Unity and the Diversity of Spiritual Gifts

Take your Bibles and turn in them to Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to be looking at verses 7-10.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

! And I know for many of you it's repetitious, but I think sometimes

repetition is appropriate, particularly given the importance of that which is to be repeated.

And I would appeal to you this morning that while I preach, which is my responsibility and

the preparation of my heart, that you who are God's people would pray for me.

Let me read the passage.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7.

Ephesians 4:7

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore, it says, when He ascended on high, He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.

In saying He ascended, what does it mean but that He also descended into the lower regions of the earth?

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.

Let's pray together.

Father, we are thankful for the fact that you have drawn us to this place by your kindness and your grace,

that were it not for your work in prompting us to see the misery and the hopelessness of our sin,

and in your mercy, burdening us and convicting us so that we cried out and asked for salvation.

You who have saved us have drawn us together this morning that we might worship you,

and that we might attend to your word first, that we might grow to know you better,

and by that knowledge that we would grow in being more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

And also that we would understand the way in which you want us,

we who are your children, to walk and live in this world that is so desperate.

And Father, we pray that your Spirit would give to us humble, contrite, hungry souls,

that we might feast upon the word through the power of the Spirit.

And Christ might be the one that is exalted.

And we pray this in His name.

Amen.

Well, last week as we began, I started out by reminding you of the truth that when sin entered the world in the garden,

the first visible evidence of the fact that sin had come was the fact that man and woman distanced themselves from one another.

They were ashamed, it says, and they made clothing out of fig leaves and tried to cover themselves,

and subsequent to that, they hid from God in the garden.

And ever since sin entered the garden, sin has led to separation and a breakdown of relationships,

and it is one of the things that manifests itself in every case where you see sin having its place.

You see a broken and a separated, a disjointed, a disconnected group of people.

And so you can understand why, after having taken three chapters, and that's what Paul did in the first three chapters of Ephesians,

he laid out for us the glory of what Christ has done in salvation.

Do you realize that salvation is something that is incredible beyond imagination?

No man, no woman would have ever, in their wildest dreams, ever figured out how salvation should actually come about

through God sending His Son to die in my place.

You know, the truth of the matter is, the logic of the world would say,

hey, here's how you save yourself.

There are things you need to do.

You need to do this, you need to do that.

I bump into people all the time, and I ask them, so why should you get into heaven?

And we say, well, my good outweighs my bad.

You know, try that with one fly and a gallon of milk.

Does the good outweigh the bad?

What's the answer?

Not on your life.

You know, my good and my bad, here's the issue.

God has judged every one of us, and we have fallen short of the glory of God, and we stand condemned.

And God, in His kindness, brought salvation to us through the finished work of Christ.

And three chapters lay out the glory of God in salvation.

The next three chapters really deal with the way in which those who are saved are to live.

And what we found in the last several weeks in particular, beginning there in Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

is that Paul's lessons to the church at Ephesus begin with the subject of unity.

Well, what does that have to do with it?

I mean, let's get to the good stuff about how a husband is to behave towards his wife,

and how a wife is to behave towards her husband, and how we are to be good children,

or how we are to be good employers and employees.

That's the heavy lifting stuff that we...

No, no, no.

The book of Ephesians is written principally to the body of Christ,

and it begins, first of all, by reminding us of the corporate relationship we have.

And all of the counsel of Ephesians flows and sits under this umbrella of the relationship we have together in the bride of Christ.

And so, we see the opening discussion that Paul has of the practical life of the believer

focuses in on this subject of unity.

He actually is going to take the first 16 verses in Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

to lay out the doctrine of the unity of the body of Christ.

And as we find, we remind ourselves of the fact that in the very first going couple verses there,

we are told that unity is really something that comes from the Spirit of God.

He's the one who made it.

By the way, I would not be united with you, nor you with me,

apart from the fact that we, by God's grace, have been put into lasting relationship.

Were it not for conversion, you would not be my brother or my sister.

And my relationship to you would be kind of circumstantial

or dependent upon what you were to get out of it or I were to get out of it.

Very kind of a manipulative kind of thing.

And that issue of the sweetness of communion would be absent.

And Paul says, hey, listen, you're united by the Spirit of God.

And then he goes on, and there in the verses that we've looked at,

he says, beginning there in verse 4, it says,

One body, one spirit.

We recognize that this issue of the unity of the body of Christ

is something that really is hammered out theologically.

We are one because of our faith in Christ.

Do we have different perspectives on some nuanced things scripturally?

And the answer is yes.

But the truth of the matter is, here's the fact.

All of us come to Christ by faith,

having seen the broken, despicable condition of our soul,

and we cry out and ask him to save us.

We believe together in the virgin birth.

We believe together in the sufficiency of Scripture.

They're cardinal doctrines that we hold together.

And that brings us now there to verse 7, actually through 10,

where Paul is explaining this matter of unity a little further,

and he brings into our understanding a very, very important doctrine,

namely the matter of the doctrine of the gifts that God gives to us

for the sake of unity.

And so what we're going to find here in the text this morning

is, first of all, that we are gifted by his grace.

Look at the passage in verse 7.

It says,

But grace was given to each one of us

according to the measure of God's gift.

Paul opens his lesson here by talking about the fact

that each believer at conversion, at salvation,

is given something.

The verses actually touch very, very briefly on the Bible truth

that each believer is given a spiritual gift or gifts

for the good of the body.

It is evident by the short nature of Paul's comment here

in Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

that the believers in that local congregation

had some kind of understanding of the doctrine

because he just alludes to it or comments on it and moves on.

It is not the primary nature or substance

of what he's going to teach in this case.

And so we make the assumption that Paul evidently

had taught it earlier or that Timothy had taught it

so it wasn't necessary for him to launch into the full subject.

Actually, the doctrine of the spiritual gifts

appear in four major passages.

And if you're into little devices to help you remember,

remember 12s and 4s.

If you want to remember where the passages are

on spiritual gifts,

and it is an important doctrine

for your relationship to the body of Christ,

think about it in terms of 12s and 4s.

It is, first of all, in Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

in verses 3 through 8,

and it is in, guess what,

can anybody tell me the other 12?

1 Corinthians 12.

If you got the 12s, you're good.

Those are the predominant passages,

and we're not going to look at them in detail this morning.

But Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12,

Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

what we're looking at today,

and then 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 11 and 12.

1 Peter 4:11

I am not going to take the time this morning

to go at this subject at length

because in the past,

we have at various times

studied the matter of spiritual gifts.

But I do want you to understand

in a broad perspective.

For one, each believer,

as we see in the Scriptures,

both in particular in Romans 12

and in 1 Corinthians 12,

each believer, every person,

is equally valuable and important.

I do want you to turn,

so you can kind of put your eyes on this,

turn back in your Bible a little bit

to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Evident that the church in Corinth

was struggling in their relationships

with one another.

We know that from the recurring cautions

that Paul gives to the body of believers

and the reminders over and over again

of the factionalism

or the kind of divisive spirits

that seemed to have its place

in that congregation,

Paul would say,

hey, this ought not to be.

Now there in chapter 12, verse 1,

he says,

now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers,

I do not want you to be uninformed.

I want you to know the facts.

Very interestingly then,

when he begins with the subject,

he says,

you know that when you were pagans,

you were led astray to mute idols

however you were led.

Therefore, I want you to understand

that no one speaking in the Spirit of God

ever says Jesus is accursed

and no one can say Jesus is Lord

except in the Holy Spirit.

And so, kind of in a summary statement

at the very beginning,

and I think you understand this

about many forms of writing,

an author will usually tell you

what's being said at the beginning

and kind of an overview,

and that's what we're looking at here.

He then launches in

to explain this larger issue

of the gifting of the Spirit.

He says, listen, verse 4,

there are varieties of gifts

that has the same Spirit,

there are varieties of service

but the same Lord,

and there are varieties of activities

but it's the same God who empowers.

So we understand that every believer

is equally valuable and important.

Every believer is equally valuable

and important.

Secondly, I think it's fair to say

that there really are no duplicates

or unnecessary pieces.

I want you to think about that

just for a moment.

You're the only you

that God has ever or ever will make,

and He has a part for you to play

in His body,

and He intends for you to get to it.

I think that's important

for us to understand.

