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Guys, you can go to Ephesians 4,
but before we go and start 

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reading about spiritual gifts 
today, man, this is the most 

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different kind of spiritual gift
message I've ever shared. 

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But I think most of us 
understand the idea of spiritual

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gifts and how the church is 
supposed to work together and 

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everyday life. 
We just don't always recognize 

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it. 
I had to look this up because I 

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do enjoy watching sports. 
NBA is not my favorite. 

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I got a team but I don't watch a
ton of it. 

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I did watch last night and have 
my heart broken again by the 

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Buffalo Bills. 
It's a very familiar feeling. 

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But in 2016, the Cleveland 
Cavaliers pulled off what a lot 

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of people consider to be one of 
the greatest comebacks in sports

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history. 
Somebody here remembers this, 

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right? 
How many of y'all are NBANBA 

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fans? 
And you remember this, OK, so 

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essentially, they were down 
three games to one in the NBA 

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Finals against the Golden State 
Warriors, 3 to 1. 

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I don't care if you follow 
sports or not. 

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That doesn't sound good. 
And the Golden State Warriors is

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a team that had just completed 
the best regular season record 

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of all time. 
So how do you come back from 

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that? 
So most of the fans and analysts

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had written them off, and the 
odds were overwhelming. 

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But what changed is that it 
wasn't just one player suddenly 

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became superhuman. 
They started to trust each other

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more, and every single role in 
the team mattered. 

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They played like stars together,
but it's because they didn't try

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to do everything. 
Everybody showed up. 

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When their moment came. 
The defenders, guess what they 

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did? 
They defended. 

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Good job. 
You know the story. 

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The shooters shot, the 
rebounders rebounded, and there 

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was no one game that was the 
same as they started to make up 

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the difference. 
Some of the games had like one 

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player that really stood out in 
the moment, and then there would

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be other games where that one 
standout player was kind of in 

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the background. 
So no one game was played 

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exactly the same. 
They just really genuinely 

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trusted each other, and so they 
learned to operate as a unit 

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because of the trust that they 
had for one another. 

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How many of you know that you 
can have a team of highly 

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skilled individuals, but without
trust, it's not going to operate

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the way it's supposed to be? 
Just as some food for thought, 

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I'm going to ask you guys a 
couple of questions this 

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morning. 
What would happen or what would 

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have happened if someone decided
that their role wasn't important

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enough on that team? 
What if a player stopped 

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shooting because they had missed
earlier in the series? 

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Well, I missed the last shot. 
There's no point in trying to 

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shoot again. 
What if someone tried to play a 

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position they weren't equipped 
for just so they could prove 

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something? 
They had a huge comeback, but 

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the comeback only worked because
every single person trusted what

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they had been given and they 
stayed committed to the whole 

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goal. 
Most of us air on one of those 

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sides. 
Here's what I mean. 

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Most of us can see that God has 
given us something. 

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And so we know that like Our 
Calling is not our career, but 

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we believe that it is our 
comfort. 

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We believe it is our identity. 
Well, this is what God has given

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me to do. 
So without this, who am I? 

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Some people were like, well, I 
don't know what I'm called to 

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do. 
I don't even know if I have 

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gifts. 
You do, by the way. 

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But some people will say, I 
don't even know if I have gifts,

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but I'm committed to the church.
I'm committed to what the Lord 

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wants. 
It's both put together. 

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You have to know what you're 
called to do and you have to 

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find the best way to work with 
other people that are called in 

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ways that you are not called. 
A few weeks back I was playing 

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2V1 pickleball with with my 
friend Charlie who's over there 

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in kids ministry today and at 1 
moment as we were playing 

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against the same opponent, we 
just switched sides. 

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It's legal. 
It's OK. 

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While we were playing, I went 
sort of this way and hit a shot.

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The shot was coming back this 
way and he just went this way 

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and we went. 
Did that just happen? 

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It was a moment where we just 
trusted each other and then we 

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stayed on these opposite sides 
for the rest of that turn. 

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If we had said, OK, look, if 
this happens, then we'll do the 

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blah, blah, blah maneuver. 
That's not what we were doing. 

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It was just like, I'll run over 
here and if it gets there, I 

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know he'll get it. 
I wish every game was that way 

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and and it's not and I don't 
even remember if we won. 

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It's unimportant, but I want you
to know it's a lot cooler to see

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it and experience it than even 
to hear a story like that. 

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But when you work alongside 
somebody and you know that they 

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can be trusted, it changes 
everything. 

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I want you to know that the 
church was never meant to 

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function with a few people doing
everything while everyone else 

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spectates. 
Jesus designed his church as a 

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body, an interdependent, not 
codependent, not counter 

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dependent, an interdependent 
body that is diverse and 

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unified. 
Every single one of you matters 

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in the Kingdom of God. 
Every single contribution 

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counts. 
And when even one part start 

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stops trusting its purpose, the 
whole body feels it. 

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Let me go ahead and read in this
Scripture starting in verse 7 of

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Ephesians 4. 
However, He's given each one of 

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us a special gift through the 
generosity of Christ. 

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So where does this gift come 
from that we're talking about 

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today? 
Through the generosity of 

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Christ. 
So this is from Jesus. 

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I do want you to know in Romans 
12 and 1st Corinthians, there's 

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other places that discuss gifts 
that are handed out by the 

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Father and gifts that are handed
out by the Holy Spirit. 

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These ones are specifically 
given to us by Jesus. 

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This is important. 
Y'all just saying He's your 

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everything. 
So if he gave you a gift, it 

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matters, right? 
That's why the Scriptures say 

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when He ascended to the heights,
He led a crowd of captives and 

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gave gifts to his people. 
Notice that it says he ascended.

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This clearly means that Christ 
also descended to our lowly 

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world. 
And the same one who descended 

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is the one who ascended higher 
than all the heavens so that he 

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might fill the entire universe 
with himself. 

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Now verse 11, here we go. 
This is the golden verse of here

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of this chapter. 
Now these are the gifts Christ 

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gave to the church, the 
apostles, the the prophets, the 

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evangelists, the pastors and 
teachers. 

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Their responsibility is to equip
God's people to do his work and 

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build up the church, the body of
Christ. 

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So pause. 
These gifts were given to us by 

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Jesus. 
We know this now. 

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And why were they given to us? 
To build up and strengthen the 

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body. 
So all five of those gifts are 

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given so that we can build up 
the body. 

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What this means is we need the 
apostles, we need the prophets, 

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we need the evangelists, we need
the pastors, we need the 

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teachers, we need all of them 
and they all need each other. 

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So what if we're like, well, 
I've already done my job. 

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Well, I'm glad you asked. 
Verse 13. 

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This will continue until we all 
come to such unity in our faith 

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and knowledge of God's Son that 
we will be mature in the Lord, 

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measuring up to the full and 
complete standard of Christ. 

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If you measure up to the full 
and complete standard of Christ.

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Come on up here. 
I'll give you the microphone and

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I'll go sit down. 
Anybody. 

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OK, now I'm up here, but trust 
me, I am not measuring up to the

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full and complete standard. 
These gifts are meant to build 

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up His body until it has 
attained unity and perfection. 

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And guys, I'm not even going to 
ask you, I'm just going to tell 

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you we're not there. 
We are not up to full maturity. 

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The world. 
I mean look at it. 

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One of the first things I did 
when my pastor retired was I 

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called about 16 different 
churches in that first week and 

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said, can I meet with you? 
2 of them called me back over 

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time. 
A few of them did respond and 

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say we don't have interest in 
meeting. 

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Over time a few other churches 
did meet. 

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If we can't even sit down and 
break bread, Methodist, 

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Lutheran, non denominational, 
whatever. 

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If we can't even do that, how 
are you going to minister to 

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somebody and say Jesus loves 
you, He's got a plan for your 

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life. 
Come and I'll and I'll help you 

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find your path. 
But don't go to those stupid 

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Methodists. 
They don't know what they're 

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talking about. 
Do you understand what a 

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conflicted message this is? 
I'm not anti Methodist, I'm just

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telling like this is what 
happens. 

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How can you convince somebody 
that you love them and that the 

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love that God has given you for 
them is more important than 

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anything else if you can't even 
shake their hand because you 

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know how they voted? 
Verse 14. 

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When this happens, then we will 
no longer be immature like 

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children. 
We won't be tossed and blown 

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about by every wind of new 
teaching. 

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We will not be influenced when 
people try to trick us with lies

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so clever that they sound like 
the truth. 

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Instead, we will speak the truth
in love. 

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Sorry, we will speak the truth 
in we forget that part of it, 

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don't we? 
Growing in every way more and 

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more like Christ, who is the 
head of his body, the church. 

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He makes the whole body fit 
together perfectly. 

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As each part does its own 
special work, it helps the other

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parts grow so that the whole 
body is healthy and growing and 

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full of love. 
Well, I'm going to ask for our 

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executive pastor Autumn to come 
up here. 

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See, here's the reality. 
I'm going to ask for Jake to 

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come up too. 
That 2V1 game when I was playing

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with Charlie on my side was 
against Autumn, and I've never 

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beaten her in pickleball. 
So I'm bitter and I'm going to 

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use this today. 
I'm going to play a little 

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basketball. 
Just kidding, It's called 

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dribbling, but you can bounce 
it. 

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Yes. 
Not yet, but 80s reference. 

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Anybody know this? 
I'm going out for a scholarship.

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Anybody Breakfast Club guys, 
Come on. 

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All right, so here's what we're 
going to do. 

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Come on over here, Jake. 
We're going to do 2 V 1A little 

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faster. 
Thanks. 

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All right. 
Now, one thing I was taught a 

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long time ago is in an 
illustration, as the pastor, you

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should never represent the 
devil. 

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But I'm the devil in this. 
All right? 

