1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,760 Thanks for checking out the Anchor Faith Message podcast 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:06,160 from St. Augustine, FL. 3 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:16,200 Now enjoy this message. Merry Christmas Eve. 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,440 It's Christmas Eve going into Christmas. 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,560 You know, I was raised in church. 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,720 My mother, when she got pregnant with my sister, had just 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,760 recently been born again and so didn't know a whole lot 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,680 concerning the scripture or God for that matter. 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:39,680 She just knew she was born of God. 10 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,560 And you know, when we're growing in the things of God, you know, 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,960 the Bible calls us babes in Christ. 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,120 That means, you know, we're needing to develop, mature. 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,080 We don't know everything and we'll never know everything. 14 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,880 Don't get me wrong, but there's an infancy in Christ and then 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,160 there's a maturity in Christ. And a person mature in Christ 16 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,440 knows how to pray. A person in mature in Christ 17 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,960 don't know how to pray. And a lot of times God will help 18 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:09,040 us along the way because he wants to teach us. 19 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,080 How to pray? Amen. 20 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,000 And so my mom made a statement, said Lord. 21 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,600 If you'd give me a healthy child, I'm going to follow you. 22 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,480 Now she's negotiating. Couple of things is you don't 23 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,840 need to negotiate with God, just need to know what his word 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:24,920 means. Amen. 25 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,520 But my our heavenly Father, such a good father, he was letting 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,760 her know it is my will for you to have healthy children. 27 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,880 And so when my sister was born, because she was going to church, 28 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,080 she said I'll raise my children in church. 29 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,440 And so she came out healthy. And from there they were going 30 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,040 to church. Well, three years later I came 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,560 and man, we were in church and that's what we did. 32 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,960 And if we didn't go to church on Sunday, something was wrong. 33 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,200 I said something was wrong. Now my father wasn't a person 34 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,000 who went to church. He stayed at the house. 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,200 He was honestly mad at God because of some childhood 36 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,280 things. And it took him, you know, to 37 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,040 the end of his life to come around. 38 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,600 And But he only came around because he had a wife who prayed 39 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,440 and he had children who prayed and who lived in front of him. 40 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,440 The word of God. Amen. 41 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,920 Don't be waiting around thinking you going to be all right till 42 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:24,080 the end. Hallelujah. 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,320 But in his case, it was. And I remember one particular 44 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,920 Sunday, I decided I wanted to stay home with Dad, you know, 45 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,200 And I couldn't just say, hey, mom, I want to stay home. 46 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,680 And my dad was wise enough to never go against God with Mom, 47 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,080 so he wouldn't say, well, this. And my son, he can stay home 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:44,280 with me if he wants. To. 49 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,320 He didn't do that, didn't play that card, so I had to play the 50 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,400 sick card. Because if you were sick. 51 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,800 You know, you could stay home. So I was complaining, Mom, I 52 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,520 don't feel good. I don't feel like going today, 53 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,080 like many people, you know, I don't feel like going today. 54 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,280 Right. You know, So we fake a cough, 55 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,960 right? I wasn't Ferris Bueller yet, you 56 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,160 know, I wasn't at that level of of manipulation for those who 57 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,160 know who that is. But, you know, I just did a 58 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,000 little cough, you know, moping around, and my mom had some 59 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,040 wisdom. She had. 60 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,600 She heard the Holy Ghost and she said, now Earl Wayne, she called 61 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,440 me Earl Wayne. She said, Earl Wayne, if you're 62 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,560 too sick to go to school, church, then you understand this 63 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,840 afternoon you're going to be too sick to go outside and play. 64 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,400 Well, I find myself instantly healed. 65 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,760 It was a miracle in the house that day and I made it to church 66 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,280 and lo and behold, I got to play that afternoon. 67 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,680 Amen. But we did have quite a few 68 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,200 traditions in my home growing up. 69 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,400 You know, there were things we did, things that I didn't carry 70 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,720 over necessarily as I became a husband and a father. 71 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,800 Some things I did a little different than my parents. 72 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,080 But let me just say it this way. I don't know how much worldly 73 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,520 traditions you have this weekend. 74 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:11,960 And, you know, they're worldly because they're not in the 75 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,240 Bible. But I want you to know, you do 76 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,720 have a filter. It's called the word of God. 77 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,280 And because of that, you know, there's certain things that we 78 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,080 do during this time. There's certain things that we 79 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,760 recognize. There's certain individuals we 80 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,480 recognize, you know, and we didn't keep our allegiance to 81 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,600 them because they weren't real people, right? 82 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,160 But they're in a world where people don't have the filter we 83 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,400 have. It's actually quite problematic 84 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,160 because they're raised to trust in someone that doesn't exist, 85 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,560 only to find out later they weren't real. 86 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,400 And then when we try to tell them about Jesus, that can 87 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,160 become a problem. Amen. 88 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:01,200 So, but in the keeping of traditions, you know, my my 89 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,640 parents were good about keeping the best presence until we went 90 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,280 to bed. You understand what I'm saying? 91 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,400 It was those gifts that showed up under our Christmas tree 92 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,640 after we were asleep. All right. 93 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:22,000 Now, my mom had a plethora of gifts, you know, and the gifts 94 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,280 that were under the tree starting around, you know, the 95 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,600 middle of December, were the necessity ones. 96 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:29,600 You understand? The underwear to socks. 97 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,000 OK, we're talking pajamas, some kind of clothes. 98 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,560 I remember the granimals back in the day. 99 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,840 How many remember the granimals back in the day, you know, And 100 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,640 so they would still have the tags on. 101 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,600 So I know how they match. This is why I'm problematic now. 102 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:47,760 I have a hard time going into Marshalls. 103 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,040 I was there yesterday and I went through and I went to my wife. 104 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,320 She said, you find anything? I said no, there's nothing from 105 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,200 me here. We left with six shirts. 106 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,440 Now, if they had granimals for adults, I'd be all right. 107 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,120 I say, if it's not on a mannequin, honey, it's very 108 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,360 problematic for me. I just can't see how it comes 109 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,600 together. Are you hearing me? 110 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,000 So, you know, if we go to the mall where there's a mannequin, 111 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,440 I'm like, I could wear that now I can wear it if I look like the 112 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:23,280 mannequin. Amen. 113 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:25,880 Some of y'all need to say get a mannequin. 114 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,000 That's my size. So I know what it's going to 115 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,400 look like when it's on there. Because even the mannequins are 116 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,120 liars. Have you noticed them that 117 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,400 they'll have their shirts all bunched up in the back? 118 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,000 Now who walks around with a little clip in the back of their 119 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,840 shirt like that? I'll do it through the day. 120 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:42,880 It looks good here. But now I get around back and 121 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:49,040 like that shirt was too big for you so but they would put the 122 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,360 best ones out, right? Because you know whenever we 123 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,360 woke up, you know, the whole deal was is you're supposed to 124 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,120 let mom and dad know. There was 1 Christmas. 