The fact that this matter

of spiritual gifts

is discussed four different times

in the Scriptures

indicates that it is of some importance

to the kingdom of God

and to the ministry

that He has called all of us

to be part of.

The fact of the matter is

is that in creating you

the way He has made you,

He has ordained for you

to take the characteristics

that you have

and the spiritual gifts

that you have

and put them into valuable utility

to the body of Christ.

I love the fact

that we really go after

a vacation Bible school

in a big way.

It's a blast to watch

as it kind of begins

to gain steam

somewhere back in,

when is it, Pastor Saul?

February, March,

we begin talking about it,

and people begin

getting geared up for it

and then we have

the artists go to work

and you know,

I am brain dead in that area.

A straight line

is pushing it for me

and they get over in the gym

and they take a whole week

putting the set together

and I read a little article

on the internet

about the fact

that those who are creative

like dark,

kind of muted lights,

I'm a bright light guy.

You know,

when we go to the restaurant,

I want to dial it up

so I can see the food

on the table.

Judith wants it very dark.

I'm suspicious about why

you know,

but God puts all kinds together

and when VBS is doing its thing,

all the parts matter.

I mean,

the artistic people

are doing their thing

and the musical people

are doing their thing

and the ones

who can really get fired

into teaching those Bible lessons

are doing their thing

and the organizational people,

I mean,

hey,

do you know for a fact

that every time

we have VBS now,

we pay attention

to who has allergies.

I don't have allergies,

never thought about

having allergies,

wouldn't imagine

that there are people

that are allergic

to dairy products,

allergic to this thing

and that thing

and there was a lady

who was coordinating

all of that,

aren't you glad?

God,

it's a good thing.

You know,

that's the body

doing its thing,

right?

And by the way,

when you say,

well,

I'm not going to do,

I'm not going to be part of that,

you know what,

God will find somebody else.

He does.

Is it a good thing

to mess with God

and say,

I'm not going to do my part?

No.

No.

No,

don't do that.

Don't do that.

Because you have

that kind of attitude

and he'll say,

hey,

go ahead,

sit on the back bench.

I'll find someone else.

Not a good idea for you.

And,

you know,

we think about this business,

no duplicates,

no unnecessary parts.

God has a part

for you to play

and he wants you

to get involved in it.

And I got to tell you,

being part of his team

is far more important

than fishing

or playing ball.

I think it's important

for us to recognize.

We live in a day and age

where there are a lot of things

that take the place

and are a substitute

for the bride of Christ.

Now,

I've been there with you.

There are times

when the appointment

and divine call

that God has given to me

has been a little troublesome.

You know,

you may think

being a pastor

is all sweetness and light.

And it is.

I have said,

you have heard me say this

over and over again,

I have the best job

in the world.

I will tell you,

when I was called

as a little boy

about 12 years old,

I didn't want to do it.

And being the stubborn,

perverse spirit

that I am,

I didn't only say

I didn't want to do it,

but I acted like

I didn't want to do it.

And guess what he did?

He began

kind of choreographing

a lot of different details

in my life

that kept on

just kind of

putting the pressure on me

until I finally said,

yes, Lord.

And a couple different times

in the flow of ministering,

we're talking about

spiritual gifts

because God gifted me

to be a pastor.

It wasn't a career decision,

it was a calling.

There have been some times

where I have,

I've thought to myself,

I'm tired of doing this,

I want to quit

and go sell used cars

or something like that.

You know,

do something reasonable.

And that's when

the Spirit of God

kind of taps me

on the shoulder

and says,

Tim,

you're blood bought.

You're a friar tried.

You've been whacked

all over the place

by His grace.

He's put up with you

all these years.

What do you think

you're doing

thinking about quitting?

It's one thing

to sing that song

and by the way,

I love it.

His love never quits,

never gives up,

never runs out on me.

Do you like that one?

I love that one,

but it doesn't have

any heavy drum parts.

It's just,

I like the heavy drum parts,

I gotta admit it.

But you know what?

Listen to me.

It's one thing

to sing the song.

It's another thing

to show that you

understand that song

by hanging in there

when it's tough,

by staying the course

when ministry is hard,

when people have

broken your heart,

and when you see

the parts not

always fitting together

and you're frustrated

by that.

