33,875 --> 00:29:37,125
and/or are not walking
with him faithfully.

669
00:29:37,167 --> 00:29:41,333
Now, if there's only 8%,
we're putting a great burden

670
00:29:41,417 --> 00:29:46,125
and responsibility
on a very small minority.

671
00:29:46,167 --> 00:29:48,667
I don't want you
to have a consumer mindset,

672
00:29:48,708 --> 00:29:50,833
because what you're doing then
is, number one,

673
00:29:50,875 --> 00:29:52,417
you're dishonoring Jesus;

674
00:29:52,500 --> 00:29:54,833
number two, you're using
your brothers and sisters.

675
00:29:54,917 --> 00:29:58,250
In some regards,
you're guilty of stealing.

676
00:29:58,333 --> 00:30:00,667
They're giving,
and you're taking.

677
00:30:00,708 --> 00:30:02,833
The result is there's nothing
left for those

678
00:30:02,917 --> 00:30:05,042
who don't yet know Jesus.

679
00:30:05,125 --> 00:30:08,208
And our goal is that all of
God's people would be giving,

680
00:30:08,292 --> 00:30:12,208
so that we could be reaching
those who don't yet know Jesus.

681
00:30:12,292 --> 00:30:14,917
And the way we do that is
then by determining,

682
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,250
"Okay, what's my gift?
How has God wired me?

683
00:30:17,333 --> 00:30:19,625
What is it that is
my contribution?"

684
00:30:19,667 --> 00:30:24,042
And let me say this, that
in Christ is your identity,

685
00:30:24,125 --> 00:30:27,042
and then your gift
is your activity.

686
00:30:27,125 --> 00:30:29,500
Your identity in Christ
explains who you are;

687
00:30:29,583 --> 00:30:33,333
your spiritual gift
helps clarify what you do.

688
00:30:33,417 --> 00:30:34,833
There's a difference.

689
00:30:34,917 --> 00:30:37,000
Your gift is not your identity.

690
00:30:37,083 --> 00:30:41,792
Okay, I'm not a preacher;
I'm a Christian who preaches.

691
00:30:41,833 --> 00:30:44,833
You're not an administrator,
you're not a leader,

692
00:30:44,917 --> 00:30:47,042
you're a Christian
who administrates

693
00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:49,750
or a Christian who leads.

694
00:30:49,833 --> 00:30:52,458
So, the most important thing is
that we love the church

695
00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:54,667
and do whatever's best
for all of God's people.

696
00:30:54,750 --> 00:31:00,667
In addition to that, that it
doesn't become our identity,

697
00:31:00,708 --> 00:31:04,333
but it helps clarify
our activity.

698
00:31:04,375 --> 00:31:06,333
And Paul says over,
and over, and over,

699
00:31:06,375 --> 00:31:08,500
30-some times in the book,
"in Christ, in Christ,

700
00:31:08,583 --> 00:31:09,917
in Christ, in Christ."

701
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,917
He does it in this
section as well.

702
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,125
Let me just be very clear:
you're not what you do;

703
00:31:15,167 --> 00:31:17,458
you're what Jesus has done.

704
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:21,833
You're not what you do;
you're what Jesus has done.

705
00:31:21,917 --> 00:31:26,917
And then what you do is
in relationship with Jesus.

706
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,250
This will be controversial,
but I think Jesus had

707
00:31:29,333 --> 00:31:30,833
all the spiritual gifts.

708
00:31:30,875 --> 00:31:32,542
He could do everything,
alright?

709
00:31:32,625 --> 00:31:34,542
He's perfect.

710
00:31:34,625 --> 00:31:37,542
So whatever gift you have, you
could look to Jesus and say,

711
00:31:37,625 --> 00:31:40,083
"Okay, how did he use this
capacity that's like mine?

712
00:31:40,167 --> 00:31:42,000
What does it look like?"

713
00:31:42,042 --> 00:31:44,333
And then Jesus gives you a gift

714
00:31:44,417 --> 00:31:47,167
that looks like
one of his abilities,

715
00:31:47,208 --> 00:31:49,583
and then he sends
the Holy Spirit to empower you

716
00:31:49,667 --> 00:31:52,583
to do a little bit
of his ministry.

717
00:31:52,667 --> 00:31:55,083
Okay, but your identity is in
your relationship with Christ;

718
00:31:55,167 --> 00:31:59,000
your activity is out of your
relationship with Christ.

719
00:31:59,042 --> 00:32:01,667
And I say this because sometimes
people then turn

720
00:32:01,708 --> 00:32:03,833
their gifts into idols.

721
00:32:03,875 --> 00:32:06,833
"You can't say I can't do that.
That's who I am."

722
00:32:06,875 --> 00:32:09,250
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

723
00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:13,458
Mars Hill, I love preaching,
but it's not my identity.

724
00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:18,042
It's not; Jesus is my
righteousness. He's my Savior,

725
00:32:18,125 --> 00:32:21,417
he's my friend, he's
my--he defines who I am.

726
00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:25,417
Preaching—I love preaching,

727
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:29,750
but I can tell you
with all sincerity,

728
00:32:29,833 --> 00:32:31,750
if he ever tells me
to stop preaching--

729
00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:35,458
I don't anticipate that he
will--I'll still be a Christian,

730
00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:38,542
because my relationship with
Jesus is not contingent upon

731
00:32:38,625 --> 00:32:40,333
my activity for him.

732
00:32:40,417 --> 00:32:42,750
I'll still love Jesus,
I'll still walk with Jesus,

733
00:32:42,833 --> 00:32:45,333
I'll still love the church,
I'll still love the church.

734
00:32:45,417 --> 00:32:47,000
Why?

735
00:32:47,083 --> 00:32:50,542
Well, because I love Jesus,
and I love the church,

736
00:32:50,625 --> 00:32:54,333
and my gift may be a way to
serve the church and love Jesus,

737
00:32:54,417 --> 00:32:57,125
but my gift is nowhere near
as important as Jesus

738
00:32:57,167 --> 00:32:58,958
and the church.

739
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:00,708
That being said,

740
00:33:00,792 --> 00:33:02,792
there are four places
in the New Testament

741
00:33:02,833 --> 00:33:05,125
you'll find lists of what
we call spiritual gifts.

742
00:33:05,167 --> 00:33:07,833
I'll give you--for those of you
with the gift of administration,

743
00:33:07,875 --> 00:33:09,583
this is where you
now take notes.

744
00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:11,167
Okay, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10,

745
00:33:11,250 --> 00:33:16,333
1 Corinthians 12:28-30,
Romans 12:6-8,

746
00:33:16,375 --> 00:33:19,500
Ephesians 4:11—

747
00:33:19,583 --> 00:33:22,625
which we're in this week—
and 1 Peter 4:11.

748
00:33:22,667 --> 00:33:25,875
If you forget all that, okay—
1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12,

749
00:33:25,958 --> 00:33:30,333
Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4.
Those are the four places that

750
00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:33,583
all the spiritual gifts
lists are given.

751
00:33:33,667 --> 00:33:37,208
The lists are not the same, so
there's some gifts over here,

752
00:33:37,292 --> 00:33:39,458
some gifts over there.

753
00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:41,750
I don't think there's
any comprehensive lists.

754
00:33:41,833 --> 00:33:44,167
I don't believe this is
necessarily the limit of all

755
00:33:44,208 --> 00:33:46,333
the spiritual gifts.

756
00:33:46,417 --> 00:33:49,042
And even if you put them
all together, the lists,

757
00:33:49,125 --> 00:33:51,833
I don't think you get the sum
total list of all

758
00:33:51,875 --> 00:33:53,208
the spiritual gifts.

759
00:33:53,292 --> 00:33:55,958
But I'm going to walk through
them. And it's 19 things,

760
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,958
and some of you
are going to say,

761
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,458
"Wow, that's going to take
a while."

762
00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:00,917
Yes, it will.

763
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,917
Okay, the first gift--
so, you are gifted,

764
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,625
but I want you to see this,
and this is important.

765
00:34:05,667 --> 00:34:07,000
You're gifted.

766
00:34:07,083 --> 00:34:09,208
See, some of you
have never heard that.

767
00:34:09,292 --> 00:34:11,500
You've never heard, you know,
"You have a meaningful,

768
00:34:11,542 --> 00:34:14,208
"valuable, purposeful
contribution to make.

769
00:34:14,292 --> 00:34:17,333
"You can do things that matter
and help people who need you.

770
00:34:17,375 --> 00:34:22,375
And there is a need there
with your name written on it."

771
00:34:22,458 --> 00:34:24,833
See, this is where sometimes
Christians think of serving

772
00:34:24,875 --> 00:34:26,500
as guilt-based.

773
00:34:26,542 --> 00:34:28,125
No, it's joy-based.

774
00:34:28,167 --> 00:34:31,167
"Oh, I'm needed,
and Jesus would be honored,

775
00:34:31,250 --> 00:34:33,625
"and someone would be helped,
and I have a particular,

776
00:34:33,667 --> 00:34:36,167
"unique ability with my
personality, and my gifts,

777
00:34:36,250 --> 00:34:38,833
"and my experience, and my
background to meet that need?

778
00:34:38,917 --> 00:34:41,833
"Well, and Jesus
wants me to do it?

779
00:34:41,917 --> 00:34:44,958
It's a little assignment from
the King for the kingdom?"

780
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,750
That's encouraging, right?

781
00:34:46,833 --> 00:34:48,167
Like, well, hey.

782
00:34:48,208 --> 00:34:50,042
Jesus comes up to you and says,

783
00:34:50,125 --> 00:34:51,833
"Hey, you know,
they really need you.

784
00:34:51,875 --> 00:34:53,333
Could you do that for me?"

785
00:34:53,375 --> 00:34:54,833
"Yeah, Jesus.
Hey, thanks!

786
00:34:54,875 --> 00:34:56,208
"Yeah, that sounds great.

787
00:34:56,292 --> 00:34:58,208
"I mean, you've been
so good to me

788
00:34:58,292 --> 00:35:00,500
"and I get to go to work
with you?

789
00:35:00,542 --> 00:35:02,500
That sounds great.
That sounds great."

790
00:35:02,542 --> 00:35:03,875
That's all ministry is, friends.

791
00:35:03,958 --> 00:35:05,833
It's going to work with Jesus.

792
00:35:05,875 --> 00:35:07,833
That's all it is.
That's all it is.

793
00:35:07,875 --> 00:35:10,833
When I was a little boy, my
dad--I think I've told you

794
00:35:10,875 --> 00:35:12,208
this story.

795
00:35:12,292 --> 00:35:13,708
I'm getting old,
I repeat them.

796
00:35:13,792 --> 00:35:16,000
But my dad, Joe, he'd
wear construction boots.

797
00:35:16,042 --> 00:35:18,833
He'd wear jeans
and a white t-shirt,

798
00:35:18,875 --> 00:35:20,500
and so that's what I wore.

799
00:35:20,542 --> 00:35:22,667
He had a lunchbox,
so I got a lunchbox.

800
00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:25,417
He had a hard hat,
so I got a hard hat.

801
00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:28,625
My dad would go to work, and
sometimes I'd get in the truck

802
00:35:28,667 --> 00:35:31,625
and go to work with him because
I just wanted to do

803
00:35:31,667 --> 00:35:33,000
what my dad was doing.

804
00:35:33,083 --> 00:35:34,417
Ministry's like that.

805
00:35:34,500 --> 00:35:36,833
God's already doing stuff,
and he takes his kids along

806
00:35:36,875 --> 00:35:39,208
for the ride, so they
can get to know him,

807
00:35:39,292 --> 00:35:41,208
and they get to serve
alongside of him,

808
00:35:41,292 --> 00:35:43,208
and they get to share
in his joy.

809
00:35:43,292 --> 00:35:45,625
And these are various gifts
that God gives for you

810
00:35:45,667 --> 00:35:48,250
to be going to work
with your Dad.

811
00:35:48,333 --> 00:35:50,667
The first is wisdom.
This is in 1 Corinthians 12:8.

812
00:35:50,708 --> 00:35:54,250
Okay, if you have this gift,
you love giving timely,

813
00:35:54,333 --> 00:35:56,333
helpful insight.

814
00:35:56,417 --> 00:35:58,667
You can read people
and circumstances,

815
00:35:58,708 --> 00:36:00,667
and everybody's looking
at it like a knot.

816
00:36:00,750 --> 00:36:02,667
They're like,
"How do we untie this knot?

817
00:36:02,750 --> 00:36:04,125
I don't understand what we--"

818
00:36:04,167 --> 00:36:05,833
and you say,
"Okay, how about this?

819
00:36:05,875 --> 00:36:07,208
"How about that?

820
00:36:07,292 --> 00:36:09,208
Let me explain."
And you say the truth.

821
00:36:09,292 --> 00:36:12,500
You give wise insight, and
everybody's like, "That's it!"

822
00:36:12,542 --> 00:36:16,333
This can be organizationally.
This can be interpersonally.

823
00:36:16,375 --> 00:36:18,167
For me, this is
Pastor Dave Bruskas,

824
00:36:18,250 --> 00:36:19,667
one of our executive elders.

825
00:36:19,750 --> 00:36:21,417
I'll go to Pastor Dave,
I'm like,

826
00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:23,417
"Okay, I don't know
what to do here.

827
00:36:23,500 --> 00:36:25,333
I can't figure
out what's right."

828
00:36:25,375 --> 00:36:27,708
Pastor Dave has
the gift of wisdom.

829
00:36:27,792 --> 00:36:31,125
He has the gift of wisdom, so
he'll think, and he'll pray,

830
00:36:31,167 --> 00:36:32,667
and he knows the Bible,

831
00:36:32,750 --> 00:36:34,875
and he's got a lot of
experience in ministry.

832
00:36:34,958 --> 00:36:36,583
He's got
a beautiful family.

833
00:36:36,667 --> 00:36:38,750
He's got a lot of
wisdom to draw from.

834
00:36:38,833 --> 00:36:44,542
What you don't need is
counsel; you need wise counsel.

835
00:36:44,625 --> 00:36:48,833
Alright, the world isn't
lacking in counsel, right?

836
00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:51,625
It's lacking in wise counsel.

837
00:36:51,667 --> 00:36:54,500
Some of you are
looking for advice.

838
00:36:54,583 --> 00:36:57,417
Make sure you go
to a wise source.

839
00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:00,917
People with the gift of
wisdom are a great gift.

840
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,625
The gift of knowledge—
1 Corinthians 12:8.

841
00:37:03,667 --> 00:37:06,208
Okay, if you have this
gift, you love to study.

842
00:37:06,292 --> 00:37:08,583
You love to research, alright.

843
00:37:08,667 --> 00:37:11,000
The "Love the Lord your
God with all your mind--"

844
00:37:11,042 --> 00:37:12,375
you're like, "I will."

845
00:37:12,458 --> 00:37:14,208
You love that.

846
00:37:14,292 --> 00:37:17,333
You might like books
and footnotes

847
00:37:17,375 --> 00:37:18,833
and dead people.

848
00:37:18,875 --> 00:37:20,292
You love that.

849
00:37:20,958 --> 00:37:22,292
You love that.

850
00:37:22,333 --> 00:37:24,500
If somebody comes up to
you, and they're like,

851
00:37:24,542 --> 00:37:25,875
"Have you ever studied?"

852
00:37:25,958 --> 00:37:29,500
You're like, "Oh yes, I have,
and I thought that perhaps that

853
00:37:29,583 --> 00:37:34,167
"nerdy joy would never be used,
and I am so glad that you

854
00:37:34,250 --> 00:37:36,833
"have showed up to talk to me
about the difference between

855
00:37:36,875 --> 00:37:39,458
Barth and Berkhof,
and I'm ready."

856
00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:41,708
Okay, you're--now, the rest of
you don't even know

857
00:37:41,792 --> 00:37:43,667
what I'm talking about,
but the nerds,

858
00:37:43,708 --> 00:37:47,458
I just spoke their
love language, okay?

859
00:37:47,500 --> 00:37:50,167
You love to research.
You love to study.

860
00:37:50,208 --> 00:37:55,542
I've got a pretty significant
knowledge/nerd side.

861
00:37:55,625 --> 00:37:59,333
I've got a huge library. I've
got a lot of books on my laptop.

862
00:37:59,375 --> 00:38:01,875
I like books,
I like to look at them,

863
00:38:01,958 --> 00:38:05,917
I like to have them around.
They're like friends, right?

864
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,417
I like to study, I like to
think, I'm more of an introvert,

865
00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:11,167
I like the life of the mind.

866
00:38:11,250 --> 00:38:13,667
The guy who's super helpful
across all of Mars Hill

867
00:38:13,750 --> 00:38:16,000
with the gift of knowledge is
Pastor Justin Holcomb.

868
00:38:16,042 --> 00:38:18,708
He runs The Resurgence.
He's Dr. Justin Holcomb.

869
00:38:18,792 --> 00:38:21,792
As soon as you hear
the word "doctor," right,

870
00:38:21,833 --> 00:38:23,792
it's probably gift of knowledge.

871
00:38:23,833 --> 00:38:26,667
Somebody went to school
somewhere for a long time,

872
00:38:26,750 --> 00:38:29,167
you know, and they got
something other than, you know,

873
00:38:29,250 --> 00:38:30,875
a finger-painting degree.

874
00:38:30,958 --> 00:38:34,083
They really put themselves
out there, okay?

875
00:38:34,167 --> 00:38:35,500
Dr. Justin Holcomb—

876
00:38:35,542 --> 00:38:38,458
he runs a whole team
of researchers that help serve

877
00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:40,833
the leadership across
Mars Hill as well as

878
00:38:40,875 --> 00:38:43,458
a whole bunch of other churches.

879
00:38:43,500 --> 00:38:44,958
Okay, it's a gift of knowledge.

880
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,667
Some of you have that.

881
00:38:46,708 --> 00:38:49,958
Those of you that love this,
you love it when people come up

882
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,667
to you, they're like,
"Can I ask you a question?"

883
00:38:52,708 --> 00:38:55,333
You're like,
"Yes, you can, anytime!"

884
00:38:55,375 --> 00:38:56,958
You're very excited.

885
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,542
If somebody says, "Do you
have a good book for me?"

886
00:38:59,625 --> 00:39:02,000
you're like,
"Yes, a stack of extra ones,

887
00:39:02,083 --> 00:39:04,208
"and I will give you
one of them.

888
00:39:04,292 --> 00:39:05,708
I was hoping someone would ask."

889
00:39:05,792 --> 00:39:08,000
Okay, gift of knowledge.

890
00:39:08,083 --> 00:39:09,625
Gift of faith.

891
00:39:09,667 --> 00:39:11,625
Okay, if you have
the gift of faith—

892
00:39:11,667 --> 00:39:13,333
this is 1 Corinthians 12:9—

893
00:39:13,375 --> 00:39:15,500
you love tough
or impossible situations.

894
00:39:15,583 --> 00:39:17,500
Other people are like,
"That'll never happen,"

895
00:39:17,542 --> 00:39:19,167
you're like, "Yes, it will."

896
00:39:19,250 --> 00:39:20,917
My wife, Grace, has this gift.

897
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:22,667
She's big faith girl.

898
00:39:22,750 --> 00:39:24,125
She just trusts God.

899
00:39:24,167 --> 00:39:26,333
It's been super
helpful in this job,

900
00:39:26,375 --> 00:39:28,500
because I'll come up
to her—I'll be like,

901
00:39:28,583 --> 00:39:31,208
"I think we're supposed to
put a waterslide on the moon."

902
00:39:31,292 --> 00:39:32,625
She'll be like, "Great!

903
00:39:32,667 --> 00:39:34,625
"So, we'll pray
for a waterslide,

904
00:39:34,667 --> 00:39:36,417
"an astronaut,
and a shuttle.

905
00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:38,250
When do you need it by?"

906
00:39:38,333 --> 00:39:42,750
I mean, she's--and she'll pray,
and I'll get a waterslide,

907
00:39:42,833 --> 00:39:45,542
and an astronaut,
and a shuttle.

