Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to NUMA Church Podcast, wherever you are in the world. We are so glad you've joined us. Our prayer is that this message will reveal more of who our heavenly Father is as we all grow deeper in intimacy with Jesus. Enjoy the message.
There you go. Anybody?
Okay, so. Okay. Yeah. So Cincin Ministeria, right? The five ministries, the quintessential ministries. That's play on words. Quintessential. So, and then what we call five fold ministry was actually that term was not used in the church until the 1800s. You know that it was not used until the 1800s. And it's most commonly known as the Ascension gifts. The Ascension gifts. And you'll see why as we read Starting at Ephesians 4, verse number 7.
Ephesians 4.
Come on, verse number 7.
Let's look at this. Okay, but grace, it says, was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean? But that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And then notice verse 11 kicks in. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith, knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, etc. Etc. We're not going to go that far today. But I just want to cause us to just look at this whole idea of understanding grace.
Jesus is the ascended gift giver, but what is the purpose of him giving spiritual gifts? What's the purpose? A lot of people. Oh, so I can reach people with the gospel, I can serve, I can minister to others. Yes, but that isn't the end. That's the means to an end. There's something even greater. Well, we could say, well, what about verse 12? For the edifying or the building up of the church. Right, for the work of ministry, for the building up. Yeah, but that's not the end.
That has a purpose, which we're going to see. And I want to just highlight that this is. So this is going to be a teaching. We might get a little deep theologically, just in the early stages. Bear with me. Okay. If you find that, I think you'll find it fascinating, but we're going to unpack some things that maybe we've never really saw before. Okay. So this passage, what we've just read, reveals how Christ's cosmic journey. Oh, you love that sounds like Star Trek or something. His cosmic journey, his descent to earth, his victory over sin and death, and his ascension to heaven. We talk about the resurrection, but we miss a lot of what Jesus actually did if we don't acknowledge the ascension.
The ascension is critical. Okay. And then ultimately after the ascension is the distribution of gifts. So this establishes the foundation for every believer's ministry.
Understanding this passage. Okay, if we understand this passage, it will in terms of how we view our spiritual gifts, their purpose, and how they function within the community of believers and even on the earth. We have to understand this passage to really get it. If you just think, well, gifts, Yep, I've got gifts. I use my gifts. I'm, you know, active, I'm activated in my gifts, et cetera, et cetera. No, there's something that goes way beyond that. Okay, so this is the key passage. Ephesians 4, 7, 10. And this passage outlines Christ's cosmic journey in four movements. Okay, you ready? Number one, descent. His descent. How important is that? He came from heaven to earth. He descended, right. And we know Philippians 2 talks about that. He took on the, the form of humanity. He was veiled in flesh incarnate. He became a man and dwelt among us, so fully identifying with humanity in our broken condition. And this refers to the incarnation, God becoming flesh, dwelling among us. And this descent represents his profound humility. Can you imagine? Jesus actually becomes a man and he washes the disciples feet. He takes the form of a servant is what it says in Philippians 2. Literally, the lowest role would be that of a servant washing others feet in a home as they entered the home. And he took on that role.
So his descent is powerful. He didn't just come, you know, go to the cross, was raised to life and then ascended to the right hand of the Father. No, he lived among us for three plus years.
Living among us, suffering, becoming familiar and sharing in our weaknesses and our infirmities, yet without sin.
Yet without sin. Powerful revelation. And so his descent, some would also say refers to his burial. Absolutely. And then there's others who would say, well, he actually went into Hades and he snatched the keys of hell and death. And that's another school of thought and theology as well. But the bottom line is we can all agree that he who was God became what? Very much human, still God. He didn't set aside his deity. But he became a man. 100% God, 100% man. He dwells among us and he serves.
What glorious condescension. He serves and then he dies. The ultimate act of obedience, as he said. No one takes my life from me, but I give it up. I surrender it, I lay it down. So he does that ultimately, and then he's buried. And then what happens is through his life, death and resurrection, Christ conquers the powers that held humanity captive. Sin, death, demonic forces, powerful. So this is his victory. The victory was decisive and comprehensive, breaking the power of everything, everything that opposed God's purposes for humanity. Wow. When we think about that. And then what happens next is his ascent. Following his resurrection, Christ returns to his position of heavenly authority, being seated at the right hand of the Father. So the ascension represents not just return to a place of former position, but an exaltation with a new status as the victorious God, man.