Lord, Lord, Lord,

help it not overwhelm me.

Well, look,

we're looking at that passage

in Ephesians,

and I want you

to recognize,

going back to the text

in Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

that Paul is making

this statement

in the larger context

of, hey,

this is the body of Christ.

And so we need

to understand

that every believer

is given spiritual gifts

for his glory

and the bride's good.

Being gifted,

and every believer is,

every believer is,

being gifted is all

about his glory

and the good of others,

and I'll throw this in,

and your own connectedness.

I believe the matter

of his glory

and the good of others

is relatively easy to see.

You can understand that.

So let me just take

a little moment

to step over on the side

and touch on

one of the things

that I,

over the years of ministry,

and I've got 30 plus

of doing this now,

so I'm not a newbie to it,

but I've heard people

on various times say,

well, I'm not connecting,

or I have no friends,

or, you know,

things like that,

and one of the things

that comes to my mind

is this.

One is from the Proverbs.

Here's what it says,

and we all know it,

and you can say it

with your eyes closed.

If a man wants friends,

he must be friendly.

Well, I tried once.

Really?

You know?

There are a lot of you

who are married

sitting out here this morning,

and I tell you one thing

about marriage

is that I guarantee you

the first person

who said no to you

probably didn't end up

being your wife

or your husband.

You kept on pursuing.

If you want it bad enough,

guess what you're going to do?

You're going to make it happen.

Everybody said amen, right?

Say it loud.

I mean,

be ugly Baptists

about this thing.

Amen!

Amen!

Okay, I'm sorry.

Amen!

No, thank you.

It's all right.

Some of you are in

for culture shock

when we get to heaven,

so if you want to have friends,

be a friend.

Okay, now listen

to the second point.

If you take the gifts

you've received

and invest them in the body,

connections happen.

If you take the gifts

you've received

and use them in the body,

connections happen.

Amen!

Listen to me.

If I walked home

this afternoon

and said,

listen,

I am done

being pastor.

I quit.

Your relationship

with me

would change.

For one,

because it would be,

everybody look up

and smile right at me,

look me in the eyes.

For one,

it would be

because that would be

tacit,

open,

rebellion

against the gifting

of God

in Tim Kenoyer's life.

Do you understand that?

Oh,

is Tim Kenoyer

a different kind

of saint than you?

And the answer is,

not on your life.

So if I was gifted

for your sake,

you were gifted

for our sake.

And you need to get

that in your mind.

Well,

I don't like

some of the people

that God has here.

You're one of them.

Well,

and I have trouble getting,

you know,

here's one of the things

I've come to realize.

The biggest problem

I have in life

is me.

And as I submit

and let God work at me,

I,

strangely enough,

get along better with you.

Well,

we are who we are

and have what we have

because of His sovereign grace

and purpose.

And we,

we're each individuals

uniquely created

and gifted by His grace

for His glory

and His good

and for the good of the body.

And so,

here's the point

of this truth.

Get with it

and do what you're gifted to do.

And so,

there's some of you

sitting out here saying,

well,

I don't know

what my gift is.

Here's,

here's what will be

the giveaway

of helping you find out

what your gift is.

Just show up and say,

what can I do?

I'll do anything.

What can I do?

I'll do anything.

And over a period of time,

God will use

your willingness

to be used

by the Spirit of God

to put you into

the slot

and place

He has for you.

You find people

who are always

walking around

and say,

well,

I have the gift

of administration

but nobody

lets me practice it.

There might be a reason

why they don't

let you practice it.

You're so full of yourself

that you want to run

the show

kind of like

the,

you know,

chief potentate

and God's interested

in those who are servants

not those who are,

you know,

slave masters.

You know,

you want to find out

what your gift is?

Get involved.

Get involved.

Well,

let's come to another part.

I don't know how much time

I have but I got plenty.

Here we go.

This is a very interesting

thing that happens.

You know,

verse 7,

Paul just kind of

hits the button

of spiritual gifts.

That's what he does.

And then he comes

towards the end

in verse 7.

Come on,

follow along with this issue.

He says,

but grace was given

to each of us

according to the measure

of Christ's gift.

And when Paul

is appointed

by the Spirit of God

to use that

C word,

which is what?