908
00:39:45,625 --> 00:39:47,125
And I'll be like, "It happened."

909
00:39:47,167 --> 00:39:51,125
She's like, "Of course it
happened; we asked for it."

910
00:39:51,167 --> 00:39:53,125
Whoa!

911
00:39:53,167 --> 00:39:55,625
Okay, some of you have
the gift of faith.

912
00:39:55,667 --> 00:40:00,333
You just--you trust God,
but it's not a naïveté;

913
00:40:00,417 --> 00:40:01,958
it's a childlike faith.

914
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,333
It's not a childish faith,
but it's a childlike faith.

915
00:40:04,417 --> 00:40:07,333
You're like, "Well, if God
wants it, and he tells us,

916
00:40:07,417 --> 00:40:09,542
it's going to happen."

917
00:40:09,625 --> 00:40:11,750
Some of you have
the gift of faith, right?

918
00:40:11,833 --> 00:40:14,167
This is the opposite of some
of you who have

919
00:40:14,208 --> 00:40:15,542
the gift of discouragement.

920
00:40:15,625 --> 00:40:16,958
"It'll never work," right?

921
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:18,333
You're like Eeyore.

922
00:40:18,417 --> 00:40:20,000
"It's going to be terrible."

923
00:40:20,083 --> 00:40:22,208
The opposite of that
is the gift of faith.

924
00:40:22,292 --> 00:40:24,333
You believe things can happen.

925
00:40:24,417 --> 00:40:27,417
Number four, there's
the gift of healing.

926
00:40:27,500 --> 00:40:29,958
This is in 1 Corinthians 12:9.

927
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,833
And if you have this gift,
you love to pray for those

928
00:40:32,917 --> 00:40:35,833
who are sick. They're sick.

929
00:40:35,917 --> 00:40:40,083
You love to pray for sick people
because you fully know that God

930
00:40:40,167 --> 00:40:43,000
is a great physician
and that he can heal people.

931
00:40:43,042 --> 00:40:46,500
So, we don't heal
people; God heals people.

932
00:40:46,542 --> 00:40:51,583
And he does heal people, and
we pray for people in faith,

933
00:40:51,667 --> 00:40:55,250
trusting that God
could heal them,

934
00:40:55,333 --> 00:40:57,667
and we expect that he will.

935
00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:00,458
I've got a friend of
mine who has, I believe,

936
00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:04,667
the gift of healing. And he
prays for those who are sick

937
00:41:04,708 --> 00:41:07,833
and has a very, very, very, very
long list of people

938
00:41:07,917 --> 00:41:11,125
that have been supernaturally,
miraculously healed.

939
00:41:11,167 --> 00:41:13,250
And then, see,
immediately, some of you—

940
00:41:13,333 --> 00:41:15,042
you're going to be skeptical

941
00:41:15,125 --> 00:41:16,458
because you're
the rational type,

942
00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:18,167
and you're
influenced by modernism,

943
00:41:18,208 --> 00:41:20,000
and you have questions
about the supernatural.

944
00:41:20,083 --> 00:41:22,333
You're like, "Well, how do
we verify those miracles?"

945
00:41:22,375 --> 00:41:24,250
He's also a medical doctor.

946
00:41:24,333 --> 00:41:27,042
He's a medical doctor
who loves Jesus.

947
00:41:27,125 --> 00:41:29,750
So, he'll deal with the body,
and he'll treat physically,

948
00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:32,917
but he prays over his patients
and has seen many of them

949
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:34,333
healed spiritually.

950
00:41:34,417 --> 00:41:36,042
Some of these people
I personally know,

951
00:41:36,125 --> 00:41:38,583
and I've referred to him,
and God's answered the prayer.

952
00:41:38,667 --> 00:41:41,667
We don't negate
the possibility of healing.

953
00:41:41,708 --> 00:41:43,792
That's why even after
our services, we say,

954
00:41:43,833 --> 00:41:45,792
"Hey, if you need prayer,
come forward,"

955
00:41:45,833 --> 00:41:48,667
because James says, if you're
sick, to have the elders anoint

956
00:41:48,750 --> 00:41:51,875
and pray over the sick person,
and then God could heal them.

957
00:41:51,958 --> 00:41:55,250
Some of you love
sick people, hurting people.

958
00:41:55,333 --> 00:41:57,333
You follow
CaringBridge websites;

959
00:41:57,417 --> 00:41:59,583
you want to know
who to be praying for.

960
00:41:59,667 --> 00:42:01,250
If there's somebody
in the church,

961
00:42:01,333 --> 00:42:03,458
you want to go visit
them at the hospital.

962
00:42:03,500 --> 00:42:06,625
You want to pray over them,
and you want to keep in touch,

963
00:42:06,667 --> 00:42:08,333
so you can be praying for them.

964
00:42:08,417 --> 00:42:09,750
And you're a real gift.

965
00:42:09,833 --> 00:42:13,042
There's also the gift of
miracles—1 Corinthians 12:9.

966
00:42:13,125 --> 00:42:16,750
You love to pray and see
God show up in power to do

967
00:42:16,833 --> 00:42:21,417
extraordinary, amazing
things that reveal his power

968
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:24,250
and his might and his majesty.

969
00:42:24,333 --> 00:42:27,458
And you just like to see God
show up and do crazy things

970
00:42:27,500 --> 00:42:29,250
like Mars Hill Church.

971
00:42:29,333 --> 00:42:32,833
Okay, we're a total
miracle of God.

972
00:42:32,875 --> 00:42:35,000
It's an absolute miracle of God.

973
00:42:35,083 --> 00:42:38,250
And then when God opens up a new
building, or a new opportunity,

974
00:42:38,333 --> 00:42:41,542
or people are getting saved,
or other things are developing,

975
00:42:41,625 --> 00:42:45,500
or there's radical testimonies
of significant life-change,

976
00:42:45,583 --> 00:42:49,500
and God kicking open doors
of spiritual resistance,

977
00:42:49,583 --> 00:42:53,667
you get really excited because
you believe in a very powerful

978
00:42:53,708 --> 00:42:57,667
God who likes
to show up in glory.

979
00:42:57,708 --> 00:43:01,333
And when you pray, you pray in
anticipation and expectation

980
00:43:01,375 --> 00:43:04,792
that he's going to show up in
such a way that the only way

981
00:43:04,833 --> 00:43:07,917
to explain what has happened
is that God showed up.

982
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,125
Okay, that's
the gift of miracles.

983
00:43:11,167 --> 00:43:13,333
Discernment—
1 Corinthians 12:10.

984
00:43:13,375 --> 00:43:15,292
You love truth and holiness.

985
00:43:15,333 --> 00:43:17,833
This is where you
can discern teaching.

986
00:43:17,875 --> 00:43:19,208
You'll be hearing somebody,
like,

987
00:43:19,292 --> 00:43:22,125
"That doesn't sound right,
that's off.

988
00:43:22,167 --> 00:43:24,792
That's not what
the Bible says, that's off."

989
00:43:24,833 --> 00:43:27,333
Some of you will be
reading a book and, like,

990
00:43:27,375 --> 00:43:30,583
"Whoa, something in me
doesn't feel right," right?

991
00:43:30,667 --> 00:43:33,417
You'll say, "I don't
know, my gut tells me."

992
00:43:33,500 --> 00:43:38,958
The Holy Spirit is your
gut a lot of the time.

993
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,167
Just like, "I don't
know, that doesn't--"

994
00:43:41,208 --> 00:43:43,333
Some of you are more intuitive
that way.

995
00:43:43,375 --> 00:43:45,167
"That person—
I don't trust them."

996
00:43:45,208 --> 00:43:46,542
"Well, what did they say?"

997
00:43:46,625 --> 00:43:49,208
"I don't--I'm just--I'm telling
you, I don't know what it is.

998
00:43:49,292 --> 00:43:54,667
I could be wrong,
but something's not right,"

999
00:43:54,708 --> 00:43:58,667
with a person
or a teacher or a doctrine.

1000
00:43:58,708 --> 00:44:00,708
That's a gift of discernment.

1001
00:44:00,792 --> 00:44:02,417
And some of you can discern

1002
00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:03,917
the presence of
Satan and demons.

1003
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,333
You're like, "You know, I
think Satan's at work here.

1004
00:44:06,375 --> 00:44:08,083
"I think he's got a little plan.

1005
00:44:08,167 --> 00:44:09,667
"I think demons
have been commissioned.

1006
00:44:09,750 --> 00:44:12,083
"I think this is all
going in a bad direction.

1007
00:44:12,167 --> 00:44:14,083
"I think we need
to stop and pray,

1008
00:44:14,167 --> 00:44:15,917
"and ask God for
clarity and wisdom.

1009
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,333
I think we're losing our
ballast here a little bit."

1010
00:44:18,375 --> 00:44:21,292
That's the gift of discernment.

1011
00:44:21,333 --> 00:44:25,000
See, the Bible says
that people are sheep

1012
00:44:25,042 --> 00:44:27,125
and that they're supposed
to have shepherds.

1013
00:44:27,167 --> 00:44:30,292
The Bible also says that there
are wolves who want to come in,

1014
00:44:30,333 --> 00:44:34,292
and they love sheep,
but not like the shepherds.

1015
00:44:34,333 --> 00:44:36,708
They don't love
to help the sheep;

1016
00:44:36,792 --> 00:44:39,833
they love to eat the sheep.

1017
00:44:39,875 --> 00:44:41,917
More fame, more money,
more power, more glory,

1018
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,042
more authority.

1019
00:44:44,125 --> 00:44:46,333
It's all about them;
it's not all about Jesus.

1020
00:44:46,375 --> 00:44:50,833
When Paul is talking
here about being

1021
00:44:50,917 --> 00:44:53,500
"carried away by every wind
of doctrine,

1022
00:44:53,583 --> 00:44:57,125
by cunning, by craftiness
in deceitful schemes,"

1023
00:44:57,167 --> 00:44:58,958
he's talking
about the wolves.

1024
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:01,167
Those with the gift of
discernment, they'll go,

1025
00:45:01,250 --> 00:45:04,500
"Sheep, shepherd,
wolf, hireling."

