It's Time For Ministry!

Time For Ministry

(Turn to Ephesians 4:11,12)

I. Call To Ministry (Introduction)...

How many in here this morning knows that God

has called you to the ministry?

If God has called you to salvation he’s called you

into ministry. Amen?

He may not have called you to preach or teach or

prophesy but He has called you to do your part as

Christian. Amen?

And your part is to be effectively building up the

Church and furthering the Kingdom of God with

every gift,

Every talent and every thing else that the Lord

has given you. Amen?

We’ve got too many people in the Church today

that think saving souls is strictly for the Pastor or

Evangelist.

Well I got news for you...Sheep begat sheep!

Have you ever seen a shepherd giving birth to a

lamb?

No! And you won’t either. Amen?

The flock grows in number when the sheep

reproduce.

And the sheep reproduce when we do the work of

the ministry that God has called us to,

And we start sewing the seed of faith into every

soul that we meet. Amen?

God’s commissioned each and everyone of us to

do our part in evangelizing the world. Amen?

Even if that just means evangelizing our little

corner of the world.

But too many of us don’t feel the need to do the

work of an evangelist!

We don’t think that we need to be exhorters of the

Gospel,

But that’s exactly what His word says for us to be.

Amen?

He said

Go...Preach...Exhort...Evangelize...Baptize!

Amen?

And we want to pawn it off on someone else!

How many knows that that’s not God’s plan for

your life?

He picked you up from out of the muck and mire

and cleaned you up for a purpose!

So He could use you! Amen?

**********

II. The Five-Fold Ministry...

Read

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some,

prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,

pastors and teachers;

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the

work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body

of Christ:

How many in here this morning has ever heard

the term "five-fold ministry"?

And How many really knows what that term

means?

It refers to the five offices laid out in our text this

morning. Amen?

It refers to those who’ve been called to fill one of

those offices that God has established in the

Church. Amen?

And how many knows that if God establishes

something He does it for a reason.

Unlike some of us, He doesn’t go around just

doing things cause it makes Him feel good,

Or Just cause He wants to. Amen?

God always has a purpose for his creation.

And God has placed the five fold ministry in the

church for a very specific purpose.

Verse 12 says that it’s for the:

1) For the perfecting of the saints.

2) For the work of the ministry.

3) For the edifying ( building up ) of the church -

both locally, & globally.

That sounds like alot of work. Amen?

It seems like every one of these ministers is going

to have their hands full. Amen?

And how many knows that that’s true?

God has called us to be bondservants for Jesus

Christ and He didn’t say it would be easy.

He said it would be worth it!

But too many of us point at this scripture and say

look,

The perfecting of the saints, and the work of the

ministry, and the building up of the Church,

Is the Pastors job or the Evangelists job, etc.

But as I studied and prayed over this text last

night God began to reveal something to me.

1.We are to perfect the saints,

2. So that the saints can do the work of the

ministry right along with us,

3. And ultimately through our efforts together the

Church is edified and built up both globally and

locally. Amen?

He said when the saints are perfected,

And begin to minister effectively,

by the way they live their lives,

By the way they praise God,

And by the way they share the Gospel

the church will be built up! Amen?

III. The Perfecting of the Saints...

The Greek word that was translated perfect

literally means, ’to mend, or repair.

And it doesn’t mean to mend or repair just

anything.

It’s actually a medical term used to describe the

repairing of a broken bone.

And how many knows what the bone is in the

body?

It’s the structure!

So the five fold ministry is to repair the structure

of the Body of Christ.

Put everything in it’s place in the ministry.

Not to have to do the ministry all by ourselves but

to bring some type of structure or organization

into the ministry.

And that word implies that it’s done by: