Edify Everyone (1 Corinthians 14:1-25)

[0:00] So 1 Corinthians chapter 14, follow along. Now brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?

[0:58] Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as a pipe or harp, how would anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?

[1:10] Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how would anyone know what you are saying?

[1:22] You will just be speaking into the air. Yeah. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.

[1:38] So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. For this reason, the one who speaks in tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.

[1:52] For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

[2:06] Otherwise, when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else who is now put in the position of an inquirer say, Amen to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying.

[2:19] You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church, I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue.

[2:36] Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil, be infants. But when you are thinking, be adults. In the law it is written, with other tongues and through the lips of foreigners, I will speak to this people.

[2:53] But even then, they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Tongues then are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers, but for believers.

[3:06] So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers are unbelievers come in, or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

[3:17] But if an unbeliever or inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare.

[3:30] So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, God is really among you. Cool. Thank you, Pastor William. Good afternoon, everyone.

[3:49] Thank you so much, Fran, for reading that. And please keep your Bibles open. If you don't have one, there's a few out the front, or just feel free to look it up online. And good afternoon as well to you, those joining on live stream.

[4:02] I know there's a few away and sick, and so we'll try to be as clear as possible to you online as well. Last week, Pastor Albert helped us to really focus on the idea of love, right?

[4:17] As we've been praying as well. And love is actually what this chapter started with. Pursue love. Pursue it as we do life together. Pursue love as you are struggling with your spouse.

[4:32] Pursue love when a sister or brother has perhaps flame-grilled you, as it were. When it feels like your family has ditched you, pursue love.

[4:44] And this is love, as we've prayed, not as a slogan, not as a transaction. It's not a selfish, me-first love. Not loveless actions. This is love that is patient.

[4:56] Or patience, it's a verb, remember? That shows kindness, doesn't envy or boast. Or become puffed up. And this kind of love, as we have heard time and time again, can only come when we have been filled with Christ's love himself.

[5:14] Jesus Christ, who hung on a cross to die for our sins. He was held there by love. And Christ, pursue love. And that is how we continue as we go into chapter 14.

[5:27] We need to remember this, right? There's lots in chapter 14. But how does it start? It starts with, follow the way of love. And now he's going to resume answering the Corinthians questions concerning spiritual gifts and things.

[5:41] And so to brothers and sisters who are united in declaring Jesus as Lord, that's all of us, those who trust in Christ, we are united in Jesus as Lord. To these kinds of people, right?

[5:55] United and yet having different views about tongues, prophecies, other kinds of gifts, Paul says to us, let's follow the way of love. Let's follow the way of love when we meet together.

[6:07] Now, 1 Corinthians is a very long chapter. We only heard half of it. So we'll be looking at some of it today and the rest of it next week. So it's a bit of a two-part series.

[6:18] But there's two things I think you and I need to know from the text that kind of holds this chapter together. So I'll highlight them for you. Firstly, there's an important purpose word that's repeated.

[6:31] I wonder if you heard it when Franz spoke. Anyone have a guess? What's the purpose word that keeps coming up over and over again? It's the word to edify or to build up.

[6:42] Can you see it scattered through the chapter? However your translation puts it, this word in the original language is repeated seven times in our chapter. So it's important.

[6:54] It's important. It's the purpose. God wants us to use our spiritual gifts so that we build each other up. So that we are built up in Him. The other important point is that the context, the setting of these instructions are clear.

[7:11] And have a look at verse 23 and you'll see what I mean. So the context here is when the whole church comes together. This is the context about what this chapter talks about.

[7:22] All in public worship with everyone included. The context here is how do we edify everybody? What does worship with the whole whanau, the whole family look like?

[7:37] This is a chapter that is way more than just a bunch of proof texts about certain views of prophecies or tongues. This is a field guide for how God's people can edify everyone.

[7:50] How do we gather in Christ? How do we grow by the Spirit? How do we go out on mission for God's glory? This is the main point of chapter 14. We must remember this.