1026
00:45:04,542 --> 00:45:06,000
There's four.

1027
00:45:06,042 --> 00:45:08,167
Sheep—they love Jesus,
we've got to love them

1028
00:45:08,250 --> 00:45:09,583
and protect them.

1029
00:45:09,667 --> 00:45:12,000
Shepherd—they've got to help,
love, and protect the sheep.

1030
00:45:12,042 --> 00:45:14,208
Wolf—they're here to
cause real trouble.

1031
00:45:14,292 --> 00:45:16,208
Hireling—for them
it's just a job.

1032
00:45:16,292 --> 00:45:18,125
They don't love the sheep;

1033
00:45:18,167 --> 00:45:19,625
they just love the job.

1034
00:45:19,667 --> 00:45:22,792
And as soon as it gets hard,
they're not going to fight for

1035
00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:25,500
the well-being of the sheep;
they're going to let the wolves

1036
00:45:25,583 --> 00:45:26,917
take this place over.

1037
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:28,917
Those with the gift of
discernment, they say,

1038
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:31,583
"Sheep, shepherd,
wolf, hireling."

1039
00:45:31,667 --> 00:45:33,833
And oftentimes
they're right,

1040
00:45:33,875 --> 00:45:36,917
and they're right
well in advance.

1041
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:40,750
And after a while, you say,
"Oh wow, we didn't see that.

1042
00:45:40,833 --> 00:45:43,125
"We didn't know that
that was in their heart.

1043
00:45:43,167 --> 00:45:45,500
We didn't know that's where
they were going or doing,"

1044
00:45:45,583 --> 00:45:47,542
and then it all gets exposed.

1045
00:45:47,625 --> 00:45:50,042
And those with
the gift of discernment,

1046
00:45:50,125 --> 00:45:54,458
they're like an early warning
system for the church.

1047
00:45:54,500 --> 00:45:58,167
Those who have the gift of
apostles—1 Corinthians 12:28,

1048
00:45:58,208 --> 00:46:01,417
and it said it here
in Ephesians 4:11.

1049
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:04,292
They love leading a movement.

1050
00:46:04,333 --> 00:46:06,625
We're not talking here
about the eyewitnesses

1051
00:46:06,667 --> 00:46:08,417
to the resurrection of Jesus,

1052
00:46:08,500 --> 00:46:10,833
who were chosen by him
to write the books

1053
00:46:10,875 --> 00:46:12,625
of the New Testament.

1054
00:46:12,667 --> 00:46:15,083
What we're talking about
is not those with

1055
00:46:15,167 --> 00:46:17,292
the office of apostle,
but the gift of apostle.

1056
00:46:17,333 --> 00:46:20,125
These would be missionaries,
church planters,

1057
00:46:20,167 --> 00:46:23,208
cross-cultural missionaries,
and that would include those

1058
00:46:23,292 --> 00:46:26,125
who work across
multiple churches, right?

1059
00:46:26,167 --> 00:46:28,667
This is one of my
spiritual gifts.

1060
00:46:28,750 --> 00:46:33,125
So we've got a church
that has 14 locations,

1061
00:46:33,167 --> 00:46:37,167
which is one of the most
distributed churches in America.

1062
00:46:37,250 --> 00:46:39,458
And the fact that we're
across so many states—

1063
00:46:39,500 --> 00:46:41,458
it's really complicated.

1064
00:46:41,500 --> 00:46:44,667
It's very complicated.
And with that there's writing,

1065
00:46:44,708 --> 00:46:47,125
and there's teaching,
and preaching, and technology,

1066
00:46:47,167 --> 00:46:50,750
and media,
and criticism, and honestly,

1067
00:46:50,833 --> 00:46:54,625
that's different than
just a regular pastor.

1068
00:46:54,667 --> 00:46:58,833
A regular pastor teaches
and loves this flock;

1069
00:46:58,875 --> 00:47:04,292
an apostle helps a lot of flocks
and is helping develop leaders

1070
00:47:04,333 --> 00:47:07,917
across multiple locations
and churches.

1071
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,417
So, pray for me,

1072
00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:12,375
and pray for the team
that works with me.

1073
00:47:12,458 --> 00:47:15,500
I'm still a pastor at
Mars Hill, and I love what I do,

1074
00:47:15,583 --> 00:47:17,208
but it's become
more complicated.

1075
00:47:17,292 --> 00:47:20,333
And I'm not Paul, that's
for sure, but writing—

1076
00:47:20,375 --> 00:47:23,500
I have to do that—preaching—
I have to do that—traveling—

1077
00:47:23,583 --> 00:47:26,833
I have to do that—being
hated—I get to enjoy that.

1078
00:47:26,875 --> 00:47:28,333
We have some similarities.

1079
00:47:28,375 --> 00:47:30,000
We have some similarities.

1080
00:47:30,042 --> 00:47:32,875
Okay, the next gift is teaching.

1081
00:47:32,958 --> 00:47:35,333
This is Romans 12:7,
1 Corinthians 12:28,

1082
00:47:35,375 --> 00:47:39,208
and we saw it here
as well in Ephesians 4:11.

1083
00:47:39,292 --> 00:47:40,917
If you have
the gift of teaching,

1084
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,625
you love to impart
biblical truth.

1085
00:47:43,667 --> 00:47:45,333
You love that.

1086
00:47:45,375 --> 00:47:47,708
What makes you so excited is
when you teach something,

1087
00:47:47,792 --> 00:47:51,250
and, quote unquote,
"they got it."

1088
00:47:51,333 --> 00:47:53,833
Whether you're a mom
who's homeschooling,

1089
00:47:53,917 --> 00:47:55,833
or you're
a Community Group leader

1090
00:47:55,875 --> 00:47:57,458
or Redemption Group leader,

1091
00:47:57,500 --> 00:47:59,167
or lead pastor
teaching a class,

1092
00:47:59,208 --> 00:48:02,000
or doing a one-on-one mentoring
or discipleship meeting

1093
00:48:02,083 --> 00:48:04,792
or investing in a new believer
or a non-believer,

1094
00:48:04,833 --> 00:48:07,000
you're teaching, and they get it.

1095
00:48:07,042 --> 00:48:09,000
And you see the light bulb go on,

1096
00:48:09,083 --> 00:48:12,000
and that just
absolutely excites you.

1097
00:48:12,042 --> 00:48:14,083
You're so fired up.

1098
00:48:14,167 --> 00:48:16,625
That's the gift of teaching.

1099
00:48:16,667 --> 00:48:19,125
Some of you are good
to teach one on one,

1100
00:48:19,167 --> 00:48:21,667
so you'd be more
teaching-type counselors.

1101
00:48:21,750 --> 00:48:24,333
Others of you—it'll be groups;
it'll be Community Group leader,

1102
00:48:24,375 --> 00:48:26,583
Redemption Group leader,
maybe teach a class,

1103
00:48:26,667 --> 00:48:28,792
teach a serving team.

1104
00:48:28,833 --> 00:48:31,000
Some of you are going
to be larger groups.

1105
00:48:31,083 --> 00:48:34,000
That tends to be the role
of some of our elders

1106
00:48:34,083 --> 00:48:36,333
and our lead pastors, teaching
classes and training days

1107
00:48:36,375 --> 00:48:38,708
and training and developing
leaders as well as others

1108
00:48:38,792 --> 00:48:40,333
across the church.

1109
00:48:40,375 --> 00:48:42,708
Gift of teaching.
Gift of teaching.

1110
00:48:42,792 --> 00:48:46,333
The next one on the list—
helps and service.

1111
00:48:46,417 --> 00:48:48,042
And I put these together

1112
00:48:48,125 --> 00:48:50,250
because I think they're
basically synonymous.

1113
00:48:50,333 --> 00:48:52,458
Romans 12:7,
1 Corinthians 12:28,

1114
00:48:52,500 --> 00:48:55,125
and 1 Peter 4:11—

1115
00:48:55,167 --> 00:48:56,833
helps and service.

1116
00:48:56,917 --> 00:48:59,917
You love coming
alongside people.

1117
00:49:00,042 --> 00:49:05,208
You're not the one who has
this massive global vision;

1118
00:49:05,292 --> 00:49:09,208
you're the one who comes
and says, "Where can I help?"

1119
00:49:09,292 --> 00:49:11,208
They say,
"What do you want to do?"

1120
00:49:11,292 --> 00:49:14,125
"I want to help, so
tell me what you need."

1121
00:49:14,167 --> 00:49:16,000
"Well, what are you good at?"

1122
00:49:16,083 --> 00:49:21,417
"I'm good at helping,
so tell me what you need."

1123
00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:24,500
These are people
who they tend to like being

1124
00:49:24,542 --> 00:49:28,083
in the support role,
not the lead role.

1125
00:49:28,167 --> 00:49:30,000
They don't come
with a huge agenda,

1126
00:49:30,083 --> 00:49:32,000
"I feel called to do this."

1127
00:49:32,042 --> 00:49:34,208
They're like,
"You're called to do something,

1128
00:49:34,292 --> 00:49:36,417
and I'm called to help you."

1129
00:49:36,500 --> 00:49:39,333
My wife, Grace, definitely
has this gift.

1130
00:49:39,417 --> 00:49:42,458
She will do anything happily.

1131
00:49:42,500 --> 00:49:44,333
She loves Jesus,
she loves the church,

1132
00:49:44,417 --> 00:49:47,333
she loves our family,
she loves people.

1133
00:49:47,375 --> 00:49:48,833
She loves to help.

1134
00:49:48,917 --> 00:49:53,167
She finds great joy in
helping, great joy in helping.

1135
00:49:53,208 --> 00:49:56,542
So even this morning,
I got up really early,

1136
00:49:56,625 --> 00:49:58,333
and I'm trying to be ninja quiet

1137
00:49:58,417 --> 00:49:59,958
and not wake
Grace up, right,

1138
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:01,958
because I don't
want to wake her up.

1139
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,042
And then I smell coffee brewing,

1140
00:50:04,125 --> 00:50:07,208
and I know that
she set her alarm.

