Talent on Loan From God, Part 4

This is the fourth and final installment in the sermon series, Talon on Loan from God. It was only intended to be one sermon, but every time I went to create that one sermon, it created a baby. And so here is the fourth. In this series, we have seen that God provides humans with a spirit in man, and by that we can know the things of humanity.

He is also provided to some, so far, His Holy Spirit. And that enables us to know God and to know some of the things about the spirit dimension, especially the mind of the family of God.

Last time I spoke about using those talents, the purpose of those talents, that we are to become godly and develop a godly nature, or become lost. Lost in the sense that we will not continue. In this final installment, I would like to give a warning, a requirement, an admonition, and a prophecy.

As we take a look at Talent on Loan from God, Part 4, Talent that Lasts Forever.

The Bible shows that God lends special talent to some, and the purpose is to help His children serve others. Help them love and give to the God family, both divine and now embryonic in the flesh. This is His will. It's His will that we love Him and that we love one another.

The New Testament mentions numerous gifts that can help people perform this type of love. And the gifts that often are noted as spiritual gifts really focus on spiritual things.

They are gifts used for spreading the Word, spreading the Gospel, teaching the truth of God. Assembling, helping people become godly, is the purpose of those spiritual gifts. They're not for other things. They're not spiritual gifts for something else. But rather for helping with the development of the potential children of God. So power from God assists individuals whom God is using in various ways. We can see this in Romans 12, verses 5-9. Romans 12, beginning in verse 5. Talking about the Church and those who are part of this body of Christ, we are diverse entities.

We are unique individuals. And so, just breaking into his thought in verse 5, it says, So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. We're not just individual primadonnas or individual people trying to excel on our own. But rather, we are part of a body, just like in your own body. Everything works together to have this body function.

And so what he's saying here is, we're not individually solo, but many, we're one body and members of one another. Why would we be doing anything that would elevate oneself or separate oneself? But rather, the concept is repeated in Ephesians 4, 16, as for every part doing its share to make this body grow up from a baby, grow on up into a mature being, grow up into Christ.

Having then, verse 6, gifts differing, differing gifts, differing talents that God gives. According to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. So these talents, this talent that comes to us by a miracle from God, is to be used for, as he goes on, if for prophecy, then let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. In ministry, or as in serving, being a servant, let us use it in serving. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation.

Notice how all of these things aren't for some secondary show-off purpose. It's not as some demonstration that I am righteous or this is the true church, but rather it's the helping of the body. It's the helping of everyone whom God is calling his children to be successful in that calling. Verse 8, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality. Ever think of the talent of being able to give and to have something to give? You know, one person that has a lot to give, financially, physically, whatever, may not have the other talents that someone else has.

But you know, in this age, you can't do a lot without money, can you? You just can't. He who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Now, when God gives talent, when God gives these special attributes, these are powers. And power is exciting. I don't know about you, but power can really be exciting. You feel it at a theme park when you get on a ride and it goes real fast, or you feel it in a vehicle when it accelerates.

You feel it in some labor-saving device. Power includes force, which propels, accelerates, and creates speed. And these things exist in a numerous number of labor-saving devices that are common in our day and age. But those very same forces of an explosion, as it were, or a force of some kind, followed by acceleration and speed, can also be very lethal, if not controlled, if not carefully used. It's similar with spiritual talent. You would think that whatever you get from God must be all good and no danger.

But not so. Spiritual talent, if misused, can be spiritually lethal. And so the first point I'd like to give today is a warning, and that is talent on loan from God can be deadly. Talent on loan from God can be deadly. Now you think, oh, wait a minute, I thought everything that came from God was good. Well, let's hear from God Himself in Matthew 7, verses 22 and 23.

Jesus says, Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? Have we not cast out demons in Your name? Have we not done many great works? See where the emphasis is there? This is something that we, I and those with me, have taken on for self-glorification. You know, this power feels pretty good. This power can be really self-elevating. An individual who has the talent on loan from God has special, miraculous gifts.

And I'm not speaking of anything more than just understanding God's truth and being able to live it, coupled with any other talents or spiritual gifts that He wants to give. Those things are miraculous, and they can go right to the head. You can start saying, oh yeah, well, you know, I am better than the rest of the world. I am more knowledgeable about the kingdom. I, I, I, I, I, I, and then you come up in the judgment, and here's Jesus saying, have I not?

