 Pursue the gifts. Pursue spiritual gifts. To pursue these spiritual gifts. To ignore this clear instruction from God's word would indeed be sin. Should we pursue spiritual gifts? No, we shouldn't. If we get what the scriptures say wrong, then we can go in all sorts of directions, whether we intend to or not. There are people who either intentionally or unintentionally find themselves in a place that the Bible does not tell them to be. There's a passage that we want to stick with that's 1 Corinthians 4-6. I like to use this passage a lot which says, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself in apostles for your sake, look what he says, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that none of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. What we see happening there, that there are people that want to be something more than they really are, that they feel like there's something more, or they desire to be something more. We see this in the case with the person named Simon, the source of Simon, who in Acts 8 thought that he was somebody else, something special. He wanted to be something special, and we see Philip down in Samaria, preaching the gospel, people are placing their faith in Christ, and Simon gets caught up there. The Bible says in chapter 8 verse 9 says, Now there was a man named Simon who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, him claiming to be someone great. Now we know the story, Simon, after the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit, what does he want? Because he is no longer someone great anymore, he wants the same power. So he offers to buy the Holy Spirit so that he can lay hands on people's wives, because again, it's his desire. This is something that human beings just have an insecurity about ourselves. We want to be something more than what we really are. Now the reason why I'm bringing this up is because to go along with this question, should we pursue spiritual gifts? Well, a couple of things. I said the answer is no up front, and I stand by that. Why? Because there is no such passage that tells us to do so. There will be those that will go to a particular passage and state so, but they are incorrect. I've heard many teachers say, and I've even said this myself, that we shouldn't pursue the gifts, we should pursue the gift giver, meaning we should be focusing on pursuing our relationship with God and allow him to do what he wants when he wants. However, 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 1 says, pursue the gifts, desire these things, and specifically pursue the gift of prophecy. The Jesus you're telling me to chase told me to pursue spiritual gifts, told me to pursue his presence and his spirit. So I don't understand this whole like, don't pursue the gifts when the Bible in 1 Corinthians 12 directly tells us to pursue and earnestly desire spiritual gifts. And the Bible directly tells us pursue spiritual gifts. So I'm leery listening to preachers that say, oh, don't pursue gifts. Oh, if God wants you to have them, they'll just fall in your lap. You'll just start speaking in tongues. The Bible doesn't say that. It says to pursue them. I'll go with the Bible over you. So there are people that will say that the Bible teaches us to pursue spiritual gifts. Now, when you have them saying so, typically you could always go and find the people that they look up to, the scholars who will say the same thing. Because if the scholars who you appreciate will say that, well then sometimes you parrot that and then go look at the scriptures and not really look at the scriptures, but hear what they say and interpret or ice jeep, which you heard your scholars or what you might desire for it to say into the text. Now we have this person speaking Jeff Wells. We also have Matt Chandler, Jack Deere and Sam Stone. These are supposed to be biblical scholars and they're saying the same thing. Pursue spiritual gifts. But we are late in pursuing the gifts as we are told to in 1 Corinthians 12 31. 1 Corinthians 14 1 to pursue the higher gifts. Pursue the gifts, especially the gifts of prophecy. And to really be normal biblical Christianity as you were describing it Matt. And then we also have colleagues Jack Deere said the same thing. 1 Corinthians 14 1 says earnestly pursue spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. Now here's the problem, what they're saying and the problem that it leads to. This is why I brought up the sign of the sorcerer. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 14 1. And we're going to notice something that the Bible does not say. It does not say pursue spiritual gifts. So let's go to 1 Corinthians 14 1 pursue love. And we're not playing being semantical or anything like that. It says pursue love. Del coutain, tain agape. Del coutain, tain agape, which is pursue the love. Go after, go after love. Not gifts. What does it say yet? Now this word here, this azalute, which is desire. Have a desire, be zealous for what? The pneumaticon. And by the way, the word that's used there is pneumaticon, the spiritual things or spiritual, not spiritual gifts. Can you imply spiritual gifts? Sure, I don't have a problem with that. But the point is what is the spiritual? It's not just the spiritual gifts, but it's the things of the spirit, which might be gifts or other things. It's what the Lord is giving to us. And so desire the things of the spirit. And look what he says in order of that, that's why we have this henna clause here, in order that you would prophesiate, prophesy, give a revelation, not that you would in order to