Morning Sermon for 8/23/2009
Ephesians 4:11-12
Introduction:
A child once said: “The preacher is paid to be good. The rest of us, we’re good for nothing!”
WBTU:
A. Vs. 11- Church leaders are one of Christ’s gifts to the church.
1. Apostles- These do not exist today. An apostle was an eyewitness to the physical ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus personally equipped these people to set up the church. It has been set up. (Eph 2:20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
2. Prophets- I believe that the position of prophet is also not for today. Now we have many who are prophets in the sense that they forth tell the Word of God like the prophets of old. The main mission of a prophet was to be the mouthpiece for God (while they were forth telling the Holy Spirit gave them foretelling as well)
3. Evangelist- Not every Christian has the gift of evangelism, but all Christians share the role of witnessing. All Christians, regardless of their individual gifts, have their God-given places in the evangelism of the church. The Biblical position of Evangelist is more like a church planter today or the preacher.
4. Pastor/ Teacher- These are shepherds of the flock (of the church). They smell like sheep. They nourish, protect, and care for the church (the believers). Now there are some who carry the title “Elder” and there are some who shepherd the flock who do not have that title. No matter the trappings of titles or positions, there are some who by God’s grace naturally shepherd the flock. There are more than one in every local church whether they have that title or not.
B. (Acts 20:28 NIV) Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
C. Here we have 3 with the title of elder: Robert, Russell and Paul. However, I know that we have many more that are really gifted in this area.
D. Vs. 12- What purpose do they have? The main purpose of the leaders is to teach the word of God? The main purpose of the leaders is to make sure the church is unified? The main purpose of the leaders is to oversee the programs of the church?
G. No, Paul doesn’t say anything about these.
H. To Prepare God’s people for works of service.
I. Aim of these leaders is to equip God’s people for service.
J. Perfecting, preparing, equipping= the idea of preparing someone for a job or rendering someone functional. Task of leaders is not to do the work of the kingdom on behalf of other Christians; it is to equip other Christians to do the work of the kingdom.
K. Leadership should usher Christians into the heart of the church, make them feel at home, and see how they can use their gifts and abilities for the good of the church.
Q. Why isn’t more equipping going on? Two problems:
1. The leadership.
a. They think they are the ministry.
b. A lot of times it is the preacher.
c. John Mills- Of course the one who preaches is the main actor. The implication is that no one else can do anything worthwhile. The preacher is the main doer! This picture of the church has a built in system for laziness. If the church grows, it is to his glory. If it does not grow, then of course we need a new preacher.
d. The leadership takes all the ministries. They are the focal point of the ministry.
e. A pyramid with the leadership at the top of the hill. This type of organizational system says silently to the rest of the congregation who are not in an official position. “They are to do as they are told and pay the bills for what we plan.”
2. The congregation.
a. The congregation has no sense that everyone is to minister.
b. We are the laity and the clergy is to do all the work. No distinction of clergy and laity in the Bible. Everyone is equal in the church. You are ordained (Ephesians 2:10)
c. Leonard Griffith says that the church resembles a theatre and an audience made up of critical spectators who believe that they have performed something good by their mere presence at worship. Instead of church attendance as the only important thing, Sunday worship should be seen as the beginning of the Christian’s ministry. A community of Christians will come together on the Lord’s Day, and one of their number, because he has been trained and set apart to interpret the Word of God, will brief his fellow workers and help them to begin a new week in their ministries.
R. How do we overcome these problems, these misunderstandings, these obstacles?
Thesis: This morning I want to challenge all of us with one way to overcome all of this, one way to think about all of this differently.
For instances:
I. Our focus needs to be on Jesus.
A. (Heb 12:2 NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
B. Jesus was a great equipper of people. How did he do it?
C. Usually when the leader dies or leaves, the movement dies out, but the opposite happened with Jesus.
II. How Jesus did it?
A. Jesus had several levels of relationships. He organized them into narrowing circles.
1. Jesus fed and preached to thousands.
2. Jesus worked with hundreds- 120 in Acts 1:15
3. Jesus sent out 72 for a special mission.
4. Jesus zeroed in on only 12 men. This group became his constant companions for 3 years. They did almost everything together. Mark 3:14 says that they were with him.
5. An even tighter circle in Jesus’ relationships was his relationship with 3 of those 12. Jesus had special friends- Peter, James and John.
6. Good equippers do it like Jesus did it: recruit 12, graduate 11, and focus on 3.
B. We see that the relationships in the tighter circles made the greatest impact. Jesus’ equipping ministry flowed through natural human relationships. Human beings can manage only a limited number of close relationships. And Jesus was fully human. Not even Jesus was capable of an unlimited number of intimate relationships. Jesus humanity demanded that he limit the number of intimate relationships to a realistic level.
C. Of course, to expect today’s church leaders to cut loose and travel full time for 3 years with a handful of people would be unrealistic. But today’s church leaders can adopt Jesus’ relational style of equipping. We cannot spend lots of quality time with everyone. However, we can spend lots of quality time with some.
E. Jesus said early in his ministry, (John 4:34 NIV) “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. We find near the end of Jesus’ ministry, he said in a prayer, (John 17:4 NIV) I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. This cannot be talking about his salvation work, it was in the future.
F. Jesus is referring to his work with the disciples. He mentions a lot about his disciples in his prayer in John 17. He explains toward the end of his prayer, (John 17:18 NIV) As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. Still some parting instructions before he went to heaven, but the long time of equipping was nearing an end. They were being sent out without Jesus.
G. Acts shows us the results of Jesus’ equipping. Even the apostle Paul followed this example by taking “interns” with him wherever he went. Paul told Timothy- (2 Tim 2:2 NIV) And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
H. Jesus’ style is not hard to understand, but it can be difficult to put into practice.
III. Identify some relationships where we can equip.
A. Our families
1. Jesus did not have children in the physical sense, but many of us do.
2. We spend a lot of time with our children, grandchildren and cousins, etc.
3. Jesus spent over 3 years with 12 men; we do something similar with our families.
4. (Psa 127:4) Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.
5. My grandfather Hose.
B. Our friends
1. (John 11:5 NIV) Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
2. People that we just seem to have a lot in common with. (1 Sam 18:1 NIV) After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
3. Try to deepen those relationships and share what is most important.
C. Our work associates
1. Spend a lot of time at work. Try to deepen those relationships.
2. While at Wal-Mart. “This is how a preacher unloads a truck.”
Conclusion and invitation:
A. They will be just like me. Good and bad.
B. Must be a Godly person. First step is to surrender to Jesus.
C. We cannot share what we do not have.