Far above all principalities, power, might and dominion on this age, in the age to come, he's actually now victorious. And he rules and he reigns in a way that previously it didn't have that judicial authority attached to it. Right. Because he had to give his life.
But it says in the last verse of Romans chapter 4 that he was delivered over for our offenses, but he was raised for our justification. When it says raised, not just raised from the dead, but literally raised at the right hand of the Father.
The whole purpose, I could just unpack this in a whole sermon, but the whole purpose of this is to fulfill everything that was foreshadowed by the Hebrew feasts.
Right. So when did Jesus die?
Good Friday. No, he didn't. There wasn't such a thing as Good Friday.
It was pagan. It didn't happen until the 4th century. Okay, total pagan. Okay. When did he die?
Passover.
Right. He was the paschal lamb. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. It was a Jewish culture with Jewish festivals. So he dies on Passover. Right. So what happens after Passover is there's literally something called the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits. Three major feasts, when you break it down, all the three major feasts have seven festivals that are part of it. So what is known as first fruits is this that when they would celebrate the Passover and bring the harvest in, one of the things they had to do was to take the first fruits and as a. As an offering and wave it. A wave offering, acknowledging that it all comes from God. So Jesus became the wave offering. How did he do that well, remember, Mary Magdalene sees him and he says, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Don't touch me like, no, I have not yet ascended to my father. A week later, Thomas, hey, hey, hey, Thomas, touch me.
So in between that time, in that week, he had to have ascended to the Father.
So that's known as the Feast of first fruits. He became a first fruits offering, which he said, basically, the Father goes, oh, yes, your sacrifice, that wave offering is acceptable.
Acceptable. And I receive it. He was delivered over for offenses, but raised for our justification. I It was you paid the price in full.
You paid the price. Now humanity is free. Now humanity is redeemed and ransomed salvation in everywhere, in every way. Not just spiritually, but physically, emotionally, in every way. So, okay, so what happens after that giving of gifts.
Isn't that interesting that a lot of us in modern Christianity we preach Father, Son and Holy Bible, Right, Father, Son and Holy Bible. Of course, the Bible is the word of God, but we elevate the scriptures as to be more important than God himself. Hello. Do not the scriptures point to him? Do they not come from him? Right. In John 5, Jesus said to the Pharisees, you study the scriptures and the scriptures testify of who I am, but yet you refuse to come to me that you might have life. They knew the word of God, but not the God of the Word.
And as a Pharisee, a good Pharisee by the time he was 18 years of age, would have memorized, memorized Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. A good Pharisee by the time he was 30, would have memorized the Tanakh, which is the Old Testament. Memorized it.
How do you think Jesus and Paul quoted the scriptures? Remember guys, back in that day, they didn't have iPhones where they just pull it out and do a search.
They didn't even have Bibles like we do, Right? They had parchment and scrolls. So the fact is they memorized the Word. The Word was in them. You can never go wrong if you spend time memorizing the word, right? I've hid your word in my heart that I might not. What sin against you. It literally means the Hebrew word hid. Means you basically take dirt, dig a hole, put a seed in, cover it up. That's what it means.
So that's what happens when we hide his word in our hearts. Bears fruit. So what does he do?
Father, Son, Son and Holy Spirit. Right? Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit actually is the one who gives the gifts. They come from Jesus. We know that Father sent the Son, Son Sent the Spirit. But the gifts are called the gifts of the.
Of the Spirit. Correct. So these gifts are given for a purpose.
What's the purpose?
So we have descent, we have victory, we have ascent, and we have the giving of gifts.
So what does it say? Ephesians 4, 8. When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.
Some other translation says he took captivity captive, and he gave gifts to men.
Now, this is actually referring to a verse in Psalm chapter 68 in which the king would go to battle, and when he destroyed his enemy, he would take the plunder. The enemy would be marched through the streets as a public spectacle, but the plunder would be taken from the enemy and then would. When the king returned, he would distribute the plunder to his people.
So what he's saying here is that Jesus, when he plundered hell and death and sin, what did he do? He said, hey, I've got some gifts I'm going to give out. And he gives gifts to all of his children. It's a powerful thing. And what is the purpose of those gifts?
Continue.
The cosmic movement from this theological backdrop for understanding spiritual gifts really gravitates around this one thing. Gifts aren't simply random abilities, but they're directly connected to Christ's redemptive work.
What do I mean by this?
When you preach the gospel, you cannot leave out the work of the Holy Spirit, right?
