one  spirit v2 (720p): So about this game that happened yesterday. I don't watch the games. You might find that hard to believe, but I don't watch my favorite team play. I am not superstitious, but like a coach told me one time, I've seen things. And so I don't typically watch the games. But we were at dinner last night, Zayn said, We're actually winning. It doesn't surprise me, it probably doesn't you either, because no matter what our record is or what Tennessee's is, we always play them well and we usually end up slipping by them somehow. So we got home and I turned on the TV at seventeen to seventeen and Tennessee hands the ball off and runs all the way down to like the four yard line and I turned it back off again. So I told somebody the other day you should be thanking us. We gave you a national championship in nineteen ninety eight, so you could at least be nice to us. Some of you remember that, the the Clint Stirner fumble. Anyway, one of my favorite things when I go back home. Is when I cross the state line, I start seeing a sea of red. Red shirts, license plates, hats that don the name of my favorite team, the Arkansas Razorbacks. Where I grew up, it's Razorback Country and Cardinal Country. Just a few hours from St. Louis, I grew up going to games, and I love that Cardinals' hats outnumber the Braves' hats. Razorback paraphernalia outnumbers any other team. It makes me feel at home. Not long ago I was in the airport and in Dallas and I had on a razorback shirt and a guy was wearing a razorback hat and we passed each other and he said Woo Pig. I Whoopig. We speak the same language. We I I don't feel awkward. Like I do sometimes here wearing my razor back stuff. Next Saturday, Zane and I or this Saturday, we'll be at the Vanderbilt game wearing our razor back stuff, and I'm sure we'll feel like kind of like Jesus of Bethany, you know, feeling like we're about to, you know, have something happen to us. But I I I love watching the games in person at Fayetteville, and you have this kinship. We score a touchdown and I high five the guy next to me. I don't know him. He doesn't know me. He's a complete stranger, but in that moment we're brothers, right? We're enjoying a common bond, which is an unhealthy love for our favorite team. That in a way is fellowship, isn't it? What is fellowship? Maybe we need to define it. Well, fellowship is Latin for potluck, right? I think that's what we think oftentimes. We often associate fellowship with a meal or or card games. But actually, fellowship is not something you do, it's something you have. And it's important for us to get that out of the way when talking about fellowship. It's not something you do, it's something you have. It's kinda like when I go out on a date with my wife. I don't I don't come back and say, Well, I had a marriage tonight. No, I I was married all along. The date that we had was an enhancement to our marriage, but it it wasn't the marriage itself. And it's the same way with fellowship. When we come together for a fifth Sunday or some other potluck or or or activity, that enhances our fellowship. But that's not truly fellowship. Fellowship is the bond that we share. It's something that we have. It's not something that we do. And fellowship is defined by relationship. It's about sharing life. And it's not just something that happens within these walls. It happens outside these walls as well. We don't give up fellowship when we leave here. In fact, it should be as strong as ever. And last week we began a series dissecting the ones that are found in Ephesians chapter four. And I hope that you are studying ahead and you're you're looking each week at what we're looking at on Sunday morning. And this morning we're looking at the Spirit. We often get unity wrong. Because we're not really sure what unity is to begin with. Like we talked about last week, unity is not uniformity, it's not sameness of persons, it's oneness of purpose. We are a team of individuals united in a common bond with a common purpose, and we can only be a successful team if we're all on the same page. And so unity depends on you, but unity is not just you. It's It's about all of us working together towards a common goal. And you have to be an active part of this body for that to take place. Will you play your position to the best of your ability? Because if you do, then we win. Like we talked about last week, unity is a doctrine. We see so many churches that are split on doctrine, and we tried to illustrate that at the end of the sermon last week. But we have to remember that unity is a doctrine as well. And we should be fighting for unity. Instead of looking for every reason to split, we should be looking for every reason to stay together. And this morning we build on the one oneness concept by looking at being united in one spirit. We often talk about spirituality in individual terms. We talk about faith and spirituality as something that is personal. But Paul never approached it that way. And like I've said before, one of the one of the big missteps we make in studying scripture is we're reading through Western eyes and we live in a very individualistic culture. The culture of the Bible was not individualistic at all. It was very collective in nature. And so Paul is playing off of that when he's talking about unity and writing to the Ephesians, he's speaking to a collectivist culture. And he's talking about the the commonality that we have as a group, not just as an individual. You are not a self-contained unit. That was never God's plan. The plan always involve Christians living in harmony, in fellowship, carrying out the mission. And so I I want you to write this down, I want you to internalize this. I want you