When Experience Meets Scripture — Shane Idleman

We've been talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and I'm gonna be in teaching mode for the next week or two, back to teaching versus preaching. Sometimes they're interwoven, and sometimes that happens.

Experience, Scripture, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

But I think this is such an important topic, and the title is When Experience Meets Scripture. When Experience Meets Scripture. So this whole division in the church, many of you aren't aware of, I'm not gonna really talk too much about that, but there's a division where some believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, at least they would call them the sign gifts or the miraculous gifts, have ceased, where others believe that they have continued.

And when your experience lines up with Scripture, it's hard to talk you out of that. So when you experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, and you see his gifts being revealed, yes, there's counterfeits, but there's also original, when you experience that, it helps to validate Scripture.

And what we teach here is we don't interpret Scripture based on our experience, amen? In other words, hey, I've experienced this, so let me look at the Bible through the lens of my experience, or we would be in trouble.

We interpret our experience through the lens of Scripture. So if what we're experiencing lines up with the Scripture, then you're in a pretty good spot. There's no way to be led astray if what you're experiencing through God lines up with Scripture.

Emotional Worship as a Response to the Holy Spirit

For example, many of you don't know this, but because the ministry is out there, not everybody's a fan of emotional worship. Not everybody's a fan of, what's this? Are they crying? Did they sing that line twice?

That's repetitive, that's brainwashing. No, it's worship. I might sing, holy, holy, holy is our God for five minutes in my room. I'm not being brainwashed, I'm being transformed by the renewing of my mind.

And so people who haven't experienced the power of God have a problem with emotional worship. Now, emotional worship by itself isn't good. I mean, emotionalism and, ah, just getting caught up, but you have no character, that's not good either.

But there's nothing wrong when a heart is engaged to express that and to be, I mean, there's a Laker game tonight, there's gonna be people excited. LeBron, did you see that? And then everybody's, what did they, why, they're expressing how they feel.

So see, worship can express whether a person's at the altar, broken and repent, whether a person is joy-filled, because they've, I don't know if you've ever been delivered from something, but you might get a little excited.

You might wanna worship. And so often they'll tie in emotional worship, the Holy Spirit, and all these things together because it's the Holy Spirit that allows us to worship God from the depths of our being.

That's why the Bible says, deep calling unto deep, the Holy Spirit cries, Abba, Father, not get away from me, Father. We have to wonder what spirit is influencing us if we lack that heart for worship.

Now, I know there's preference. Don't get me wrong, I actually did a YouTube clip the other day, you can find it on YouTube, I'm gonna share it here in Facebook pretty soon. But talking about that, and preference plays a role.

I mean, obviously, you're not gonna worship the way, depending on your age, for sure, you are transformed by the hymns and the organ. And that is good, that's God-given, that's preference. How somebody else, I can still remember the song when I came back to the Lord, Nicole C. Mullins, My Redeemer Lives.

Oh man, can I sing that song? Other people are like, hmm, I don't really do it, that doesn't do it for me. Or sometimes people send me, let's say Keith Green on YouTube, I'm like, hmm, man, I read his biography, I love that guy, his heart, he was powerfully used of God.

But I just can't, it just doesn't do anything for me, I guess, because see, that's just preference. There's nothing wrong with that. And as I share it on the YouTube clip, and I'll share it with you, I can still remember some of the best times I've ever had, way up in the high Sierra mountains, with an eight track, and my mom would put in, John Denver, thank God I'm a country boy, I got cakes on the griddle, life ain't nothing but a funny, funny riddle, thank God I'm a country boy.

See, I still remember that, it's preference, I love that. Because it was time with my dad and my mom, and little and growing up, see how these things play a role. So half of our worship wars are simply over preference.

Why do you guys do it that way? Well, because that's how God changed me. Why do you do it that way? Because that's how God changed you. And there's nothing wrong with preference. But then it gets down to different things, and lyrics, and theology, and different things, which this isn't a topic about worship, unless you want me to change gears.

It's more of an acknowledgement of when the Holy Spirit changes your heart, that you want to worship. And the topics that are coming up are miracles, healings, tongues, and discerning of spirits. How are you gonna try to get through that today?

Well, I don't know if I am. This will be part two, probably. I'm gonna try to get through it, and we'll see what God wants to do. But 1 Corinthians 12, let's just start where the Bible starts. Now concerning spiritual gifts, and yes, I did talk about this already, but it's been so long, many people have forgotten where we were, and they didn't, as many of you are new, some of you are not here this morning.

