 Well, we're going to look at chapter 12. I actually want to share with you concerning two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I may not get to those two gifts. I'm going to, I think I am. But I want to spend time laying a foundation by looking at something in Scripture referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because that's really important for me to lay a foundation. So for you to understand the gifts that God has provided for us, the gifts of the Spirit of God. So let's begin reading together here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. I'll read verses 4 through 8, and we'll get into our study. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, beginning at verse 4, reading 2 verse 8. The apostle Paul writing writes, Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit. And we'll stop there because we're going to really, as I said, give an introduction. And hopefully I'll give you some basic things related to these two gifts that he mentions in verse 8, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. But as we begin, I want to refresh your memory concerning a man in the Bible by the name of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a messenger who was sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord. And we know that. And in his ministry, he communicated clearly that Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. In Matthew chapter 3 verse 11, John said, I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So John is letting us know from the beginning that the one who sends the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is what is referred to as the Holy Ghost baptizer. Now Jesus told us that in John 15 verse 26, he said, when the counselor comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. So I want you to notice this because I'm laying a foundation for you. One, John the Baptist says, I do baptize. But I baptize with water representing repentance. There's one who comes after me. He is the one who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So Jesus himself says that. I will send the Spirit upon you. So the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the baptizer. So in order to see this how it works out in scripture, we need to turn to the book of Acts chapter one. Let's turn on Bibles there. Acts chapter one, there are those who say that the ones who baptized with the Holy Spirit were the apostles. And this baptism of the Holy Spirit that we speak about was only something that occurred in the first generation and that when the last apostle died, this particular thing that we refer to as baptism of the Holy Spirit as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, well, it ceased. And that doesn't occur anymore. So the reason I laid it out that John said, Jesus is the baptizer is I wanted you to see that Jesus is the one who does it. It wasn't the apostles. It is Jesus himself. And the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus is still operating, still ministering and he still is the Holy Ghost baptizer. So it wasn't the lane on of the hands of the apostles that was producing this power. It was God himself. So in Acts chapter one, verse four, Luke writes, being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father which he said, you have heard from me for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together they asked him saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in his own authority but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Al-Jadiyah and Samaria and to the end of the earth. So as we begin here, Jesus is speaking concerning and I want you to notice that the promise, the promise of the father is what he calls it. So he uses the word promise in describing the gift of the Holy Spirit. The word promise simply means an announcement of divine assurance for good. God has promised to give you something good. I'm assuring you that something good will happen. So the promise is God's divine assurance for good in our lives. And this promise is in reference to that which was spoken of in the Old Testament. There are a lot of scriptures I could turn you to or read or cite but I'll cite these. If you take notes, you might want to note this. 800 years before Christ, God made a promise to the nation of Israel through the prophet Joel in Joel chapter two verses 28 and 29. And afterward I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams which I've been doing quite a bit of lately. Your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days. This is a promise that Jesus is speaking about. 735 BC, Isaiah 44.3 says, I will pour water upon him who is thirsty. Floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your seed and my blessing upon your offspring. The promise of the Father. 586 BC, Ezekiel 36, 25 through 27. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you. You shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you. Cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my judgments and do them. 487 BC, Zechariah 1210. I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. These are promises that relate to the Holy Spirit. Joel especially is one that is cited because on the day of Pentecost, that is a passage that the apostle Peter cites in order to show the people that the promise that has been given by God all the way back in the Old Testament, 800 years before Christ has been fulfilled even in your day. So these references that I'm speaking about here are all referring to this Holy Spirit. Jesus was speaking concerning the promise of his Holy Spirit in Luke chapter 24 verse 49 when he said, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high. So we have something in scripture that Jesus refers to as the promise of the Holy Spirit. So here in Acts chapter one, Jesus is instructing his disciples to keep on waiting for the promise. Well, that fulfillment of the promise occurs 10 days later in what is called Pentecost. Now, when you read your Old Testament, you note that the Holy Spirit very often would descend, but the Holy Spirit would also would depart in 1st Samuel 1614. It says, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. And the Psalmist in Psalm 51 verse 11 said this, he said, do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would descend anoint, remain, and then leave. But that's not the way it is in the New Testament. You see in the New Testament, Jesus made a promise that his Spirit would remain with believers. In John 14, 16, and 17, he said, I'll ask the Father, he will give you another comforter to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. Now, here in Acts, the disciples, when Jesus is speaking, concerning this promise, that he says that you have heard of me and then goes on in verse five to say, John baptized with water, but you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. It's interesting how the disciples remain kind of the way that they are, as you see them in the Gospel, asking questions that don't pertain to the context. Because Jesus is speaking here about a promise that's coming and what they ask doesn't seem to pertain to that because in verse six they said, are you going to at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And so they're thinking that that all fits within the context of the promise, but one of the things that they didn't know at that time that is revealed because it was a mystery that is now revealed to us is they didn't see the space of time that would occur from Pentecost to the present time that is called the church age. And so all of their eschatology, the things that they knew related to last days led them to believe that things would be wrapped up quickly and that's why they're asking, are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Are you going to do the work now that is promised in the Old Testament, but the Lord Jesus Christ is making it clear, listen, there's going to be a gap of time, you're going to be doing the work and that's why he says, one in verse seven he says, it's not for you to know times or seasons what the Father has put in his own authority, in other words, the secret things belong to the Lord, the things that are revealed belong to us. Don't try and find the chronology of these things, but do what you're commanded to do. What are you to do? Verse eight, you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. You'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the end of the earth. So you've got a work to do, you've got a task to perform, it's not going to happen immediately. The promise is the Holy Spirit who's going to come and will be upon you, will empower you. So I gave them marching orders, go forth preaching the gospel, but in order to do that, you will require power. You will require the power of the Spirit of God. So God wants to, God desires to communicate in perceivable ways, but he intends to do that through us. If the Lord wanted and we know this, this would be even remarkable if he did it, but he could align the stars in heaven where we walk outside and it says Jesus saves. And that'd be it. And that'd be a pretty good sign, Jesus saves. But he didn't do that, did he? He hasn't done that, has he? He gave a remarkable sign, which is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what we preach. That's why we are his witnesses. What are we witnessing? His resurrection, his being our savior, the fact that he's returning for us. We are his witness. But in order to be able to be his witness, and I want you to note that he said you shall be. To be his witness requires something we don't have on our own. To be his witness requires transformation, and transformation comes through the power of the Spirit of God. So it's not enough for me, and you all know this ministry is built on teaching the Word of God. It's not enough for me to know the Word of God. I need to apply the Word of God and the promises of God. And one of the promises is the promise of the Father. And that promise of the Father is that he would baptize me in his Holy Spirit, empowering me to make me and to make us into his witnesses so that we could go out and be witnesses as we do the work of witnessing. We ought to be witnessing at all times. And when necessary, we actually explain it with words. Our lives, in other words, should be such a testimony of the power and grace of God that people will know truly God is amongst you because your life is so radically transformed. You're so different. What is it that made you different? What is it? And you can say the Holy Spirit of God who has rested upon me, the Holy Spirit of God who empowers me. And that's the promise that we're looking at. So he said we'd be witnesses. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who's in heaven. Matthew 5.16 tells us. Let your light shine so that you can be a witness. Now to be as witness, as mentioned, early requires power. Our lives will evidence his presence. And so that comes to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That's a promise that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost that is recorded in Acts chapter two. Now the Feast of Pentecost is celebrated 50 days from the first Sunday after Passover. And so that's when the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred. Now, I mentioned a moment ago out of John 14, 16 and 17, something concerning the Holy Spirit, how he would be with you and he would be in you. There are three prepositions that are used in relation to the work of the Holy Spirit. There's the word with, there's the word in, and there's the word upon. So the Holy Spirit will be with you because you develop communion and fellowship with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will be in you because at conversion you become the temple of the Spirit of God according to 1 Corinthians 316, but he also says the Holy Spirit will be upon you. That's what it's called the epi in Greek the word is epi and it speaks of him resting upon you and empowering you for the work of service. I was sharing yesterday, perhaps a few of you men may have been there yesterday at the men's conference, I don't know, but were you there? I was sharing how that when I first got saved, what we did is because we were part of what was called a Jesus movement, a Jesus revolution. What we did is we celebrated who Jesus Christ is. That's what we did. So when we went to church, we expected to get Bible studies, not entertainment. When we sang songs, it wasn't to make us feel good. It was because we worshiped him. When we gathered together with people, it wasn't so that we could eat pizza and say I hang around with Christians. It was so that we would encourage one another and exhort one another and pray for one another and minister to one another and teach one another. And that's what we did. That was my early days in the Lord. When I first got saved, you know, church for me wasn't the place that I went to because I had nothing else to do. It wasn't a place that I went to simply because my friends went there and were going to do something important afterwards. Fellowship wasn't something, oh, I'm just going to hang around with a bunch of people who don't drink and smoke and chew and all of that stuff. And that's good because I don't feel like doing that anymore. There was a reason for all of this and it was all because I wanted to grow closer to Jesus Christ and know him and the power of his resurrection and to live for him and be transformed. It's because, like many of you, it's because my life was one filled with alcohol and drugs and a variety of things that go along with that. And I didn't want that life anymore. I didn't get to the point of sophistication where I was saying, well, you know, God's grace, he allows me to still do these things. If I'm a little depressed, God's grace allows me to drink. If I'm a little lonely, he allows me to sleep around. I didn't have that mentality. We didn't have it because we were saved out of the sewage. And yet, what is gonna keep us going strong? What's gonna keep us going strong? Just going to Bible studies and taking notes. I needed something that would amplify what I was learning from the word of God. And that was the experience of the power of God in my life. And if you were to ask me, you're not, but I'm gonna tell you anyway, if you were to ask me what is missing in a lot of believers' lives and I guess I'm at that point where I can say this with some authority. I've been walking with the Lord almost 42 years. I've been ministering for 39. So maybe I know what I'm talking about in this. I will tell you what it is. People are walking in the flesh when they think they're walking in the spirit. They're not walking in the spirit. They're yielding to temptations of the carnality of their flesh and blaming God for it. What God wants to do is he wants to pour water on you like you're dry ground so that you can just drink it in. And he wants to do that with the Holy Spirit. What has kept me solid with Jesus all these years? The answer is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and love of the word of God and fellowship with fellow believers who love Jesus and encourage my life. But I need the power of the spirit of God because like he said, I will pour water on him who is thirsty and I'm thirsty and I want the spirit in my life. I hope you do too. I hope you do too. I think that we can get caught up saying, well, you know, it's just my flesh and I'm so weak and we can make excuses but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can forsake those old ways. I can be victorious. I was sharing with the guys yesterday. You know, I got saved, a lot of us. If you knew the personal testimonies and the unspoken testimonies of a lot of the people you're aware of, we were crazy. We were. We were crazy, you know? It's the truth. And my mom told me that quite often. You're crazy. I say, yeah, takes one to no one, mama. But we were. We were crazy, crazy. My mom got mad at me. I had a friend of mine who was driving down the street. I climbed on top of the car like