[8:03] Now feel free to send in your questions through the Q&A or Fran directly. God, however, hasn't preserved the Q&A board that the Corinthians had. So remember, Corinthians is a letter and we only hear Paul's reply, right?

[8:17] So we don't really have word for word what the Corinthians were asking. But we can make some kind of educated guess. There were probably some disagreements about spiritual gifts.

[8:29] Probably some disagreements about how to worship together. So worship wars are not new to our generations. And we've already heard, right, early in the letter, some were comparing people who were speaking gifts, right?

[8:43] I follow Apollos. I follow Paul. I follow Cephas. And perhaps some people, if they're like us, have pastoral questions. Paul, the church down the road from me, they worship like this, you know, and waving flags.

[8:59] Are we missing out, Paul? Or, Paul, I never finished high school. And everyone here around me is super smart. Do I even belong here?

[9:11] Maybe they had practical questions. Paul, it is impossible for me to worship right now. There are so many different tongues among us. What do I do? Or maybe they were asking, Paul, how are we supposed to worship when some guy goes on and on and nobody really understands him?

[9:29] It's not really explained properly. Do we tell him to stop? What Paul will say to the Corinthians and what God wants to say to us as well is that in love, let's use spiritual gifts.

[9:44] Let's prefer spiritual gifts that build up the whole church, edify everyone. That's the main point of this chapter and this talk today.

[9:56] So we're going to just dive straight into Paul's argument. And so today, again, we're just looking at the first part up to verse 25. But remember, it's a whole chapter argument. Firstly, my first point here is that Paul is encouraging us to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy, which edifies everyone.

[10:15] I'll say that again. Firstly, Paul wants us to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy, because it edifies everyone. Listen again to the first few verses, right?

[10:29] Verse 1, follow the way of love, eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. Right? Paul is saying when you worship together, yes, let's be spiritual.

[10:41] This is meant to be a supernatural church, not a business as usual church, not a boring church. God is not boring. We are. Let's be eager to express the gifts that God has given us as we church together.

[10:59] And so Paul, he says specifically, right? Be zealous, okay? Pursue it. Seek out. Long for, he says, prophecy rather than tongues.

[11:10] And now I know at this point a whole host of questions and assumptions might be coming into your minds. What do prophecies and tongues mean here? What do they look like today?

[11:23] Why did Pastor Albert and Pastor William give slightly different answers last week to the gifts? Does this mean our church is hopelessly divided? Let me reassure you.

[11:35] Jesus is Lord. Okay? That is the first, most important thing we hold to. Your pastors are united on the gospel of first importance. And again, these are secondary issues.

[11:47] We address them, but they are not of first importance. You will not lose your salvation if you have a different view to each other. So let's be informed. Let's not get annoyed.

[11:59] Let's build each other up in love. Let's talk about prophecy. Okay? So I want to do a little bit of an exercise. Let's look at the text together as it reads. Okay?

[12:10] And let's see what New Testament prophecy looks like. Why don't you help me out? Maybe turn to the person next to you. Have the passage in front of you. From this passage, I'll give you 30 seconds.

[12:21] Be bold. You've got to get straight to it. Look at the passage again. These first few verses. Tell me, or tell each other, and then we'll talk about it. Tell each other, what did prophecy in Corinth look like?

[12:32] 30 seconds. Go. Okay. Anyone want to venture a guess or just an observation? What does the text say? All right? What is prophecy?

[12:44] How is it described? Just shout it out. I'll try and repeat it for the sake of the live streamers. Prophecy is dot, dot, dot. It strengthens.

[12:54] Okay, good. Thank you, Leo. Anything else? What else does it do? What is it? Encourages. Yep. Comforts. Okay. Is that kind of talking?

[13:05] Right? Anything else? Actually, is it talking? I'm assuming that. That's hope. Okay. Yep. Anything else? What else do you see from the passage? Edifies the church.

