Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.crossbridgemt.org/sermons/89599/march-1-2026/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] I, we did listen to the last couple Sundays while we were gone, we listened to the services and what was going on here and I believe the Lord is speaking to us. [0:20] ! I see, I see a continuation in the words that, you know, the different messages and, and devotionals and things that have been coming. [0:37] I believe the Lord is speaking to us and he wants to do a further work in us that he can use us in a greater way. [0:49] You know, a few weeks ago, a few weeks ago, I brought a message about that we are complete in him. [1:04] We are complete in Christ Jesus. And, and, you know, what you've heard, what we've heard the last couple Sundays, I believe, have built on that. [1:16] And today, again, we'll continue. I believe that the Lord desires to build upon this, this thought. [1:29] In 2 Timothy 3.17, it says that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. [1:42] You know, isn't that all our desire today? That we would, in the sight of God, in the sight of our brothers, we would be perfect. [1:59] And that we would be completely furnished for what God has for us. Whatever God puts before us, whatever he calls on us individually and as a church, that we would be complete in this, that we would be throughly furnished, that we would, there would not be a vacuum, there would not be a lack. [2:32] But that we can be completely prepared and furnished, equipped for what God has for us. [2:45] You know, the verse before this, I want to read it also. It's verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. [3:11] You know, this word of God, the scripture, the Bible, it is a firm foundation for the man of God. [3:21] It is a firm foundation for us as believers, as we walk this walk, as we meet whatever comes our way, as we meet the trials and temptations and the testings of life, as we meet situations, as we go forth, as we abide in Christ. [3:47] And, you know, you cannot separate Jesus from the written word and from the Holy Ghost. [3:59] So as as we say here in this verse, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And he's talking about the scripture. We're talking about Jesus as a written word and the Holy Ghost is a comforter that God has sent to dwell within us and to equip us in this way that we might be truly furnished unto all good works. [4:27] We are complete in him. We are complete in Christ as we are full of the Holy Ghost and have his word. [4:41] We're on that firm foundation. A few things that I want to look at this morning. We are complete in him and how to enter into this fullness. [4:56] And, you know, last Sunday you heard about the carnal mind. And let me just point out that that carnal mind, that mind that each one of us reverts to when we when we drift away or we we, you know, we let our guards down. [5:16] That carnal mind is the enemy of God. It is the enemy of God. It is the enemy of the Holy Ghost. And it will never be able to be pleasing to God. [5:35] But we'll be we'll be seeing some of that as we continue on. Well, Jesus, he promised he gave the promise of the comforter. [5:49] And he said that when the comforter is come, he will guide you into all truth. And to the disciples, then he he said, you know, you can't remember everything that I've taught you. [6:03] But when the comforter comes, he will bring those things to your mind again. When you what you are in need of, the comforter will the Holy Ghost will bring at that proper time. [6:18] And it is the same way with us today. You know, we can read this Bible. We can read it through and through and through. And, you know, we can't really remember it all. [6:29] But if it's in our heart, if we've hidden the word of God in our heart at the opportune time, the spirit of God will bring that word that we need in that moment of time. [6:43] In John and Luke, Jesus said he gave them. You know, I think I want to read that in Luke 24, verse. [6:55] Forty eight and forty nine. Actually, a few verses before that. You know, here in he is. [7:14] He's talking to his disciples in verse forty five. He says, then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. He opened the understanding of the disciples that they could understand the prophecies that were written of Christ. [7:33] Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [7:54] And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my father upon you. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. [8:10] You know, Jesus laid out. He gave them this great commission. And we won't read it in Matthew like we often do. But you all know those verses. [8:22] But he he told them that it is. He's giving them the job. He's giving them the calling, the responsibility to preach repentance and remission of sins. [8:36] Over all the world to all the world, beginning at Jerusalem. And then he says, but I want you to stay in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. [8:57] The comforter. They needed to stay in Jerusalem until the comforter had come. Now, let's see in Acts chapter one. We'll look at the promise of the comforter. [9:12] As Jesus here before his ascension. He talked to them and he and he gave them this. He said, wait for the promise of the father, which you have heard of me for John truly baptized with water. [9:36] But ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Not many days. Hence. In verse seven, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father has put in his own power. [9:52] But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. [10:08] You will