Your day. We'll see you next week.
Let us go into the house of the Lord. It's something powerful and good that when you come into the house and the worship of God, it's literally filling the room. It truly filled the room on today. I hope if you came here with a struggle emotionally, physically, spiritually, I pray that the atmosphere was conducive to bring some type of calm and relief to your life.
I want to give just a few quick announcements. Y'all can time me, but it's going to be quick. It's going to be quick because y'all is not going to judge me in the next staff meeting. Just a reminder, the ladies' conference, the women's conference for 2024 has been canceled this year. I normally won't just tell why. I'll just say it just canceled. But this year here, we only sold three tickets. Well, I would say 10, but we first sold three tickets. And I let it go for two more weeks and it got up to 10. I said, we're canceling this thing here because it cost too much money to pull this thing here off. So the women's conference this year has been canceled. I know some of y'all were going to pay probably at the last minute, but... This is not the year for that.
And so what we did was we did cancel that, but on November 1st, there will be a ladies' night event that will be free of charge. Amen. It will be free of charge. Listen, seating is going to be limited. I'm sure the place is going to be packed out. You do still have to register for that so that we can prepare for your presence on that day. So once it fills out, we are not opening up any more spots. This is for Hope City and outside guests as well. There'll be vendors, food trucks, and all those good things. So if you're going to do good things here, also I'm teaching and preaching from Pastor Tamika herself. Come on, somebody. And so it's just going to be a special night for you guys to come. Normally, we do offer childcare. There will be no childcare on that night. So ladies, plan now. You got weeks to find a babysitter, but that night will be for all ladies to not have to be watching any kids at night to be able to enjoy that event on tonight. So register on the website today. Get that done.
Second thing is we have a mission meeting for anyone interested in being part of our global missions department here. We have three trips scheduled for 2025 for Africa, and there will be an interest meeting on Zoom on October the 7th at 6:30 p.m. A link will be going out for that very soon. The first trip is over to Zimbabwe. For those who went with me to Africa this year, about 20 of us went. It was an amazing trip. We're going back twice in 2025, as well as over to Zimbabwe. If you want any information on the global missions here at Hope City, go to Zimbabwe.org. Hope City Church, I would encourage you to be on that call today.
And last but not least, I'm asking all ministers who are in this service on today to please meet me in my office at the end of the service on today. Nobody did nothing wrong. I just want to talk to you, okay? Y'all good. Everybody's good. Just want to put my hands on you and see your faces on today. Amen?
Let's jump right into the word for today. So we've been doing a series called By My Spirit. I'm going to continue that today, talking about just spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts. And I want to just, I've got here on my notes, I'm starting off from John chapter four, dealing with a woman at the well. But before I do that, I just really want to go through the entire first chapter of Corinthians chapter 12, which by doing that, you often set yourself up for putting people to sleep when you read a lot of scripture. So I'm acutely aware, you may doze off when I keep on reading scriptures here. If I see you dozing off, I got 12 rocks up here. I'm going to be like David slinging rocks on today.
So just endure me on today as I go through the scriptures. I promise you, you'll be glad that I made the, I painted the picture very clear on what the gifts of the spirits are on today. And just quickly, I heard that we had a guest in the house from Pastor Stacy from Hope City Church in Colorado. Just want to give you a quick wave. Thank you for hanging out with us today. Thank you for hanging out with us today. And I just had to do that because they said her church, so we just had to acknowledge you on today, ma'am. And I hope you enjoy the experience on today. Bless you so much. Amen.
So let's jump right into the word today. I want to go, like I said, I want to read some scriptures first. That's not in my notes here, but let's go to first Corinthians chapter 12. They will have it on the screen. I want to read from the King James version and just kind of lay things up real fast before I read first Corinthians 12, the pre chapters prior to this, the apostle Paul, he's in prison. And this letter that he wrote to church was because some questions was asked of him concerning some issues that was going on in the church. If you go like the first Corinthians 10, 11, and even further back, it starts the chapter off by saying, now concerning women in ministry, because the question came up about women in ministry. So Paul was addressing the question that came up about women in ministry. Another question was the money finances given. He said, now concerning offers, now concerning giving wise. And then you get the first Corinthians chapter 12. He says, now concerning spiritual gifts, because there was a talk, a conversation about how the spiritual gifts were being used and how does it work and things like that. And that's what I want to focus on here for just a second.
And look what it says here in verse number one, Paul says, now concerning, switching the conversation now to spiritual gifts, now concerning spiritual gifts. He says, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. He said, you know that you are Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as you were led. He said, I give you to understand that no man speaking by the spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed. He says, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. Then now he goes in and say, he said, now let's talk about spiritual gifts. He said, now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. He says, and there are diversities of operations, but it's the same God that worketh all in all.
So now, let's not miss that part where he says, now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. So we go over to the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit first revealed himself and made himself available when God or Jesus showed up to his disciples and said, Hey, go into the upper room and wait until you be endued with power. In other words, this is when the Holy Spirit was now going to be made available to live on the inside of those that call themselves unbelievers. And then Paul makes it very clear here that there are different gifts, name, Spirit. So my point is, if you are a believer and you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit or as a believer, when you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is the primary gift that you want to have. Let's make that clear. Let's not go into the different diversities of the gifts of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit gives out. The gift you want is the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Are we clear on that? It's only one Holy Spirit.
Okay, and watch this here. The Holy Spirit that I have as a senior pastor is the same Holy Spirit you have in the sound booth, the same Holy Spirit you have working in the parking lot, the same Holy Spirit working in the kids department. It is the same Holy Spirit. The difference of how I manifest with my Holy Spirit is different because He gives different gifts to individuals based on their position, their placement in the body. And this is what the Apostle Paul is about to explain here a little bit further. He says, now, and there are diversities of operations, different functions, but it's the same God which worketh all in all. He said, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man. That's why I say every man. He said, every man to profit with all. So therefore, he said here, everybody who has the Holy Spirit, you have from your Holy Spirit the ability to manifest a gift of the Holy Spirit through your life. Are you with me here?
And then he's going to go in talking about how we all manifest those gifts in different kinds of ways. He says, for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. He said, to another, the word of knowledge. He said, by the same Spirit. He said, to another, the gift of faith by the same Spirit. To another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, discerning of spirits. To another, diverse kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. He says, but all these work of that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. So we see who gives out the gifts. He devised them again based on your placement in the body, your assignment. I have different gifts. I have to function as a pastor. You have certain gifts. You have to function as a deacon or in production. I don't know nothing. Well, I don't listen about sound, but I don't know nothing about sound. I don't know nothing about worship. I don't have the gift of singing. Now, I can sing solo, solo that nobody can hear me, okay? That's just not in my repertoire.
What they were doing up here, they had a gift that is in their repertoire to be able to sing in such a way that they were able to do that on today. You ever hear people say, I want to join the praise team or the choir, and they can't even sing? And we say, well, the Bible says make a joyful noise. It's not up here, out there. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, not up here. Do it out there. He placed the members in the body as it pleases him at his will, not because I just like to be on the stage and now I want to get up there, but I can't even sing. And then people leave your church because, well, I tried to sing because here at Hope City, if you say you want to join the praise team, you got to go through a tryout. Well, where they do that at? That ain't God. Yes, it is. That's God. You're not going to get up here singing off key. Can't sing and say, oh, that's my baby. No, no, no, no, your baby's going to go down from here.
I remember when I was in the Baptist church and we had that one Sunday where it was youth Sunday and all the kids singing and, whew, that was a Sunday I never invited my friends to church because it was always mad chaos and the only people who were happy about the kids singing is all the parents. Oh, that's my baby, so cute. If y'all be honorable to say, it was, I mean, and then the Easter speeches. If we're going to do an Easter speech, let's learn it. Kids get up there, can't even, they say, come on, come on, on, come on. All right. I had somebody say to me one day, one of the reasons they posted this on Facebook first and I responded to it, they said, one of the reasons I like going to Hope City, because they don't have all those cheering up there, singing. Oh, no, it's cheering. They said cheering wild. And they came from old school Baptist church. I ain't go to church yet. Hear nobody up there saying, who can't even sing?
Let's give me the, I don't know, okay. I said, amen, and I just left it right there. Oh, the Lord have me. I don't know where I'm at now, but anyway. He said, for as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being, watch this here, many are one body, so also is Christ, only one Christ. He said, for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. Now, don't forget where he's using a physical body to give an interpretation, to make you understand how the spiritual gifts actually work. So, stay with me here just a little bit longer. He says here, for the body is not one member, but many. Verse number, and my eyes are very 15 here. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not the body, is it therefore not of the body? No, that foot gonna stay right there unless you cut it off, but it's a part of the body.