[13:16] Okay. Again, that important word. Okay. Seems like it's some kind of gift that is meant to build each other up. Yeah. Anything else? A bit of discussion in row number four?

[13:29] Come on. Yeah. You want to share? Well, there's something really obvious. Prophecy is a spiritual gift, isn't it? Technically, a grace gift. Something that God provides.

[13:39] Not something that we choose. Right? Okay. Anything else? It can, yeah. Like, it's something that once someone hears it, like an outsider, they could be convicted of their sins.

[13:51] It really speaks truth. Yeah. Great. So, these are all right answers. Okay. No wrong answers so far. It's a spiritual gift. Seems like something that believers in Corinth had.

[14:02] Okay. Several. Seems like it strengthens, encourages, edifies the church. Let me throw in a few more facts. As we heard, it convicts people of sin.

[14:12] Okay. We see that further down. I think Christians should have this gift. We see that. All right. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. Verse five. What else?

[14:24] Verse 29. This is important. Prophecy must be weighed carefully. Okay. So, when two or three prophets speak, others should weigh carefully what is said.

[14:36] All right. That's important. Right? This tells us this is slightly different from an utterance that is, thus says the Lord. And you have to obey what God says. Okay. It can be weighed and tested.

[14:48] What else do we see? What else do we see? Notice that it's examined, I think, as well, right there and then. So, prophecy, we have this picture that's always something about the future.

[14:59] Okay. But, actually, it could be something that is able to be assessed right then and there. Okay. Claire Smith describes prophecy as not just foretelling the future, but actually foretelling something that we should already know.

[15:12] Other things we learn from the rest of the chapter, it is controllable. Okay. You're fully in zone when you speak prophecy. It's not disorderly.

[15:23] It's not chaotic. Last week, someone asked the question, do we need to train or practice the gifts? I think it seems like we can train and practice prophecy. New Testament prophecy.

[15:34] We can get better at it. Remember, too, right, a couple of chapters earlier, Pastor Albert was preaching from chapter 11. It's talking about how women should prophesy. Okay.

[15:44] This is a gender, not neutral, but gender-inclusive gift, right, for men and for women. In chapter 13, verse 12, last week, we talked about love, right?

[15:58] If you have the gift of prophecy, it seems like it can help you fathom all mysteries or knowledge. So that's what the Bible says about prophecy.

[16:10] And so here's a particular, here's a possible example of what prophecy looks like. Okay. Remember Acts 21? There's a story of where Paul is headed to Jerusalem. He wants to share the gospel.

[16:22] And Agabus, a prophet, comes down from Judea to meet him. And then he goes over to him and he takes his belt, ties his own hands and feet with it and says, this is what's going to happen to you.

[16:34] Okay. The Holy Spirit told me this. This is what's going to happen to you if you go to Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders are going to arrest you and hand you over to the Gentiles. So that's what prophecy could look like.

[16:48] But actually, if you think about it, actually Agabus was a little bit off. It was actually the Romans who tied him up, not the Jews. Okay. So again, we're getting a bigger picture. And so what is the gift of New Testament prophecy according to the Bible?

[17:04] I think if we listen to the text, it is controlled, intelligible speech that's going to strengthen, encourage, build up the church.

[17:15] Perhaps with supernatural insight that both men and women can excel in, train in, and grow in. In other words, if you want to prophesy, then share your God-given thoughts that will build up the whole church.

[17:35] That's it. That seems to be what the Bible, right? God-breathed words are telling us about prophecy. New Testament prophecy. And actually, if this is prophecy, then why shouldn't we all desire this spiritual gift, this speaking gift, to exercise it?

[17:56] Especially when we realize how much it can edify everyone. If this is prophecy, when the emcee asks you to go talk to the person next to you, what's God been teaching you this week?

[18:09] That's a golden opportunity. Your answer could be plain, right? Because you're still waking up. Or it could be prophetic. Because you are going to share such a wonderful insight.