Repent. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Get baptized in water.
Yeah, Go to church, read your Bible, pray, blah, blah, blah. What did we miss?
Holy Spirit, right?
Holy Spirit and fire. Come on now. And the Holy Spirit. Is this Acts 2. 38. Repent and be baptized, every one of you. In the name.
Sorry, that's Portuguese, right? Spanish. De Jesus. In the name of Jesus. What does that mean?
In the name of Jesus. In the authority of Jesus. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We miss that, we're like, oh, yeah, yeah, believe the gospel. Believe the gospel. Repent. Be baptized in the name of Jesus. And we get hung up on that. Like, oh, do we baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or do we baptize in the name of Jesus? Both.
That subject we'll reserve for a future time. So what does that mean? A word doesn't contradict itself.
So it's in the authority of what Jesus did.
So what he did, if he didn't die, come from heaven to earth, die, raised to life again and ascended, we would not see the Holy Spirit ministry, right? Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was not yet given because I had not yet ascended. In John chapter seven, he specifically said, I've not yet ascended. He didn't say, I haven't died yet. He said, I haven't yet ascended.
So this is critical that we understand this.
So celebrate the ascension.
Ah, yeah. Jesus. Jesus died and he's resurrected. Yes. But he didn't stay on the earth.
There are other people that died and were resurrected, but they stayed on the earth. Right?
And Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, and he lives there forevermore.
So what happens is, because of his death, because of his resurrection and ascension, now he says, okay, I am going to give gifts to all of my children, each of my disciples, every person that calls on my name, that follows me, that believes in me, I'm going to give you gifts. And these gifts have a very specific purpose.
What's the purpose? Glad you asked.
Let's look at three words in the context of this. Okay, go back. Let's look at this. Okay, let's look specifically here at verse number seven of Ephesians 4. But grace was given to each one of us.
Grace was given to who?
Each one of us was given. Past tense, right? Not is given or will be given. He says grace was given, referring to the finished work of Jesus. Grace was given to each one of us.
Some people, some believers say, I don't have any gifts. Yes, you do.
You may not have tapped into that yet. That may be dormant, undiscovered. You may not have activated them. But you have been given gifts.
You have been given gifts. You have gifts. Okay, now what does it say? But grace was given to each one of us according to what?
The measure of Christ's gift.
The measure of Christ's gift. A little bit like what you're talking about. You know where it says, according to his riches and glory. So what does that mean? Three words. Firstly, the word grace is charis. Charis is a powerful word.
It literally is translated different ways. But the meaning and the context of the word grace or charis here is more than unmerited favor.
So we shortchange what Jesus did on the cross. If we simply define grace as unmerited favor, it's so much more than that.
So much more than that. Ultimately, grace is this. Grace is divine empowerment. It's supernatural ability. There are so many scriptures. Titus 2, 11, 12, for those of you who want to look at that. The grace of God that appears to all men brings salvation. What does it say? It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. But how to live self controlled, upright, godly lives. So grace empowers us. Romans 6:14 says, this sin shall have no dominion over you because you're not under law, but you're under grace. Grace empowers you. When Paul spoke about grace in Philippians 2, basically he defined it this way. As God giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
He works on us to will and to do his good pleasure. Okay? The NLT says, God is giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
It's a gift.
Grace gift. It's a gift that promotes you, that exalts you and elevates you and empowers you.
It's a gift that changes you and doesn't leave you as you are.
So you're not just saying, well, I'm a sinner saved by grace?
No. You are a saint empowered by grace.
You are now. You now have the power to live a different life. It's not just forgiveness. It's not just mercy. Hebrews 4:16. Let us come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to. To help us.
Grace to help us in our time of need. Grace to help us. So whenever we need help, we need grace.
And grace is available to us. It's his enabling power. Grace is a supernatural empowerment that equips believers to fulfill their calling despite their limitations.
Anybody ever feel unworthy?
Anybody ever feel like, there's no way I can do this? I'm not smart enough, I'm not gifted enough, I'm not, you know, resourceful enough, whatever it may be.
Guess what? Grace. We all need grace.
We will see that if you can do it in your own strength, it's not grace.
Some people talk about spiritual gifts, and they equate it to natural ability. That is not grace.
It's not natural abilities.
Those simply are natural abilities.
That's all they are.
But look at the ones Jesus called.
He literally says, hey, don't use your natural abilities.