You know, you're saying, have I not prophesied? Have I not done cast out demons? I was bullish with those demons. I was fearless with them spirits. I just kicked them out of there, you know. And I did wonders. I really had that power. That felt good. And He says what? He says in verse 23, I will declare to them, I never knew, knew you, knew you. Because as John says, to know God is to keep His commandments. To know God is to really think like He does. You don't have to see God to know God. You don't have to have Him come into your house for you to get to know Him. No. If you know God, it's because you think like He does. You do what He does because He lives in you. I use the example. Do you know Lucy, your sister in the faith in Australia? You might say, who's that? I don't know her at all. Oh, yes, you do. She gets up in the morning just like you, she prays. She gets up every day and heads into her day realizing that she has to put others first. And it's a real challenge. She cannot think about work on the Sabbath, and it's a real challenge going into the Sabbath to get the mind switched over. She has certain things that come to mind that she has to fight. She's a little bit fearful about the economy, yet she's trusting in God. She doesn't know what's going to happen in the end times, but she believes God will never leave her or forsake her. She eats what you eat. She thinks like you do. She's your sister. You know her. You've never met her. You may never meet her in this lifetime. But you know her because we think like God. And Jesus here says, I never knew you. You didn't think like me. I wasn't in you. You who practice lawlessness. Now, you may as well say, you who practice lovelessness. Because what is the law? The law is to love God with all your heart, soul, and might love your neighbor as yourself. So when it says lovelessness, you can just say lovelessness and understand pretty much what God means here. It wasn't about loving and serving others. It was the spirit of Satan. It was the self-elevation. United's personal correspondence department says this. The religious idea of spiritual gifts is very different from what we read in the Bible. Something done in the name of religion does not mean that action is from God's Spirit. Just as we read. Is this Jesus Christ just said there? Just because something is done in the name of God doesn't mean that the action is from God's Spirit. See, human nature wants to know, how can I get that gift? How can I get that power? It's interesting how occasionally brand new people will come for the very first time to church. Never heard of the church. They just show up and they'll kind of get me over in the corner private and ask the question, How can I become a pastor? You know, you kind of just leap right to it. How can I get on the stage? How can I be number one in the congregation? How can I? It's typical for our human nature. It's something we all have to deal with. A good example of that is found in Acts 8, verses 17-23. Acts 8, verse 17, we see our carnal mind, our human physical mentality shown here.

In verse 17, the apostles Peter and John laid hands on individuals that they baptized, that had been baptized, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now Simon, who would be Simon Magus, verse 18, Simon Magus saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given. He offered them money, saying, give me this power also. What is it about? The power was about me. It became part of me. That on anyone whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said to him, your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God... See, there's another spiritual gift that God gives to the ministry, in that baptism is recognized by God. We do it in the name of Jesus Christ. We are agents of that. We lay hands on and then ask for the promise of the Holy Spirit to be given. That is a function of a gift. And here it is referred to this gift of God, not something inherent in a minister, but a gift, a talent that God gives, could be purchased with money. Going on. You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness. So when you and I ever think about spiritual gifts, we're reading through Romans, we're reading through Corinthians, we say, oh, spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues. This other spiritual gift, prophesy. How do I get that? We ought to just read right here. Repent of your wickedness and pray if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound in iniquity. That's a self-centered thought. Spiritual gifts, like Paul was talking to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14, these things are very intriguing to our human nature. How can I get those for me? I'm sure you've probably thought about it once or twice. Gift of healing, gift of this, gift of that. It's intriguing. How can I get that for me? And many people reading the New Testament will come across these gifts and say, well, yes, I'm sure God wants me to have these. So how do I get these? Not realizing that Paul is not encouraging members to get spiritual gifts. In fact, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Corinthians 14 is actually correction of members who had been misusing spiritual gifts to their own destruction. And the misuse of those gifts could actually cause them to miss out on the kingdom of God. And that's why this point is very important. Spiritual gifts from God can be lethal. They can kill you.

The members at Corinth had become proud of my talent.

They had lost sight of the purpose of these spiritual talents. The spiritual gifts from God are for serving others, for serving, being humble, being slaves and servants in the church. They involved language and understanding. They involved worship. And yet, the Bible speaks strongly against them and warns them. And the lesson was not to get spiritual gifts like the Corinthians. Rather, don't be like the Corinthians. That's what those three chapters are all about. Don't be like the Corinthians.

The so-called love chapter would never have been written if the Corinthians weren't misusing their gifts. Let's go there. 1 Corinthians 13, the first three verses. It's not telling you all about love and how wonderful love is. It's warning people with spiritual gifts that they're misusing them. It's trying to define for them what true love is all about, rather than the self-exaltation that the talent that God had loaned them was being used for. Paul stretches out here, he goes to a stronger degree, as it were, to say, though I speak with the tongues of men and angels.

You know, if I could speak the angelic language that's spoken in the next dimension, and the best of the languages of men, but if I have not love, then I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, just noise, and it's irritating. And though I have the gift of teaching and prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge to teach, and though I have all faith that I could remove mountains but have not love, notice, I am nothing.

I could have all of those things that they could really go to my head, and I would be nothing. I don't just mean, not meaning here, just I'm nothing, you know, compared to other people. Nothing means I'm not going to be alive.

I have nothing. And he continues on, verse 3, And though I bestow all my goods, I'm very benevolent to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned. You know, I'm just this amazing example of benevolence like nobody's ever seen. I just give, give, give, give, give, and I give my...