125 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,960 My sister and I had attained to a layer of maturity. 126 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,560 What do I mean by that is we were thinking about others 127 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,160 besides ourself. And so we woke up and it 128 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,520 traditionally it went this way. Kim wakes me up. 129 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,360 I don't wake up first. She wakes me up. 130 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,280 So she wakes me up and she says it's time, right, It's time. 131 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,600 And so we get over there and she goes, Now let's be quiet and 132 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,480 let's don't wake up mom and. Dad, this year, let's let them 133 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,440 sleep in. Man, aren't we good kids. 134 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:39,080 So it was the quietest unwrapping of presents ever. 135 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:46,960 But we were taking on down, bro. We were like, screaming at each 136 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,720 other quietly, right? It's called Whisper yelling 137 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:55,640 what? I got next one, right? 138 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:02,160 And so all of a sudden my mom woke up and she comes in and 139 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,840 finds the majority of the gifts open and she hits the light. 140 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:11,600 What are you doing? We're like, it's like we're 141 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,000 caught. They had my name on it. 142 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,520 I didn't steal a thing, right? I didn't steal a thing. 143 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,640 They had my name on it. We're like, well, we were going 144 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,680 to let you sleep in and I'll never forget my mom, she says. 145 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,440 Don't y'all understand that the greatest gift for your dad and I 146 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:32,640 is to see your face when you open the gift? 147 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,280 So I was like, we'll wrap them again. 148 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,360 I'll unwrap them. I'll fake this thing, no 149 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,640 problem. Because I am the unwrapping gift 150 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,520 guy like you little basket people here. 151 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,080 I'm not a big fan of y'all. Y'all need redemption. 152 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,120 I mean, who? How fun is this? 153 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,760 But man, when you start tearing that thing down, I mean, be the 154 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:02,000 one, like that one guy was talking about this. 155 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:03,320 I'm. I mean, I'm just bringing a 156 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:05,400 little humor because I'm going to bring some good stuff here. 157 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:09,760 I think it was Tim Hawkins. What's his? 158 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,360 Is that What's the? Comedian. 159 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,480 Is that his name? Tim Hawkins. 160 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,400 He was talking about getting a doll for his daughter for 161 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,240 Christmas. Well, you know how they strap 162 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,600 them down, He said. They must have got this from the 163 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:28,000 state penitentiary that the prisoner was like, if I can't 164 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:29,320 get out, they. Ain't getting out. 165 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,480 You know, 'cause if you've done that, you're like, how many 166 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,360 rubber bands and zip ties do we got to do the whole Barbie on 167 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,480 this piece of paper right now, right? 168 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,120 And so, you know, I'm the God, you wrap it up. 169 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,560 I've got a few people that give me gifts that have gifts within 170 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:50,040 gifts and I just keep unwrapping because I like that. 171 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:52,520 It's like an adventure. What's on the inside? 172 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,200 I want to unwrap some things. Well, with that being said, 173 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:00,680 Second Corinthians chapter 4, we're going to look at verse 18, 174 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:02,560 Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 18. 175 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:05,560 We could quote it because we've done it so many times, as you 176 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:10,200 know, but it bears repeating. And to get our eyes on it. 177 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,960 And 2nd Corinthians chapter 418. It says why we look not at the 178 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,920 things which are seen, but at the things which are what not 179 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:19,840 seen. For the things which are seen 180 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,800 are temporal, In other word is temporary. 181 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,760 But the things which are not seen or what they're eternal, 182 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:31,280 they're eternal. Now you as know as well as I do 183 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:34,560 that there are a lot of gifts that you buy for your children 184 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:39,960 or for people that you know they don't want, right? 185 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,280 They're just stuffers. They just make it seem like they 186 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,480 got more. Come on. 187 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:48,040 I mean, what's the reason for a stocking stuffer? 188 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,480 Can anyone remember anything you got in your stocking as a child? 189 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:58,440 OK, Kohl's, that would be a shock and you probably remember 190 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:03,000 that, OK? But most don't remember, OK, And 191 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,680 it do you remember every year what you got in your stocking. 192 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,600 That means they put the same thing in there every year if you 193 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,680 do. No, I mean, typically, you know, 194 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:14,920 we don't, right? It's probably candy. 195 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,680 At least that's what my mom did. She put candy in mine and it was 196 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:20,760 gone. It was temporary, right? 197 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,160 It was usually gone that day, you know? 198 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:25,760 And then I passed it the next day. 199 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,040 So it was completely away from me. 200 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,760 I mean, even last 24 hours, right? 201 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,000 I mean, that gift's gone. It was temporary and it 202 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,320 definitely didn't do my body. Any good? 203 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,640 All that sugar? Hallelujah. 204 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,360 All right. But there are other gifts as 205 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:46,960 well. You would have it and they play 206 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,360 for a little bit and then disregard it, throw it away. 207 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,320 It's almost like a disposable. Gift, right? 208 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,440 You know Kid loves it, thinks it's awesome. 209 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,400 Throw it to the side. Bam, going to the next one. 210 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,800 Because usually we're building up to the gift, right? 211 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,120 The one. That they were asking, you know, 212 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:05,600 typically, OK, which one do you want? 213 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,240 What's your big gift? Right. 214 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,360 And that's the one I remember one year when I got my BMX bike, 215 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,640 that was the gift. And that was easy to spot when I 216 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,920 came in, All right. And I rode that thing. 217 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,640 I rode that thing for years. It had at least three or four 218 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,640 different paint jobs because my dad was a painter, OK, He did, 219 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,800 you know, residential. He didn't do vehicles. 220 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,760 Although we could tap into that. And so I would strip that bike 221 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:32,280 down, man. I would sand it. 222 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,960 I would paint it. It had different colors, man. 223 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,960 I would run that thing. That bike was really awesome. 224 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,120 Had mag wheels on it, bro. They were bad. 225 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,040 And so and I was fast and I would jump things and I would 226 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,120 ride to school because back in the day you could ride to school 227 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,520 without subject of, you know, bad stuff. 228 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:50,720 So it was totally different life back then. 229 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,600 But it's still temporary. I said they're temporary. 230 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,240 But I want to talk to you about some gifts today that are 231 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,640 eternal. I said that are eternal. 