Right, Peter? Yeah. You're good at fishing. I. I don't want you to fish.
And if I was Jesus, who would I have appointed to be my treasurer?
Matthew.
He works for the tax department, right? He's good with numbers.
Probably an accountant.
And yet who does he appoint?
A thief?
But the point is, it's not about our natural abilities.
It's not about our human abilities. That is not grace. If you can do it, it's not God.
His super are natural. You've heard that, right? His super and our natural right. Partially true.
Can we just debunk that a little bit?
His super.
Yes, we need his power. But it's not just like, give me your super so I can keep doing what I've always done, but at another level.
No, no.
Something you're not able to do.
Something you've never even done before.
Second word is metron. Metron is the word in Greek for measure. The term indicates that gifts are precisely calibrated for each individual believer. This is so good. Listen to this. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure or the metron of. Of Christ's gift. Okay. The measure or the metron of Christ's gift. Wow. The NIV translates it this way. But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
As Christ apportioned it.
Apportioning suggests deliberate division or allocation, highlighting Christ's intentional and specific distribution of gifts. The NLT puts it this way, however. He's given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
Now, it appears three different translations. Esv, niv, and nlt. It appears that there are three different translations here. Actually, no. It means all of that.
Metron includes all of that. So the idea is of careful appointment, a measured portion. But it also speaks of the precision with which Christ distributes these gifts, and then the personal attention given to each believer's gifting, the generosity that motivates the distribution. What do I mean by that?
Okay, it's simply this.
Hey, I know exactly what gifts you are supposed to have, and I'm giving you exactly what I want you to have.
What does that mean?
It means that we never have to be concerned about comparison.
Right?
Comparison.
That's not what the Lord wants for us. It's not about comparison. Well, you know what? I don't have that gift. I can't do that.
Right, yeah.
Truth.
So why would you be concerned? Well, I know he knows exactly what your gifts or gifts aren't, and he wants you to use them. He's apportioned it out of his limitless resources. He's apportioned it. He's measured it off, he's calibrated it for you. This is what you're called to have. This is what I've appointed you to do. Guess what? Be comfortable in your skin.
Understand who you are and say it. Hey, I suck at that.
Is that biblical?
Is that okay to say in Australia?
Okay, so I'm not good at that. And yet we're trying to be, like, find someone else why? Because we're called to be a body.
We're called to interdependence. We're called. We're called to rely on one another.
Only Jesus had all the gifts. We're his body, but we're only members. We're collectively his body. Not individually.
We're members. And so there's things that I might be good at, and there's things that I'm terrible at. There's things I'm not called to do, and I'm like, I want to learn that. I want to improve on that. Not if God doesn't want you to do that.
Just stay in your sweet spot, you know, Stay in your lane. Recognize that your calling is something different, and focus on that and use that to the best of your ability. Develop that, grow in that, and you will see that God will use you powerfully. Okay, the next word is the word sorry, Doria. Thank you, Doria. Okay, this is the term that refers to gifts according to the gift of Christ. Okay? So there's grace, there's metron or measure, and then there's the gift of Christ, Doria. Okay, now this term, listen to this. And it ties in with what I said earlier, when the king would come from a battle and he had destroyed the enemy and defeated the enemy, and he would bring. He'd plunder, okay? And then he'd give gifts. This is exactly what this word means. It's a royal endowment, a gift from a king according to his gift to you.
So spiritual gifts, manifestations of the Spirit, First Corinthians 12. Right? We call them sometimes the motivational gifts in Romans 12, the fivefold gifts in Ephesians 4, 11, etc. Etc.
All of them, even though they're different, ultimately are still gifts. They come from Him. The gifts the king has given you isn't that powerful.
And it also means this. This term refers to a royal endowment carrying the authority of the giver.
A royal endowment that carries the authority of the giver.
So these gifts carry Christ's own authority, enabling us to represent Him.
Oh, yeah, I've got some gifts.
Really?
Do you know how much he paid for you to have that gift?
It's a gift.
I can't do that. And I'm just really not good at anything.
No, every one of us has gifts.
Each and every person has gifts in Christ.
Very powerful. So understanding these terms helps us to see that spiritual gifts aren't just abilities, not just natural abilities. Okay? But these are divinely empowered endowments that carry Christ's authority, and they are Precisely calibrated for each believer's unique contribution to Jesus mission.
Have you ever heard this before?
Gets better.