Christ?

Every time he thinks

about Jesus,

he launches.

Do you follow

what I mean by launches?

It's like,

ah,

this is about Jesus.

Well,

let me tell you

what I'm thinking

about right now.

And he steps off

in there.

Now,

by the way,

the Spirit of God

is leading him here

but it is interesting.

It's a little bit like

thinking about Jesus

just kind of

fires

Paul up.

Therefore,

it says,

when he ascended

on high,

he led a host

of captives

and he gave gifts

to men.

A little sidebar

on this

that I want

to be characteristic

of this fellowship

in the days to come.

I pray,

I do,

and I'm probably

overbearing

on the subject

a little bit

but when we think

about things,

I want us to think

about things textually.

Do you follow that?

That's what Paul

does here.

He stops

and he gets

bumped with this

idea of Christ

and then he

connects it

to a passage

in the Old Testament.

So,

kind of for the sake

of practice,

when we're singing,

what do I want you

to do?

What does God

want you to do?

He wants you

to cross-reference

songs with what?

With Scripture.

He wants you

to cross-reference

everything you do

and every thought

you have

against the text

of Scripture.

Amen?

And one of the things

I've said

is the characteristic

of a growing believer

is that the gap

between when he thinks

the thought

and when the Scripture

comes to his aid,

the narrowing

of that gap

is an indication

of his progressive

sanctification.

Would you agree

with that?

And so,

you can sit there

and say,

how am I doing

to growing?

Well,

I sit there

and talk to myself.

Tim,

that's a dumb idea.

That's not good.

The Holy Spirit

is not obligated

to use my self-talk.

Do you understand that?

The Holy Spirit

is obligated

to use the Spirit of God

and the Word of God

to do the job.

So,

when I say to myself,

here's what the text

says about Tim,

this is what the Bible says.

It's like,

oh,

I got that.

That's how you get there.

So,

we have Paul

thinks about Jesus

and then launches in

and he has this thought

that makes it very clear

that we are gifted

because of his victory.

Why is it

that Jesus has the right

to give us gifts?

We find there

in verses 8,

9,

and 10

a very clear exposition

of the fact

that the reason

we have the gifts

that we have

is because Christ

is the one

who has won

the victory for us.

Now,

Paul could have spoken

in this case

about gifts

without getting

into the Old Testament,

but it's an illustration

that when we think

about things,

we think scripturally,

we think about

something in the Scriptures

that affirm

and confirm a matter.

And so,

what Paul is doing

in this case

is he is relying

upon a victory psalm

that David wrote

over in Psalm 68.

We're not going

to look at it

in detail

because I don't think

it has primary bearing

on where we are

this morning,

but I want you

to understand

that he takes

that passage

from Psalm 68

and particularly

verse 18,

which Paul uses here,

and he uses it

to reference

what was an ancient practice.

When a king

had been victorious

in battle,

he walked into

his city

with his soldiers

in the victory march,

but he also walked in

with the pile of loot

and booty.

How many of you

understand?

In the old days,

you didn't carry

a MasterCard.

Whatever you owned

when you were going away

on a long trip,

what you didn't need

to leave behind

for your wife and fam,

you took with you.

And so,

when there was a battle

and there was a victory,

the one who,

have you ever heard

the statement,

to the victor go the spoils?

You guys are well-versed.

History is something

you understand.

To the victor go the spoils.

And so,

into the city

would come striding

the victorious king,

and behind him

would come his soldiers

marching along,

you know,

and they're showing

their battle wounds,

and hey,

we won.

And right behind

would come ox cart

after ox cart loaded

with, you know,

gold cups

and bags of coins,

and the king

in his generosity

would walk into town

and he would throw

those things

at his subjects.

It was his right.

And Paul says,

let me tell you something.

When he ascended

on high,

he led a host

of captives,

and he gave gifts

to men.

Now,

we look at this passage

in verse 9.

It says,

in saying he ascended,

what does it mean

but that he had also

descended

to the lower regions?

It's interesting

to read

the diversity

of speculations

on this passage.

And I do call

them speculations

because there is

no clear indication

in the scripture

of what is meant.

Some have

fancied

that this refers

to Christ's descent

into the grave

and his rising

in the resurrection.