He says, and if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing? It'd be a freak. It literally just imagine me one whole eye. It was like, whoa, what is that? Cameras are coming up there. Hey, did you see that? I just saw a whole, I saw a big eye. And Paul was saying here, if the whole body was an eye, where were the hearing? He said, if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? He said, but now have God set the members, everyone in the body, as it has pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? He said, but now are there many members, yet but one body. Almost done. He says, and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
So the issue in the church is you got all these gifts in the body. People getting upset with each other, didn't know how to place the gifts in the body or how to place the gifts in the church, how to let people operate, how to let people function. Folks speaking in tongues while the preacher is preaching, just, I mean, just speaking in tongues. He's preaching, can't get a word out because there was so, one prophesying over here, one prophesying. Paul's speaking in tongues while the preacher is preaching. The church can't even function with all this going on because they're trying to be spiritual. You ever been there before? Been to a church where we say, well, the spirit was moving and that, no, sometimes that's mad chaos. God is about order. God is not the author of confusion. That's why he set the members in the body as it pleases him. The eyes has a purpose. The hands has a purpose. The knees has a purpose.
Watch this here. Your heart has a purpose, even though I cannot see it. Imagine the heart being upset with the eyes saying, man, I'm locked up in your chest. Can't nobody see me in here. You on full display. Everybody see you. I mean, you look pretty, but no one ever sees me. But I need my heart though. Just because everyone don't see you, you are a significant part of my body. Man, you ever stumped your big toe? It affected your entire body. Come on, somebody. I mean, your eye was hurting, your mind is like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Every member in the body, the hair that's in your nose is in, the hair that's in your ear, the wax in your ears is significantly important. If there's no wax in your ears, guess what? The bugs that sometimes try to get in your ear, it gets in there and it will stay there. Oh, it's all significant. The hairs in your nose, they are very significant. Not the ones that's growing out of your nose. The ones that's in your nose, the older you get, you will understand they start growing out.
And when you start getting gray like I do, it sticks out sometimes. And someone think a booger is upset. It's not a booger. It's just like, yeah. So now I got a little tool to help me just cut that thing out. I'm having too much fun with this here today. Because I want to make sure you get these gifts, get this gifts of the spirit message on today. He says here, he says, now much more of those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. Those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these, we bestow more abundant honor. And our uncommonly parts have more abundant commonness. And one thing I teach our staff, our teams here, when it comes to honor, we honor up, we honor down, we honor all around. Not just the pastor. We honor people from the parking lot and the children of ushers and greeters. No, we're not just going to honor me. Let's honor all the members, all the gifts in the body, because we're all working together to accomplish a goal.
Even though I'm up here being the one that is being seen right now, if all the things that happen to get sunny together does not happen, I can't do what I'm supposed to do here effectively without these other gifts. So we honor up, down, and all around. Come on, somebody, give God a praise for that there. Honor all the gifts, honor all the gifts in the body, no matter how insignificant or significant we think there are. I'm going to turn here. He says here, and I just love this here. He said, for our commonly parts, I'm going to read it one more time. Commonly parts have no need, but God has tempered the body together. Watch this here. Having given more abundant honor to that part which lacketh, that there should be no, watch the word here, no what? No what? No schism in the body. That word schism is talking about so that there'll be no division in the body. He set the members in the body so that there's no division in the church.
He's given the giftings. He set the members in the body, not as Pastor Corey pleases Corey, but the way it pleases God. It's just my job to help you identify your gifting and place you in that place. Help you discover, as we say here, know God, find freedom, and discover your purpose so that you too can go out and make a difference, just so that there'll be no schism in the body. Somebody say no schism in the church. Yeah, yeah, no schism in the body. He says here in verse number 25 that there should be no schism in the body. Verse 26, and whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Like I said, that one toe get hit, the whole body gonna feel it. Or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. So you honor one member, you're honoring the whole member.
Yeah. I love when folks say, Pastor Corey, if we do some kind of event in the city or even something that just goes off well here. I was like, Pastor Corey, man, you did an amazing job. Lord, thank you so much. I ain't do nothing. The team did it, but they're honoring me. Because I'm the one that they always see. So I get a lot of credit for a lot of stuff. Now, don't get me wrong. As a visionary, I set the vision. I make sure, but at the end of the day, a lot of things don't happen just because I did it. It happens because other members of the body actually did it. It's just people say, man, you're doing a great job, Pastor Corey. Oh, thank you. Thank you. But all them actually did the work. Are y'all with me? Y'all looking like, amen. Y'all with me, right?