I do impressive martyrdom. You know, I just get the whole world, get me on TV, and I'll die right there. Oh, wow, it'll be great. You know, it's funny Jesus didn't die that way, did he? They shredded him to where he couldn't even tell who he was. His face was so marred. And then they humiliated him and spat on him and joked with him, and then they made him carry that which would kill him down the street, and then they stripped him naked, and they spat on him, and they did every abominable thing they could think of, and they stuck him in the side with a spear.

Now that's the death the father and he designed for him. One of a... that was assumed to be a criminal. But Paul here is talking about some impressive martyrdom. But have no love. Notice, it prophets me nothing. Nothing with God and the end result would be death. So all of those spiritual gifts, all those talents, amazing talents, could kill you.

The point is, having spiritual gifts alone can be deadly. The key is that we need to examine that, examine the motives, and ask, what excites me about having the spiritual gift? What excites me about having God's Holy Spirit in me? If I'm talented to do something else, what excites me about that?

If I'm speaking, if I'm playing the piano, if I'm, you know, whatever it is, in a leadership position or teaching, what excites me about that? What response do I like?

It's human nature to impress, kind of be the prima donna. You find yourself before you're going to serve being nervous. What's that about? Worrying or exhilaration afterward? Or depression or pride? What prompts? What prompts you? What do you want to feel? And afterwards, how do you want to be responded to?

Those are good things. What prompts leaders in the church? Take, for instance, a pastor. That's a good question to ask, to ask oneself. Our human nature is alive and well, and our human nature is really Satan's nature. What did he really like? He wanted to be lifted up high. He wanted all of his timbrels and all of his glory to be focused on him for greater and greater stature.

And that carries over to those who are impacted by that nature, that spirit. There's two types of spirits. There's one of the tree of life. There's one of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And humans have always found it a lot more tasty to eat off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's just eating off of the spirit of Satan, the mind of Satan. And it seems to work well for me.

In 1 Peter 5, verses 5 through 9, you might look at this from a couple of viewpoints. One is, I could say to you, I could read verse 5, Likewise, you younger people, submit yourself to your elders. But then he goes on, Yes, all of you be submissive to one another. It's not about one group being submissive, is it? It's not about somebody being okay to be all swelled up.

Clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. And when we think about spiritual gifts, we think about talent that comes from God, the greatest recipient of that talent in the flesh was Jesus himself. As a human being, he had the amazing input and talent that came from God. And he showed us how to do it humbly. He showed us how to do it basing self and exonerating, exalting others, especially the Father, encouraging people to come along the way he did. And so it says here, verse 6, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Gifts that are used to advance the self do bring temporary gain. They do make a person look bigger, more important, more impressive, more skilled, kind of the awe factor, for a short time.

However, this life is brief. The human lifespan is but a vapor, the Bible says. And gifts of God that are used to advance the self will mean a loss for eternity, a short-term gain, but an eternal loss. So we should not fall for that. We've got to be mindful that the vanity, the temporariness that comes with God-gifted abilities is very, very short. And there are many examples of those who have used what God has given for a wrong purpose and may have lost their salvation over it.

There are examples in the Bible that would indicate that. In Philippians 2, verses 3-5, continuing on in this theme of how dangerous these gifts can be because they're so appealing to our human nature that can just get out of control. People begin to feel elevated and, Oh, I must be something special. I can do this. I've been given that talent. It becomes about themselves, you see. It becomes kind of a show. To the church here in Philippi, Paul says in chapter 2, verse 3, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit.

My talent, see. But rather, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. If you've been given God's Holy Spirit, if you have been given any spiritual gift to help other people, that means you are a slave of other people. That means you are the ultimate slave, the ultimate servant. That means you can now get below and help and assist them like a servant or like a slave. That is the meaning of the term minister or deacon, diaconos in the Greek. Verse 4, Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And it goes on to describe how he was high, then he lowered himself, and he went through all that he did. Where did it let that mind be in us? If you have a gift or a talent, on loan from God, and if you have God's Spirit, you certainly do.

If you have the Spirit in man, you certainly do. Well, then give God the credit and use that talent to serve others. That's what God does with that spirit of his. That's what God does with his mind. He serves others. Serving others is the fruit of godliness. Remember, Mr. Moranville, right here in this room a few years ago, talked about a spiritual gift being a talent that you have that is used for a spiritual purpose. In other words, serving, helping the body of Christ in some way. The second point is an admonition, and that is, use God's talent or die. Hmm. Use God's talent or die. Previously read where Jesus Christ gave out, in one of his parables, some talents, or a better translation would read, Amina, a denomination of Roman money.

And some used those while he went to heaven and waited to be given the kingdom. Some used that to develop ten times, five times, and one poor chap just wrapped it in a handkerchief and didn't use it at all. Now we know what happens to that individual who didn't use it. He gets killed. So the point, number two, is very clear. Use God's given talent or die. Use the Holy Spirit. Use the gifts that he's given you.