232 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,560 And the thing about our eternal gifts is that unlike my jacket 233 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:08,760 that I'm wearing right now and you know, someone could buy me a 234 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,000 shirt that I could wear for multiple years as long as I 235 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,080 don't grow out of it one way or the other or it doesn't tear or 236 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:18,320 something. It's still a temporary item, but 237 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,680 the eternal things are not seen but yet they're always available 238 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,560 if we just know how to gain access to them. 239 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:29,160 And what's awesome about these gifts, as these gifts are new 240 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,360 every day. I said they don't wear out, 241 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:36,360 they're awesome. OK so with that being said, in 242 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,400 Romans chapter 6 verse 23 it says it this way for the wages 243 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,920 of sin is death, but the free gift of God is what? 244 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,000 Eternal life? In Christ Jesus our Lord, so the 245 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,080 gift of God is eternal. Life. 246 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:54,080 Now, it's important for us to understand about eternal, 247 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,440 because all of us are eternal. You know, this is one of the 248 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,240 things that, you know, we say, but a lot of times people aren't 249 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,760 actually equating what's being said because we say now if you 250 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,440 accept Jesus as Lord, you'll have eternal life. 251 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,360 And so at that point they say, OK, I'll live forever, But what 252 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:13,920 they don't understand is they're actually going to live forever 253 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,400 already. It's the quality of their 254 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:22,720 eternity that's at stake. OK, so based upon the definition 255 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,720 of what we know is life, right? A breathing of consciousness. 256 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,680 OK, you know, so we say that, you know, a lot of times people 257 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,560 don't really grasp what we're talking about because all beings 258 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,240 are eternal. Some are already eternally dead, 259 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,280 meaning they're separated from God. 260 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,200 But they exist. And that's why there's troubles 261 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,960 and trials and issues within their lives that they can't seem 262 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,800 to get a hold of and a handle on. 263 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,400 And no matter how they try to find something else to supply, 264 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:56,760 suppress, or to conquer, overcome the feelings of guilt, 265 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,400 shame and different things like that, all these euphoric 266 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:04,120 opportunities that they have, that they they live here, but 267 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:05,720 the next day they're way down here. 268 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:07,640 You know, they have these seasons of up and down 269 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,840 constantly in their lives. Nothing comes to satisfy. 270 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,040 Affection. Well, when you're separated from 271 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,280 God eternally, then you understand there's nothing that 272 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,160 satisfies 'cause. Even the temporary fixes of 273 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,720 alcohol relationships and different things of that nature, 274 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:26,560 you know, they're just. Temporary We unwrap women, we 275 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,440 unwrap men, we unwrap jobs, and we find that they do not 276 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:35,080 satisfy. Because we are in death still, 277 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,480 and it keeps us separated from the things that are God. 278 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,680 But those who've called on the name of Jesus, they're already 279 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,440 live in eternity. They already have life now. 280 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,880 Now we still have a touch to things that are separated from 281 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,160 God, 'cause we're not present with Him, but as. 282 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,640 Far as our existence, we are eternal with God in life, and we 283 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,960 can tap into that life today. And when we go through trials 284 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:02,000 and tribulation, there are gifts we can unwrap perpetually that 285 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,320 came with the tree of Jesus. Amen. 286 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,240 It's called the cross. It came through the cross that 287 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,600 we can go unwrap these things anytime in remembrance so that 288 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:20,040 we can tap into the life side or or the God life now and 289 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,200 forevermore. So James 127 says every good 290 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,960 thing given and get and every perfect gift is from above, 291 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,200 coming down from the Father of lies from. 292 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,840 Whom? There is no variation or the OR 293 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,280 shifting shadow. See, each gift is given to add 294 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:37,200 something to you, not take it away. 295 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,080 God's gifts is actually to help aid. 296 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,920 You. They're there for you now. 297 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,960 I'll be honest with you. Some gifts that I have used more 298 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:52,400 or what Pastor Lynette Hagan thought were trinkets because 299 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,080 she's really good at giving gifts. 300 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,560 And anytime we do something as a regional director and we're 301 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,440 connected with a meeting, whether I'm a speaker at camp 302 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:08,000 meeting or or call to arms or whether I'm doing something you 303 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,480 know with the third year pastors group or we go to a regional 304 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,960 directors meeting, Pastor Lynette gives gifts and a lot of 305 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,359 times she ends up giving these multi tool gifts that have 306 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,720 Rhema's logo on it. And I have used those things 307 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,840 even though they are not leather men or Gerber's, but they seem 308 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,600 to find themselves necessary at various times of my life that I 309 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,680 can just go grab that little trinket tool and it does what I 310 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,960 need it to do. Are you hearing me? 311 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,160 Well, you understand, when it comes to God, God's gifts are 312 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,400 always being added to us if we just go find it. 313 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,520 And utilize it. Are you hearing me? 314 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,920 We must always appreciate the gifts of our king. 315 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:59,520 We must not treat his gifts with little value once we assume the 316 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:04,160 one the the newness wears off. But you know when you stay in 317 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,560 the word, you'll realize it gets it's new. 318 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,120 His mercies are what, new every morning? 319 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,320 So that means that any of God's gifts, when we are exercising 320 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,600 them, when we are unwrapping them and utilizing them, they're 321 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:21,920 brand new. They are of new quality. 322 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,200 They don't break down. Or you hear what I'm saying? 323 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,480 Y'all doing all right this morning because I said I'll be 324 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,000 done by early, we'd be done by three today and we're going to 325 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,520 be all right. I told that to some first time 326 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,920 guests and they kind of went shocked. 327 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:40,440 Everybody who knew me laughed. Seriously, though, we'll be done 328 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,240 earlier than three. OK, So with that being said, 329 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,920 let's talk about the first gift you receive, and it's called the 330 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,840 gift of grace. Come on, aren't you glad for the 331 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,000 gift of grace now, There are multiple gifts of grace. 332 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,520 There's not one. So do not think there's just 333 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,360 one. There's a saving grace. 334 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:04,040 There's a sanctifying grace. There's a serving grace. 335 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:07,240 There's a sharing grace. There's a strengthening grace. 336 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:14,480 Jesus Christ did not need unmerited favor because Jesus 337 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,880 Christ never failed. Yet the Bible says he was full 338 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,920 of grace. So you cannot define grace as 339 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,360 unmerited favor. We got something we didn't 340 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,280 deserve. Tell me what Jesus didn't 341 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:34,120 deserve besides the cross. But it says when he was a child, 342 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,360 he grew in grace and favor with men. 343 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,880 He was full of grace. What grace was he operating in? 344 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,200 It was the gift of empowering grace. 345 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:47,360 It was strengthening grace. It was the grace that caused him 346 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:52,000 to look at temptation and say not here, not on me. 347 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,960 I'm not going to fail. I'm not going to give in to 348 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,360 that. Unlike my first brother Adam, I 349 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:01,920 will not yield to this deal. I will stay faithful with the 350 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,600 Lord. And it was God's gift of grace 351 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:09,040 that he unwrapped each time. And caused him to conquer the 352 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:14,120 the devil, his temptations, his flesh, and ultimately, the 353 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,400 world. Hallelujah. 