The Gifts of His Servants

First, let me thank the ladies for doing that little part that goes along.

! How many of you like that? I just absolutely love it.

! I mean, I get cold chills on a lot of different things.

That's one of them. It's just like, wow!

That's a blessing.

Open your Bibles this morning to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11.

Ephesians 4:11

Let me read the passage, and then you join me in prayer.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.

Father God, this morning as we take your word and we hold it in our hands and we put our eyes upon this text,

we're reminded of what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2,

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

that we need the enabling of the Spirit of God to understand these truths,

to revel in them,

to rejoice in your goodness,

in the wisdom and plan that you ordained,

not only in saving us, but in putting us together into a body

that we,

as a body under the headship of Christ,

should bring glory to the Son.

and we're thankful that not only did you put that plan in place,

but Lord, you also have chosen to reveal it to us in your word

that we, your children,

being well informed by the Scriptures and enabled by the Spirit,

may know the joy

that comes with being part of your body

and part of your plan,

actively engaged for your glory

and looking forward to every opportunity

where the name and testimony of Christ

might be lifted up.

Father, we ask that as we study the Scriptures this morning,

that you would be pleased with the attention of our heart

and then the outcome of we,

who are your children growing in grace,

and those who are here that do not know Christ,

we ask, Lord, that they would be drawn to the cross.

And that's our prayer together.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Let me begin by giving you a little bit of an overview this morning

of what our text is going to address.

We find that Ephesians chapter 4 is an extended passage.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Actually, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1 through 16

Ephesians 4:1–16

is an extended passage in which the apostle wants us to understand

how important unity is in the body of Christ.

You'll remember that Ephesians chapter 1 through 3

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

explains what Christ has done in saving us

and then Ephesians chapter 4 through 6 explain what we are to do

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

as a result of our salvation.

He saves us.

He draws us together for His glory

and He then expects us to walk in such a fashion

that He is the one that is exalted and glorified in that.

And it's very interesting that at the very beginning when Paul then launches into this explanation of,

all right, since you've been saved, how are you to live?

The first thing that he comes up with is not,

well, here's what your haircut's supposed to be like

or here's how you're supposed to wear a tie.

He starts out by saying,

you who are part of the family of God are to be united.

And when we stop and really think about it,

that issue of unity has legs to it.

And what I mean by that is that it has a long history

because from the very beginning,

when sin entered the garden,

division and separation and distance from one another

was the first outcome of sin,

at least publicly.

And so we can understand why,

in keeping with that pattern that we find there in Genesis,

that the first interest of the Spirit of God

is that we who are His people understand

the priority and the significance of the matter of unity.

And so as we looked here at our lesson,

we find out earlier as we've studied

that He puts us together

and He puts us under His headship

and then He gifts us.

And we're going to take a couple minutes here

and talk about the overview of gifts

and then we're going to deal in greater detail

with verse 11 that touches on servant gifts.

My primary objective this morning

in talking about the issue of gifts

is not to go deeply into it

because that would take me into the 12s and the 4s.

How many of you remember what I said last week?

I'm sure you do.

That it's easy to track down where spiritual gifts are

because they're stuck with the 12s and 4s.

We find it in Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

We find it in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

We find it in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And we find it in 1 Peter chapter 4.

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

And so as you look at the broad picture of spiritual gifts,

we're not going to take the details together,

but we do want to pay attention to the broader look.

And we find that there are actually three different categories

of spiritual gifts in the New Testament.

There are temporary sign gifts,

such as miracles, prophetic utterances, and tongues.

And I'm fully persuaded that the purpose of those sign gifts

was undeniably so that the ministry of the Word

or the message could undeniably articulate it

and clearly understood by people.

I'm in the process of reading through the book of John

over and over again by way of preparation

for eventually, Lord willing, teaching it here.

And one of the things that I've been struck by

is how many times after Jesus performed a miracle,

He said, hey, this miracle is there as a testimony of who I am.

And in the Scriptures, as you look at the subject

of temporary sign gifts, you recognize that they came along

at particular times when the message was something

that needed to be articulated in a very clear and persuasive way

in a particular setting, and it happened.

During the time of Moses, during the time of two of the main prophets,

and then during the New Testament time,

during the time of Jesus and the apostles.

