“You, Unleashed ” by Max Lucado

Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

In September of 2005, the internation watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans.

Who would have ever thought we would hear news like this on the news report?

Today, about 25,000 refugees were moved from the Superdome in New Orleans to the Astrodome in Houston.

Those of you who are old enough to remember that, remember those news reports, do you not?

Entire neighborhoods were left sitting under feet of water.

Citizens hacked their way onto their roofs in hopes of being rescued by helicopters.

Residents sought refuge in nearby cities.

New Orleans came to San Antonio, where I live, by virtue of 12,500 evacues.

It just so happened that a very good friend of mine, my next door neighbor, in fact, was placed in charge of a makeshift local refugee center.

A large downtown warehouse was turned into a triage.

Robert invited me to tour the triage with him, and as we walked through the warehouse, I was struck by one fact.

Everyone knew their job, and everyone had a job.

Some people distributed blankets, others handed out sandwiches.

There were a covey of medical professionals examining health concerns.

Counselors and pastors counseled the suddenly displaced.

In fact, my friend turned to me and said, You're a pastor, grab a chair and get to work.

And so I did.

I've made myself useful.

The image of that warehouse came to mind as I was reviewing the text that we're going to consider this weekend.

It's one of the most inspiring, convicting, and even controversial passages that exist in Scripture in terms of the Holy Spirit.

It introduces us to the Holy Spirit as the ultimate gift giver.

You would likely agree with me that it does seem that our entire world is in a state of trauma.

People do not know why they were born or to where they are destined.

This is so much the age of know-how and very, very little know why.

The invisible enemy of sin and secularism is in the process of sucking the soul out of so many people.

Opioid addictions are on the rise.

Anxiety and depression, especially among our young people, are charting new courses.

And most tragically, the suicide level is as high as it's been since World War II.

We, in the middle of it all, come together as God's triage system.

His church has been since its founding and will continue to be until his return the haven for those who are hoping to come out of this hurricane-ravaged society.

Through the church, the displaced find a place.

And behind it all, overseeing this work is the direction of the Holy Spirit.

He is in charge of his church.

And he does this in part through the distribution of spiritual gifts.

Reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 12, nearly all of our passages will come out of either chapter 12 or 14 of 1 Corinthians today.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

The apostle Paul wrote, Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Let me just make sure.

To each one, the manifestation or demonstration of the Spirit is given.

Please raise your hand if you are an each one.

Okay.

We're talking about you.

He goes on to write, to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good, not personal advancement, but common good.

All spiritual gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit.

And He distributes them to each one just as He determines.

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate gift giver.

And by His sovereign plan, he determines what gifts or gifts you receive and when you receive them.

He garnishes His children with supernatural abilities intended to glorify God, bless the needy, and encourage the church.

Would it not be a tragedy of the highest order to live your whole life and miss out on the unique to you collection of gifts as determined by the Holy Spirit?

That was the opinion of the Apostle Paul, backing up now to the beginning of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and then skipping down to verse 4.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit.

There are ministries, differences of ministries, but the same Lord, and there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

So the Spirit is the authorized gift distributor of Jesus Christ.

While the gifts are diverse, the goal of the gifts is singular, and that is the common good of the church.

Now there was a church that had forgotten this, the Corinthian church.

They were jealous of other people's gifts.

They were doubtful if they themselves had a gift.

Some were showing off, some were envious.

Everyone was confused.

So the Apostle Paul decided to write a letter.

And in this letter, he chose to describe some possible gifts.

Still reading from 1 Corinthians 12.

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, discerning of gifts, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.

I think I do not have the gift of remembering to bring my water up on the platform.

Could you hand me one, please?

Anyone will do.

Anyone will do.

Thank you, Steve.

I knew I would need it, so I thought I might as well ask for it now.

Keep a few things in mind as you review this very, very important paragraph.

Number one, no gift list in the Bible is complete.

No gift list is complete.

The New Testament has at least five: 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 2 in that chapter, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4.

It was not the intent of the apostle in any of the epistles to provide an exhaustive list of every single gift.

This is proven by the fact that none of these lists are identical.

And it's proven by the fact that the New Testament churches, not all of them read every letter that you and I can read.

So some of them would not have known about certain gifts.

These gifts are suggestive, they are emblematic, they represent the type of work the Holy Spirit wants to be done in his church.

Number two, not all gifts are given at the moment of conversion.

Yes, when Jesus saved your soul, he moved into your heart, and he did bring certain abilities, supernatural strengths.

But no person receives all their gifts upon conversion.