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So right here is the church. 
Actually, Jake, can you go get a

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chair and come back up here? 
That would be better. 

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Thanks. 
All right, so here's the RE. 

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Here's the rules for this Only 
one one place to score. 

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Your job is to get the ball in 
the basket. 

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I'm going to try to stop you. 
But since I represent the enemy,

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we all know I don't win the 
game, right? 

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So there's no place for me to 
score. 

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But what do I want to do? 
I want to stop her from winning.

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I want to stop her from 
succeeding. 

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But you guys are. 
Why are you sitting down? 

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Here's a teammate. 
So. 

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But here are the rules. 
Autumn, You are the only one 

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that is allowed to score. 
You're not allowed. 

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You're only allowed to pass. 
Right, Because every everybody's

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got their role on a team. 
OK, actually, you had a good 

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idea. 
Let's do this. 

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Come here, Jake. 
Additional rules. 

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Sit down. 
You cannot move from your chair.

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But you can't help her pass. 
All right. 

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00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:09,320
Wait. 
What? 

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Thank you muchas gracias, 
paratus palabras. 

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No, mas. 
All right. 

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Are you ready? 
Wait, So can I just, like, walk?

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Wait. 
I don't know how to play this 

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game. 
Yeah. 

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Yeah. 
Dribble if you want. 

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Look, it's not real basketball. 
Dribble if you want, Don't if 

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you don't want. 
But you just have to get past me

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and get it in there. 
He's on your team. 

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It's OK. 
You can use him. 

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Pass it to him. 
Check it out. 

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00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:42,520
Pass it to him. 
Well, that's not how you pass a 

230
00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,400
basketball. 
We It's OK. 

231
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,840
It's all right. 
So if you need him, use him. 

232
00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:58,640
Yeah. 
Sorry. 

233
00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,480
I'm so sorry. 
But you shouldn't let me take 

234
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,280
this. 
Are you OK? 

235
00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,480
I apologize publicly. 
I don't either. 

236
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,880
Can you tell neither of us play 
this. 

237
00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,280
You didn't get it and you want 
to try again? 

238
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:18,560
You're not. 
You're. 

239
00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:20,480
I know you're not good at this. 
Just so you know. 

240
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,400
Here's the problem. 
I just told you I'm representing

241
00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,120
the enemy. 
They're representing the the 

242
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:35,320
church. 
Is it possible, is it possible 

243
00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,520
that there are Christians that 
are out here trying to play the 

244
00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:44,360
game and there are people whose 
heart and their allegiance are 

245
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,800
sitting down and they are not 
out there trying to play in this

246
00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,040
game? 
Is it possible that there are 

247
00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,480
people who are sitting in a 
chair who love Jesus, passionate

248
00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,960
about Jesus, opinions about 
Jesus, opinions about the world,

249
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,040
opinions about the local church?
But they do it from there. 

250
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,240
The same way that I got opinions
about the Buffalo Bills last 

251
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:05,960
night, but I don't play for 
them. 

252
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,200
That was a bummer when they 
lost, but it doesn't affect my 

253
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,160
life because I wasn't out there 
on the field. 

254
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,360
I'm not a part of the 
organization. 

255
00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:23,400
Mafia West side, right? 
No, just kidding. 

256
00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,560
Wrong side of the country, but 
you're supposed to be up here. 

257
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,600
His allegiance is to the team, 
but his actions dictate 

258
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,960
otherwise. 
Jake, what would be different if

259
00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:41,800
you got up, get up, get up? 
As a matter of fact, does 

260
00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,720
anybody happen to know how many 
people are typically on a 

261
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,160
basketball team? 
Five. 

262
00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,680
That's crazy. 
It's like I just read 5 gifts. 

263
00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:52,480
Let's get the rest of the team 
up here. 

264
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,840
If I talked to you before the 
service, let's get the rest of 

265
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,400
the team up here. 
The apostles, the prophets, the 

266
00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,120
evangelist, the pastors and the 
teachers. 

267
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:06,640
All right, it's not real 
basketball. 

268
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,480
So the rules are they're very 
loose here. 

269
00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,000
But here is what it's supposed 
to look like. 

270
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,560
So here's the enemy. 
My only job is to stop this 

271
00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,640
person from accomplishing what 
they were created to do. 

272
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,440
She is having trouble getting 
past me by herself. 

273
00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,720
But what have we got now? 
Somebody blow the ref. 

274
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,760
Whistle, whistle. 
Go run me over. 

275
00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:45,240
No, no, no, 
no, Autumn, I just want you to 

276
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,520
know, just so I can say this 
publicly, this was an 

277
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,360
illustration. 
This does not mean you can say 

278
00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:54,840
you beat me in basketball. 
Thank you guys. 

279
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,440
A little silly, sure, but I want
you to have that picture in your

280
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:06,440
head. 
When the apostles and the 

281
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,800
prophets and the evangelists and
the pastors and teachers all 

282
00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,160
come together, it changes things
differently. 

283
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,160
And we lose sight of this so 
often because pastor has become 

284
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,440
a management term in church 
culture. 

285
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,280
There are people that are called
pastor so and so that are really

286
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:23,920
an evangelist. 
There are people that are called

287
00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,120
pastor so and so that are really
Apostolic. 

288
00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,680
There are really a teacher, but 
it's just become the catch all 

289
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,800
term for somebody who is 
ordained and works in vocational

290
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,160
ministry in some form or 
capacity, right? 

291
00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:40,480
The reality is every single one 
of you has at least one of those

292
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,640
gifts in you. 
You know how I know that? 

293
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,200
Verse 7 right there at the 
beginning said we've all been 

294
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,160
given a gift through the 
generosity of Christ. 

295
00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:53,880
It's your responsibility to 
figure out what it is. 

296
00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,160
Why? 
Because we're all called to 

297
00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,320
build this church. 
Every one of us. 

298
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:06,280
Now, I don't say this to shame 
anyone, but I'm going to list a 

299
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:08,920
couple of the reasons that I 
normally hear when people say I 

300
00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,840
know I'm supposed to do 
something for the church, but 

301
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,360
I'm not ready yet. 
I normally hear this. 

302
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,600
I don't feel ready yet. 
You can't go by what you feel. 

303
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,320
You can't. 
Have you ever felt like 

304
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,960
quitting? 
Have you ever felt like giving 

305
00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:26,240
up? 
Have you ever felt like just 

306
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,960
lashing out at somebody? 
Have you ever stopped yourself 

307
00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:31,680
and you're really glad you 
didn't go by what you felt? 

308
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,840
It's the same thing here. 
And our little interpersonal 

309
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,000
squabbles don't matter compared 
to building the Kingdom. 

310
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,240
How about this one? 
Have you ever had this thought 

311
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,200
someone else could do it better?
Of course someone else could do 

312
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,600
it better. 
You know the greatest pastor of 

313
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:52,480
all time, Jesus BBS answer. 
I can't. 

314
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,360
Why am I pastoring? 
I won't be the best of all time.

315
00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:58,800
There's always a better teacher.
There's always a better 

316
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,560
evangelist. 
There's always a better apostle.

317
00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,360
There's always a better prophet.
What's better? 

318
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,839
Mean subjective anyway, isn't 
it? 

319
00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,040
How about this one? 
Well, I've been hurt before. 

320
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,839
You're going to get hurt again. 
And by the way, if you isolate 

321
00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:19,800
yourself, it hurt. 
Pick your hurt. 

322
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:26,319
What if I fail again? 
That's one that I hear a lot. 

323
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,560
What if you do? 
Do you want to fail in isolation

324
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:31,240
or do you want to fail? 
We're four other parts of the 

325
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:36,000
body are there to pick you up or
this one. 

326
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:42,440
I don't want to be judged. 
The only way to not be judged is

327
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,560
to not exist. 
You'll be judged if you are a 

328
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,760
shut in. 
You will be judged if you are 

329
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:50,120
here every time the doors are 
open. 

330
00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,200
You will be judged if you are up
here on the platform. 

331
00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,960
You will be judged if you sit in
the back corner. 

332
00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,400
You will be judged by someone, 
somewhere, somehow. 

333
00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,920
So let it go. 
And to quote somebody else's 

334
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,720
book, let them. 
Everybody's got opinions, don't 

335
00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,400
you? 
You make judgments about people 

336
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,040
every day. 
You ever walk in here and think,

337
00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:10,440
Oh my goodness, what are they 
wearing? 

338
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,040
You're judgy. 
You're judgy. 

339
00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,680
We don't like it when it hits 
us, but we think it when it goes

340
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,720
outwards. 
We're all judgy. 

341
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,960
Let it go, let them. 
OK? 

342
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:29,840
We have got to learn that it is 
so important to work together. 

343
00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,360
Couple things that I want you to
know, you do not have to be 

344
00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:38,080
perfect to be useful in the 
Kingdom of God and you don't 

345
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:40,800
have to be fearless in order to 
be faithful to what God has 

346
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,160
called you to. 
You just have to get out of the 

347
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,480
chair. 
Now. 

348
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,680
A lot of times these sermons are
right before there's a big 

349
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,880
recruitment drive for like kids 
ministry or care team or 

350
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:55,080
whatever. 
I don't have any of that today. 

351
00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,920
There's a lot of ways to serve 
in a local church, absolutely, 

352
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,960
and we could use your help in a 
lot of areas, but your job is 

353
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,640
not what happens here. 
Even my primary job is not what 

354
00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,600
happens here. 
My job, my call from the Lord is

355
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,400
to carry His Word and be 
obedient no matter where I go in

356
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:18,680
my home, in the grocery store, 
in this church down the road, 

357
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,920
when people are looking at me 
and in the, in the, in the 

358
00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:23,640
window, they still see you out 
there. 

