Fulfilling Service

You may be seated and turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter 2.

We're going back to 1 Peter 2 where we were last week.

And I just got a text from Ival and Rosemary.

They're very sick.

A lot of you that I know watching right now, because you normally you're here.

And so we want you to know we love you and thank you.

And I'll tell you, the Lord just He's given us a great new year's.

We've kicked off.

And we've been averaging almost 250 every week.

We're down today, but we got a lot of people gone, people sick.

But we praise the Lord for what he's doing.

And we're excited about what he's going to do.

And again, we've just keep praying for the weather.

The weather will break for at least a couple of weeks.

We may get the slab done.

And that's kind of what we're waiting on.

And Emma, great job.

Great job this morning.

God bless you.

God bless you.

And I always love to see our kids.

In fact, uh Leslie's boy plays the saxophone.

He played a little tune.

I told him to get us a song, uh, Amazing Grace or something.

Have you ever heard, I've heard uh uh there was a student at Liberty University that played the tennis sax and he was a pastoral major, and he used to play Amazing Grace for me on the sacks, and he would make that thing talk.

And uh I'll tell you what, I love, I love to hear the instruments playing.

And I'll tell you what, Sean, you can play.

Is there anything you can't play?

He plays the drums, the guitar, the bass, and uh just praise the Lord.

But uh anyway, anyone, everybody got a um worship guide?

In fact, this is this is gonna be, I want you to get ready.

Got a lot of material to cover in the next uh 45 minutes.

Uh, I feel like we're in my seminary class.

In fact, what you're getting is notes.

Every week when you get my outlines, that's the way I taught in seminary.

Every uh Tuesday and Thursday uh I taught uh Christian life and evangelism, and then I taught uh uh leadership classes, and I also taught pastoral theology, even though I was the dean too.

But each lesson would be like this.

And uh so uh Paul Grader was talking to me, and I didn't say, I feel like I'm sometimes in seminary class.

Well, sometimes you are.

And uh, but uh you can handle it because you love it.

Don't you love the word?

Amen.

Don't you love the word of God?

When I go to a church when I'm not here, and I go and we try to go wherever we are, I want the word of God preached to me and taught to me.

And uh and uh I just uh if if the preacher doesn't go to the book, and I'll just I don't get critical, but I just know I I'll find myself wherever he's announced the passage and what he's preaching on, I'll start reading that passage, seeing if I can see how how he got what he got for his proposition and where he's gonna go.

I start looking for the body, with an introduction to body, conclusion, I mean a body, and then the conclusion.

I try to, that's a homiletical mind of mine that I taught homiletics for five years, too, that I just see in each passage.

I look for that main theme, that proposition, and then the compliments that are gonna explain that that uh title, and then the application of that title, and then wrapping it up, how we apply it.

And so that's that's just what I do when anybody preaches.

I start getting into my homiletical mode.

So, but anyway, today we're gonna be looking at our last, I call it Key Core Value, fulfilling service at home and abroad.

What a way to end it when we got 12 of our people right now in Honduras fulfilling what I'm just about to preach.

It couldn't get any better than that.

And then here.

But I'm here to tell you, and by the way, if uh you are a covenant member, when you tear off, you know, we we kind of want to get back to that, tear off your little uh um peripherated thing in the uh perforated, thank you.

Uh in your worship guide, put on there if you're a covenant member.

We need to know that.

We're trying to get all our ducks in order, and so we need to know that.

We're trying to, we've we've got, we just had five new covenant members join.

Can we give them a hand?

Amen.

We did.

Gone through the new class, so that's exciting.

And because we're trying to, we want to find out exactly where we are with our covenant membership because we're getting ready to go to that next phase in this ministry.

It's coming, and I promise you it's coming, and we need help.

And you're gonna see why we need help in this message.

You know, as I was putting this message together and going back looking at my old notes, during the reign of Oliver Cromwell in Britain, there were, they were running very low on silver for coins.

And so they began to look where they could find more of this precious metal.

And in interestingly enough, the place where they found most of the silver, listen to this, in England was in the cathedrals.

And even in the cathedrals, specifically in the statues of the saints, were the silver, most of the silver was in the statues of the saints.

So Conrad said this.

He said, Well, let's melt down the saints.

And I thought to myself, that is exactly what God wants us to do, not melt us down, but he was talking about melting down the saints and getting the silver so they could be distributed all around for meeting the needs of the people during that time.

So what we need right here, and that's what lay ministry is all about, the saints.

And I really believe that, putting the saints into circulation, taking people like you and me and finding out what our gifts are, and putting us into ministry and circulation in the body of Jesus Christ.

That's what it's all about.

In fact, notice in your uh notes on the introduction, I say ministry is a special word, and I really a special word within the church, and it comes from the Greek word diaconus, which literally stands for deacon.

Diaconus, and it means one who serves.

It's the root word for deacon.

And Jesus said it this way: He that is greatest among you, now watch, shall be what?

Your servant.

Matthew 23, verse 11.

Matthew 23:11

And it's not a special office, if you'll look in your notes.

It's never used in the Bible to mean a special office like the ordained clergy or the ordained elders.

But it is a special function.

It's a special function, a function that everybody can practice and act upon according to the gifts and talents that God has given to you.

It really is.

It's a special function.

And then ministry is an act of service given in Jesus' name.

It is an act of service given in Jesus' name.

Now, watch what Jesus said about serving.

In Mark 10, 45, Jesus said this: I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give my life a ransom for many.

