What Are the Gifts | Empowered (Part 1)

[00:00:03] Speaker A: You're listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. Travis Rutland is a Spirit filled pastor and ministry leader who has been featured on International Christian Television. He serves as lead pastor of Liberty Square Church in Cartersville, Georgia and as president of Global Servants. His sermons focus on clear biblical teaching, practical truth and encouragement for everyday life. Each message is designed to strengthen your faith and draw you deeper into God's word. This podcast is brought to you by Global. Servants. For more information about Global servants, please visit globalservants.org now here's Travis Rutland. [00:00:42] Speaker B: I'm beginning a new series which is going to be a little bit more theological based. So I want to do a series on the gifts of the Spirit. So that's what we want to talk about for the next several weeks. We want to talk about the gifts of the Spirit and all that that entails, what that means, what they are, how do they work, all those kinds of things. So turn, if you will, to act. Chapter one this morning I want to give us a foundational idea of the gifts of the Spirit. So this morning is what are the gifts? That's what we're going to talk about this morning is what are the gifts? How are they operate, how are they given? All those kinds of things. So I just want to lay some foundation. So this may feel a little bit more of a teaching than preaching, but it's important to lay that foundation. It's important for us to understand the theology so that we can move forward, everybody being on the same page. Also, I'm in touch with the reality that not everybody has grown up in the same denomination. Not everybody's grown up with the same theological belief. So I wanted to lay this foundation to if you've started attending recently so that you know who we are and what we are about. If you maybe didn't realize it, let me let you know. We are a Pentecostal church. If that's a surprise to you. [00:01:56] Speaker C: There you go. So we're in the Church of God, Cleveland denomination. [00:02:01] Speaker B: So we're a Pentecostal church. We're a Spirit filled church. [00:02:03] Speaker C: We're. [00:02:04] Speaker B: What does that mean? Means a lot of different things. One of the main qualifiers of that of our denomination is that we believe in the gifts of the Spirit. We believe in all of the gifts of the Spirit, and we believe that the gifts of the Spirit are operational for today. So that's sort of who we are and what we believe and lay this foundation when we talk about it. But here's the thing. A lot of us did not grow up in classical pentecostalism myself included. I grew up in the Methodist Church. I was a son of a Methodist pastor. Now we were Spirit filled Methodists. But still, I did not grow up in a classical Pentecostal denomination or experience when it came to Sunday morning service. So therefore, we all approach this a little differently. So I just want to talk generally about the gifts this morning and then we're going to dig in later on. But I want to read two passages as we. As we begin, so turn, if you will to Acts chapter 1 and verse 7. This is Jesus speaking right before. This is the risen Christ. He has resurrected from the dead. He spends several weeks with the disciples before his ascension back into heaven. And so he is speaking to them right before he is taken back into heaven. All right, so Acts chapter one and verse seven. And Jesus said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his in his own authority. Verse 8. But you shall receive power. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But again, the beginning of verse 8. And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Now turn if you will, and this is where we're going to spend most of our time today. To 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. This is the first letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. And in 1213 following, he deals with the gifts of the spirit. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 1, 1 Corinthians 12 and 1. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. So in this letter, he is now shifting his focus and he says, now, concerning spiritual gifts. Talk about that. Let's pray. Lord, I ask in the next few moments that you will speak to us, all of us. We want to hear from you. We want to hear all that you have for each of us, myself included. If you cannot speak through me, speak in spite of me. But we long to hear your voice. In Jesus name we pray. [00:04:22] Speaker C: Amen. [00:04:25] Speaker B: The world used to be a much more mysterious place than it is now. There used to be stuff that you heard about in rumor or legend, places that this explorer had seen that nobody else had. And technology is not a bad thing. But technology has shrunk our world. The cell phone, the ability to take pictures anywhere, anytime, all of that. The social media, the Internet has shrunk our world. So you go, wow, you go to some foreign country. And they say, hey, you need to see this waterfall. [00:05:00] Speaker C: It's beautiful. [00:05:01] Speaker B: And nobody ever goes there. And it's remote and it's isolated and [00:05:04] Speaker C: you go, w, this is great. And you go to see the waterfall and you trek through the jungle and [00:05:09] Speaker B: you come over the hill and you [00:05:10] Speaker C: look down at this beautiful waterfall into this reflecting pool, and all around The [00:05:14] Speaker B: Waterfall are 10 influencers with iPhones just taking pictures of themselves and the waterfall. Do you see that the, the, the mystery of it is somewhat gone. It is taken from us the same [00:05:27] Speaker C: way with the universe. [00:05:28] Speaker B: Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, people stared up at the stars and said, I wonder what's going on up there. I wonder what that's about. I wonder what it looks like. [00:05:36] Speaker C: And because of telescopes and satellites and [00:05:39] Speaker B: deep space probes, we can launch stuff out in the universe. And you can see pictures of what a collapsing star looks like, and you [00:05:46] Speaker C: can see pictures of the moons of [00:05:48] Speaker