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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

The Unused Gift

So that song said, you know, we have this hope, but we live as we don't.

And I wanna talk today about the unused gift, the unused gift.

You know, in America, Americans are expected, according to the statistic I read just the other day, to drop almost $8.3 billion on gifts this year that no 1 wants.

Man, I wish our development director here at WeMarket would get in touch with these people.

43% of them just keep the gifts and act like they like them but they never use them.

So that's over 50%, $4 billion of complete, utter waste.

How many of you today, right now, want to say, if I get something I don't want, I'm going to take it back and give the money to Weimar.

Maybe preemptively just give something now, but 4000000000 dollars of unused gifts.

And then I just thought, could we at this time of year, as we're remembering the greatest gift ever given, And all the gifts he brings, be guilty of doing the same thing, not using the gift that we've been given.

Father in heaven, as we think about this important subject today, send your Spirit to us and then through us, in Christ's name, Amen.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15 where we had our scripture reading today, and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I want to have us read and discover the ultimate gift Christ is able to deliver to all humanity as a result of the incarnation.

So let's see if we can identify it and understand it, and then we'll think for a moment about whether people are actually utilizing the gift if they're enthused about it, and 3, what we can do to move forward if we're not in the level of appreciation we need to be.

So first of all, let's start there in chapter 15 and verse 57.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's more important than the World Cup, right?

Look at this victory that's being summarized.

Look at the gifts that are being summarized by this.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption.

If you could give a gift where corruption could put on incorruption, How many think that that would be the gift you would give?

Were this mortal put on immortality, how many today would wish there's someone here that you lost that would come back.

And if you could be involved in that, you would.

Verse 54, so when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

That's actually leading up to this gift we read about.

Oh Hades or grave, where is your victory?

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So what is the real victory being talked about here?

Do you see the cascade that will help us understand?

Victory over corruption, victory over mortality, victory over death, victory over the grave, victory over that which causes death that is sin, victory over lawlessness.

So at the core, the victory over sin is the gift that we receive because Christ came to this world.

It's something he gives, he offers, and actually in that word gift, in the nuance of the language, it actually has included in the word power.

It's promised through or as a result of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, the Master Jesus who saves us from our sins.

Christ, the anointed 1 who offers anointing to us.

Secondly, let's think for a moment Whether or not people are actually enthused about this gift.

Are they enthused about it or is it laying on the shelves?

Are people allowing God to write his law in their hearts and minds?

Recently when I was writing a little book on the subject of the law, they did a percentage of people in America who actually, they actually believe in the law of God.

And of course, if you love me, keep my commandments, the actually summary of God's gift is to understand his law as it relates to sin and victory over sin would be having God's law written in our hearts and minds, which we're going to hear about in a moment in another song from Mark, beautiful song.

I didn't realize you wrote that song until you sang it last night.

But actually, this is going to put that in detail because when they surveyed Americans and also they've done the same survey in the United Kingdom, and also the same survey in Scandinavia, 91% of our culture, of these cultures, they do not like to be murdered.

You can feel comfortable talking about that commandment to anybody.

By the way, the culture hates lying actually more than Christians.

It's interesting in some of these things that Christians are actually seen in a Pew research report as being largely not different from the culture at all concerning the law of God.

81%, 0.5, I thought this was high, but it's what it is, are against adultery.

77% think you should honor your father and your mother.

6 of the 10 Commandments, you have free reign to talk about them.

7 out of 10 people you talk to are going to be good with what you're saying.

You should be doing a little more witnessing, amen?

Now here's where it kind of comes down a little bit.

Second commandment, only 59% believe that you should not worship idols.

And the last commandment in terms of appreciation, which is why it's the testing truth, is the Sabbath commandment.

Only 47% of people in the culture think that's important.

And actually, that's a bit higher than people in churches.

So, number 1, we've been given this gift of victory over sin, death, corruption, immortality, right?

It's all related to the disease of sin and we've been given the victory over it.

We have this hope, right, in victory in Jesus and yet most people are not that interested in it.

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The Unused Gift

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