So it's definitely ministry is an act of service given in Jesus' name.

I was, as I was studying this week and reviewing and looking at this passage of scripture again.

Actually, we've been here two weeks in 1 Peter 2, with the key verses of the day of 4 and 5 and verses 9 and 10, I found a kind of a really a beautiful little illustration, and it was kind of cute, so I wrote it down.

I said, I'm gonna use that.

And it kind of gets us right into the heart of the message.

Let me just give you a little quiz, for example.

If you're out there in the parking lot and you're using your help's gift for parking cars, is that ministry?

Absolutely.

If you're in the nursery, praise God, and I know Jane loves the nursery, Larry, and you're keeping those little babies and you're changing those diapers, is that ministry?

Absolutely, and thank God for them.

And if you're down there in the children's ministry with Linda and Dale and Anita and a lot of others that uh that go down there and help, is that ministry?

Absolutely.

Every Sunday afternoon, hey, when we take up the chairs or we take up the tables, we put down the tables, is that ministry?

Absolutely.

Washing dishes, is that ministry?

Absolutely.

Everything done to the glory of God is ministry.

And it's called the gifts of helps.

It really is.

And it's vitally important that everybody has a part.

In fact, I was thinking about this this morning.

How many people show up?

Now, not this morning, because 12 of them are ministering in Honduras, but there's about 30 to 40 people that are here around 7 o'clock or earlier that get everything ready for service and church long before you and I get here.

That's ministry.

That's service.

And when we get that new building, that big building, and we're there and we're here, we're gonna have to double that.

I can tell you that right now.

We're gonna have to have double the people helping us.

We're gonna have people on carts and transferring people from building to building and flowing and Susan and the teams getting ready and already working on the charts and looking at different places, and so that y'all be meeting here soon and start working on all that.

I mean, we've got a lot to get ready for.

Can I get an amen?

And that's where fulfilling service comes in.

That's where ministry comes in.

Ministry is using our gifts for the glory of God.

It's not some mystical high position for a certain group of people.

In fact, I love what 1 Peter chapter 2 is you're there, verses 4 and 5 and 9 and 10 are our key verses this morning.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

It really tells us why every Christian should use their gifts for ministry.

If you're in your outline, let's look at it.

Number one, the New Testament, and I love this, the New Testament gives us the expectations for ministry.

Now I want you to see 1 Peter 2, 4, 5, and verses 9 and 10.

And coming to him, and I love this in the Philips translation, and coming to him as to a living stone rejected by men, but choice, hey, and precious in the sight of God, you also, a living stone, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.

Part of our ministry, all of our ministry is offering up sacrifices for, hey, the glory of God.

And then in verse 9 and 10, he says, You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.

And by the way, the peculiar people means a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who have called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Now, watch, for you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God.

In other words, you weren't my people, but now that I've chosen you, you are a special possession for a special purpose.

And I've got plans for you.

That's exactly what he's saying.

And then Peter goes on to describe the followers of Jesus Christ.

Notice in six things.

Fill them in.

A.

You're a living stone.

1 Peter 2, 5.

You're a living stone.

In John 14, 19, Jesus says, Because I live, you shall live also.

Ladies and gentlemen, aren't you glad to know today that God brought you out of a darkness and out of a pit and placed your feet on a rock and gave you a new song and gave you a new purpose?

Gave you, hey, uh a gift or gifts, plural, and talents, those that you already had, hey, to be used for his glory.

Paul said, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you do all to the glory of God.

Man, that's exciting.

We're you're not dead.

Say I'm not dead.

Turn to your neighbor and say, I'm not dead.

Come on, David.

Come on, David.

I'm not dead.

David's just turned there.

Come on, wake up on me.

Come on, Dave.

I'm not dead.

I'm alive.

I've come to give Jesus that.

I've come to give you life and give it more abundantly.

We need to start living like we have that abundant life.

That joy of the Lord is my strength.

Notice B.

Not only are we living stones, we're holy priests.

Now, what is a priest?

Someone who offers something to God.

That's what a priest is.

In the Old Testament, it was the priest offered sacrifices, lambs, pigeons, animals, to God.

In the New Testament, watch this.

We offer ourselves as sacrifices.

Paul said in Romans 12, 1 and 2, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body, what's this?

A living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.

That's awesome.

It really is.

That's exactly what we are.

We are lay priests.

We are offering ourselves, consecrating our life and our gifts and our future, everything we have to God.

When Peter says that we are holy priests, it means that we give ourselves completely to Him.

That's what it means.

You give yourself completely to Him.

You just don't get saved to keep from going to hell.

Now that's a good reason.

But God's got a purpose for your life, and you've heard me.

We're not interested in your past, we're interested in your future.

And God's got a fantastic future for you.

Jeremiah 29, 11.

He's got a purpose for your life.

And it gets me so excited when I see this.

So, we're holy priests.

And what is a priest?

Someone who offers something to God.

And what do we offer?

We offer Him ourselves in the New Testament.

Is that not good?

And that's what salvation's all about.

Bringing yourself to Jesus.

It really is.

And then see, a chosen race.

I love this phrase.

In verse 9.

He says, You're a chosen generation.

How wonderful it is to realize that God has chosen us.

Hey, say this to yourself: God's chosen me.

Turn to your neighbor and say, God's chosen me.

Is that not exciting?

Now I don't, hey, I love athletics.

I mean, I'm a fanatic about athletics.

Always have been.