If so, there would be no call to, according to 1 Corinthians 14, 1, eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.

Those words were written to Christians.

And so why would Paul tell us to eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit if we already had all the gifts?

Part of the excitement, part of the adventure of living in step with our dear friend the Holy Spirit is anticipating gifts that he will give us to match the challenges that we face.

Also, this spiritual gifts are exactly that.

They are gifts.

You did not earn them, you do not deserve them.

When the Apostle Paul used the phrase gifts of the Spirit, he nearly always used the term charisma or charismata.

A charisma, as you I'm sure know, is a gift.

It's a pure gift.

You receive it, you don't deserve it, you don't earn it.

It is purely by the grace of God that you are supernaturally able to do what the Holy Spirit determines for you to do.

You don't brag about it because you didn't earn it.

It is simply a supernatural empowerment given to believers.

Also, this spiritual gifts are not an index of spiritual maturity.

You can have spiritual gifts and be very, very immature.

Christians in the Corinthian church were.

They had all the gifts according to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, but they were lacking in Christian character.

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

They clustered around personalities, they tolerated immorality, they litigated against each other, they abused the Lord's Supper.

They used worship for self-promotion.

The presence of gifts requires the maturity to use them wisely.

Also consider this: natural talents and spiritual gifts are not always identical.

Natural gifts advance personal causes, but spiritual gifts advance God's cause.

Your spiritual gift is often a divine application of a natural ability.

We see this in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Before Paul was a follower of Christ, he was Saul, the persecutor of the church.

But as Saul, he was still an outstanding student and communicator.

But when Christ knocked him off his high horse, literally, Christ requisitioned those natural abilities and anointed them and turned them into spiritual gifts.

And we benefit to this very day.

If you managed people before following Christ, it's quite likely that Christ will use those managerial skills, infuse them with the power of the Holy Spirit to bless the church.

Then again, the Holy Spirit might give you a new gift altogether.

He determines.

What matters is this spiritual gifts exist to exalt Christ, to edify the church and bless the needy.

Gifts are not given so you can make a big deal out of you.

Gifts are given so you can make a big deal out of Jesus.

Amen.

I said, You do?

Wonderful.

Let's sing together.

And she said, Oh no, I like to sing harmony all by myself.

She has since learned that harmony, by definition, requires the blending of multiple voices.

Churches learn to do the same.

Churches, healthy, vibrant, growing, city-changing churches, celebrate the spiritual gifts of each and every person.

It is the virtue, it is the hallmark, because only when we blend our gifts can we truly expect a beautiful sound.

Toward that end, the Apostle Paul went into great detail in helping us understand this mystery of spiritual gifts.

I think what he teaches can be clustered in two or three different categories.

First of all, he talks about gifts of discernment, gifts of discernment and direction.

He says, to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge, to another the discerning of spirits.

Word of wisdom, word of knowledge.

A word of wisdom is a message that is appropriate, that is timely, that is rightly suited for any given occasion.

I've mentioned several times that early in my ministry we lived in Brazil, and I went to a missionary conference at one point, and there were a gathering of some 60 or 70 missionaries.

A guest speaker was invited to come from a university in the United States, a professor.

He came and presented several talks, did a masterful job.

I recall after one particular lecture, we were having lunch with this professor.

And we were, they, we being a group of about eight or ten missionaries, young missionary, I think in that case, all missionary men, even though there are men and women, but in that particular table, they were all men.

And the professor, he was tired.

He was tired from the jet lag, he was tired from the lectures, and he was just eating quietly and we were chit-chatting away.

When all of a sudden he lifted up his balding head and he said, Young men, I have something to say.

And he said it with force.

And we all turned and looked at him, and he said, Never sacrifice your family on the altar of Christian service.

Just like that.

And then he started eating again.

I have never forgotten that.

Never.

I have repeated that dozens of times.

That was a word of wisdom.

The Holy Spirit gave him that word, nudged him to share it, and he was obedient, and it fell on receptive soil.

Many of you have words of wisdom.

You have insights.

You know what to say to that young family.

You know exactly the word that new employee needs to hear.

And there are times that you're hesitant to speak up because you think, well, doesn't everybody already know this?

No, they don't.

And the fact that they don't is an indication that you have an ability to speak a word of insight into a particular situation.

And if you stay silent, somebody may go away needy.

But when you speak up, you enter into the triage system of the Holy Spirit with a word of wisdom.

A word of knowledge is a gift of information that a person would have no way of knowing, except for the fact that the Holy Spirit has chosen to reveal this knowledge to someone else.