Others have

understood

this to mean

that Christ

descended into hell

during his three days

in the grave,

and there are

some very animated

disputes

over what

this passage

actually means.

And animated

disputes generally

are over passages

where there isn't

a clear and

definitive

understanding.

I would

believe

that this is

talking simply

about the words

themselves

and are

relatively clear.

It says there

that he descended

and he ascended.

And I think

that refers to

our Lord Jesus

coming here to earth

and going up again.

In broad terms,

I do want to take

advantage of this

kind of

difficult passage

to lay out

a couple principles

of scriptural

interpretation

so you can do

that on your own.

And that's my purpose.

Listen,

let me make this point.

We understand

that scripture

is understandable.

Would you agree

with that?

God gave us

his word

for the average

person

to understand it.

Agreed?

You don't

have to be

ordained,

stamped on the

head,

to have a little

extra spiritual

insight so I can

automatically,

I don't know

what this means

but let me ask

the pastor.

No, no, no.

Get it yourself.

God means for you

to get it yourself.

That's the reason

that evangelicals

have been such

advocates for

reading

and for

having your own

Bible

and translation.

God intends

for us to

understand it.

So here are a

couple principles

for Bible

interpretation.

Number one,

rely on scripture

to interpret

scripture using

the actual

vocabulary and

grammar of the

text.

You want to

understand what's

being said?

Look in the

Bible.

Don't ever say,

well I was having

difficulty with this

pastor and I went

to pastor and he

explained it to me

and I don't know

how he got there

but he explained it.

And so the pastor

said it's not a good

answer to what you

believe about the

Bible.

Everybody said what?

Amen.

Okay.

Number two,

here's a little

ditty.

If the plain sense

makes good sense,

seek no other sense.

I'll say that slowly.

If the plain sense

makes good sense,

seek no other sense.

In other words,

if it's obvious,

stick with what's

obvious.

I'm not into

kind of getting

things all wigged

out here on

the side.

And by the way,

I was a literature

major.

I can do that

left-handed.

But the Bible

is designed

for clarity.

Okay?

And so Paul,

in this passage,

I think in simple

terms,

is lifting up

the glory of

Christ by

pointing out

his humiliation

and then pointing

out his

ascension.

And the Savior

who gives us

salvation

salvation and

our gifts

is the same

one who

was willing

to be humiliated

and die for us

and rise again.

And it follows

then that the

same Jesus

who was willing

to humble himself

even to death

on the cross

and be our

sin bearer,

understandably,

should be exalted.

Now,

I want you to turn

with me just over

to another passage

just for a second.

Colossians chapter 2

Colossians 2:13–15

verse 13 through 15.

Colossians chapter 2

Colossians 2:13–15

verse 13 through 15.

As you think about

what is being said

here at the end

of Ephesians

Ephesians 4:10

chapter 4

verse 10

where it talks about

that he would fill

all in all.

Listen to what it says

there in Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

And you who were

dead in your trespasses

and the uncircumcision

of your flesh

God made alive

together with him

having forgiven us

all of our trespasses.

Hey,

how much of your sin

does God remember still?

None.

There is now therefore

what?

No condemnation.

And listen to me carefully.

I will sin tomorrow.

But Christ has already

satisfied my debt

and the reality

of my sin

has been covered

by his blood

and I am forever

cleansed

and righteous

in his eyes.

You want to know

why I love Jesus?

It's because

he did it all.

He did it all.

verse 13.

And you who were

dead in your

trespasses

and the uncircumcision

of your flesh

God made alive

together with him

having forgiven us

all our trespasses

by canceling

the record

of the debt

that stood against us

with its legal demands

and this he set aside

nailing it

on the cross.

Now,

that's an image

I like.

How many of you

have ever paid off

a car?

Raise your hands.

What comes in the mail

when you get your

car paid off?

A title.

That's a big thing

even if the thing

has 190,000 miles

on it.

It's yours.

It's not yours

in the bank.

Right?

That's a good feeling.

Better than the title

that comes in the mail

is what this verse

is describing.

In the ancient culture

a debtor

was someone

who could be

thrown in prison

who could be mistreated

and abused

for his debt.

