“OUR PURPOSE: URGING EACH MEMBER TO SERVE THE LORD WITHIN THE CHURCH”
Ephesians 4:11-16
INTRODUCTION:
The story is told of a very large woman who attended a banquet and absolutely gorged herself on the buffet and afterwards felt very, very guilty. She said to her husband, "I shouldn’t of done that, I always eat too much, I look like a big elephant!" The husband tried to be kind and replied, "Oh, no honey, you’re not like an elephant, you’re like a mouse." "Really," she asked, knowing it wasn’t true but pushing the compliment, "You mean I’m like a little bitty house mouse right?" "Well, no," said the husband not being able to tell a bold face lie, "not like a little house mouse." "Well, then like a field mouse, that’s what you meant wasn’t it darling?" Now red faced the husband said, "Well, no, not exactly." "Then what a kind of mouse are you talking about then?" “Well, kind of like a hippopota-"mouse."
Unfortunately, many churches have a lot of "hippopota `mouse’" Christians. People are being fed continually.. coming Sunday after Sunday, going to classes, taking advantage of what the Church offers in terms of spiritual feeding, physical care and fellowship but they never exercise their gift in service. John MacArthur said it this way, “Why do we have so many “Couch-Potato Christians? Why do we have so many with the “consumer attitude,” “What’s in it for me? Because they have never grasped that the church was not established for them, but IS them!” You see, the Church of Jesus Christ was never meant to be a corporation, a service club or an organization. It was founded by Jesus Christ to be a living organism.. In fact, the main metaphor in the N.T. that describes the Church is “Body.” And just like in a human body, each member must be an active and effective part of the organism so it may be at the peak of its health. The same is true of the Church.. We are all to do works of service so as our text from Ephesians says, “..so the Body of Christ may be built up... and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of Christ.” But how do we help each other do that?
You know, more and more now as we approach the Christmas holidays, you’re going to hear one “Four-letter word” a lot. That’s the word "g-i-f-t". Gift giving, gift receiving, gift wrapping, gift lists, gift certificates. I want to talk to you this morning about another kind of gift.. Spiritual gifts. God is the giver and every believer has at least one gift to be used for the Church. That’s why our third practice statement says, “M.C.C. seeks to accomplish it’s purpose by: Urging each member to serve the Lord within the Church..by consistently affording opportunities for ministry and by guiding each member in the use of those abilities (gifts) for the building up of others.” We are to help you discover, develop and deploy your gift to the glory of God and the benefit of the church. This text from Ephesians gives us a design of how that is supposed to happen.
I. UNVEILING MY LEADER’S PURPOSE: vss: 11-15
The apostle Paul actually begins his discussion of this topic in the first of chapter four. He discusses the unity of the church, that we have seven “Ones”: “One body, One Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father over and through all an in all.” We are to be a unified people and to assist us in this unity Christ, in vss 7 & 8 gave to His church certain “gifts,”the NIV calls it grace. But the Greek word that Paul uses here actually means “a special endowment for service.” What are the gifts He has given to the Church? Leaders as seen in verse 11.. “It was He (Christ)..” Notice the leaders are given their place by Christ.. “..who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers..” The term “apostle” literally means “one-sent” but the Apostles referred to here, in the context of the church are the “founding fathers” of the church. The men chosen specifically by Christ who laid the foundation of the Church. In order to be an Apostle you had to comply with the qualifications given in Acts 1:21-22.. “be with the Lord Jesus from the time of His baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from the earth and a witness to His resurrection.” Eph. 2:20 tells us that the church was- “..built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone..” So the “prophets” mentioned here are also thought to be part of the original foundation. Inspired men and women who were used in the process of revelation.. Special “forth-tellers” of the message of God like Agabus in Acts 11 and Phillips daughters in Acts 21. Most scholars believe these first two leader positions were not replaces once the original apostles and prophets had died. Then Christ gave “evangelists” the announces of the good news of Christ like Timothy who was told by Paul to “do the work of an evangelist,” building on the foundation already laid and leading people to Christ. And “shepherds.” Here this word means to “care by protecting” the flock, especially lending itself to protecting the church from false doctrine and “teachers” instructors who expound and explain the Word of God. I believe that Paul is referring to those who have the specific responsibility of training the people of God. Now, I don’t believe this is meant to be an exhaustive list of functions or leaders in the Lord’s church. For example there is no specific mention of Elders or Deacons here. But the list is adequate to illustrate what Paul is saying, that Christ has given gifts to His church to help train us. And that’s seen in vs:12a.