receive power. Who will receive power? He's talking to the twelve disciples. And he's telling them that they will receive this power. [10:22] They will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And we won't look at a lot of this in chapter two when the Holy Ghost actually came. But I want to follow this thought. [10:34] Who is this for? You know, Peter got up and he preached this this great sermon. You know, here when Jesus gave the promise again, they asked, well, Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel when this happens? [10:52] And, you know, they still had an earthly view of things. But when the Holy Ghost came. They had a spiritual view of things. [11:03] And Peter got up and he preached that awesome sermon telling them that this is what is prophesied in the in the book of Joel, what the prophet Joel had had prophesied. [11:16] And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And he preached this awesome message. [11:28] But then at the end of this message. Let's look at this in verse 37 in Acts 2. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? [11:49] Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [12:03] For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. [12:18] You know. So as we look at this and we we we look at at Pentecost and the day that the Holy Ghost came. [12:29] But Peter made it clear that day that this is not only for us. That is not only for for us on the day of Pentecost, but it is for all believers down through the ages. [12:45] He said the promise is to you. They have not received yet, but they heard the word. They heard the gospel preached. It is for them and it is for their children. [12:57] And it is all for all those that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. You know, it is for us today. [13:08] Has he called you? Has he has he called you to the gospel? Has he called you? If he has called you this, the experience of Pentecost is for you. [13:21] The fullness of the spirit of God. It is for us today. Why is it so important? [13:35] You know, Jesus said. Jesus said in the book of John, it's recorded. Jesus said that the flesh profits nothing, but the spirit quick enough. [13:49] The spirit brings life. And then he said the words that I speak to you. They are spirit and they are life. You know, today. [14:01] We can make many words, but unless they're quickened by the spirit of God, they have very little value. Only that which is of the spirit of God has eternal value. [14:17] You know, and remember, remember the word from last Sunday. Remember the word from the from many Sundays now. That which is of ourself. [14:33] Does not bear eternal fruit, but that which comes from the spirit of God in us that brings eternal fruit. How important is that we are dead to self and alive to the spirit of God. [14:54] It is it is all important. It is of utmost importance. If we if we. [15:06] If we. Just make a nice show of things. And we can, you know, the flesh tries. [15:18] It tries so hard to to be accepted by God. But God can never accept it. [15:30] You know, Paul said in first Corinthians 520 said for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. You know, God uses words and the Holy Ghost must speak through us that his word can come forth. [15:48] But words without the spirit of God do not bring life. Just like Jesus said, the flesh profits nothing. But the words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. [16:04] Are we speaking life? Are we are we led by the spirit of God? Are we. Are we led by our own wisdom? [16:18] I want to turn to first Corinthians 12. We'll read a good portion of this, but not all of it. [16:31] Probably not. But as we look at this, remember that. We are complete in him. [16:42] We are complete in Christ. And, you know, I will many times refer back to Colossians chapter 2. [16:57] You know, Colossians chapter 2 has just, it has taken on a new meaning in my life. In my, you know, I, as we looked at that a while back. [17:14] And we are complete in him. And we are complete in him. We are complete in Christ. He has made all provisions for us. [17:25] That the man of God. That the man of God. That's us. That we might be throughly furnished unto every good work. The spirit of God will furnish us. [17:39] It will equip us with what we need. But then, as we heard last Sunday. The carnal mind tries to explain away the things of the spirit. [17:56] You know, the greatest enemy in the church today is the carnal mind. In Colossians 2, verse 8, he says, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. [18:14] He's talking about that carnal mind that tries to spoil our walk with God. [18:24] That tries to spoil what God is doing in our hearts and in our lives. That carnal mind that argues against the word of God. [18:39] That carnal mind that argues against the provisions of God. And argues against what he desires to do. You know, while I was sitting here this morning, you know, we sang such wonderful songs. [18:55] We sang the gospel this morning in the worship service. And the thought just came to me. That the spirit is here to meet our every need. [19:09] The spirit of God is here. Whatever your need is today, he is here to meet that need. And how does he meet that need? You know, many times I believe that the gifts of the spirit function in us and through us. [19:26] And we don't think of it in that way. And that's great. That's fine. But these gifts of the spirit are given. [19:38] To meet the needs of the church. To meet the needs of humanity. And I believe that as they function in us and through us. [19:52] Every need in the body can be met. Every need in the body can