And I'll play hopefully until I'm a hundred.

Then I'll coach.

But there was nothing more exciting when I was growing up.

And I'm I was a pretty good athlete.

And I was always quite gifted with athleticism.

And even though I was the youngest one, when I was in junior high, all the high school guys, when we would play basketball, football all the time.

I I mean I got up, I went to school for one reason to play sports.

That meant I had to have a C average.

So I I was a BC student.

Now I could have done better, but I did just what I had to.

So I mean we played ball after school, we'd play ball to back then, you know, with the time change, it didn't get dark till nine o'clock at night.

We'd play, play, play.

But nothing got me more excited when I would be chosen by the high school boys.

And most of the time I would be one of the top five chosen on the big teams.

And boy, I went, ha ha ha, that's good.

I mean, here's this little seventh, eighth grader being chosen by the 11th and 12th graders.

I want you on my team.

I felt special.

Well, there's nothing more special than being chosen by God to be on his team.

It doesn't get any better than that, folks.

Give him a clap offering this morning.

Amen.

Doesn't get any better than that.

You've not chosen him, he's chosen you, John 15, 16.

He's chosen you.

And he wants you on his team.

You are a chosen race.

Christ died for us.

His love, his sovereignty.

He chose us when we were unholy and unwilling and rebellious and sinful.

Wow.

I mean that's awesome.

Look at D.

We're a royal priesthood.

And what does that mean?

In the Old Testament, you had to go through the priest to get to God.

In the New Testament, you go directly to God.

Can I get an amen?

And that's what it means by being a holy priesthood.

You and I have direct access to God.

I meant right to Him.

But as a royal priesthood, we have direct access to God.

We can go straight to Him.

You don't need the pastor, you don't need the priest, you don't need the Sunday school teacher.

You can go directly to God yourself.

And that's good.

And that's what it means.

Which brings us to a E, a holy nation.

Our spiritual citizenship transcends political and geographical boundaries.

That's why the members of the body of Christ can travel anywhere and meet other members right now.

Our team that's in Honduras, they may not be able to speak the language, but their spirit bears witness with those those Honduras people.

Their spirit bears witness with their spirit that they're children of God and they're able to work together because, yes, they have a translator, but more than that, they have the same purpose.

The same, they're part of the body of Christ.

And boy, that's so beautiful.

That's so beautiful.

It really is.

A holy nation.

That's why the members, again, can meet together anywhere, even though we don't speak the same language.

And then elf.

We are God's own possession, a peculiar people.

I think that's the greatest phrase of the New Testament to describe stewardship.

We are a chosen possession of God.

We are his.

And that's stewardship.

And 1 Corinthians 4 2 says, moreover, it is required in a steward that we be found faithful.

Faithful in ministry, faithful in fulfilling service at home and abroad.

That's why God chose us because he loves us absolutely, but he's got a mission for us.

And that mission is to reach this community.

Folks, this community is where God's placed us to reach them.

Can I get an amen?

And we do that by reaching out all over the community all week long.

That's what we do.

So we see right here, we're God's own procession.

He's the owner.

He has you as a steward, a manager.

As a steward, do you know what that means?

God gives gifts.

And all by the way, your talents are from God too.

But when you look at 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, which talks about the gifts, and we're going to talk a little bit about that.

How you can take a gifts test.

Dave's on a Wednesday night, the end of this month, on Wednesday to 26.

We anybody wants to show up that night and take a gift test, we want you to.

Also in his Sunday school class, they're they're in the book of Romans, and they'll be in Romans 12 when?

About three weeks.

And that's he'll be dealing with gifts.

Who knows?

He may give a test then.

But he'll be talking about what the gifts are and how you know what gift you have and how to get involved using those gifts in this ministry.

But all of us have the gift of ministry.

I call it helpful gifts.

You say, well, what is it a gift?

Yes.

But we all can what?

We can all do plain work ministry.

And that means what I've been talking about, whether it's cooking, whether it's putting chairs up, sweeping the floor, whatever it is, parking cars, working, all it's all it, hey, those are just as important.

Listen to me.

Those are just as important as what I'm doing right now is preaching.

Because I couldn't be doing what I'm doing right now if those others weren't being fulfilled.

Can I get an amen?

So, and I know they divide them into serving gifts and speaking gifts, but but you've got to find out.

And you know the best way when somebody, and I I'm all for the gift testing.

But you know what I tell people when I say, I really don't know my gifts.

I said, you know how to find out what your gift really is.

They said, No, how'd I do that, Pastor?

I said, just get involved in church.

Start working in church.

Do the children's ministry, do the baby ministry.

Now you've got to have a special calling for babies.

That's an unbelievable, divine calling.

Especially when they're pooping and you're changing those diapers.

We all have to bear our crosses.

Amen.

Just spirit-filled, Susan said.

Yeah, yeah.

You definitely have to be spirit-filled with a mask, too.

But anyway.

But but no, what I'm saying is, try, there's a lot of things around here.

You can try, and guess what?

You're going to find something that you really like to do.

Like these guys up here playing that.

Now that's gifts.

And they're making melody and all.

But they love playing these instruments.

They love doing what they do.

So you're going to find something that you love doing what you're going to do.

Kind of reminds me of the school.

I found this little illustration.

I thought, man, that's good.

It was an animal school.

And so what happened?

They took a duck, who was a great swimmer, tried to teach him how to climb.

Decided he needed to learn how to climb.

Then they took a squirrel, which was a great climber, and tried to teach him how to swim.

