"Are the Gifts for Today" 1 Corinthians Chapter 12

So please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

And there are some slides and there's a few verses we're going

to look at. So that's our this is our

mainstay, our foundation because I don't know about you, but

there's a lot of confusion and depending on what church you

grew up in or where you came from or what it is about the

gifts of the Holy Spirit. And Paul says in one Corinthians

12 verse one now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren says

talking to the church, I do not want you to be ignorant.

There's too many people in church that are ignorant of

God's word. You know, they have all these

well, I believe this and I I think that and I don't believe

the Bible says this is what I think about the Bible doesn't it

doesn't care what I think what my opinion is what others say.

It's what the Bible says Calvary Chapel pastors, we find out what

the text is teach the text. The text only has one meaning.

And so the question we want to answer tonight about the

spiritual gifts is this. Are the gifts of the Holy Spirit

no longer given to the church today?

The gifts, instead of being a blessing to the church, often

the discussion even of the gifts have caused more problems.

You don't believe in that, do you?

You're not, you're not, you're not one of those tongues people

or one of those prophecy peoples or discern or miracle people.

Are you or, or you mean you don't believe in the gifts at

all? And so there's this swinging

pendulum and the gifts have become a problem, shouldn't be

they've become an issue. And actually they've become a

point of division. While this church doesn't

believe in this. So we don't have that.

And this church believes in this.

So, and it's about the gifts and instead of being a blessing is

what they're supposed to be, they've become an issue.

Paul taught us not to be ignorant of three things.

Three things 1 he says do not be ignorant of God's plan for

Israel. Many people today are ignorant

of what's happening to Israel. Many churches stay, they don't,

they don't believe Israel is the God's people anymore.

They think God's finished with them.

They don't know what's going on, and so they believe every time.

Now Israel was mentioned in the Old Testament, it's spiritual

Israel, it's the church. And Oh no, that was for Israel.

But since they did this, now where is, well, the church has

become Israel. And it tells me initially that

they haven't taught the book of Genesis because you get your

bearings at the beginning. You know, when you set off on a

course, you want to have your bearing set.

This is the compass, this is the direction, and you stick to that

course. You've got to have your bearings

right. Genesis is the book of

beginnings. It's the book where we get our

theology correct. For the rest of the 65 books of

the Bible, Paul said do not be ignorant of God's plan for

Israel. Romans Chapter 11, verse 25.

Romans 11:25

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of

this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion.

Oh, everyone's got an opinion that blindness in part has

happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has

come in, until the work of the church is done, the church is

taken out. And then the 70th year of

Daniel, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, the 69 lots of seven

year periods, the clock, prophetic clock has stopped when

the church has raptured that last seven year period, the

tribulation period. If you read the book of Daniel

and you see how it matches with Thessalonians and with the Book

of Revelation, you see that it's all about Israel in the

tribulation period. Second thing, Paul says, I don't

want, do not want you to be ignorant of spiritual grips,

gifts. Oh, it's too difficult.

It's too hard. I mean, I can't work out, you

know, gifts of discernment, gifts of tongues.

It's all whoa, it's a bit hokey, pokey for me.

Paul says, now that's that's wrong.

He says, I don't want you to be ignorant of such things.

Thirdly, he says do not be ignorant about the second coming

of Jesus. Oh, well, we've heard this for

years. Every time I hear someone say

we've heard this so and so, it's people saying, you know, you're

expecting Jesus to come. Calvary chapel's a begun on the

coming of the Lord. And each time they hear that

it's another notch that I believe we're closer to the

coming of Christ because Peter says people will say in the last

days we've heard this for how long?

Nothing's changed. They're proving the point Paul

wrote to the church in Thessalonica.

He says, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning

those who have fallen asleep, those who have died, lest you

sorrow as others who have no hope.

Christ is coming again. Gifts dividing both

theologically and spiritually. There are some who think that

those who believe all the gifts are put today, and they used to

be called, not so much now, but back a few years, they were

called Charismatics. Who's heard that term

Charismatic or Charismania or Pentecostals?