1141
00:50:07,292 --> 00:50:11,042
She wasn't--I said,
"Please sleep in."

1142
00:50:11,125 --> 00:50:13,833
She gets up,
she cooks me breakfast,

1143
00:50:13,917 --> 00:50:16,417
I go out, and I'm like,
"What are you doing?"

1144
00:50:16,500 --> 00:50:19,833
She's like, "I'm your friend;
I'm supposed to help you."

1145
00:50:19,917 --> 00:50:23,250
She said, "So I'm going to make
sure you have breakfast and that

1146
00:50:23,333 --> 00:50:25,958
you get prayed for before
you go teach today."

1147
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,333
So she likes to serve;
she likes to help.

1148
00:50:28,417 --> 00:50:32,833
It works out great—
I love to be served,

1149
00:50:32,875 --> 00:50:35,833
so it is like,
wow, what a match!

1150
00:50:35,917 --> 00:50:40,667
Okay, so—but if
you have this gift,

1151
00:50:40,750 --> 00:50:43,167
you don't really care what
you're doing as long as

1152
00:50:43,208 --> 00:50:44,667
you're helping, right?

1153
00:50:44,750 --> 00:50:46,667
You're like, "I'm happy
just helping in general."

1154
00:50:46,750 --> 00:50:49,458
And praise God
for those people.

1155
00:50:49,500 --> 00:50:52,958
Administration,
if you have the gift of--

1156
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,333
this is 1 Corinthians 12:28--

1157
00:50:55,417 --> 00:50:58,583
you love stewarding
resources, right?

1158
00:50:58,667 --> 00:51:01,333
Not surprisingly, this
would be Pastor Sutton Turner,

1159
00:51:01,417 --> 00:51:02,750
our executive pastor.

1160
00:51:02,833 --> 00:51:05,750
You love to make sure, "How
are we doing with the money?

1161
00:51:05,833 --> 00:51:07,458
"How are we doing
with the people?

1162
00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:09,458
"How are we doing
with the real estate?

1163
00:51:09,500 --> 00:51:11,167
"How are we doing
with the resources?

1164
00:51:11,208 --> 00:51:12,542
"Are we good stewards?

1165
00:51:12,625 --> 00:51:14,750
"Are we taking everything
that Jesus has given us

1166
00:51:14,833 --> 00:51:16,500
and getting the most out of it?"

1167
00:51:16,583 --> 00:51:18,500
Some of you have that
gift of administration.

1168
00:51:18,583 --> 00:51:20,333
Your life verse
is in 1 Corinthians:

1169
00:51:20,417 --> 00:51:23,042
"Do everything in a fitting
and orderly way."

1170
00:51:23,125 --> 00:51:27,667
For you, you're like label
maker, files, charts and graphs.

1171
00:51:27,708 --> 00:51:29,833
You like to organize things.

1172
00:51:29,875 --> 00:51:32,000
And you can even tell,
sometimes these people—

1173
00:51:32,083 --> 00:51:36,208
their personal space
is pretty tidy.

1174
00:51:36,292 --> 00:51:38,458
You notice that?
Like, it's in order.

1175
00:51:38,500 --> 00:51:40,958
If you walk into somebody's
house, and there's like laundry

1176
00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:43,375
on the chandelier, maybe not
the gift of administration,

1177
00:51:43,458 --> 00:51:45,958
okay?

1178
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:47,875
You're a person
who naturally--

1179
00:51:47,958 --> 00:51:49,792
my daughter Ashley's like this.

1180
00:51:49,833 --> 00:51:51,667
She's a natural organizer.

1181
00:51:51,750 --> 00:51:53,667
She walks into chaos,

1182
00:51:53,708 --> 00:51:56,292
and she knows how to bring order
out of chaos.

1183
00:51:56,333 --> 00:51:59,333
Do you have that gift?

1184
00:51:59,417 --> 00:52:02,208
Number 11, there's
the gift of evangelism.

1185
00:52:02,292 --> 00:52:05,750
You--if this is you,
you love non-Christians.

1186
00:52:05,833 --> 00:52:09,250
You love them, and you love
talking to them about Jesus,

1187
00:52:09,333 --> 00:52:11,625
and you love seeing
them meet Jesus.

1188
00:52:11,667 --> 00:52:13,542
You love that.

1189
00:52:13,625 --> 00:52:16,667
Just so you know, not a lot
of Christians really have

1190
00:52:16,708 --> 00:52:21,458
and maximize this gift,
but if you do,

1191
00:52:21,500 --> 00:52:24,167
a lot of your ministry's
going to be talking to people,

1192
00:52:24,208 --> 00:52:26,750
praying for people, giving
books and Bibles to people,

1193
00:52:26,833 --> 00:52:29,125
inviting people to church,
inviting people to

1194
00:52:29,167 --> 00:52:30,833
Community Group, right?

1195
00:52:30,917 --> 00:52:33,542
Just building all of those
relationships and talking to

1196
00:52:33,625 --> 00:52:36,833
people about Jesus, excited
that they're going to become

1197
00:52:36,917 --> 00:52:39,042
a Christian.

1198
00:52:39,125 --> 00:52:41,708
If that's your gift,
that's who you are.

1199
00:52:41,792 --> 00:52:43,458
I mean, some Christians
are, frankly,

1200
00:52:43,500 --> 00:52:44,958
annoyed by non-Christians.

1201
00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:47,833
Those with the gift of
evangelism tend to be annoyed by

1202
00:52:47,875 --> 00:52:51,208
those Christians, okay, because
they love non-Christians.

1203
00:52:51,292 --> 00:52:53,750
There's also the gift of
shepherding, or pastor,

1204
00:52:53,833 --> 00:52:55,667
or counseling.

1205
00:52:55,708 --> 00:52:58,125
It says it here
in Ephesians 4:11.

1206
00:52:58,167 --> 00:53:01,375
This is--sometimes
you do become a pastor,

1207
00:53:01,458 --> 00:53:04,625
there's a pastoral office, but
this is also a pastoral gift.

1208
00:53:04,667 --> 00:53:07,500
What this means is that
you love to help people,

1209
00:53:07,542 --> 00:53:10,500
you love to care for people,
you love to nurture people,

1210
00:53:10,583 --> 00:53:12,875
you love to invest in people.

1211
00:53:12,958 --> 00:53:16,125
At Mars Hill Church, a lot of
our shepherding happens

1212
00:53:16,167 --> 00:53:18,083
in our Community Groups.

1213
00:53:18,167 --> 00:53:19,583
So we have our big meetings,

1214
00:53:19,667 --> 00:53:21,708
and then we have
our little meetings,

1215
00:53:21,792 --> 00:53:24,000
and that's where what
we talk about in our

1216
00:53:24,083 --> 00:53:26,667
big meeting gets worked
out in our little meeting.

1217
00:53:26,750 --> 00:53:29,833
And it's the Community Group
hosts and leaders who tend to do

1218
00:53:29,875 --> 00:53:31,500
a lot of the shepherding.

1219
00:53:31,542 --> 00:53:34,208
"What did you hear?
What did God tell you to do?

1220
00:53:34,292 --> 00:53:36,917
"What are you struggling with?
How can we pray for you?

1221
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:39,167
"You know, how can we
come alongside of you?

1222
00:53:39,208 --> 00:53:42,333
"How can we help you do, as he
says here, come to maturity,

1223
00:53:42,417 --> 00:53:45,333
no longer be like a spiritual
infant but spiritually mature?"

1224
00:53:45,417 --> 00:53:47,750
That's what
shepherds love to do.

1225
00:53:47,833 --> 00:53:50,208
Do you know
what shepherds love?

1226
00:53:50,292 --> 00:53:52,417
Sheep.

1227
00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:55,833
They love people.
They love people.

1228
00:53:55,875 --> 00:53:58,500
Some of you say, "Look, I don't
understand all the finances

1229
00:53:58,583 --> 00:54:00,333
"and the real estate
and the marketing

1230
00:54:00,375 --> 00:54:02,833
"and the complexity of
a large organization.

1231
00:54:02,875 --> 00:54:06,500
"Here's what I know:
I love people,

1232
00:54:06,583 --> 00:54:11,000
"and I like to help people
grow in Jesus.

1233
00:54:11,083 --> 00:54:13,125
I like that."

1234
00:54:13,167 --> 00:54:15,208
Do you have that gift?

1235
00:54:15,292 --> 00:54:18,000
Become a Community Group leader
now,

1236
00:54:18,083 --> 00:54:21,000
because we need as many
as we can get, amen?

1237
00:54:21,083 --> 00:54:23,375
And thank your Community Group
leader this week.

1238
00:54:23,458 --> 00:54:25,208
Say, "Thank you."

1239
00:54:25,292 --> 00:54:28,833
These are volunteer people
who are doing pastoral work,

1240
00:54:28,875 --> 00:54:30,833
caring, and loving.

1241
00:54:30,875 --> 00:54:36,500
Then there's also the gift of
encouragement—Romans 12:8.

1242
00:54:36,583 --> 00:54:41,208
If you have this gift,
you love motivating people.

1243
00:54:41,292 --> 00:54:45,833
You're pretty happy,
you just are.

1244
00:54:45,875 --> 00:54:52,458
Okay, my daughter Alexie—
she's 9—she has this gift.

1245
00:54:52,500 --> 00:54:54,958
She's an encourager.

1246
00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:58,333
She's joyful, she's happy,
she's emotionally present,

1247
00:54:58,375 --> 00:55:00,500
she's loving.

1248
00:55:00,583 --> 00:55:03,333
I call her--I say, "You're
like sunshine in my life."

1249
00:55:03,375 --> 00:55:05,000
That's what I tell her.

1250
00:55:05,042 --> 00:55:07,375
"Daddy gets some dark days.

1251
00:55:07,458 --> 00:55:10,417
Alexie is sunshine in my life."

1252
00:55:10,500 --> 00:55:12,125
And she was lamenting one day

1253
00:55:12,167 --> 00:55:14,000
because all the other kids
play sports.

1254
00:55:14,083 --> 00:55:16,500
She's like, "Daddy, they
all win trophies and medals."

1255
00:55:16,583 --> 00:55:18,083
And she's not playing sports.