Spiritual Gifts Require Order and Discernment

Now concerning spiritual gifts. So what's happening is the church in Corinth, like any healthy church, any healthy church that's having a move of God's spirit, you've gotta put some corrals around it.

You've gotta put some boundaries. You've gotta put some rules, that's what Paul's doing. Do you have to put rules around your children? When they're awake? When they're sleeping, they're fine. So when a sleeping church is asleep, they don't need these rules.

But when there's a church that is alive, yes, that convicts people, trust me, I'll just get emails just on that one alone. But when a church is alive, there's boundaries, because immaturity comes in. When I was filled with God's spirit 20 years ago, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and I was an immature believer, I didn't even know what a lot of the division was.

I didn't know that people were upset at these issues, and until you start, isn't it interesting though, you first love the Lord, you're telling everybody, you know, and they're like, what church are you with?

What denomination are you with? Well, don't you know that doesn't happen anymore? I'm like, well, I'm just reading the Bible. Something that's interesting, if you look at many underground churches, or the church in the Middle East, China, when they come to know the Lord, they read the Bible, they actually believe that you could pray for somebody, and they would be raised from the dead.

They actually believe that a person could be healed. Because they read it, they believe it. Now in America, we put so many theological arguments around the New Testament, that well, why this doesn't happen, what this can mean, I'm not sure, I don't know, we don't really see that anymore, we don't need that, we have the word now.

We have to be careful, because I think we should read the New Testament as children. If you just had the Bible, and you're on an island, you would not come up with some of the stuff we come up with today.

Just, where do you come up with this? This piece comes together, and this piece comes together, and this puzzle, and like, well, what does the Bible say? God is sovereign, man must repent and believe.

For example, on the issue of election, or the gifts of the Spirit, Paul spends a whole chapter explaining it here, then he spends a whole chapter, chapter 13, on love, and love will, gifts will eventually leave when Jesus is here, but the love will never leave, and then he spends a whole chapter in 14 on how to use the gift of tongues and compare to prophecy.

So verse, chapter 12, now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant, meaning I don't want you to be unaware of what's happening. I don't want you to not understand the spiritual gifts.

And ignorant is basically ignorant in the Greek language, or the word, if you break it down, means not knowing something, I'm not aware of something. So he's saying, I don't want you to be not aware of what the Holy Spirit is doing.

You know that you were Gentiles, and you were carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. So they were Gentiles, and they were carried away to whatever they were led. Wasn't that you, if you remember, in the world?

Boy, I was at the bar scene, and I was here. I was at this thing, I was at wherever. The gluttony, and barbecues, and beer, and alcohol, and I was just being led away by every belief. I think God's this, no, I think he's this.

I thought God was whatever I thought my lifestyle would accept or support. That's why you're seeing a big move in our country where people who are perverting the grace of God try to redefine his scripture to fit their lifestyle, because they're tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and they're also being led astray by their flesh.

So therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed. And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Fruit inspectors. Now, commentators are divided.

If you just read the Bible, it sounds to me like they were concerned that they were maybe speaking tongues, maybe exercising gifts, and they were concerned that maybe this wasn't of God. So God is saying here, listen, I make known to you, anyone speaking by the Spirit of God, if he's praising God, if he's lifting up God, and Christ, and exalting Christ, and if there's fruit there, and if a person experiences the powerful move of the Spirit, and they're saying that Jesus is Lord, nobody can say that except through the Spirit of God.

Do you know that most, I mean, I guess I should say all cults or false religions will deny the deity of Christ? Just try asking a Jehovah Witness, is Jesus Lord? No, no, no, no, not created being, not that, is he Lord?

Is he the Lord of your life? This shocked me. I had some over a couple months ago. I love the guys who have a cell phone number, and he said we're gonna have Bible studies, but he never called me back.

Ah, where's it going with this? Oh, and I said, okay, can we at least open and pray prayer? Well, no, we don't, we don't, we don't pray to Jesus. Oh, okay, and you ask other, ask Mormons. Again, I'm not poking, I'm just telling you what they believe.

I don't know why people get upset at this. If they believe it, they believe it. They shouldn't be upset. I'm not upset at what I believe, but they say, no, Jesus isn't God. He is the God, the God died for you.

You ask any religion, oh, he's a good teacher. He was a good prophet. Even Islam will acknowledge that he is a prophet, but when it comes to the deity, see, only God could die for you. A created being's gonna die for you.

