The Why of Love | Build Up the Church in Love - 1 Corinthians 14 | June 9

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Well, hey family, let me start by reading just a little bit of our passage this morning.

We're in chapter 14, 1 Corinthians. The beginning says.

Of prophecy strengthens the entire church. I wish you could all speak in tongues,

but even more, I wish you could all prophesy.

For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues unless someone interprets what

you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.

So real quick, I want to just give a high level overview of where we've been

over the last several chapters in the book of Corinthians.

And as we're nearing the end of this beautiful letter, because believe it or

not, We are almost there. We're almost to the end. There's only 16 chapters.

So, if you do the math, that's three. I could do math. I just didn't count ahead before.

But we have three chapters left, including today. We started off by talking

a lot in the beginning about what we as Christians are called to be and how

Paul wanted to remind the Corinthians.

That's kind of the first several chapters of the book of 1 Corinthians.

Paul wanted to remind the Corinthians of who they were, of who they had been

before they were saved, and alternatively also at the same time, what they were saved to.

So what they were saved from and what they were saved to. So he's calling us

as well through these words to not turn back, but to press on towards Jesus.

And so no matter wherever you are, whoever you are, however long you've been

a Christian, if it's been for your entire life or a few short years or wherever

you're at on that spectrum, even if you're not a believer already,

there's always one question that is appropriate, no matter where you fall.

And that is what's your next step towards Jesus?

We're all walking towards Jesus. None of us have arrived. What's your next step towards Jesus?

It causes us to consider where we're at, causes us to think about where we've

come from and to also think ahead to where we're headed.

Where are we heading? What is your next step towards Jesus? It could be something foundational.

It could be something like baptism to declare to the body and the world at large

that I've set my heart to follow Jesus so that we can join you in that pursuit.

It could be something faith forming to meditate on, to meditate on the character

of God, the nature of God to meditate on faith.

How we are to be satisfied in him alone? What does it look like to be satisfied

in God, to seek his presence?

What is your next step towards Jesus? None of us have arrived yet.

Is it functional? Is it something like, is there some area in your life that you need to grow in?

Is the spirit trying to do something in your life and move in your life and you just need to let him?

I once heard a description of what it means to quench the spirit.

If you're familiar with that phrase. It comes from 1 Thessalonians 5.19,

and it kind of has some bearing to what we're going to talk about today because

chapter 14 talks about prophecy as we kind of led in there and how do we think

about prophecy, what we do with prophecy.

In 1 Thessalonians it says, do not quench the spirit, there's a phrase,

do not despise prophecies, but test everything.

So, if you picture your spiritual life as a house, but the house is on fire,

And in this case, a house fire is a good thing. It's not a bad thing.

Oftentimes, we want God to move in certain areas of our lives.

We want God to work. We want God to burn in this room over here,

but maybe not that room over here. God, I don't want you to have that yet.

I want you to burn here. This is what I want you to work on.

I want you to help me have a better prayer life.

I want you to help me love more. I want you to help me do this or that,

but I don't want you to deal with my anger.

I don't want you to deal with my frustration. I don't want you to convict me

to submit. I don't want to give up anything.

I just want to be a Christian and do Christian things, right?

I want you to move and work here. So we try and redirect the fire.

We try and close off certain rooms and keep God from burning in those because

we don't want to give it to him yet. We want you to work here, God.

I'm not ready to give you that. I may never be ready to give you that.

I just want you to burn here.

So we quench the spirit. We're putting out the fire. we're trying to dictate

to God where we want him to live and move and have his being.

What we should be doing is figuring out where God wants to work,

what he's trying to deal with, where he's trying to burn, and then fanning that

flame into a raging conflagration. I like that word. I just threw it in there.

Just a raging fire, right? If you want God to burn in certain areas of your house,

your spiritual house, so to speak, then the best way to get him there is to

find out where he already is and what he wants to work with and fan it into

flame to fuel Fuel that fire, and then it will spread into the areas that you're

most concerned with. So figure out where God's working.

Paul told Timothy, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.

For God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.