Then they took a rabbit who was a great runner and tried to get him to climb.

Now, folks, listen to me.

And both, you know, it just didn't work.

Because, see, if you're a duck, you're a duck.

And if you're a duck, you are a swimmer.

And you ought to do what you do.

You ought to swim.

And when you get out, you wobble.

Amen.

And some of us wobble even though we're not ducks.

And if you're a rabbit, you run.

Hey, amen.

If you're a squirrel, you climb.

In other words, find out what you do and do it.

What you do best and do it.

Amen?

That's what, that's the, hey, you can say, well, I'm doing this, but that's not really what I love to do.

It'll click.

I promise you, it'll click.

I can remember when God was working with me about ministry.

I didn't actually really know.

So I just, I worked in every ministry at Thomas Road Baptist Church, from the bus ministry to the Sunday school ministry, to the youth ministry, to the adult ministry.

And when I got with the, with when I got with Dr.

Woodrow Crow in the adult ministry, he said, Would you head up my evangelism, my outreach program in the young couples class?

I said, I'd love to.

Guess what?

It clicked.

That's what I love doing.

Going out, loving old people, inviting people, visiting young couples, helping them.

That's what I do.

Next thing you know, God says, Hey, you have called you.

I didn't know I was called a pastor until the last semester in seminary.

I knew I was called to some kind of Christian ministry, but my goal was I was going to be a youth pastor, and actually I was going to be a football coach, and I was going to, or wake any kind of athletics, and then the summer work with youth and youth camps.

And that's what I had planned.

And it wasn't until the last semester that God opened the door for me to become the pastor at Open Door Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Bam! So don't get upset.

I was at my end of my seminary training until I really knew what God.

I mean, I thought I knew what God wanted.

But I got involved for three years in everything.

And the last six months, well, actually the last eight months in seminary, I had, I was entering them in a little church in Burgess, Virginia, because they needed a pastor.

And I wasn't going to be the pastor, but I come up, I love preaching.

I was beginning to preach and I enjoyed that.

So I came up there and for eight months, a little church, it was a split off of another church of 35 people, and in eight months we were running 150 and already seen 40 saved and baptized.

That's where I almost got drowned in baptism.

We had a big trough, and this lady was, I was baptizing her for the first time in my first baptism.

She was a larger later lady.

I'll never forget it.

Her name was Amy.

Scared of water, petrified, almost drowned.

Big old trough.

So I said, it's all right, Amy, I'm gonna take you down, showed them how to do it, and I'm gonna bring you right back up.

I learned a lesson early in my ministry with the first baptism.

Don't ever wear a tie when you are baptizing.

Because when I took her under, she went, and she grabbed my tie, oh, and then I went.

And I'm drawing on, I can't pull that lady up with my neck.

I'm saying, please help me, please.

Now I wasn't saying that out loud, but in my mind, I'm thinking somebody done help help get this lady up.

By that time the deacons ready in there came up and I'll go.

Hallelujah.

I learned a lesson.

Never, ever baptize with a tie on.

Never again, never did.

That's the first thing going off, baby.

Amen.

That was sick.

Guys, I about drowned.

I mean, here I am a yeah.

I'm telling you, it scared me to death.

So, as we look at these six titles, it raises us to a status of minister.

They put all Christians in the role once performed by the Old Testament priests, really.

The difference between the Old and New Testament is the Old Testament, only the priests could come to God, but the New Testament we go directly to God.

In fact, in during the Reformation, Martin Luther listen this, helped the church see the light in three areas.

Here's how he he brought light to the church.

You know, he was a Catholic, member of the uh Catholic Church, priest.

And first, he said, Hey, and I love this, the light went off in three areas.

First, light was that the Word of God helps us, well, Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit helps us understand the scriptures, and that the scriptures were the sole authority for man.

Clear biblical truth, which we started with on our first core value.

That's it.

Hey, hey, it's not man's ideas or man's principles or government's principles.

It's basically the word of God which teaches us everything we need to know.

I love that.

The second light that he brought.

Martin Luther helped us to understand that we're justified by faith and not by works.

He struggled all half of his life trying to work himself to heaven.

And then it clicked.

Romans 5 1.

Being justified, hey, we're not justified by works, but justified by faith.

For by works, hey, not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to God's mercy, he saved us.

So he showed us in his reformation.

Salvation is not by works.

You can't join a church and get saved.

You can't be baptized and get saved.

You can't, hey, teach a Sunday school and be saved.

You've got to be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.

No man comes unto the Father except by me.

Can I get an Amen, church?

John 14, 6.

And then the last light, the third light, and this has been the third thing Martin Luther helped us understand that has been really cloudy, kind of through the centuries, is the priesthood of the believers.

And that's the one issue of the Reformation that hasn't come clearly down over all these years, over the centuries.

In fact, Martin Luther, a former Catholic, wanted everybody to be called priest.

He wanted to knock out that distinction between the priest and the people.

And today, in a Protestant context, everybody here is called ministers.

We're holy priests.

We're ministers, and that's what it really means.

So that's the key, and that's what we see.

And in the Old Testament, the presence of God, the presence of God was in a temple, in a place.

But now the presence of God's in our bodies, in our temple.

What know you not that your body's a temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you?

You, hey, and it's not, hey, it's not of man, it's of God, and you're his, and he's your father, and you're his sons and daughters.

First Corinthians 6, 19.

Wow.

Beautiful, beautiful.