When Jesus was in dialogue with the Samaritan woman, and he told her that she was living with a man who was not her husband, and that she had five husbands before him.

This was a word of knowledge.

There was no way he would have known this, or any person would have known this.

It was a word of knowledge.

Including in this grouping would be the discerning of spirits, the discerning of spirits.

The apostle Paul demonstrated this gift in a city called Philippi.

The owners of a certain slave girl were making money from her fortune telling.

The apostle Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.

And he came out at that very hour.

That's the discerning of spirits.

One time my wife and I, Dean Lynn, who sends her love, by the way, one time we were walking through a beautiful resort town up in Colorado.

And she stopped and she pivoted and she looked at a door and she scowled.

I thought, well, maybe the purses are all gone and she couldn't find anything.

Shouldn't have said that.

I know, sorry.

I looked at the door and it said, fortune telling.

Come in and have your palm read.

And she said, Lord Jesus, defeat this business.

Just like that.

Firm.

She could sense the presence of an evil spirit, and she spoke against it.

Now I haven't gone back to check on the status of that store, but I would never invest any money in it.

In addition to these discerning gifts, the apostle Paul mentions gifts of healing and help.

He states, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another, the working of miracles.

To have the gift of faith is to enjoy a sense of supernatural, contagious confidence.

I have heard this gift often in my time here at Gateway.

I have.

And given the challenges that you faced over the last few months, this has been a welcome gift.

The person who has the gift of face says, Times are tough, but God is good.

We're gonna make it.

Everybody just hang in there.

Remember, Jesus is our true pastor.

Those are the phrases that a person has who has the gift of faith.

They speak to comfort the afflicted and to bless the fearful.

What a welcome gift this is.

Amen.

The gift of healing would be the choice of the Holy Spirit to render restoration through the prayers of a saint.

Again, witnessed over and over here at the Wonderful Gateway Church, as we sing people healed from conditions, lifted and separated from depression.

We see supernatural, inexplicable, apart from the Holy Spirit, moments taking place.

And then there is the working of miracles.

God can alter circumstances.

He can bring down Jericho walls.

He can vacate the grave of Lazarus.

He can reverse a financial downfall.

He can soften the hard heart of a spouse.

He can gain entryway to a closed nation.

He is a miracle-working God.

And there are those who seem to have this ability.

They have been called upon to speak words of life-changing power into a very difficult circumstance.

And if that is you, God bless you.

We need you.

There's a third type of gift.

Let's cluster this type under the heading Gifts of Proclamation and Intercession.

Gifts of proclamation and intercession.

Paul explains the meaning of prophecy in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

I'm sorry, he refers to the gift of prophecy in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 10.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

To another prophecy, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues.

Now Paul will explain the meaning of prophecy two chapters later.

In chapter 14 and verse 3, he says, He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort.

So to prophesy builds up, it encourages.

Prophets indeed can foresee the future.

Prophets essentially foretell encouragement.

They leave people stronger.

They say, this is what's about to happen.

You're going to be okay.

They leave you encouraged.

In fact, the Apostle Paul called this in 1 Corinthians 14:1 the most important gift, not because the prophet is more important, but because we as humans get so discouraged.

1 Corinthians 14:1

We need those who have the ability to speak words of encouragement, prophesying words of hope into our midst.

Speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues are magnificent, intriguing yet often controversial gifts.

So let's spend a little longer on these.

There are two types of tongues as described in the New Testament.

The first type was on display when the church was born in the city of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

You might recall from that story that people from at least fifteen different nations were present when the Apostle Paul preached the Pentecostal sermon.

According to Acts 2 and verse 8, the people heard his words and said, And how is it that we hear each one of us in our own native language?

So the apostles, declaring the wonders of God, were able to articulate the wonders of God in languages that they themselves apparently did not speak.

Were they suddenly empowered with the ability to speak a language they had never studied?

Or en route between speaker and hearer, did the Holy Spirit take those words and turn them into words that people heard in their own native language?

When we get to heaven, we'll find out.

But one of those two.

The big idea is that people heard, they understood what was being said in their own native language.

This testifies to God's white, hot passion to have his gospel communicated in the heart language of every human being on the planet.

Paul, however, in First Corinthians chapter 14 was referring to a different expression of tongues when he wrote this epistle.

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

Picking up in verse 2, he said, One who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God.

For no one understands him.

He utters mysteries in the spirit.

See the difference?

This language is understood by God, but not by people.

Indeed, understanding it would require someone with another spiritual gift of interpretation.