So wherever he's at, whatever he wants to do, give it to him.

Let him work. Nothing is hidden. We hold nothing back.

Nothing's off limits to God. Lord, take over and burn.

What's your next step towards Jesus? That's kind of what the first four or so

chapters of Corinthians are asking us.

It's difficult, but oftentimes the people around you may have observed or may

be able to reveal what that step is for you better than even you're aware of.

So, we lean on each other.

We grow together. Stop getting in the way with your own ideas of what the spirit

burning in your life should look like.

Paul's been calling us not to turn back, but to press forward.

He's been telling the Corinthians, don't turn back to your previous way of living, but press on.

In another book, he says, press on. I press on towards that which Christ has

taken hold of me, or I take hold of that which Christ has taken hold of me.

That's the same thing he's writing here to the Corinthians.

A disciple of Jesus, we're all called to be disciples.

A disciple of Jesus should be growing in Christ likeness. We should be growing

to look more and more like Christ in our lives.

And I've been using the term becoming real people because that's kind of what

it truly is, that we are becoming conformed to the image of the real God.

And that's how we become real people, that we are becoming conformed to the image of the real God.

And being conformed means it's okay to lose a part of yourself.

In fact, it's probably going to

require losing a part of yourself to be conformed into the image of God.

But it's good. It's a good thing. But oftentimes that...

Provokes within us fear. Like, what are we afraid of losing?

What are we afraid of letting go of?

And maybe the better question is, why are we so afraid of letting go of it?

What's your next step towards Jesus? Let's press on towards Jesus together.

And then in the following chapters after that, Paul turns his attention away

from just a general exhortation to remind the Corinthians of who they are,

what they've been saved from, who they once were, who Jesus is, who God is to them.

And he turns his attention to this idea of togetherness, that we are saved into a family.

We're not just saved to have a private faith of our own that works for ourselves,

that we keep to ourselves, but we are saved to a family where we share that

your salvation is not just for you alone.

It is for the people around you. It's for others.

That our lives in Christian fellowship, there is a unity, there is a togetherness

where our lives are inextricably woven together.

And the metaphor I've used a few times now is this idea of the great sequoia

trees who, despite their towering heights, they grow very shallow roots.

And that's because they also never grow alone. You'll never find a sequoia growing alone.

They depend on one another. They lean on one another. They send out their roots wide.

They wrap them around each other. They wrap their lives around the lives of

the others around them. And so as we, we, as Christians grow together towards

Jesus, that we take steps together, all steps might be different.

Your step towards Jesus might be different in the season of life than mine,

but we help each other take those steps.

We're growing to the image of Christ together.

It's weird because the Bible talks about us being conformed to the image of

Christ, but it also talks about us being the body of Christ.

And so in some ways we are individually being shaped in the image of Christ,

but also in some ways we don't necessarily truly reflect Christ,

King Jesus, unless we are all together being conformed as the body into the image of King Jesus.

So, with our culture, with our.

With our actions, with our words, with our teaching, we are demonstrating,

this is how you follow Jesus.

This is how we handle money. This is how we handle relationships.

This is how we love. This is how we handle conflict.

This is what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus, that we lay down our preferences.

We lay down our preferences and love for those around us to pursue people.

We press in and we lift up.

And that's still going to be the conversation as we enter into these last three chapters.

It's been the conversation then, it's molded into the conversation as we've

talked about the who of love and the way of love.

And now as we enter into these last three chapters, the why of love,

why do we love? What's the purpose behind it?

Not what do we get out of it, but what is the purpose that motivates it?

And we read last week that love bears all things, love believes all things,

love hopes all things, love endures all things, that love is not fragile,

but we open ourselves up in love to being hurt again and again and again,

and we do it for a very specific purpose.

We do it for a purpose. There's purpose behind it. It's not just foolishness,

although that was something we encountered in the first four chapters, right?

That we are called to be foolish, but it's not just foolishness. There's a purpose.

And that's what we're going to talk about today through chapter 14.

I said last week in chapter 13, that that was the climax of the letter.