354 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,680 Aren't you glad? So we can see this grace in 355 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,520 Ephesians 47 says. But to each one of us grace was 356 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,120 given. As Christ apportioned it, He 357 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:31,200 gave us grace. First Corinthians 14 says it 358 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,320 this way. I always thank God for you 359 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,680 because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 360 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:42,400 Grace is a gift, and I'm thankful for the gift. 361 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:47,000 Which means in 2024 there's going to be more grace for me to 362 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:51,160 unwrap, for me to be able to function and operate in. 363 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:55,040 I mean, I had some grace functioning in 2023, but it's 364 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,040 nothing like the grace that I have for 2024. 365 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,640 Amen. That I, grace can continue to 366 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,440 abound in our lives. Why? 367 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,720 And it never gets old. Because when I need grace, it is 368 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,440 there for me. Hallelujah. 369 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,640 It is a gift from God. Well, because grace was able to 370 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,960 be given, and I could access that grace through faith. 371 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,480 Faith is what unwraps these presents, right? 372 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:26,560 I mean, think about it. Isn't unwrapping gifts faith 373 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:31,600 anyway, Because all of us, as children or even as adults, we 374 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:33,480 get a box. You know, because again, unlock 375 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:34,920 a bag. It's a little more difficult. 376 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,000 OK, give me your. Bag. 377 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,800 Yeah, Alex. Give me this bag right here. 378 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,200 This is so sweet. Look at this, right? 379 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,880 I mean, it's a little less violent because I'm afraid 380 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:53,760 whatever's in is fixing to bust out of the bottom. 381 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,760 It'd be like that would be embarrassing, though. 382 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,240 I can't fill it. I'm going to guess it's a 383 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,760 candle. It's going to be my guess. 384 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,680 Got some weight to it, right? I mean, that's what you do in a 385 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:09,680 bag. But now if this was a box, is 386 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,000 that a box there? No. 387 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,960 OK, you got one. Give me that. 388 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:16,800 One. Yeah, here we go. 389 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:22,280 Now we talking. Is this fragile? 390 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:24,280 OK. All right. 391 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:27,320 You know how it was, you were like. 392 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:33,680 You're trying to figure this out. 393 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,320 I'm thinking some kind of apparel is up in this thing. 394 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:40,760 I don't know. Wait a minute. 395 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:47,600 That's different. Could be a boot. 396 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:51,480 Please tell me you didn't get cowboy. 397 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,440 Boots in here, man. I mean, we might have to burn. 398 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,000 This one if these are cowboy boots. 399 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,200 Right, we shake it up. Now here's the thing. 400 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,400 Can I see what's in this box? Is there something in this box? 401 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,080 How do you know? You don't know? 402 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:11,720 You haven't even touched it yet. It could be. 403 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:16,200 Air in the box, but based upon it, have a little weight and 404 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,280 you're feeling something. You're assuming it's something. 405 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,040 And here's the thing. You begin to imagine, based upon 406 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:27,280 what you've said you've wanted, of whether that item based upon 407 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,120 weight and how you're feeling that might fit the description. 408 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,400 So you begin to imagine something before you even see 409 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,760 it. But if you're going to exercise 410 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:45,200 enjoying whatever it is. Because I've already received 411 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,240 it. I can walk around the rest of my 412 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,400 life like this. What you got? 413 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,000 I got a gift. Well, what is it? 414 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:56,760 It's an awesome thing. Well, what is it now? 415 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:58,840 Let's say it is a pair of boots, right. 416 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,880 And and I got caught, you know, in a snowstorm when my flip 417 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:09,440 flops on and then I'm, you know, I'm starting to get frostbite. 418 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:11,280 And they're like what you got in the box? 419 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:12,920 I don't know. It's a gift. 420 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,240 It was given to me and I'm so thankful for it. 421 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:18,320 Come on, you're hearing what I'm. 422 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:23,760 Saying what good is the gift if you don't exercise and get it 423 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,160 out and put it on? You got to put it on. 424 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,200 And this thing could be my salvation of my toes here. 425 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,080 But I'm not getting delivered. I'm called out to God. 426 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,080 Oh Lord God, please save me from the snow. 427 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:45,560 He's like, bro, open up the box. I got your boots right, and it 428 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:47,400 really is a lot of times. Thank you. 429 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:51,280 That's simple. But because we don't exercise 430 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,560 our faith to be able to receive the gifts that God have for us. 431 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,840 Oh, Lord, help us, Lord. Like, unwrap the grace in your 432 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,120 life. Lord, please deliver me from the 433 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:05,680 devil. Unwrap the grace in your life, 434 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,160 because I've done everything I can already to I've whipped him 435 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,400 and stripped him of his power. You need to stand up as a child 436 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,040 of God and speak to him operating the grace. 437 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:23,800 Are you hearing me? OK, the next. 438 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,560 Gift is because of grace. Faith opens it up as the gift of 439 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,600 salvation. You know this, John 410 Jesus 440 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,920 answered and said to her, He said, If you knew the gift of 441 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:40,120 God, and who it, and who it and. And who it is who says to you? 442 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:43,120 Give me a drink. You would have asked him. 443 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:44,720 And he would have given you what? 444 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:47,360 Living a world? Didn't know that he was a gift? 445 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,640 Didn't know he was wrapped up in a bow? 446 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:51,680 Didn't know he could get unwrapped. 447 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:53,880 Are you hearing me? You know what it says in 448 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,160 Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. For by grace you have been saved 449 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,720 through faith. It is not of yourself. 450 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:05,880 It is what the gift of God. So we receive salvation. 451 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,360 When we called on Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives, what 452 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:14,440 did he do? He He evicted the spirit in you 453 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:18,800 that was dead and did not know him, and put a new spirit inside 454 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,120 your body. Then move the Holy Ghost inside 455 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,600 your suit as well where he could bear witness with your spirit. 456 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:30,560 You were a child of the king. You are royalty. 457 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:35,600 You're part of the royal family right now, I said, right now. 458 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,520 Glory to God. So you were saved from all of 459 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,240 your transgression, all of your sin, every wrong you've ever 460 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:48,200 done against God, against his crown, against his Kingdom in 461 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,960 rebellion, total forgiveness, and you've become the 462 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,480 righteousness of God in Christ, which is the next. 463 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,840 Gift. It is the gift of righteousness. 464 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,240 In Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10, it says it this way, 465 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,240 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe 466 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:05,880 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be 467 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,800 saved. For with the heart a person 468 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,080 believes resulting in righteousness. 469 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,360 That's right, standing with God. Or we can say it this way, right 470 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:16,320 standing with the governing authority. 471 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,360 And who is our governing authority? 