It might surprise you to know that the Apostle Paul enjoyed this gift.

He gave us a peek into his prayer life when he wrote, and this time I'm reading from a different translation called The Message.

He wrote, So when you pray in your private prayer language, don't hoard the experience for yourself.

Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into the intimacy.

If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays, but my mind lies fallow.

And all that intelligence is wasted.

So what is the solution?

Press pause right there.

What do you think he's gonna say?

You think he's gonna say, well, then don't do it?

Here's the answer.

The answer is simple enough.

Do both.

Do both.

I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray.

This is interesting, don't you think?

The apostle experienced and enjoyed two types of prayer.

One we might call praying with the spirit, and the other we might call praying with the mind.

Both were valuable.

In fact, he prayed in tongues or prayed in the spirit so frequently that he said to a church, a church that treasured this gift, that he did so more often than any of they.

That's in verse 18.

Yet, he went ahead to state in verse 19, he would rather speak five words with understanding than 10,000 words in a tongue.

Apparently, there's a time and a place for the application of these two prayer languages.

What he did not do was engage or instruct the church or any of us to engage in only one form of prayer.

The apostles sought to respectfully regulate, not denigrate, the practice of praying in tongues or using a heavenly language.

Boy, I'd love to get into your head right now.

If we were doing this in a living room, a small group, boy, I'd say, all right, tell me what you're thinking.

I wonder what you would say.

You might say, well, Max, I don't know.

Wow.

This all sounds a bit supernatural.

And were you to use that word, I would say, way to go.

That's exactly what this is.

The church is the supernatural expression of Jesus Christ on the earth.

The church is not the government, the church is not a nice school, the church is not a club, the church is the triage of the Holy Spirit operating in a supernatural, mysterious fashion that causes others to at first be bewildered, but eventually, Lord willing, to be saved.

Forty-six years of ministry have left me convinced that we do not have what it takes to heal this hurting world.

We do not.

We might create programs, we might train staff, we might build beautiful facilities.

But I think you'd agree with me.

I would exchange them in a heartbeat for one raindrop of the Holy Spirit.

We need his help.

And in order for us to move forward as a church family into the next chapter that God is writing in the wonderful story of Gateway, we must call upon the Holy Spirit.

Many God-fearing Christians are convinced that these powerful gifts, these displays of the Holy Spirit, were discontinued when the apostles died.

I know this line of reasoning well.

I was one of its adherents.

For the first ten years of my ministry, I taught personally and publicly that these more demonstrative gifts that you and I have just been discussing were discontinued when the apostles died.

They served only to launch the church.

They were distributed by the apostles, and then when the church was established, the scriptures were given, and the apostles had passed into heaven, these gifts were taken back into heaven.

My mind began to change in my mid-30s when I had a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit.

And then I began to ask some questions.

Where does a New Testament author ever say that certain gifts will cease upon the completion of Scripture?

I looked in my Bible for it.

I found none.

In fact, what I found were scriptures like the ones that we've explored in the last few minutes, urging us to continually desire spiritual gifts and to not forbid the speaking in tongues.

But what about the belief that only the apostles could distribute the gifts?

And with their deaths, the miracles were discontinued.

Again, no direct statement to this effect.

What we see are non-apostles, like Ananias in Acts chapter 9, blessing Saul, who became Paul with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Besides, if only the apostles could give such gifts, why do we not see in the book of Acts a record of the apostles traveling feverishly from church to church, laying on as many hands, laying hands on as many people as possible?

What's more, we don't assume that the more mundane gifts, I'm using that in quotation marks, like administration and service or hospitality were discontinued.

Isn't it a bit arbitrary to say that the gift of mercy is still valid, but the gift of tongues is not?

Paul made it clear that he expected the gifts to remain in use until the return of Christ.

He said, You Corinthians are not lacking in anything as you await the revealing of our Lord Jesus.

Most convincingly of all, at least to me, is that the Holy Spirit decided in a great act of kindness to give me several of the gifts that I had said he no longer gave.

He has healed people through my prayers.

I've lost count of the number of parents whose infertility was reversed after I prayed for them.

Apparently, I have a pregnancy ministry.

I've spoken with words of wisdom.

Midway through a sermon, I'll often sense an impression to go back and repeat an earlier point, or to pause, or to even supplement a point with something I never intended to say.

I've come to expect that somebody somewhere will repeat that impromptu remark, just as I am repeated that impromptu remark from that man in Brazil, right?

Somebody will repeat that and say, I've never forgotten that really touched me.