a living hood ornament. And I had my leg up and I was standing like this and he was driving and he drove in front of my house. And my mom was in the kitchen. I didn't realize she was looking out the window and she hit the window so hard and I came in and she, you are crazy. What is wrong with you? And I said, I don't know what you're so upset about. We're just having a good time. You could have fallen off that car and gotten run over. But I didn't. Here I am. What do you, that's the way I thought. I didn't, you know, I didn't think, I didn't think about anything like that. I didn't think anything about taking five breads and drinking almost a half gallon of wine. I didn't think of those things. I didn't worry about those things. Who cares? Life is short. Enjoy yourself. Do what you want. Doesn't matter. So God grabs hold of your life and then you realize I was crazy. I was crazy. And now I'm in my right mind like that man in the, from the gatherings. When Jesus ministered to him and delivered him, there he was seated in his right mind. And what is it that Jesus said to do? Cause he said, I want to go with you. And Jesus said, no, you go back and you tell your friends or family, tell everybody great things that God has done for you. You go back and be a witness. Let them know. How are you going to be a witness? The power of the Holy spirit. The power of the Holy spirit. Jesus said, you will be witnesses to be. After that, you have received this Holy spirit, this promise of the father. We really need the work of the Holy spirit. When he speaks concerning power and said, you shall receive power. The word power in the original language, as you all know, is the word dunamis. It's the root word in the Greek for the word dynamic. It's also the word that is used for dynamite. We don't want to run around just blowing everything up. So we want to be dynamic. The Holy spirit produces a dynamism in us, a power in us, a strength in us as he comes upon us. Somebody says, I want this Holy spirit, baptism. How does that work? Well, when I first got saved, I went to a little Pentecostal church in Long Beach. And there was a revival going on. The church didn't seat more than 150 people, very small little building there. And they had an evangelist. He had, I've said this, many of you have heard this before, but he had a set of drums at the platform, at the base of the platform. And he was kind of a husky guy. It looks like he came from a kind of a rowdy background. He had a big old pompadour. I still remember this guy. And he would be shouting in the microphone. And then he would start playing the drums. Then he'd get back on the stage and shout some more. I'm a brand new Christian. I'm thinking this is normal. Remember, I was crazy. This is normal. Before you know it, we're marching around the church behind a church flag, singing songs. I mean, it was crazy. But that's what we were doing. And then he says, if you want the Holy Spirit just to overwhelm your life, come and kneel here at the altar and tarry until the Spirit comes upon you. And so I wanted what God could do in my life. I wanted more of God. I was a new Christian. I was a couple of weeks old, three weeks old Lord. And I went and out there at the rail. I still remember doing that. And he was shouting, and people were yelling, and they were crying and grabbing hold of the door posts and shaking. It was just an amazingly out of order meeting. And I'm kneeling there, and I knelt there for 45 minutes, begging and crying and pleading. And I've got these other guys kind of like sitting on their heels. But see, I was raised a Catholic. So I could kneel out, kneel any Protestant any day of the week. So I was just kneeling there. And I stayed all kneeling like that. I still remember that. Jesus, come upon me. Jesus, come upon me. Please, Jesus, come upon me. I need you, oh God, I need you. I was begging. I was pleading. I was shouting with everybody else. And then the evangelist says, now everybody get up and give a testimony. And I'm standing in line, and I'm thinking, nothing happened. Nothing happened. How can I disappoint these people? I'd like to lie, but I'm a Christian. I can't lie. I'm in church. Nothing. God, give me wisdom. I don't know what to say. Nothing happened. And people would come behind that mic and say things. And you'd look out at the people, and they'd all kind of smile. And then it was my turn. I'll never forget this. I'm standing here. And I look out at them, and they're looking back at me. And I say, I really can't put into words what I just went through. That was true. And the people looked back at me and nodded their head like, yeah, nothing happened to me either. You know, it's one of those moments, you know? But I thought that's how it works. I thought, you're supposed to plead. You're supposed to cry. You're supposed to beg. You're supposed to make promises. You're supposed to tarry your. Jesus said this in Luke chapter 11, verses 11 through 13. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? If he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? I don't have to beg. I don't have to plead. I don't have to cry. I don't have to tarry. But I do have to ask. Lord, for your glory, not so I can be known and not so I can have some spiritual experience to boast about. But for your glory, because I want to be your witness, would you fill me with your Holy Spirit? Would you fill me? You have promised that you would. Would you be good to your word to me? You see, in Acts 532, we read, we are his witnesses to these things. And so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. Lord, it is my desire to take you at your word and to obey you and to receive your promises. What is missing in many lives today, and I say this again, is the power of the Spirit. I think that many people have substituted Bible knowledge, being able to quote scriptures and speak about certain things with certainty, but they're still dry in their lives. They're still dry. There's still something that's missing within them. What is it? It's the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants to work in you. I say that on the authority of God's word. God wants to pour out his Spirit upon you. And if you've never had that experience, he wants you to have it. He wants you to have the power that he supplies so that you can live a victorious life in him, so that you can be a witness to him. You see, in church life, sometimes pastors substitute things for the presence of God. As something I pray, and I seek the Lord about all the time, whenever we have events here, it's not so we can fill the place. By the way, you need to hear that from me. It's not to fill the place. We say, oh, the place is filled. I'm real careful with that. The Lord a long time ago, and you don't hear that from me, by the way. Think about it. I don't play that, because that's, to me, not a proof of anything. You can fill buildings with entertainment, and so that doesn't prove anything to me. What I want is for our people to be filled with God. That's what I want, not buildings filled with people, but people filled with God. That's really what I want. So when we have heavenies here, it's to give people an opportunity to hear about the glorious work of Jesus Christ. When we had our last week event, it wasn't all about us. Unfortunately, one of the people who were serving that night, ministering that night, said, this is all about you, and we're here for you. No, it's not. I am the host, and that's the guest, and I'm not going to get up and embarrass the guest. But let me say it openly to you. It isn't about us. It's about him. And when I was looking at that banner, and it says the event on it, I was looking above that banner, which says, we would see Jesus. Because that's really what this ministry is all about. I hope you understand and know that, because sometimes people will think, oh, pastor just wants to fill the place. No, I don't. I don't just want to fill the place. I want to fill the people. I want them to have the Spirit of God so they can leave walking in his steps so they can have an influence in their families, in schools, in neighborhoods, in job sites. So it's all about him. It always has been all about him. It's not about filling pews. What I want is to walk in the power of the Spirit of God. What has kept me solid with Christ for these years? The power of the Holy Spirit. Has he always had freedom to work in my life? No, I have quenched him, grieved him many, many times. And I think that it's a natural habit of the natural man to do so. But there's a longing for all of him to have all of me. And Jesus said it, you shall receive power. After that, the Holy Spirit has come upon you. If your Christian life is boring, it's not God who is boring. There's something wrong with you. There's something wrong with you. And I'm not saying that as one who's like so perfect. I'm only half perfect, mostly perfect. I'm just speaking with experience. I'm just speaking from experience. When have I become dry? Is it because he made me dry? No, he said I will pour my Spirit upon you. So was it his fault that I'm dry? It's my fault because I'm quenching the Spirit. I'm clogging the line that God wants to be pouring his works into my life. And so that's why to me this is a very important subject because I want you all to walk out tonight saying, I want more of Jesus Christ. I want more of him because that is what's going to give you the strength to live for the Lord and to serve him. So we are intended by the Lord to represent him on the earth. So when he pours his Holy Spirit upon us and we receive by faith this Holy Spirit experience. And by the way, I should say this too. There are some people who think that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them that they're going to have Holy Ghost goose bumps. There's going to be some kind of electrical thing that goes on. And then they'll run around or whatever. I've been around that. So have you perhaps. I've been around that. There's a group of people called Holy Rollers. You've heard the term Holy Rollers. How many have you heard the term? Am I speaking to anybody who knows? How many of you have seen Holy Rollers? Raise your hand. OK, Trippy, huh? Yeah, yeah. They really do. They roll all over the place, you know? And I've seen that, you know? And mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm. Nope. Jesus doesn't make me do that. If I need the floor dusted, I don't need to bring some guy in to dust it, you know? I can just get a duster. And I've seen that. Now, the Holy Spirit doesn't come upon you to make you freaky and weird. The Holy Spirit comes upon you to make you more like Jesus Christ, who is not freaky and weird. I mean, do you think that when Jesus preached that suddenly he would just stop, his eyes would kind of roll in the back of his head, and he'd just go, and speaking King James? I don't think so. But a lot of times, you get the impression when you see someone who's saying, no, the Spirit is a pot bae. You know, I was like, ooh, you know, what happened, man and alien? I don't get it. Because Jesus is normal. He's normal. We're not. And so when the Holy Spirit works upon us, sometimes we may attribute to him weirdness, when in reality he's trying to take that out of us. Come on, thou foul spirit of weirdness, you know? I should be serious, but sometimes I make myself laugh, and then I get carried away. And that's it. Let's get serious again. I really do want you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And if you haven't been, tonight's tonight. But I will tell you this, as we go back to 1 Corinthians, I'll show you a couple of things here, chapter 12. In order for me to be exercising these gifts, the Holy Spirit's working in my life, and the gifts of the Spirit are going to be connected. And so with the power, we'll come to bestowing of spiritual gifts. And he begins to speak about that. In verse 4 of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, he says, there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. So he begins to speak concerning the diversities of gifts. Notice how he said it. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. Diversity speaks of a distinction arising from a different distribution to different people. In other words, there are various gifts that God gives, because the body of Christ is made up of many members, and therefore God gifts each member in an individual way. And you'll see this a little clearer in just a moment. But there are various kinds of gifts that are necessary for the body to function. And in this particular passage, he actually lists nine spiritual gifts. Now, this isn't the only place in Scripture that you see gifts of the Spirit mentioned, but this is a portion of Scripture that he takes time to give to them an explanation concerning nine of those gifts. And so one, he says there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. Verse five, there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There's a variety of applications of the gift of the Spirit, differences of ministries. So when God is moving through the spiritual gifts, the body of Christ is enabled to function in a healthy fashion. Right now, there are gifts of the Spirit being in operation as I'm doing what I'm doing, but there are Sunday school ministers who are teaching also and there's worship that takes place. There's a variety of gifts that are at play in any time the church is together. And so there are differences of ministries. But he goes on to say in verse six, there are diversities of activities. Now the diversities of activities speaks of the effect of the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. Now all of the effects are produced by the power of God, but they can be exercised through different people in a different way. God is sovereignly controlling what is occurring through his gifts and he works differently in each one of us. For example, we saw this yesterday and you see this all the time when the church gets together, you can have people who are exercising the same basic gifts. And so we have a men's conference, there are 12 speakers, each one of them is there to teach. But all of us are different in the way that we teach. You have Pastor Chuck Smith who comes up and when Chuck teaches, he teaches in a certain way. He's teaching the word of God, but he teaches in a certain way. You get Poncho who comes up, he's teaching, but his personality is different than Chuck, his illustrations will be different. Things that he sees in the passage that are biblically solid and are there will be presented differently because that's how Poncho teaches. You see that with every teacher. And so somebody may say, I have the gift of teaching, but that doesn't mean that it will be identical. You know, John MacArthur is a teacher, Chuck Swindall is a teacher, David Jeremiah is a teacher, Chuck Smith is a teacher, Raul Reese is a teacher, we're all teachers, but we have different ways that we teach. That's all part of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because the body of Christ is made up of various components and so one of the worst things that I could fall prey to and you could fall prey to is thinking that if I'm gonna be a teacher of the word, then I have to teach like that person up there is teaching right now and that's not true at all. Nobody can teach like John Corson except John Corson. You know, he's got a unique ministry. So for me to try to become a John Corson would just not be true to the gifting that God gave to me. When I do pastors classes, I'll tell the young men who want to be pastors never use me as your example. You shouldn't use me as your example. You by the grace of God have a gift that is unique to yourself. So use your gifts the way that your gifts operate and don't try to become somebody else because have you ever wanted to be somebody else? If you have, have you ever stopped to think that if you were identical to somebody else, then one of you isn't necessary? So we need both of you. We need what God is doing in you and