359
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,960
Guys, when you're in public, 
when you don't think anybody's 

360
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,000
watching, it doesn't matter if 
they're watching because you're 

361
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:34,560
supposed to be the same. 
Now, churches sometimes talk 

362
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,160
about the five gifts that Jesus 
gives us to build his church, 

363
00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,920
and they only talk about verse 
11, how God gave some to be 

364
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,960
apostles, prophets, evangelist, 
pastors, teachers. 

365
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,800
I've heard this talk before that
some have those gifts. 

366
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:51,040
No, what it is saying is some 
have apostle, some have profit, 

367
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,720
some have evangelist, some have 
pastors, some have teacher. 

368
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,800
You've got this all right. 
It's important to know this 

369
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,120
because otherwise you start to 
believe while the people who 

370
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:02,760
have those five fold gifts, 
they're the ones who do the 

371
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,400
heavy lifting. 
I just do my prayers and I 

372
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,960
donate. 
And sometimes once a month I 

373
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,480
take care of screaming babies if
they're desperate and they ask 

374
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,200
me or something like that. 
Does that sound honest? 

375
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:15,360
Question. 
I'm not trying to condemn 

376
00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,360
anybody. 
Does that sound like the life 

377
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:19,360
that Jesus died on the cross for
you to live? 

378
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:26,880
He needs his church built. 
And it happens brick by brick, 

379
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,440
person by person, conversation 
by conversation. 

380
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,280
Verse 7 levels the whole playing
field. 

381
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,800
And it says that the grace gifts
that we're talking about here 

382
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,440
are distributed equally. 
They're intentional. 

383
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,080
There are no accidents. 
If you feel like you've been 

384
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,480
given a gift of apostle or 
pastor or whatever, and we'll 

385
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,280
talk about what those are in due
time, it's not an accident. 

386
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,080
And you may say, I don't like my
gift. 

387
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,680
Since when do you get to choose 
your gift? 

388
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,680
It's it's a gift. 
And I understand, I know that 

389
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,600
we're in an era of, hey, 
Christmas is coming up. 

390
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,920
This is what I'd really like, 
honey. 

391
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,720
But I'm just telling you, a gift
is typically something that 

392
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,640
somebody went that makes me 
think of them. 

393
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,800
I just came back from Cocoa 
Beach and I brought some gifts 

394
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,160
because I saw things and it made
me think of people. 

395
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:16,720
And I said here, this made me 
think of you. 

396
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,320
Do you understand how it would 
have felt if one of them was 

397
00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,600
like, oh, it did, I don't want 
this. 

398
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:27,560
That's not what I got. 
So that's great. 

399
00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:31,440
But what if God called you to 
lead? 

400
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,600
What if he called you to step up
and stand out and you say, I 

401
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,840
don't want that God, How does it
feel? 

402
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,480
Now you can say this is 
uncomfortable. 

403
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,800
I I don't enjoy this experience.
I need help. 

404
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,360
God. 
There's all sorts of stuff you 

405
00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:47,160
can say. 
Think about everything that Job 

406
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,760
went through. 
And Job didn't blame God, but he

407
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,680
sure went to God with a whole 
lot of stuff, didn't he? 

408
00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,920
A whole lot of stuff. 
Now, what I want to talk about 

409
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,000
is your life changing. 
But I need you to know your life

410
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,200
doesn't change at a specific 
time. 

411
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,480
It changes in a specific moment.
And this is a moment of decision

412
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,560
for you. 
You have to learn to not only 

413
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,760
trust yourself again because 
you're going to learn to be more

414
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:16,520
obedient to the Lord. 
We talked about that last week. 

415
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,360
You've got to learn to trust 
what God gave you. 

416
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,320
It's his gift. 
Could you imagine that? 

417
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,160
Could you imagine if I don't 
know your grandpa, your uncle, 

418
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,760
best friend, whatever your dad? 
Like somebody gave you a car and

419
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,040
then a month later they're like,
so how's the car treating you? 

420
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:35,960
And you're like, I don't know, I
haven't driven it. 

421
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,720
Why haven't you driven it? 
I don't trust the car you gave 

422
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,720
me. 
Now, in the case of a car, I 

423
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:46,680
guess you could sell it and you 
can at least get some money or 

424
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,000
something. 
You can't sell these. 

425
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,160
Your gift is your gift. 
This is what you have been 

426
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,840
designed to build the church and
you can say I don't want it and 

427
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,400
God could say, OK, but you still
have it. 

428
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,000
It's hard. 
Anybody who's ever pursued their

429
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,760
gifts hard has found themselves 
multiple times in a place where 

430
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:08,920
they're like, could I try out a 
different gift, God? 

431
00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,040
But I've never heard a story 
where the answer is yes. 

432
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,760
I just want you to know that the
church needs to mature. 

433
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,480
These have a purpose. 
These gifts have a purpose. 

434
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,440
And it is until the church 
matures fully and completely. 

435
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,400
And the church is not going to 
mature because a few people are 

436
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,960
exceptionally gifted. 
It matures when ordinary, 

437
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,720
everyday believers trust what 
Jesus gave them is enough for 

438
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,680
the moment that they're in. 
Just like that team comeback 

439
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,000
that we talked about the real 
basketball players. 

440
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,160
It required every single role to
be embraced. 

441
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,640
It's the same thing here. 
Trusting what God gave you is 

442
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,920
not about becoming someone else 
or doing something louder or 

443
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:48,840
more visible. 
We have to stop asking whether 

444
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,800
we're enough and start trusting 
the grace that's already been 

445
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:52,600
poured out. 
The first thing is that grace 

446
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,520
doesn't wait for confidence. 
So this bleeds over a little bit

447
00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,000
from last week, but grace does 
not wait for confidence. 

448
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,600
You can go to Exodus chapter 4 
and then Matthew chapter 25. 

449
00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,360
Put an extra scripture in this 
first point and you're welcome. 

450
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,680
Exodus chapter 4 as we talked to
Moses, I want to talk about this

451
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,120
too. 
While we are highlighting the 

452
00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,680
fivefold ministry, there are all
sorts of gifts that God has 

453
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,360
given us. 
Is your family a gift? 

454
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,560
Yeah. 
You might be like, oh, is there 

455
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:22,640
a return policy? 
No. 

456
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,640
Is your family a gift? 
Sir, I want to hear, is your 

457
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,720
family a gift? 
OK, What about your friendships,

458
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,080
the influence that you have on 
other people? 

459
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,440
Think about other things. 
Are your physical items that you

460
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,960
have, are they gifts? 
He provided it. 

461
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,920
So every gift that you have is 
designed to be used. 

462
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:44,280
Think about this. 
God does not wait for your 

463
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,680
confidence before He gives you 
responsibility. 

464
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,640
Isn't that the way it goes? 
How many of y'all remember your 

465
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,880
first job? 
I, I, I don't need like a like a

466
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:54,720
long story, but just a couple 
people like. 

467
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,080
What was your first job? 
Cashier? 

468
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,760
Burger King. 
My first job was sorting the 

469
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,880
male and female crabs when the 
crabber would dump the crab pot 

470
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:05,720
out. 
You can tell if you flip them 

471
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:09,920
over, but it was to sort them 
into a different bucket because 

472
00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,520
they got different prices. 
That was my first job. 

473
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,960
I did not feel very confident. 
I had emptied out like 2 buckets

474
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,280
full of crabs when he was like, 
oh by the way, watch out for 

475
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:20,920
stone crabs. 
Oh, why? 

476
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,480
What are stone crabs? 
Well, if they pinch down on your

477
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,280
thumb, you'll have to go to the 
doctor to get it to be detached.

478
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,440
I'm sorry. 
I'm wearing these giant thick 

479
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,160
gloves. 
I'm like 14 years old. 

480
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,760
Think about your first job. 
I wasn't responsible and there I

481
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,520
am handling wildlife. 
Think about your first job. 

482
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,600
When you were that first 
cashier, were you an expert on 

483
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,080
economics and budgeting? 
Somebody had to train you. 

484
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,080
Somebody had to teach you how to
use the mop. 

485
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:49,920
Think about the chores you had 
growing up. 

486
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,160
Why is this any different? 
You can be in Exodus 4. 

487
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,800
We'll be there in just a second.
We talked about last week 

488
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:58,120
learning to trust ourselves 
again. 

489
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,000
But it sometimes leads into this
question, even if God is 

490
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,040
restoring me, am I actually 
ready to be used? 

491
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,720
And thankfully, Scriptures 
answers pretty consistent on 

492
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,800
this, that it doesn't matter if 
you feel ready, if God says go, 

493
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,720
we go. 
Think about this. 

494
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,920
We wouldn't need God if we had 
all of the confidence, skills 

495
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,440
and abilities, would we? 
He will consistently lead you 

496
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:28,560
somewhere that without him you 
choke because he wants to 

497
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,360
partner with you. 
This is how breakthrough 

498
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,600
happens. 
One of the clearest places you 

499
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,160
can see this is in the life of 
Moses. 

500
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,920
And so before we read this, it's
important to know where Moses is

501
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:38,880
emotionally and spiritually in 
this moment. 

502
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,800
This is just before all of the 
Exodus stuff, all those fun 

503
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,560
plagues. 
This is not a young man who's 

504
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,480
eager to prove himself. 
I want to make this really 

505
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,400
clear. 
This is a man who's already 

506
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,840
tried once, who has failed 
publicly, who left where all of 

507
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:59,040
his people lived, went into a 
foreign area because he did what

508
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,240
he believed was justice, and he 
killed an Egyptian that was 

509
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:06,360
mistreating one of his people. 
And then he realized people had 

510
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:10,200
seen him, so he ran. 
He ran. 

511
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,600
He married an outside wife. 
He from his culture. 