One of the most surprising gifts of my life came to me just six years ago, at the age of 64.

Over a period of several months, I had been asking Jesus for a greater filling of his spirit.

I requested that he not hold back.

I pray you'll make that your assignment as this message comes to a close.

I began to say, Lord, is there something else you'll give me?

Something else I could use.

I'm grateful for all the gifts that you have ordained for me, but have I have I missed something or have you been saving something?

And then on July 9th, in the pre-dawn hours of a summer morning, I sat on our veranda and prayed.

And I began to experience for the first time in my life a heavenly prayer language.

From deep within, there welled a flow of utterances, staccato-like syllables.

The feeling was one of delight and worship.

This intimacy has continued each morning, indeed, several times a day.

I can always start it.

I can always stop it.

But I never want to.

This does not make me more important, does not make me special.

I do not glow in the dark.

I do not levitate above trees.

In fact, I've chuckled at the possibility that the Spirit gave me this gift because he knows how my mind tends to wander when I pray.

And finally he said, I'm just going to take over for you here, Lakato.

I welcome his assistance.

And I also welcome this regular reminder, and that is, our God dwells in a supernatural realm.

And his church is a storehouse of supernatural moments.

And to the degree, this might be a word of wisdom, but to the degree that we will remain humble and God focused and scriptural.

This is no place for self-promotion.

It is a place for God promotion.

So may you ask the Lord, Lord, Am I using the gifts you have given me?

Do you have more gifts in store, especially those with which I can bless our precious church family as we move into the future?

Donald Barnhouse, a well-respected pastor and scholar, studied at Princeton University.

Twelve years after his graduation, the school invited him to come back and speak at a chapel service.

Addressing one's alma mater is always a bit unnerving, but his Hebrew professor added to the fright by sitting on the front row.

After hearing the message, the professor approached Dr.

Barnhouse, congratulated him on a job well done, and then left him with these interesting words.

Donald, he said, I'm glad that you are a big goddor.

When my boys come back to speak on campus, I come to see if they are big godders or little goddess.

And then I know what their ministry will be.

Barnhouse asked him to explain.

Well, Donald, some men have a little god.

And they're always in trouble with him.

He can't do any miracles.

He can't take care of the inspiration and transmission of Scripture to us.

He doesn't intervene on behalf of his people.

They have a little God.

I call them little goddess.

But then there are those who have a great God.

He speaks and it is done.

He commends and it will stand fast.

And he knows how to show himself strong on behalf of them that fear him.

You, Donald, have a great God.

And he will bless your ministry.

He paused a moment and smiled and said, God bless you, Donald, and walked out.

Gateway family, we have a big God.

We have a big God.

A God who arches high above and yet chooses to come and dwell deep within.

Let us resist the urge to create a little God that we can explain, that we can control, that we can manipulate.

But let us submit ourselves to a God who chooses to give gifts to the most unlikely of sorts.

People like you and me.

What if we all pursued our gift to his glory?

What if we all did?

What would happen?

What if each of us operated in accordance with the prompting and the provision of the blessed Holy Spirit?

Receive Paul's admonition.

Do not be ignorant about spiritual gifts.

What spirit, I'm sorry, what gift has the spirit given to you?

You know, God did not place you on this earth to waste away your life in a labor that does not employ your God-given strengths.

Remember, each one is in each one.

So, Paul said, make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.

Galatians 6 and verse 4.

Many years ago, I heard a story about a dying father and his three sons.

The father had created a very impressive industry.

And he was on his deathbed and he needed to turn it over to one of his three boys.

And he came up with an idea.

He gave each one of them a dollar bill and said, Go and use this dollar bill to purchase something with which you can fill this entire room.

One came back with a pillow full of feathers.

He cut it open and feathers went everywhere.

Another came back with a bale of hay.

And he spread hay all over the floor.

The third son came back empty-handed.

They said, What'd you do with your money?

He said, Well, I gave 50 cents to a church.

I gave 20 cents to an orphanage.

I gave 20 cents to a soup kitchen.

What about the other dime?

He reached into his pocket and he pulled out a match and a candle.

He said, A nickel and a nickel.

And he struck the match and lit the candle, turned off the electric lights, and light filled the room.

So my closing question to you is with what are you filling your word?

Gracious Lord, thank you for your blessed spirit.

Have mercy upon us now as we process your teaching.

Forgive our teacher, his sins are many.

And may we receive what you've intended for us to receive.

Through Christ we pray.

And all God's people said.com.

We hope you have a great week.