So we need to get to the place that we understand everybody here is a minister.

Can I get an amen?

We're all ministers.

That's the new revelation.

That's the new direction.

And that's the new covenant.

Number two, spiritual growth will never happen unless we use our gifts.

Romans 12, 6 through 8.

We'll never grow spiritually like we need to unless we use the spiritual gifts God's given us.

And notice how we grow spiritually through three things.

This is good.

Our time spent with God.

That's through prayer and the word of God.

How do we grow?

Spending time with God.

Study to show thyself to prove unto God.

A workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, 2 Timothy 2.15.

Our wana program.

Why do you think we'd do a wana?

Here's a great, great foundation for a wana.

Here, Matt.

Here you go, baby.

You know why?

Because we teach our kids starting at cubbies.

No, we go lower than that, though.

What do you call them?

Puddles.

Puggles.

Puggles.

Are those the diapers?

No.

Okay.

Two.

Puggle.

Two-year-olds, thank you.

Man, I didn't realize we started it too now.

Okay.

We started with cubbies when when our kids went through.

But why?

Why do we do that?

Because we know if we can get them in the Word of God at the beginning stage of their development, and God gets a hold of their heart, they will be dynamic Christians, dynamic success, dynamic in everything.

They will make it in life and have a life that's worth living and purpose with it.

That's why you want your kids in Iwana and you want your kids in Sunday school and children's church, but especially awanas, it gets them in the book.

Nothing better.

Nothing better.

And then B, our time spent with other Christians.

How do we grow?

In using our gifts?

Our time spent with other Christians.

Fellowship.

Acts 2.42 says, be steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in breaking bread, a breaking bread together and in prayers together.

Acts 2.42, that was the New Testament church.

And then C, our time spent using our spiritual gifts and talents in ministry.

By love, serve one another.

Galatians 5.13.

That's so good, folks.

That's awesome.

A lot of believers think that they're supposed to be ornaments, sparkling, brightly on display.

In fact, I was talking to a lady I was preaching on spiritual gifts a long time ago at Open Door Baptist Church, and she came up to me after service.

She said, Oh, Pastor, I use my gifts.

I'm so excited about my gifts.

And I just finished teaching on spiritual gifts, David, so you may have this too.

Hey, and you know what she said?

Oh, let me tell you how I use my spiritual gifts.

I said, Yeah, I'm excited, you know.

Hey, she's listening to my teaching and preaching.

She says, I I come to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.

That's my spiritual gifts.

I said, I don't think she got it.

I'm here.

I mean, she thought, I guess, I was gonna give her a ribbon for not missing church.

She's there on Sunday morning, Sunday night.

Listen, you can be on the love boat and not be a member of the crew.

Hello?

There's a difference of being a crew member and a passenger.

Can I get an amen?

So if all you do is come and and soak in the and enjoy the music and the teaching, and you're just growing and growing by individually.

You're taking in, you're taking in, you're taking in, and you're not giving out, you're gonna be fat.

Hello.

Be calling you fat soul.

You can't, folks, you can't take in and not give back out.

Amen.

That's what we that's what he's that's the whole thing.

So our time spent with God, praying the word, our time spent with other Christians, that's why you need to get involved with a Bible class, a Sunday school class, or or or find some people that you're in common with.

And we're we're really praying for men's ministry and getting our men's ministry going and praying together.

And just so at Open Door Baptist Church, we had a group of about a hundred men, and what we'd meet together and pray together and sometimes have a prayer breakfast, but but we we really we might bring some donuts or something, but we really meant to just pray and to talk to each other and pray for each other's needs and problems they're going through.

And then the fishermen would go fishing, the hunters would go hunting, the athletes, us, we'd go play basketball or now pick a ball or whatever.

Whatever you had in common with those group of men, y'all develop more relationships that could be taken outside the walls of the church.

You need that.

You need that.

Why?

You need accountability, you need people that outside the church you can know you can call, and they're gonna be there, those ministers.

There's only three, four, well, you got Odita, you but you got Rick, you got David, and you got there's only four three of us for his own staff that are paid, that are called, would be called the elders or the pastors.

There's only three of us, and here's the thing: we can't take care, and that we've got about throughout on a whole week, during the week, there's over 300 people comes through this place at least.

And we've the but really there's a strong 350 to 400 people that we minister to.

And every once in a while they all show up at one time and they're standing out the door.

But we can't, hey, I if we can't know everything's going on in your lives.

I mean, I'm on Facebook, but if you're not on Facebook or and I don't look at it 24-7, but you do have my phone, you can call me or text me.

Text me is a good way to get to me.

I yeah, I'm gonna within that 24 hours, I will.

Because the last thing I do, I get back before I go to bed, is look at my text.

That's the last thing I do, or my phone calls.

So make sure I've touched everybody that needed me.

I do that.

Do it in the mornings after I study, and then do it before I go to bed.

That's what I do.

And in between there, I promise you, I'm ministering, I'm doing something.

After my exercise, I'm talking to people about Jesus.

Or helping people.

That's what I do.

So, it's so important.

A lot of believers think again they're just ornaments.

No, you gotta get involved.

I love, I love what the Philips translation of Romans says.

Listen to what it says.

Verses 6 through 8.

If our gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision.

If it is serving others, let us concentrate on our service.

If it is teaching, let us give all we have to our teaching.

And if it is the gift of stimulating the faith of others, encouraging others, building others up.

Let us set ourselves out to do it.