A fundamental truth in this passage is the universal distribution of gifts. As I said, each one of us. Right? So every believer has something valuable to contribute to the body of Christ and to the world. There are no non essential members in God's economy.
No.
Okay. Secondly, your gift is a measured portion of Christ's own ministry. When you exercise your spiritual gift, you're extending an aspect of Christ's own ministry to others.
When you exercise your spiritual gift, you're extending an aspect of Christ's own gift to someone else, not your gifts or his.
The ultimate purpose of your gift is to extend Christ's presence in the world.
That's it. I said it.
Okay, let's take a deep dive into this. The ultimate purpose of your gift is to extend Christ's presence in the world. Already look at verse 10, Ephesians 4, 10. What does it say? That he might fill all things. You see that. That he might fill all things. So why did he do this? Why did Jesus come to the earth?
Why did. Did he die, raised from the dead, ascended and gave gifts? That he might fill all things.
That he might fill all things.
What? That he might fill all things.
Whoa.
This means that no believer should feel insignificant or unnecessary.
See, each person's gift is essential for Christ's purpose of filling all things with his presence.
When you use your spiritual gifts, you're not just doing a church activity.
Okay? You're extending Christ's kingdom influence into the lives of others, into the world.
Now let me, let me take this a little bit further and then we'll talk about the fivefold. Whether, if we do it today, I'm not sure, but we'll unpack that. All right, so let's go to Ephesians 4.
Now if you take it and go further, verses 7 through the 16. Okay. Ephesians 4, 7 through 16.
That is powerful because it shows us that he gave the fivefold. Okay. The ascension gifts.
For what purpose?
A lot of ministries and churches have made verse 11 all about verse 11.
Verse 11. It's not a full stop.
It's a comma. It's better yet, a calling.
What does that mean? He gave the fivefold for purpose.
For a purpose. To do what?
To equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ and then continue to read the rest.
Continue to read the rest. So this is really important, but this is what I want us to see.
This passage provides a Comprehensive framework for understanding spiritual gifts and the function within the body of Christ. Okay. What does that mean? Christ's cosmic journey, his descent. Okay. Victory, ascent and giving. Establishes the theological foundation for spiritual gifts. Our gifts flow directly from his work. Okay. His redemptive work. Secondly, every believer receives a measured portion of Christ's gift. Fivefold ministry gifts, okay. Exists to equip all believers.
All believers for their own ministries, not to perform all ministry themselves. Do you want to.
Can I tell you something that makes me upset?
Can I share it? Because I want to tell you the reason why it makes me upset is because we don't understand.
You know what it says in 1 Corinthians 11? It says, we fail to discern the Lord's body when we take communion. Right? And it says, some of you are sick. Some of you. This happens because you failed to discern the Lord's body.
Here's something that bothers me.
Not that you guys do this.
I'm just saying it.
So pastors go away.
And people, I'm not coming to church because Pastor Lynn's not preaching or Pastor Kevin's not preaching or whomever, I'm not coming.
What's that mean?
I'm not the body of Christ. Pastor Kevin's not the body of Christ. Pastor Dariel, Pastor Lynn, we're not the body of Christ. We're a member. We're just a part.
We all together are the body of Christ.
So if you that part of the body, I don't really like it.
True story. Years ago, I think it was like after World War II, they were doing all these weird surgical things and they said, we don't say any purpose, any benefit for a human having a tailbone.
So they honestly scientists, so brilliant. And so they surgically removed some people's tailbones.
You don't need a tailbone. What's that? He said, actually, it's proof that we used to be monkeys.
Tailbone, right? Why do we need a tailbone? Because we used to be monkeys, right? We needed it because we used to have a tail, but now we don't. So the point is, one sit down without a tailbone doesn't take too long, and you're very uncomfortable.
So what seems insignificant and unimportant. It's very important.
Paul talks all about this.
So if we fail to discern each member, we fail to discern the body of Christ. So regardless of who's preaching, and I get it, we all have favorites. Some people like chocolate, other people like vanilla or strawberry, whatever. Like, we like different styles Right. It was in the, in the New Testament. Right. I follow Apollos, I follow Paul, I follow Cephas. And then the really spiritual said, well, we follow Jesus. Right, but what did Paul say about that? He said, you're acting like mere men. In 1 Corinthians 3, he said, because what are you doing? You're prioritizing individuals. You're elevating and exalting individuals. It was never God's plan to have rock star pastors. Hello.
It was never his plan.