God shed his blood on the cross on Calvary, and it's that perfect, sinless, spotless lamb, the holy, righteous blood that makes atonement for the sins of the people. Only God could accomplish that. That's why it's amazing, Grace.

How sweet the sound, oh, I might turn to preaching mode. I'm getting back to teaching. Man, there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. So in other words, there's different gifts, but it's the same spirit.

Is there not? There's, people have different gifts. There's people I know right now, we're looking at the church, they would be great at administration, or they would be great at helps, or there's certain people I call, if somebody needs encouragement, I'll call them and say, can you encourage someone?

But that person I call to tell them and encourage with them, I'm not gonna let them balance a checkbook. It'll be out of funds by next month, because they wanna help, they wanna help, they wanna help, they wanna help.

So these different gifts in the body of Christ, we come together. It's the same God. There are differences of ministries, but it's the same Lord. That is so important, guys. There's so much division in the church.

I mean, you probably don't see it the same level I do, but there are people that will not even come to this church because of the songs we play, or because I believe in the gifts of the Spirit. I remember we had a couple guys a couple years ago walked in, heard that, walked out.

Oh, it's one of those churches. Well, it's just what the Bible says, I don't know what to tell you. See, I believe there's, the body of Christ is a lot broader than most people think. Now, I'm not talking about accepting false doctrine, I'm not talking about these different things, but for example, the guest speaker next Sunday, I've already got emails from people warning me.

He's part of the NAR, he's part of the hyper charismatic. He's, no, he's not. I know him, I've known him for years, he doesn't believe any of that bloney. But because we get so concerned, and what I've noticed, people send me YouTube videos.

Watch this YouTube video. And I watch, I'm like, that guy's a Pharisee. I don't even know if that guy's safe. Stop watching YouTube videos. Stop watching conspiracy theories. Just stop it, right? If I watch enough YouTube videos, I'll think the earth is flat, that George Bush took down the Twin Towers, that there's chemtrails, all these things in the sky are chemtrails, and it's all toxic chemicals for the state of California, you're trying to kill me.

Now, some of that might be true in there. I don't know, but I trust in God. If you think those are chemtrails, then why aren't you fasting? Because you should be detoxing. I still don't know how NASA doctored all those round world photos.

But I'm just, I just, I just, but guys, that's my point, is there's, if anybody gets mad at me for this, I'm sorry. I apologize up front. But there's so much, people watch YouTube, and they get the videos, or they read this article, a lot of the things you'll read aren't even from people who are saved.

They're not even from people filled with the spirit of God. Did you know, many of you know George Soros, the guy who funds a lot of the, yeah, not good stuff. They're planting certain Christians into organizations to write articles.

Do you think the thing that Christianity today did against our president, do you think that was just coincidence? I mean, there's plants going into these organizations trying to uproot the United States of America and Christianity, so don't believe everything you read.

Check it by the word of God. These groups are so much bigger than what we really acknowledge. Like, Charismatics won't hang out with Conservatives, and Conservatives won't hang out with Charismatics, and then there's people caught in the middle because you don't believe quite like I do.

And we have to just get back to this, do you believe in the essentials of the Christian faith, and understand that there are different ministries, but it's the same Lord, different activities, but it's the same God who works in them all.

The Purpose and Distribution of Spiritual Gifts

So verse seven, but the manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of the spirit, okay, don't worry, that's not a weird word. Manifestation means reveal, revealing. The Holy Spirit reveals these gifts for the profit of all.

Isn't that interesting? The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for us to just be fed, and be fed, and be fed, they're actually for us to bless others, is it not? Did God give me the gift to preach for myself?

Did he give you your gift for yourself? It's actually to bless other people. And for one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit. Now, I'm not gonna talk about these again, because you can go back and listen to the message I did on these.

But to one is given a word of wisdom through, a word of wisdom through the spirit. So somebody has, God put something on their heart and says, listen, I need to share this with you. And it usually has to do with wisdom, hello.

What is wise, a wise decision probably. Have you, hey, I don't know if you consider this, God really put it on my heart, and it really helps a person make a decision. But Shane, we have the word, yes we do, but sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to reveal something to us outside of the word, as long as it lines up with the word, correct?

I've shared this before, and I hate to keep using the same examples, but before I started pastoring, nobody would ever, never said, have you considered to be a pastor? I never heard that. But then the last couple months before we decided to plant the church, everybody asked me that.