Yeah. You ever been there before that somebody, credit for stuff you did? Yeah. I'm going to make you feel sometime like, well, he didn't even do nothing. He just showed up and just started preaching. He didn't do nothing today. He come and preach and walk out. But guess what? There was a day I didn't just walk in, show up and walk out. I can go by 10 years where I did everything, set up, tear it down, brought the furniture here, come on somebody, made sure everything was done. For lack of words, I put my dues in, come on somebody. I could just show up now Sunday morning, get my little notes and stuff, see what's going on here, and just come in and do my role well. Know my part. Let the other members of the body who have found their place in the church do that.
I remember when I used to still set our chairs, and it was an event we did about three or four years ago at a marriage event. And I was moving chairs at the end of the event, and Pastor Dexter Howard, one of my friends, said, he said, hey, come here, man. He said, hey, He said, you're robbing them of their opportunity to be blessed wives. I'm like, you know, I just like serving. But I had to realize, hey, just because you like serving doesn't mean you got to always serve at certain times so that you can allow people to get in their position to dog gifted and called to do wise. So I just stepped to the side and just started talking to the people who really wanted to ask questions or just engage with their pastor on some regular basis stuff and said to me, just fixing chairs. I mean, I love doing chairs. So don't ever say, well, who he think he is now? He don't like moving chairs? I like moving chairs.
He don't do nothing now. He just sure right now and correct people and rebuke people. Come on. I'm almost done with this text here. It says, and where the one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and members in particular. That's what I say, in particular. So that's the reason why I don't allow people to just do, I want to be on the parking team, the greeter team, the sound team, the worship team, the kids. No, no, no, no, no. What's your gifting? We're not looking for volunteers. We're looking for people who found their place. Are you with me? Okay. And members in particularly, what are you particularly designed and called to do?
It says, and God has some in the church, first apostles, secondary prophets, thirdly teachers, after that are miracles, then gifts of healing, helps governments, diversities of tongues. Are all, and then he says, are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? I'm going to go back to that. Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? He said, but covet earnestly the best gifts and show until I yet show unto you a more excellent way.
So he said, all these gifts are in the body. And I want to focus on the one, we're all speaking tongues. And I remember growing up, when I growing up, I remember being in church in my Baptist church days. And a lot of folk would say on my Pentecostal brother side, that we Baptist folks did not have the Holy Spirit because we didn't speak in tongues. And at that time I didn't speak in tongues, but I knew I had the Holy Spirit because some of the stuff I was doing, it was the Holy Spirit that stopped me from doing it. Come on somebody. Hence I said, the greatest gift you want is the Holy Spirit, not personally a particular gift. Yes. Once you get the Holy Spirit, there's a gift that will be given out. But the primary gift you obviously want is to give the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life that will allow you, watch this here, to operate in the fruit of the Spirit, long-suffering, patience, kindness, meekness, and forgiveness, watch this.
So many people want the gifts of the Spirit, but they're not, but they don't want the fruit of Spirit. But you can't prophesy to me to say the Lord said, and you nasty. Come on, you got all these gifts, but you ain't got that fruit. Now you want to say, thus says, the Lord told me to tell you about this time tomorrow. He going, no, no, no. Did he tell you to stop cussing first? You, you heard him say that, but you didn't hear him say, come on. Isn't that interesting how we can hear God say this, but we can't hear God say.
So when I, so when I look back at those, those elementary years, if you would, in ministry, and I did a study from first Corinthians 12. Now normally when I teach this particular teaching here, I like to get the gifts and actually make them like real gifts. And put the words on the boxes like prophecy, healing, tongues, miracles. Just put them on gifts and teach that in a way where as I'm teaching it, he'd give some prophecy. And I actually give the gifts out. He gives some prophecies, some miracles, some this gifts, some that gift. And then he asked the question, will all prophesy? Will all speak to us? In other words, will everyone have the same gift? The answer is obviously no. It's obviously no. But the point is when he said, these signs shall follow them that believe. He's not talking about an individual. He's talking about these signs shall follow the church.
So all these gifts that's in the body of Christ, when we're one and no schism and not divided, the called out the church in the body of Christ, all these gifts should be in the church, in the body of Christ, not necessarily in one particular building. Are you with me here? We should be able to look in the body of Christ. If there is a need in Africa, wherever somebody in the body should have that gift. And we should be able to call for that gift to come and minister to whatever that need is. If I cut my finger right now, I may wipe, wipe the blood off, put some alcohol on it. But at some point, all the cells are going to run to where that cut at. And over time, it's going to heal itself. Same thing with the body of Christ. He said these giftings, some is the head, the tail, the hands, the feet, the eyes. He placed them in the body so there's no division and the body can heal itself. Are you with me on today?