The purpose of these particular leaders is clear. They are to “prepare” or “equip” God’s people. This is why we cannot be a “staff driven” church in the sense that we hire our minister’s to do all the work. We will not hire anyone on staff here to do what we should be sharing in. The staff’s main purpose is not to do it, but prepare or equip the members of the church. Now, does that mean we should never lift a hand in service? Of course not! I’ve seen some minister’s use this to just stand around and be “sanctified supervisors.” We should be serving in areas of our giftedness too. But this passage does give us a particular priority of purpose and that is to be “preparers” or “equippers.” Now, that’s different than a lot of churches operate. Instead of hiring “equippers” they take on “hirelings,” thinking, “We’ve now got a person to do this job.” That may be the way corporations or the world of business thinks, but it is not to be the way of the Body of Christ. We are to hire people to help us do the job of the church. By the way that is why in each of our job descriptions, we have a line before listing the areas of a minster’s responsibilities that says, “While the minister may not personally execute all the following items, he is responsible for their completion.” In other words, they are not to do everything but through training, instruction and delegation, see that the areas are covered. And If you come from a very small Church background or you have the mind-set that the preacher is to do all the work you may have to think differently. I cannot be your personal chaplain, I’m here to help nurture you to grow on your own. In a church this size with all that needs to be done I’ve found it increasingly difficult to keep my preparation time for sermons and lessons up where it needs to be, also handle the administration needs of the Church and the personal needs of individual members. That’s one of the reasons we have a multiple staff, why we are hiring a Music/Worship and a Membership Minister. But you need to remember that Barb, and Doug and anyone else we hire are also equippers, whose purpose it is to help you grow on your own.
And we know that is their task because the leaders are given their plan of action in vss:12-15. They are to prepare or equip the people for what? “works of service..” and
what is the purpose for every member of the congregation to use their gifts to serve? “..so that the Body of Christ may be built up..” How? When everyone is doing their part we are built up in unity, knowledge, becoming mature (vs:13).. we are less vulnerable to false teaching (vs:14), we are able to speak the truth in love and grow up in Christ (vs:15) and the whole Body is more effective (vs:16).
Now, that makes it incredibly important that the church help you find your spiritual gift and use it to the benefit of the Body. God has given each of you at least one special ability to use for His purpose. Romans 12:6 "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well." New English "The gifts we possess differ as they are allotted to us by God’s grace, and must be exercised accordingly." It is our responsibility as a church to help you unwrap your spiritual gift.