1256
00:55:18,167 --> 00:55:20,000
She said, "I don't
ever get a trophy."

1257
00:55:20,083 --> 00:55:21,417
So I went out.

1258
00:55:21,500 --> 00:55:24,208
We had custom made
this huge hot pink trophy.

1259
00:55:24,292 --> 00:55:26,708
It's like this big,
and I gave it to her.

1260
00:55:26,792 --> 00:55:29,917
It's called
the Sunshine Award, okay,

1261
00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:31,708
because she has the gift of
encouragement,

1262
00:55:31,792 --> 00:55:33,708
and I wanted to encourage her.

1263
00:55:33,792 --> 00:55:36,125
Yesterday, I was having
a hard day—she could tell.

1264
00:55:36,167 --> 00:55:37,708
She walks over—she's
emotionally intuitive—

1265
00:55:37,792 --> 00:55:39,667
"Papa Daddy, are you
having a hard day?"

1266
00:55:39,708 --> 00:55:41,333
"Yeah."

1267
00:55:41,417 --> 00:55:44,000
She sits on my lap,
rubs my beard, says,

1268
00:55:44,083 --> 00:55:47,333
"Then I'll go to Gideon's
baseball practice with you,

1269
00:55:47,375 --> 00:55:49,833
"and I'll hang out with you
and be your friend,

1270
00:55:49,917 --> 00:55:53,333
"and that'll make you
feel better." And it did.

1271
00:55:53,417 --> 00:55:55,333
It really--that's why
I'm so happy right now,

1272
00:55:55,417 --> 00:55:57,167
because I'm thinking
about Alexie.

1273
00:55:57,208 --> 00:55:59,333
Okay, those of you with
the gift of encouragement,

1274
00:55:59,417 --> 00:56:01,917
you tend to have
a lot of friends, right?

1275
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:04,417
Who doesn't want to hang out
with a person with

1276
00:56:04,500 --> 00:56:05,833
the gift of encouragement?

1277
00:56:05,875 --> 00:56:07,500
"Hey, I love you.
That was great.

1278
00:56:07,583 --> 00:56:09,708
"I'm so proud of you.
I'm praying for you.

1279
00:56:09,792 --> 00:56:11,125
"It's going to get better.

1280
00:56:11,167 --> 00:56:13,125
"Boy, I'm seeing
big change in your life.

1281
00:56:13,167 --> 00:56:14,625
God has good things for you."

1282
00:56:14,667 --> 00:56:16,000
"Will you be my friend?"

1283
00:56:16,083 --> 00:56:18,500
Alright, we just love having
those people as our friends.

1284
00:56:18,583 --> 00:56:20,917
They're super helpful, and some
of you don't know that

1285
00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:22,333
that's such a huge gift.

1286
00:56:22,375 --> 00:56:24,125
The number one category of
prescription medication

1287
00:56:24,167 --> 00:56:25,500
in the U.S. is antidepressants.

1288
00:56:25,583 --> 00:56:28,000
We need more people with
the gift of encouragement.

1289
00:56:28,083 --> 00:56:30,833
Number 14, there's the gift
of giving. That's Romans 12:8.

1290
00:56:30,875 --> 00:56:33,833
If this is you,
you love meeting needs.

1291
00:56:33,875 --> 00:56:35,500
You love to give.

1292
00:56:35,542 --> 00:56:38,167
So, you're even the person when
people are talking, you're like,

1293
00:56:38,208 --> 00:56:40,417
"Oh, do you need that?
I'll get it.

1294
00:56:40,500 --> 00:56:42,500
"Do you need that?
I'll do that.

1295
00:56:42,583 --> 00:56:44,958
"I want to give.
I want to meet that need.

1296
00:56:45,000 --> 00:56:46,458
I want to help."

1297
00:56:46,500 --> 00:56:48,958
Alright, we had to--recently
we sent out a little letter

1298
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:50,708
explaining, "Hey, here's
where we're at financially.

1299
00:56:50,792 --> 00:56:53,167
We're a little behind.
We need to catch up."

1300
00:56:53,208 --> 00:56:56,042
There were certain people who
not only sent a gift but sent

1301
00:56:56,125 --> 00:56:58,250
a letter saying, "Thank you for
letting us know

1302
00:56:58,333 --> 00:56:59,667
"that there was a need.

1303
00:56:59,708 --> 00:57:01,208
We're really glad to meet it."

1304
00:57:01,292 --> 00:57:03,208
Those are people with
the gift of giving.

1305
00:57:03,292 --> 00:57:05,708
When you give, if you
have the gift of giving,

1306
00:57:05,792 --> 00:57:08,083
you get excited to give, you're
looking for opportunities

1307
00:57:08,167 --> 00:57:09,708
to give, you rejoice in giving.

1308
00:57:09,792 --> 00:57:11,708
And I notice this with my kids.

1309
00:57:11,792 --> 00:57:13,583
We're a family
that likes to give,

1310
00:57:13,667 --> 00:57:16,417
and so we have our
giving to the church,

1311
00:57:16,500 --> 00:57:19,500
and then we have some additional
giving above and beyond that

1312
00:57:19,583 --> 00:57:22,417
that we'll do to help some other
pastors and church planters

1313
00:57:22,500 --> 00:57:23,917
that we love.

1314
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:27,000
And then we have another line
item in our budget where Grace

1315
00:57:27,083 --> 00:57:30,417
and the kids get to look for
opportunities just to give.

1316
00:57:30,500 --> 00:57:34,792
So, a single mom needs something,
and their kids are friends with

1317
00:57:34,833 --> 00:57:37,125
my kids. My kids will come
home and say,

1318
00:57:37,167 --> 00:57:39,958
"Hey Dad, they need blank,
and I need that money."

1319
00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:42,250
Okay, great, because we
have an account for that.

1320
00:57:42,333 --> 00:57:45,250
And I want to train my kids
to be looking for opportunities

1321
00:57:45,333 --> 00:57:48,833
to give, and then when they
give, I want them to rejoice

1322
00:57:48,875 --> 00:57:51,458
and enjoy the fact that they get
to be the one

1323
00:57:51,500 --> 00:57:53,042
that meets the need.

1324
00:57:53,125 --> 00:57:55,458
If you're the person
with the gift of giving,

1325
00:57:55,500 --> 00:57:57,667
you're a person who—you
live your life open handed.

1326
00:57:57,708 --> 00:57:59,167
You say, "You know what?

1327
00:57:59,208 --> 00:58:01,625
"Everything belongs to Jesus,
and I'm really glad

1328
00:58:01,667 --> 00:58:04,875
to be a steward
and to give to needs."

1329
00:58:04,958 --> 00:58:07,833
Financial needs, emotional
needs, physical needs,

1330
00:58:07,875 --> 00:58:12,583
whatever the need might be,
you like that. You like that.

1331
00:58:12,667 --> 00:58:15,333
Gift of leadership—Romans 12:8.

1332
00:58:15,375 --> 00:58:18,167
You love mobilizing
people for a cause.

1333
00:58:18,250 --> 00:58:19,875
You love to be the point leader,

1334
00:58:19,958 --> 00:58:22,000
and this isn't just
out of pride, alright?

1335
00:58:22,083 --> 00:58:25,000
There's a guy in the Bible named
Diotrephes, and it says

1336
00:58:25,083 --> 00:58:26,875
he always wanted to be first.

1337
00:58:26,958 --> 00:58:29,083
Well, that's not
a good thing, right?

1338
00:58:29,167 --> 00:58:31,417
It's not that
"I have to be the boss,"

1339
00:58:31,500 --> 00:58:33,917
but you naturally gravitate
toward leadership positions.

1340
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:36,625
People see you as the leader.

1341
00:58:36,667 --> 00:58:40,250
They see you as the leader and
you bear that responsibility.

1342
00:58:40,333 --> 00:58:42,333
And not everybody has
this gift.

1343
00:58:42,375 --> 00:58:44,333
I was going to share this
with you.

1344
00:58:44,417 --> 00:58:46,625
Alexie, this
week--this'll be fun.

1345
00:58:46,667 --> 00:58:49,958
I mean, if we're going to make
it fun, we'll involve Alexie.

1346
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:54,708
So, she had a project at school
this week: what would you do

1347
00:58:54,792 --> 00:58:56,833
if you were president?

1348
00:58:56,875 --> 00:58:59,917
Okay, now I could write that.

1349
00:59:00,042 --> 00:59:02,500
"Oh, if I were--oh,
I have a list of things.

1350
00:59:02,583 --> 00:59:04,000
Yeah, that's not hard."

1351
00:59:04,083 --> 00:59:05,417
Here's what Alexie said:

1352
00:59:05,500 --> 00:59:07,500
"I think being president
of the United States

1353
00:59:07,542 --> 00:59:10,417
"would be quite annoying.

1354
00:59:10,500 --> 00:59:15,708
"The Secret Service is always
with you everywhere you go.

1355
00:59:15,792 --> 00:59:18,000
"Not everyone agrees with you.

1356
00:59:18,083 --> 00:59:20,333
"I think it would be very hard
to live

1357
00:59:20,375 --> 00:59:22,000
"with people not liking you.

1358
00:59:22,042 --> 00:59:25,000
"You also have to make huge
decisions, like deciding laws.

1359
00:59:25,042 --> 00:59:27,000
"That would be
really, really hard.

1360
00:59:27,083 --> 00:59:29,417
I would not like
the world to depend on me."

1361
00:59:29,500 --> 00:59:34,875
Probably not the gift
of leadership, okay?

1362
00:59:39,208 --> 00:59:41,125
Those of you with
the gift of leadership,

1363
00:59:41,167 --> 00:59:43,833
if I handed you a sheet
of paper, and I said,

1364
00:59:43,917 --> 00:59:45,833
"What would you do if
you were president?"

1365
00:59:45,917 --> 00:59:48,000
You're like, "Oh, I've
got a lot of things."

1366
00:59:48,083 --> 00:59:50,167
Others of you are like,
"No, no, no, no."