Who's who's heard that term? Pentecostals?

Maybe you've come from a Pentecostal background or know

about it. And many believe all those

people, Charismatics, Pentecostal, they're deceived by

Satan because they do all those weird stuff.

It's satanic. Wow, big statement.

Then there are others who think those who believe some of the

gifts are no longer given are unspiritual and dead in the

walk. So those who are Pentecostal,

charismatic say, well, if you don't believe in the gifts, man,

you're just dead, man, you're dead in your walk.

And so there's this this dichotomy, there's this A&Z,

there's this this great chasm. Calvary chapels are respected

for the biblical balance because we teach through the Word of

God. Expository book by book, chapter

by chapter, verse by verse. When it comes to the gifts of

the Holy Spirit we've seen Calgary chapels are seen to have

a balance and their place in church life.

Because we believe the gifts do have a place in church life.

Calgary chapels have sometimes been rightly seen as two

Pentecostal for the Baptists, 2 Baptists for the Pentecostals.

We've been called Panty Baptist or bapticostals.

Now. Balance.

Finding the balance is meaningless unless it's biblical

balance. You just don't go.

Well, let's, let's park over here.

That's just safe. No balance is found through the

Bible. We don't want to strike a

balance between heresy and truth.

We want the truth. The truth sets the balance.

So let's dig in tonight, Work through it biblically.

Are the gifts still relevant for today in today's church?

Have they finished? Did they finished?

Finished with the apostles? Now No, Christian, doesn't

matter where back what background you have believes all

the gifts have ceased in the church today, all Christians

believe the gifts of teaching. Otherwise, there'd be no

teaching in a church and administration.

In other words, those who guide and pastor and help look after

the church, deacons, etcetera. Gifts in that way are given and

needed in the church today. Everyone thinks, yeah, they're

still, they're still going, yeah, that they're gifts.

It's the other stuff that we, we don't know about.

It is the gifts that have a miraculous nature which are in

dispute. Paul gives them in details in

one Corinthians 12. He lists them and then he talks

about love, how to do them. Make sure you you're just not

going off and doing stuff without the love of God being

the guide. He says also that in chapter 12

of 1 Corinthians that gifts are given by the Holy Spirit.

It's not something. Let me see.

I've got a Bay Marie of gifts here.

Everybody come in, pick out the gift that you want when you're

going to use it. No, no, the gifts are given as

God wills them for the time and the need that God wants to use

them. I don't park a a gift.

I'm, I'm the healer man or I'm this or I'm that.

No. God gives them out by the Holy

Spirit as he wills, so it's the miraculous ones that are in

dispute. People often also seek to divide

the gifts in the categories, compartmentalise them.

There are no such divisions and categories in the Bible.

It's not biblical, Paul says. There are diversities of gifts.

It's the same Holy Spirit. There are differences of

ministries, but it's the same law.

There are diversities of activities, how they operate,

but it's the same God who works All in all, because it's the

Holy Spirit who is giving and guiding and operating how they

should be. So it says there are diversities

of gifts. Paul will go on in One

Corinthians 12 to list some 9 spiritual gifts for the sake of

time, you know them. We won't go through with them

tonight. Read them out.

But they're in One Corinthians 12.

And then in One Corinthians 14, Paul says this is how they to

operate in a church service or things are wrong.

There's a way that they are to operate.

And so Paul lists some 9 spiritual gifts in the following

verses and more in other places. People always say, well, how

many spiritual gifts there are? I'm waiting to see what your

answer is. There's not No, there's 12 and

there's this, this, this play on of whatever, how many, how many

you want to number of it. It's irrelevant.

There is only one giver, the Holy Spirit, who works through

the diverse gifts. So again, the real question is,

are all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for today, 2025, That's

the issue. Are some of them no longer being

given by God? He used to give them out and he

said, no, I'm not doing that anymore.

Those who teach against the miraculous gifts of the Holy

Spirit definitely believe they have the gifts of teaching,

obviously because they're teaching.