We understand, secondly, that there are permanent service gifts,

and those are the ones that we note in Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

and 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

There are gifts that are given to individuals in the body,

and I recognize the Scriptures make it clear

that when a person comes to Christ,

they are given specific gifts for service.

They're things that are given to you so that you can be,

you have a place, you have a part,

you have a role in the body of Christ,

and there's no such thing, theologically speaking anyway.

Now, what do I mean by theologically speaking?

In other words, the Scripture doesn't see

disconnected floaters in church.

It's like, hey, you are given this gift,

and His intention is that you actively employ that gift

in doing something in the body of Christ.

There's no intention in Christ's heart for unemployed saints.

You're gifted, and you're called to use that in the body.

Permanent service gifts are part of what help us together

do the work of Christ so that Christ is glorified.

And we do better together than we do alone.

Do you understand that?

Perfect illustration would be when I,

this morning I'm sitting over here on the front

and just listening to that little part

where the men sing their part and then the women.

And I'm just thinking, so what if the women decided,

well, I'm not doing that today?

What would happen in the mind of the average guy

when he's kind of waiting for that lovely, light little,

and I've got an attitude today,

and I'm not going to serve Christ by singing my part.

And I was like, what is your problem?

Would you agree with me, guys?

You'd nudge your wife and say, get with it, do your thing.

That's part of the role of a pastor is, you know,

saying to dear saints, get with it, do your thing, right?

So permanent service gifts are there to minister

to the glory of Christ in one another.

Well, then there's a third little category of servant gifts,

and that is actually service gifts.

There's a third category of gifts.

It is the servant gift, and that is what we are looking at

in Ephesians 4, verse 11.

Ephesians 4:11

Paul, as he's writing to the body,

talking about the fact that they are to be united

into the body of Christ,

and they are to use their gifts for God's glory,

he also reminds them,

I have given you individuals to help you with that.

And that's what we're going to focus on here.

As we get into the lesson,

one of the things that I want you to mark

at the very beginning in verse 11,

it says,

he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,

the shepherds and teachers.

And so what we understand is that verse 11 is about servants

given to the church by his direct will

and for his purposes.

Just as the service gifts discussed in Romans 12

and 1 Corinthians 12

are given according to divine choice

and grace for the body's sake,

so those that he appoints to be servants in the body

are gifts that are given directly by him.

His servants, and I think it's important to remember

and understand,

are really tokens of his love

and evidences of his care.

In the larger context,

when you think about the things

that Christ has given to us,

we recognize that those gifts

are things that indicate his grace

and indicate his love.

I'll never forget,

one of the books that I read as a young pastor

was a book called

The Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges

written by a Puritan.

And in the flow of that book,

he made the comment

that a pastor is to be a living illustration

of the love of Christ.

And when individuals ask themselves

that practical question,

how do I know that Jesus loves me?

One of the thoughts that they should think

if a pastor is doing his work

is they should think,

I know Jesus loves me

because my pastor is an illustration of it.

I want you to look over in your Bibles

just for a moment to 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians chapter 13 identifies

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

that we can be pretty brilliant,

we can be pretty successful,

we can be pretty significant,

but without love,

we are really not meeting the standard

that God has set.

1 Corinthians chapter 13,

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

If I speak with the tongues of men

and of angels but do not have love,

I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

How many of you do not like it

when your car alarm goes off?

Or try it this way,

when somebody else in the neighborhood's

car alarm goes off,

bam, bam, bam,

and you're thinking what?

Get out there and fix it.

Well, here's what it says.

If I speak with the tongues of men

and of angels and I do not have love,

I am an irritating car alarm.

If I have prophetic powers

and understand all mysteries

and all knowledge

and I have all faith

so as to remove mountains

but do not have love,

I'm nothing.

I'm irrelevant.

And I think it's important for us

to recognize that

you may be excellent at this or that

or the other thing,

but here's the thing

that is the gold standard of ministry.

It is a genuine love

for those who God has called you to care for.

Is that something that happens naturally

in any person's heart?

What's the answer?

Not at all.

It is the work of grace

and the power of His Spirit

working to mold and shape a person's heart

that He cares and genuinely has an affection

for those who God's called Him

to be a shepherd to.

Allow me to make one more comment

about those that are called

to be gifted servants of the bride.

Each of the offices

that we are going to look at here

and go back to Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11,

Ephesians 4:11

each of these offices

have one particular thing in common

and I want you to pay attention

to that particular thing.

The apostle, the prophet,

the evangelist, shepherds and teachers

all are directly connected to the Word.

Each office is directly connected

to the proclamation

and to the teaching of the Word.

Each office calls for a dependence upon the Word

and a submission to the Word.

At the heart of what God calls

each individual to do

in the pastoral ministry

and in any of the offices

that are spoken of here,

it is to depend upon His Word

and to speak it with clarity

and with persuasion.

I am reminded of several different passages

that make the matter of the significance

of the Word a priority

both in the Old Testament

and in the New Testament.

I want you to think with me

just for a moment

of one of the illustrations

that we find over in Deuteronomy chapter 17

Deuteronomy 17:18

verse 18.

Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse 18.

Deuteronomy 17:18

You don't need to turn to it,

make a reference and go to it later.

But in Deuteronomy chapter 17, 18,

Deuteronomy 17 · chapter mention

Moses is speaking to the nation of Israel.

He says, listen, when the day comes

that you have a king,

one of the things that I want the king to do

is I want him to make a handwritten copy

of the law

and he is to keep it by him

and he is to rely upon the law

so that he follows the law.

It is the law ultimately

that reigns in a person's life

and reigns in a nation

otherwise we are drifting into the abyss.

The other passage that I often recite to myself

is over in Malachi chapter 2 verse 7

Malachi 2:7

and I want you to turn there just for a moment

when you stop and think about

what you ought to hear from any man

who ever stands behind this pulpit.

It is the word of God.

Look at Malachi chapter 2 verse 7.

Malachi 2:7

You may want to underline it.

How many of you have this underlined in your Bible?

I hope you do.

I would encourage you to underline it.

I'll never forget.

Well, this is a story I tell on myself.

I'll never forget being part of a church

that was going through the process

of calling a pastor

and one of the candidates came up to the pulpit

and brought with him

a stack of about seven different books.

He had the Bible tucked in there somewhere

but he kept on making reference to this book,

that book, the other book

and so where's the word?

Where's the word?

Where's the word?

You look here in Malachi chapter 2 verse 7

Malachi 2:7

and it spells out

what you are to hear from a pastor's mouth.

For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge

and people should seek instruction from his mouth.

Now here's the part.

For he is the, what?

Messenger of the Lord of hosts.

He is the one responsible for giving God's message.

How many of you know what God's message is?

How many of you know what God's message is?

It happens to be between the covers of the Bible.

If I came to you and said,

God said and I didn't give you a passage and a reference,

you know what you ought to think?

Where's a rock?

Okay.

Now you probably give me a break and say,

Pastor, are you meaning to speak like that?

Give me a little chance, but here's the deal.

Ultimately, those who are shepherds,

those who are speaking for Christ,

you can identify what they have to say from the Bible itself.

In the New Testament,

we find the significance of the word

in a number of different places,

and you're there in Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

so I want you to look back to verse 20 and 27.

Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

he says this,

you're built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.

And we find there that the thing that is the foundation

of this teaching of the word

is what Jesus said

and what the apostles and prophets had to say.

Look at another passage

where we see this kind of spelled out,

and it's in Acts chapter 27,

Acts 27 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 20, verse 27.

Acts 20:27

Turn there if you will.

I think Ephesians is going to show up on the screen.

That's not what I want.

Acts chapter 20, verse 27.

Acts 20:27

This is Paul as he is giving his concluding speech

to actually the elders of Ephesus.

And there in verse 27,

he speaks of his ministry,

and he says this,

listen,

he says,

he says this,

for I did not shrink from declaring to you

the whole counsel of God.

In other words,

my ministry to you

was one that actively declared

what God had,

you want to know what the pastor's ministry is?

It's to tell you what God says.

And then over in verse 32,

he says,

and now I commend you to God

and to the word of his grace,

which is able to build you up

and to give you the inheritance

among all those who are sanctified.

I think also of 2 Peter,

if you'll go there just for a moment,

2 Peter chapter 1, verse 12.

2 Peter 1:12

And what we're looking at

is the fact that pastoral ministry

is always directly connected

to the word of God

and to making it clear.

2 Peter chapter 1, verse 12.

2 Peter 1:12

It was revealed to them

that they were servants

not themselves but you.

They were serving not themselves but you

in the things

that have now been announced to you

through those who preached

the good news to you

by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,

things unto which angels

long to look.