1367
00:59:50,208 --> 00:59:52,167
Okay, if you have
the gift of leadership,

1368
00:59:52,208 --> 00:59:54,917
let me just say that there are
always needs for leaders

1369
00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:56,333
in the church.

1370
00:59:56,375 --> 00:59:58,542
Jesus says, "The harvest is
plenty and the laborers

1371
00:59:58,625 --> 01:00:01,542
are few," so we've got to pray
in more leaders.

1372
01:00:01,625 --> 01:00:04,000
Leaders are always
in short supply.

1373
01:00:04,083 --> 01:00:06,042
If you're a leader,
welcome, God loves you,

1374
01:00:06,125 --> 01:00:08,125
we have a wonderful
plan for your life.

1375
01:00:08,167 --> 01:00:11,042
Gift of mercy—Romans 12:8.

1376
01:00:11,125 --> 01:00:15,708
Here's--if you have the gift
mercy, you love hurting people.

1377
01:00:15,792 --> 01:00:19,000
I don't know if you know this,
if some people are hurting--no,

1378
01:00:19,083 --> 01:00:20,958
I said that wrong.

1379
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:23,833
I said that wrong, okay.

1380
01:00:23,917 --> 01:00:28,542
If you're a prophet,
you love hurting people.

1381
01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:31,917
"I will comfort the afflicted.

1382
01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:34,125
"No, I will afflict
the comfortable.

1383
01:00:34,167 --> 01:00:35,750
That's what I will do."

1384
01:00:35,833 --> 01:00:41,792
So, let me say that a little
more--if people are hurting

1385
01:00:41,833 --> 01:00:44,750
because of the horrendous
activity of others,

1386
01:00:44,833 --> 01:00:47,542
then you love to come alongside
and assist them

1387
01:00:47,625 --> 01:00:49,167
in their hurting.

1388
01:00:49,208 --> 01:00:51,083
Okay, I said it. There we go.

1389
01:00:51,167 --> 01:00:56,167
Okay, so, if you have
the gift of terrorism,

1390
01:00:56,250 --> 01:01:00,500
you like to hurt people.
So, you like hurting people.

1391
01:01:03,292 --> 01:01:05,667
Man, it's early.
I went to public school,

1392
01:01:05,708 --> 01:01:08,042
and I'm doing the best I can.

1393
01:01:08,125 --> 01:01:14,042
So, now, have you noticed
that sometimes when people

1394
01:01:14,125 --> 01:01:16,250
are hurting, a lot of people—
they're like,

1395
01:01:16,333 --> 01:01:19,542
"Oh, you're struggling, you're
crying, you're emotional, oh..."

1396
01:01:19,625 --> 01:01:25,750
Right, like,
"I'll pray for you."

1397
01:01:25,833 --> 01:01:28,042
A person with a gift
of mercy—they're like,

1398
01:01:28,125 --> 01:01:33,750
"Oh, I'm here to help,
to love, to serve, to pray.

1399
01:01:33,833 --> 01:01:36,667
"You're emotional—
I like that, okay?

1400
01:01:36,708 --> 01:01:39,083
I'm here to support you."

1401
01:01:39,167 --> 01:01:40,958
That's the gift of mercy.

1402
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:43,167
When someone is struggling,
you walk to them;

1403
01:01:43,208 --> 01:01:46,083
you don't walk away from them.

1404
01:01:46,167 --> 01:01:47,667
And this is where,
quite frankly,

1405
01:01:47,750 --> 01:01:49,792
like, our
Redemption Group leaders-- man,

1406
01:01:49,833 --> 01:01:51,875
this is their slot.

1407
01:01:51,958 --> 01:01:53,792
And I tell you,
Redemption Groups,

1408
01:01:53,833 --> 01:01:57,167
Jesus loves Redemption Groups,
and it's where those with

1409
01:01:57,208 --> 01:02:00,500
the gift of mercy,
the gift of encouragement,

1410
01:02:00,583 --> 01:02:04,833
the gift of wisdom—they get to
put their arms around people

1411
01:02:04,917 --> 01:02:07,042
who are struggling
and suffering,

1412
01:02:07,125 --> 01:02:10,250
and to bring the love of Jesus
to them.

1413
01:02:10,333 --> 01:02:12,458
Hospitality—Romans 12:13.

1414
01:02:12,500 --> 01:02:17,708
You love welcoming in strangers
and entertaining them.

1415
01:02:17,792 --> 01:02:20,500
So, on Sundays, you love
to be on the Welcome Team

1416
01:02:20,583 --> 01:02:22,208
and the Hospitality Team.

1417
01:02:22,292 --> 01:02:24,458
You love to host
Community Group.

1418
01:02:24,500 --> 01:02:26,250
"Hey, everybody,
come to my house.

1419
01:02:26,333 --> 01:02:29,542
I'll feed you, sit on my couch,
I'll have it all set up."

1420
01:02:29,625 --> 01:02:31,458
You love to entertain people.

1421
01:02:31,500 --> 01:02:33,125
You love to welcome people.

1422
01:02:33,167 --> 01:02:34,833
You love to bring people
together

1423
01:02:34,917 --> 01:02:36,958
and see them meet each other.

1424
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:38,958
You're like, "Oh, they're going
to be--that's fun,

1425
01:02:39,000 --> 01:02:40,542
and they'll get married."

1426
01:02:40,625 --> 01:02:42,500
And you've got it all
figured out, right?

1427
01:02:42,583 --> 01:02:44,333
My wife has
the gift of hospitality;

1428
01:02:44,417 --> 01:02:47,125
my daughter has the gift of
hospitality—Ashley does.

1429
01:02:47,167 --> 01:02:49,250
They love to cook,
they love to plan,

1430
01:02:49,333 --> 01:02:52,333
they love to entertain,
they love to have people over.

1431
01:02:52,417 --> 01:02:55,333
You know, so for me, it's always
been thinking about even our

1432
01:02:55,417 --> 01:02:57,000
physical space of where we live.

1433
01:02:57,083 --> 01:02:59,958
How can this be a home that
allows their gifts to flourish,

1434
01:03:00,083 --> 01:03:02,333
so that we can
practice hospitality?

1435
01:03:02,375 --> 01:03:05,125
And if that's you, you could
really help us on Sundays.

1436
01:03:05,167 --> 01:03:07,625
You could help as well being
a Community Group host.

1437
01:03:07,667 --> 01:03:09,000
Some of you are like,

1438
01:03:09,083 --> 01:03:11,000
"I don't want to lead
the Community Group."

1439
01:03:11,083 --> 01:03:12,417
You could be the host.

1440
01:03:12,500 --> 01:03:14,625
The person with the gift of
hospitality's the one

1441
01:03:14,667 --> 01:03:16,625
who opens their home
and welcomes everyone in,

1442
01:03:16,667 --> 01:03:18,500
and then the leader
leads the group.

1443
01:03:18,583 --> 01:03:21,083
Two more—gift of tongues—
1 Corinthians 12:8-10,

1444
01:03:21,167 --> 01:03:23,917
1 Corinthians 12:29-30.

1445
01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:26,917
You will see in the Bible--

1446
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:29,417
I don't want to get totally down
the rabbit trail.

1447
01:03:29,500 --> 01:03:31,625
I'm already over time,
and now I'm into tongues.

1448
01:03:31,667 --> 01:03:34,625
Yeah, this won't shorten it.

1449
01:03:34,667 --> 01:03:38,833
There's a private gift where you
pray in the language of angels,

1450
01:03:38,917 --> 01:03:42,542
Paul says, and that's a private,
personal time for you

1451
01:03:42,625 --> 01:03:44,542
to connect with the Lord.

1452
01:03:44,625 --> 01:03:46,542
And I don't know
where we're at today,

1453
01:03:46,625 --> 01:03:48,542
but years ago when
I polled the elders,

1454
01:03:48,625 --> 01:03:51,042
about 1/3 of the elders had
that private prayer language.

1455
01:03:51,125 --> 01:03:55,167
And then there's also
a public ability to communicate

1456
01:03:55,208 --> 01:03:58,458
the gospel of Jesus in
a language that you don't know.

1457
01:03:58,500 --> 01:04:00,292
So, you speak one language;

1458
01:04:00,333 --> 01:04:01,917
somebody else speaks
another language.

1459
01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:05,125
Jesus wants them to get saved,
so he allows you to speak their

1460
01:04:05,167 --> 01:04:07,792
language, because the word
"tongue," literally translated,

1461
01:04:07,833 --> 01:04:09,375
means "language."

1462
01:04:09,458 --> 01:04:10,917
We're going to get into this

1463
01:04:11,000 --> 01:04:13,083
when we get into
the book of Acts.

1464
01:04:13,167 --> 01:04:16,125
We're going to get into all of
this in detail after Easter.

1465
01:04:16,167 --> 01:04:19,125
But if you have this gift, it's
either private, and you love

1466
01:04:19,167 --> 01:04:22,000
to pray and connect and be
filled with the Holy Spirit

1467
01:04:22,083 --> 01:04:25,083
and/or a public ability to
proclaim the gospel of Jesus.

1468
01:04:25,167 --> 01:04:27,667
And it's a supernatural gift
that God gives to

1469
01:04:27,750 --> 01:04:29,917
some of his people.

1470
01:04:30,000 --> 01:04:33,500
And lastly, there is prophets
and/or prophecy—Romans 12:6,

1471
01:04:33,542 --> 01:04:36,583
1 Corinthians 12:10,
1 Corinthians 12:28,

1472
01:04:36,667 --> 01:04:40,333
and we just saw it
in Ephesians 4:11.

1473
01:04:40,375 --> 01:04:44,250
And that is, you love to either
speak or write the truth

1474
01:04:44,333 --> 01:04:46,333
of God's Word.

1475
01:04:46,417 --> 01:04:49,500
You're not writing the Bible,
but you're taking what the Bible

1476
01:04:49,583 --> 01:04:54,708
says and not just imparting
the information but doing so

1477
01:04:54,792 --> 01:04:59,000
in a very forceful way that
elicits a response.

1478
01:04:59,083 --> 01:05:01,708
Okay, one of my
gifts is that gift—

1479
01:05:01,792 --> 01:05:07,500
writing and speaking
the Word of God boldly.