be ministered to. And brought to a further place. [20:03] As all of us fill our place and walk in the Holy Ghost. In 1 Corinthians 12. Let's start in verse 4. [20:14] Now there are diversities of gifts. But the same spirit. There are different gifts. You know, there's many different gifts. [20:27] And we'll read over some of them. We won't spend a lot of time talking about individual gifts. But we will read about some of them. [20:38] We'll name some of them. There's many different gifts. But it's one spirit. It's the Holy Ghost. There are differences of administrations. [20:49] But the same Lord. There are diversities of operations. But it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit with all. [21:07] You know, the spirit of God in you. How do I know that the spirit of God is in you? [21:18] It is as I see him manifesting himself through you. That is how I know that the spirit of God is active and working in you, in your life. [21:35] He says the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit with all. You know, if you are born again today, the spirit of God dwells in you. [21:48] You have, you have a manifestation. Manifestation. If you are yielded to him. If you have surrendered your all to him. [21:59] As, you know, as we hear so many times. If we're surrendered to him. And we belong to him. And he belongs to us. [22:11] That manifestation of the spirit will come out of your life. For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom. [22:24] To another the word of knowledge by the same spirit. To another faith by the same spirit. To another the gifts of healing by the same spirit. [22:36] To another the working of miracles. To another prophecy. To another discerning of spirits. To another diverse kinds of tongues. [22:48] To another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one in self-same spirit. Dividing to every man severally as he will. [23:00] One of the main things I want to notice in this. [23:14] In these verses. Where he names these gifts. And then in verse 11 he says. [23:25] All of these gifts. They come to us by one spirit. They come to us by the Holy Ghost. And he gives them to us as he will. [23:44] We do not. We do not decide which gift we're going to have. We do not decide that I want so and so gift. [23:55] And so I'm going to walk in that gift. No. Now if God puts that on you. If God puts that on you. Then he will also give you that gift. [24:08] And he will give you the desire to walk in it. If you are walking with him. But the old man does not. You know our carnal mind. [24:19] You know I've heard many teachings on these gifts. In my 60 years. And many of them are based on the carnal mind. [24:31] Trying to explain the spiritual things of God. And it does not work. The carnal mind cannot explain these gifts. [24:43] These gifts are not a natural talent that you have. These gifts come by the Holy Ghost. And they only function by the spirit of God. [24:54] Working in you and through you. Jesus is the head of the church. And the Holy Ghost is the administrator. [25:05] And he gives these gifts to us. As he will. And I believe if there's a need here today. He will give someone the gift that is needed to meet that need. [25:19] We live in a day when. [25:32] The carnal mind has explained these away. We live in a day when. People will tell you we don't need these gifts anymore. After all we're now in the modern age. [25:47] We have modern medical facilities. We have psychiatrists. We have this. We have that. We don't need those things anymore. They are wrong. It's a carnal mind. [25:58] It's the enemy of God. That carnal mind is the enemy of God. And oh it is sly. And it pops up everywhere. [26:11] Trying to explain away. The provisions of God. For as the body is one. [26:25] Verse 12. And hath many members. And all the members of that one body. Being many. Are one body. [26:37] So also. Is Christ. For by one spirit. Are we all baptized. Into one body. Whether we be Jews. [26:47] Or Gentiles. Whether we be bound. Or free. Have been all made. To drink into one spirit. We've all. You know. In this. It. We need more. [27:00] Of the spirit. Of God. And as we surrender. More. He will bring more. He will give more. You know. As we give our all. [27:10] To him. He will give his all. To us. Yes. The body is not one member. [27:21] But many. If the foot shall say. Because I am not the hand. I am not of the body. Is it therefore. Not of the body. If the ear shall say. Because I am not the eye. [27:31] I am not of the body. Is it therefore. Not of the body. If the whole. Body. Were an eye. Where were the hearing. If the whole. Were hearing. Where were the smelling. [27:43] But now. Hath God. Set the members. Every one of them. In the body. As it. Has. Pleased. Him. Notice. That again. As it. [27:54] Has. Pleased. Him. You know. Each one of us. We have. A place. To fill. And it is not. The place. That you choose. [28:05] But it is. The place. That God. Chooses. For you. And when he. When he. Chooses. That spot. [28:15] For you. To fill. He will also. Give you the grace. To walk in it. He will give you. The gift. You know. We can use that word. [28:27] Interchangeably. You know. The grace of God. And the gift of God. It is his grace. That brings us. Into our life. It is his grace. [28:37] That brings us. And when he. When he gives you. A calling. When he. Gives you. When he. Puts you. In a spot. [28:49] He will give you. His grace. And the gifts. That you need. To walk in it. And to fulfill it. To. Even though. We might feel. [29:00] Incapable. But when we. Get up. And we start. Walking. In what God. Would have us. To walk in. His grace. [29:10] Will