[18:22] So Christ-honoring, so spirit-empowered that maybe you need the mic for a few moments to tell everyone and build everyone up. Share a testimony of what God has been teaching you.

[18:34] Maybe what you share is so helpful and edifying, it needs to be in a worship song. Published in a book. Or turn into a meme, even. Look, whatever the medium.

[18:45] If this is prophecy, then pay attention when we're speaking to one another intelligibly, right? If Isaac or Venus is emceeing and they pick up the mic, when our worship leaders are sharing thoughts.

[19:00] When we hear from Uncle Dennis about his trip to Vanuatu, even. When Siumai comes and talks about an unreached people group. These are moments to pay attention because something prophetic could be just around the corner.

[19:16] Yes, we test their thoughts with scripture, don't we? Yes, we also savor every insight the Holy Spirit gives us through them.

[19:28] If we pay attention, friends, prophecy edifies everyone. I'll give you a few examples from even the past few years.

[19:39] I was so comforted when Johan and Debbie came and visited us. Right? And off the cuff in an interview, right? Just asking some questions. She just shared this bolt. You second generation Asians.

[19:53] You are so uniquely prepared for cross-cultural mission. You know, at that time I was even wondering, is this worth it? Hanging out here looking like an Asian youth group, mostly.

[20:07] And that was such an electric, prophetic word. That we're still here. That I'm still here. That I think you can still be here.

[20:20] On Easter Sunday, here's another example. I don't remember what Angel said, but as she prayed for our kids after reading a wonderful story, I could feel it.

[20:33] I could feel that God loved our children. And that he had a special word for them. And that it was so powerful that I knew my kids were loved in this church.

[20:47] That's worth sticking around for. And look, even if prophecy comes in dressed up forms, right? Think about how Pastor Albert, you know, one time he had to cosplay as an aircraft pilot.

[21:00] He said something cringey. It was like, it's time to fly high in Jesus. Ah. Yes, we cringe. Strengthens, encourages, edifies the whole church.

[21:12] And read it, apparently. What a word in season. Come on. Let's prophesy, church. Let's broaden our horizons what prophecy can be.

[21:23] Let's all practice it. Let's all use it. Because it will build up. It can build up our church. So be zealous for this gift, friends. Don't just use the excuse, I'm not a public speaker.

[21:36] It doesn't have to be public. It can be private and then public later on. Who knows? And if this is biblical prophecy, exactly what is described here in God's word, then let's not be quick to categorize it into a gift that has ceased.

[21:53] All right? Has anyone heard that kind of phrasing before, right? There's some gifts and they have ceased. Anyone? No? Okay. In some circles, you might hear the following argument.

[22:04] Okay? So let me explain it to you. Very summarized form. Okay. If prophecy is scripture quality revelation, right? Thus says the Lord. And then if the New Testament is always describing scripture quality revelation when it talks about prophecy, okay, then they must have ceased.

[22:23] Because, right, we've got scripture now. Therefore, we don't need scripture quality revelation, i.e. prophecy, as they define it. And actually, they will define it as follows, right?

[22:35] In verse 10 of chapter 13, when the perfect comes, prophecy will pass away and tongues will cease. And so on. All right? And they'll use this and they'll say, yep, well, when we get the whole Bible, that's when these gifts cease.

[22:50] So this is technically called the cessationist position when it comes to spiritual gifts. All right? So in other words, after John wrote the book of Revelation, okay, the specific sign gifts, the category of gifts, which includes prophecy, tongue, supernatural knowledge, they've ceased completely.

[23:08] Now, if this is your view, right? All right? Firstly, I want to say I'm so grateful for you in Christ. Right? We are brothers and sisters in the Lord. And I share your concerns, all right, about devaluing God-breathed words, the Bible, as God's full and final revelation.

[23:25] That's probably why you want to hold on to this view. And at the same time, we have just read 1 Corinthians 14, right? What have we seen? I think what we've seen is that New Testament prophecy is still active today.