That was the point that Paul was getting to. And so we're not going to learn

anything necessarily new from here on out, but we're going to look back to that

climax, the idea of love.

And we're going to point back to it in these next three chapters.

We're going to say, this is why we love.

This is what we're doing when we love. This is why we pursue love,

that there's a purpose in it. It's not just for good vibes.

It's not just a good feeling that we get. It's not just the butterflies in our

stomach, but there is a purpose in the way that we pursue a self-sacrificing

love that lays down its preferences,

that lays itself down to seek the spiritual good of another person for those

around you, that there is a purpose in it.

And in our, our generation, our culture, our, our, our context in this earth,

also in the world, but they need this kind of love. We need this kind of love.

I was in a meeting this past week and there were some ASU students, grad students there.

And one of the students, she had this kind of, it's something that she's obviously

thought of before and it was relevant to the conversation we're having with regard to my other job.

But it was very telling that it came from a person of that generation and not

just somebody like an old guy like me, right?

That she had the observation, these are my own words, but I'll paraphrase, but young people today.

Young people today are very concerned with outwardly appearing to accept and approve.

They're very worried about not looking like they don't accept or prove.

But ultimately, they only show up when they know clearly what they're going to get out of it.

And so, our culture is creating a people that are outwardly accepting.

But inwardly, they really are only concerned with what they're going to get out of it.

And this was specifically in a context about volunteering work.

If you want people to show up, they have to understand what they're going to get out of it.

But that was her observation. They only show up when they clearly know what

they're going to get out of it.

And that's how they make decisions. That's how they evaluate their priorities and preferences.

And so what this love is calling us to is to be unconcerned with what we're getting out of it.

And if you're going to be concerned about with what you're getting out of it,

then that concern needs to look forward to a future reward, building up our

treasures in heaven, as Jesus says it, right?

That if we're gonna be concerned with a reward, it's gonna be somewhere else

at a different time and it's not gonna be an immediate gratification that we

look forward to the future.

But love, this kind of love is generally unconcerned with what we're getting out of it.

That love calls us to lay down ourself

and pursue people in love for their spiritual good, for their faith.

So Paul's still talking about orderly worship. He's still confronting all the

ways, all the messed up ways that the Corinthians get it wrong,

all the ways that we continue to get it wrong in a lot of the same similar ways

that the Corinthians get it wrong.

Now he's bringing it back to spiritual gifts and he's really focusing in on

two specific spiritual gifts and using them kind of like a proof text to demonstrate

to Corinthians like, this is where you're going astray.

This is how you should be seeking gifts. This is how you should be loving.

This is how you should be thinking differently and loving differently.

So, with that in mind, when the recap concluded, I'm going to look forward,

look into actually chapter 14 at this time.

And I want to remind you of our definition of a spiritual gift that I gave a

couple weeks ago in case you forgot or weren't here or didn't write it down or whatever.

But I want to remind you because it's going to help us to understand what the

purpose of love is. Why do we love?

And like I said, none of this is particularly new or anything I haven't already

said, but but now we're focusing on specific aspects of what it means to seek

the spirit and what it means to love, why we love.

And so a spiritual gift is an expression of the love of God in and through you

to initiate, build, and strengthen faith in another person.

That is the love of God through you for the faith of another.

So I don't care if you've taken a test and can tell me what your spiritual gifts are.

I don't care if you've taken five tests and they all agree with one another.

If it's not a spiritual gift, if it's not from the Spirit, and if it's not for

the faith of another person, if it's not this love of God working through you

to build faith in another,

then it's not classified as a spiritual gift.

If it's not Spirit-supplied, God-honoring, and others-directed,

it may be an ability that you have, something that you're good at,

but it's not operating in the realm of a spiritual, what we call a spiritual gift.

And actually, I don't know if this is funny or not, but...

We've kind of been deceived or lied to a little bit. Not really,

but Paul doesn't actually use the word gift in, at least in this chapter.

He does in chapter 12, he uses a word, at least one word he uses is charisma,

which we have the same word kind of, right?