512
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:18,000
He ended up being a shepherd for
his father-in-law, and he's now 

513
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:22,920
in a Pagan land. 
By the time God speaks to him 

514
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:26,440
from the burning Bush where we 
are today, Moses has settled 

515
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,720
into a quieter and therefore 
safer life. 

516
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,200
I'm sure that doesn't relate to 
anybody. 

517
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:39,200
It's safer, but it lacks 
purpose, so it's unfulfilling. 

518
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:44,000
And by the time God speaks to 
him from this burning Bush, he 

519
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,720
has been primarily influenced by
disappointment and the thoughts 

520
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,560
of what it could have been. 
And what if I had handled that 

521
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,640
differently? 
Moses pushed back. 

522
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,360
He pushes back against the Lord 
here, and he doesn't do it 

523
00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:56,440
because he doesn't believe in 
God. 

524
00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:58,600
He pushes back because he no 
longer trusts himself. 

525
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:03,960
Listen to this verse 10. 
God's already told him he's 

526
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,680
going to go and speak and he 
says, Oh Lord, I'm not very good

527
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,120
with words. 
I never have been and I'm not 

528
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:11,520
now. 
Even though you have spoken to 

529
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,160
me, I get tongue tied and my 
words get tangled. 

530
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,360
Could you imagine a verse 11 was
oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you

531
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,480
get bubble guts when you're 
doing public speaking. 

532
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,480
In fact, God gets pretty 
authoritative. 

533
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:30,440
Listen to this, the Lord says to
Moses, who makes a person's 

534
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,240
mouth? 
That's pretty solid. 

535
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,920
You got to give it to the Lord 
on I mean, who makes a person's 

536
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,160
mouth? 
Who decides whether people speak

537
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,200
or do not speak, hear or do not 
hear, see or do not see? 

538
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:48,200
Is it not I, the Lord? 
Now go, I'll be with you as you 

539
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,840
speak, and I will instruct you 
in what to say. 

540
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,240
And Moses again pleaded, Lord, 
please send anyone else who's 

541
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:59,480
been there. 
Anybody else would be fine. 

542
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,800
And then the Lord became angry 
with Moses. 

543
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,040
All right, he said. 
What about your brother Aaron, 

544
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:08,920
the Levite? 
I know he speaks well. 

545
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:10,960
And look, he's on his way to 
meet you now. 

546
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,040
He will be delighted to see you 
talk to him and put the words in

547
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,760
his mouth. 
I will be with both of you as 

548
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,920
you speak, and I will instruct 
you both in what to do. 

549
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,920
Aaron will be your spokesman to 
the people. 

550
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,680
He will be your mouthpiece, and 
you will stand in the place of 

551
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,320
God for him, telling him what to
say, and take your shepherd 

552
00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:34,800
staff with you and use it to 
perform the miraculous signs 

553
00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,840
I've shown you. 
By the time we reach this, Moses

554
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,480
has already been called. 
God has already revealed himself

555
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:42,880
to him. 
The mission has already been 

556
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,280
explained to him. 
What's missing is not a clearer 

557
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,720
set of instructions. 
It's his confidence. 

558
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,280
And even here he said, all 
right, we'll make it a team 

559
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,920
sport. 
You'll be my mouthpiece and 

560
00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,640
Aaron will be your mouthpiece. 
He's angry and he still makes 

561
00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,560
space and makes room for this 
because he can see the lack of 

562
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:04,880
confidence. 
But I'll tell you what God 

563
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,280
doesn't do. 
He doesn't take the order back. 

564
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,260
He said you will still be the 
one that I speak to and it's non

565
00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:16,120
negotiable. 
God responds by reminding Moses 

566
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,120
who made his mouth in the first 
place. 

567
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,520
By the way, God doesn't try to 
tell Moses that he is a gifted 

568
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:24,960
speaker. 
This is what most of us would 

569
00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:26,480
do. 
Oh, gosh. 

570
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:28,800
I'm not really a good speaker. 
I don't know if I can do that. 

571
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,200
Yeah, I've heard you before. 
You're not that bad. 

572
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,640
That's how people end up on 
American Idol. 

573
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,840
All my friends said I'm very 
gifted. 

574
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,040
Your friends are not your 
friends. 

575
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,240
They let you get this far. 
I'm just kidding. 

576
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,880
But a lot of times we feel like 
what we need to do is instantly.

577
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:53,720
So no, no, no. 
You feel like you're bad. 

578
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:58,320
You're great. 
How different would it be if our

579
00:30:58,320 --> 00:30:59,640
encouragement looked more like 
this? 

580
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,680
I don't know if I can do this. 
God's asked me to do this. 

581
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,160
I don't know if I can. 
And then our encouragement was 

582
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:06,600
something like, yeah, you 
probably can't unless you have 

583
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,080
him. 
So I'll be praying that you've 

584
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:12,160
got him. 
And I know if you're obedient, 

585
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,120
God will come through. 
I know that you'll see this. 

586
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,920
That's real encouragement 
because it's honest. 

587
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,480
A lot of us assume that gifts 
are given once we're strong 

588
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,720
enough to carry them, but 
Scripture shows us the opposite.

589
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,360
Gifts are given because God 
intends to use them, not because

590
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,760
we feel prepared. 
Go to Matthew 25. 

591
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:33,760
This is the parable of the 
talents. 

592
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,720
Most of the time when this is 
used, it's used to teach on 

593
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,760
giving and finances. 
That's not the case today, but 

594
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:41,440
the parable of the talents is 
pretty important. 

595
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,760
It's a well preached chunk of 
scripture, but listen to it all 

596
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,080
the same. 
Starting in verse 14, Jesus 

597
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,320
teaches this. 
The Kingdom of heaven can be 

598
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:51,560
illustrated. 
This is important. 

599
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,320
Don't read over that. 
The Kingdom of heaven itself can

600
00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:57,560
be illustrated this way by the 
story of a man going on a long 

601
00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,840
trip. 
He called together his servants 

602
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:02,960
and entrusted his money to them.
While he was gone, he gave 5 

603
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,760
bags of silver to 1-2 bags of 
silver to another, and one bag 

604
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,880
of silver to the last, dividing 
it in proportion to their 

605
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,880
abilities. 
Is that not already encouraging?

606
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,520
He takes your abilities into 
account. 

607
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,160
So when you're like they got 
more silver than me, level up. 

608
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,480
I mean like work on your skills.
Like he knows what you got. 

609
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,920
Listen. 
Verse 16. 

610
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,720
The servant who received 5 bags 
of silver began to invest the 

611
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,960
money and earned 5 more. 
The servant with two bags of 

612
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,200
silver also went to work and 
earned 2 more. 

613
00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,120
But the servant who received the
one bag of silver dug a hole in 

614
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:34,800
the ground and hid the masters 
money. 

615
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,400
After a long time, their master 
returned from his trip and 

616
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,800
called them to give an account 
of how they had used his money. 

617
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,760
The servant to whom he had 
entrusted the five bags of 

618
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,160
silver came forward with five 
more and said, master, he gave 

619
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:49,520
me 5 bags of silver to invest 
and I've earned 5 more. 

620
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,520
The master was full of praise. 
Well done, good and faithful 

621
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,120
servant. 
You've been faithful in handling

622
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,560
this small amount, so now I will
give you many more 

623
00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:58,520
responsibilities. 
Let's celebrate together. 

624
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,040
Same thing with the servant who 
had two, he got two more. 

625
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,680
He said, that's great, let's 
celebrate together. 

626
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,840
Verse 24 Then the servant with 
the one bag of silver came and 

627
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,560
said, Master, I knew you were a 
harsh man, harvesting crops you 

628
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:14,680
didn't plant and gathering crops
you didn't cultivate. 

629
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,360
I was afraid you'd lose your 
money, so I hid it in the earth.

630
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,400
Look, here's your money back. 
In other words, I didn't lose 

631
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,320
any of it. 
And the master replied, You 

632
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:30,720
wicked and lazy servant, if you 
knew I harvested crops I didn't 

633
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,920
plant and gathered crops I 
didn't cultivate, why didn't you

634
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,160
deposit my money in the bank? 
At least I could have gotten 

635
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,240
some interest on it. 
And then he ordered, Take the 

636
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:43,240
money from this servant and give
it to the one who has 10 bags of

637
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,440
silver. 
To those who use well what 

638
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,920
they're given, even more will be
given, and they'll have an 

639
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,440
abundance. 
But from those who do nothing, 

640
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,680
even what little they have will 
be taken away. 

641
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,320
Now throw this useless serving 
out into outer darkness, where 

642
00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:58,840
there will be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth. 

643
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:05,000
This parable is not about money.
It can apply there, but it 

644
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,680
misses the deeper point when you
assume that that's what it is 

645
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,920
only talking about. 
By the way, a talent, as your 

646
00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,000
translation may say, instead of 
a bag of silver was a massive 

647
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,520
sum of money. 
Some historians would say about 

648
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:21,800
20 years worth of wages. 
Now Jesus isn't saying be good 

649
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:23,760
with pocket change. 
He's saying I'm giving you 

650
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,760
something of value and I want 
you to use this until I come 

651
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,080
back. 
Are we waiting for Jesus to come

652
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:32,199
back? 
You need to know that Jesus has 

653
00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:35,639
not thrown pennies at you. 
He has given you something that 

654
00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:39,639
is weighty and valuable and 
intended to build something for 

655
00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:43,320
other people to prosper, and 
he's waiting to see you put it 

656
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:48,120
to work. 
At least put it in the bank and 

657
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,400
get a little interest. 
Jesus is speaking using money, 

658
00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:55,239
but he's speaking about 
responsibility in the Kingdom of

659
00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,200
God. 
And if there's one thing I think

660
00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,760
that a Christian in general 
needs in this era, it's 

661
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,880
responsibility for where they 
are in the Kingdom of God. 