1480
01:05:07,542 --> 01:05:11,417
And if that's your gift, it
may even be that that's why

1481
01:05:11,500 --> 01:05:13,292
you're at Mars Hill.

1482
01:05:13,333 --> 01:05:16,583
You're like, "The Bible's open,
we talk about Jesus for an hour,

1483
01:05:16,667 --> 01:05:20,708
and we move forward boldly,"
and prophets like that.

1484
01:05:20,792 --> 01:05:23,875
They like that. They like to
know that the Word of God

1485
01:05:23,958 --> 01:05:26,583
is open and that the truth
of God is taught,

1486
01:05:26,667 --> 01:05:29,125
and that there isn't
going to be any apologizing

1487
01:05:29,167 --> 01:05:32,625
or compromising or
editing what God has said.

1488
01:05:32,667 --> 01:05:36,708
The truth matters,
Okay. The truth matters.

1489
01:05:36,792 --> 01:05:39,667
And if that's your gift,
man, you're super helpful.

1490
01:05:39,708 --> 01:05:41,917
You could help with teaching,

1491
01:05:42,000 --> 01:05:43,750
you could help with
Redemption Groups,

1492
01:05:43,833 --> 01:05:45,667
you could help
with Community Groups.

1493
01:05:45,708 --> 01:05:49,167
I mean, we need the Word of
God boldly written and boldly

1494
01:05:49,208 --> 01:05:54,667
proclaimed across the whole
church, across the whole church.

1495
01:05:54,708 --> 01:05:57,000
Last series of questions,
and I'll ask them

1496
01:05:57,083 --> 01:05:59,042
before we close in prayer.

1497
01:05:59,125 --> 01:06:00,500
How am I gifted?

1498
01:06:00,583 --> 01:06:03,667
How many of you in hearing this,
you go, "That sounds like me,"

1499
01:06:03,750 --> 01:06:06,167
and then you think of
somebody you know, and you're like,

1500
01:06:06,250 --> 01:06:07,583
"That sounds like them."

1501
01:06:07,667 --> 01:06:09,583
So, this would be your
Community Group discussion

1502
01:06:09,667 --> 01:06:11,000
this week.

1503
01:06:11,042 --> 01:06:14,000
Think, "You know, that kind of
sounded like me, and I wonder

1504
01:06:14,042 --> 01:06:16,167
what I should be doing,"
and maybe you're already

1505
01:06:16,250 --> 01:06:18,917
doing it, and you could share
what a joy that is.

1506
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:21,917
And for others, they may say,
"I don't know," and you say,

1507
01:06:22,000 --> 01:06:23,333
"Well, you know what?

1508
01:06:23,375 --> 01:06:27,000
"We know you, so let us look at
you and tell you what we see

1509
01:06:27,083 --> 01:06:28,708
and try to encourage
you in that."

1510
01:06:28,792 --> 01:06:31,125
Who or where do you
have a passion to serve?

1511
01:06:31,167 --> 01:06:33,125
What do you have a burden to do?

1512
01:06:33,167 --> 01:06:34,833
Is there something
you're just burdened for?

1513
01:06:34,875 --> 01:06:36,833
What needs do you
see in the church?

1514
01:06:36,875 --> 01:06:39,042
What do you find joy
in doing for others?

1515
01:06:39,125 --> 01:06:41,042
What opportunities has God
already provided for you

1516
01:06:41,125 --> 01:06:42,458
to serve others?

1517
01:06:42,500 --> 01:06:43,833
What's already working?

1518
01:06:43,917 --> 01:06:46,542
What are you best at
and have the most success in?

1519
01:06:46,625 --> 01:06:49,042
What have godly people
said, "I see that in you,

1520
01:06:49,125 --> 01:06:50,542
and I want to encourage that"?

1521
01:06:50,625 --> 01:06:53,333
And what acts of service have
given you the deepest sense

1522
01:06:53,375 --> 01:06:54,708
of satisfaction and joy?

1523
01:06:54,792 --> 01:06:58,417
It might be an indication of how
God has made you and the kind of

1524
01:06:58,500 --> 01:07:01,000
ministry that he's
prepared you for.

1525
01:07:01,083 --> 01:07:03,500
Mars Hill, let me say
that Mars Hill Church

1526
01:07:03,583 --> 01:07:05,125
is a miracle of God's grace.

1527
01:07:05,167 --> 01:07:10,792
Jesus absolutely loves us,
and you are a gift to us.

1528
01:07:10,833 --> 01:07:14,708
And you come with your gifts,
and this is now a great season

1529
01:07:14,792 --> 01:07:18,333
for us all to be asking,
"What is the contribution

1530
01:07:18,375 --> 01:07:20,500
that I am to make?"

1531
01:07:20,583 --> 01:07:24,375
And it's right on the threshold
of Easter, which is our

1532
01:07:24,458 --> 01:07:25,833
biggest Sunday of the year.

1533
01:07:25,875 --> 01:07:27,833
We're praying
for more than 20,000 people

1534
01:07:27,875 --> 01:07:31,333
and hundreds of
salvations and baptisms.

1535
01:07:31,375 --> 01:07:34,292
And so, in that vein, I'm going
to ask the offering stewards

1536
01:07:34,333 --> 01:07:37,708
to come forward at this time,
and we're going to give.

1537
01:07:37,792 --> 01:07:40,250
We're going to give our
financial gift, right,

1538
01:07:40,333 --> 01:07:43,458
to the God who's given us
himself, the Lord Jesus.

1539
01:07:43,500 --> 01:07:46,250
He's given us the Holy Spirit;
he's given us the church

1540
01:07:46,333 --> 01:07:47,667
and one another.

1541
01:07:47,708 --> 01:07:50,833
We're going to now give to
the God who has given to us,

1542
01:07:50,917 --> 01:07:54,542
and as our financial stewards
are collecting our offering,

1543
01:07:54,625 --> 01:07:57,250
I want to share with you
what's coming up on Easter.

1544
01:07:57,333 --> 01:08:00,208
Are you guys excited
about Easter?

1545
01:08:00,292 --> 01:08:04,250
Okay, I'll share with you
what's coming up for Easter.

1546
01:08:05,667 --> 01:08:11,667
[music]

1547
01:08:12,667 --> 01:08:16,667
"Take heart, my son;
your sins are forgiven."

1548
01:08:20,667 --> 01:08:25,542
"Take heart, daughter;
your faith has made you well."

1549
01:08:28,083 --> 01:08:29,625
"Take heart.

1550
01:08:29,667 --> 01:08:34,083
Get up; Jesus is calling you."

1551
01:08:34,167 --> 01:08:36,167
"I have said
these things to you,

1552
01:08:36,250 --> 01:08:38,667
"that in me you may have peace.

1553
01:08:38,708 --> 01:08:41,250
"In the world you will
have tribulation.

1554
01:08:41,333 --> 01:08:45,333
But take heart;
I have overcome the world."

1555
01:08:46,333 --> 01:08:57,208
[music]

1556
01:09:09,542 --> 01:09:12,125
Exciting!
Be praying, be preparing.

1557
01:09:12,167 --> 01:09:14,125
And right now, we're
going to take Communion.

1558
01:09:14,167 --> 01:09:17,708
This is where we remember
that Jesus is the giver,

1559
01:09:17,792 --> 01:09:20,125
that he gives us
his broken body,

1560
01:09:20,167 --> 01:09:25,500
that he gives us his shed blood,
that Jesus is the greatest gift

1561
01:09:25,542 --> 01:09:27,333
that's ever been given.

1562
01:09:27,375 --> 01:09:29,917
As we partake, all Christians
are welcome to partake of

1563
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:33,417
Communion, and we will do so as
we sing, and we celebrate

1564
01:09:33,500 --> 01:09:35,000
the God who gives.

1565
01:09:35,083 --> 01:09:38,667
So Lord Jesus, we thank you
that in 2,000 years from now,

1566
01:09:38,750 --> 01:09:41,333
there will not be the nations of
the earth,

1567
01:09:41,417 --> 01:09:42,958
but there will be the church.

1568
01:09:43,000 --> 01:09:46,167
And 2,000 years from today,
there will not be the businesses

1569
01:09:46,208 --> 01:09:49,000
that we work in,
but there will be the church.

1570
01:09:49,083 --> 01:09:51,167
And 2,000 years from today,

1571
01:09:51,208 --> 01:09:53,042
there will not be
the universities

1572
01:09:53,125 --> 01:09:55,250
that we attend, but
there will be the church.

1573
01:09:55,333 --> 01:09:58,250
And Lord Jesus, I thank you
that you have given us yourself,

1574
01:09:58,333 --> 01:10:00,750
and you've invited us
to, with our gifts,

1575
01:10:00,833 --> 01:10:04,542
be part of the biggest thing
in the history of the world.

1576
01:10:04,625 --> 01:10:08,667
We're grateful for it; we're
excited to be invited to it.

1577
01:10:08,708 --> 01:10:12,833
We pray for our church, we pray
for all churches that love you,

1578
01:10:12,917 --> 01:10:15,667
and we pray for unity
and momentum among

1579
01:10:15,708 --> 01:10:19,250
the few billion people who
call on the name of Jesus.

1580
01:10:19,333 --> 01:10:21,250
And we call,
Lord Jesus, right now,

1581
01:10:21,333 --> 01:10:25,458
we call the Holy Spirit, and
we invite him to be with us,

1582
01:10:25,500 --> 01:10:27,833
and to be in us,
and to be through us,

1583
01:10:27,917 --> 01:10:32,250
and to help us not only know our
gifts but use them for the name

1584
01:10:32,333 --> 01:10:36,917
and the fame of Jesus, whom
we pray to right now. Amen.

1585
01:10:40,625 --> 01:10:43,542
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1586
01:10:43,625 --> 01:10:46,667
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1587
01:10:46,708 --> 01:10:49,250
This ministry is generously supported

1588
01:10:49,333 --> 01:10:51,875
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1589
01:10:51,958 --> 01:10:55,458
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1590
01:10:55,500 --> 01:10:58,458
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1591
01:10:58,500 --> 01:11:01,417
by visiting marshill.com/give.