If you or I say, Aww, I don't really care to love and serve others. I don't really care to put God first in my life. I don't really care to take this mind that God has now placed within me and use it to sacrifice like he does, to think like he does, to act like he does.

I don't really care to do that. I'm just going to sort of let it be there. Well, then the end result of that is Jesus Christ said, You're going to be like the handkerchief man. We don't want to be that way. There are other illustrations that were given. One, Jesus gave the parable or the statement about, He is the vine, we are the branches, and the branch has to produce fruit, or it is thrown in the fire.

We are now grafted onto God through the blood of Jesus Christ. We now have direct access to the Holy of Holies, to the Father. If we don't grow, then we will be burnt in the third resurrection, the Lake of Fire.

You as a branch are going to be trimmed. You're going to be tested. It's not going to be a comfortable life, necessarily. Oh, you like to give and serve? Great! Trim, trim, trim. Now let's try it over here. A little more difficult. Well, I didn't really want to serve that person, but I guess I have to. Good! We've learned that lesson. Trim, trim, trim. Let's move on to another lesson. And so it is. The growth is intended to increase. Let's go to Ephesians 4, verse 30. Here, the fourth chapter of Ephesians is really dedicated to the church, to the development of the church, the structure of the church, the growth of the body.

As we come down towards the end of the chapter, we find this. It's talking about sins before this verse and after. The context is about sins. And here it says, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by which you were sealed for the day of redemption.

You know what? To grieve. To grieve, something means, you know, give somebody grief. Have you ever heard somebody say, That person gives me grief. Well, you know, how do you feel about people that give you grief? You kind of want to stay away from them, don't you? Sort of, you'd just be happy if the griefful, giving person was somewhere else. And if we grieve the Holy Spirit, what will happen is that spirit will stay away. It will go away. It will leave. The context here is about sin. Don't sin. It's going to grieve God living in you.

And it's going to be uncomfortable. It's going to be something that is enmity. Okay? Sin and God and His Spirit, they're enmity against each other. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit, by which you were sealed for the day of redemption. That is the thing that is going to permit you and I to be in God's Kingdom. It's God living in us. Now let's go to Matthew 12, verses 31 and 32. It gets a little bit stronger here. It's not just grieving the Holy Spirit, but now it's speaking against the Holy Spirit. Jesus is going to tell us something.

We better be using the Spirit. We better be liking God's Spirit. We better like the fruits of God's Spirit. We must like loving a lot away from self. We must like the joy that comes from loving and the joy shared by those who are loving and loved. We must like the harmony, the peace, the harmony that comes as a result of that. If we don't like those things and the other fruits or results of using God's Holy Spirit, then we have a problem. We've got a real problem. In Matthew 12, verse 31, it says, Therefore I say to you, Jesus says, Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men.

Now imagine that. Every sin against God, every blasphemy against God, against Him will be forgiven. He is a tough guy. He is a nice guy. He understands human's frame. He understands Satan's influence. He understands our human nature. He is ready to forgive those things when they are really repented of, but going on.

But the blasphemy against the Spirit, blaspheming the Spirit of God that is in you, is what is being referred to, will not be forgiven men. Now, it's not just if somebody out there in society starts speaking really bad about the Holy Spirit or God's Holy Spirit. They don't even know what it is. They assume it's a third person in a trinity. They are not called. They don't have the understanding of the things of God because they don't have the Spirit of God in them.

That's not what he is talking about. He is talking here, blasphemy against the Spirit, by a person who has the Spirit, saying, I really don't like godliness. I really don't like God's way. I really don't like the fruits of this. I've tried it. I've tested it. I've lived it. And now I'm blaspheming it. I'm speaking against it, in other words. I'm pooh-poohing it. I'm giving it a bad review. I'm telling people, this isn't the way. See? That will not be forgiven men. This point of using God's talent or dying is very important. We've got to love it.

We've got to not only use it, but we have to really love what God is about, what he's for, what he's doing, his mindset. Otherwise, this blasphemy against that which we have lived or are living will not be forgiven. Notice verse 32. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. People can take his name in vain.

You can even get crossways or something, I guess. I don't know. But it just says it will be forgiven him. In other words, he's saying, I don't have an ego that is so huge that if you say something negative about me, I just won't be able to take it. No, I can forgive some pretty bad sin, including that directed against me as an individual. But this one thing will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, again, the Holy Spirit in the individual speaking, the individual who has lived it, who has had God there, who has sampled, he's tasted, he's lived, he's participated, and then says something against God's Spirit.

It will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. You know, godliness is something that you and I are given the gift of experiencing, of sampling, tasting that heavenly gift. Let's go over to 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 19-23. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 19. 5 words. Do not quench the Spirit. Use it or die. Don't quench the Spirit. Thessalonians 6, verses 19-23. Thessalonians 5, verses 21-23.