662
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,520
So think about this. 
Talents point to everything God 

663
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,040
entrusts to us. 
This is not a conclusive list, 

664
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,960
but think about it. 
Spiritual gifts, your calling, 

665
00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:16,360
your opportunities, your 
influence, your time, which you 

666
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:20,520
never get more of, your 
responsibility, your moments of 

667
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,600
revelation when God speaks to 
you, your obedience, all of 

668
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,440
that. 
These are talents he's given to 

669
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:29,280
you, and the servants are not 
evaluated based on comparison. 

670
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,160
If you notice, he doesn't say 
you only got me two bags. 

671
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:36,640
This guy got me 5. 
He doesn't compare his servants 

672
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:37,920
like that. 
You know who does that? 

673
00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:40,400
Us. 
We do. 

674
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:42,120
Well, I'm not. 
I'm not good with my gifts. 

675
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:43,040
Like they're good with their 
gifts. 

676
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,960
So I guess I'll sit it out. 
I'll watch the game. 

677
00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,880
I'll just bury it in the sand. 
I'll protect what He gave me, 

678
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:57,920
but I won't use it. 
Is there anything worse than 

679
00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:00,120
saying thank you for this gift 
that's designed to help other 

680
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:01,760
people? 
I'll hold on to it. 

681
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,640
I won't let it get damaged, but 
I won't use it. 

682
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,520
We do it every day. 
We do it every day. 

683
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,840
Doing nothing is not safer than 
obedience. 

684
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:16,400
The warning that Jesus gives 
here is not about mismanaging 

685
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:17,640
money. 
It's about refusing to 

686
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,320
participate in God's work 
because we don't trust ourselves

687
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,680
enough to try. 
You have to trust that what He 

688
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,040
gave you was intentional. 
And yeah, sometimes it's not 

689
00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:29,440
going to work, but sometimes it 
is. 

690
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,680
And He's the God of the harvest,
not us. 

691
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:36,280
God doesn't distribute his gifts
like decorations. 

692
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,040
They're not to make you feel 
good about yourself. 

693
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:41,320
He gives them to you as tools. 
And He doesn't wait until our 

694
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:43,560
self doubt is gone. 
He just works through US while 

695
00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,160
the self doubt is present. 
In fact, if you want confidence,

696
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,800
start being obedience, because 
confidence follows obedience. 

697
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,000
Confidence grows when we step 
into what God has already placed

698
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,960
in our hands. 
I once had a grill that needed a

699
00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,640
small repair. 
It was just like the little 

700
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:02,680
lighter button and it wasn't, I 
already checked it wasn't the 

701
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,720
battery for you grillers, but it
just needed that small part to 

702
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:08,440
be replaced. 
And I thought, yeah, it needs to

703
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:10,520
get replaced. 
I'll, I'll get to that soon. 

704
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,680
So what I did was I put a grill 
cover over it, right? 

705
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:19,200
Here's the problem. 
We live in North Carolina, so 

706
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:20,720
it's pretty well out of sight, 
out of mind. 

707
00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:23,040
I know I can't grill right now, 
so I'm not going out there to 

708
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,040
grill. 
I'll get to it. 

709
00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:25,640
But the I've got the cover on 
it. 

710
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:31,520
Days became weeks, weeks became 
months, seasons changed. 

711
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:32,760
And then I thought, you know 
what? 

712
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,040
I really miss grilling. 
I'm going to open up this grill.

713
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:36,680
I'm going to get, I'm going to 
take a look at this part and 

714
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,640
look up what I need. 
And when I pulled that cover 

715
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,720
off, what did I find? 
Rust. 

716
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,800
Not a snake, no. 
There was a wasp nest though, a 

717
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,000
wasp nest inside my rusted 
grill. 

718
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,400
I offered it to somebody who 
refurbishes grills and they said

719
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:59,280
no, it was a free offer. 
It was so rusted it couldn't be 

720
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:01,840
used anymore. 
I thought, I know this needs my 

721
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:06,400
attention and I will get to it. 
But life, right now, life is 

722
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,960
just crazy. 
Not what we say, oh, I meant to 

723
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,480
do that, but life was crazy. 
Isn't it always? 

724
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:16,840
Life was just crazy and I 
thought that the grill, it would

725
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:18,760
still need a repair, but it 
would be pretty well. 

726
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:22,520
The way I left it when I 
returned to it, it wasn't. 

727
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,360
It was a loss. 
Now I have a Blackstone and I 

728
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:29,120
work really hard to clean it 
when I'm done with it. 

729
00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:34,480
Instead of fixing it, I covered 
it up and listen to this. 

730
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:36,080
It makes sense, doesn't it? 
What is it? 

731
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:37,600
What is it called that I put on 
top of it? 

732
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,920
A what cover? 
It's a grill cover, but I'm 

733
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,320
trying to protect it in a way 
that it's never meant to be 

734
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:48,000
preserved. 
I'm using in a way it's not 

735
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,600
designed to be used. 
Yes, it's meant to sit on top of

736
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:53,040
it, but not for months without 
being taken off. 

737
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:57,040
The salt air is unkind to the 
metal, so you have to 

738
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,000
consistently be cleaning it, 
tending to it, and taking care 

739
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:00,680
of it. 
Why? 

740
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:03,800
Because it's valuable. 
Make sure that you're paying 

741
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:05,720
attention to what God has 
provided for you. 

742
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:09,440
Grace doesn't give us gifts to 
hide, it gives us gifts to 

743
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,760
steward. 
If you want to really walk this 

744
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:16,240
out after healing and hearing 
about it all morning, you need 

745
00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:18,000
to know that. 
You need to start recognizing 

746
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,480
that God's gifts are not given 
at the end of the journey. 

747
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:22,320
They're not trophies. 
They're not rewards. 

748
00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:24,080
They are tools while you're 
moving. 

749
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:27,840
They're given to you at the 
beginning of obedience. 

750
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:34,360
God gives the gift 1st and then 
uses obedience to shape and grow

751
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,480
the person who's carrying it. 
If you wait until you feel fully

752
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,840
confident, fully healed, or 
fully sure in what you're doing,

753
00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,720
you'll keep waiting long after 
God has already invited you to 

754
00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:45,320
move. 
And you'll wonder why he's not 

755
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:48,440
doing anything through you. 
Listen to this idea captured in 

756
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,640
the cheerful book of 
Ecclesiastes 11/4. 

757
00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,440
It's the next slide right here. 
It says farmers who wait for 

758
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:57,760
perfect weather never plant, and
if they watch every cloud, they 

759
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:01,360
never harvest. 
Those are both problems. 

760
00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:05,760
Farmers who wait for perfect 
weather never plant, and if they

761
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,280
watch every cloud, they never 
harvest. 

762
00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:11,440
We rarely admit this out loud, 
but waiting for the perfect 

763
00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:17,120
conditions feels responsible. 
It just does and in a lot of 

764
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,760
places that make sense. 
Should you buy a car or not. 

765
00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,120
Well, I know your finances and 
all of that. 

766
00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,560
A lot of times we get a word 
from the Lord, I've called you 

767
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,480
to blah, blah, blah. 
We're like, well one day I'll 

768
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:32,840
feel ready to do that. 
I'm going to look forward to 

769
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,920
that. 
We don't prepare like the Lord 

770
00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:39,320
highlighted this during worship 
to me today, but anybody 

771
00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:43,600
familiar with that passage where
there's a the demon possession 

772
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:48,880
and the disciples can't get the 
demon out, but Jesus can and 

773
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:50,640
they say, why couldn't we do it,
Master? 

774
00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:54,480
And he says some things only 
come out by prayer and fasting. 

775
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,680
Do you know what prayer and 
fasting have in common? 

776
00:40:57,720 --> 00:41:01,480
Preparation. 
I'm not saying it's bad to run 

777
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,160
to the Lord when you're in a 
crisis or a problem, do that. 

778
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:07,680
But when you run to him, when 
you're not in a crisis, when you

779
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,200
run to him for preparation, then
when the enemy comes and attacks

780
00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:14,480
your mind, when the enemy comes 
for your family, you've already 

781
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,360
prayed and fasted. 
That thing can't get in. 

782
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:21,800
And if it does, it can get out. 
We've got to be prepared. 

783
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,440
Scripture doesn't present 
movement in the Kingdom is like 

784
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,120
a result of perfect conditions. 
It presents movement as an act 

785
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,400
of trust. 
This means we have to stop 

786
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,200
asking, am I ready and start 
asking, what has God already put

787
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,560
in my hands? 
You all just think about that 

788
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:39,200
for a minute. 
What has God already put in your

789
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:41,320
hands? 
Where are the places of 

790
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:43,800
influence and the opportunities 
He's given you right now? 

791
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:46,680
And we're praying for more. 
But what are you doing with 

792
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:48,920
these? 
It matters a great deal. 

793
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:52,440
Gifts are not predictions of who
you might be someday. 

794
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:56,000
They are indicators of who God 
has already called you to be. 

795
00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,840
And I want you to know this. 
When you delay engagement with 

796
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:02,400
those gifts, you are not 
protecting yourself. 

797
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:04,680
You're just postponing your own 
growth. 

798
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,440
So we have to learn how to move 
forward without rewriting the 

799
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:09,880
past. 
Because using your gift does not

800
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:12,760
require pretending that previous
failures don't exist. 

801
00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:14,440
But we talked a lot about that 
last week. 

802
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,840
I just want you to know I don't 
want you to let the enemy stop 

803
00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:20,200
you from doing what you know 
you're gifted to do, from 

804
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:24,840
serving again or creating again,
saying yes to responsibility 

805
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:26,800
again, even if confidence feels 
fragile. 