And he says, everyone's not going to prophesy. Everyone's not going to speak in tongues. Everyone was trying to prophesy and give words of interpretation. Just imagine real fast. I want you to say your name, your birthday, and your city, where are you from? On the count of three, I want you to say your name, your full name, your first and last name, then say your birthday, and then what city you're from. On the count of three, hey, where are you from? Huh? What? Huh? Huh? What? Wait, wait, what? Huh? Huh? What? Imagine that's happening in the church. Everybody got a revelation. Everybody got a word. Everybody got a tongue. It's like, what are we listening to? Who are we listening to?
And this is where Paul came and said, hey, let me give you some understanding of how the gifts are supposed to be used in the church. Now, some went so far as to say, I remember the church I grew up in and what, sorry, not grew up in, but I got saved in a Southern Baptist church. We didn't believe in the gifts of the Spirit at all. So in that church, the gifts were gone. So as what was taught, and the danger with that is, is that number one, just because, and they got this mindset, or many get the mindset of not teaching on the gifts of the Spirit, because there's people who has abused the gifts of the Spirit, you know, who just kind of go to this far extreme wise. So they just say the gifts are not something to look for. Just focus on the fruit of the Spirit.
That's dangerous to do that because when you literally cut off a significant portion of what the Scripture teaches you, you literally now maim the body. You literally have cut off a significant part of something that is supposed to be a part of the church. And now you have handicapped the church because I don't believe in the gifts of the Spirit. Well, just because you don't believe in the gifts of the Spirit, don't believe they're not there. You may never operate in any of them, but it does not mean that they are not there. And we can't throw the baby out with the bathwater because some people, some churches you've experienced have done some stuff in a bad way that may just say, I don't want, I ain't got no time for the Holy Spirit thing. I don't want to hear nothing about that.
Because there are some things that can turn you off if that are functioning in the spiritual gifts in the wrong way. And that has unfortunately happened in many ways. Here at Hope City Church, we believe in all the gifts of the Spirit. We believe in prophesying, speaking in tongues. I speak in tongues every single Sunday. I'm there worshiping God. You can do the same thing wise, but expect me to come up here every Sunday preaching the Word of God and just speaking in tongues. No, that's, if you understand Scripture, it tells you how to use the gift of the tongue. And that's not something you just blurt out just because you want to have a spiritual moment at that time there.
But I would encourage you, if you've got the gift of speaking in tongues, use it. Speak into it during worship. At your seat time, express, express yourself. Come on, somebody. Feel free. I'm having too much fun with this word here. Now, let's go to the point of the matter. I've still got limited time, but let's now go to where I want to go at, John chapter four. John chapter four. So Hope City, you've got a basic understanding of how Paul just explained to explain how all the gifts can work in our church, in our lives to make sure that we are fully functional, fully moving organization with no division and with no schism, okay?
Now, let's look at John chapter four. And I want to look at this part here where the apostle or where Jesus was on a road and he was with his disciples, and they were actually headed to a particular place. And at one moment, Jesus said to his disciples, hey, I must needs go through Samaria. In other words, I need to go to Samaria. And as he was going to Samaria, he was going to encounter a woman that was at a particular well. And when he met this woman at the well, they began this dialogue, this conversation about who she was and who he was. And it got to a point in that conversation with Jesus that though Jesus began to tell her who she was about her life, her relationships, and how she was with this man and this man wasn't her husband, he just went into that deep conversation.
And she ended up saying, sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. He said, woman, Jesus replied, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. He said, you Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. He said, yet there's coming a time, and the time is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father is.
And my reason for reading this here today, that 2,000 years ago, there was a place, and even prior to that in the Moses days, there were places that they would go at to encounter and to worship God. But Jesus was making it clear that this journey, that this thing, this gap I have come to bridge from when first Adam fell, and when I get to the cross and I pull down the veil that limits you from getting into the presence of God, he says, I'm coming now to set things straight that whether you are in Jacksonville and San Diego, you are going to be in the presence of God.
And the only way for you to first do that is you've got to have the Holy Spirit in your life. And when you have the Holy Spirit in your life, the scripture says, know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So when the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of you, it doesn't matter where you go, whether on that mountain or Jerusalem, or whether in Chicago, you're able to worship him. And so, I'm going to be in the presence of God, and when I get to the worship God. Are you with me on that there? Okay, so yes, we come to worship God together as a church family, as we should do, based on the book of Hebrews, saying that we need to oftentimes come together because something happens when believers come together that can't happen when you're by yourself.