As for us, in verse 20, it says, Do not despise prophecies. The Greek word means teaching, exhortation, correction. Don't despise teaching. Don't despise exhortation. Don't despise correction. Teach things for our own good. Dropping down in verse 23, Now may the God of peace, or the God of harmony, of unity, itself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, life, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Holy Spirit in us is not to be static. It's to grow in us. It's to preserve us. It's to have us in the mindset of God.

And the fruits of the Holy Spirit are not to be disliked. They're not to be spoken against. And they're not to be ignored. But rather, we use God's Spirit, we develop those fruits, or we die. So again, using God's talent is a requirement. It's not something we can say, well, I don't know. If I get talent from God, if I get the Holy Spirit and then misuse it, it could be dangerous.

Well, now we find if you don't use it, it's lethal. So we have to learn to use it, don't we? We have to jump in with both feet. We have to love. The third point is in encouragement, and that is to fellowship with the Spirit of God. You've probably not heard that said before, but I'll show it to you in the Bible in just a minute.

Fellowship with the Spirit of God. This is perhaps unclear, but the point here is to grow in godliness, and as you do that, to have a fellowship, a communion with godly individuals. Number one, God the Father and Jesus Christ, and number two, godly individuals, brothers and sisters who are growing along that road, that way. This is helping, it's encouraging one another, it is godly centered, it is godliness centered, it is everybody encouraging and helping and providing support in a certain direction. We need to grow by fellowshiping with God and the saints, and doing it a lot, not just a little bit, but a lot.

You know, when Paul said, pray without ceasing, he's talking about a lot of contact with our Father. There's a steady contact, a steady relationship as we go through all of the various trials and temptations and distractions of this life, to have a strong contact with the one who will be our helper, the one who lives inside of us. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 16 through 17. We often read this during the Passover service.

1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 16. Paul was talking about the sacraments of the Passover, and he says, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? If you think of when you're eating that piece of broken bread and you're thinking of Christ's broken body, that it also pictures the other members in the church, that it also pictures that internal unity, as it were, of all of us together in this body, not just the body of our dead Savior in 31 A.D., but now His body, the body of Christ, that we all have a communion or a fellowship with.

Verse 17 points this out, for we though many are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. We need the communion, we need the fellowship with all of those in the body, including the head of the body, Jesus Christ, and of course God the Father. In the next book of 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 14 through 18, Paul strengthens this concept about our need for communion, our fellowship with godly individuals and God Himself, and our need to get away from other types of influences.

So he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. You might say, well, what harm could that be? Well, unbelievers don't have the talent on loan from God. They don't have the understanding. They don't have the forward direction. They're not going down the narrow road right now. It's not their fault because they haven't been invited. They haven't been given the spiritual talents that you have. And so don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship has righteousness, which is lovingness, with lawlessness, which is lovelessness, they're going different directions. As much as night and day going on, what communion has light with darkness. You see how contrasting this is. If you're trying to make forward motion up a cliff, why would you hang on to a lead anchor passing by the other way? It's taking you down the hill. And what accord has Christ with the devil? Polar opposites. Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? False gods with Satan. For you are the temple of the living God.

And as God has said, I will dwell in them and I will walk among them. You know, God dwells in you and Jesus Christ walks among his churches. As we will see sometime in the future. He walks continually among his churches. He is very involved. He is with us. He's in us. He is there for the production of children into the family of God. And he's very, very busy about that crop, as it were. That grain crop that's going to be harvested.

So again, the point here is we need fellowship with the Spirit of God and those who have the Spirit of God. If we go on down, it says in verse 17, therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Be separate. Do not touch what is unclean and if you don't touch what is unclean, I will receive you. Now some of us came in to the church with relationships that were with individuals that were not believers. Those things are discussed in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. You can read about how to have those relationships. But for those who are given these spiritual talents from God, we are told not to be yoked together and in fact to come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. It's kind of a condition it reads to me. If you don't touch what is unclean, then I'll receive you. If you do touch what is unclean, then I won't. Now that, to me, is a huge warning and I know people like to argue all the time. This passage isn't talking about marriage, it's not talking about work, it's not talking about anything, it's talking about a principle that applies to all of those things. Marriage, work, you know, friendships, whatever. And what a scary thing if we say, well, you know, God, I think I'm just going to hook up with Satan here. I know you're in me, but I'm also going to hook up with Satan. And we're going to go that way together. You know, it's not exactly what it sounded like there. Come out and be separate, don't touch, and I'll receive you. And I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord. That's kind of a conditional thing is the way it reads to me. That's how I interpret it in my life. And when I get close to a situation that might violate that, I have to say, hey, do I want God to leave me? Do I want God to sort of leave me hanging out to dry? Or do I want to fellowship with Him and with those of the Spirit? You know, friends bring a powerful peer pressure, powerful peer pressure, both for good and for evil. It depends. In 1 Corinthians 15, just back a few pages, the same chapter that talks about the Great Resurrection, about us being transferred from the physical into the spiritual, contains a warning in verses 33 and verse 34. Do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits.