But that's, that's translated as gift. But even that's kind of like, not really a gift.

It's like more of the grace and favor that God showers upon us is what that

word kind of more points to.

So, Paul's not even using the word gift, our translations infer it into there.

What he's really saying is to seek the spirits working in your life.

He's essentially telling us, don't seek after these tangible gifts,

but seek after the spirit to work in you and through you for other people.

In the beginning of this chapter, what he's literally saying,

if we were to translate it almost word for word and not imply anything based

on the context is, follow in the way of love, pursue love, and then desire for

the Spirit to work through that love in you and through you for other people.

Because he's just using the word Spirit here. Desire the Spirit's work in your life.

Desire the Spirit's work in your life. So, we get so caught up in the gifts

that it even shows in our translations.

But the work of the Spirit in us can be so much more practical than any of these

special things that are listed. It can be so much more practical.

It can just be so much more normal than we think it is.

For example, do you know where the first point in the Bible,

where it's first mentioned that the Spirit embodied a human being,

that the Spirit came upon a person to enable them with the gift of the Spirit

to do something special?

Does anybody know where the first place that that comes into the Bible is?

It's probably not where you think, and it's probably way less exciting than you think.

I promise you that. It's not David. It's before David.

In Exodus 35, it's not Moses. Moses told the people of Israel,

the Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel, however you say that,

son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

The Lord has filled Bezalel with the spirit of God, giving him great wisdom,

ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.

He's a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze.

He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood.

And he's a master at every craft.

And the Lord has given both him and Aholiab, son of Ahisamach of the tribe of

Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others.

The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers,

embroiderers, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth and weavers.

They excel as craftsmen and as designers.

That's it. That's the first time in the Bible that it mentions that the spirit

of God filled a person, a human being, embodied a human being to do something special.

That he empowered this guy to be able to make art and to be able to teach others

to make art, to bring glory to God and to bring faith in other people because

it's in the context of building the tabernacle.

So it's as normal as we might think it is to be filled with the spirit,

to be operating out of the spirit for the faith of another.

It can be quite normal. It doesn't have to be something extravagant,

something exciting. writing.

A couple of weeks ago, two weeks ago, to be exact, in our family group,

as we were discussing chapter 12, we got into this conversation.

I think Rebecca asked the question because there seemed to us to be certain

gifts that are more supernaturally transcendent than others.

Healings comes to mind. We think about healings, but in chapter 12,

Paul does a weird, strange thing where he separates healings from gift of miracles.

And yet when we think about Jesus doing miracles, we think about him healing people.

So there's, there's some sort of disconnect or some sort of,

of misunderstanding that we're having with regard to, to this that Paul is pointing to.

And I believe he's pointing to this fact that, um.

All spiritual gifts are miraculous, no matter how normal or mundane they may appear to be to us.

They are all spiritual gifts because they are from the Spirit and they are for

the Spirit to initiate the miracle of faith in someone where it didn't already exist.

That all of us are here today because of a miracle, because of a thousand miracles

that that initiated within us faith where it did not previously exist.

So no matter what gifts you have, no matter what gifts you have, they're all miracles.

They're all miraculous because God is the one creating faith out of nothing through them.

We look back to the beginning in Genesis, and then we have that idea that God

spoke the world into existence out of nothing.

God is creating faith where it did not exist through our spiritual gifts,

no matter how normal they may seem to us.

The Corinthians were getting so hung up on the gift that they thought to be

the best, that stuck out most to them, that pointed back to them,

that gave them the most attention. And that's where this chapter comes from.

But that's not why we love. Love Love doesn't point back to itself.

Love doesn't point back to itself. And we still get, we still get hung up in

the same way that the Corinthians get hung up on these spiritual gifts,

specifically the ones that seem to be most supernatural to us.

We still debate these, whether, no matter what side of the argument you find

yourself on, right? Kind of the two opposite sides.

There's the cessationist that believes that the gifts are no longer,

the more supernatural gifts specifically are no longer needed since their completion

of the revelation. the revelations, if the canon was finalized,

the Bible, we have the word of God.