472 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,680 It is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Lord is not a religious word. 473 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:27,400 It means supreme and authority. Jesus Christ, or the Word of 474 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,120 God, is the supreme authority of my life. 475 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:36,440 And when I was born again, my spirit was made in the likeness 476 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:43,280 of the King of Christ himself so that I would be made right with 477 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:47,040 God and have the ability to hear God again. 478 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:52,120 I'm in right relationship with God, and now I can grow, learn, 479 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:57,360 develop, and have all that God wants for me because I'm now in 480 00:27:57,360 --> 00:27:59,840 his household. Hallelujah. 481 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,960 And so righteousness is accredited to us. 482 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,560 Look, when it says in Romans 5 verses 15 and 17, he says. 483 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:12,480 But the gift of God is not like the transgression, OK, for by 484 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,560 the transgression of one many died. 485 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,040 Much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the 486 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:21,840 one man, Jesus Christ, abound. To many the gift is not like 487 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,360 that which came through the one who sinned. 488 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:28,960 For the One hand the judgment arose from 1 transgression, 489 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,760 resulting condemnation, but on the other hand, the free gift 490 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:38,240 arose from many transgression, resulting in justification, 4 If 491 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,560 by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one. 492 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:47,240 Much more, those who receive the abundance of grace and of the 493 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:53,560 gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus 494 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,800 Christ. Now when you begin to reign in 495 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,200 life, you're reigning. Now this is not raining. 496 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,000 Once you get to heaven, you have the capacity to reign in the 497 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,760 earth because Jesus said, oh, now that you're in the family 498 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,680 when you pray, pray this way. Our Father. 499 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,600 Whose Father? Our Father, who art in heaven, 500 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:17,000 hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be 501 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,120 done on earth as it is in heaven. 502 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,600 And as a child of God, you can have God's will done in your 503 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,640 life while you're still walking on this planet. 504 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,800 Amen. Because you've been made 505 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,720 righteous. Now it's your assignment to 506 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,560 maintain your righteousness. For the Bible tells us to 507 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:42,360 practice righteousness. And here's the problem is that 508 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:46,120 we have a grace gift given to us that's eternal. 509 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,920 That means every day it's like you get to go to the tree and 510 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:54,000 unwrap a whole nother free, brand new present of grace, 511 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,280 right? I mean, think about it now then 512 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:00,480 this is how God is. But our little minds can't 513 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,880 handle this. That's like you getting your 514 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:09,800 brand new vehicle, brand new. You go out not a mile on it. 515 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,320 I mean, you know what it smells like when it's brand new? 516 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,000 I mean, the factory dropped it off. 517 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,080 Now, Danny, they've only turned it on to make sure it was 518 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,520 working. And then they brought it to your 519 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,040 house, full tank. You get in that thing, you're 520 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,440 like woo and you drive around, come Home Park that thing and 521 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:31,520 the factory picks it up and takes it. 522 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:38,320 The next morning another brand new 10 miles full tank of gas, 523 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,680 whatever miles you run that day or the only miles you'll ever 524 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,120 run on that thing because the next day another brand new 525 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:50,480 vehicle shows up. I said another brand new vehicle 526 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,240 shows up. I mean, can you? 527 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,080 You'd be like and and and it's, it can be a different one, 528 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,800 another one, a better one. Right. 529 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:01,960 You know, I'm going to, I'm going to put in for SUV 530 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,520 tomorrow, Tomorrow. You know what? 531 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:09,080 I'll take a Porsche. I think I'll get that Aston 532 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,600 Martin tomorrow. You know what I'm feeling a 533 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,160 little. You know, practical. 534 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,960 I'm going to get a VW. You know, I need to go off 535 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:19,720 roads. I need to get me a gladiator and 536 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,920 I want the thing decked out. No. 537 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,080 Miles, you said, Well, that would be lavish. 538 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:26,800 You know what? That's what Grace. 539 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,080 Is. That's what salvation is. 540 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,120 That's what righteousness is. You can't wear it out. 541 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,240 You can't put mileage on the stuff and tear it up. 542 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,680 It's like, it's every day. Here's a brand new set. 543 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,160 It's brand new out-of-the-box. Here you go. 544 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:45,440 I mean, you're not like, oh, I don't want to overuse God's 545 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,920 grace. He's like, son, I've got an 546 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,040 eternal supply of this stuff. I got an eternal supply of 547 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,120 saving you out of all your trouble. 548 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,440 Salvation can come to your house on multiple levels. 549 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,760 Listen, I can keep you in the top performance of 550 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,160 righteousness, where you're living every day in the 551 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,920 righteousness of God, in Christ. Jesus. 552 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,760 I don't think I would ever get tired of opening up something 553 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:16,720 brand new at all. Now the world's taught us that 554 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,400 that's wrong. And again, if that's all you 555 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,960 were pursuing or natural things, well, that is wrong. 556 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:28,280 But when our Heavenly Father's giving out eternal gifts, it's 557 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:29,640 not wrong. He's not saying. 558 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,240 Well, just rub that grace off. It'll be good enough today. 559 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:36,600 I know. You're right. 560 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:38,640 This is a little dirty there. Just rub it off. 561 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,240 No. He's like my stuff's brand new. 562 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,560 I said my stuff's brand new. Top of the line doesn't break 563 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:45,880 down. Guaranteed. 564 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:47,280 Got a warranty? Forever. 565 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:51,440 Are you hearing me? Which brings me then to the next 566 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,760 gift. And this gift here is amazing. 567 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,960 It's called the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 568 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,280 Are you hearing me? It's the gift of the Holy Spirit 569 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,160 1st. And then we'll go into some of 570 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,200 his gifts. OK, the gifts of this spirit. 571 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,120 Let's talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost first. 572 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,680 First you get the Holy Ghost in and then you have him come upon. 573 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,000 In Acts chapter 2 verse 38, it said Peter said to them repent. 574 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:15,720 And each of you. Be baptized in the name of the 575 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,440 Father or the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of 576 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,720 your sin, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 577 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,360 We know the Bible says that we call on the name of the Lord. 578 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,520 We're brand new. We become a new creature in 579 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,280 Christ Jesus, the old past way. Behold, all things become new. 580 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:33,480 We become the temple of the Holy Ghost, Luke 1113 says. 581 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,920 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your 582 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:40,360 children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the 583 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,000 Holy Spirit to those who ask of Him? 584 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,920 But we also know that this gift of the Holy Spirit has power 585 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,440 that comes with it, because in John chapter 21 Jesus was with 586 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,080 his disciples after his death, burial, and resurrection. 