come. His grace. Will come. And he will. Empower us. To. To fulfill. What he has. Called us to. If they were all. [29:29] One member. Where were the body. You know. Our. Our body. He uses this. Physical body. For an example. And if. If. My whole body. [29:40] Were a hand. It couldn't. Function. It couldn't. Function. But I desperately. Need my hand. In the body. [29:55] Of Christ. We need. Every member. Even. You know. When you walk. We don't. [30:05] Realize this. Normally. But when. We walk. Our little toe. Is very important. To keep our balance. If you would. [30:18] Lose your little toe. You would have to. Relearn. Some of your. Walking skills. You know. But he is such. An insignificant. Little part. [30:29] Of the body. Is he not. But he is. Very much. Needed. And that is. How each. One of us. Are. It doesn't. Matter. How big. We are. How little. [30:39] We are. I don't think. That's how God. Looks at it. He looks at us. As every. Every. Heart. Every. Every. Member. Being. [30:50] Being important. And we are. So important. For this body. To function. To function. Properly. You know. [31:00] When some of these. Parts. That are hidden. Don't function. Properly. Our whole body. Finds out. Does it not? Yes. The eye. [31:18] Cannot say. Into the hand. I have no need. Of thee. Nor again. The head. To the feet. I have no need. Of you. Nay. Much more. Those members. Of the body. Which seem. To be more feeble. [31:29] Are. Necessary. And those. Members. Of the body. Which we think. To be less. Honorable. Upon these. We bestow. More abundant. Honor. [31:40] And our. Uncomely. Parts. Have more. Abundant. Comeliness. For our. Comely. Parts. Have no need. But God. Hath tempered. The body. Together. Having given. [31:51] More abundant. Honor. To that. Part. Which lacked. That there. Should be. No schism. In the body. There should be. No division. In the body. [32:02] But that the. Members. Should have. The same. Care. One for another. Whether one. Member. Suffer. All the members. Suffer. With it. Or one member. [32:13] Be honored. All the members. Rejoice. With it. Now. Ye. Are. The body. Of Christ. And members. In particular. And God. [32:24] Has set. Some. In the church. First. Apostles. Secondarily. Prophets. Thirdly. Teachers. After that. Miracles. And gifts. Of healings. Helps. [32:35] Governments. Diversities. Of tongues. Are all apostles. Are all prophets. Are all teachers. Are all workers. Of miracles. Have all the gifts. [32:46] Of healing. Do all speak. With tongues. Do all interpret. But covet earnestly. The best gifts. And I will show unto you. [32:57] A more excellent way. You know. You know. It's not so much. In what gift. You have. But it is. [33:08] In you. Walking in it. And being faithful. In it. And as we walk. Faithfully. In what God. Has given us. I believe. [33:18] He will add to. He will add. More grace. To your life. And he will. He will. Use you. In a greater. [33:29] And greater way. As you. Go on. Through life. The Holy Spirit. [33:42] Brings the gifts. To advance. The kingdom. Of God. The Holy Spirit. Brings the gifts. To meet. The need. In the body. [33:53] Whatever that need. Might be. The Spirit. Gives gifts. As he sees fit. It is. [34:04] Of utmost. Importance. That we do not. Grieve. Or quench. The Spirit of God. You know. We are warned. In the scripture. [34:16] That we not. Grieve. The Holy Spirit. That we not. Quench him. You know. And. You know. [34:30] When we. Ignore him. Or when we. Push him off. What are we doing? What are we doing? We are quenching him. [34:43] We are pushing him away. We are saying. I know better. I have a better way. Than you. Probably one of the. [35:05] Well something. That I have heard. Many times. Is that. We don't need. These gifts. In our day. You know. I. My mind. Always goes. To the. [35:16] Sadducees. In. In. In the gospels. In Jesus day. You know. We hear much. About the leaven. Of the Pharisees. But do you know. What the leaven. Of the Sadducees. [35:27] Is. You know. The Sadducees. They did not. Believe. In angels. Or spirits. In other words. [35:38] They did not. Believe. In the supernatural. And I believe. That. Many. Of the churches. [35:49] In our background. Have this. Leaven. In them. That they do not. Believe. In the supernatural. But the church. Of Jesus Christ. [36:00] Is a supernatural. Organism. If you take. The supernatural. Out of the church. Of God. You don't have. A church. Left. It begins. [36:12] With being born again. And that is just. The beginning. That is just. The beginning. So many times. People are born again. [36:24] And then. They want to be satisfied. And so now. We coast on. Through life. And land in heaven. It's. It does not work. It does not work. That way. The Christian life. [36:35] Is a supernatural. Walk. In the spirit. Of God. That. Is the way. God. Designed it. [36:46] And that is how. We will overcome. The enemy. Is by. The supernatural. Power. Of the spirit. Of God. It is. [36:58] Only. It is. The only way. We will live. A life. Pleasing. To God. The leaven. Of the satisies. [37:09] They did not believe. In angels. Or spirits. They did not believe. In the supernatural. You know. When you take. The supernatural. Out of the church. It leaves it. [37:20] Ineffective. There is no power. There is no vision. There is no revival. There is no going on. It becomes. Dead. [37:33] It is a. The leaven. Of the satisies. That is a. It is a result. Of the carnal mind. And the carnal mind. [37:44] Will stop. The work of the spirit. Through unbelief. You know. a couple Sundays ago we talked about how you know how the people reason and how they figured out who Jesus is and because of that they you know well how can