So they'll say we're going to study the Bible.

We believe the gifts finished at this time they're teaching.

So they believe in the gift of teaching.

They also believe God still gives that gift today, the gift

of teaching past the teachers visions. 4 But what does the

Bible say on the matter? In Mark 16 verses 17 to 18,

Mark 16:17–18

Jesus made a promise and there was no timeline on this, He

said. And these signs will follow

those who believe in my name. They will cast out demons, they

will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents.

And if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt

them. They will lay hands on the sick

and they will recover. Now let me clarify this because

here you go. You go.

Hang on. Hey, wait a minute.

It's a wacko stuff in here. There's wacko stuff in America

where churches down in the Deep South actually get out.

Tigers. Not tigers.

Snakes, so they don't have them. Rattlesnakes.

And they pass them around the church and they're dancing.

It's freaky. And people die.

And then there's the tragedy of Jonestown.

Remember, they drank poison. They all died and so people will

see because of that this can't be on now hang on a minute.

You see, it's kind of like I was working for one of the big

government departments. I won't mention which one.

And one guy decided he because he needed a car, they they work

on call outs. He said, I'll take the car home

because I got call out. And then and they said, no, you

can't take cars home anymore. So all the cars you now have to

catch a bus, catch a taxi, whatever it is, go to the

headquarters there, you'll get your car.

So the guy said, OK, we're not using the cars.

We'll just take buses and and however long it takes me to get

by public transport to the place.

And so they threw out the baby with the bathwater.

You know, they go, well, no one's taking any cars home.

And so they made this stupid statements.

And this is what often happens. People go, well, that that could

be look what happens in the Deep South and look what happened

with Jonestown. So we're not doing any of that.

Well, that's just and wise to think that way.

This is a simple, what Jesus says, straightforward promise in

context given to those who are involved in spreading the

gospel. We know what happened to Paul,

didn't he? He's washed up, remember?

He's the first surf surfing that occurs in the Bible.

They hopped on their boards and they went to the ocean and made

it to the island. He's picking up firewood.

A Viper comes out and it's venomous, latches onto him.

He shakes it off and everyone says, well, he's going to die.

He must be a bad guy. He's been in a shipwreck and now

snake's bitten. He's going to, he's gone.

He doesn't die, and everyone says he must be a God.

So it's God's overall power working through people who are

proclaiming the gospel as they went throughout the world.

Paul laid hands on the sick and people were healed.

Not all it's a simple and straightforward promise that

Jesus gave to the church, that is those who are involved in

spreading the gospel. They will be unstoppable.

God will even use when he thinks right miraculous means to

protect them and make them effective in the book of Acts

Acts chapter 2 verse 33. Therefore, being exalted to the

Acts 2:33

right hand of God and having received from the Father the

promise of the Holy Spirit, he, Jesus poured out this which you

now see in here, the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire.

The they're speaking in languages that they don't know

and other people are hearing them.

And at that time in the book of Acts chapter 2, every time they

Acts 2 · chapter mention

heard it, it wasn't a word to the people.

It was words proclaiming and praising the goodness of God.

Read that at that time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a

day of Pentecost, Peter, this is Peter's words going on with

Peter. He says in Acts 2 verse 39 for

Acts 2:39

the promises to you and to your children and to all who are far

off as many as the Lord our God will call.

In other words, it wasn't well this has just happened for these

people. That's it just them ask for and

no more. The promise is what the Bible

says to the your children and and your on to their children.

So the promise of the Holy Spirit is ongoing.

The book of Acts has no Amen at the end of it.

So the promise of the Holy Spirit, specifically including

miraculous gifts as Peter was referring to, is a promise to

all generations. That's what the Bible says. 1

1 Corinthians 14:12

Corinthians 14 verse 12. Paul says this to the church at

Corinth because they were operating out of order.

They had the gifts operating, but man, it was a madhouse.

SO1 Corinthians 14, Paul details, Hey, if someone speaks

in this language or whatever, this is how it's to work.

This is when it happens, the way it happens.