587 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,360 He walks through a wall and he says to them receive ye. 588 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,160 The Holy Spirit in the Bible says he blew on them and they 589 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,480 received the Holy Ghost, which means they got the Holy Ghost 590 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,320 within all of those in the room that day were. 591 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,960 Born again, Jesus saw the salvation of man. 592 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:15,080 But then he tells that group. Now you hold on and wait until 593 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,120 the promise of the Father, because the Holy Ghost has got 594 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:19,679 another gift he's going to bring. 595 00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:23,520 And it's called power. Because I want to give you 596 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,400 power. Not only do I want to bear 597 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,080 witness with your spirit that you're a child of God, but I 598 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:31,320 want to empower you. I want to give you power. 599 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,719 I want to give you power from on high so that when you're 600 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,360 witnessing and you're being an ambassador for me and you're 601 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,480 representing my Kingdom, you bring the power with you. 602 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,280 Are you hearing me? In Acts chapter 10 verse 45 to 603 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,719 46, it says all the uncircumcised believers who came 604 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,480 with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit have 605 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:56,199 been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they were hearing say 606 00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:59,160 hearing they were hearing them speaking with. 607 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,720 Tongues and exalting God, Are you hearing me? 608 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,920 They They heard what they received on the day of 609 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,920 Pentecost. The power of God fell upon them 610 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,000 on the day of power of Pentecost. 611 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,960 They begin to speak in other tongues, which is just the 612 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,680 language of the Kingdom. OK, 'cause I have multiple 613 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,200 nationalities in this service right now. 614 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,080 I could have people jump up and speak to me in Spanish, speak to 615 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:28,880 me and Albanian, speak to me in some other languages, and none 616 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:31,080 of us would be running around going crazy. 617 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:34,760 Don't you know that the God of all tongues knows how to give a 618 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:38,680 tongue to his children? That may be unknown to us and 619 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:43,400 unfruitful to our minds, but it is from the Holy Ghost and our 620 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:47,160 Father nonetheless. And we know what it's saying, 621 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,920 even though we do not know what word for word because it says 622 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,760 he. When we pray in that language, 623 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,840 we're praying out the perfect will of God. 624 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,200 Are you hearing me? And here's an awesome thing. 625 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:02,520 The devil sure don't know what you're saying either. 626 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,800 Amen. Acts Chapter 11, verse 17 says, 627 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,640 therefore, if God gave to them the same gift as he gave to us, 628 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:14,560 Also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I 629 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,880 could stand in God's way? Now here's the thing with the 630 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:20,240 Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit himself brings 631 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,560 his own gifts. That's like unwrapping a 632 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,680 present. And when you unwrap it, there's 633 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,160 more presence. I said there's more presence. 634 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,760 You unwrap one, there's a present that you can see in it, 635 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:37,600 but then within it there's more. And so First Corinthians chapter 636 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,160 12 verse one says this. Now concerning spiritual gifts. 637 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:41,840 Brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 638 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,000 And this is Paul talking to the church because this is what's 639 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:47,640 crazy. People out like these gifts 640 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,000 aren't around anymore. Paul was never part of the 641 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,280 original apostles ever. But Paul was not the only 642 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:56,160 apostle out there after the original apostles. 643 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,480 There were many. If you read the Bible, actually 644 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,520 we're called apostles well beyond the original 12. 645 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,960 So the office of the Apostle is still in play today. 646 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,080 Not only that, when Peter first priest and people were speaking 647 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:11,920 in other tongues on the day of Pentecost, he said this gift is 648 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:16,080 for you and for all who are far off as many as the Father is 649 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,960 calling to himself. Will our people being called by 650 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,440 the Father today or people being born again today? 651 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:25,720 If people can be born again today, then they can be baptized 652 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:31,040 in the Spirit today as well. And when Paul's talking to a 653 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:36,240 church at Corinth, which by all rights was a Gentile church, and 654 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,760 these people had been in some gross idolatry, they were 655 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:44,400 functioning in the gifts without having the understanding of what 656 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,440 they were doing. And Paul being the apostle and 657 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:52,440 the church age gave instruction by the Spirit how these gifts 658 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:56,680 were to be conducted within the church services. 659 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:58,960 He goes on to say that there are 9 of. 660 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:02,120 Them in verse four of First Corinthians 12 he said, Now 661 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,840 there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there 662 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:06,840 are a variety of ministries, and the same Lord. 663 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,680 There are a variety of effects, but the same God who works all 664 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,840 things and all person, but each one is given the manifestation 665 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:16,480 of the Spirit for the common. Good for to One is given the 666 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,080 Word of Wisdom through the spirit, to another the Word of 667 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:23,600 Knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith, by the 668 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,320 same spirit, to another. Gifts of healing. 669 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,160 Well, you open up gifts of healing. 670 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,200 You get a whole bunch of other gifts. 671 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,520 Then we get into verse 10, To another the affecting of 672 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,680 miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing of 673 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,880 spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another 674 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,880 the interpretation of tongues. But each one and the same spirit 675 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,240 works all these things, distributing to each one 676 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:52,120 individually, just as he wills. Amen. 677 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,560 So here are 9 gifts that come with the Holy Ghost. 678 00:38:55,840 --> 00:39:00,360 And when the Holy Ghost unwraps gifts of the Spirit, they are 679 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:04,560 multiple in that which may be when he's moving in the realm of 680 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:09,080 healing, he can have gifts that heal cancer, tuberculosis, 681 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,960 diabetes. You know, any element, any 682 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,760 disease those gifts can get in an operation. 683 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,280 These are gifts that are beyond just a simple laying on of hands 684 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,880 that a believer can do to the sick. 685 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,400 Are you hearing me? Because there are some cases 686 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,080 that requires the gifts to get in play. 687 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,600 And here's the thing God saying to us, there's not a case that I 688 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,480 cannot conquer. Are you hearing me? 689 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,400 Because when we are exercising the gifts, when we continue to 690 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:42,560 draw on these eternal. Gifts Again, when you receive 691 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,080 the baptism of the Spirit, that gift, are you opening it daily? 692 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,320 Are you participating in it daily? 693 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,560 In fact, Jude said concerning that gift. 694 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:55,360 He said you need to stir your up your most holy faith praying in 695 00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:59,680 the Spirit, which means it's a gift you should unwrap every day 696 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:06,800 and you should function in Amen. You don't want to discredit any 697 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:11,640 one of these gifts, because do you remember what your life was 698 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:13,400 before you had? Any of these gifts? 699 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:16,360 Now there's another gift that the Lord gives. 700 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:20,240 It's called ministry gifts called Ministry gifts. 