Over the years, I’ve known Christians who, because they didn’t have public ministries, believed that they were, somehow, second tier to those who did. They were not preaching. They were not teaching Sunday school. They didn’t lead the choir. They served on committees. They were not unhappy. They just felt that what they were doing was less important than those who had more visible roles.
And it seems that some Christians believe that God sees them this way. And that saddens me. They don’t seem to know or understand that God has given all of us the same assignment to fulfill. It’s the same assignment that He gave to Jesus – to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
I do understand that when a person is called to the fivefold ministry – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher – it can seem like that person has a more important role in the body of Christ. But that is simply not true. The role of these ministries is laid out in Ephesians 4.
(12) For (the purpose being) the perfecting (maturing) of the saints (through sound doctrinal teaching), for (so that they will be able to carry out) the work of the ministry, for (with the purpose being) the edifying (building up and increasing) of the body of Christ:
(13) Till (with the goal being) we all come in the unity (being one and the same) of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (complete) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (until we measure up to Christ, who is our standard):
(14) That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
(15) But (And how is this accomplished?) speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-15)
What we see in these verses are ministry callings that have one purpose: to help the body of Christ fulfill its assignment to seek and save that which was lost. And they are to do this by teaching sound doctrine to help us grow and mature spiritually so that when we stand before the mirror, we see Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). That’s the role of the fivefold ministry in fulfilling this assignment. And every single person in the body of Christ has the same assignment.
Understanding this starts with knowing that God has equipped us to fulfill this assignment.
Turn to Romans 12:3.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think: but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
I want to focus on the last part of the verse – “according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
I remember the first time I engaged a tailor to buy a suit. He asked me to stand upright and stretch my arms out sideways. Then he asked me to hold the tip of the measuring tape with the thumb and index finger of my right hand. He stretched the tape across my back until he got to the index finger of my left hand. Next, he measured my chest and waist and then my hips. He finished by getting on his knees and measuring my legs from my hips to my ankles, first on the outside and then on the inside.
The tailor measured me for a suit that would only fit me and no one else. This is what the word measure communicates in the Greek. Think of it this way: the moment we become part of His family, God personally measures us – outfits us – with all the faith we will need in order to fulfill our callings and assignments.
This reminds me of what took place in Genesis 1. When God was putting creation together, the Bible records repeatedly “And God said.” He simply spoke and things happened. But all of that changed with Adam and Eve. Turn to Genesis 1. We’re going to read verse 26.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Now turn to Genesis 2. We’re going to begin with verse 21.
(21) And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
(22) And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto man. (Genesis
Just like His personal touch with Adam and Eve, God has personally measured us for the faith we will need to complete our assignment. God is our Father and He gets personally involved with His children. ?
Okay, now I’m reminded of another passage that identifies how tenderly and lovingly God has made each one of us. Turn with me to Ephesians 2. We’re going to read verses 8 through 10.
(8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto (for the purpose of our being able to do) good works (which can only be done by a person who is born again), which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The word workmanship presents the exact same image that we see in Genesis 1:31.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And
the evening and the morning was the sixth day.
We are God’s workmanship, His handiwork. When He was finished with us, we were very good! He would be able to use us to seek and save that which was lost. Now we know that the handiwork is only as good as the one whose hands are doing the work. Now if we are God’s handiwork, is there anyone who can come behind Him and improve on what He has done? I think not! Now listen to me, we are the reason for God’s original creation and what we see today. He did it for us!
Now that we know how truly special we are ...
We must understand that without us co-laboring with the men and women who have public ministries, the body of Christ will be unable to fulfill its assignment of seeking and saving that which was lost. And that brings me back to how God has given each of us the measure of faith to make this happen.
That measure of faith — It’s inside of us waiting to be accessed.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is possible for us to fulfill the assignments God has given to us without us ever stepping into the pulpit. You see, fulfilling our assignment hinges on one thing: intimate fellowship with our Father, which means we are spending time with Him and receiving instructions from Him on how He wants it done. How visible we are or how well known we are is secondary.
Do you remember the record about the seventy that Jesus sent out on assignment? Turn to Luke 10 and let’s look at verse 1.
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
Notice the chapter begins with “After these things.” We’ll come back to this later. Jesus gave 70 men assignments and the instructions they would need to carry them out. There was nothing particularly special about these men. We don’t even know their names. They were every day believers like most of us. But, boy did “these no names” do damage to Satan’s kingdom. Look at verse 17.
(17) And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
(18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
(19) Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power (abilities) of the enemy: and nothing (absolutely nothing!) shall by any means hurt you.
(20) Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you: but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
The 70 unnamed believers not only cast out devils, they also preached the gospel of the kingdom and healed the sick. That was their assignment. The instructions for completing their assignment are found in verses 3-11. They took their assignment and instructions and faithfully carried them out and rocked Satan’s world! Seventy unnamed believers.
Earlier I called your attention to “After these things” (Luke 10:1). It’s significant because of what we see in Luke 9. We’re going to read verses 1 and 2..
(1) Then he (Jesus) called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
(2) And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
The assignment that Jesus had given to the 12 disciples was the same assignment He gave to the 70. And do you know what jumped out to me? The instructions for the 12 were similar to those given to the 70 (verses 3-5)!
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus wants us to understand His heart. Those who have public ministries and those who don’t have public ministries – both have one overarching assignment – to seek and save that which was lost.
The men and women who have public roles and are in lock-step with the mind of Christ, will keep the body of Christ laser focused on this assignment. Can you say revival? And those who have less visible roles and are in lock-step with mind of Christ, will understand that what matters most to our Father is that our hearts are beating with His heart for those who are lost.
Nothing else will matter to us.
We’re going to close with two verses.
Luke 15:7 says “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine persons, which need no repentance.”
And finally, Luke 15:10. “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
Go after the one. Then go after the next one and the next one. Seeking and saving that which was lost – that’s our assignment! And God has measured each one of us with the faith we need to fulfill that assignment! Praise God!