And I've been praying for direction, God, I need confirmation, I need, you know why I like the word of wisdom or word of knowledge? Because I trust God, I don't trust me. So I can read the Bible and like, God, I feel you put this in my heart, but I don't know if this is you.

This just might be a good idea. I need confirmation, I need to know, I need to hear from you, and God uses these gifts of the Spirit to build up and edify the body of Christ. So one is given a word of, wouldn't that be so cool if somebody came up to you, and you know, there's an environment, actually this morning at 6 a .m., I guess I should tell you about that a little bit, the sound system didn't work, so we didn't have worship, we had an hour and a half prayer meeting.

It was incredible, people sang, we're at the altar, it was really, really moving. About 70 people were here, but that's the environment where you allow God's Spirit to speak to people. But if you were going through a situation and you didn't know what to do, and you're just praying, you're seeking God, you come to church and somebody runs up to you and says, hey, you've been on my heart all week.

I don't know why, but I feel God just wants me to tell you, don't give up, whatever, just keep moving forward despite what it looks like, and this person starts crying because they're about ready to give up on their marriage or on their son or daughter they've been praying for.

We heard a prayer request this morning, a son-in-law daughter that they've been praying for for 18 years is finally asking questions. Instead of mocking God, they're finally asking questions. See, that's how these gifts work.

Yes, we have the Bible. Yes, it's all we need for life and godliness, but I need God to speak to me sometimes. I don't know about you. I need to hear from God. I need to know, Lord, is this you? I trust you, but not Shane Heidelman.

I've got myself in a lot of trouble by following good ideas. But then to some other, to other people, he gives faith, and we're gonna talk about that in a minute. Oh, to another, the word of knowledge.

So that follows wisdom. So a word of knowledge is something that a person knows. So let's say God put something on my heart or your heart, and you just have this, you know something about a person, and it helps to get them through a particular situation.

And then to another, this gift of faith is given. To another, the gifts of healings. Look at how that's plural. The 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. But one in the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.

So it's the Holy Spirit distributes these gifts as he wills, as he desires. This is why you can't manufacture it. You can't manufacture it. You can't just, you know, pray over someone and say, okay, and you try to manufacture it.

You try to make it happen. It's what God graciously gives. So my question this morning to you, the first question is, does any of this that we just read, does it apply to us today? Oh, you don't have to answer.

I was just throwing it out there. But that's the divide in the church. There are people who will not come here over this reason. And I probably shouldn't say this, but I'll tell you, I probably wouldn't go to their churches either because many times they are dead.

They're dead. Dead to the things of God, dead to emotional worship, dead to hearing from God. That type of group often won't have prayer meetings. A prayer meeting, well, if they do, it's at least a 10.

It's in a side room and there might be two people there. For God to get 70 people here at a 6 a .m. prayer meeting? That's a service. Did you know that 80 of churches in America are 80 people and under?

80 of churches in America are small, 80 people and under. And when God begins to move on the hearts of people, you want to do things, you're excited about God. You might get up automatically and wake up and can't wait to get to church.

See, there's a lot. You're alive to the things of God. I didn't say without challenges. I didn't say perfect. I didn't say you walk on clouds all day and just everything you touch turns to gold. No, there's warfare.

You've got to fight, you've got to break through. Anytime you're delivered from something, you've got to maintain that deliverance. You let that enemy back in, he might bring seven worse than the first and the last day of that man is worse than the first.

You've got to fight, you've got to contend. This is how I fight my battles, but there's a hunger for more of God. There's a hunger to get in his word. There's a hunger to have prayer meetings. If it was up to me, I might open this church every morning.

And those would be here hungry and hungry. Can you imagine a 24 hours, seven days a week, 24 seven prayer where people have different shifts? Do you know that already happens? That happens. There's a hunger for God.

So when people begin to deny that the Holy Spirit is working this way, they often do not have the power of God because you can't say that that doesn't happen and still operate in a mighty, powerful moving of God's spirit.

Yes, some of these pastors have Spirit-filled preaching. I believe that they're still filled with the Spirit in regard to their preaching, but I believe they lack this area of being filled with God's Spirit.

This is when experience meets Scripture. So let's think about this as well. Is today's church different than the New Testament church? I mean, in some ways, of course, but practically speaking, is today's church any different than the New Testament church?

The New Testament Pattern of Prayer, Hunger, and Spiritual Life

If we could go back 2 ,000 years ago and bring someone into the church at 6 a .m. this morning, other than the microphone, you would not see a difference, an attire. It made the language they speak, but there would not be a difference because the church is still praying.