Let the man who is called to give, give freely.

Give, give of your time, your resources, give.

Let the people who will authority think of his own responsibility.

And let the man who feels sympathy for his fellows act cheerfully.

In other words, your gifts are exercised within the body of Christ.

That's why when people tell me, well, I can meet God and have my own relationship with God by myself.

That's absolutely true.

But you can't exercise your gifts by yourself.

Hello.

You can't do it.

And that is a major problem.

Because God saves you and gives you gifts, and he gives severally, 1 Corinthians 12, 11.

He gives you so you can be used in the body of Christ to be a blessing and to help.

Remember, we built in last week in this verses a holy house.

A holy house.

We're building a house and we're lively stones.

We're part of a stone.

Jesus is a chief cornerstone, and we are a construction project.

Hey, we are a construction project in process.

We need each other.

We need each other.

I need you.

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you.

I'd be miserable.

I'd be lonely.

My wife says that I preached to the law.

So I go to Walmart.

Hey, my wife, when we get ready to go to Walmart, she says, uh, um, you want to go to Walmart?

I say yes.

She said, well, I'll take my car.

Because she knows I'm going to be an hour minimum in Walmart.

Because I'm going to meet somebody I know, or I'm going to introduce myself and start talking about Jib.

I love Walmart, and I don't, yeah, I go to Walmart a lot and never buy anything.

It's a great place for me to go do what I do.

Unpaid greeter.

Unpaid greeter.

Unpaid greeter, that's right.

That's what I do.

It's a marketplace.

There's a lot of people at Walmart.

Hey, a lot of people at Walmart need Jesus.

Can I get an amen?

And let me tell you what I love.

Rick, we're gonna have to bring those back.

Are you sure?

That my hoodie, loving God and loving people.

Folks, I am telling you what, I get more opportunities of witness with that hoodie than anything I do.

I walked in, we walked in the pancake place yesterday.

We were going to the world of wheels, and I just do what I do.

I open the door to let several people walk in front of us.

And that one lady stopped and said, That's exactly what you just did.

And I thought to myself, open the door?

She said, No, loving God and loving people.

You just showed what your your shirt says.

Amen.

It's not hard.

Just show up.

Display who Christ is.

Loving God, loving people.

Jesus is awesome.

You'll get nods.

Now, some will turn run, but most of them won't.

So number three, success is only possible if every Christian has a ministry.

Look at Ephesians.

Look at Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:16

Chapter 4, verse 16.

I love that whole chapter.

But verse 16, listen to what Ephesians 4, 16 says.

From whom the whole body fitly joins together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Everybody is a living stone.

Everybody has a place.

Everybody's part of the construction.

And you've got a job and a gift and a talent to be used to build the body of Christ.

Folks, being a Christian is not just something that, again, that you, man, I'm not going to hell.

I'm saved.

I'm excited.

I love Jesus.

But if you really love Jesus, then you want to do what Jesus wants you to do.

If you love me, what?

Keep my what?

Commandments.

John 14, 15.

You're involved.

You're involved.

It's so.

We need each other.

Lefty Gomez knew this.

Now, who is he?

When he was introducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, I bet you knew him, Rick.

They asked Lefty, what is the secret of success?

His success all those years in Major League Baseball.

Here's what he said.

He said, I got two secrets.

Number one, clean living.

Can I get an Amen?

Clean living.

And the other secret, he said, I had a fast infill.

He had people that supported him that were good at what they did.

Michael Jordan never became the best, hey, the best basketball player to ever live.

And by the way, it wasn't just his ability, it's when he won all the championships.

And he couldn't win the championships until he got Scottie Pippen and three or four more of those players around him that enabled him as a team to win the championships.

You got a lot of people that, hey, are great players in Hall of Famers, but they never won a championship.

You know why?

They never had a team that came together.

Can I get an amen?

Success is only possible if every Christian has a ministry.

And I believe that.

Number four, needs will never be met without lay ministry.

I love that.

They'll never be met without lay ministry.

And let me show you why.

Right there in Ephesians 4.

Watch this, verse 11 and 12.

Here's what he says.

And this is powerful.

And he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.

Why?

Watch.

For the perfecting, that means the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.

There it is.

For the building of the body of Christ.

Needs will never be met without lay ministry.

And that's the reason for lay ministry.

If you remember, you realize in Acts 6, when the widows were not being taken care of, that's where lay ministry was born.

In Acts 6.

The preachers couldn't do it.

They were giving themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word, Acts 6.4.

So they needed help.

The congregation was growing and growing.

A lot of widows.

So they said, hey, we got to choose out from among you ministers, diaconists, deacons, servants, ministers.

We all have to do our part.

We all have to do our part.

It is so important.

You see, when someone comes to this church, and I want to give you a statistic that's going to blow your mind.

As a first-time friend, and some of you have just been visiting.

See if I'm right.

When someone comes to the church as a first-time visitor, in the first ten minutes, first ten minutes, it's what Barner says in his statistical research.

In the first ten minutes, a visitor will determine whether or not they would come again.

I mean, they hadn't even heard me preach.

They hadn't even heard Benji and the praise team do their music.

It's how when they get out of that car, someone says, Hi, how are you doing?

Are you a first-time visitor?

Well, I do because I'm looking for them, but hi.

The first time you've ever, is this the first time with us?

Yes.

Well, here, come, can I help you?

Oh, you got children.

Can I help you?

Most people just wait and they'll come in and you look at them and you just keep.