II UNWRAPPING MY SPIRITUAL GIFT:
Why is it important to know my spiritual gift? Because God gave me one, if I’m a Christian. Why is it important to know. Three reasons:
(1) My gifts show God’s plan for my life. 1 Cor. 12:4-6- “There are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works in all of them." A gift in this sense are “God-given Believer capabilities.” They are different than natural talents in that they are given to you by God at the time you came into a saving relationship with Jesus. Now, there are a number of gifts listed in Scripture. We do not have, in our time allotted to go through each list but let me break them down into two major distinctions. In 1 Cor. 12:8-12 are listed the supernatural gifts. These are gifts that enable people to have miraculous powers, speak in known languages that are unknown to the speaker, the ability to heal, etc. Certainly not everyone had or has these and I believe, for the most part that these gifts ended in the first century. (That’s a whole ‘nother time of teaching). Then there are the gifts that everyone receives that are listed in Romans 12:6-8 that we call the service gifts. They can be broken down into seven basic categories... the gift of prophesying or preaching, the gift of serving, doing the many behind the scenes tasks that are so needed, the gift of teaching, the gift of exhortation, which is called “encouraging” in the NIV and has to do with shepherding,. the gift of contributing to the needs of others or giving, the gift of leadership or administration and the gift of mercy showing. Your spiritual gifts determine how God wants you to serve Him. once you understand what your spiritual gift is, it helps answer a lot of questions, like "What’s God’s will for my life?", "What should be my ministry?", "Where should I focus my energies?" Every Christian is called to serve the cause of Christ, but your spiritual gift shows how you particularly are to serve Him. If you’re gifted in organizing then God wants you to be an organizer. If you’re gifted in teaching then you need to be a teacher. If you’re gifted in reaching non Christians you ought to be an evangelist. Whatever you’re gifted in determines how you’re to use your life for God. In fact, the best way to discover how God wants to use you is by discovering your S.H.A.P.E. I’ll put another plug in for New Vistas because that is what N.V. 300 is all about and learning your Spiritual gift is just the “S” in Shape. There is also looking at your Heart’s desires, your natural Abilities, your Personality type and your life Experiences. All to help you find your SHAPE for ministry... how you fit in this particular church. We spend an entire afternoon on that which we can’t do here but it’s all meant to prepare you for “works of service.”
Now, notice that there are different gifts. In fact 1 Cor. 12:4-6 uses the word different three times in those three verses. You see, we need all of these gifts for the church to operate effectively. If all of us are gifted in administration we will have great organization and coordination but overlook people’s needs. On the other hand if all of us have the gift of mercy giving, we’ll be extremely compassionate but won’t know how to go about getting it done effectively. That’s why Paul says in 1 Cor. 12- “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and although all its parts are many, they form one body.. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many..” Maybe it would help to use an illustration. Imagine you are at a dinner party; elegant silverware, warm company, great food. At the end the hostess brings out a plate of dessert and stumbles dropping the dessert on the floor. Here’s how each person might respond according to their giftedness: Mercy: "Don’t feel bad, I should of offered to help." Proclaimer of Truth (Prophecy/Preacher): "That’s what happens when you’re not careful!"Serving: "Here, Let me help you clean it up!" Teaching: "The reason the plate fell was because you had all these loaded to one side." Encourager: "You know, that could happen to anybody. You’ll do better next time.” Giving: "Don’t worry about this, let’s go to DQ and I’ll buy dessert." Administration: "Okay, folks let’s get this cleaned up.. Jim, would you get the mop? Sue, pick it up. Mary, help me fix another dessert." You see, our differences = unity! That’s the way it is supposed to work in the church. And my gift shows God’s plan in my life. He knew from the beginning how He wanted to use me.
(2) My gifts show my worth in God’s sight. 1 Corinthians 12:27 "All of you form the one body of Christ and each one is a separate and necessary part of it." Circle "necessary". You’re needed. You’re important. There are no little people. All the gifts are needed. You are just as important in the body of Christ as I am. Every gift is needed. My gift is the power God gives me to bless others in a certain way. God gives you a spiritual gift to bless others too. If you don’t use our giftedness, others get cheated. If I don’t use my gift, you get cheated. If you don’t use your gift, I get cheated and so does everybody else. God designed you to make a unique contribution. You’re not gifted by accident. Without your gift we would not be complete. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with one part missing. It shows that you’re worthy, that you’re valuable, you’re needed in the body of Christ. If you’re a Christian, you’re needed. And you know what happens when you discover and use your gift? Not only is the Body helped but you find fulfillment. When you use the spiritual gift that God has given you you’re not only productive, because God’s gifted you to do something, but you also enjoy it.
The word for gift and the word for joy comes from the same Greek word. You find real joy by being what God meant you to be, by taking the gift He’s given you, unwrapping it and start using it. The Bible teaches us that spiritual gifts, although they are meant to help each other also give us a tremendous personal satisfaction. The thrill of being used by God is the greatest feeling and thrill you can experience in life. Some of you can’t comprehend that. If you’ve never experienced what it means to feel used by God, using your gifts, you’re missing out on so much.