806
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:31,840
Grace also doesn't ask for 
perfection, doesn't wait for you

807
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:33,760
to feel confident. 
But grace also doesn't ask you 

808
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:38,160
for perfection and a big 
grateful for that one. 

809
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:42,120
We need to act like it them. 
We're grateful for it. 

810
00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:44,960
We need to act like it when 
somebody that we love fails. 

811
00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:46,880
A lot of times you're like, it's
all right, there's another shot.

812
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:48,520
There's another chance. 
And then when we fail, we're 

813
00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:52,600
like, I'm the scum of the earth.
Samson's story, we're going to 

814
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,680
fly through it. 
But many people know the story 

815
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:59,320
of Samson from the Bible because
they know his wonderful second 

816
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:05,000
wife named Delilah. 
Samson and Delilah, well, that's

817
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,680
important, but here's what I 
want you to know. 

818
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:09,360
If the parable of the talents 
warns us about burying what God 

819
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,800
has given us out of fear, then 
the Old Testament story of 

820
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,800
Samson actually confronts us in 
the opposite direction. 

821
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:19,280
This shows us what happens when 
somebody uses the gifts of the 

822
00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:22,680
Lord without leaning on his 
presence or his support. 

823
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,120
Samson is not a story about 
whether God can use flawed 

824
00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:30,520
people, because I think it's 
pretty obvious in probably any 

825
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:32,360
book of the Bible that he can 
and does. 

826
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:36,960
It's a story of how costly it 
can be when you take your 

827
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:40,000
gifting and it replaces your 
dependence on the Lord or a lack

828
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,240
of anointing. 
So Samson's call begins before 

829
00:43:43,240 --> 00:43:45,480
he ever makes one decision on 
his own. 

830
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:48,320
You don't have to go there. 
But in Judges 13, an Angel 

831
00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:51,080
appears to his parents and says 
he is set to be a Nazarite from 

832
00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:54,480
birth. 
There's three core requirements 

833
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:57,840
for a Nazarite. 
One, they are not to drink wine 

834
00:43:57,840 --> 00:43:59,520
or consume anything that comes 
from the vine. 

835
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:03,240
That means no grape juice, no 
grapes, nothing that comes from 

836
00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:06,800
a vine. 
And Nazarite was also not 

837
00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:09,000
allowed to cut their hair. 
It was a visible sign of them 

838
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,320
being consecrated. 
Being consecrated means being 

839
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:13,960
set apart for something. 
They were consecrated to the 

840
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:17,080
Lord, and that uncut hair was a 
visible sign so people would 

841
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,840
know. 
And the final one means that 

842
00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:21,200
they're not allowed to touch a 
dead body. 

843
00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:25,440
Not animals and not people. 
It doesn't matter how much you 

844
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,920
love them, To touch a dead body 
makes you ceremonially unclean. 

845
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:33,400
This vow was meant to shape the 
life of a Nazarite into somebody

846
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:36,000
who would be kind of like a 
lightning rod that people could 

847
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:37,600
flock to to learn about the 
Lord. 

848
00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:42,600
But Samson's story cracks often 
and early. 

849
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:45,080
It starts in Judges 14. 
I'm going to go through them 

850
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:47,480
quickly. 
Starting in verse 5, it says 

851
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:50,080
that Samson and his parents are 
going down to Timna. 

852
00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:52,960
A young lion suddenly attacks 
Samson near the vineyards of 

853
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:54,080
Timna. 
Let me just pause. 

854
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,280
Why is he even walking near a 
vineyard? 

855
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:00,600
How many of us were like, well, 
I would never take anything from

856
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,800
there, but I just, I got to get 
a better look. 

857
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:06,840
I wouldn't fall. 
I'll just entertain that thought

858
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:12,920
one more time. 
Sorry, that's not my notes at 

859
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:14,800
that moment. 
The Spirit of the Lord, what 

860
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:16,160
would we call that in the New 
Testament? 

861
00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:20,840
The Holy Spirit came powerfully 
upon him, and he ripped the 

862
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:22,800
lion's jaws apart with his bare 
hands. 

863
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:25,080
He did it as easily as if it 
were a young goat. 

864
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:28,200
I've never ripped either 1 
apart, so I'll take the Bible's 

865
00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:30,520
word for this. 
But he didn't tell his father 

866
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,600
and mother about it. 
Why not? 

867
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,680
Wouldn't you? 
This is how I know that he 

868
00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:36,680
wasn't supposed to be that close
to the vineyard. 

869
00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:38,920
He did not want them to know 
where he was. 

870
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:42,000
Because wouldn't you? 
Wouldn't you get home, be like 

871
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:43,400
mom? 
And I believe this. 

872
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:45,960
A lion jumped at me. 
I grabbed it by a mouth and I 

873
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,560
tore it in half. 
You got to see this thing. 

874
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,840
I mean, today we'd be like, look
at this picture. 

875
00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:57,080
But they didn't have that. 
When Samson arrived in Timna, he

876
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:58,840
talked with a woman and was very
pleased with her. 

877
00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:00,640
Who is this woman? 
Well, he wanted to marry a 

878
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,720
Philistine. 
As a matter of fact, it's very 

879
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:05,520
funny. 
Earlier in this, he's like mom 

880
00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:07,240
and dad. 
I like this woman, get her for 

881
00:46:07,240 --> 00:46:08,880
me. 
That's what he says. 

882
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:11,080
And the Lord's using it. 
But it wasn't wise. 

883
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,440
Verse 8. 
Later, when he returned to Timna

884
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:15,840
for the wedding, he turned off 
the path to look at the carcass 

885
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,520
of the lion. 
There we are, going back to 

886
00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:19,040
check out our old victories 
again. 

887
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:23,080
And he found that a swarm of 
bees had made some honey in the 

888
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,280
carcass, and he scooped some of 
the honey into his hands and ate

889
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,600
it. 
Along the way he also gave some 

890
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:30,120
to his father and mother, and 
they ate it. 

891
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:32,720
But he didn't tell them he had 
taken the honey from the carcass

892
00:46:32,720 --> 00:46:34,480
of the lion. 
Why would he? 

893
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:36,680
They didn't even know that 
carcass of the lion existed. 

894
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,920
Samson kills a lion. 
He's empowered by the Spirit to 

895
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:43,600
do it and he breaks his Nazarite
vow. 

896
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:47,160
He shares it with his parents. 
And what can we learn there? 

897
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:51,200
Sin never stays isolated. 
Even if you feel like something 

898
00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:53,760
that is in your sin nature that 
you struggle with, it's just for

899
00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:55,360
you. 
It doesn't affect anybody else. 

900
00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:56,640
It affects the people that love 
you. 

901
00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:00,520
It always does. 
Even lesser talked about sins 

902
00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:03,280
like wrath or jealousy or envy 
or bitterness. 

903
00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:06,160
They never stay inside of you. 
They're itching to expand and 

904
00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:09,400
they will infect anybody. 
Watch as the pattern continues, 

905
00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:13,040
verse 10, as his father's making
final arrangements for the 

906
00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:15,040
marriage. 
Samson threw a party at Timna, 

907
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:17,160
as was a custom for elite young 
men. 

908
00:47:17,520 --> 00:47:20,200
He's elite. 
When the bride's parents saw 

909
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:22,560
him, they selected 30 young men 
from the town to be his 

910
00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:24,320
companions. 
In other words, he didn't even 

911
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,120
really know them. 
But this is his wedding party 

912
00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:28,200
now. 
And basically what you read here

913
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:29,680
is they say, hey, let's have a 
bet. 

914
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:33,480
He says, I got a Riddle for you.
If you guys get it, I'll give 

915
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:36,400
you 30 sets of linen. 
I want you to think 30 suits and

916
00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:39,200
ties for this ceremony. 
I'll pay for it for all of you, 

917
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,800
but if you can't guess my 
Riddle, you have to buy me 

918
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:44,400
$0.30. 
He's about to stock his 

919
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:47,200
wardrobe, is what he's thinking.
And they're like, fine. 

920
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:51,680
And here's his Riddle. 
He says out of the one who eats 

921
00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:55,640
came something to eat. 
Out of the strong came something

922
00:47:55,640 --> 00:48:00,600
sweet. 
This is totally unfair, isn't 

923
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:02,000
it? 
I mean, I'm not a Philistine 

924
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,600
fan, but these guys, I mean, how
would they have any clue about 

925
00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:08,120
it? 
But perhaps when you make a 

926
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:13,280
stupid bet, so three days later 
they're still trying to figure 

927
00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:14,960
it out. 
On the 4th day they said to 

928
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:17,920
Samson's wife, entice your 
husband to explain the Riddle 

929
00:48:17,920 --> 00:48:20,920
for us or we'll burn down your 
father's house with you in it. 

930
00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:24,640
Well, you make a compelling 
case. 

931
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:30,000
Samson's wife 1st 16, came to 
him in tears and said, you don't

932
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:33,480
love me, you hate me. 
You've given my people a Riddle 

933
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:36,480
and you haven't even told me the
answer, He says. 

934
00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:38,560
I haven't even given the answer 
to my father or mother. 

935
00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:41,440
Why should I tell you so? 
They weren't close. 

936
00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:45,000
So she cried whenever she was 
with him and kept it up the rest

937
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:48,400
of the celebration. 
And at last, on the 7th day, he 

938
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,440
told her the answer because she 
was tormenting him. 

939
00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:55,200
Find somebody you can live with 
when you're getting married. 

940
00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:57,920
Guys, I'm just telling you. 
So. 

941
00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:00,440
Before sunset on the 7th day, 
the men of the town came to 

942
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:03,600
Samson with their answer. 
What is sweeter than honey? 