If you want to just stunt your growth and really stress the Spirit and grieve the Spirit, just get in some evil company. But in verse 34, he says, Awake to righteousness, and do not sin, for some do not have the knowledge of God. Some do not have this talent that God has loaned to you. Realize that. And you need to spend time fellowshiping with God, God in you, and with those who have the Holy Spirit. That's where our help comes from. It's the helper of God's Spirit. And the help that that Spirit flowing through others brings to all of us, brings to one another.

Now, in Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 5, I'd like to use the Scripture by which I've named this point. Point number 3. Philippians chapter 2 verse 1. Therefore, if there's any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, there's that word comfort, the comfort of love, the periclitos, the helper, the one that is actively helping.

If any fellowship of the Spirit, we need the fellowship of the Spirit.

If any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. You see how this unity of mind that Christ so wanted as He prayed His final prayer to the Father, He so wants to be them and us and them and each other and us and them all with one. We can have that if we fellowship with the Spirit and those who have the Spirit.

But as soon as we branch out, we accept in something other, some other influence, then we corrupt everything. The unity goes out the window. Suddenly there's fractures and there's divisions. God is not a God of division. Verse 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But as we read before, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than Himself.

Let each of you look out not only for His own interest, but also for the interests of others. That's the law, by the way. Love your neighbor as yourself. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. It's that fellowship. That's where we get the mind. That's where we get the the love, the helper coming from each other as it flows from the Father, flows from Jesus Christ, and flows in and out of each one of us. Be alert for the need to fellowship with the Spirit.

End point four.

Your talent on loan from God is expected to last forever. This is not a temporary thing. This holy Spirit that you have and any other talent that God has given you is not a temporary, short-term thing. It's expected, fully anticipated, to last forever. That's the purpose of your life. That's the purpose of you being alive. That's the purpose of God giving you a mind and understanding and adding to that the Holy Spirit, the understanding of things in the Spirit dimension, in the mind of God. God wants you to serve forever using His talents in His family. And really, we live here in this physical realm so that we can show God if that's what we want or not. Not everybody will want that. The Bible is very clear about that. Not everybody wants that. Not everybody wants to serve and be sacrificing like God's family is. And so we live so that God can let us sample it, give us the spiritual talent, let us see what it's like, test drive it.

And if we like it, we'll grow in it. If we don't, we won't. But the point was, God wants that to last forever. We were chosen for eternal life. We were selected as firstfruits before the foundation of the world. That we could be the firstfruits in the family of God and help Jesus Christ bring others into that family. I'd like to spend a little time in Romans the 8th chapter. I've slashed out a couple pages of notes here, but I still would like to go through some of Romans 8 because this talent is expected to go on forever. And I'd like us to understand a little bit more from God's view, what his expectations are, and also how that is expected to happen.

Start in verse 18. The context here, the topic that Paul is dealing with so far in Romans 8, before we come up to 18, is life, is families being glorified together. The topic continues in verse 18, for I consider that the sufferings... Oh, now wait a minute, the sufferings. Now, we hadn't thought about the sufferings. We were thinking about all the good things. But now we inject sufferings. Well, just as God expects for your talents to go on forever, he expects them to go on continuously in this life as well through sufferings, through trials, to test the genuineness of your faith and mind. He lets these things come up. We're expected to have enduring faith and love, the enduring love of God, the enduring love of serving others, no matter what the consequences are, no matter if somebody comes and rips your face up, sticks a crown of thorns in your head, smacks you around, does horrible things to you. Just the worst things they could possibly think of. No, God wants to know, will that love be genuine, solid, and last? It'll endure. We need to know that. Jesus set us a wonderful example of, yes, He was the real deal. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, yes, and all who desire to live godly in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution. Don't think it's not going to happen. All who live godly in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution, and that is what? To test the genuineness of your faith, to see if you really, really, truly want to be like God. Now, going on to verse 18, Paul says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time, this physical life, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. John wrote, we shall be like Him. We will one day be eternal. We will be like Him. Don't have to worry about that. That will endure forever. The question is, will you and I endure now? Will we last forever as godly-minded children in this life? You know, so many scriptures come to mind, don't they? He that endures to the end, the same will be saved, etc., etc. Verse 19, For the earnest expectation of the creation. I want to teach you something about this passage that I hope will be very helpful. This passage largely means nothing to people. They don't know what to make of it. Anyway, let's read it for what it is. It says in verse 19, The earnest expectation of the creation. If you use the old King James version, you'll find it's the earnest expectation of the creature. So which is it? The creation or the creature?