B: Jupiter and all of those things. [00:05:50] Speaker C: And there is some element of that mystery that is taken from us. And one day we'll have space travel [00:05:57] Speaker B: and you go to the moons of [00:05:58] Speaker C: Jupiter and when you get there, there'll be 10 influencers with an iPhone taking pictures of themselves enjoying the moons of [00:06:05] Speaker B: Jupiter, IO or whatever moon they're on, right? [00:06:11] Speaker C: And so the mystery is taken from us. This is, I'm not saying that this [00:06:17] Speaker B: is some sort of an anti technology tirade. This is not an anti doctors, anti nurses, anti medicine, anti science. There's none of that. It's just that technology has taken some of the mystery of it. Here's the thing. I believe because of that, and because of being afraid or worried about what the world might say or what others might say, we have also backed away from the mysterious. [00:06:54] Speaker D: When it comes to the spiritual walk, our spiritual lives, there are things out there that cannot be explained. There's stuff that's happening in the spiritual [00:07:08] Speaker C: that we don't get. [00:07:09] Speaker B: I heard somebody say one time, if you understand it completely, it's not God. [00:07:14] Speaker C: And there is a huge element of truth to that. There are things that happen in the spiritual that you cannot quantify. We want to quantify and codify everything and we want to put it in its proper box and in its proper perspective. And there are things out there. There are angels, there are demons, there is spiritual warfare. There are things swirling around us in a universe that we cannot see with natural eyes. And if that makes you nervous, I don't know what to say to you because it's true. There's just stuff out there But I believe in our vain attempt to fit in with the world. [00:07:51] Speaker B: Remember, being Paul tells us, don't be conformed to this world. [00:07:55] Speaker C: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. But unfortunately, in our vain attempt to [00:08:02] Speaker B: conform ourselves to look like everybody else, [00:08:04] Speaker C: we've walked away from some of those things. We've become embarrassed. Or furthermore, we as Pentecostals, in order to conform into the larger church identity, we ourselves have walked back from some of the stuff that we should be holding so dear, some of the things that we should be telling others about. We have become. We have become embarrassed around, not around the world, we've become embarrassed around other church folks, right? So you go to something and they go, where do you go to church? And everybody says they're going to other denominations, whatever it is, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. And you find yourself thinking, I hope nobody asks me where I go to church. Right. But we ought not do that. There is no reason to be embarrassed about the spiritual things that are happening. We see in both Old and New Testament in the life of Jesus, in the life of Paul, in the life of Peter. There is the spiritual component to this walk. We are not. We are not really flesh and blood. We are spirit confined by a body until glory to God. We are set free. One day we. I'm waiting. My spirit is imprisoned in this body that I have treated so badly. So I'm ready for my spirit to be set free from this, which isn't great. This is what I've. Look at what I've done to it in 50 years, my God, you know what I'm saying? What's it going to look like in another 20 or 30 years? But I'm waiting for my spirit to be free. We are not just flesh and blood. We are spirit waiting to be reconnected to a spiritual father. That. That's. So first of all, we need to get that straight. We need to get it settled. We need to have it clear in our mind. I'm. I refuse to be embarrassed or ashamed [00:09:54] Speaker B: of who we are, of what we believe, of what our distinctive is. And there is no reason that any of us should. But in order to talk about it, we have to understand it. We kind of talked about this last week a little bit as we were finishing the other series. We need to know what are the gifts? How do they work, what do they do, all of those elements of it, so that when we are asked about it, we can talk about it in a reasonable way. So turn, if you will, back now to 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, [00:10:32] Speaker C: as I [00:10:33] Speaker B: said, this is going to be a little bit more teaching, but turn to 12 and verse 4. Paul says, he says now he begins the whole chapter by saying, let me, let's talk about spiritual gifts. Now he begins to dig in. Look at 12 and 4. There are diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but is the same God who works all in all, all. So the first thing on this, you know, and it's super easy, the first thing is spiritual gifts are diverse. There's many, there's a lot. [00:11:11] Speaker C: You can't. [00:11:11] Speaker B: Don't confine yourself to just feeling or understanding that it's only this thing or it's only that thing. Spiritual gifts are diverse. And there are a number of their four major lift listings of the gifts of the Spirit recorded in the New Testament. We're not going to read all of them per se, but I do want you to be aware of them all right? So I just want you to have them so that you have a list. Because what I think is a lot of us, especially we in the Pentecostal world, deal with this list from 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 the most. And that's where we're gonna. That's what I'm gonna preach from for the next several weeks is, is dealing with this list of nine that is recorded in 1 Corinthians 12. But there are other listings and other gifts. And if we're not familiar, if we don't know what we're talking about, then we can't speak to it with authority. So I want you to know these. Look, if you will, at Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12 and verse 6, Paul says, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry, let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. So we have this first list In Romans chapter 12, which is prophecy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy. [00:12:31] Speaker C: I just think we think that