I mean, I mean, go out of your way to get them to the to our welcome center, our welcome place, and let them know and introduce them to people.

That's what I do.

A lot of you I say, hey, so-and-so, play.

This is the first time they visit you.

Go say something.

I know I do it to Rick and David all the time.

I think this person, or if they're talking, I say, now who is that?

So I could go and I mean, you know, we got to check children in, you got to plug, they, they don't, the children's tear stuff.

I mean, there's a lot of things going on, and they're the first time they don't know.

There's, and I I don't know why they'd be scared, but they are.

And then not that they're scared, but they just don't know.

They don't know if you're handling snakes, they don't know if you're gonna shoot, they don't know.

They don't know if you run into pews or I'm serious.

Now, me, no problem.

Bless God, I go in and introduce myself to them before, and they say, Who is this guy?

Hey, I'm here to worship God.

Hey, hey, you know, where's a coffee?

Where's a dough?

I mean, I'm that, but there's only about 3% of the personalities like me.

I understand that.

But you don't have to have that personality of what you have to do is have a love for people.

And you just want to help people.

That's what I'm talking about.

Do you realize the first 10 minutes they already know whether or not they would want to come back?

That's powerful, folks.

That's powerful.

That's why greeters, whether you are, whether you're outside with our security team and they do a great job, but that you you make sure they feel welcome.

Can I help find you a seat or can I get you a cup of coffee?

What can I do?

That's what we're talking about.

That's exactly what we're talking about.

Number five.

God's work will be hindered without ministry commitment.

If we do not minister, we're gonna hinder God.

Man, that's kind of shocking to me.

But it really is true.

And I had to struggle with that for a little bit.

Then I God said, No, what about my scripture?

God's not limited.

I know that.

He can do anything he wants to.

But God has chosen you and me to be his arms, to be his hands, to be his eyes, to be his feet.

1 Corinthians 3.9 says, God has chosen us to be co-laborers.

Amen?

Listen to what he says.

For we are laborers with God.

Laborers with God.

1 Corinthians 15.58 thinks, he says, fulfill what God's called you to do.

That your rewards, hey, not be hindered.

Beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain.

That's what he says in 1 Corinthians 15, 58.

So, during the Second World War, there was a French community that in their community, in the middle of their street was a little circle, and their main scene there, their focal point was a statue of Christ.

Well, during World War II, when they bombed all that area, the statue was completely almost destroyed into a lot of pieces.

And so after the war, they started taking all the pieces, all the pieces and gathering them back together.

And then they put them back together, they glued them back together, and they put the statue back up.

Now, it wasn't near as pretty, visually speaking, because it had scars and some cracks you could still see.

But the one thing it didn't have that really broke their hearts, they couldn't find the hands.

And so they were to the point, well, I guess we're gonna have to take it down when all of a sudden somebody took a little sign and put it down at the bottom of the statue and said, We are his hands.

We are his feet.

Wow.

Wow, is that not beautiful?

He has no hands but ours.

No hands but ours.

And then that visually, all of a sudden, visually, the commitment was understood.

Number six, the church is incomplete without everyone using their gifts.

Possible problems with gifts in the church.

Are you ready?

Three things right there.

A, abuse.

Too few people using too many gifts.

In other words, everybody's trying to do all the work.

A few people trying to do all the work.

They're overloaded, they're worn out, they're tired, they're having to carry the whole ball of wax.

B.

Disuse.

Too many people using too few gifts.

And it's our job as pastors to find out what your gift is and to offer the opportunities for you to exercise those gifts.

That's our purpose.

I just read the scriptures to you in Ephesians 4, 11, and 12.

That's our purpose.

And then see, misuse, people using the wrong gifts.

And we talked about the little school with the animals.

Number seven, every Christian has a gift and is expected to use it.

Look at 1 Peter.

In chapter 2 there, but look, go over a couple of chapters to 1 Peter 4 and look at verse 10 and 11.

And every man has received the gift.

Even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Verse 11.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.

If any man minister, there it is, let him do.

Hey, it as of the ability which God gives, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom there be praise and dominion forever and ever.

Wow, that's powerful.

There it is.

Right there.

Spiritual gift is a special attribute given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the body of Christ according to God's grace.

Man, that's good.

For the use within the context of the body of Christ.

Number eight, using your gift glorifies God.

Verse 11, we just read it.

Whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, you do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10, 31.

And then number nine, not using your gift or gifts, displeases God.

Woo! Now let me let me give you a Matthew chapter 25.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

It's there.

You gotta go home and read it this afternoon or this week.

Use that as your study time.

Oh, it's awesome.

I took it a whole part all week.

Matthew 25, verses 14 through 30.

Matthew 25:14–30

The story there, remember the pair of the talents?

Five talents, two talents, one talent.

Remember that story?

And the one who had one talent did not use his gift, if you remember.

And was greatly displeased.

God was greatly displeased.

And if you remember the story, the one that got had five talents, he doubled it to ten.

The one that had two doubled it to four.

And the one that had just the one, he did nothing.

And the one that both of them that double it, remember what Jesus said?

He said, Well done.

You've been faithful, hey, over these few things and doing what I've asked you to do.

I'm gonna make you ruler over great things.

But what did he do with the one?

Remember the one?

Remember the one?

The one made an excuse.

Sounds like a bunch of Baptists.

Had to be a Baptist.

Lord, I thought you were hard.

Oh, you thought I'm hard because I gave you, hey, I gave you money to invest.