Why do you think we're in trouble? In many places today, we put these unrealistic expectations on pastors. They have to do all of these things, and that's not what they're called to do.
I like people, but I don't like counseling.
I'm more mature now. As I've old, I've aged.
But in my early days, I would just say, pray and fast and get over it.
Like, cannot Jesus heal you? Yeah, well, let him heal you. Don't waste my time. How much time have you prayed and fasted about this?
Tell me, how much time have you prayed and fasted about? Well, I really haven't. Then go back and go into the secret place. Seek God's face, pray and fast and get your breakthrough.
I'm a little bit more gracious than that now.
But the point is, it's still true in many ways because we are now I need and we're depending on a person or a gift rather than recognizing that Jesus is in you and he's given you everything that you need as well. Yes, we need ministry from other people. That's the way he set this up. But ultimately it's not like we, we don't have the ability to, to see breakthrough in our lives.
So we grow toward Christ's fullness through this process of equipping. We'll talk more about that. Okay. So we all attain unity to faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13. All right. And then lastly, the body builds itself up when each part functions properly.
What does it mean? It means this. If you're not functioning and using your gifts, the body will never function optimally. Be like a car that's maybe eight cylinder car that's running on four cylinders. Does it get you to where you need to go? Yes. But is it running optimally? No, it's underperforming.
So we have to recognize that. Okay. Now the purpose of spiritual gifts is Captured in Ephesians 4, 10. As I said that he might fill all things. Are you ready? We're about to land it.
Spiritual gifts. Okay. Through these gifts, literally, Christ extends God's presence and kingdom throughout creation, bringing every sphere under his lordship. Now, I want you to see this. Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the spirit of Christ himself, not merely abilities.
Let me say that again. Spiritual gifts are manifestations. That's what they're called in First Corinthians 12. Manifestations of Christ himself, not merely abilities.
Let's look at Matthew 12:28.
Pharisees are accusing Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, right?
Jesus says this in Matthew 12:28. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Did you hear that? If I cast out demons, Jesus said, by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
If I use my gifts of deliverance, of casting out demons, the kingdom has come.
I have. I. God has manifested himself.
I was in Uganda years ago, and we did this crusade in this Kampala. It was in a soccer stadium called Wankulukuku stadium, which means in. In Lugandan, the place of many anthills.
And we're doing a crusade there. And we had probably three or four thousand people show up. It's a large stadium. We'll seat maybe 20,000 people.
And we minister.
It's tough. Tough plowing. It's difficult. We're not getting breakthrough. And then the next night wasn't easy either. And so what ends up happening is I'm preaching. It's Sunday morning now, and I'm preaching in this church. And this woman approaches me. She's probably in her late 70s, early 80s, and she doesn't speak English. But through the interpreter, she actually says, can you pray for my grandson and my granddaughter? And there's this boy and this girl that are standing next to her. She said their parents died of aids.
So she asked me to pray, so I'm ready to pray. And the pastor goes, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not now. And he's saying something to her, and he goes, no, no, no, no, not now. We have to go. And he goes, come to the crusade tonight. Be there early, and Pastor Glenn will pray for you.
So she shows up.
She does that. She literally shows up. And while she's standing there with these two children, I feel this darkness.
I'm like, all right, game on.
Let's do this. Okay. Come on, now. Come on. How many know that Holy Spirit isn't the only One that manifests.
So there was a manifestation. I could feel the darkness, the coldness. And I'm like, all right, let's deal with this.
So through the interpreter, I said to her, do you realize that you need delivered? And she says, yes. And I said, I am going to pray for your grandchildren, but I want to pray for you that you'll be delivered. She says, okay, so I take authority in Jesus name. I won't make it dramatic, but I just took authority in Jesus name and I said, come out of her. And I just. And boom, she falls out under the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirits come out of her. Unclean spirits come out of her. And you feel the presence of God.
If I cast out demons by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Guess what happened that night? Like an hour later, I walk into the to the field and there's thousands and thousands of people there worshiping God. And this time there is massive breakthrough that's happened. People are worshiping and. And the place is full. And I preached the gospel that night. And so many people got healed, delivered, and saved. It was crazy. Nothing changed.
Nothing changed except when we took authority over that situation, something shifted in the atmosphere.
Do you realize this thing called principalities and powers, Right? Yeah. And they literally rule and reign in territories.
I don't know exactly what happened, but we actually went after something significant that night, and it broke open and the glory and the presence of God came down.