It has been a confusing discussion down through time. Well, it turns out that in Thayer's this word for creation is cotisis. It was a term used by the rabbis in Paul's day for a man converted to Judaism from idolatry. It's not talking about the creation and it's not talking about the creator. It's talking about a convert. Paul is using this term that the rabbis used for a convert to Judaism. In Paul's discussion here, if you go down to verse 23, he's talking about we who have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. We are the converts that he's going to talk about here with this word cotisis. So wherever your Bible might say creation or creature, it's talking about, just as he says here in verse 23, we who have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. Now let's read it like that. Verse 19, for the earnest expectation of the first fruit with God's Holy Spirit eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God. Aren't we all just waiting and hoping for Christ to come so that we can be changed, that we can be resurrected to be like Him?

That's our earnest expectation of the first fruits with God's Holy Spirit.

We eagerly await for the revealing of the sons of God. We pray, thy kingdom come. Verse 20, for the first fruit with God's Holy Spirit was subjected to futility. You and I are getting older. We're human. We're weak. We're going to die. We are subjected to futility, not willingly by our own will, but because of Him who subjected Him or her in the hope of the resurrection.

We have a temporary tent that we're in, Paul says, and this tent is fading away. We don't like that.

But God subjected us in hope, in the hope of the resurrection. Verse 21, because the first fruit with God's Holy Spirit itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption, dead decaying flesh, into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

First Corinthians 15, 53, talks about that this corruption must put on in corruption, and this corruptible must put on in corruption. This mortal must put on immortality, so that you and me, the first fruits with God's Spirit, will be delivered from the bondage of corruption. We can't. You know, once you die, there's nothing more you can do about it. You're done. You are powerless to do anything at all once you did. And therefore, that is the bondage of corruption. But we're going to be delivered from that into the glorious liberty of the children of God, sons of God. Verse 22, for we know that the whole creation, this earthly nursery of the children of God, remember, I gave a sermon some time ago, back in 2008, on the earth and on this physical universe, being a nursery in a sermon entitled, Children of the Room. This whole earthly domain has a purpose.

This whole creation, as we call it, is here to incubate, to develop children for the family of God. And in a sense, this earthly nursery, this whole creation, groans and labors with birth pangs. It wants to see the children of God born. The goal is for us to be born again, to be divine, to be in the spirit realm with the family of God.

Verse 23, not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the sonship, the redemption of our body.

God's will for you is those things that we grow, that we develop, and that we ultimately live forever.

He wants enduring children of His mentality that will endure throughout this lifetime, and forever we must endure. Paul goes on in verse 35, and he talks about this need to endure. In any situation that comes along, and he saw a lot of it during the times of the Roman Empire, and he asks the question. Here's how I read this. Verse 35, it says, who, but the word there also means what. What shall separate? The word separate is chorizo. In the Greek, it means what will depart or take out from us. The Greek word apo or out of. What is going to take out of you, the love of God? A resulting translation would read, what shall take out of us the love of Christ?

What's going to do it? What can get you to give up and not endure in loving? What will take the love of God out of you? And he throws out some things. Will tribulation, tribulation, wow! Talk about tribulation. I don't want to be in tribulation. If you go through tribulation, will you stop loving?

Will you quench the spirit? Will you turn it off? Well, that's a good question. What else?

Well, he goes on.

Distress. It can be a lot of distress or persecution. What if somebody doesn't like what you believe in? What if they come after you or after your family? What if they hold a gun to your grandkids head and say, you quit loving, you quit serving God, or I'm going to do something terrible? What will take the love of God out of you? That's what the question is.

Nakedness? Now, there's a big one. You might say, whoa, I'm not doing that naked thing down the parade there. Uh-uh. You know, everybody has their limits. Here's where I get off. Here's where I give the Holy Spirit back, and I say, nope, or not. Well, what else? Famine? Nothing to eat? You hear what people who are starving will do in order to stay alive? Is that one? Yes. Now I have to be greedy. Now I have to take. I have to steal. I have to stay alive. I can't help it that I don't love and serve and sacrifice for others anymore. Peril? What about a sword? You know, I'm going to behead you if you don't change. Paul's throwing out a lot of things here, things that he's seen a lot of, and he's asking, what will take out of us the love of Christ?

As it is written, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. And yet Paul says, nothing's going to take that out of us. You know what? As a matter of fact, nothing is going to take that out of those who really love God, who have Him and appreciate the fruits of His Holy Spirit. Those are just temporary things.

Verse 37, Yet in all of these things, all types of physical death and trials and tribulations, we are more than conquerors through Him, through Jesus Christ, who is our Helper, who loved us. For I am persuaded. See? This is the point. Talent that is expected to last forever, no matter what. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to take out of us the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's what God wants. He needs to know that we are genuine.

You know, the Holy Spirit is a Helper that creates a new character within us. And you can't just take character out of something. Well, you can give it away if you really don't want it. But that nature becomes our mentality. You know the old saying, I think that you can take the cowboy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the cowboy. You know, you can take the genuine, godly individual out of a godly environment, like they did Daniel and stick him in Babylon, in the core of the Babylonian Empire. But you can't take godliness out of Daniel.