But don't miss the point that you can worship God by yourself. You do not have to be in a particular building or a place to worship God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and there is liberty. First Corinthians 12, verse 1 says again, now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. Here's three things I want you to make sure that these are three gifts you do receive. Number one, the gift of eternal life. And you'll never get the gift of the Holy Spirit if you don't have the gift of eternal life, okay? Romans 6, 23 says, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2, 8 says, for it is by God that we are saved. Grace. May I say grace? For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and it is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God.
So in other words, you don't work for your salvation. Jesus Christ died for us on a cross, and that work that he did when he says it is finished, tetelestai, it is finished, meaning everything that was needed to give man an opportunity to get back into the relationship with God that was lost with first Adam, he said it's now finished. Whosoever will, I'm sorry, whosoever will, let him come. He's made available for everyone else, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves, or not because of your works. I love what Scripture says, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. In other words, it says, we don't work for our salvation, but once we are saved, there's work to do. I'm going to say it again. We don't work to get saved, but once we are saved, there is now work to do. There's some stuff, some things in our life that we got to work out. He said, work out your salvation. Clean some things up, get your life, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
So the gift of eternal life, that's one gift you want to make sure you actually have. If you're here today, you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, today will be the perfect time to make him your Lord on today. Not out of fear of going to hell, but as an opportunity to connect to the one that knows everything about you. He said, Jeremiah, before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you and I ordained you to be a prophet until the day. So don't get saved because you think you're going to hell, but get saved because I want to know the one that knows me in detail. Are you with me on today? And then when you die, at least you got some spiritual insurance. Come on, somebody. You got some security.
It says here at the number two, here's the second gift you want is, the Holy Spirit. Eternal life and the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 1 verses 4 through 5, do not leave Jerusalem. This is when it first came, it was about a place. Do not leave Jerusalem. But wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So the gift of eternal life, and you need to make sure you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And then the third thing, as we're already talking about now, the spiritual gifts. You want to be able to receive eternal life, that gift. You want to see the gift of the Holy Spirit, and you want to make sure that, now that I have the Holy Spirit in my life, who's the one? Who's the one that dispenses the gift? Let me see which gift belongs to me from this Holy Spirit. Are you with me on today?
Okay, which gifts? And you know this from how you function and operate. Many of you really know your giftings and your talents and how the spiritual gifts can work towards your benefit. It's teaching, whatever that may be. Many of you know what those gifts are. You need somebody to help you affirm that and confirm what you're feeling and what you are thinking. That's why we put people through the growth track, our new members process, the growth track. You can discover their spiritual gift and how their personality lines up with those spiritual gifts. That's why we do that test with you in growth track. If you haven't been in growth track yet, I would encourage you to take that next step.
I'm going to give you three things that I've done for today on how you can take this message and apply it today. So number one, remember God has called all of us to minister to the world around us. Somebody say all. All. God has called all of us to minister to the world around us. The question is, what is my ministry? Okay. What am I called to do? Is I'm called to the religious space, meaning to operate within the church? Yes, we will all serve our church as Christians, as believers, but some of you are called to do ministry at a higher level than just the average church member will be asked to do.
So whether you are called in the area of education, politics, and religion, entertainment, those different mountains of influence, you need to figure out what am I called to minister into in this world. One scripture talks about be not conformed to this world. And when you really understand that's when Paul was saying that be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. With that word world there is not talking about cosmos, it's talking about ion, meaning that the cosmos is this physical world that we see. Be not conformed to this world, not this cosmos, this ion. Be not conformed to this ion, meaning the patterns of this world, the mindset, the attribute, but be you transformed.
And with that being said there, because you're called to minister to the world around you, what part of this world you're called into? You need to figure that out quick because many of you will waste a lot of your good years doing something you was never called to do. It may feel good, it may look good, but is this what I'm called to do? That's where you're going to get that great pleasure and that great excitement. See, the alarm clock should not wake you up, your purpose should wake you up. Yeah, not no alarm clock, your purpose should wake you up every single day. And when you discover that purpose, it just keeps you moving, it keeps you going. Acts 10:38 says, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him.
Listen, God will be with you in whatever you're called to do in the world. Whatever you're called to do, God will be with you in that school system. Teacher, come on, I'm sure you need him right now. The president, take God to school with you. And my wife could probably say amen there a thousand times. Take the Holy Spirit with you. And some of y'all got a bottle of oil, y'all probably anointing that class, proud to the kids walking up in there. Take it with you. And watch this here, you ain't got to be spooky either, but you can be spiritual. God's not calling us to be spooky, but he is calling us to be spiritual. And there are some spiritual principles you can apply to some of these things in your life.