Paul says this Even so you Christian Church Corinth, since

you are zealous for spiritual gifts.

That's why, man, they wanted the gifts.

They really sought the gifts of God.

Then Paul says this, let it be for what?

What are the gifts for the edification that is the building

up of the church that you seek to excel.

And what's happened today is people just gone up the gift.

Oh, I have this gift and we put up a sign.

Come and hear me. Come and speak at so and so.

I had the gift of this. No, you don't, because God gives

the gifts out as He wills, and the gift is not for your

ministry, your edification. It's for every gift. 1

Corinthians 12/13 and 14 is for the building up of everybody

else. Whatever gift God gives you,

it's not for you, it's for everybody else.

It's God gives you a certain gift and he says I'm going to

allow you to operate in this way so that you can bless the rest

of the body of Christ, build them up.

We read here by Paul the purpose, and that's important

for spiritual gifts, even the miraculous gifts, is the

building up of the body of Christ and individual

Christians. That need remains today.

Today the church still needs the gifts operating, building up,

edifying, encouraging. The constant testimony the New

Testament gives is that the miraculous gifts described in

the New Testament have not been retracted.

There's nowhere it says, by the way, these gifts finish on the

14th of February 1970 or these gifts finish with when these

guys die. That's it doesn't say that no

one with a fresh reading you. And that means I was talking to

someone this morning about the Bible.

I says, and they're thinking of coming to the church.

I said, here's the here's the deal.

You and I will never have disagreements until you come up

and say such and such and I'll go, That's not in the Bible.

That's not what the Bible says. Then I'll disagree the moment

you go home and you just read the Bible and you say the Bible

says and I'll go, yes, the Bible does say that.

We are in agreement. It's not my opinion that counts,

nor your opinion. It's what does the Bible say on

the matter? So the purpose for the spiritual

gifts, even the miraculous, is the building up of the body.

No one with a fresh reading of the Scriptures could ever come

to such an understanding to say the gifts have finished.

How could you do that? There's no biblical passages or

chapters or books to say, yeah, yeah.

And it's it's stop here because it doesn't.

There is no indication that miraculous gifts.

Would die out when the apostles died, it doesn't say anywhere.

And by the way, when the apostles all drop dead and John

was the last, he was 90 odd years old.

He's on the Isle of Patmos. Then he's set free again.

He goes to live in Ephesus with Mary the mother of Jesus there.

They died of old age. It doesn't say.

And when he died, the church went there's no more gifts that

was. It doesn't say that.

There is no distinction also made between sign gifts or

miraculous gifts and other gifts in the New Testament.

They come always and only as a package.

The Holy Spirit brings them as a package. 1 Corinthians 12 Little

is said in the Bible about the continuation of all the gifts

because why? Well, why does it say the gifts

will carry on? Well, little is given to say

about the continuation of all the gifts.

Why? Because it was a given.

The gifts carry on. The church carries on until

when? Until the church has wrapped it

out. So it just carries on.

That's why again, the book of Acts has no and this is the end

of the church. Jesus came.

No, you might as well, if you use that sort of thinking, ask,

well, where is the scriptural evidence using the same line of

thinking, and that's what you got to do when you make a

statement, it should carry on and be the truth all the way

along. You should say, if the gifts

finished that way, well, where is the scriptural evidence that

someone can be saved beyond the time of the apostles?

Because when the apostles were dead, that was the end of it.

Jesus just picked 12 go out and preach the gospel and when they

died that was the end. No more salvation you go well

that's stupid. No, it's the same logic used to

the ceasing of the spiritual gifts with the death of the

apostles. One would be hard pressed to

find one conclusive verse to refute the argument because it

was simply assumed salvation carried on after the apostles

died. So the question again is, well,

why do some Christians believe some gifts of the Holy Spirit

are no longer given by today? You know, I had someone asked me

a little while back, they come and said, you know, you know, we

don't see the gifts of healing of miracles anymore.

And I went, well, actually, I don't know about that.

That's your opinion. But each time I see a baby born,

I think that's a pretty powerful miracle gift of life.