it's a very small thing, but did you see that, that giving, the idea of being a generous person, that may be a gift of the Spirit that is given to you, you may already be a generous person. [00:12:42] Speaker B: You may not need that. [00:12:43] Speaker C: But for others of us, God gives us that gift. And so we have that gift. There's a Gift of leadership. [00:12:48] Speaker B: There's a gift of mercy. [00:12:49] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. The world needs more people with the gift of mercy. If you're going to pray for a gift of the spirit, pray this. Romans, chapter 12. That God gives you the gift of mercy to show kindness to others. [00:13:01] Speaker B: Right now, we will read this numerous times in the next couple of weeks. But now turn back to 1 Corinthians 12 and look at verse 8. For those of us again in the Pentecostal world, this is the list we're most familiar with, verse 8. And for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit to another, the word of knowledge through the same spirit to another faith by the same spirit to another, gifts of healings by the same Spirit to another, the working of miracles to another, prophecy to another, discerning of spirits to another, different kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues. So again, we have this list of nine that we're probably familiar with. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues. But then in the same chapter later on, Paul gives us another list. Look, if you will, the Same chapter, verse 28. Same chapter, verse 28. And God has appointed these in the church. First apostles, second prophets, third teachers. After that, miracles. Then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. So here you list this list. You have apostle, prophet, teacher, miracles, healing, helping, or compassion, administration, speaking in tongues. Isn't that interesting? The gift of administration. See, again, we think of these as being, you know, different. [00:14:22] Speaker C: We don't always think of all the ones. [00:14:24] Speaker B: We don't often think of mercy as a gift of the Spirit or administration or leadership or giving, but they are. The final one is recorded in Ephesians chapter 4. This is one that you're probably familiar with as well. This is Ephesians 4 and 11. Paul is writing again, and he says, and he himself, meaning Jesus, and he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. So in this one you have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. If you've ever heard of the fivefold ministry gifts, this is the verse that they use. So this is the verse that is talked about or used when you discuss fivefold ministry. It's there. So apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher. So all of that to say that the gifts are as diverse as all of us. There is not a one size fits all. Paul has listed many. And the idea probably is that there are more beyond that. It's just that these are the lists that were given to us. But there is something for you. I think that too often what we say is, well, God has never given me the gift of healing, so I don't have a gift. [00:15:28] Speaker C: That's not true. [00:15:28] Speaker B: That is just one of a litany of gifts that are listed and things [00:15:32] Speaker C: that you could be about and gifts [00:15:34] Speaker B: that you could be operating in. [00:15:36] Speaker C: You, you need to be asking God, you need to be praying God, show [00:15:39] Speaker B: me the gift that you have for my life. Show me how you want to use me. [00:15:44] Speaker C: No one is disqualified. [00:15:45] Speaker B: All right. Spiritual gifts are diverse. They are as diverse as all of us. Now the second thing back if you will, to 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. Look at verse 7, 1 Corinthians 12 and 7. 1 Corinthians 12 and 7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one. First we said the spiritual gifts are diverse. Now spiritual gifts are given to every spirit filled believer. We cannot and dare not disqualify ourselves from believing that it's for somebody else. It's given to somebody else. It says, look again one last time. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each other. One, There is something that God wants to do in your life now. We're going to talk about this later on. Some of these gifts are given in a lifetime. Some of these gifts are given in a moment. They're given for a particular moment in time. There's a gift, for example, using the idea of the public giving of tongues. There is a moment where God is [00:17:01] Speaker C: giving you tongues in public for the [00:17:04] Speaker B: edification of the church and then God gives somebody else the interpretation of tongues. That may not be that you, that's not to say that you are necessarily supposed to do that in every service. You're in between that and the coming of Jesus. You see what I'm saying? Sometimes it's given to us in a moment. There is a moment where you are used in healing. That does not necessarily mean that you're supposed to start a healing ministry. You see what I'm saying? [00:17:33] Speaker C: There's a difference and we have to know that. Now sometimes God gives us a lifetime gift. [00:17:38] Speaker B: Sometimes we are given this thing that [00:17:40] Speaker C: is for a lifetime. I, I think, I feel, I hope that God has given me some kind [00:17:46] Speaker B: of gifting for, for preaching. [00:17:48] Speaker C: It's not just a one time thing. [00:17:50] Speaker B: I feel like God has given me some gifting for preaching. But sometimes God uses us once for that thing and then never again. But the bigger point is that a [00:17:59] Speaker C: gift is Given to all of us. We cannot disqualify ourselves. You can't say somebody else is going to do it or somebody else is going to deal with it, or the gifting isn't for me, or I can't be used, or whatever it is. Its manifestation is for each believer. [00:18:14] Speaker B: So there is something that God, that [00:18:16] Speaker C: the Holy Spirit, through God the Father, [00:18:18] Speaker B: wants to do in your life when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit. All right, so every believer has at least one. We talked about that. Look, if you will, at 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 and verse 27. 