Or if you're a continuationist who believes that those gifts will still be needed until Jesus comes back.

Both of us get so caught up in the gift, all of us, that we focus on the wrong thing and it blinds us.

And for some of you, those categories even kind of like stirred something in

you, or it's like whatever, whoever's on the opposite side of the argument,

you're like, that's what's wrong with Christianity.

And you're failing to recognize the places where you take it too far yourself,

because the reality is we all take it too far when what we should be doing is

just humbly learning from those who are spirit-filled and Bible-believing Christians just like us.

That even though we may disagree, that we're still spirit-filled,

Bible-believing disciples of Jesus.

And they're all supernatural. All of the gifts are supernatural,

no matter how normal, no matter how mundane they may appear to us.

And that's the point, like I said, that's the point of this chapter.

Paul's just using tongues and prophecy for the vehicle to discuss how we should

desire gifts, why we should desire them, and then what we should do with them

in the context of a gathering, how we should be utilizing them.

And so, it's probably helpful for us to also establish some definition and understanding

to what Paul is talking about when he uses these terms, prophecy and tongues,

because everyone probably has a different picture in their minds.

We all have different stories, different experiences. We're all on the spectrum, you might say.

Throughout the Bible, these words are used in similar ways to how Paul is using

them, but because of their context, we might even gather different insights of what they mean,

even if we're looking at them in the Bible. So, let's take prophecy, for example.

We, in our culture, we tend to adopt our cultural definition of what prophecy is.

Like, that's what we think about most readily, which tends to be some sort of

vague statement about an impending event, oftentimes doom.

When you think about the word prophecy, we think about some doomsayers, right?

We think we automatically go into the area of future telling.

That prophecy is a future telling event.

And it is true that there is a little bit of that in the Bible as the big,

those we call the big P prophets are recording the words of God.

They're writing them down. They're speaking them that they are,

whether they know it or not, probably they're not even aware of the future telling

aspect of it, that they're speaking something

in the moment and they're unaware themselves of what the implications it has.

But that's not actually what the heart of prophecy is. That's not what the word

means. That's not what it points to.

The reason that we have these characters in the Bible who are called prophets

is because they were the people who were selected by God and given a word from

God to communicate to people.

And that's why we see chapter after chapter in these prophet books in the Old

Testament, the phrase, thus saith the Lord, to be a prophet,

to prophesy was to bring a word of the Lord, to bring a word from the Lord.

That's literally what it means. And there might be a future telling component

of that. We might even classify them differently.

We might even say that prophecy is a large overarching term.

It's a general term for a word from the Lord. And then within that,

there's subcategories and maybe visions and future telling are kind of more

of a subcategory together.

But the point is that God had communicated something to the prophets and they

were speaking directly for him.

That's what prophecy means.

In 2 Peter, it says, prophecy never had its origin in the human will,

but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

And so, this sometimes includes foretelling. That is included in the general

category of prophecy, but it always, it is always foretelling.

It is always the prophets calling people back to what God has already spoken

and not necessarily creating something new. you.

I should say that there are no more big P prophets in the world that are creating

scripture as they speak and write.

We're not going to add your thoughts, your musings to the word of God and hold

them up as equal. I'm sorry. We're not going to do that.

What we're going to do is we're going to evaluate and judge what you say.

We're going to test and approve it by the word of God.

That's how we're going to test and approve any prophecy nowadays.

So, Paul is carrying on this kind of specific idea of what prophecy is and if it isn't.

As he writes the Corinthians and he He writes this as a definition of prophecy.

That prophecy is a word given to you, given to me from God for another person,

and they understand it and their faith is built up and God is glorified.

So he writes here in this chapter, one who prophesies strengthens others,

encourages them and comforts them.

A person who speaks in tongue is strengthened personally, but one who speaks

a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

And then again, if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy

or teaching, that will be helpful.

And even further down, if all of you are prophesying and unbelievers or people

who don't understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted

of sin and judged by what you say.

As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed and they will fall to

their knees and worship God, declaring God is truly here among you.