And that's what they found with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That's what they found with Jesus Christ. That's what they found with the saints in the New Testament. And that's what they need to find with you and me. It's one of the points of Hebrews 11 of the faithful.

You know, the purpose of this series, and I only intended one sermon, was for us to appreciate the talent that God has given, the special miraculous ability to think and to know and to reason, and the incredible things that the mind is able to do with that miracle that lives.

And then coupled to that, the Holy Spirit of God, to be able to understand things in a different dimension, to understand, begin to scratch the surface on understanding what perfection is and what righteousness is, to come to know a God that is all the wonderful, perfect things, and be very, very grateful for that. And then also to have the privilege of God living in us and empowering us to begin to think and to be and to do like He is.

Ephesians 6 verse 10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

It's not your might. It's not my might. It's not our power. It's not our intellect. It's not our talent. It's not our gifts. We need to be strong, but strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and use the armor of God as it goes on. It's not our armor. It's His. This is talent on loan from Him. In conclusion, I'd like to give you a prophecy. I'd like to take you forward in time and see exactly what it will be like to be a glorified son and daughter in the Spirit of God. I'd like to see all the abilities and talents that we're going to have as Spirit being. I'd like to show you what we're going to look like, show you what we're able to do, show you the powers that we're going to have. Are you ready? I'm sure ready. But you know, God didn't tell us any of those things. You know, God never describes in the Bible what it will be like to be a Spirit being. He just said it won't hurt. You know? There's not going to be any pain or tears, and that's about it.

And our carnality is very interested in the form. You often hear people talk about, you know, when I die, I just can't wait for the kingdom to come because I won't grow old anymore.

I'll be young forever. I'll feel good. I'll look good. I wonder how I look. Will I come back as an 18-year-old or an 88-year-old? You know? People recognize me. You know, human nature just gets wild, and we start thinking about ourselves. You know, feel good forever. No worries, mate.

And yet, God never focuses on that. Just that it won't hurt, and it's really going to be a lot of fun. God focuses on two things. For our future in the kingdom, source and function. The source of the talent, the source of the gifts, and the function that we will have. That which we will do is what God focuses on. And I'd like to close by reading some from Revelation 22 in the first five verses. Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, takes us forward in a somewhat ambiguous view through a glass darkly we can see ahead into a glimpse of the kingdom of God, the new Jerusalem down here, or down on the new earth. God here is focusing on the importance of our future role.

Verse 1, it says, and He showed me a pure river of water of life. This is synonymous with the Holy Spirit. Notice it's not something internal. This is an external thing, a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of Christ.

There is still talent. There is still the life giving, the mentality of God, proceeding from God.

That's the source, God and the Lamb. Verse 2, in the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life. Again, synonymous with the mind of God, the Holy Spirit of God.

And it bore 12 fruits. Notice these things are not residual in the children of God. We're not just static. God has these things flowing and growing. I know they are types. I know this is symbolism. These are metaphors. But nevertheless, the sense is that it is still coming from the Father and from the Son. And it is being provided and is intended to come and be provided forever. Each tree yielding its fruit every month. There is a production. There is something coming to those who are receiving it. The leaves of the tree were for the harmony of the tribe. It can be translated for the harmony of the tribe. God is going to forever give his spiritual talents. He is going to forever give his gifts. And he will always be the source of those gifts in some way that we can just vaguely see here as we see the source and the flowing and the growing and the contributing to the family of God. Verse 3, and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it. Now here comes the function.

And they shall be, or his servants shall serve him. Hmm. That's what God says about you and me being in the kingdom. He will continue to be our source of great talent, growing talent, and great wonderful bodies will be like him. And our function will be to serve him.

These individuals are going to have really enhanced talents, really amazing talents. And those talents will be for what? For serving God, serving the family, for doing the serving, sacrificing, whatever the family becomes involved in. And that will be the sole function of the spirit being that is defined here in the Bible. The sole function is serving God.

Who wants to serve forever? Now I wanted to look young forever. I wanted to feel good forever.

I wanted to have all kinds of powers and all this stuff, but serve forever? See what we've gotten ourselves into? We are called now to love and serve God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to do that forever. And God will always be the source of the talent needed to do it. We are called to love and serve others around us, as equally as we would serve ourself. And God has given us and will continue to give us the talents to do that for all eternity.

Is that what you want? Who wants to serve God and the family forever? That's the test question, isn't it? And that's what this life is all about. God's trying to figure out the answer.

Verse 4, "...they shall see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there. They shall need no lamp nor light of the sun. For notice the Lord God gives them light. He continues to be the source of those things that are needed in the family, and they shall reign forever and ever." Amazing talents are yours. They truly are amazing. And they are yours on loan from God. Those talents are intended to be used now, to be developed, and to continue forever. As you keep the Passover and the Feast this year, let's appreciate the talents that are on loan to you from God. Appreciate the great sacrifice required in order for you to have those talents. Use it, multiply it, and appreciate it now and forever.