And when a debt

was canceled

the record

of that canceled debt

was taken

and nailed

in a public place

so everybody knew

he's not a debtor

anymore.

And what this says

is that Jesus

took the record

of your sins

and he put it

on the cross

and he nailed it there.

He said paid,

paid, paid, paid,

paid in full.

And so I want you

to recognize

that when he came

down to this earth

and he bowed down

upon the cross

and he took the burden

of our sins

and he died

and suffered

in our place

and rose again

in triumph

and purchased

our redemption

and he has the right

to call us

to be his servants.

Doesn't he?

Doesn't he?

He does.

And you have no business

Now let me say that again

this way.

I have no business

being gifted

by the Spirit of God

and being worked on

all these years

I have no right

to say

well I don't like

working here anymore.

That would be

profoundly selfish

and actually

it would be

retrograde spirituality.

What do I mean

by retrograde spirituality?

Backsliding.

Do you understand that?

If I can't pull that off

with righteousness

can anybody

who's part of the body

of Christ

and the bride of Christ

do that?

And what's the answer?

No!

And Paul argues

Paul argues

for believers

being invested

in the bride

of Christ.

So here's my

practical questions

as I close.

What you doing?

You're gifted.

What you doing?

Here's another question.

Do you know him?

You can't go to work

if you don't know him.

If you're not part

of his family

if you're not part

of the team

you don't ride the bus.

Years ago

I coached soccer

and providentially

I learned something

if you have the horses

you can win the races.

Now that's a little

tricky statement

for the fact

that we did fairly well.

We did real well.

I can't take a lot

of credit for it

because we had the horses.

And you know what?

Riding on the team bus

was a real...

We went 18-1-1

one year.

We were a little school

of about 300.

We actually went

to the state playoffs

in North Carolina.

And riding on that bus

was kind of like

being in the kingdom.

I mean it was really...

We got fired up going.

We got fired up coming.

And every time

we came back

to the school

to let out

there was a crowd

there to greet us.

And when we were

making the last turn

coming in towards

where the crowd

was waiting for us

that bus was rocking.

Here's what we were singing.

Na-na-na-na.

We were doing that.

And the bus

was just like booming.

It was really weird.

Nobody rode that bus

but the team.

Do you follow me?

I'll tell you

if I had looked around

I was a coach.

If I'd looked around

on that team

and I'd seen some

of the grumpy faces

sitting out there

I don't happen

to like Steve Smith

even though

he's our only goalie.

It's just that

he's got a bad heart.

And I don't happen

to like Gary Hall

because I just

don't like him.

Whack!

What's your problem?

We're part of this

team together, right?

You got me?

I've often said

I want one thing

written on my grave

and that would be this

what sayeth the scriptures?

I'll add another one.

I loved the bride

of Christ.

I want that remembered.

This passage

is about the bride

of Christ.

Let's close

as John comes.

As John is coming

we're going to sing

together this morning.

I don't know

let's stand together

would you please?

And I got to tell you

that the purpose

of preaching

is not to entertain you

but it's to put you

on the spot

of saying yes or no

to God.

And there may be

some of you here

that need Christ

as your personal savior.

I don't know your soul.

That's not my business.

But today

we've been talking

about the family of God

we've been talking

about the church

and it may be

that you're sitting here

saying man

I don't know him.

I don't want you

to leave here

without coming to Christ.

And that is

a profoundly humbling thing

because the gospel

first of all

makes it clear

that we are sinners

condemned before

a holy God.

And the gospel

tells us

that Christ came

to die for our sins.

and the gospel

tells us

that whosoever

calls upon the name

of the Lord

shall be saved.

That's humbling.

There may be

some of you here

that truth of the matter

is there is a lot

of spiritual turmoil

there's some bitterness

there's some dissatisfaction

you found yourself

being drawn away

from being part

of what God is doing

you've given in.

God says stop it.

You can take care

of that where you sit.

Or you can humble yourself

and say

God's dealing with me

I want God's people

who are part of the family

to know

I rededicate myself

to the bride of Christ

until he comes

and takes me home.

I'm with it.

There may be

somebody here

that need Christ

you come forward

you may be here

and you need someone

to pray with you

you come as John leads us

as we sing.

You're ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us

ending us