So God, prophecy is a word given to me, given to you from God for another person.

They understand it and their faith is built up by it.

And by contrast, speaking in tongues, Paul says, is a good and desirable gift,

but it is ultimately for the person speaking because it is a word from them to God. It is a prayer.

And therefore, he says a couple of times throughout this that speaking in tongues

should be done privately and not in gatherings unless there's an interpreter

so that people may understand and the church may be strengthened.

Verse 16, for if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don't

understand you praise God along with you?

How can they join you in giving thanks when they don't understand what you're saying?

You'll be giving thanks very well, but it won't strengthen the people who hear you.

So God, Paul's using this kind of idea in this particular paragraph of like,

almost like adding an amen.

I think some translations will put it that way. Like, how can people pray with

you? How can they add their amen to what you're saying if they don't understand.

So, prophecy may be understood. It is a word from God. It may be understood.

It's used to strengthen, encourage, and comfort.

Tongues is a word to God. From the outside observer, Paul's saying it appears to be unintelligible.

So, it's for the individual and it should be done privately unless there's a translator.

Because here is the sort of overarching theme. Everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

This is the call to orderly worship. And this is in a context of a charge against the Corinthians,

that they were desiring, that they were believing that they were more mature

than other people, that they were better than other people because of the gifts

that they had, because of the way that the Spirit was manifest within them.

They literally called themselves, the Corinthians had a reputation for referring

to themselves as the Spirit people.

Like they thought they were it. They thought they were God's gift to man.

And so, through that, they crave this special ability to specifically,

they crave the ability to speak in these specific heavenly tongues that people didn't understand.

They called attention to themselves and exalted themselves in their eyes,

that they were puffed up. But love doesn't puff up.

When Christians worship together, when Christians gather together to worship

God, there is the very real sense that they can utilize what we would call their

spiritual gifts in ways that do not strengthen or build up the rest of the body.

And so with this, the main teaching is that God doesn't, he doesn't desire that

our churches would be filled with these extravagant manifestations where the

person with the gift is glorified,

but the body is not edified, that the body is not built up.

So Paul's saying love doesn't puff up. The purpose of love is to build up. That's why we love.

It's not to call attention to ourselves. It's not to puff up.

And so, a spiritual gift as an expression of love, it should strengthen the church.

It should encourage, it should comfort those around you.

Earlier in the letter, Paul wrote, love builds up.

So, in the context of chapters 12 and now here in chapter 14,

he's looking at this description of what love is, this revelation of love.

And he's saying what makes, this love is what makes the difference between Christians

who use their gift to build up the body.

And then those, as we saw before, who are just making noise,

who are just a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And so directly to the Corinthians, he's like, since you have such a desire

for these special abilities, desire the ones that are going to strengthen,

that are going to encourage, that are going to build up and comfort the body.

He's telling the Corinthians, like, you're really good at this spirit stuff,

this manifestations, but you're kind of bad at following Jesus,

that you desire all of these extravagant things, but you're not loving each other.

You're not loving people well. You're not following Jesus.

And even kind of at the end of this chapter tells them, if you think you're

spiritual, because they didn't, he knew that, you should recognize that what I'm saying is true.

Like if you were really who you say you are, then you'll understand that what

I'm saying is truth here.

So desire the working of the spirit in you, to love people.

You and I, you and I are responsible for helping our brothers and sisters in Christ grow.

We are responsible for helping each other mature. We are responsible for growing

together. God is calling us to this.

God is calling us to this. He's calling us to the desired gifts,

or if we're going to be more literal, right?

To desire the spirit that builds up people, that builds up faith in people around you.

And here's, so here's a question as we kind of wrap up our time.

And I don't, I don't want this to be like shaming or guilting or accusatory.

So it's going to be a shocking question, but don't receive it in that way.

How many minutes this past week did you spend praying for the church?

Did you spend praying for this body?

Did you spend even 30 seconds praying for me, praying for the elders,

praying for other members of the body.

If we were to get a transcript of your prayers, what would they say?

What are you praying for?