The church is still hungry for God. The church is still crying out for God. I would love to see somebody from, wouldn't you love to see an early church member from 2 ,000 years ago who walked with Jesus maybe and they would come and they'd say, show us how to do church.

You better get everything off your schedule for today. You better plan on not going to lunch. You better plan on not looking at your watch. I have a feeling they were not in a hurry. That was the Lord's day, not the Lord's hour.

It was the Lord's day. The whole day was set apart for God. Now I'm not talking about drawing it out just to draw it out and making it boring just to be boring. I mean, to make it boring, but if it gets boring, you know, and it's just doing it to do it, but there should be an excitement about following God.

And then another question, is everything we need in the word of God? Well, it is. The Bible says everything for living godly according to Christ Jesus. Every principle, I believe every truth, I can show you from our immigration policy, nationally, politically speaking, I can show you from abortion to gay marriage to transgender issues, to the borders, to security, to the role of government, to the role of the church, all truth is found in God's word.

Yes, let's clap for that one, that's a good one. Everything we need is in God's word. So the gifts of the Holy Spirit would be referred to something that is supplemental, not above the word, actually sits underneath the word and it allows a believer to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost, the Last Days, and Life in the Spirit

And also, are we in the last days? I mean, I hope we all are on the same page with that. We are in the last days and the prophet Joel, who Peter quoted, Peter actually quotes the prophet Joel when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church in the upper room, the church was really born, the Holy Spirit fills the believers, they're speaking with tongues, they're glorifying God.

Peter said, they're not drunk, this is that that the prophet Joel spoke of. He said, in the last days, in the last days, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men see visions and young men dream dreams, and are those not still happening?

When God pours out his spirit, see, when you're filled with the spirit, it's not a boring, mechanical type of, let me read the Bible, let me go to church, that's a good, you know, you're filled with the spirit, you're sensitive in your family to the things of God, you're praying specifically for your children or your spouse, in the story, you're sensitive to the word of God and the things of God, people come to your mind, you need to pray for, you need to reach out, you're filled with the spirit, so you're overflowing in your daily life, and I believe that's what Paul said when he said, I pray daily without ceasing.

See, it's a life of prayer. I can go an hour and not pray, but in my spirit, it's a life of prayer. It's praying without ceasing, it's God, how can you use me today? God, what do you wanna do? God, you're so awesome, and as I'm singing this song and as I'm at this store, Lord, bless me, does this person need to be blessed and helped out with food and finances and the hospital homes that we go to?

God, bless those people there, show me what they need, and you operate filled with the spirit. Why do you think the enemy is going after that more than anything else, I believe. I believe the number one attack that the enemy is trying to do on your life, the life of this church, any church for 2 ,000 years, is to deflate the person filled with the spirit, because when I quench and grieve the spirit of God, I don't even wanna be here, and you don't either, do you?

Pray, and when you're quenching and grieving the spirit of God, just me mentioning a 6 a .m. prayer service sounds dreadfully boring. Why, because the spirit's not connected. The Holy Spirit, yes, a person can be saved, but they can quench and grieve the spirit to such a degree that the things of God do not come alive.

Doesn't the scripture come alive to you? You read that it's the word of God, it says it's living. The word of God is living, more alive than me. The word of God is living, it's active, it's sharper than any double-edged sword.

It pierces, it divides the soul and the spirit. It's going after him and her and them and up, and it's living, it's vibrant, and it's a living faith. He who believes in me, as the scriptures say, out of his belly will flow rivers of stagnant cement.

Out of his belly will flow rocks. Hardness, barrenness, dryness, none of that. Out of his spirit, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. And you have to imagine, when they're at the Jordan River or they're in Israel, they don't have what we have.

They just have imagery. That's why the Bible is so picturesque and uses so much imagery. You picture, you see living water, which would be water that is moving, gushing over boulders and down waterfalls, and this living water, there's nothing more dramatic or graphic in the mind of a person to say, out of you is going to flow that, spiritually speaking.

So if a person is dead to the things of God, I'm here to awaken you. I believe that's one of the aspects of this church. I was just talking to somebody this week, and we have a very unique calling, this church does.

Many of you know, that's why a lot of you are here. And I was asking, hey, what are your thoughts on this? We've had, because we're coming up on 10 years in September, we've had thousands and thousands of people attend this church.

Did you know that? Of course, many people move. And maybe in September, we'll have those who have been here the first service stand up. I think there's only about, what, six of us? Five of us, maybe? But, and I joke about it, but it's kind of true, it's really the treadmill church.