943
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:07,920
What's stronger than a lion? 
It's one of the funniest lines 

944
00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:10,480
in the whole Bible, Samson says.
If you hadn't plowed with my 

945
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:12,160
heifer, you wouldn't have solved
my Riddle. 

946
00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:16,400
I'm not going to unpack it, 
though. 

947
00:49:19,240 --> 00:49:23,480
By the time we reach Delilah, 
the problem is no longer an 

948
00:49:23,480 --> 00:49:26,480
occasional compromise. 
It's a pattern. 

949
00:49:27,080 --> 00:49:29,000
Listen to this. 
Delilah is not simply a new 

950
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:31,440
temptation. 
She's the culmination of a long 

951
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:35,800
pattern of disregard at this big
celebration amongst the 

952
00:49:35,800 --> 00:49:37,800
Philistine people. 
You cannot tell me there was not

953
00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:40,120
wine there, that there was not 
fruit of the vine. 

954
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:44,440
So he went near it, and now he's
compromised into a place where I

955
00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:46,840
personally believe he partook of
it, although the Bible does not 

956
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,000
say that he did drink wine. 
I'll be honest with you on that.

957
00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:52,120
But he's at this Pagan 
celebration with this wife he 

958
00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:53,800
clearly can't trust, doesn't 
trust. 

959
00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:56,360
Now he's buying suits for all of
her Pagan friends. 

960
00:49:58,040 --> 00:49:59,680
Now we get to Delilah. 
Well, who's Delilah? 

961
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:04,680
Delilah is the next wife because
unfortunately, the Pagan wife 

962
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:06,480
didn't work. 
Who could have seen that coming?

963
00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:10,920
He walks into this confident 
though. 

964
00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:14,360
They want to know these 
Philistines. 

965
00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:16,040
They want to know what's the 
secret to his strength? 

966
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:18,440
Well, his strength comes from 
the power of God. 

967
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:20,760
His Nazarite vow and the long 
hair and everything. 

968
00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:23,200
These are symbols to show what 
he's committed and consecrated 

969
00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:27,600
to. 
But now they're wondering and 

970
00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:29,160
they go to Delilah and she 
doesn't know. 

971
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:31,840
And time after time, she goes to
him and he gives her a different

972
00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:33,640
answer. 
He lies to her because he's 

973
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:36,080
like, I already got, you know, 
cheated out of this by a wife 

974
00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:37,560
before and it's not going to 
happen again. 

975
00:50:38,520 --> 00:50:40,400
She just keeps asking him, check
this out. 

976
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:46,120
Judges 1615. 
Then Delilah pouted. 

977
00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:49,600
The Bible says, How can you tell
me I love you when you don't 

978
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:52,400
share your secrets with me? 
You've made fun of me three 

979
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:53,960
Times Now and you still haven't 
told me. 

980
00:50:53,960 --> 00:50:56,880
What makes you so strong? 
She tormented him with her 

981
00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:00,480
nagging day after day until he 
was sick to death of it. 

982
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:08,280
Three times he's been attacked 
by Philistines in the exact way 

983
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:11,600
that he lied to her about, and 
he has not left her yet. 

984
00:51:12,600 --> 00:51:15,400
Why? 
I'm Samson. 

985
00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:18,720
I'm gifted. 
Nothing will ever happen to me. 

986
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:22,600
He now takes his gift. 
His gift is his identity. 

987
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:25,600
Nothing's going to happen to me.
Every time they attack me, I 

988
00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:27,640
shake him off. 
I've touched a dead thing 

989
00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:30,120
before. 
I've partaken from something of 

990
00:51:30,120 --> 00:51:33,800
the vine. 
Nothing's happened. 417 Finally,

991
00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:35,240
Samson shared his secret with 
her. 

992
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:38,680
My hair has never been cut. 
I was dedicated to God as a 

993
00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:41,120
Nazarite from birth. 
If my head were shaved, my 

994
00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,240
strength would leave me and I 
would become as weak as anyone 

995
00:51:43,240 --> 00:51:48,040
else. 
When his hair is cut, the symbol

996
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:52,440
of his consecration is removed 
and the scripture tells us 

997
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:55,720
something that to be honest with
you, is top three scariest 

998
00:51:55,720 --> 00:51:59,720
verses for me in the Bible. 
It says he doesn't realize that 

999
00:51:59,720 --> 00:52:03,600
the Lord has left him. 
Only says that about two people 

1000
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:04,880
in the Bible and he's one of 
them. 

1001
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:07,880
His hair is cut. 
He doesn't even feel weaker. 

1002
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:09,720
He doesn't even know the 
presence of God has left him. 

1003
00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:14,760
But now he can't break out. 
Judges 16/21. 

1004
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:16,240
It says the Philistines captured
him. 

1005
00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:19,280
They gouged out his eyes and 
they took him to Gaza where he 

1006
00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:22,200
was bound with bronze chains and
forced to grind grain in the 

1007
00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:24,520
prison. 
He is now entertainment for the 

1008
00:52:24,520 --> 00:52:26,520
enemies that God called him to 
conquer. 

1009
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:32,120
Samson loses his strength and 
his freedom in his sight. 

1010
00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:34,400
And here's what's so 
interesting. 

1011
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:39,200
Verse 28. 
Then Samson prayed to the Lord 

1012
00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:43,680
Sovereign Lord, Remember Me 
again. 

1013
00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:47,600
Oh God, please strengthen me 
just one more time with one 

1014
00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:50,320
blow. 
Let me pay back the Philistines 

1015
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:54,560
for the loss of my two eyes. 
He's still a little bitter, I 

1016
00:52:54,560 --> 00:52:57,160
get it. 
Then Samson put his hands on the

1017
00:52:57,160 --> 00:53:00,400
2 center pillars that held up 
the temple, Pushing against them

1018
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:03,080
with both hands. 
He prayed, Let me die with the 

1019
00:53:03,080 --> 00:53:06,240
Philistines and the temple 
crashed down on the Philistine 

1020
00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:10,240
rulers and all the people. 
So he killed more people when he

1021
00:53:10,240 --> 00:53:12,680
died than he had during his 
entire lifetime. 

1022
00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:15,200
I don't know if you've ever 
realized this. 

1023
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:19,840
In this story, in Samson's final
moments, blind and broken, he 

1024
00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:24,240
prays for the first time in his 
entire story. 

1025
00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:28,320
He goes to the Lord. 
And it does talk about his hair 

1026
00:53:28,320 --> 00:53:31,880
growing back before that. 
Don't get mistaken, it's not the

1027
00:53:31,880 --> 00:53:36,560
hair, it's the prayer. 
He finally goes to the Lord. 

1028
00:53:36,920 --> 00:53:41,120
God still wins. 
God's purpose in him to take out

1029
00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:43,560
his enemies still was 
accomplished. 

1030
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:45,480
That's a really sad ending, 
isn't it? 

1031
00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:49,320
It could have been so different.
Grace doesn't require 

1032
00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:52,520
perfection, but it does require 
you to step aside and submit. 

1033
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:57,720
Recently I listened to a 
conversation that happened on my

1034
00:53:57,720 --> 00:54:01,000
favorite podcast, The leaders 
Cut 2 pastors, Preston Morrison,

1035
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,720
Tim Ross, and they're talking 
about the cost of your 

1036
00:54:03,720 --> 00:54:05,040
anointing. 
And they said, well, what is the

1037
00:54:05,040 --> 00:54:07,080
anointing? 
They said, a lot of times when 

1038
00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:09,880
we say somebody's anointed, it's
because we'll hear them preach 

1039
00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:11,880
well, or we'll hear them sing 
well or whatever. 

1040
00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:12,960
And we're like, they're so 
anointed. 

1041
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:15,400
And Tim Ross says, if that's the
case, Whitney Houston was so 

1042
00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:19,000
anointed when she sang the Star 
Spangled Banner, and nobody 

1043
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:22,720
should ever sing it again. 
Anointing isn't a gift. 

1044
00:54:23,120 --> 00:54:26,240
The anointing is God's approval 
on the gifts that he's given 

1045
00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:30,120
you. 
And they go on to describe this 

1046
00:54:30,720 --> 00:54:33,760
in terms of David and Saul. 
Don't have time to unpack it for

1047
00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:37,040
you, but David was known as a 
man after God's own heart, 

1048
00:54:37,160 --> 00:54:41,040
anointed at a young age, poured 
oil on him at a young age, in 

1049
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:44,000
obscurity. 
He waited decades before he 

1050
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:47,160
assumed the throne. 
But he was anointed because he 

1051
00:54:47,160 --> 00:54:49,400
had God's approval. 
He pursued God's presence. 

1052
00:54:50,080 --> 00:54:53,800
On the other hand, you had King 
Saul, and King Saul was somebody

1053
00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:56,960
who had God's gift and lost the 
anointing. 

1054
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:02,280
It talks about the story of King
Saul, how he kept doing things 

1055
00:55:02,280 --> 00:55:04,800
his own way instead of what the 
Lord had asked him to do. 

1056
00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:08,400
And Preston and Tim, in this 
podcast, they talk about the 

1057
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:10,760
fact that what happened is Saul 
left. 

1058
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:14,680
He lost the anointing, but he 
kept the throne for 40 years. 

1059
00:55:15,720 --> 00:55:17,160
And here's what's crazy about 
this. 

1060
00:55:18,200 --> 00:55:22,040
Saul's story is so tragic 
because Saul is the other person

1061
00:55:23,160 --> 00:55:25,440
in Scripture where it says the 
presence of God left him and he 

1062
00:55:25,440 --> 00:55:28,320
didn't know it, and he remained 
king. 

1063
00:55:28,480 --> 00:55:30,840
He kept the title and the 
authority. 