to take this with you and remember it because it's highly important. You must be in Christian fellowship to experience the full measure of the Holy Spirit. You must, let me say that again, you must be in Christian fellowship to experience the full measure of the Holy Spirit. Yes, when you were baptized, you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. But this is not something that you can experience to its fullest on your own. So the person who says, Well, you know, I love Jesus, I don't need the church, that is anti-biblical. The scriptures do not convey that idea. In fact, quite the opposite. Because again, you're not a self-contained unit. God never intended for you to practice Christianity in isolation. Because one of the reasons is you cannot experience the full measure of the Holy Spirit unless you are in fellowship with others. You cannot willfully remove yourself from the fellowship of the saints and experience the full expression of the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to show you why. Look with me at first Corinthians chapter twelve. You can just stay there if you got your Bible with you if you want to read it from the screen, but we're going to be our whole time in First Corinthians chapter twelve. Starting in verse one, here's what Paul writes. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, Jesus is accursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. Notice that last line. No one Can say. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. How do you know someone has the Spirit? Well, one way is they say Jesus is Lord and they mean it. They confess that Jesus is Lord and they mean it. That is a mark of a Christian. And that's a mark, an identifying mark, that they have the Holy Spirit. You don't speak like a pagan anymore. You speak like a child of God. You speak like someone filled with the Holy Spirit because you are. Look, we all got the same gift at baptism. We all receive the same gift of baptism. We all receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, but the full measure of that gift is something that we have to value, that we have to cherish, and we do that by not allowing the Spirit to be mute, to just sit idle. But we allow it to s to fill us and to and to lead us. And so the question becomes are you aligned with the Holy Spirit's agenda? And you say, well, I want to be Chris, but what is the Holy Spirit's agenda? Very simple. To glorify God. That is the agenda of the Holy Spirit. Are you in line with that agenda? Because the Holy Spirit is a gift that comes with gifts. In the first century, these gifts were like prophesying and speaking in tongues, and these were mesmerizing. People were obsessed with these gifts, something that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Many of them saw them as a social status thing. And so they wanted these gifts. And Paul says, you know, that's really not what it's about. These gifts are not about you at all. They're about someone else. And that's why these gifts are given. So that you can help someone else. These gifts weren't novelties or magic tricks. They weren't a status symbol. They were given for a distinct purpose, which is to glorify God. To bring glory to him. And it wasn't about speaking in tongues, it was about what you said. And if the person is saying Jesus is Lord, then that is a sure sign that they have the Spirit. That was what distinguished God's people from everybody else. A pagan wouldn't say that. A pagan wouldn't say that Jesus is Lord. Jews wouldn't say Jesus is Lord. But a child of God says it. One who is filled with the Holy Spirit says it. Can you say it? Say it with me. Jesus is Lord. Yeah, one more time. Jesus is Lord. If you can say that with all sincerity, if you can say that and mean it, then it shows that you have the Holy Spirit. This is this is my Lord. It's my allegiance to Him. It's the fact that God has chosen to give me this beautiful gift. But I can't experience that gift in full measure individually. It was always meant to be shared collectively. Keep reading. Verse 4. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. One thing I take away from this, and I think it's what Paul is trying to get across, is that God likes variety, doesn't he? He likes variety, he likes diversity. He spreads it around. He doesn't give the same gift to everybody. Remember last week we talked about the illustration of a football team and we're kind of the same way. You can't have a team of kickers. You can't have eleven kickers or twenty-two kickers, you'd never be very successful. Can't have a whole team of linemen. You've got to have different skills. You've got to have different people with different skill sets. And then the same is true with us. We all bring something different to the table, and that's exactly the way it was designed from the very beginning. God gives us different gifts. He spreads it around. He likes variety. He likes diversity. But even though the gifts may be different, the purpose is the same. Variety of gifts, but one spirit. One spirit, one purpose. Your gift is not like my gift. And that's a good thing because if we all had the same gift, we'd all be we'd all be doing the same thing and we'd have these gaping holes within the church. Duties would not be carried out, roles would be left unfulfilled, services would be dropped. And so there is a diversity contributing to unity. He says, For to one is given through the Spirit, the utterance of wisdom. And to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. Again, God spreads things out. Not everyone gets the same gift, but everyone does get a gift. So you can't rightfully sit in your pew and say, Well, I just don't have a