12 and 27. Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. Skip down to 29. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? Those are rhetorical questions. By the way, what Paul is saying is, no, not all. [00:18:56] Speaker C: Not everybody has every gift. [00:18:59] Speaker B: So I also want to set you free on this in the same way that no believe that every believer has at least one. [00:19:05] Speaker C: I also wanted to set you free that nobody has all of them. [00:19:09] Speaker B: You saw the list from four different places, four different writings of Paul. [00:19:13] Speaker C: See, we can't use the spiritual gifts to one up each other or to [00:19:19] Speaker B: make others look less than because of what we have. [00:19:23] Speaker C: You see what I'm saying? So somebody says, I think I have [00:19:25] Speaker B: the spiritual gift of administration. [00:19:27] Speaker C: And you're like, please, I right, this is what we do. This is what we do. You go, I have the gifts of healing. So your gifts of healing trumps their administration, Right? So you play the trump card and you go, gifts of healing. And then somebody else wanders in and they go, gifts of healing. That's okay, I guess. But I have prophecy, signs, discernment, tongues, interpretation of tongues. That's a spiritual full house. And they win. You see what I'm saying? You see what's going on here? So no believer has all of them. If you're trying to have. If you're trying to have all of the gifts of the Spirit, all you're going to do is drive yourself crazy. And you're also going to be operating outside of the will of the Father, which is that you operate in the gift he has given you instead of. Instead of trying to get all the ones that you don't have. Hell, ask God to show you how to best operate in the one that you have been given, or the two, or the three. But nobody has all of them. And trying to be all of them. Well, I've got to Be an apostle and an evangelist and a prophet. And I've got to have discernment and I've got to have a word of wisdom. That's. It's impossible. Do you see that? So don't drive yourself crazy trying to [00:20:40] Speaker B: get all of them, but in the same way, know that all of us have been given at least one of them. All right? Now look at 1 Corinthians 12 and 11. We're just talking about receiving the gifts. We're talking this sort of laying the foundation here. But I want you to stay with me because it's important. 1 Corinthians 12 and 11. But 1 and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills. Next thing is this. The Holy Spirit determines your gift. The Holy Spirit determines your gift. And you need to be okay with that. Take your hands off of it and allow God to use you in the way that he wants to use you, [00:21:26] Speaker C: instead of trying to take ownership of [00:21:29] Speaker B: one, instead of trying to get one. Because here's the thing. [00:21:33] Speaker C: We talked about it. The gift of administration, it gets no love. You understand what I'm saying? Especially in the Pentecostal Church. If you walk into a Pentecostal Church and say, I have the gift of administration, they go sit in the back. You know what I'm saying? Right? Because that gets no love. But what happens is because we have decided that our gift isn't as amazing, isn't as wonderful, isn't as awesome as somebody else's gift. So what we're trying to do is take ownership of that gift. So get. We get the feedback in the natural. [00:22:06] Speaker B: But remember, we're not dealing with natural. [00:22:09] Speaker C: This is the gifts of the Spirit. We're operating in the spiritual. And there may be not, maybe there is a spiritual component to your gift of administration that you may never know [00:22:21] Speaker B: about or understand until you get to heaven. [00:22:23] Speaker C: But see, in the natural, it doesn't [00:22:25] Speaker B: seem as impressive as a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge or [00:22:28] Speaker C: discernment of spirits, but it is just as vital to the growing of the church. It is just as important. And furthermore, you operating in your gift of administration or mercy or whichever ones [00:22:41] Speaker B: we decide aren't as poor and important as the other ones. You operating in that gift is what [00:22:46] Speaker C: God is calling you to be about. That's what you're supposed to do. Don't put your hands on it. And don't try to take ownership of a gift that isn't given to you. [00:22:54] Speaker B: The Holy Spirit determines distributing to each one individually as he wills. Now, the final thing with this little section on receiving the gifts, look, if you will, at 1 Timothy chapter 4. Paul is writing to his son in the faith. Timothy 1 Timothy 4 and 14, 1 Timothy 4 and 14. He says, do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. The final one. Do not neglect the gift that is in you. The final thing is this. You are called by God to use your gift. [00:23:39] Speaker D: That the Holy Spirit is putting those. [00:23:41] Speaker B: You are called by God to use your gift. [00:23:44] Speaker D: Put, put those, put those gifts to work. Allow God to use that gift. Now, the more mysterious gifts, right? So God has a word of knowledge that he has given inside of you for somebody. But that word of knowledge is not always, what if it's a word of knowledge? That is also word of rebuke. [00:24:14] Speaker C: You know what I'm saying? [00:24:15] Speaker B: That makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. Because anybody that's on my staff knows I am grace, grace, grace. [00:24:22] Speaker C: I'm like, hey, you're doing a great job. [00:24:24] Speaker B: Do it a little bit better. [00:24:25] Speaker C: But you're doing great, right? I'm grace and I'm encouraging. And you come in and say, I feel like God's telling me to do this. And unless you tell me that God's calling you to an out and out [00:24:36] Speaker B: sin, I'm going to encourage you. [00:24:38] Speaker C: Listen, my job here, one of my jobs here is to be the biggest cheerleader in this church. You say, God's calling me this. I go, man, that's great. I love it. I'm excited for you. How can I