701 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:23,000 In Ephesians chapter 4, verse eight, it says it this way. 702 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,560 Therefore it says when he ascended on high, he led captive 703 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,280 a host of captives and he gave what gifts to man. 704 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,280 Now this word here will go to another gift that I'll talk 705 00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:37,760 about here in a minute 'cause it's not limited to ministry 706 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,360 gifts because when he said he gave gifts to men, he gave 707 00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:43,480 everybody a gift. I said everybody is a gift. 708 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:49,560 But when we get to the 11th verse, he tells us of the of the 709 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,920 gifts that are very specific that he begins to outlaw. 710 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,160 Then he said he gave some as meaning, some gifts as apostles, 711 00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:01,360 prophets, pastors, teachers, right and evangelists. 712 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,520 Those are very specific gifts for. 713 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:06,480 The equipment of the Saints for the building up of the body. 714 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:09,800 You should come wrap Unwrap me every service. 715 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:15,480 Are you hearing me? Now again, if I am that gift 716 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,520 under Christ's tree, that's like, Oh yeah, I'll get to that 717 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:22,440 one later, then you don't get the benefit of that gift. 718 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:28,200 Hey man, you don't get the benefit of that gift, any gift. 719 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:31,480 We don't unwrap, we don't get the benefit of that gift, and 720 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,800 it's eternal life associated with it. 721 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,120 So you should have the expectation. 722 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,120 Cause again, you know how your kids and grandkids are going to 723 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:43,360 be tomorrow or even later today? If today's that day that you're 724 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,640 going to let them into those gifts, they're going to be like 725 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:49,320 sitting already just waiting for you to say go and then they 726 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:52,280 going to tear off into that thing with great anticipate. 727 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:53,600 In fact, they're talking. About it, right? 728 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:56,040 When we go open them, when we go open those gifts, when we go 729 00:41:56,040 --> 00:42:00,440 open those, listen to the expectation in them, right. 730 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:03,480 I mean, did did you have that same expectation, Man, I can't 731 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:06,040 wait to get to church today and unwrap pastor or I can't wait to 732 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:09,240 unwrap that gift. What is in that gift today? 733 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:11,920 What is he going to say today? What is God going to say through 734 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,400 that gift? I can't wait for that thing to 735 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:16,120 come. Now again, if you don't have 736 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:22,680 that, well, our church is great. Amen. 737 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:25,240 I had this thought today. I thought, yeah, that's. 738 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:27,800 I'm sure that's true, I said. Why is? 739 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,720 It sometimes I can get stuff like this and then other times 740 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:33,480 it's like, man, where are we going? 741 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:36,640 He said. The Lord said to me, He said, 742 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,840 expectation, and you think, well, that's you, that's your 743 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,440 problem, is it? Because when there's an 744 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:46,880 expectation of people waiting on what God's going to say. 745 00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:50,240 Through you, then, you make a demand on God to give me 746 00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:53,680 something. But if you don't have an 747 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:55,800 expectation, you just like I don't know what they'll say, 748 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,240 we'll find out when we get there and don't have any expectation. 749 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:00,600 Well then I'm like what we going to say? 750 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:07,080 Cause ain't nobody expected nothing today, 'cause if you 751 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:07,880 expect. Nothing. 752 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:11,520 I can be a nice gift wrapped. Oh, you don't? 753 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,280 Want to hear this? They're called display gifts. 754 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,440 They just put it on display. You want me to be a display 755 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,840 gift? 'Cause I don't want to be 756 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,200 unwrapped and be empty. What you got today? 757 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,440 Nothing. I got nothing. 758 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,160 How come? What's wrong with you, Pastor? 759 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:31,160 What's wrong with you? You pulling on me or something, 760 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:33,440 'cause I mean, I got enough for me all week. 761 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:35,880 I got my answers. God answered my problems. 762 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:37,600 I went to the Word. I found my stuff. 763 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:39,440 I'm growing. I'm doing something. 764 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,200 But we're talking about the pastor gift for you to equip 765 00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:44,360 you. What do you need? 766 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:49,120 But if I'm just the same old voice. 767 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,000 Right. And I I mean, I try to, you 768 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,840 know, decorate myself differently every service, 769 00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,840 right. I mean, good thing for YouTube 770 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:00,800 and we film. I can go. 771 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:02,560 What did I wear a couple Sundays ago? 772 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:06,880 Not going to wear that outfit. You know, put on a new present. 773 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:11,280 Amen. All right, Ephesians, chapter 3, 774 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:14,040 verse seven says, of which I. Was made a minister according to 775 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:18,160 the gift of God's grace, which was given to me to the working 776 00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:19,720 of his power. The last gift I'll talk about. 777 00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:21,840 And there's other gifts we could talk about today, but for the 778 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,880 sake of Tom, I'm not going to give you These are just eternal 779 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:26,920 ones you can tap into all the time. 780 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:29,880 Because you know what? You need to look at your kids 781 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,400 today. You need to be honest and your 782 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:36,040 grandkids. And when they're saying who got 783 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,840 us this gift today, Jesus Christ. 784 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:45,000 Jesus is the ultimate gift giver. 785 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:50,760 That's who gave you this gift because of how good he is to us. 786 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,800 Are you hearing what I'm saying? That's just how good he is to 787 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:58,120 us, right? And you need to say, but listen, 788 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:02,040 they're gifts that we have from him that we can unwrap all the 789 00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:05,680 time, just can't see them. But they are exist nonetheless. 790 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,640 And they're more real than this box I'm handing you right now. 791 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:12,400 It's more real, you know, than this bag I'm giving you right 792 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:13,440 now. It's more real. 793 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:15,480 And you know what? It'd be ready tomorrow. 794 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:18,480 It'd be ready the next day. And don't you ever think that 795 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:20,760 it's old, It's common. It's nothing. 796 00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:26,840 No, it's the greatest gift ever. How can people, when they get 797 00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:32,240 the revelation that they need Jesus as Lord all of a sudden 798 00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:36,320 say His name with disdain, treat it as? 799 00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:42,480 Common determine when we want to listen to Him and when we don't. 800 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:46,800 Because when we first encountered him and our death 801 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:52,960 and our guilt and our shame, we're like, man, I need Jesus 802 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:57,720 and we were so thankful for him. And then what happens? 803 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:03,560 What happens a month from then? Six months, Year. 804 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:07,560 Two years? Why has it become so common that 805 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:10,400 all of a sudden he's no different than that gift you 806 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,040 can't remember when you were a child. 807 00:46:13,240 --> 00:46:15,640 He's become that gift that you can't hardly even remember. 808 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:17,640 Oh, yeah, I remember that one. That was so fun. 809 00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:23,520 I remember that. No, because here's the thing. 