this man be a prophet I mean who is he anyway and it's that carnal mind it's that same thing that same reasoning is what the devil uses in our day to stop the work of the spirit when we stop walking in faith and we start looking at the natural and we start looking at our natural abilities and we start looking at what we can do on our own it will bring unbelief and it will stop the working of the spirit of God yes last Sunday's message the carnal mind is the enemy of God it is the carnal mind is the devil's ground and he uses it to bring unbelief you know the children of Israel could not enter the promised land why because of unbelief they looked at the giants and they said well we are but grasshoppers we're but grasshoppers well there were two men that were led by the spirit of God and what did they say they said they are but bread for us the difference of allowing the carnal mind to dictate us or to walk in faith and to allow the spirit of God to use us and to work through us [39:54] I think I'm going to read a couple of those verses in Hebrews about the children of Israel it's in Hebrews chapter 3 you know what I think okay so he's warning us here he's warning us here of unbelief he says harden in verse 8 harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness you know and he's warning them to not be like the children of Israel how they tempted God and they proved them and you know they saw the works of God for 40 years so I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest now verse 12 take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God you know I believe that many times a lack of faith is just kind of oh we just kind of overlook it we just kind of overlook that little sin of unbelief we think we look at it as a little sin that little sin of unbelief is a major thing it is a major thing take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God unbelief will lead us away from the living God and we will be serving idols without us even realizing it he says exhort one another daily while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin for we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end we'll skip on down to verse 19 so we see that they could not enter into in because of unbelief let us therefore fear lest the promise be left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it now he's talking to us for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them but the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it the word of God did not profit the Israelites because they were overtaken in unbelief and they rejected the word of God it says not being mixed with faith you know [43:35] Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please him so this Christian life is a walk of faith and we must believe the word of this book we must believe this book we must have that relationship with Christ and allow the spirit of God to have his way to be on the throne of our heart and we must accept the gifts that he brings and then we must walk in them and walk in his grace that he gives us to fulfill the calling and the work that he has for us God has set God has set much before us I believe that you know we don't know what God has for us in the future but I believe that as we walk faithfully as we allow him to work in us and to bring forth the gifts of the spirit in our individual lives he will then bring much more than we can how is that in Ephesians much more than we can ask or think according to the power that work in us you know if we will surrender our life to him if we will surrender our future to him if we will walk in what he gives us if we will walk in the grace that he gives us and then he will add more and we will become so much more than we ever thought we could be why because as we you know as we look at our life we look at it in the natural but God looks at what he can do with us in the spiritual realm as we are a surrendered vessel you know he's not looking for ability he will give us the ability but what he's looking for is availability a people that he can put his spirit within a people that he can put his gifts in and he can work through us [46:36] I believe the challenge that I want to bring today is that is that we give ourselves wholly unto him and just allow him allow him to fill us with his spirit and to bring the gifts of the spirit into our life to bring these manifestations out to meet the needs of humanity around about us that I believe is my challenge to us today you know the apostle Paul here in Ephesians he said Ephesians chapter 3 in verse 16 and following that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that [47:53] Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God oh my that we might be filled with all the fullness of God none to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worked within us you know as we as we just cast ourselves upon him and allow him to consume us and to take us and to make us into that spirit filled man that he can use as he desires there's unlimited power that he will bring and will work through us to his honor and glory for the furtherance of his kingdom yes that is what he desires unto him be glory in the church by Christ [49:18] Jesus brought all ages world without end amen you know let us beware let us beware of that sneaky unbelief and that philosophy and vain deceit that comes around to try to kill what the spirit of God is doing let us beware and let us give ourselves wholly unto him which is only our reasonable service yes it's the least that we can do it's the least that we can do for him after all he's done for us yes let us give our lives to our [50:22] Lord Jesus amen