[23:42] It's still available today. It's a speaking gift, yes, with clear boundaries and limits not to be abused. But let's eagerly desire it. That's what the Scriptures say.

[23:53] Eagerly desire it. As for the term sign gifts, actually, I think it's not quite a biblical category. You won't find that description in the Bible.

[24:03] Actually, the best description of spiritual gifts, categories, comes from 1 Peter 5, where he talks about speaking gifts and serving gifts. I think that's a more biblical way to kind of round up our understanding of categories of gifts.

[24:19] So earnestly desire prophecy as a spiritual gift because it edifies everyone. And Paul says, right, that it will edify the gathered church far more than tongues.

[24:34] Yes, we are entering the tongues topic. Just a very plain, uncontroversial topic. Now, who's heard arguments over this one? Yep, just nod.

[24:45] Yep. Who's felt hurt over this topic? Yep. We're going to set some ground rules here. Jesus is Lord. Amen? Amen. Okay.

[24:56] We are brothers and sisters in the Lord. Tongues are important secondarily. Among us at PCBC, we will share the Lord's table with people of different views on this topic.

[25:10] And let me sketch some of the feelings that you might have. For some of you here, and online perhaps, tongues, right? Technically, heglossa just means languages, tongues.

[25:23] Depends how you translate it. For some of you, though, this phrase, this word means talking to God in a heavenly language. Just between the two of you, your sweetest times of worship.

[25:36] These are moments where you have tasted the sweetness of Christ's love. The Spirit's fire of God's presence and nearness. Others of you, and this you've shared with me as well, for some of you, tongues has meant trauma.

[25:54] Perhaps it was a worship service where you had to walk away from it because it was just so bizarre to you. Or a spiritual retreat that flooded the atmosphere with guilt because you could not stammer or stutter like they did around you.

[26:15] Or for some of you, tongues is the issue that actually kept your parents up all night, arguing. At home, at church, on WhatsApp, wherever. Just shooting back and forth, all kinds of things and videos.

[26:29] Talking about the gifts of the Spirit and no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. That is what tongues is to you. What tongues should remind us of is Acts 2.

[26:44] The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Remember then how 120 men and women, they were gathered in a house, they were praying, one in purpose, together, and then God showed up.

[27:00] And what happened there? Someone you remind me. They hear a mighty rushing wind. They see tongues on fire on people's heads. And the Spirit Himself empowers them to speak in other known languages.

[27:15] And they kickstart God's mission. Spreading the good news of King Jesus to the world. And so that is the first thing that should come to mind for us.

[27:27] And look, you may be interested in this gift because you are longing for that kind of revival. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. But for Paul here, in 1 Corinthians 14, he brings up tongues because it's part of his conversation on how do we edify everyone.

[27:45] And so remember that as the context. And in this context, this is our second point. In church, we are to avoid untranslated tongues that don't edify everyone.

[27:57] I'll say that again. Paul says in verse 6 to 19, in church, we should avoid untranslated tongues that don't edify everyone.

[28:08] Okay? Have a look at the text again, right? Go look from verse 6 onwards. And you will see that Paul deliberately is actually devaluing the gift of tongues. In the gathered church context, remember.

[28:21] Not everywhere. Because he's saying, how can it benefit the church? Like prophecy, which everyone understands. Compared with prophecy, tongues without intelligible speech is as helpful as an out-of-tune flute.

[28:35] Or a broken horn of gondor. Tongues, right? If you look at verse 10 to 12, it's not going to build everyone up. Listen to verse 12 again.

[28:46] Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, excel in the ones that build up the church. The whole church. So look, whether your view is that tongues are an angelic or a human language, or both.

[29:01] All right? Verse 13 onwards, it reminds us the constructions for gathered church are very clear. If you speak with a tongue, pray for an interpretation.

[29:13] Brothers and sisters, we are as charismatic as the apostle Paul himself. When we say this, when everyone's here, we're going to make sure everyone understands what's going on. When everyone's here, we won't speak in untranslated tongues.

[29:27] We can sing multilingual languages, but we will make sure it's translated. Because otherwise it's all show and no tell, right? Otherwise, verse 17, you might be giving thanks well enough, but no one is edified.

[29:45] Do you see, friends? And look, if anyone should be allowed to set the ground rules for speaking in tongues, it's the apostle Paul. What does he say? Verse 18, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

[29:59] Yes. We know about the apostle Paul's life story. Okay? He was bilingual, trilingual, probably more. Okay? Grew up speaking Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, perhaps other languages.

[30:12] At church, he will hold back his gifts. At church, with everyone around, he's going to make sure everyone understands what's going on. That is love. Not self-seeking, patient and kind, right?

[30:28] That is love. Because five words everyone understands makes way more goodness and edification than five hours of babbling that no one can understand.

[30:41] Kids. Kids. Kids. If all you can say or sing are five words, I belong to the Lord, that is far more edifying to all of us, is it not?

[30:54] Then if I, someone who's studied ancient languages, can say, I'll translate that. I'm speaking into the air.

[31:05] And if Paul's main purpose of this chapter is how to edify everyone, remember, he's not trying to define tongues. He's just saying, how do we use it well?

[31:18] Then there are many, many ways we can apply this principle. Edify everyone. When we come to worship, edify everyone. When we meet in groups, edify everyone.

[31:29] When we, I don't know, start up a coffee ministry, edify everyone. This is why sometimes I do check in with worship leaders and maybe there's a song that's not clearly going to edify everyone and we'll talk about it.

[31:46] It's why when some of our kids were struggling with following along in the worship service, my wife had the brilliant idea of coming up with some worship packs, right?

[31:57] And now the adults are coloring in during the service. Edify everyone. I loved how one of our previous churches, we were in Sydney for three years, and in this church, we actually had an open mic for a time in the service, right?

[32:12] It was called Community News. And everyone knew every week, Community News is a time when you, you, anyone could come up and share something. A prayer, a prophecy, something that would benefit everyone.

[32:28] Praise God. Edify everyone. This is why sometimes when I worship lead, I'll actually tell the instruments, let's cut back. Not because they're not good at what they do, they're amazing.

[32:40] But we want everyone here to sing. And to hear everyone singing, that edifies everyone. And yes, I'm that annoying guy at members' meetings, right?

[32:53] That has to keep saying, translation please. I'm not being annoying. I just want us to be faithful to 1 Corinthians chapter 14.

[33:04] No untranslated tongues, please. And look, if we're going to be difficult and just keep persisting, and try and push forward and say, no, it's fine.

[33:16] We say what we say. Paul says that would be childish, right? Verse 20. Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. It's hard to admit sometimes that a 30-year-old church like ours, or a church full of smart, intelligent people could be childish, or a baby still.

[33:36] But if that's the way we go, yes, it would be. It's not me saying this. It's the Apostle Paul saying this. And so, our final point, he's saying, don't be childish with spiritual gifts.

[33:48] Instead, be mission-minded as we edify everyone. Let's keep the main thing the main thing. And towards the end, you notice he brings up an Old Testament quote, doesn't he?

[33:59] Here in verse 21, he's quoting Isaiah 28, 11 to 12. Isaiah is a prophet, an Old Testament prophet. And back then, he was talking about how there was judgment, not success, for the unfaithful leaders of the old government, Ephraim and Judah.

[34:17] He prophesied to them before the exile that because they were not repenting, Isaiah prophesied and said, one day your future, God's people would have a future where they would be surrounded by tongues they did not understand.

[34:33] And you know how that was fulfilled? Israel got cut off to Babylon. And all they could hear all day long was tongues. Why would we want to bring that experience then into the house of God today?

[34:50] And yet, that is the trap we fall into when we value the wrong kinds of spiritual gifts. Ones that don't build everyone up in church. That is what happens when we don't explain patiently, hi, welcome to English service.