And then in our Wednesday night prayer groups, you and I have

known how many miracles has God carried out in this fellowship

alone without and, and, and the other thing is a lot of times

God's working miraculously in answer to prayer or whatever in

the church and the person who's touched by it doesn't mention

it. It's happened, it's happened,

God has done it, but there's been a, by the way, everybody,

here's what happened to me. I don't know, you know.

And so such folk who say that gifts are finished, I believe

have a wrong understanding of history and they believe that

historically. So let's look at history.

They'll say the miraculous gifts actually did cease when the

apostles died because they haven't seen, because they think

in missionaries they're looking for the, you know, the raising

of the dead and stuff. You know, the people to talk to

about gifts are people in Africa, China, and places that

we don't know about. Don't go, go with until you bump

into someone and they'll tell you, Oh my goodness, God has

worked miraculously. The fact that I'm still alive,

the fact that this happened, it happened, it happened, it

happened and on and on and on. The people on the mission front,

they're the ones who can tell us the great deal what people are

wanting. Well, how come we don't see it

in the church? You know, you know this woo Hoo,

you know, that sort of stuff. It's because the church is

ignorant of spiritual gifts. It doesn't know what to do with

them. And it's either over the top and

it's chaotic mess. God can't work on that, or it's,

well, we don't believe in them. They're satanic.

We don't we don't have an understanding of them.

So people have a wrong understanding.

For example, 1 Corinthians 13/8, which says, well, it says there

the tongues will cease. So what are you going to say

about that? Or read the context because it

says that something else will see cease as well.

There's a couple other things that will cease.

Love won't cease, but it says other things will cease

something. And John MacArthur, I, he's one

of the best Bible commentators that I know.

I have a lot of his books. But John MacArthur, he says, and

I don't agree with him, that the gift stopped with the apostles.

John MacArthur is not the Pope. He's a good Bible teacher, but

in this area, I don't think he's right.

John MacArthur claims tongue ceased in the Apostolic age and

that when they stopped, they stopped for good.

But this passage passage doesn't tell us about tongues, that

tongues will stop by themselves. It tells us tongues will cease

only when that which has perfect has come.

And they go, oh, there you go, we got the Bible.

Now you know this is, and they say incorrectly, the Bible is

that which is perfect. No, When we look at what does

that which is perfect means, Paul says when that which is

perfect has come, then the gifts, yes, will be

discontinued. They won't need to be operating.

But what is that which is perfect?

It's not the Bible. I'm not saying that the Bible

isn't perfect, but I'm saying that's not what he's talking

about. In that context, though, some

believe that believe miraculous gifts ceased with the apostles,

say it refers to the completion of the New Testament.

I don't think I don't believe that they're biblically correct.

I think they're wrong. Virtually all commentators agree

that that which is perfect is fulfilled when we are in the

eternal presence of the perfect one.

We looked at that in Revelation chapter 5 when we were in heaven

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

with the Lord. Because you won't need tongues,

you know, we won't need the gift of healing.

You won't need gifts of interpretation.

You won't need the gift of, of, of pastors and teachers and

apostles and all that sort of stuff.

We're in heaven. We're with the Lord, the perfect

one. When we're with the Lord forever

through the return, either by the return of Christ or

graduation to the Eternal, that which is perfect is Him.

Now the same people have a wrong understanding, and they usually

say, well, what about Hebrews chapter 2, verse 3, where it

Hebrews 2:3

says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,

which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, was

confirmed to us by those who heard Him.

God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders, with

various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His

own will. So people take that verse, pull

it out, and here's what you do. That's how you make a pretext

instead of putting it in the context.

People take this verse incorrectly to say that the only

real reason miracles and gifts were given was to authenticate

Revelation, the Word, and there is now no longer a need for that

because we have it. But if miracles only happened

around certain times of revelation, that's what they're

saying, then there is a substantial amount of revelation

that is unaccounted or supported by miracles.

In fact, everything in the Bible from the book of Judges through

to the Song of Solomon, that's a fair chunk.