810 00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:28,960 This last gift I'm talking about is so amazing because of the 811 00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:32,400 gift he is. It's called the gift of 812 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:36,760 assignment. It's why you were born. 813 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:39,880 This is what's so amazing about when. 814 00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:44,360 Christ, God gave his Son to us and we unwrapped him. 815 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:50,360 Jesus popped up and says unwrap this, no you. 816 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,520 Didn't get it. The minute you unwrap Jesus 817 00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:56,040 Christ and he was revealed, you became your Lord. 818 00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,040 He is hand holding a present, he said. 819 00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:04,880 Son, daughter, unwrap this, unwrap this. 820 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:07,440 What's that, Jesus? It's you. 821 00:47:09,720 --> 00:47:12,760 It's you. It's why you were born. 822 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:16,440 It's it's it's who you were before you were in your mother's 823 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:19,160 womb. It was before the foundations of 824 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:21,440 the world. Oh, I just want you to unwrap 825 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:24,280 this. I want to walk with you and help 826 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:26,960 you unwrap you the rest of your life. 827 00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:36,760 First, Peter 410 says for each one has received a special gift, 828 00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:41,160 employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold 829 00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:47,480 grace of God, Romans 11/29 said For the gifts and the calling of 830 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:52,120 God are irrevocable. Many have unwrapped Jesus and he 831 00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:56,160 says unwrap this. And they're like, no, unwrap it, 832 00:47:56,360 --> 00:47:58,800 No, I'm just satisfied that I'm going to go to heaven when I 833 00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:01,840 die. Unwrap the Listen. 834 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:05,080 You don't have no idea how awesome this is. 835 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:08,120 You and me. If you won't under unwrap this 836 00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:11,880 thing right here, I've got to I can't accept your gift. 837 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:14,800 I'm not worth. Listen, I just made you worthy. 838 00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:18,120 And I want you to unwrap the gift. 839 00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:21,080 Because it's not just about you coming to heaven. 840 00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:23,080 I need you to know why you're here. 841 00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:27,840 I need to know you didn't know why I saved you, why you're born 842 00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:31,840 of me, why you walk with me, why you can talk with me while 843 00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:35,200 you're in my Kingdom. You need to unwrap this gift of 844 00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:40,520 assignment. Because if you don't. 845 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:42,600 Unwrap it. The things that are coming 846 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:47,080 against you as a gift are still coming, but what you need to 847 00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:53,000 overcome is in the box. I need you to unwrap it and you 848 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:58,680 won't falter when they come. Romans chapter 12, verse six 849 00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:02,080 says it this way. Since we have gifts that differ 850 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:07,160 according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise 851 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,240 them accordingly. If prophecy, which is it? 852 00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:13,120 Goes on to a list there, but we are to exercise them 853 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:15,800 accordingly. You know what I love about us in 854 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:17,960 the body of Christ is that we're different. 855 00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:21,440 I don't want to be you. You don't be me. 856 00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:22,920 I don't want to be you. You be you. 857 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:27,840 You're an awesome gift from God. God had a plan and purpose for 858 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:30,760 your life when you made Jesus the Lord of your life. 859 00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:34,440 He's like, this is all that you were ever destined to be. 860 00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:38,160 And you could say, well, my gosh, man, I'm 72 right now. 861 00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:42,440 How can I ever be me at 72? You know what? 862 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,280 God can do something that everyone says you can't get. 863 00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:51,080 The world says it all the time. Time is a gift. 864 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:53,720 Once you spend it can't get it back. 865 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:58,040 That's a lie. Because Jesus Christ can't even 866 00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:04,480 redeem the time. He can redeem the time. 867 00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:10,360 He can buy back all of those wasted years and cram what he 868 00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:14,680 had for you for your whole life into the sliver of what's left. 869 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:20,680 But you got to unwrap you. What we don't understand is that 870 00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:22,760 all we want to do is unwrap Jesus. 871 00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:26,920 And Jesus is saying, I want to unwrap you. 872 00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:33,600 I want to unwrap you. I want everything that I ever 873 00:50:33,600 --> 00:50:36,360 destined you to be. I want it to come out. 874 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:39,560 And This is why we're afraid of Jesus. 875 00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:48,680 Because we're really afraid of finding out who we really are. 876 00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:57,760 Because honestly, if Jesus is not Lord of your life, what you 877 00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:06,740 think you are is a lie. Your father, the devil, has kept 878 00:51:06,740 --> 00:51:09,780 you in bondage. He don't want you to discover 879 00:51:09,780 --> 00:51:11,900 yourself. He don't want you to know the 880 00:51:11,900 --> 00:51:14,800 real you. And you think when you're coming 881 00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:18,880 to Jesus, you're coming because of how not good you are, how 882 00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:20,880 horrible you are. And yeah, you've done some 883 00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:24,880 really rough stuff underneath the father you're with. 884 00:51:25,920 --> 00:51:27,840 But he says I'll take you away from that, Daddy. 885 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:31,600 I'll bring you to my I'll adopt you into my house. 886 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:36,160 I'll make you my child. I'll strip your past. 887 00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:41,200 It won't even exist anymore. And then if you. 888 00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:47,280 Will receive me as your gift. Then I'm going to ask you to be 889 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:53,360 my gift. And I'm going to. 890 00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:56,520 I'm going to show you who you are always destined to be. 891 00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:01,360 And Africa is not where we're all destined to go. 892 00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:04,560 So please do not think God's going to call you to the mission 893 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:06,120 field. Let me tell you, there have been 894 00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:09,640 more missionaries in Africa. It has been missionary well 895 00:52:09,640 --> 00:52:11,960 over. I mean, when God's called in 896 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:15,000 today, he's actually not sending most people to Africa just to 897 00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:19,880 let you know, OK And he there's plenty to do right here in Saint 898 00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:22,440 Augustine and plenty to do. And your family? 899 00:52:22,440 --> 00:52:24,000 There's plenty to do with your job. 900 00:52:24,240 --> 00:52:26,080 I mean, let's just work on that one. 901 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:28,560 And let's not be concerned. Most of you are never going to 902 00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:30,840 be called to the fivefold ministry anyway. 903 00:52:31,560 --> 00:52:34,040 You're going to be called as a St. and you're going to do the 904 00:52:34,040 --> 00:52:36,880 things of God, as I was talking to win when he was at the house 905 00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:39,120 the other he said. Pastor Earl, thank you for your 906 00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:41,320 gift, for all that you and your wife do appreciate. 907 00:52:41,320 --> 00:52:47,240 He goes, I love what I do. I pick up people older in life 908 00:52:47,240 --> 00:52:50,400 before they transition and I'm able to take them to their 909 00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,640 doctor's appointment and I get to spend time with them and I 910 00:52:53,680 --> 00:52:56,440 take care of them and I get to share with them. 911 00:52:56,640 --> 00:53:01,480 And here he is on a bus route where he's taking people that 912 00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:04,720 may be coming off coming out of the domain of darkness into the 913 00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:07,520 Kingdom of He is right there, frontline. 914 00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:12,360 Handling those in these crucial times of their life, I can't get 915 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:16,800 there but together because but what we do in the body he is 916 00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:22,880 hands on with someone's life and unwrapping his gift and sharing 917 00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:28,560 with them the Kingdom, showing compassion and joy and mercy 918 00:53:28,640 --> 00:53:33,000 every day, pouring out the the, the fruits of the spirit in 919 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:38,200 their life. And that work is so amazing, So 920 00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:41,080 amazing because he let God unwrap him. 921 00:53:42,240 --> 00:53:47,280 I said do this and do that and do this and say this to this 922 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:51,600 person and you got it in in you to do this and I'll strengthen 923 00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:55,440 your body so you can do that. Are you hearing me? 924 00:53:56,440 --> 00:54:01,080 Listen, there are a lot of eternal gifts that we should 925 00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:06,360 unwrap daily. Not only us, but we need to 926 00:54:06,360 --> 00:54:11,480 remind our children because the gifts we give, they're 927 00:54:11,480 --> 00:54:15,440 temporary. With His gifts are eternal. 928 00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:24,120 Let's pray. Thank you so much for listening 929 00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:26,560 to this message. If you want more, subscribe to 930 00:54:26,560 --> 00:54:29,960 our message podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and 931 00:54:29,960 --> 00:54:31,960 SoundCloud. Rating and leaving a comment 932 00:54:31,960 --> 00:54:34,120 will go a long way with helping our messages get better 933 00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:36,400 circulation. If you'd enjoyed watching our 934 00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:39,720 weekend messages, visit youtube.com/anchor Faith. 935 00:54:40,440 --> 00:54:42,000 We'd love it. If you'd subscribe, leave a 936 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:43,520 comment or a like on the message messages. 937 00:54:43,840 --> 00:54:46,160 If you'd like to find out more information about us and how 938 00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:48,440 we're influencing the world, and help support the work we're 939 00:54:48,440 --> 00:54:51,160 doing by giving, just visit anchorfaith.com.