They were speaking the word of God

to God's people,

and that was their ministry.

I think also of the passage

over in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 2,

2 Timothy 4:2

where the apostle is giving

his final statements to Timothy

who had been serving

as the pastor at Ephesus,

and as he is summarizing his work,

his pastoral work,

he says,

listen,

I give you this charge

before Christ

will judge the living and the dead.

He said,

preach the word.

And that word preach

is an interesting word

because what it's saying is

announce with earnestness

and persuasion and sincerity

exactly what God has to say.

Well, let's look a little more carefully

at the individual offices.

So turn back in your Bible,

if you would,

to Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

and understand that there are

two different kinds of offices

that are spoken of.

Let's look at them

a little more carefully.

For one, we understand

that there are temporary roles

of the apostle and prophet.

Christ gave the church,

apostles and prophets,

both offices,

which were for a period of time

and were directly connected

to establishing

the New Testament canon.

How many of you understand

what the word canon means?

It doesn't mean boom.

It means the 29 books

that make up the New Testament.

That is referred to

as the canon of the New Testament.

And once the New Testament canon

had been established,

once those 29 books

had been given

through apostolic writing

to the church,

the ministry of the apostle

and the prophet

then passed from the scene.

Now, I want you to understand

that what the word apostle means

is a sent one.

And it was used

in the legal

terms of the day.

It was used of someone

who actually had

power of attorney.

I remember when Judith

and I were younger

and we were going to be gone

for a period of time

and we asked,

I think,

Jack McEverkin,

for one,

to be power of attorney

for our children.

If we both had died

in a plane wreck,

Jack was going to take over.

He was going to take care

of our children.

And we had to sign

a legal document

that said,

in our demise,

he has authority

to act in our behalf.

A person who was an apostle

was one who acted

in Christ's behalf.

And more particularly,

the word was used

to refer to a person

who was directly commissioned

by Christ himself

as his representative

during the formation

of the faith.

One of the things

that we bump into now

is the idea

that there are modern-day

apostles floating around today

that have apostolic power

and are actually apostles

of Jesus Christ.

And that is not true.

There are only 12 men

who were appointed

by Christ

to be his apostles.

Now, I would be one

who would say

that of those 12,

Paul is the one

who gets the nod,

not Matthias.

Now, you can have it

either way.

We'll find out

when we get to heaven.

But I do want you

to look in your Bible

to Revelation chapter 21,

Revelation 21:14

verse 14.

How do I know

that there are only

12 apostles

of the Lord Jesus Christ

formally commissioned

to do his work

as an apostle?

Revelation chapter 21,

Revelation 21:14

verse 14.

And the wall of the city

had 12 foundations,

and on them were the,

what's the next word?

12 names

of the 12 apostles

of the Lamb.

How many?

12.

No more.

The eternal city

will only have

the names of 12 men

who were appointed

to be the apostles

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you can recognize

that those 12 men

are in an exclusive category.

There's another indication

that the Bible

has no space

for the idea

of apostolic succession.

You know what I mean

by apostolic succession?

The idea that,

well,

the apostles

handed off

the responsibility

to somebody else.

Let me have you again.

And by the way,

you are not here

to hear my opinion.

Do you understand that?

Nod your head.

We're not interested

in your opinion.

We're interested

in what the Bible teaches.

And so,

I want you to turn

in your Bible,

if you would,

to a passage

that deals with this subject

and look,

if you would,

at Acts 12,

Acts 12:2

verse 2.

We're recognizing

that there's only

12 apostles

of the Lord Jesus

and there was

no apostolic succession.

Acts,

Acts 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

By the way,

who was John's brother,

also an apostle?

They were called

the sons of thunder?

James.

What happened

to James

in chapter 12

is that he was

what?

Executed.

About that time,

Herod the king

laid violent hands

on some who belonged

to the church.

He killed James,

the brother of John,

with the sword.

Do we have any indication

that the church,

after the murder

of James,

decided,

oh, oh, oh, oh,

we need some apostle

to replace James?

What did they do?

They were down one.

And as the apostles

died off,

the apostolic office

came to a conclusion.

I want you to recognize

also that we find

that in the New Testament,

going back to that passage

in Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

it says there

he gave the apostles,

he gave the prophets.

And in the Old Testament,

the prophets were those

who foretold

and forthtold.

And one of the things

that the prophets

would often say,

in fact,

invariably they would say,

to identify

their common speech

from that which was

divinely appointed,

they would say

something like this,

thus saith the Lord.

And when they said that,

they were making it clear

that they were speaking

directly according

to the direction of God.

They weren't just kind of

freewheeling it

and ad-libbing it.

This is what God

wanted His people to hear.

And these individuals

were divinely enabled

to declare God's Word.

In the New Testament,

prophets were individuals

who were given to the church

during the time

prior to the completion

of the 29 books

of the New Testament.

And these individuals

were empowered

in much the same way,

more so to teach

and proclaim the Word

rather than to give

prophetic utterance.

Now, both the apostles

and the prophets,

divinely appointed by Christ,

had the right and authority

to say,

thus saith the Lord,

and be heard that way.

By the way,

those who profess today

that they have

the same divine power

ought to think very carefully

about several different passages

in relationship

to saying,

God told me,

or I'm telling you

this is what God wants.

How many of you

bumped into people

that claim to have

prophetic authority

and power today?

Well, let's look at

two different passages

in relationship to that.

Turn back in your Bible

to Deuteronomy chapter 18.

Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention

We're looking not

at the only illustration

of this statement,

but one that is,

I think, undeniably clear.

Deuteronomy chapter 18,

Deuteronomy 18:20

verse 20 and 22.

But the prophet

who presumes to speak

a word in my name

that I have not commanded

him to speak,

or who speaks in the name

of other gods,

that same prophet shall die.

And if you say in your heart,

how we may know

that the word

that the Lord

has not spoken,

how can you tell

this person's not

a prophet of God?

Look at verse 22.

When a prophet speaks

in the name of the Lord,

if the word does not

come to pass

or come true,

that is a word

that the Lord

has not spoken.

So how many times

does a person

who professes

to be a prophet of God

get to get it wrong?

How many?

One.

Because the outcome

of saying,

thus saith the Lord,

everybody says,

all right,

the clock is ticking,

I'm picking up stones,

and if it doesn't happen,

you're toast.

Hmm?

How many of you

have picked up

the little controller

and channel surfed

and had different individuals

on the TV

that have said

they're prophets of God?

If the church

actually exercised

the understanding

of Scriptures,

we'd have fewer people

doing that.

Turn back in your Bible

also to Revelation

Revelation 22:19

chapter 22,

verse 19.

Revelation chapter 22,

Revelation 22:19

verse 19.

If anyone takes away

from the words

of the book

of this prophecy,

God will take away

his share

in the tree of life

and the holy city

which are described

in this book.

Okay?

So we understand

you're not to add,

you're not to take away,

you're not to mess

with the revelation

of God.

God has given it

and it was his place

to give that understanding

and instruction

to his apostles

and to his prophets.

Now let's go

to Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

and understand

the permanent roles

of the evangelist

and the pastor

and teacher.

Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

we're looking there

at verse 11,

it says that

he gave

the evangelists.

Now I do want you

to notice

that it's

the apostles,

it is the prophets,

it is the evangelists

and I want you

to understand

that an evangelist

is one who travels

from place to place

sharing the gospel.

While every believer,

every one of us

here this morning

are called

to be witnesses

of his grace

and we are to gladly

talk about his power

to save us

and draw us

out of the darkness

of our condition,

nevertheless,

there are those

who he has

gifted

to be evangelists.

There are individuals

who bring the gospel

and make it clear

and people come

to Christ.

Christ has used

and will continue

to use

until he comes back

appointed evangelists

to win people

to the gospel,

to start churches,

to cross oceans

and share

the good news.

I think one of the

best examples

of that

in our modern day

is Billy Graham.

I was doing

a little bit

of research

in terms of his ministry

and this man

has ministered

the gospel

in a formal setting

for over 66 years.

in that time

whether he's been

preaching in auditoriums

or stadiums

or wherever

different kind of places

he has had

an opportunity

of having over

2 billion people

hear him present

the gospel.

I do want to remind you

that we are in prayer

and we're looking forward

to what will perhaps

be Billy Graham's

last evangelistic outreach

and it's going to be

different than most

of the others.

In the past

he would come to a city

and he would go

to a place

like a stadium

and he would rent

that place

and you'd have

a gathering of people

to that place.