So if miracles do authenticate revelation, you put yourself on

dangerous ground by saying, well, if it's a miracle that

occurs, that's that's support that it's a revel.

That's the word from God. Be careful of that because false

prophets can and do perform authenticating miracles.

In the book of Exodus, Pharaoh got his wise, called his wise

men and his sorcerers to do magic to copy Moses.

Remember that Same again in Deuteronomy.

In Second Thessalonians, taking us further to the future, we're

warned of the lawless ones coming, the Antichrist who will

have the prophet, the false prophet with him and what will

he do to the world to authenticate he's the real

Messiah even and even the Jewish nation will believe he is

miracles called fire down from heaven.

Read it. Paul warns, hey, don't be duped

by miraculous things, saying well, it must be God because

look at the miraculous outpouring.

No, that's in Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9

2 Thessalonians 2:9–10

to 10. And that's how the lawless one

comes. So the primary purpose of

miracles, especially as they are seen in the New Testament, was

not to authenticate God's messages, though there is a

secondary purpose. The primary purpose of miracles

was to. And here's where we miss the

forest for the trees or the trees for the forest, whatever

that word is. The primary purpose of miracles,

you know what it was for was to humbly meet the needs of the

people. God's paralysed.

Been lying by the pool of Bethesda.

He's been there for years or he's been paralysed for years.

Jesus heals him. Why?

Because he's paralysed. He didn't do it.

I'm just doing it because of this.

It was to meet the needs of the people.

For example, in Matthew chapter 12 verses 3840.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

I'll read it to you shortly. Jesus actually condemned those

who sought authenticate revelation by miraculous signs.

In other words, if you are who you say you are, give us a

miracle. Pull a rabbit out of the hat or

do something. Jesus offered them no other

signs other than his own resurrection.

He says that's the sign. Matthew 1238.

Some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered saying,

Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.

Come on, whip something up. Jesus answered and said to them,

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign,

and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet

Jonah. For his Jonah was 3 days and

three nights in the belly of the great fish.

So will the Son of Man be 3 days and three nights in the heart of

the earth. In John chapter 2 verse 18 to

John 2:18–19

19, Jesus provided 1 miraculous sign to the seeking his

resurrection. In John chapter 2 he said this

John 2 · chapter mention

early, destroy this temple, his body and in three days I'll

raise it up. That's it.

I remember working with a guy, interesting fella witnessing to

him. He said look, don't give me

that. He said until someone comes back

from the dead, then I'll believe.

And I went, actually someone has, you see, it doesn't matter.

And people who go on prove and prove God to me, OK, no, he

already has. It's the sign.

That's the sign. That's the proof.

The resurrection is the proof. Beware, Jesus says in the last

days of those who deceive because they're going to deceive

many. It says many will be deceived.

Why look at the miraculous things that are happening there.

Wow. And I've heard it.

It's been sweeping in the years that how long I have been saved

in in the ministry, 40 something plus 45 years.

Whatever it is, we've seen sweep after sweep of oh, this church

is on fire. You know why?

Well, people are jumping off the roof and and surviving, falling

onto the grass where they're tucking their neck in as they

roll over. And this is how, oh, it's

happening. And it disappeared, gone.

And the next movement and people just chase after where where's

that? Where's that?

Chuck Smith used to say when you put on a show like that, each

week you gather the crowd, but the following week you're going

to have a better show. You got to put a better show on

each time to keep the crowd. You know, in John 6 verse 29,

John 6:29

Jesus has just fed more than 5000 people and they followed

Jesus. Why were they following him?

You get free bread if you follow this guy.

Come on. Yeah, well, he's hot, man.

This is the place to be. You know what?

It's funny how we haven't had any more people since we got a

lot of bread, have we? Maybe we need to put some

sardines at the front when we get the bread.

That's a in house joke for people who are watching online.

Jesus rebuked them pretty harshly and rebuked them for

their refusal to believe in him. To see what Jesus has already

done, they said. Come on, do something else.