have the gift of prophecy in order to function under that gift, because that would kind of go counter to what he just said, that one, it's not us that does it. It's God who gives. And so we shouldn't necessarily be looking for anything other than what he gives. As a matter of fact, let's go to 1 Corinthians 12. Notice Paul starts off by saying, I do not want you to be ignorant, unknowing, unaware of the numentee comb. Not the spiritual gifts, but the things of the spirit, the spiritual. And those what he says in verse four, he says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord. There are varieties of effects. In other words, these workings, what ultimately happens, but the same God who works all things in all parts. So it's God who does the working. So whatever, however the spirit manifests or shows up in a person's life, it's not you. It's God that does so. It's the spirit. Notice what he says, verse seven, to each one is given the manifestation or the revealing of the spirit for the common good. In other words, the spiritual gifts, if we want to use that word, that's fine. The spiritual gifts or the things of the spirit are given not for your benefit, but for the benefit of the common good for other people. Look what he says, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit and to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit. So who's doing this? The spirit, to another faith by the same spirit and to another gifts of healing by the one spirit and to another the effecting of miracles and to another prophecy and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues. But look what he says, here it is. But one and the same spirit works all these things. He is the one that works all these things distributing to each one individually just as he wills. So it would seem kind of odd to say that the Holy Spirit is the one, the Lord is the one that God gives us these things through the Holy Spirit. He gives us these things, but then you turn around and go after them yourself. That doesn't make any sense. And that's why it's important to read the scriptures as they say, pursue love, not pursue gifts. Why? Because what do we have in Corinth? We had people that were desiring to be the more honorable thing. There were things that people thought were the more noble gifts and those that weren't as noble things were more honorable things that were less honorable. And that's why Paul used the analogy of the body where he's saying that no one should say that, well, since I'm the eye or this or that, that they have no need of me. No, we are all part of the same body. What happens is people go after the gifts that they think are the more desirable gifts. Look at how the world is today. We've got people that go after certain gifts because they think those are the better gifts such as prophecy, such as tongues, you name it, or titles that they think are the more premier or preeminent titles. Apostle, prophet, things like that. And so that's the problem because you're not using the text right. The text does not say pursue spiritual gifts. But what do we have today? We have people going out to pursue spiritual gifts. You would think that someone would stop, would catch this. You would think that scholars would not say this. Clearly the scholars are wrong. Why? Because you get caught up in pursuing the gifts. Maybe they, I don't know. I can't say, I can't speak for them, but are they wanting to be something special? Are they desiring to be? I'm not, I don't impugn that way, but there certainly are a lot of people that do. There are certainly a lot of people that do want to be something more than what they really are. Why? Because they've been taught. They've been told to go after pursue spiritual gifts. No, how about you do this? Pursue love. Pursue that. What if we did that? I think we'd be a lot better off if we actually followed the text. The text says to do that. That's why he says don't exceed what the text says. Pursue love. Desire the things of the spirit. Why? Be zealous for the things of the spirit. Really want those things. And then in order, why do you want the things of the spirit? So that you can bring about God's revelation to the people. Because you love the people. That's why it says pursue love. If you desire the things of the spirit, which is for the benefit of everybody else, because you love people, then you will have those things. God will work in you. And it might not be the way you think. It might be you digging ditches. It might be you handing out towels. It could be anything, but you don't determine it. The Holy Spirit determines it. And the problem is we got people who just simply don't read the text. You literally run by the text. You don't see what the text says. You read what you think the text says or what you want to hear the text say or what you've heard someone else say the text says. Without seeing for yourself. Deokate, tain, agape. Pursue love. Pursue the love. That's what we pursue. Not spiritual gifts. We desire the things of the spirit. And if it happens to be this gift or that gift or that gift or whatever else, then amen. Why in order to bring about a revelation and information to inform people that's what the word prophecy means to do that for who? For the body. So should we pursue spiritual gifts? No. There's no such text in the Bible that tells us to pursue after spiritual gifts. Should we be desiring of the things of the spirit? Sure. But what should we pursue? What does the scripture tell us to pursue? It tells us to pursue love. Let's do that. And again, not exceed the text. Amen.