gift. I don't have anything to contribute. That's nonsense. Everybody has been given a gift. You probably have more than one gift, whether you realize it or not. What's your gift? Now, before we dig too deep into that, I think it's important to point out that some, unfortunately, in the religious world, try to claim gifts from the Holy Spirit. That were never intended for them. Matthew chapter ten, nineteen and twenty reads, But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say, for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say, for it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. That wasn't written to you. It wasn't written to me. Jesus didn't make this same promise to you, and therefore you can't claim it. I've heard some people say, well, the Spirit is going to guide me into all truth because Jesus said so, and there is some truth to that. That is true on one level, but he's not going to do it the same way he did for his apostles. Why? Well, because we have all truth, right? We have everything pertaining to life and godliness as as Peter tried to tell us. Just because the Holy Spirit dwells in you doesn't mean that he operates the way that he did in the first century. Much of the confusion concerning the Holy Spirit is the direct result of religious people wanting to claim promises that were never intended for them. And so speaking in tongues and prophesying and healing through the laying on of hands, these are gifts that were never intended for them. For you or for me, so let's just kind of set them aside. Let's take them out of play for a moment. That doesn't mean that God no longer gives gifts. Quite the contrary. He absolutely gives gifts. So what is your gift? Well, I I don't know necessarily. Some of you I can I can tell your gift. But you've got to figure that out. What what is your gift? What do you bring to the table? What do you bring to the team? What What is it that you can contribute here? And if you don't know, ask someone you trust. They can usually tell you what you're good at. But there's no such thing as a zero talent individual. So you have at least one gift. What is it? I had a little sweet lady at the church in Abilene, loved her. Miss Jimmy. And I would go and see her often and she got a little bit crusty in her older age and she was ninety-nine and she was very upset that she hadn't died. She wanted to go home and be with her father, and she told me, she said, Chris, I don't know why he's keeping me alive. And I politely said, You probably better figure that out. And the same is true with all of us. Do you know why God's keeping you alive? I mean two of the biggest moments in our lives are when we're born and when we figure out why. Why are you here? What is your purpose? Well, I can tell you that much. A very unassuming preacher from Middle Tennessee has what the answer to one of the biggest questions in life that existential question of why am I here? You know what it is? It's very simple. Glorify God. That's your purpose. That is the reason you're here. You weren't put on this earth to be a mom. You weren't put on this earth to make money. You're put on this earth. You are made in the image of God to be his image to the world around you, to glorify him. And that saturates everything you are, everything you do. It saturates you being a mom. It saturates you in your in the business world. It saturates everything you do. It is your identity and you are to glorify God in everything that you do. And that certainly affects the way you function as a church member. Keep reading, verse eleven. All these are empowered by one and the same spirit. Who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Think about what this means. The same spirit that empowered the apostles is the same spirit that empowers you. It gives me chills. The same spirit that empowered them is the same spirit that empowers you. So the question becomes, what is the spirit empowering you to do? Because Chris McCurley is not the only minister here. Chris Edge, Chad Garrett, they're not the only ministers here. If someone in the community were to ask you, so so who's who's the minister at Walnut Street? Don't say Chris McCurley. We have close to a thousand ministers here. At least we should. It's not just the paid guys who do ministry, it's all of us. And what is your ministry? What is your ministry? Well, that's what you've got to figure out. What is your gift? What do you bring to the table? You have a ministry. It may be public speaking. It may be working in the audio visual realm. It may be serving in some way, shape, or form. What is. Your ministry. You know, there have been times where I've approached someone, church member, and said, Hey, you know, you would be good at this, and they say, never really thought of that. Sometimes we don't recognize that we have a gift until someone points it out to us. But it's important to you for you to figure out what your ministry is. And also understand that the ministry you are best suited for may not be the ministry that you're most excited about. You may be the perfect person for an imperfect job. Your gift may be the right fit for a ministry that you don't particularly like. It happens. It happened with Moses, didn't it? He didn't feel like he was the man for the job, but God certainly did. And I bring this up when when I talk to potential elders. When I talk to guys that that may potentially be an elder someday, I I talk to them about their gifts and how leadership is one of their gifts. And they say, Yeah, but I don't desire the office. And I say, So what? So what? God may be calling you to that whether you like it or not. That may be your ministry, whether you like it or not. God didn't take that excuse from Moses or Gideon or others. Be careful using that excuse if you're a man who could make a great elder for the church. The church needs you. And are you allowing the Holy Spirit to empower you for the work of his church? And if it seems like I'm issuing a challenge, let me be clear, I am. I absolutely am challenging you. That is my intention. It is my intention to get you to move nowhere, nowhere in the New Testament. When we look at the church, we read Paul's letters or Peter's or James or we look at the book of Acts, nowhere do you find that sitting was a good thing. Nowhere do you find pew potatoes? Nowhere do you find people who just sat and soaked. The church was a movement, and it was always intended to be a movement. Now, unfortunately, many churches today are monuments to a once great movement. But if we want to be a movement, if we want to be like the first church and we want to move, which we should, then it's going to take all of us turning the wheels in the same direction. We've all got to be on the same page. Now Please understand if you're if you're here and you're not moving yet, that's okay. We're glad you're here. Nobody's gonna boot you out of here. We're glad that you're here. That's something, right? But eventually, eventually, you should be moving towards utilizing your gift or gifts. Being a ministry or part of a ministry and helping this church to move forward. You have a gift. You have been empowered. So what are you doing? Keep reading. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews and Greeks, slaves are free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. There's that one. One spirit, one body comes up over and over again. When I decided I wanted to be a coach, I went to school in my last semester, my last year really, I realized that I was pretty ignorant. that I didn't know what I needed to know to go out and lead a team. My high school was very good at basketball, very competitive every year. Because we had the winningest High school coach in the state of Arkansas, Dr. Robert Painter. He's actually from Tennessee. And I wanted to learn from Dr. Painter at that time. He was seventy-seven years old. He had been at the school twenty-five years and he was still going strong. And so I wanted to learn from him. So I asked, Can I just be a volunteer assistant? I want to soak up everything I can. And he said, Absolutely. And so he let me learn from him that and we had a great team. Seven foot, six five, six four. We had guys on the bench that could start anywhere else. It it was a fun season. But there was there was something about that team that was so special and it was this. Everyone stayed in their lane. Everyone knew what their job was and they didn't try to do the other person's job. Our point guard was like five eleven. He knew that he couldn't get inside and bang around with those kids. Our seven footer knew that he wasn't a three point shooter. He stayed around the basket. Our s we had a six five kid, muscles this big, they used to bruise around. He knew he wasn't a point guard. Everyone knew their role. And they carried out their role effectively. There was one boy though, I love this kid. He didn't get to play very much. In fact, he sat at the end of the bench every game. And while he wasn't content there, he seemed to know his place. He seemed to realize that he didn't measure up with the rest of this bunch. So one day we were having shoot-around and coach said, I only want you shooting from spots on the floor. That you'll be shooting from in the game. So big seven foot John, you need to be under the basket. That's where you need to be shooting around. You're taking your shots. Rusty Crafton, our one of our our guards, we want you shooting threes when shooting outside, because that's your role. Only shoot from spots that you know you'll be at in the game. And so my little friend who sat on the other bench took his ball. And he went and sat down on the bench and started hoisting the the ball at the basket. Because that was his spot. He was a bench warmer. He knew his spot. On this team, there are no bench warm. You don't have to wait to get into the game. You're in the game. When you were immersed into Christ, you arose a new creature in Christ, and you were inserted into this game. Each and every member plays an integral role on this team. You're not waiting your turn. You're not hoping that you get in. You're in. And the coach is expecting something from you. He's expecting to use the talent and the ability that he's given you for the betterment of this team. He's relying on you. The team is relying on you. Keep reading, verses 14 and following. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole Body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? Folks, your gifts were given for someone else. They weren't given for you. Your gifts were given for someone else. Your gifts are not truly your gifts. This isn't about you. This is about everyone else. We don't have time to get into chapters 13 and 14, but let me read just an excerpt from chapter 14. This is in verse 6. Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, How will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if your tongue, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For if you will be speaking into the for you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in the building up of the church. It's not about status. It's not about the fact that you can speak in tongues. You were given that gift for someone else. It's not about your ability. It's about someone else being able to hear and understand what it is that you're saying. Speaking in tongues isn't about the speaker. That's what Paul is trying to get across. It's not about the person speaking as much as it is about the person hearing. Some in Paul's day were eager to have these gifts because they thought it gave them special status and they desired these gifts because they believed them to be more prominent. But Paul reminds them, you're just a conduit. That's all you are. You're just a vessel. That's all you are. Don't get too proud of yourself because these gifts were given to you for someone else. And on the other side of things, don't get too down on yourself. If you're not an eye. Or if you're not a hand. Or if you're not a foot. Maybe you want so badly to be those things, and maybe you feel insignificant because you aren't those things. And Paul says, No. Whatever you are, it's important. No matter. Your gift or gifts. They are important because they came from God and they are to be used for someone else. So try not to shine the spotlight on yourself and your gift. Recognize that your gifts were given for someone else. Don't despise your gift, Paul says. You may not think you have much to offer. Maybe you don't think that that the Spirit has given you much. think Moses learned this lesson, didn't he? He attempted to convince God over and over again that he's not the man for the job. He finally resorts to saying, you know, I don't speak well and God says, Who made your mouth? Come on. We have no excuse here. You have a gift. Use that gift. You don't get to judge your importance. That's not your job. You don't get to judge your importance. You don't get to judge your importance to this team. That's already been established. You are important. You just got to figure out what it is that you can contribute. Keep reading. But as it is, God arranged the members in the body. each one of them as he chokes. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor, and our presentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. One part of the body cannot say to another, I don't need you. I have no need of you. You don't get to say that. We don't despise our gifts and we don't despise the gift of another. But that's what you're doing when you remove yourself from the body. When you willfully take yourself out, I'm not talking about those who have extenuating circumstances, those who can't be here because they're shut in, because they have they have health issues and things. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about those who willfully remove themselves from the body. That's despising your gift. The Holy Spirit did not give you a gift so that you could be self-sufficient. Your gift doesn't mean anything unless it is shared. Your gift or gifts were given to you for someone else, and therefore don't despise those gifts by not sharing them. There is only one you. And the church needs you. It needs him and her too. Sometimes you're the one, sometimes you're the other. But the church needs you, and you need everyone else. And it's only in fellowship that you can experience this. There was a gentleman who had stopped coming to church. On his own accord, he decided he didn't want to be there anymore, and so just stayed at home. And one day the preacher came to visit him, knocked on the door, the gentleman led him in, said, Hey, good to see you, preacher. The preacher never said anything. He simply sat down in the chair, there was a fire going, and the preacher just stared at the fire as the flames danced around the logs. After a few minutes, again, not saying anything, the preacher got up, he took some tongs, and he pulled out just one one ember, and he set it beside the fireplace on the hearth. And he just stared at that ember as it glowed for a moment and eventually just burned out. He stared at it, and he stared at it, never saying a word. Finally he got up, he took the tongs, he picked up the ember, he placed it back in the fireplace. where the flames took it over, began to burn vibrantly again, and the preacher simply walked out the door. But before he left The man with the tear streaming down his face says I got the mess. I'll be soon. Don't let your fire burn out. Don't let your ember grow cold and dead. We need you. You need us. The fire isn't as bright without you. Often hear I I've got time. I've even said that to myself, I've got time. And maybe you do. Maybe you don't. I'm sure there have been many people in history who have died thinking that they had more time. I'm not trying to scare you into submission this morning, but trying to get you to realize that there is an urgency here. You were born with an expiration date and you don't know when it's going to come due. The time is now. This is the best time. There's no better time than right now. To give your full allegiance to King Jesus. To say, I'm all in. I'm not going to be a spectator anymore. I'm going to be a participator. I'm going to take off the the bib and put on an apron. I'm going to roll my sleeves up and I'm going to dig in and I'm going to be who you would have me to be, God. I'm going to be invested in this family and in the work of this family. Till my dying day. So If you're not a disciple, I would encourage you. With your faith, allow that faith, that allegiance, that fidelity to move you to repenting and to making the great confession and being immersed into the waters of baptism for the remission of your sins and beginning a daily walk with God, joining this team and being bought in, using those gifts that He gives you. I love you. And I want what's best for you. And what's best for you is. And for all of us, is for you to be an integral part of this team and that we enjoy a wonderful family reunion in heaven someday. We can help you. Why don't you come as we stand and as we sit?