They said you just spoke to me with a mouthful of bread and

fish spattered me all over and you go viewers from on the moon

throw something. You already got a belly full of

fish and bread. In one Corinthians one verse 22,

when Paul notes that the Jews request a sign, he says they

don't mean it in a positive sense.

He says it's a poor thing that they seeking out for a sign.

Miracles are an insufficient evidence of authentic

revelation. In other words, this is the

argument. They can always be explained

away by an unbelieving heart. Well, yeah, but it didn't really

happen. And the unbelieving heart will

always be asking for more miracles.

Well, so yeah, if God does this, then I'll believe no.

And then he does this and you've heard people say to you, well,

you know, well, let's pray about that.

What happened? Well, God did do it.

So do you still believe? Oh no, I won't.

I won't believe until he does this.

It's not the dog chasing his tail.

I got around and ran around to prove God.

And in John chapter 12 verse 37, Jesus says, but although he had

John 12:37

done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him.

Miracles don't make believers. I've only had, you know,

miracles and people. No, no.

We agree, however, that miracles have a purpose in impressing

unbelievers and believers with the power of God.

But that is clearly their secondary purpose.

If this were the primary purpose of miracles, one could argue

that since we have the completed revelation of God's Word, we

would no longer need miracles to authenticate further revelation.

But they make a wrong application of the truth that

things like speaking in tongues, and I've heard it, you've heard

it. Some of you have demonic

counterparts. Well, only you know.

I know just cults do that. They're not unique to

Christianity. Speaking in tongues.

Well, that's certainly true and recognised by scripture.

Because there are false. However, the existence of a

counterfeit tends to prove the existence of the genuine, not

deny it. False teachers, false prophets.

Why? Because they were true prophets

and true teachers. The other thing is the

Antichrist. He's coming purely on the

premise of him being the real Christ, which he isn't.

So does the history of Christianity, when you look at

it, demonstrate that some of the gifts have passed away?

If so, when and how? Although the issue is finally

settled with what the Bible says.

So we've dealt with that. The voice of history, history

itself is also compelling about the gifts.

Those who believe the miraculous gifts ceased claim the testimony

of history supports them. That's their argument.

For example, again, John MacArthur wrote in his book The

Charismatics, he said this and I quote by the 2nd century, the

apostles were gone, things were changed.

Another fellow, Alba MacLean, said when the church appears in

the 2nd century, the situation as regards the miraculous is so

changed that we seem to be in another world.

The Apostolic age, he was saying, was unique.

It ended. History says it, they saying

Jesus says it, they say theology says it, and the New Testament

self attest to the fact. So we're told that's their

argument. But you know, it's interesting.

And one thing I learned when I was with the police is that

there are always three sides to the story.

No, that's not mine. No, I haven't touched that.

I never went there. I never touched that.

I never stole that. I never.

Oh, no, that's not mine. I I wasn't there at any time.

There are three sides to the truth.

History has another testimony. And if we will just look at

history, and I think it's an important thing for us to do and

let history alone speak, we find that Clement of Rome, Ignatius,

Justin Martyr. Iranus, Churchillian all speak

powerfully to the existence of miraculous gifts of the Holy

Spirit in their own day. Actually, the idea, the concept

that the miraculous gifts from God ceased with the apostles

didn't arise in the church itself until the middle of the

4th century, AD 350 or so on. Later, at the end of the 4th

century and into the Middle Ages, the gifts were said to

have ceased and there was certainly is the problem

neglected because it's the period when people neglected the

Word of God. The demise of the church and all

the moving and the power of God is always what the neglect of

the Word, the neglect of the Word.

But that wasn't God's desire. It was the result of people who

convinced themselves, and we do that, that the supernatural

working of the Holy Spirit was too dangerous for the

institutional church. It's safer to just ban it.

Ban it. And that's dumb.

It sounds like what Jesus said to two cities at the north of

the Sea of Galilee. Some of my, one of my favourite

places we go to where Jesus did all these miracles in Bethsaida

and Corazon, and he did more miracles there.