Ephesians 2:10 says, for we are God's handiwork. I love that. For we are God's handiwork. The thing about that, you ever heard about handyman? You ever use a handyman before? It said, we are God's handiwork. I mean, out of all the stars he flung there, the galaxies, he said that we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So God has already prepared some stuff for you to do. You just need to show up. God got some stuff prepared for a lot of you to accomplish. You just need to get to it. It was prepared before you was even there. It was already in his heart, already in his mind, but you busy want to be the feet when he called you to be the hand.
Well, I just like walking. I want to be a foot so I can walk. Walk around. No, he said, get up there and hold stuff. You're a hand. Well, you know, I want to be an eye. I like how the eyelashes be, be. I want to be an eye. I don't want to be no eyebrow. I want to be an eye. I want to be a knee because, I mean, you always wear pants. I don't want nobody to see me. Come on, thank God. Just how crazy that sounds. That's how crazy it is when we don't do right by our gifting and our purpose. When we waste our gifting, when we waste our, he says, wish God prepare in advance for us to do.
Have you ever prepared a meal for somebody and he was expecting them to come and they didn't show up? You want to bust them upside the head. Come on, somebody. Y'all want me to say, oh, well, I understand. It's all good. No, I stayed up five hours last night cooking collard greens, turkey necks. I baked a whole cake. Come on, somebody. It took me two hours to shop for. And you ain't coming. And my question, when did you know this? Well, I actually knew about two days ago. You knew two days ago? I hadn't even shopped then. Imagine how God would feel he had prepared something great for us and we don't show up because we was busy doing something else, which God prepared in advance. That's just how much confidence he had in us and you. That's just how much he wanted you, how much confidence he had in your ability to do something. He prepared it in advance.
1 Corinthians 12:7 says, a spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. We can help each other. I said before, the Holy Spirit don't make me better than you. The Holy Spirit made me better than me. Okay, so it's not about this competition thing. It's about me getting better for myself so I can be better for others. Number two, every gift God has given is unique and is important. 1 Peter 4:10, we in 1 Peter, 1 Corinthians now, said God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. He says, manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. So when I'm operating in my spiritual gifts or the practical talents and stuff he placed in my makeup, when I operate in those, generosity can flow through me.
And not just generosity with money, but the stuff I have to be a blessing to other people. You don't know how your laughter, your conversation, your people. I said it in the first service today, you know, some people are introverted, some people are extroverted. I referenced to Ms. Minerva, for those who know her, I said, me and Ms. Minerva, we are extroverted. We just out here. Ain't nothing introverted about us all. We out here. That fact someone told me, man, you suck up all the oxygen in the room. When you come in here, man, who is this man? Man, who are you? I want to hear more. That's just your gifting and you want to dumb down who you are to make somebody else feel good.
And watch us here, introverted person, and you don't have to get all loud just to make the loud person feel good. First of all, they ain't even you and you sound crazy being loud. Come on. You ever talk about being something they're not? Hey, just be you. That's why here at Hope City, however you worship, worship. If you don't jump and dance, hey, as long as you worshiping God in your way. We're not trying to raise our hand all at the same time here. No, no, no. This is a place where people can worship God however they worship God while, and don't feel like I got to act like the person next to me. No, I just want to worship God like this here. He's just like this. It's all good. Wind judging you. Come on. Girl, do it, girl. Do it, girl. Do it, girl. You know, stand still. Stand still. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. You know, he's coming in a mighty sound and wind.
Whatever you do, just do it until the Lord. Come on, somebody. He said all these giftings, all these makeups in the body of Christ so we could benefit. Oh, number three, and I'm done. The gifts God has given me, show me who I am. The gifts God has given you, it literally could show you who you are, how you're designed, and how you're wired in, what you can accomplish. So many times, you're trying to figure out who you are. Look at yourself. Look at your life. What drives you? What motivates you? What gives you passion? What wakes you up every day? That's you. Romans 12:3 says, do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought. I want to be a singer, but you can't sing. Come on. And nobody was bold enough to tell you.
What the Bible says, make a joyful noise. It's not up here, out there. Make a joyful noise. You ever saw American Idol? And those kids show up to that show and get before those judges, and the judges got to tell them something that their mama should have told them. What my mama said I can sing. My daddy said I can sing. All these people affirm your foolishness? People will affirm our foolishness, but that will become a day where someone will say, no, boo-boo, you ain't got it. And it's okay, because do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. If you got it, you got it. If you don't, you don't. That is okay. Where is my place in the body? I want to be found. I'm faithful doing what I have been wired and uniquely called to do.
But rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us had one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function. In other words, my hand does not have the same job as my feet. My heart does not have the same job as my lungs. They all have a different role in my body to make sure I can move forward in a healthy, and a prosperous, and right way based on my purpose. That so in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts. Can we give God a praise for his word on today?
Let's stand to our feet. I hope for those who didn't quite have a good understanding of a biblical understanding of the spiritual gifts. I pray that this at least giving you a good foundation to study, to go further, to go deeper, and to have an understanding of how the spiritual gifts works in the body. And for those that just like, man, I need to now figure out what's my gift. I don't want to just waste my life being here, putting on stuff, putting on clothes that's not even me a fit. Remember what the story says? David was about to go out to battle, and they put Saul's armor on David. And David said, this don't fit me. He threw it off. And for some of you, I believe life has put some armor on you. That's what it's about.
And I want you to know that. And I want you to know that don't even fit you. You become somebody you was never designed to be because your mama said you look like that. Your daddy said, and now you're trying to be somebody like this ain't even me. This don't even fit me. I don't, I don't even talk like that. You're wearing stuff that people are putting on you. And so today's time for you to disrobe yourself for what society and culture and everyone else is saying who you are and find out who God says you are. Can we give God one more heck of a praise?
Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word, for your word is a lamp unto our feet. Light unto our path. Thank you for speaking to our hearts. Thank you for speaking to our minds on today. I pray maybe someone is saying, Pastor Corey, I needed this word today. I know church, but I don't know him. I'm shaking your hand, but I've yet to shake God's hand. I got good religion, but I don't have a personal relationship with this God you're talking about. I want that gift of eternal life. Not just because I'm afraid I'm going to die, but I want to know the one that knows me intricately. I want to be known. I want to know him the way he knows me. I want to know this God who can lead me and guide me. Who can order my steps through the power of the Holy Spirit. What first Adam called us to lose in the garden of Eden, God restored it through Jesus Christ. What was lost in one garden of Eden was restored in the garden of Gethsemane based on what Jesus Christ has done.
So you can restore that relationship today. Yes, we're all God's creation, but we choose to become a son. We choose to become a daughter and take that step today and just move from just being God's creation to God. I want to accept the finished work of Christ of restoration and restoring me, giving me full access to God's presence. Don't have to go behind a veil. Don't have to go, but don't go through a priest, but I can come boldly before the throne of grace myself in my home, in my car, on my job. Don't got to go to Jerusalem. Don't got to go. Don't have to go to Samaria. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
And then number two, and then I'll pray. You may be saying, hey, Pastor Corey, I already made that decision. I already made Jesus Christ Lord of my life. God is my father. I've got that constant relationship with him, but I do need a church home that teaches the word of God in such a way that I can take it and apply it to my life. I believe my faith can grow here at Hope City. I can hear the voice of God in this place. I can see my family, my faith growing here. And today I want to take that as my next step.
So if you're in this place, I'm not going to call you up. I'm not going to call you out, but right there where you're standing, I want to pray for you. And if this resonates with you on the count of three, let me just quickly, quickly see your hand. You can lift it up and bring it right back down. I just want to see who I am praying for. One, two, three. Will that be one? I see that hand. Amen. I see that hand as well. I see that hand as well. Amen. Will there be another? Don't miss this moment. Don't miss this moment. Don't miss this moment. It's between you and God. Just a moment longer. Will there be another? Will there be another? Between you and God. Between you and God.
Come on, all of you, lift your hands towards heaven quickly for me. Say, Lord God, thank you for sending Jesus Christ to down the cross for my sins. Say, God, I ask you now to forgive me of everything that has separated me from your love. Every sin, please forgive me today. Say, Lord God, I don't fully understand what this means, but I do believe with your spirit living on the inside of me, I will become the person you desire me to be. So, God, I ask you now to fill me with the power and the presence of your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, you are welcome to live in my heart for the rest of my life.
Father God, your word declares any man being Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are becoming new. Father, I pray for that person today that said, hey, I'm making Jesus Christ my Lord, or even coming back to faith after a season separation. God, anything they lost in that season of disconnection, spiritually or even physically, Father, I declare they're moving into a season of recovery and restoration. Whatever was lost prematurely, I declare is coming back 100-fold. And Father, I declare that any yokes, any chains, any strongholds that's been over their life, that's been holding them back, Father God. God, I break every curse, every struggle, every stronghold, every addiction, and God, who the Son sets free, they are free indeed.
In Jesus' name I pray. Come on, can we celebrate with every decision that was made in this place?
on Sep 22, 2024