I gave you money to go do something, to work, work, work.

He said, at least you didn't even have to work.

You could have made me a little money, just put it in the bank.

Let it draw some interest.

Not our banks today.

You don't get squat.

Amen.

Hello?

You okay?

Remember that?

Remember that?

Let me show you the guidelines real quick.

I'm gonna finish here.

I'm right on time.

We got one more.

Oh, this is good.

Oh.

God's guidelines concerning your gifts.

Here they are.

A.

God gives different gifts to different people.

Say amen.

Different amounts to different people.

Some have five, some have two, some have one.

B.

He expects us to use them.

Amen.

Why did he get on to the guy that was he upset because the guy had one talent?

No.

Not at all.

Not upset at all about the one talent.

He's the one that gave it to him.

What was he upset about?

He didn't use it.

He didn't use it.

Folks, he didn't use it.

That's what he was upset about.

See?

If we do use it, he rewards us.

He rewards us if you use it.

The book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate there in day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that's written there, and then shall I make thy way prosperous?

Then shall you have good success.

D, if we don't use them, he disciplines us.

What did he do to the one?

He took it away from him and gave it to the one that had invested the five and doubled.

He gave it to the one that had maximized his gifts.

Even if you have one talent, use it to the glory of God.

And that's good.

And by the way, you'll be rewarded too.

You'll be rewarded.

You know what I thought?

Then I'm going to close with the last one.

Let me go ahead and give you the last one.

Using your gift for ministry ministers to God.

Whew, that's good.

Remember the passage again, 25?

Remember when Jesus said, I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty, you gave me drink.

I was in prison and you came and visited me.

And remember what happens at the end of that parable?

What do they say?

Wait a minute, Lord, how did we?

When were you hungry and we fed you?

When were you in prison and we visited you?

When were you thirsty and we gave you drink?

Remember what he said?

Boy, this is good.

Don't you miss it.

This is worth the whole message.

Because you have done it unto the least ones, you've done it as unto me.

Folks, listen to me.

Everything you do with your gifts, you're not just doing it to me or to you or to your friends or to your church members.

You're literally doing it unto the Lord.

Same way with the parable of the talents.

It was his money he had given, and he wanted you to use it for, hey, his glory.

Man, somebody say, I will sick.

I'm gonna know your home saying, that's good, preacher.

Are you with me, church?

You got to get this.

It's a change of your attitude about getting involved in church.

Well, I can do that.

I don't have to be a member of church and help people.

Absolutely, you can do that.

But the thing is, God's asked you and commanded you and saved you to help for you to help build the body of Christ.

That's why you need a local New Testament church.

You will he no, that's the way he chose to do it.

He didn't have to, but he did.

Upon this rock him, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Matthew 16, 18.

Somebody say amen.

That's the way he chose to do it.

Well, yeah, well, you ain't, pardon my grammar, even though it's legal now.

You ain't God.

Democrats, you ain't God.

Republicans, you ain't God.

Thank God.

Hello, you with me?

You do it God's way.

Remember Mother Teresa?

Here's what she said in her book, A Gift from God.

We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with him right now.

Watch this.

To be happy with him at this very moment.

For being happy in his presence means loving as he loves, helping as he helps, giving as he gives, serving as he serves, rescuing as he rescues, and being with him for all the 24 hours because we touch him when we touch others.

Is that not good?

Title of her book was a gift from God.

Let me close with this illustration.

Man, boy, when God gave me this, I said, ooh, ouch.

Amen.

At Christmas.

You go out and you buy gifts for your children, your family.

Let's say you go out and you buy gifts for your children.

You wrap them up.

They're special gifts.

You thought long and hard.

Of trying to get the right gift for them.

Something and we a gift worth giving.

You heard, Benji, gift for a gift gift.

He loves that saying.

But but we've learned, I mean, you you put a lot of time and effort.

What if you crocheted like I showed you that design?

I mean, you you did it specially for the one you love so much.

You with me?

I know you've done that.

We have.

You wrap it up.

Christmas morning gets here.

You ready for this?

You grab that gift and you can't wait.

And you give it to that special son or that special daughter.

You can't wait for them to open it.

You can't wait for them to get it.

And to be excited, and for them to be grateful, thankful, but yet useful.

They don't open the gift.

In fact, they just put it aside, and after a while they take it and go to the room and put it under the bed.

Don't even open it.

Later that afternoon, friends come over.

They ask your son or daughter, what'd you get for Christmas?

Oh, nothing.

What would that do to your heart?

It would crush it.

And you would be running through your mind, how ungrateful could they be?

How unthankful could they be?

Do they not love me?

Do they not care about me as their parents?

What about God's gift?

Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of light.

2 Corinthians 9.15.

James 1.17.

Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of light.

James 1.17.

2 Corinthians 2.9.

I mean, 2 Corinthians 9.15.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Have you ever thought about that?

He gave you those gifts.

He gave you those talents, the voice.

And you went and you put them under the bed.

You're not using them.

You're not saying thank you, Lord.

Wow.

That's convicting to me, folks.

And I've asked the Lord even this week, Lord, if there's any in my life stuff that's hindering me from not doing what you want me to do with the gifts that you've given me to do.

Would you help me?

Would you forgive me?

And God, let me just tell you, I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that you saved me.

Can I get an amen, church?

I'm thankful that you've given me the gifts that you've given me.

And God, I want to use them for your honor and for your glory.

Because one day every knee's going to bow, every tongue's going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.