And he said, you know what, if I had done this many miracles in

Sodom and Gomorrah, they'd still be around.

I would have believed. But you guys, I've lived here,

I've performed more miracles than both, and I say woe to you,

judgement is coming because you've had the proof before your

eyes and you've chosen to say no, I don't believe it.

Now other factors were involved, but if you had gone up to a

Christian in ID 250 and said to them, hey mate, visiting from

2025, tell me the gifts, did they die with the apostles?

And you said we all know that miraculous gifts cease with the

apostles. He would probably tell you, you

know what you're talking about, mate, you know what you're

talking about. You see, it's how we come to a

place and then we neglect the work of God.

I want to throw in here today, I think one of them, it's not

mentioned in the gifts and such, but it's something that's so

neglected and we see that the art come of the weak church we

have in the Western world now is pray.

Well, why pray? It's not going to do any good.

You know, it doesn't change anything.

I mean, seriously, when the apostles prayed, wow, things

happen. But when you pray, nothing

happens. God doesn't hear you.

It's all done and dusted. He only answered the prayers of

Daniel and and Peter and John and all those people.

No, we've neglected prayer. We've neglected the power of

prayer. And thus the church is at its

weakest in the Western world than it's ever been.

Spiritual gifts aren't to be treated as toys.

And that's the that's the other swing of the pendulum, isn't it?

You know, you go to its service being invited to some, and you

frightened. You know what's going on.

You don't know what's going to come running down the aisle or

who's going to come jumping off the stage.

You know, Holy Spirit, you need a crash hat.

Oh, the spirit's really moving. Yeah, so am I.

I'm out of here. That's what Paul said.

When things get out of hand in chapter 14, people would go you

Mama crazy without a hand. So spiritual gifts aren't to be

treated as toys to play with. Here's the deal.

This is the problem. But rather as tools to build

with you are to pray, seek God. God, use me, use the gifts.

Use me to what? You can be a blessing to the

church like you've never ever known.

You can be the channel through which God can use you in the

gifts that are written down here to bring blessing, strength,

power, majesty to the body of Christ.

That's what's lacking today. And if the gifts ceased the

death of the apostles, tell me, why does Paul write and go into

such great detail about the body of Christ following on from 12

when he mentions the gift being an actual body and every part

has a part, how every part plays a vital part, parts that can be

seen, parts that can't be seen. We can't all be eyes.

We can't all be hands and legs and all that sort of stuff.

Why does Paul go into that detail?

He just said, look guys, you know John, he's going to be dead

soon. So just we don't need this

stuff. We don't need to know this

stuff. It's, it's God phasing it out.

As soon as John is dead, it's gone.

It's done. Because God wants us to have a

wonderful range of gifts from the Holy Spirit and an

impressive variety of people to manifest them.

What for? For God's glory and the church's

benefit, How much are we missing out on because of our ignorance

of spiritual gifts? Why did Paul go into great

detail in chapter 14 about how they're to operate?

Why did he say I'm not going to go into that's a waste of time.

You know, we don't have to go, but that's just a few

generations or a few years and they're all done and dusted.

We don't need to go. Be careful how the tongue should

work should be interpretation. Be careful that there's no

believers and believers around what?

Why go into that detail? That's three chapters of the of

the book of Corinthians because there the gifts are to operate

and Paul wanted to make sure that they were done decently and

in order. 1 Corinthians 1440. So tonight as we close, how do

we see the body of Christ? How I see it in the Western

world again, not in the third world, not in places where in

missionary fields with in our words, the salvation and the the

risking life and death simply by being believer.

But today I see the body of Christ is disabled.

We used to have a term and you can't use it now.

It's not not adequate or properly the term now.

It used to be handicapped. The church today is is so

disabled. Why?

Because of ignorance and abuse. We've either ignored it, thrown

it out, don't know what about, or we've abused the gifts and

God says that's like, that's the word.

That's not gifts. The spiritual gifts of the Holy

Spirit. When through God's Word are

used, we can see the body of Christ healthy, strong and

mature. That's how the church should be.