Eph. 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Eph. 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Eph. 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Eph. 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Eph. 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Eph. 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Let me start by saying, there is no such thing as a spiritual gift that is too small. There is no such thing as a Christian who is not needed…needed to take their spiritual gift and share it with the local church, with the intent of working together alongside the leadership to build up the body of Christ.
Now you may think your church doesn’t need you, that’s a lie from the enemy who seeks to rob you of your joy from serving God. Satan loves to rob the local church as well, of the vital part you uniquely were created by God to bring to the body. Let me say it again, there is no gift to small. You may be a small tendon that goes unseen, however if you were the small ACL ligament in a leg and were missing, you would walk with a limp and be in severe pain. How much would the body suffer if such a small part were not being used properly?
When you are ready to serve God, let someone who is in leadership (preferably a pastor) know your desire, be sure to tell them what you would like to do. If you don’t know, take a spiritual gift test, ask others for advice on where they see you serving and by all means pray about where God wants you to serve, listening for His direction.
If you get frustrated, let your pastor know first “speaking the truth in love” and never be afraid to go back to a pastor until you find resolve. Some pastors can be real slow at listening…I speak from recent personal experience. Remember going direct to the source when frustrated is Godly, speaking horizontally to others can build even more frustration in the body and create great dissention. Speaking of frustration, God has taught me how easy it is to frustrate others by trying to do everything by myself. If I don’t value the contributions others bring, if I don’t value and utilize others service, wisdom, knowledge, etc., IE., their unique spiritual gifts, I can be the source of much frustration. Empowering others to work together in the body is a pastor’s job!
Pastor/teachers are responsible for equipping the saints for the work of ministry. The word “equipping” in Greek means to reset a broken bone and it also means to recognize something as already good. In other words, some believers need help in using their gift, sometimes even need time off to heal, allowing others to serve them…while others are good to go, ready to serve, ready to build. Keep in mind…even those who are broken, can use their gift as a means to recovery while in the process of healing. Each person, each part is different and essential to the health of building a strong body. It is only when all Christians, when all parts are working TOGETHER that there is UNITY within the body.
As I, along with all our pastors stay committed to serving the members of SDBC, let me encourage you to step up and serve too, God will bless you for your service and remember the local church is only as strong as it’s weakest link!
Please…Please…Please…take an opportunity to go online and listen to my sermon from January 29th entitled “Building up the body”.
Remember, pastors are not given to the church to tell the flock what they want to hear, rather we are to teach them what one day they will be so thankful they heard, as each of us will stand before King Jesus giving our own account.
Rom. 14:12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
I love each of you in our Lord Jesus,
Pastor Steve
Eph. 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Eph. 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Eph. 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Eph. 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Eph. 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Let me start by saying, there is no such thing as a spiritual gift that is too small. There is no such thing as a Christian who is not needed…needed to take their spiritual gift and share it with the local church, with the intent of working together alongside the leadership to build up the body of Christ.
Now you may think your church doesn’t need you, that’s a lie from the enemy who seeks to rob you of your joy from serving God. Satan loves to rob the local church as well, of the vital part you uniquely were created by God to bring to the body. Let me say it again, there is no gift to small. You may be a small tendon that goes unseen, however if you were the small ACL ligament in a leg and were missing, you would walk with a limp and be in severe pain. How much would the body suffer if such a small part were not being used properly?
When you are ready to serve God, let someone who is in leadership (preferably a pastor) know your desire, be sure to tell them what you would like to do. If you don’t know, take a spiritual gift test, ask others for advice on where they see you serving and by all means pray about where God wants you to serve, listening for His direction.
If you get frustrated, let your pastor know first “speaking the truth in love” and never be afraid to go back to a pastor until you find resolve. Some pastors can be real slow at listening…I speak from recent personal experience. Remember going direct to the source when frustrated is Godly, speaking horizontally to others can build even more frustration in the body and create great dissention. Speaking of frustration, God has taught me how easy it is to frustrate others by trying to do everything by myself. If I don’t value the contributions others bring, if I don’t value and utilize others service, wisdom, knowledge, etc., IE., their unique spiritual gifts, I can be the source of much frustration. Empowering others to work together in the body is a pastor’s job!
Pastor/teachers are responsible for equipping the saints for the work of ministry. The word “equipping” in Greek means to reset a broken bone and it also means to recognize something as already good. In other words, some believers need help in using their gift, sometimes even need time off to heal, allowing others to serve them…while others are good to go, ready to serve, ready to build. Keep in mind…even those who are broken, can use their gift as a means to recovery while in the process of healing. Each person, each part is different and essential to the health of building a strong body. It is only when all Christians, when all parts are working TOGETHER that there is UNITY within the body.
As I, along with all our pastors stay committed to serving the members of SDBC, let me encourage you to step up and serve too, God will bless you for your service and remember the local church is only as strong as it’s weakest link!
Please…Please…Please…take an opportunity to go online and listen to my sermon from January 29th entitled “Building up the body”.
Remember, pastors are not given to the church to tell the flock what they want to hear, rather we are to teach them what one day they will be so thankful they heard, as each of us will stand before King Jesus giving our own account.
Rom. 14:12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
I love each of you in our Lord Jesus,
Pastor Steve
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