help? That's my job. And then God gives me a word of. A word of knowledge for Matthew. That's rebuke, right? [00:24:57] Speaker D: But Paul says, do not neglect the gift that is in you. I'll give you another one. [00:25:05] Speaker C: We're big church, a lot of people [00:25:07] Speaker D: in here, and one Sunday morning during [00:25:09] Speaker B: praise and worship, you feel like you've [00:25:11] Speaker D: got that gift of tongues, the public utterance of tongues, that God has given [00:25:15] Speaker B: you a word in tongues for this conference congregation. [00:25:18] Speaker C: But there's six or seven hundred people [00:25:20] Speaker B: in here, you know what I'm saying? [00:25:24] Speaker C: And you go, Right. [00:25:30] Speaker D: It, it feels intimidating. [00:25:33] Speaker C: Or furthermore, what if somebody else has the word and then, you know, you've got the interpretation. Oh, but you go, I don't know if that's the. What if it's not the right interpretation? And everybody's gonna judge me. Pastor Travis is gonna excommunicate me from the church, right? And you go, hi, I think I got the interpretation, but I don't know. And then we just wait. [00:25:56] Speaker B: You ever been in a service like [00:25:57] Speaker C: that where somebody gives a word in tongues? And then you wait and you wait a little bit longer than normal? You know what it is? It's the person that's got the interpretation is wrestling with God about whether or not to say it. That's what's happening. God has already given that interpretation to somebody. The problem is not the. The transmitter. The problem is the receiver. God has already told somebody in that congregation. This is the interpretation. And the reason there's a long pause is because somebody's sitting there going, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. [00:26:25] Speaker B: I don't want to do this. Right. [00:26:27] Speaker C: I get it. Sometimes the mysterious is a little scary. The mysterious is a little overwhelming. The mysterious is a little, you know, it can be confusing at times. This is a spiritual realm, and we are spirit, but we're covered with all this flesh, and we're in the natural. Do not neglect to use your gift. If all of us in this place could embrace the gift that God has given to us and begin to use it, we would see Bartow and beyond transformed. We would see people say, why was the Book of Acts church so much [00:27:04] Speaker B: more powerful than the church now? [00:27:06] Speaker C: I believe it was because every member of the early church was operating in [00:27:09] Speaker B: the spiritual gift that they had been given. [00:27:11] Speaker C: And now we've got whole. We've got whole sections of the church that not only are they not. [00:27:16] Speaker B: But not only are they not operating in their spiritual gift. [00:27:19] Speaker C: They don't even believe that the spiritual gift is for now. That's why we're not seeing what we want to see. I want to see revival. I want to see miracles. I want to see healings. I want to see those things. But, but in order for those things to happen, we have to have enough courage to step up and use the gift that has been given in us. Do not neglect the gift that has [00:27:42] Speaker D: been given to you. [00:27:43] Speaker C: Now. I don't, I don't know what it looks like. I don't know what that gift is. [00:27:47] Speaker B: I don't know where it comes from. [00:27:48] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:27:49] Speaker B: Wait, wait, wait, wait. I say things that are crazy, and then I hear myself. [00:27:52] Speaker C: I do, I, I, I. I do know where it comes from. I do know where it comes from. [00:28:03] Speaker B: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. [00:28:05] Speaker C: All right. [00:28:06] Speaker B: I get all riled up. Okay, let me start again. It is mysterious, you say, I'm worried about this. This is beyond what I'm supposed to be doing. This is not my calling. This is. I'll give you a perfect example. I'll be the first to admit this. I'm 50 years old. I have never, ever had the gift of public utterance, of tongues operational in my life, ever. I have never, ever felt the word, the interpretation of tongues, ever in my entire life. I just never have. I've been in thousands, hundreds of services where we've had tongues, where somebody's interpreted tongues. I've never, ever felt like God was giving me a word of tongues publicly. I've never, ever having heard a word of tongues, even in churches that I've pastored. I've never, ever felt that I had the interpretation. I just never have. And I'm okay with that. And you have to be okay with that, too. Which may be a little bit of a stretch for us as Pentecostals, but you have to be okay with that, too. I know that I'm operating in the gifts that are given to me, and one day, if the Spirit wants, he'll give me that gift. But. But I've never had that gift. But going back to what I was saying is we. We get intimidated. We get scared. We get overwhelmed by the mysterious, by the spiritual. What's happening? Why is God using me this way? What. [00:29:37] Speaker C: What is God. [00:29:38] Speaker D: Why is God saying for me to say this or do this? [00:29:42] Speaker C: Don't. [00:29:43] Speaker D: Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. The spiritual is mysterious, but don't be scared of it. Don't run from it. Paul says, do not neglect the gift that was given to you. [00:29:56] Speaker B: Now, the final thing. Look at 1 Corinthians 12 again, 1 Corinthians 12 and 7. We read this verse, but I want to read it one more time and then some others that we haven't read. 1 Corinthians 12, 7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. Okay, verse 12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body. So also is Christ. Verse 14. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. Verse 19. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now, indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again the feet, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No. Much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable on those. We bestow greater honor and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed a body having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. Verse 26. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. [00:31:17] Speaker C: For. [00:31:18] Speaker B: Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. The point is this, this last one. [00:31:27] Speaker D: Spiritual gifts are to be used for others. [00:31:32] Speaker B: This more than anything else is what [00:31:34] Speaker D: we as Pentecostals have to get a hold of. Spiritual gifts is not to bring fame to yourself. Notoriety, that's a better word, notoriety to yourself. They are used for others. [00:31:54] Speaker B: The gifts that are public, in public, because you might have a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom, you're just going to give it to that one person. [00:32:05] Speaker D: But gifts, gifts of healings, gifts of [00:32:09] Speaker B: healings, okay, that happens in a public place. So what we have to be careful [00:32:15] Speaker D: of is that we don't take ownership of the gift, right? We got to be really careful of that. [00:32:23] Speaker B: I. I appreciate, I believe in, and I endorse people that have a healing ministry. [00:32:31] Speaker D: But remember this, this is really important. You don't have to get them to pray for you necessarily, because it ain't about them. It is the spirit of God flowing through them. [00:32:48] Speaker C: Okay? And I just think we need to [00:32:50] Speaker D: be really careful with that also. [00:32:53] Speaker B: We need to be really careful when [00:32:54] Speaker D: we make it about us, right? [00:32:57] Speaker B: When we're the only person that can do this thing in the church. [00:33:01] Speaker C: That's not how the gifts operate. The gifts are not to make us, [00:33:06] Speaker B: to give us notoriety so that everybody [00:33:08] Speaker C: knows who we are. [00:33:10] Speaker B: It is for the betterment of the body. [00:33:12] Speaker C: We are individual members of the same body. And somebody's got to be the pinky toe. You see what I'm saying? But nobody wants to be the pinky toe. Everybody wants to be the face or the brain or the hands, because those are important. But try walking without pinky toes. It's not so easy. You understand what I'm saying? But so what you have to do is remember this, that the gifts are not to give you exposure. They're not to give you notoriety. They're not to give you a platform, they're not to make you famous. They are for others. We are simply an individual member. Your gift is for the body. Your. If God works in you for. For prayer for others, for healing, that needs to be so that others can get healed, not so you can get famous. That's important. That's important. The gift of healing is for other people to be healed, not for you to start a television ministry. That's what the gift of healing has been given to you. God gives you discernment. It's. God gives you a word of wisdom. It is not so that everybody comes to you for the word of wisdom. It is that when God gives you the word of wisdom, you speak it into the life of the other person. It's not so that you can become famous. Do you see what I'm saying on this? [00:34:30] Speaker B: The gifts of the Spirit are to be used for others. They are given to us as a [00:34:36] Speaker C: single, solitary member of a much larger body in order to encourage the other [00:34:42] Speaker B: members of that same body so that [00:34:44] Speaker C: the body can grow and mature and become more healthy. It is one member connecting with another member or multiple members so that the whole body is encouraged, so that the whole body can grow, so that the body can move forward into what God [00:34:58] Speaker B: is calling us to be about. [00:35:00] Speaker C: That's what we have to do. [00:35:02] Speaker B: So spiritual gifts are diverse. Spiritual gifts are given, at least are given to every spirit. Spirit filled believer. Spiritual gifts are to be used for others. So let me close with this. [00:35:16] Speaker D: The gifts are great and wonderful and [00:35:20] Speaker B: a blessing and awesome. And we're going to talk about them for the next several weeks. But before we get there, we need to talk about this. So imagine, if you will, that you go to visit somebody in their house and you go into their house, beautiful [00:35:36] Speaker D: house, and you walk inside and everywhere you look, every light fixture, we're not [00:35:42] Speaker B: talking about a solitary bulb hanging from a line. [00:35:46] Speaker D: Every light fixture, you go into their house. It's beautiful, ornate, intricate chandeliers that hang [00:35:55] Speaker C: down in every single room. You go in the bathroom and the bathroom's got a nicer light fixture than that's in your dining room in your house. You just walk around and you realize [00:36:05] Speaker D: all the light switches are amazing. [00:36:08] Speaker C: They're handcrafted Italian marble. They're painted, they're fixed on there. The, the light switches are awesome. It's just. [00:36:17] Speaker D: You go, wow, this house is amazing. [00:36:20] Speaker B: The guy that owns the house goes, [00:36:21] Speaker D: well, I'm so glad you like it. [00:36:23] Speaker C: You go, where'd you get these chandeliers? I've never seen anything like it. I don't have any chandeliers like this in my house. I don't have any light switches like this in my house. This is unbelievable. I never saw anything like that. He says, well, I'M so glad you like it. He says, come on, let's have dinner. [00:36:38] Speaker B: But it's getting darker and darker. The sun's going down outside. [00:36:44] Speaker C: Darker and darker. [00:36:46] Speaker B: And you say to him, you know, [00:36:48] Speaker C: I'm glad to be here. [00:36:49] Speaker B: I love this house. I'm excited to eat dinner with you. I'm having a little trouble seeing. [00:36:54] Speaker C: Can we turn some of these lights on? No, no, no, no, no. We don't need to turn the lights on. Just look at how beautiful they are. Just look at how amazing they are. Didn't you see how their hand painted Italian marble on the switches? Yeah, I saw that, but can we switch it to on? No, no, no, no, no. Just appreciate how beautiful it all is. [00:37:18] Speaker B: And it gets darker and darker. [00:37:22] Speaker D: Darker. [00:37:24] Speaker