Beautiful.
Jesus came.
So this is important.
See, the gifts of the Spirit serve as vessels through which the Holy Spirit extends God's kingdom beyond individual benefit or church edification, allowing Christ's rule to permeate all creation.
Ephesians 2:22. We know this right, where believers collectively become a habitation or dwelling place for God by the Spirit. That's what we're called to be. So what does that mean? The church functions as a vessel for the Holy Spirit work. Okay. With each gift, empowering a believer to extend God's presence and kingdom into different spheres. Okay. So when filled with the Holy Spirit, these gifts, these manifestations operated with transform of glory, aligning with Habakkuk 2:14's vision that the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
See, these gifts we. Through these gifts, we extend Christ's presence. We drive out darkness, as I've already mentioned in Matthew 12:28. Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples but the Lord rises upon you, and his glory appears over you. So what is the solution for darkness covering the earth and deep darkness to people? Arise and shine.
Manifest the presence. It drives out darkness. Very powerful. All right.
When we faithfully use these gifts, we participate. Are you ready? In this cosmic purpose, we become channels through which the ascended Christ extends God's presence and kingdom throughout the world.
Whoa.
So we just step into that. Oh, Lord, I want to use my gifts. The manifestation, I want to use it. What are you saying?
Let me close with this illustration.
For many years, Lynn and I traveled itinerated. Best thing ever. Go into a church, blow it up, and leave. Awesome. Pastor has to deal with it.
So good.
So anyway, we would travel, we'd itinerate. Back in that day, I was recognized as having a prophetic gift. Right. Thank you. And I don't know what it is. Some California bug.
So what would happen is people heard about it, and when we'd be ministering, people would show up. So we'd be in a church, different state, different country. People would hear about it, and they'd show up, and they'd walk up to me at the end of the service after we already prayed with everybody with their phone open, got a word for me, and I'd say, yeah, you should have came earlier.
And so you know how that is, right? We can get cheeky. We can get frustrated with people. Like, come on, guys. Really? Like, I just spent an hour, two hours praying with people sometimes, and you didn't come forward. But I'm about. I'm done. I'm spent. I'm about to leave, and then you walk up to me, got a word, and I'm like, yeah, read your Bible.
Get right with Jesus.
So anyway, I ended up at the very first time, and the Lord did this to me several times. So you're in this flow, right? This anointing, this revelation. You're getting words, crazy words, accurate words. And what happens is, Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, give them a word.
Give her a word or him a word. I'm like, all right. And he speaks to me and gives me a very specific word, and I release it.
And what it did was it shifted that person's life, but it shifted the presence. Not only like it was happening in the church, things were shifting, but it shifted in the sense that the presence of God came in their life, and it changed everything.
So my point is this. That's just one gift, right? There's many other gifts, but the purpose of the gifts are to bring the resources of the kingdom and his presence to bear and to bring change.
So a church ministry that intentionally says, hey, you know what? We just don't do ministry and the Holy Spirit in our church because people get weird, right?
Okay, so, yes, there are some people that do strange things.
But is that like, okay, we don't preach the Bible because when we do, you know, somebody might poke out their eye because Jesus said, right.
So we don't want to preach the word of God. So the point is, yes, there's always going to be people who, whatever, but we are called to bring the presence of God. And your role, your job, your responsibility is to look at what God has called you to do, what gifts has he made available to you?
How do you activate that, begin to use that for his purpose?
See, we use them together as an individual member in the body of Christ to minister to one another.
And I'm quite comfortable to actually step aside. The apostolic is all about making space for people. The whole fivefold is to be that, really to make space for people.
Now, there's strategy in building culture, discipleship, all of that, establishing that, especially in a new church, there's strategy. We've been doing this for years. We understand that. How do you shift things? How do you get people on the same page? You know, how do we disciple people? All of that. But ultimately it's not to make you dependent on someone. It's a season. The first year of Jesus ministry. I'm teaching this morning. Is that all right? Okay, grab three people think it's okay? Anybody else good with it? If you're not good with it, I'm sorry, it's already. I've done it already. So.
But the first year, guess what Jesus said? He said, come and follow me. They literally followed him. They watched him, and they didn't really do any ministry for a whole year.
And then he started saying, okay, I'm going to use you. He says, I'm going to give you. I give you authority and power, or to heal the sick, to cast out demons, right? He says all this stuff, and he begins to empower them and use them, and then they go out, etc. So what happens is Jesus is preparing his body and he's given them gifts. See, this is not. I'm at the point where I'm done with certain things like this stuff of depending, you know, on just building something where people come in, sit there, put their money in, or don't put their money in.
And then that was a great sermon. I really didn't like it. I'VE heard better. I don't know what's wrong with Pastor Glenn this week. He's like, he was really different. Yeah, like, yeah, I'm very different this week. Actually, it's intentional.
Because what we need is we need equipped. The whole body needs activated. The whole body needs to know what their function is, their gifts, their calling to release the presence of the Lord so that he may fill all things. Do you want him to fill your home?
Use your gifts, begin to seek him. Do you want him to fill your business?
It's amazing. You can use your gifts. Ghost mode, right? Like you're prophesying and people don't even realize it. And they come back to you because you said that that was really interesting. And you're just like, yeah, yeah.
And there's different ways you can prophesy even to unbelievers, and they don't even get it. And you're praying over them. You said, oh, Lord, would you. And you say something specific and they look at you, go, how did you know that?
My lucky guest Jesus name. But we use our gifts wherever. So I want to affirm you, we're going on a journey to see Ephesians 4 actually continue after verse number 11.
So it's not just about, oh yeah, we have the five fold ministry in our church. Say we did. I don't know, maybe we already do. But say we do. And then we're like, okay, that's it.
How boring is that?
How boring is that? That we're called to be the body of Christ. We're called to be the body of Christ. To equip, to activate, to see people healed and restored and, and, and fired up. To be able to do what God's called them to do. So we fill everywhere we go. Jesus said, it's for your benefit that I go away.
Why? Because Holy Spirit will come. Guess what he is saying? He is saying, me, I am a man, God, but I am in a human body and I can only do so much. I am not omnipresent. I can only be in so many places. But when I go away, Holy Spirit comes. And now everyone, each person who believes can be filled and activated in the gifts and go out and fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
So let's, let's use our gifts. Amen.
And there's such significance and fulfillment when we do that. And God uses you, right? So I'm going to pray for you. I want to pray a prayer of activation.
It's prophetic. It's an Impartation. Something will happen. How many believe that? Yeah, something can actually happen. Oh, wow. All of a sudden. Yeah. I mean, when I started, I saw this. So when I was a kid, very young child, I went to Kathryn Kuhlman. I think it was three times. I was at her meetings. Okay. One of her meetings. I think it was the first one. I was healed. Can I tell you that something happened to me even as a child? I have two friends. Well, more. Well, one person, he's not really a friend, but I know two individuals who went to Kathryn Kuhlman's meetings. Never met her. She never laid hands on them or prayed for them. But their ministry exploded globally just by being there.
Can I tell you one name? Benny Hinn, who, when I was a kid, did Bible studies in my parents home.
I didn't know who he was, but he was in our home.
So another individual, a man in Canada, who still. He just turned 80 and same thing, people started lining up to come into his country church that literally 2 o'clock in the morning, people are lining up this queue to get in because miracles started happening. What if that happened again but not this time. Not just a few individuals, but all of us, all of us, we started to believe it. Okay. So something can happen when you're in the presence of God.
[01:00:36] Speaker B: Thank you for joining us. We hope that you enjoyed today's podcast. We realize that not everyone has had the opportunity to respond to the good news of the gospel. And for this reason, in all of our services and platforms, we want to extend to you the opportunity to follow Jesus. The Bible teaches us that we have been created for a relationship with God. However, sin, which is essentially disobedience, independence and disbelief, or us simply missing the mark, entered the world and separated us from. From God. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death and a debt was owed. And the Bible tells us that he demonstrated his love for us, that while we were still sinners, he died for us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, that whoever believes in him will be saved. All that is required of anyone is that they believe in Jesus, the Son of God who came, lived, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven, made right and given the right to become children of God and to have life forevermore with Him.
Today you can begin a relationship with Jesus to believe in him is to simply to respond with faith in our hearts and confess with our mouths that he is Lord. And we do that through a simple prayer.
Follow along with Me Dear Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. I thank you that you love me and came to forgive me of my sin. I repent from my old way of life and I turn to follow you. I receive the free gift of eternal life and I ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live a life of following after you. I thank you that I am born again as a child of God and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen. If you prayed this prayer for the first time, we would love to connect with you and connect you to your next step and the local church in your area. You can contact us on our website at Numa Church. Thanks for listening.