you teach this way and you see this in the passage is biblically solid. You've rightly divided the word, the application comes from your heart. But that's how it works in the gifts of the spirit. What you do is you seek the Lord. You see when our church first began, I'd already been teaching, I've been teaching the word for eight years when this church began. I already had developed my own style. But when we began and called ourselves Calvary Chapel, I started thinking, oh, what am I supposed to teach like? Should I try to teach like Pastor Chuck? And I thought, no, there's only one Pastor Chuck. Should I try to teach like Greg Lori? No, there's only one Greg Lori. Should I try to teach like Raul? God forbid that I should do such a thing. It's neat. No, the Lord said, you are by the grace of God who you are, teach like yourself. And that's how it works. And so the ministry, the activities of the spirit work differently in each individual. But I want you to notice verse seven where it says the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one notice for the profit of all. To bear or bring together to help for the benefit of others, not ourselves alone is what the word profit means. Which is another way of Paul saying, there are absolutely no superstars in the body of Christ. Because the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gifting of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the spirit are intended to build up the body and not to elevate people to superstardom. They are not intended to draw attention to the one exercising the gifts at all. But when the Holy Spirit is in operation, he is drawing people to Jesus Christ. John 15, 26 says, when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me. Whenever you see the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation and you might be in a place where the gifts are really manifest and they're very welcome and you may see somebody who seems to have a certain spiritual gift and you can actually become enamored by that person and begin to wanna be like that person, to speak like that person, to act like that person. And you might even go to that person for all kinds of advice and direction because you think that God is moving especially in that person and God's word would say the opposite. He says, the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. It is never just to lift one person up and then he begins to give this partial list of spiritual gifts. I'll give you two basically and it's really time for me to stop. Let me ask the pastor what he thinks. Do you think you should stop? No, it's okay. All right. Word of wisdom, word of knowledge. I'll just touch on these things. Word of wisdom. What is a word of wisdom? Word of wisdom is an insight that comes directly from God. It's an insight that comes directly from God. Jesus exercised words of wisdom quite often. I mean, there are so many examples. You can see one time when they approached the Lord Jesus Christ and they said to him, the baptism of John, was it from men or was it of God? And you remember what the Lord did at that point? He exercised this wisdom. He said, bring a coin to me and whose superscription and image is this on the coin? Well, that's Caesar's. Well, then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar and unto God the things that belong to God. That was wisdom that he used because as he did that, they didn't have a word to say about it. And so he'll give you that supernatural wisdom in different experiences. John's baptism, was it from heaven or was it from men? Well, Jesus has a word of wisdom. Well, he says, well, you tell me something and as he's speaking concerning John's baptism, they begin to debate amongst themselves. Listen, if we say that John's baptism was from God, he's gonna ask us, why didn't you believe him? If we say it's from men, well, we fear the people because they all perceive John to be a prophet and so they turn to Jesus and they say, well, we won't answer you. And Jesus says at that time, neither will I answer you or Paul is there before the council and he had been preaching, people were upset and he's preaching and as he's standing there, he's about to be tried and they wanna do him great harm and so the scripture says that he perceiving that there was a large portion of people there who were Pharisees and there was a large portion who were Sadducees and knowing that the Sadducees don't believe in spirits and they don't believe in heaven and things of that nature and the resurrection, he says, men and brethren, I'm a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee and it's the question of the resurrection that has brought me before you today and what happens? They begin to argue amongst themselves to the point of distraction. The Lord gave him the wisdom at that time in order that he might be removed from that situation. So the word of wisdom is when you have a wise answer that you don't necessarily come up with but it's one of those things that is given to you at that moment. It's not something that is simply originating from outside circumstances, it's something that originates from within and there are times that you will have that wise answer to give at that moment. The word of knowledge is not a natural ability to study, gain degrees, it's not ordinary knowledge and the ordinary acquisition of that. It's not