People come in, yeah, that's what I want more of God, but as soon as they begin to sin and quench the spirit, they don't want that type of church. They don't go to church at all, or they'll go to a very comfortable church that doesn't offend, it actually encourages them in their sin.

So with this kind of church, you're going to see lives radically change, but you're also going to see people run for cover when they're under conviction. They don't want, see, that's the difference. When a person's under conviction, they want God to change them, they'll run here.

They don't even know why they're here, they're just here. But the person who's enjoying their sin and wallowing in their sin and convicted, they're not coming in here. That's the last place they want to go.

Now, of course, there's preferences and differences and people, I think people at certain levels, I've actually referred people to other churches. This is Shane, I really, you know, I see what you're saying, but I want a church that goes through Genesis to Revelation.

I want Bible teaching every single Sunday, expository, word for word. I want to know what the Greek says, I want to know what the Hebrew says, I want an inductive, deductive, immediate approach to your sermon preparation.

I want it to meet all the homiletic and hermeneutic approaches to your sermon studies. That's what I want. Okay, I can recommend a good one. But those who are alive and want more, but that's an encouragement to you.

I know some of you, many of you are not maybe where you want to be, but you want to be. That's why you're here. That's why you're here, to be filled again with the Spirit of God. And that only comes, let me tell you this, that only comes often through hard preaching.

Hard Preaching, Conviction, and Spiritual Maturity

Preaching that digs deep. Preaching that gives the scaffolding out. See, what's the difference between a robber at your door with a knife and a surgeon? See, many people can hurt you with the Word of God.

But when God's Word is preached in all its fullness, it's that scaffold, it's that little knife removing the cancer tumor, and it hurts. It digs deep. It offends. Oh, if you know how many times I got offended working on sermons.

Oh, golly. It cuts my heart. Because I can't come up here and be an actor. I want to live it. That's one of my biggest, and I tell my wife, I tell her, God, I want to live what I'm preaching. I want to be on Monday who I am on Sunday.

Oh, it's a challenge, oh, is it not? That's the hardest part of my life, is living what I preach. That is the hardest part of my life, is living what I preach. And falling short, and getting back up. And these people here, I know you are hungry, so as much as you feel like maybe it hurts, it's because God loves us.

God loves us enough to hurt us. I've seen it many, many times over a year. A prideful man needs to be hurt of his pride before he repents and is filled with the Spirit. He needs to be lovingly confronted.

He needs to be slapped with the Word of God. Not just, if all we're doing is encouraging, nobody changes. So we are in the last days, and the God Spirit is being poured out. Also, we don't share this a lot, maybe we should at some point, but I can tell you testimonies in the last year, probably maybe even six months, of dozens and dozens and dozens of people being filled with God's Spirit.

Being filled with God's Spirit. Shit, I don't know what happened. Church was boring, I rarely came, now I can't get enough. I started praising God, and now I'm speaking a language I don't even understand, what's wrong with me?

God's moving, I feel, I had this going on, I had this going on, what's going on? Just read the Bible, read 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14. Now I should tell you, people are new, people are listening probably, and I mentioned tongues and different things.

It's a strange gift for me too, I mean, when I think of, I mean, I'm not, it's odd that God would do that. It doesn't make a lot of sense. It's like, okay, it will as we read, but I'm not, I'm there with you, I understand that some of these things are hard to understand.

Again, not apologizing for the Word of God whatsoever, it's in there, I believe it's beneficial, but sometimes we don't quite understand everything that God is doing. Do you wanna know why to everything?

My kids do. Why this, how come? What happened, where, when, how? Why does he do that, why'd he do that then? How does it work? And sometimes we just have to trust that God moves by His Spirit, and will change us in ways that we don't even know about.

Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, and the Body of Christ

And then he gives, I'm gonna skip down to verse 27, he gives an analogy of the body. Now, you are the body of Christ, and the members individually, and God has appointed these in the church, okay, here's some controversial words, God has appointed in the church first apostles.

Now, this is a lowercase a for a reason. We don't believe or teach that people have that apostolic calling like the apostles, the 12 apostles, that is over and done with, that was, when Jesus died on the cross, there are no more big capital A apostles, at least how we believe what we teach in the Bible.

But there is what they would call the office of an apostle. And this is just a person who is sent, a person who is sent to plant churches, a person who is sent to do God's work. So somebody would be the Apostle Paul.