When other people pray, when someone else is praying around you,

are you longing for what they are praying? Are you aching for God to work?

Are you glorifying the God that they praise? Here's what Paul's prayers are full of.

This is as he writes to the Ephesians. For this reason, because I have heard

of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and

knowledge of him. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.

Paul prays for the desire of the people to have this revelation of wisdom and

knowledge in their life, the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

God, I pray for these people that they would have the spirit of wisdom and revelation

that they might understand the way that you love and that it may sink deep into their bones.

That their lives and that the lives of those around them would be changed forever

and conformed in the likeness of King Jesus.

That you might understand the hope to which you have been called,

leaving behind what once was and stepping in, pressing into the fullness of his presence.

And the reason I ask those questions is because if you would understand this,

if you would do this, if you would remember, then the Spirit of God would inhabit

our lives and the world would be changed.

That if we would set our hearts to this together, praying for one another,

that God would change us and He would change the world.

Who do we love? Why do we love? It's to build one another up.

God's calling us not to be isolated,

silent, encapsulated individuals, privately coming, privately hearing,

privately going, with no one able to know what we love, what we cherish, what we long for.

He's calling us out of our cocoons of emotional isolation.

He's calling us out of being invisible and inaudible and unshared in our responsiveness.

He's calling us to build each other up.

That edification comes not by the amazement of miracles or some extravagant display.

That edification, building up, comes as we understand God, as we set our hearts

to pursuing and understanding God.

So let us desire, let us seek the working of our spirits and our lives to strengthen

the church and build one another up.

And so as Brie plays, I just want us to spend the next few minutes praying these

words in Ephesians over each other,

praying these words for one another, praying that we would be filled with the

spirit of wisdom and revelation.

That God would give you, and we give you, we give all of you,

the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you would be able to utilize the spirit

in your life to strengthen, encourage, and comfort those around you.

You would build up the faith in another person, that we would use our gifts,

and even those we may not even have, because it's not about the gifts,

right? That's what a couple weeks ago was about.

It's not about the gifts, but that we would use the Spirit in our lives to strengthen

and encourage faith as an expression of God's love in another person,

that God would reveal to you a word, that when we come in these doors,

that we have already been praying,

and that when we're in these doors, that we are praying and that God is revealing

to us words of encouragement, words of love, words and comfort.

He's prompting our spirits to go and pray and go and ask questions,

to be involved in one another's lives, that we're not just walking in and walking

out with no one understanding, no one knowing what we love, what we care for, what we cherish,

that we would come and be involved in one another's lives, that we wouldn't

just show up and listen and participate some and then leave,

but we would be wound upon each other's lives, that the spirit wouldn't work and be through that.

And yeah,

that's an experience that I've

been more actively praying for and God has been answering that prayer.

And I'm praying that I'm more aware when he answers that prayer as well,

so that it doesn't just go by unnoticed.

That we would be given in our spirit, that his spirit would give us in our spirit,

just the desire as we're praying ahead of time.

And as we're coming in to see each other, that we would have a word to share

that we would encourage. Yes, there's order to it.

Yes, there's Paul tells us that he takes somebody aside two or three and just share that.

But here's how we should evaluate it. Because as we pray Ephesians over each

other, maybe God will give you a word to share. And here's how I want you to evaluate it.

Is it something that you understand? Can you understand it? Can you communicate

it in a way that can be understood?

Is it biblical? Is it encouraging?

And then you don't have to think about, oh, should I say something or not?

If it meets those criteria, say it. And if it's not particularly a prompting

of the Spirit, at least you've shared something biblically good good,

and encouraging to another person.

At the very least, you've done that.

But don't just think to yourself, oh, I should say something.

I should reach out to this person. I should pray. I should, just do it.

If you can understand it, if you can communicate it in a way they understand

it, and if it's good and encouraging and biblical, just take the risk.

Let the spirit of God work through us this morning.

Thank you for listening to Mountainside Church's podcast.

We hope you found inspiration and encouragement in today's teaching.

To learn more about our church, stay connected or partner with us, visit mcboone.com.

Music.