This time

he is going to

preach the gospel

and he's going to

present his message

probably in a studio

somewhere.

It's going to be

recorded

but then sometime

during November

during a series

of days

he is going to

present the gospel

and the encouragement

that I want you

to pray about

and then think about

how you can make

it work

is I want you

to invite people

who are your friends

and neighbors

you don't go to

Cooper Stadium

to hear Billy Graham

you go to your house

and they're on TV

you can have

Billy Graham

present a simple

gospel message

and then when it's over

you get to step on

and say hey listen

let me tell you

what Jesus did for me

and you get to talk

as well

and just share

the simple truth

of how Christ

brought you out

of the hopelessness

of your estate

and gave you

the joy of salvation

we think about evangelists

we think about the fact

that God has appointed

some to travel

around the place

and share the gospel

that brings us then

in Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4:11

verse 11

to the last little part

it says

the shepherds

and teachers

now there have been

some arguments

or disputes

I wouldn't call them

arguments

no stone throwing here

but there are those

who have the idea

that shepherds

and teachers

are two separate

individuals

I don't think

that is supported

by the text

and I'll tell you why

because we look

at the little word

the

which is named

how many times

how many the's

do you find

in this passage

I'm holding up

your fingers

my fingers

so you can see

there are four the's

definite articles

they're identifying offices

the apostle

the prophet

the evangelist

the pastor

teacher

and so if you're

to describe

what this office

is that is being

spoken of

it is identifying

the fact

that there is

one individual

who serves

in both capacities

he is a shepherd

and he is a teacher

one of the things

that I periodically

have individuals

say to me

is okay

okay

how do you want

to be titled

I have friends

that eventually

occasionally call me

bishop

I don't like bishop

now there's nothing

wrong with calling

me a bishop

because the word

prosbuteros

is there in the

Greek

and I have to

live with it

but it just

I like shepherd

my son-in-law

calls me bishop

every now and then

he can get away

with it

it's alright

but the truth

of the matter

is if you ask me

what would I

prefer to be called

I would prefer

to be called

pastor

and the reason

is because

God made me

a shepherd

I do my

shepherd thing

and I want you

to understand

that when he

is speaking

of this servant

as a shepherd

the Holy Spirit

is pointing

to the responsibility

that a pastor

has of staying

with those

Christ has appointed

him to care for

and leading

protecting

correcting

and feeding

the shepherd

is never the owner

of the flock

the shepherd

is one

who is a servant

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

and serves

in his stead

and for his good

a faithful shepherd

cares for the

beloved of Christ

and models his love

to the people

that Christ loves

I want you to

recognize that a

faithful shepherd

is a divine gift

from the body

and is under

assignment from

the chief shepherd

if you want to

know why I'm here

I am here

because Christ

sent me here

we are praying

asking God

to bring us

a family youth

pastor

and one of the

things that I

pray for

is Lord

you send us

your man

I was talking

with a dear

pastor

I'm getting hot

so bear with me

I was talking

with a dear

pastor

that they

have been

looking for

a family

youth pastor

much the same

way as we

have

for 18

months

18 months

and the

congregation

there

has begun

to become

a little bit

impatient

and that

dear pastor

has said

to them

on more

than one

occasion

listen

we can

fill this

position

very quickly

but if

we are

precipitous

and we do

not wait

on the

Lord

we will

not have

God's

man

and we

will

be

sorry

I want

to tell

you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

that you

have not

been

impatient

we are

looking

for a

man

who is

sent

from

God

we

don't

know

who

he

is

yet

but

every

now

and then

when

Tim

Kenoyer

gets a

little

frustrated

and I

so

appreciate

the parents

and our

youth

leaders

they're

doing a

great

job

I

remind

myself

that

Jesus

loves

this

body

more

than

I

do

and

he

has

somebody

out

there

and

he

will

provide

in

his

time

I

think

about

what

it

says

in

1

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

Peter

chapter

5

where

the

apostle

Peter

writes

to

those

who

would

be

shepherds

!

He

says

feed

the

flock

of

God

and

I'm

reminded

that

my

responsibility

is to

care

for

you

by

that

I

actually

heard

Boy

I'm

trying

to

think

of

who

it

is

Capitol

Hill

Baptist

Church

in

Washington

D.C.