[35:04] I'm William, one of the pastors here. That is why when we don't even speak openly and invite people into our groups, we are doing the same thing. We're bringing judgment. Bringing that feeling of judgment to each other.

[35:19] Alright? I know. Sometimes you guys talk in coded ways that can exclude people. A worship service. Time together that is full of unintelligible, untranslated words.

[35:32] It's judgment that it brings, not blessing. It can only lead to visitors who stay a while. Maybe they won't come back again.

[35:44] But, what if we edified everyone? And that was our heart. And imagine a newcomer walks in. And there's no egos in display.

[35:57] There's no divas trying to compete up front. There's no cliques or rivalries in the corners of our church. Just a family on mission. Just worshipping Jesus together.

[36:08] Trying to edify each other. Using our spiritual gifts for everyone's sake. Sharing songs and prayers and prophecy. Teaching, food, fellowship.

[36:19] Imagine that kind of church, right? You walk in. Everything's so clear. So convicting. That they say, PCBC. God is really among you.

[36:32] Wouldn't you want that, church? I know I would. And let me tell you. If you've been here for a long time. Or whether it's your first time listening. If you're not yet a believer.

[36:44] Thank you for being here. Please tell us if we are showy. Or rude. Or puffed up. And please listen. When the Lord convicts you.

[36:56] From his word. Of your heart and your sin. Convicts us of our lack of love. Please listen. When he reveals your inability to live up.

[37:09] Even to your own standards of yourself. And if you feel that weight. Of conviction. We would love to point you. Not to ourselves. Not to our gifts.

[37:21] But to Jesus Christ. We want to tell you how. He lives among us. We want to tell you. How he can live in your heart as well. If you confess your need for him.

[37:31] To heal and forgive you. And love you. That. Would edify everyone. Wouldn't it? And so let me end with this.

[37:42] Friends. We are a Baptist church. There are lots of. Different kinds of Baptist churches. But all Baptist churches. Believe and practice. What's called the priesthood of all believers.

[37:52] We are all. Empowered by God. To contribute. And use our gifts. And so can I say. It is. Our loss. If you will only hear.

[38:03] From your pastor every week. On the mic. It is our loss. If we do not. Create a culture. Where everyone. Edifies each other. It is our loss.

[38:15] If the mic. Is only open. For certain people. And not others. Friends. Let's build up the church. Let's convince. Outsiders. And help to disclose.

[38:27] The secrets of their heart. Through the word of God. A church like ours. Will always be. A work in progress. Right? We're cross-cultural. Cross-generational. But whether.

[38:39] You're in Corinth. In Kenya. Whether you're here. Everywhere. God's people gather together. And we are called. In Christ's love. To edify.

[38:50] Everyone. Because love shows patience. In a multilingual church. Love is kind. To others. Who are not. Native speakers.

[39:00] Love doesn't envy. Those of more. Or less gifts. Love doesn't brag. Or get puffed up. About how spiritual. They are.

[39:12] And in pursuit. Of this love. God says. Yes. Prefer prophecy. Over untranslated tongues. But most importantly. Let's edify.

[39:24] Everyone. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Lord.

[39:35] You know how difficult. Some of our lives have been. This past week. And so even now. We ask Lord. Would you work. In our hearts.

[39:46] To show compassion. And love. For our brothers and sisters. In this room. Online. Would you help us.

[39:56] To. Be shaped. And molded. By the love of Christ. So that whatever our gifts. We would use them. For your glory. Lord.

[40:08] As we reflect. On these two gifts. In particular. Help us not. To be quarrelsome. Help us not. To be divisive. Help us to. Speak with an open mind.

[40:21] Lord. Forgive me. For every unclear thought. That has been shared. But. Help us to trust you. The one who speaks. Love into our lives. Who speaks life.

[40:33] Into this church. The one who. Will continue. To speak to us today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.