So, if the church is made more effective when I use my gift, if I’m missing out on something good by not using it, then the natural question is: What does God want me to do with my gifts? Three things as we draw to a close this morning.
(1) He wants you to discover it. 1 Cor. 14:1 "Eagerly desire spiritual gifts." Circle "desire". One of the marks of a Christian is that you have a desire to know your spiritual gift. In fact, Rick Warren says: “If you have no desire at all to know your spiritual gift, develop it and use it, you ought to doubt whether you’re a true follower of Christ or not.” I agree with him. One of the marks of a genuine follower of Christ is they have a desire to serve God and that begins by understanding how God wants them to serve Him. And the good news is, God wants you to know it. I Cor. 12:1-"I don’t want you to be ignorant of gifts. I want you to know them." He wants you to know them more than you do because He wants you to use it.
So, maybe you’re asking, “Okay, preacher how do I go about that? How do I discover my spiritual gifts?” Two ways. By examining and by experimenting. That’s why we recommend N.V. 300. This class will use several different tools to help you examine how and where you should be used in the church. Notice our practice statement says that we want to “guide you in the use of the abilities God has given you.” That’s what this is about. My vision for this part of our equipping the church is to one day have “Spiritual Gift Counselors” that will further help you find and use your gift as well as helping those who had thought they had found what they were to do but now are disillusioned or burned out.
The second way and that is by experimenting with different kinds of ministries and service. Montrose Christian Church has all kinds of areas that need your help. What interests you? Get in there and try different ministries and one of them will feel like your niche, what God’s gifted you to do, what you’re good at. We want you to find the area that is fulfilling and fills your self worth and you find enjoyment and it impacts the church. We want you to find what God wants you to do.
(2) You need to do is develop it once you’ve discovered it. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:14 "Don’t neglect the spiritual gift that is in you." Circle "neglect". Some of you already know what you’re good at. You know how God’s gifted you. But you’re not using it for the Lord. You’re neglecting your spiritual gift. Why? I don’t know. But I do know this.. Satan will do everything he can to keep you from discovering and developing your spiritual gift. He’ll try to get you involved in all kinds of other good things to keep you from the best so you don’t know that thrill of being used by God. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Tim 1:6- "Fan into flame the gift God gave you." Keep it alive, strengthen it, deepen it, increase it, cultivate it. Don’t get discouraged. It takes time to develop your gift. It takes commitment. Just because you find and use you’re gift doesn’t mean it’s easy. I believe God has gifted me to communicate but it’s not easy preparing week after week. You may be gifted in showing mercy for people who are hurting but that’s not easy. You may be gifted to organize events but that doesn’t mean it’s a breeze to do it. It takes effort so don’t give up. Develop it.
(3) Obviously, the third thing God wants you to do is deploy it. Use your gift. 1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others, faithfully managing God’s grace in its various forms." Circle "use". Isn’t that what Eph. 4:12 is all about? The LB paraphrases that this way: "Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It’s so God’s people will be equipped to do better work for Him, building up the church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity." But that won’t happen unless we make a commitment to use our gifts. In fact the opposite will occur. The church will be hurt. Eph. 4:16- the church “..grows and builds itself up in love as?? Each part does it’s work.”
So we urge you to do that.. So that the Body is built up and so that you can give a good answer to God when He asks you how you used what He gave you. In Mat. 25 there’s an important story called the Parable of the Talents. Jesus’ bottom line for that story was this, "One day you’re going to stand before God and the ultimate question is going to be, What did you do with what I gave you?’" That’s the purpose of that story, "What did you do with what I gave you?" Folks this is serious business. One day there’s going to be a final exam. My heart’s desire, as your preacher, is for you to be able to pass that with flying colors. Beloved, God has made an investment in you and it is a sin to waste it. There are a lot of people out there who fear death. If you’re a believer you’re going to heaven so instead of fearing death, you ought to fear a wasted life. God has shaped you for significance. What are you going to do about it? 1 Cor. 4:2- "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