B: Chandeliers are wonderful. Light switches are amazing. [00:37:30] Speaker D: But if there is no power, they do not work. [00:37:34] Speaker C: You see what I'm saying? [00:37:35] Speaker B: If there is no power, the gifts are amazing. But the gifts of the Spirit flow out of the power of the filling of the Holy Spirit. [00:37:48] Speaker C: The gifts are an outward manifestation of [00:37:52] Speaker B: an inward power that is received when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. [00:37:57] Speaker C: We read it in Acts, chapter 1. Jesus does not say, you shall receive gifts. He says, you shall receive power. Now, one of the things that flows out of the power of the Holy Spirit is gifts. But if I just. I want to be okay. I want you to. [00:38:14] Speaker B: There is a spiritual gift for you. [00:38:17] Speaker C: But you may. You may say, I've never. [00:38:19] Speaker B: I've never discovered my spiritual gift. [00:38:21] Speaker C: You may come. May come to the end of your life and say, I never really could [00:38:24] Speaker B: figure out what my spiritual gift is. [00:38:27] Speaker C: That's okay. That's okay. Because it is only one of the manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit? Yes, it is. For the gifts of the Spirit. They're great. They're wonderful. They're important. But it is the power. The power of the Holy Spirit Spirit to help you overcome sin and addiction. The power of the Holy Spirit to resurrect your marriage. The power of the Holy Spirit to bring about relationships. The power of the Holy Spirit to heal and to help. The power of the Holy Spirit to get through life. Life is. Life is tough. Life is terrible. There's all kinds of stuff. I hear people say. I've told you this before. People say, do I have to have. Do I have to be filled with the Holy Spirit to get into heaven? No, but you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to go to Walmart. You understand what I'm saying? Especially our Walmart. You got bad Walmarts and good Walmarts and Cartersville got a bad Walmart. And that's a fact. Go to Rock Mart. Rockmart got the good Walmart. Right? But that's the thing, right? The power. You shall receive power. What was the power for? For Simon Peter, the power was to speak boldness and to preach and to live for God, each one of us. The power is there, it's accessible, it's ready to go. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. A power to purify you of sin, a power to help you overcome, a power to find the gift that God has for you. Gifts are part of power, but they're not the only thing. The most important thing is power. You shall receive power when the Holy [00:40:13] Speaker B: Spirit comes upon you. [00:40:14] Speaker C: This week, this week, dad and I [00:40:16] Speaker B: went on a quick trip to Honduras. There's a ministry in Honduras that Global Servants is working with and trying to help and some things. We went there, they asked us to speak on a pastor's conference on a Tuesday morning. Pastors conference. And because of the. They were saying, because of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, they understand the idea of salvation, but the idea of being filled with the Holy Spirit for ministry and for power and all those things is not a concept they're familiar with. So it was a pastor's conference. Dad spoke first, then I spoke. We both just spoke on the Holy Spirit. When I got done, I gave an altar call to receive the Holy Spirit. Every single person in that little church came to the front. It was amazing. 50 or 60 pastors and their wives, their families, dad and I and some other members of the team that were [00:41:09] Speaker C: there praying for these people. And it was, I just, I saw [00:41:13] Speaker D: how hungry they were for it that [00:41:16] Speaker C: they, they said, I, I need power [00:41:18] Speaker B: to see my church transformed, to see [00:41:20] Speaker C: my community transformed, to see my country transformed. They just came to the front in droves. Every single person in that church came [00:41:26] Speaker B: to the front to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. And because they understood it in that [00:41:32] Speaker C: moment, they got it. [00:41:33] Speaker D: You shall receive power. [00:41:37] Speaker C: That's what we want. [00:41:38] Speaker B: Part of the power is the gifts. And we're going to talk about that. And they're great and wonderful and amazing. But if you don't have power, the lights don't come on. You got to have power. [00:41:52] Speaker D: Everything flows out of that. [00:41:56] Speaker B: So here's how we're going to end this in just a moment. I'm going to pray. When I pray, Matthew and the musicians are going to make their Way to the stage. We're just going to open these altars. [00:42:05] Speaker D: If. If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, this is your moment. [00:42:11] Speaker B: And you may have grown up in the Church of God for the last 80 years. Great. Wonderful. Amazing. My question is this. [00:42:23] Speaker D: Do you have power? [00:42:27] Speaker C: Do you have power? [00:42:29] Speaker B: You may have grown up in a more traditional denomination, a more mainline denomination, [00:42:34] Speaker C: you may say, this is my first Sunday ever at Liberty Square, and I [00:42:37] Speaker B: don't know what's going on at all. [00:42:39] Speaker C: Right. That's cool. That's okay. [00:42:42] Speaker B: My question to you is the same. Do you have power? [00:42:46] Speaker C: You say, wait a minute. I don't even know if I believe [00:42:47] Speaker B: in the gifts of the Spirit. [00:42:48] Speaker C: We're going to get to that. Do you have power? Do you have power? Are you overcoming or are you being overcome? You see what I'm saying? Is the world threatening to destroy your boat? Is the storm look fierce? Do the mountains look high? Does the dark look night? Does the night look dark? Does the cave look imposing? Does all of those things coming against you? My question is, do you have power? [00:43:20] Speaker B: We fight about the gifts more than we should, and I hate that. [00:43:24] Speaker C: I don't want to argue with anybody about anything. Put the gifts aside right now. Do you have power? Do you have power? Up in the balcony? Do you have power? Have you been set free? Are you still dragging in chains you've been dragging into this building for 20 [00:43:43] Speaker B: years [00:43:46] Speaker C: on the floor, on the wings? Do you have power? Do you have power? Don't sit there and say, well, I don't believe. And believe in the gifts. We're not talking about that. That's later on. [00:43:58] Speaker B: I promise you, you get filled with enough power, you're gonna believe in the [00:44:01] Speaker D: G. [00:44:04] Speaker C: You go, wait a minute now. I don't know if I want to be filled. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Because you want to be free and you want to be transformed, and you don't want to be the same person that came in here. You want to leave a different person. You want to leave transformed. You want to leave, set free. You want to leave with the addiction broken. You. [00:44:24] Speaker D: You shall receive power. [00:44:27] Speaker C: It's maybe my favorite sentence that Jesus ever said because it is a promise of a resurrected Messiah who knows that he is ascending into heaven. But he is not leaving us alone. He is sending us a comforter who will be with us. He is sending us the power of the Holy Spirit. You. You shall receive power. Power, power. That's what we want. You say I've been filled before. My suggestion is you get filled again because God's about to do something different in this place. I want a fresh touch. The first person down here is going to be me. And I'm going to pray, and then I'm going to turn around and pray [00:45:05] Speaker B: with some other people. [00:45:06] Speaker C: But the first person here is me. I want a fresh touch for a fresh calling on my life. There's some stuff in my life that shouldn't be there. There's some stuff in every person's life [00:45:17] Speaker B: that shouldn't be there. [00:45:18] Speaker C: There's things from our past that shouldn't be there. There's unforgiveness that shouldn't be there. There's things that we haven't let go of. There's pain. There is pain that is guiding and directing everything that we do. [00:45:32] Speaker B: Don't allow that pain one more second of control of your life. [00:45:37] Speaker C: Those that the sun sets free are free indeed. And it is the power of the [00:45:41] Speaker B: Holy Spirit that frees us utterly and completely. [00:45:45] Speaker D: You shall receive power. [00:45:47] Speaker B: I'm going to pray. When I say amen to this prayer, I'm begging you. [00:45:53] Speaker D: You come to the front, you shall receive power. [00:45:59] Speaker B: Jesus promised it to us. Jesus said, if we, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to [00:46:04] Speaker C: our children, how much more will our [00:46:06] Speaker B: Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask? [00:46:11] Speaker C: All you got to do is ask. All you got to do is ask. You want to be set free? Just ask. You want to be transformed? Just ask. [00:46:18] Speaker B: Whatever it is, ask him. [00:46:22] Speaker D: Ask him and you shall receive power. [00:46:28] Speaker B: If the prayer team will make their [00:46:29] Speaker D: way to the front, let's pray. [00:46:31] Speaker C: God, ask that you finish this message [00:46:33] Speaker B: in the hearts of every person here. [00:46:36] Speaker C: Every person here needs a fresh touch of your power. God, every person, some person here may not have ever been filled. They need to be filled for the first time with your power. Power. Others may have received a touch of the Holy Spirit in the past, but they need to be filled again. There's a fresh calling, there's a fresh direction. There's something new that God is wanting to do in their life. And they need a fresh touch. God, I ask every person in here that you finish this. For anybody, Anybody here that is struggling, that feels, oh, I don't need this. This isn't for me. I just hear these words. The Holy Spirit is calling you. If we then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him? You need power in your life for whatever it is you're going through. [00:47:29] Speaker B: Just ask and receive his power. Don't stay in your seat. [00:47:35] Speaker C: Come to the front and be filled [00:47:37] Speaker B: for the first time or be filled again. [00:47:40] Speaker C: But you need power. [00:47:41] Speaker D: You can receive it this morning. [00:47:43] Speaker C: Just ask. [00:47:45] Speaker B: In Jesus name we pray. Amen. [00:47:50] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. If you enjoyed this message and you're in the Cartersville, Georgia area, we invite you to join us at Liberty Square Church. You can also watch online and connect with us on Facebook and YouTube. We'll see you next week for another another message from Travis Rutland. [00:48:13] Speaker C: Fresh touch of your power. God, every person, some person here may not have ever been filled. They need to be filled for the first time with your power. Others may have received a touch of the Holy Spirit in the past, but they need to be filled again. There's a fresh calling, there's a fresh direction. There's something new that God is wanting to do in their life, and they need a fresh touch. God, I ask every person in here that you finish this. For anybody, anybody here that is struggling, that feels, oh, this, I don't need this. This isn't for me. I just hear these words. The Holy Spirit is calling you. If we then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him? You need power in your life for whatever it is you're going through. Just ask and receive his power. [00:49:09] Speaker B: Don't stay in your seat. [00:49:11] Speaker C: Come to the front and be filled [00:49:13] Speaker B: for the first time or be filled again. But you need power. [00:49:17] Speaker D: You can receive it this morning. [00:49:19] Speaker C: Just ask. [00:49:20] Speaker B: In Jesus name we pray. Amen. [00:49:26] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. If you enjoyed this message and you're in the Cartersville, Georgia area, we invite you to join us at Liberty Square Church. You can also watch online and connect with us on Facebook and YouTube. We'll see you next week for another message from Travis Rutland.