1064
00:55:30,840 --> 00:55:33,280
But Scripture tells us that once
the Spirit of the Lord departed 

1065
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:37,440
from Saul, the only other time 
it mentions anything about the 

1066
00:55:37,440 --> 00:55:39,280
Lord there it talks about him 
being tormented. 

1067
00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:44,280
His time as king was marked by 
anxiety and fear and rage and 

1068
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:47,600
depression, and we would look at
him and be like, He's the king. 

1069
00:55:47,600 --> 00:55:49,200
How could he be upset? 
We do this today with 

1070
00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:51,000
celebrities. 
How could they be so unhappy? 

1071
00:55:51,480 --> 00:55:54,960
They got everything. 
You don't need God's stuff. 

1072
00:55:54,960 --> 00:55:57,240
You need his approval. 
You need his anointing resting 

1073
00:55:57,240 --> 00:56:00,000
on you. 
That's the different the 

1074
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:02,920
consecration makes. 
David's out in the fields. 

1075
00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:05,240
He's out with the sheep. 
He's out writing songs to the 

1076
00:56:05,240 --> 00:56:07,720
Lord. 
He's dancing before the Lord. 

1077
00:56:07,720 --> 00:56:12,080
He has set himself apart for the
most part for the Lord and saw 

1078
00:56:12,080 --> 00:56:13,960
found his identity in the gifts 
that God gave him. 

1079
00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:19,600
What will you choose? 
Consecration is the intentional 

1080
00:56:19,600 --> 00:56:22,360
choice of allowing God to set 
you apart for His purposes 

1081
00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:25,120
instead of using His gifts for 
your purposes. 

1082
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:27,280
And David learned to lean into 
this. 

1083
00:56:27,880 --> 00:56:30,560
So if Samson teaches us 
anything, it's that gifting 

1084
00:56:30,560 --> 00:56:34,400
alone is not enough. 
Your ability without separating 

1085
00:56:34,400 --> 00:56:37,400
yourself for the Lord becomes 
exhausting and dangerous. 

1086
00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:40,280
God did not design his gifts to 
wear you out. 

1087
00:56:40,440 --> 00:56:42,160
He did not design them to be 
carried alone. 

1088
00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:44,320
He designed them to function 
within the body. 

1089
00:56:44,720 --> 00:56:47,480
So how do we walk this out? 
Got a couple things for you here

1090
00:56:47,840 --> 00:56:51,000
before we leave for the day. 
The first thing is you need to 

1091
00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:54,800
learn how God gifted you. 
You need to learn how God gifted

1092
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:57,760
you to take it back. 
Apostle, prophet, evangelist, 

1093
00:56:57,760 --> 00:57:02,200
pastor, teacher, everybody's 
been gifted in some way, maybe 

1094
00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:06,440
2. 
That being said, we have our own

1095
00:57:06,440 --> 00:57:08,240
test. 
If you've taken 1 before here, 

1096
00:57:08,720 --> 00:57:11,720
this is our own homemade Liberty
Church spiritual gift test. 

1097
00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:14,640
And maybe doesn't have the whole
answer for you, but remember, 

1098
00:57:14,640 --> 00:57:16,240
this is not a self improvement 
project. 

1099
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:19,040
This is responsibility. 
We have a responsibility to find

1100
00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:21,120
who we are in the Lord. 
And my prayer is that you'll 

1101
00:57:21,120 --> 00:57:25,080
take one as you exit today. 
Take a test and fill it out. 

1102
00:57:25,360 --> 00:57:27,080
It will be helpful for you next 
week. 

1103
00:57:28,720 --> 00:57:31,760
God has gifted you so the body 
could grow healthy and mature. 

1104
00:57:32,280 --> 00:57:34,480
And if you don't know how you're
wired yet, the next step is not 

1105
00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:36,640
to get confident. 
It's to get curious. 

1106
00:57:37,280 --> 00:57:40,080
The second thing is to choose 
consecration over what is 

1107
00:57:40,080 --> 00:57:42,720
convenient. 
Life is hard, man. 

1108
00:57:42,720 --> 00:57:45,040
It kicks you in your teeth, I 
get it. 

1109
00:57:46,520 --> 00:57:50,080
But you have to choose setting 
yourself apart for what the Lord

1110
00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:51,600
means. 
You know how many times I see 

1111
00:57:51,600 --> 00:57:54,000
somebody post something on 
Facebook and I go, oh, I'd love 

1112
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:57,000
to share that. 
Oh, I'd love to post that, but 

1113
00:57:57,720 --> 00:57:59,920
it's not something that I can 
do. 

1114
00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:05,240
Remember this? 
Giving yes to God carries 

1115
00:58:05,240 --> 00:58:11,080
weight. 
The third step is learning to 

1116
00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:13,680
work in partnership with other 
people instead of isolation. 

1117
00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:16,600
We'll speak a lot on this next 
week. 

1118
00:58:16,600 --> 00:58:18,320
No gift is designed to stand 
alone. 

1119
00:58:19,280 --> 00:58:22,440
The fivefold gifts in Ephesians 
4 are meant to equip the body 

1120
00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:25,240
but not replace it. 
So the gifts that we have, they 

1121
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:27,640
help us build the body, but they
don't take its place. 

1122
00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:30,240
You have to learn how to work 
with people with different 

1123
00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:33,200
gifts. 
The fourth thing is to shift 

1124
00:58:33,200 --> 00:58:38,360
over to leaning on His presence.
It doesn't matter if people can 

1125
00:58:38,360 --> 00:58:40,320
see your gifts, it matters if 
God can see it. 

1126
00:58:41,880 --> 00:58:44,760
And so prayer, Scripture, 
repentance, humility, they keep 

1127
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:46,880
our gifts being used. 
And the last thing is to just 

1128
00:58:46,880 --> 00:58:49,840
choose to be obedient. 
Doesn't matter what the outcome 

1129
00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:52,240
is, doesn't matter how it all 
resolves, when all is said and 

1130
00:58:52,240 --> 00:58:54,240
done, it matters if you do what 
he says. 

1131
00:58:55,840 --> 00:58:57,880
So as we bring all of this 
together, it's important to 

1132
00:58:57,880 --> 00:59:00,400
remember where we've been over 
the last few weeks. 

1133
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:01,880
We've been learning to trust 
ourselves again. 

1134
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:04,280
We've been learning to expose 
our weaknesses so that God can 

1135
00:59:04,280 --> 00:59:07,480
be made strong. 
But I hope you've learned that 

1136
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:09,640
it doesn't mean you have to be 
confident if you don't have to 

1137
00:59:09,640 --> 00:59:13,520
do it perfect. 
You just have to do it when you 

1138
00:59:13,520 --> 00:59:15,800
put it together. 
Peter really captures this 

1139
00:59:15,800 --> 00:59:19,560
beautifully in chapter 4, verse 
10 of First Peter. 

1140
00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:22,760
He says God has given each of 
you a gift from his great 

1141
00:59:22,760 --> 00:59:26,360
variety of spiritual gifts. 
Use them well to serve one 

1142
00:59:26,360 --> 00:59:30,200
another. 
Why do we use them to serve one 

1143
00:59:30,200 --> 00:59:33,760
another? 
Just end up today. 

1144
00:59:35,720 --> 00:59:38,200
That's why I really want to 
encourage you as you leave 

1145
00:59:38,200 --> 00:59:40,720
today. 
It is a simple but really 

1146
00:59:40,720 --> 00:59:42,640
meaningful step. 
Grab that test. 

1147
00:59:42,920 --> 00:59:45,280
It's not about labeling yourself
or boxing yourself in. 

1148
00:59:45,280 --> 00:59:48,720
It's just a starting point. 
Next week, our message is called

1149
00:59:48,720 --> 00:59:53,080
What can Still be Repaired. 
For a lot of us, the issue isn't

1150
00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:55,160
that the gift is gone. 
It's that it's been neglected, 

1151
00:59:55,160 --> 00:59:59,360
it's been buried or wounded. 
So I want you today to have holy

1152
00:59:59,360 --> 01:00:02,320
confidence, but I also want you 
to have holy responsibility. 

1153
01:00:02,680 --> 01:00:05,240
I want you to believe that you 
can accomplish what God has for 

1154
01:00:05,240 --> 01:00:06,760
you. 
But I want you to take it 

1155
01:00:06,760 --> 01:00:08,960
seriously and know that it 
requires your partnership. 

1156
01:00:09,880 --> 01:00:12,560
Don't sideline it because you 
feel too unfinished or too 

1157
01:00:12,560 --> 01:00:16,120
wounded or too undone. 
Don't bury what God gave you 

1158
01:00:16,120 --> 01:00:17,520
because you're afraid of 
failing. 

1159
01:00:18,160 --> 01:00:22,080
I want you to know if God had a 
purpose for you, He'd give you a

1160
01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:23,680
gift. 
And since we know He's given you

1161
01:00:23,680 --> 01:00:26,080
a gift, He must have a purpose 
for you. 

1162
01:00:27,040 --> 01:00:30,880
Use what God has given you. 
Guard it through consecration. 

1163
01:00:30,880 --> 01:00:33,120
Develop it here within your 
church community. 

1164
01:00:33,880 --> 01:00:35,760
Because if your gifts are 
activated instead of hidden, 

1165
01:00:35,760 --> 01:00:37,720
this whole church body will be 
strengthened. 

1166
01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:40,240
And personally, I think we're up
for the challenge. 

1167
01:00:40,240 --> 01:00:41,680
Do you think you're up for that 
challenge? 

1168
01:00:42,240 --> 01:00:44,440
Let's build each other up. 
Let's not just build ourselves. 

1169
01:00:44,440 --> 01:00:47,080
Let's build up the body. 
Let's see what God does this 

1170
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:47,560
year. 
Amen. 

1171
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:47,920
Amen.