even the ability to study the Bible and understand it, that is something that is given to all believers by the Holy Spirit. The word of knowledge refers to a knowledge that is beyond our normal way of finding things out. So you have a Samaritan woman approach the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus initiates a conversation with her and as he begins to speak to her he speaks concerning water and if he wanted some water that means that you'd never have to come and draw water up again. You would have asked me and I would have given it to you and she says, well then give me this water so I don't have to draw anymore. And what is it that Jesus says to her? Go and call your husband. Go and call your husband. How did he know that this woman was an immoral woman? Well, there are some obvious cultural things that could have been hints of it. She's there at noon, women didn't go at noon there because it was the heat of the day. But the Lord was speaking to her heart. He had a knowledge that this was a woman who was living immorally because she says, I have no husband. He says, well, in this you've spoken truly you've had five and the one you're living with right now is not your husband. It's the word of knowledge. Who ratted me out? There's nobody there, just this Jewish man and this woman. It's a word of knowledge. And that happens. Jesus is with his disciples. They're in Caesarea Philippi. And as they're seated there, Jesus asks the question, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? Well, some say that you're Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist, one of the prophets. Who do you say that I am? And the apostle Peter responds, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon, Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. It's knowledge. That was a moment of knowledge, something he didn't know that was handed to him at that moment. Even he was able to do that. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five, make an agreement to sell a parcel of land but not deliver up the full price and pretend that they had given it all. And so when this takes place, the Holy Spirit reveals that they're lying. And it's even asked, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? You haven't lied to men, but you've lied to God. How did he know that? How did he know that they had made an agreement to do that? And that's a knowledge, a supernatural knowledge. There are times from a practical experiential level that the Lord has given me knowledge that is supernatural. It's from him. It's happened in counseling where I'll say something. It can happen in teaching situation where I use an illustration. And I've had people come up more than once and say, you really shouldn't have said that because that's what my son's doing right now and he thinks that I told you. So next time don't say that. I didn't know. But it was the Lord giving me that at that moment to say this. I was in my house many years ago, over 30, about 31 years ago, over 31 years because I was an assistant and not even pastor in this church yet. And I had a young woman who was seated across the table from me. And while we were talking and she had come to visit us at our house and as she was talking to me, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, this young woman's involved in lesbianism. I'll never forget that. And I'm looking at her and I'm thinking, no, I've known her for a while. There's no way. Boy, what's wrong with you? I'm telling myself, what's wrong with you? How could you think that? This woman's a lesbian. The next day, I'm in my office. I make a phone call to this young lady. I'd like to see you if I may. Could you come in? Why? I said, I just need to talk to you. Can you come in? Yes, I'll be there. I'll never forget this. She comes and she sits across from me in my office and I said, I'm just gonna come up and tell you up front. Last night when I was speaking to you at our house, yeah. The Holy Spirit said to me, you're a lesbian. Are you? She goes, I'll never forget this. She goes, well, if he told you I am, what can I say? And I said, that's not answering my question. I asked you if you're a lesbian and she said, yes, she'd been hiding it. Nobody knew. There was no way I was gonna know that. How would I know that? Why would I even want to know that? But the Holy Spirit wanted to set her free from the bondage of her sin and he does that. He doesn't give you knowledge so you can get on the prayer chain and share it with everybody. Here's the secret you need to know. God just gave it to me. Look out for it so that people can be set free. And so a word of wisdom, when God gives you that, is the ability to have a wise answer and direction in a moment when the Lord is speaking to you this answer. A word of knowledge is when God reveals to you something that supernaturally is given to you that you under ordinary circumstances wouldn't have known. This is not unusual, by the way. This is something that comes from the Spirit because God wants to set people free. How do you respond when a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom is given to you? If it's something that God really is revealing, the wisest thing to do is to act upon it so that you can be set free because that's how it works. We'll stop here, we'll pick up next time, looking at other gifts of the Spirit.