Sam

tell me

who the

pastor

is

Mark

Dever

Mark

Dever

that's

it

here's

how

Mark

Dever

summarizes

pastoral

ministry

he says

love

he says

teach

and pray

you got

that

teach and pray

love

and stay

teach and pray

love

and stay

I like that

description

one of the things that has been stunning

and sobering

as your search committee has been pursuing

men to serve as pastors here

or a pastor here

we have been discouraged by the

transients

pastors who are staying two years

two and a half years

and thinking that they've kind of fulfilled their duty

I didn't even get to know you in two years

do you understand that

how many of you would trust a person to walk in two years

no

it takes time to get there

teach and pray

love

and stay

in speaking of this servant

we recognize that he's a shepherd

but he's also a teacher

and what the Holy Spirit is reminding the church of

is that the man that God gives them

is primarily tasked with the responsibility of being a teacher of the word

at the heart of what this man's call is

the holy duty

of first modeling

and then opening the word

and calling people to hear it

and follow the wisdom

and the counsel of God

a man who is a shepherd

teacher

is one who has to live the word

and apply the word

and then open it up

and instruct people from the word

and so when I stand before you

I stand before you

with a sensitivity to the fact

that I am responsible for my walk

in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 7

Hebrews 12:7

the author of the book of Hebrews says

you are to remember those

who taught the word among you

and in saying remember

he's saying hey

pay attention to their life

to their walk

to their behavior

because really

how a man lives

ultimately

is an indication

of what he believes

isn't that right

you can stand up here in the pulpit

and say a lot

but at the end of the day

what you are

comes out in how you act

and so I want you to understand

that a pastor's life

like that

of a godly father

in Deuteronomy chapter 6

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

is first of all

to be marked

by a love for the word

and a willingness

to obey it

and then subsequently

a willingness to teach it

let me close by reminding you

that the servant gifts

are in one sense

no different

than the serving gifts

now what do I mean by that

serving gifts

are things like

showing mercy

ability to

to minister

to

to administrate

different kinds

of serving gifts

and those are the ones

that we find in

Romans 12

and 1 Corinthians 12

and I said that

there is fundamentally

no difference

between the servant gifts

which are individuals

and serving gifts

that we've all been given

in that

they are designed

for the good

of the body

and their blessing

and benefit

is only seen

when they are

actively engaged

in doing

what they've been called

and equipped to do

does that make sense

if I walked in here

tomorrow

and said

I'm done being a servant

I don't like being a pastor

well I do like being a pastor

but just if I said that

that would be sinful

would you agree with me

that would be wrong

yeah I have been

I have been the

I have

I have first of all

been saved by the grace of God

and gifted

for your sake

and you

have been gifted

for one another's sake

I have no more right

to step away

from my responsibility

of serving Christ

in this place

than you do

and all God's people said

that is theologically accurate

and correct

and it deserves

a loud amen

okay

took you a while

but you got on a roll

it's the truth

so

Pastor Saul

is going to be overwhelmed

with people

who want to put

their spiritual gifts

to use

in the nursery

you had them

take care of them

amen

it's an amen

for people that are over 70

that's the right

amen

okay

but anyway

hey

get to work

all of you

so let me ask you

a practical question

are you a believer

if you're here today

and you do not know Christ

talking to you

about being actively involved

in the body of Christ

just doesn't make any sense

because the first thing

you need to do

is come to the cross

and recognize

that you are

a morally bankrupt

on the way to hell

sinner

and you have no hope

apart from Jesus Christ

you can't stand up

in eternity

and wave the little stack

of chits

of the nice things

you've done

and say

Jesus

can I come in

I was

blah blah blah blah

no

no

and if you're here

this morning

and you do not know

Christ

the first thing

that you desperately need

is to come to the point

of confessing your sin

and believing in Jesus Christ

in whom alone

is salvation

and if you are a believer

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

says

with the power

of the spirit

of God

behind it

connect

and use your

gifts

for the sake

and the glory

of Christ

only one life

will soon be passed

only what's done

for Christ

what

will last

let's close in prayer

Father God

not by power

nor by might

but by my spirit

saith the Lord

use your word

plant it deep

within our hearts

let it bear fruit

to the glory

and testimony

of Christ

give us humble

and contrite

spirits

as we desire

Christ's glory

and no one

else's

and we ask this

in your precious name

amen

and we ask this

of God

and we ask this

of God

if any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those

any of those