The Gifts And Callings Of God || State Road Church Of The Nazarene

I want you just to look at two verses with me

today. And we'll be in a couple other places

that I'll try to make sure you're with me. But

the two main verses that we're going to focus

on today are Ephesians chapter four, verses 11

and 12. Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 and

12. And he gave some to be apostles, some prophets,

some evangelists. and some shepherds. How many

of your Bibles say pastors? We'll talk a little

bit about that, not really much today, but we'll

be in this passage or at least referring to it

for about the next six weeks. So we'll talk a

little bit more about that. Shepherds is a little

bit of a better translation, but some of the

Bibles do translate that as pastors. He gave

some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some

to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers

for the equipping of the saints. So let's break

that down a little bit and keep your Bible open

there with you just for a second. The first thing

I want you to notice there is how many of your

Bibles, the translation that you're looking at,

start with the word and. There's a conjunction

there at the very first part of that verse. And

he gave some. How do you have a conjunction there?

Something like that. How many of you are alive?

Let's start with that. So so still a conjunction.

Yes, so there's some kind of a conjunction there

so or and or something like that Do you have

something like that? Okay, you guys were making

me nervous there for a second some kind of conjunction

the one that I'm reading from says and and Whether

it's and or so it's a conjunction and you already

know this, right? So anytime there's a conjunction

It's taking something it's introducing a new

thought after a thoughts already been introduced,

right? We are we understand that So like if Danita

sends me to the store and she says to me, hey,

Phil, I want you to go to the store. I want you

to get milk and coffee and cookies. Specifically,

there would be Oreo cookies, right? So Danita

loves Oreo cookies. So milk and coffee and Oreo

cookies. It's taking something that we already

know and adding to that list. You already know

this. So here in Ephesians chapter four, the

and is linking apostles, prophets, evangelists,

shepherds, and teachers to something. And here

specifically is referring back to verse seven.

Verse seven says this, teach one grace has been

given. The and that we're looking at is connecting

this new thought of these leadership roles of

apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers.

back to verse seven which says that to all of

us grace has been given. So there's an important

thought even in that simple word. So it's connecting

this new idea of leadership roles of apostles,

prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, back

to the fact that it's about grace. That the reason

we have these gifts is because of grace. So these

are not status symbols, they're not just titles,

but they're gracious appointments by Christ for

the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

So the reason that there are apostles, prophets,

evangelists, shepherds, and teachers in the church

and in the world is because of what? Because

of grace. So the outcome of that is that the

body should be built up. But the reason that

we have those in the church and in the world

is because of grace. So it's safe to say that

apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and

teachers are a means of grace. That the reason

those have been given to the church and to the

world is so that they would be a means of grace

in the world. So what that tells us is that prophecy

done well is a means of grace. That shepherding

done well is a means of grace. That teaching

done well is a means of grace. That evangelism

done well is a means of grace. So if that's true,

then why do we allow those who serve in these

leadership capacities to use and abuse the same

people who should be the recipients of grace?

So let's take a quick survey here. Of all of

those things, apostles, prophets, evangelists,

shepherds, teachers, how many of you have ever

realized that it wasn't, you didn't receive it

in a way that was gracious. So let me give you

some examples. Have you ever heard somebody who's

trying to tell somebody about Jesus and they

sound really angry about it? Have you ever heard

these kind of approaches to evangelism? Like

the entire turn or burn, right? So I'm telling

you right now, you either listen to what I'm

gonna tell you or you're gonna burn forever in

a lake of fire. Now there's truth to that, right?

We understand that. But is that gracious? No,

that's not gracious. Have you ever heard somebody

preaching a sermon? Hopefully it's not me, but

have you ever heard somebody who's preaching

a sermon and you're like this dude is ticked

off? He's he's really mad at us and he's really

mad at God And I think he doesn't even like himself

because this guy is ticked off How many of you

have ever had something like that? So is that

gracious? You're like, you know what? I'm excited

the recipient of grace today because this guy's

ticked off, right? No Have you ever heard teaching

that was less than gracious? So in all of those

things the reason they've been given to the church

and given to the world is to be a means of grace

and unfortunately sometimes they get weaponized.

But I think it's foundational for us to remember

that the reason that those leadership roles exist

is to be gracious to the church and to the world.

So, that's the and. The second thing I want you

to notice there is and. It's a conjunction. It's

tying what we're about to learn about leadership

roles back to grace. Here's the next part, and

he gave. Now, that phrase, he gave, is in the

aorist active form. Everyone say ooh -ah. That

was pretty good. That was pretty good. That felt

good hearing you say that. Everyone say ooh -ah.

That's just fantastic. So, the aorist active

verb, in scripture, it points to a completed

act with lasting effect. So anytime you find

an aorist active verb, it's something that has

been done, but once it's done, it's gonna continue

to have ripple effects forever. It will never

stop having a ripple effect. These are the things

for which there is no undo button. So I don't

know about you, but I like the undo button on

my computer. I use it all the time. Because I'll

realize that I did something wrong I know this

will shock many of you But I did something wrong

and I want to click the undo button and I know

what it looks like on Apple I know what it looks

like on IBM stuff I know what the undo button

looks like and I'm a big fan of the undo button

But what this is saying is that this is the kind

of thing that once it's done. It's done There's

no undoing it It will be like that forever There's

it's once it's done. There's no going back So,

there's a powerful expression of this in Romans

Romans 11:29

chapter 11 verse 29. This is so good. So, this

is Roman. You can't turn over there. You don't

have to. It's Romans chapter 11 verse 29. It

Romans 11:29

says, for the gifts, that's what we're talking

about, right? So, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7

Ephesians 4:7

says, and he gave gifts. And then it goes on

and it's talking about that he gave some gifts

that are apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds,

and teachers. If you're with me, go like this.

So we're talking about the gifts, right? So Romans

11 says, the gifts and the calling of God are

irrevocable. Heiress active verb. Once it's done,

there's no going back. There's no undo button

whatsoever. Once it happens, it's that way forever.

So, it's referring back to verse 7 and 8. So,

verse 7, to each one grace has been given, and

then in verse 8, he's given these gifts. These

roles are not man appointed, they're not self

-selected, nobody can get up tomorrow morning

and say, you know what, I am an apostle. It doesn't

work like that. God has to call us to that. He's

the one who gives these gifts. So, here's the

point that I want you to see. The gifts and the

calling of God are not like Amazon Prime. So

you can't take the stuff off the Amazon Prime

truck and say you know what it doesn't it doesn't

look good with my eye color It was it's the color

in the description is not quite what I'm looking

for It's not that I'm getting any bigger the

size of the shirt is off. I'm sure that's what

it is So I don't like this shirt anymore, and

I'm gonna take it back to Kohl's It's my place

that I like to return stuff to Amazon because

they give me Kohl's cash So I don't like this

thing. I'm gonna take it to Kohl's I walk in

there and I give it to them and they give me

five dollars in Kohl's cash Hoping that I'll

come back to the store. Here's the point of Act

it heiress active. It's not like that at all

Once he's been done that it gets stamped into

our spiritual DNA forever So and he gave some

to be here's the point that I want you to see

in that Not everybody's an evangelist Not everybody's

a shepherd. Not everybody's a teacher. Not everybody's

an apostle. Now there are some things that we

do know. Like not everyone's an evangelist. That's

true. But everyone can and should evangelize.

Everyone should and can evangelize. What do I

mean? Everyone should tell people the good news

about Jesus. Do you know how incredibly selfish

it is if you know the good news about Jesus and

you don't tell anybody about the good news about

Jesus? I mean, it's pretty terrible. So everyone

can and should tell people about Jesus Paul says

that everyone can and should prophesy, right?

First Corinthians talks about this that everyone

can and should prophesy, but not everyone's a

prophet So there's this guy that I doubt any

of you have ever met his name was Mike It really

was his name. I'm not changing it for any reason

I have no reason to change it but Mike was one

of the most gifted shepherds I've ever known

and yet Like a lot of times when we think about

shepherds, we automatically make the connection

that some of your Bibles have made and we think

about shepherds in the role of being a pastor.

So like when I talk about Mike was one of the

best shepherds I've ever known. Like how many

of you heard that and you immediately thought

that I was talking about a pastor? Because that's

kind of the stereotype that we have. If you're

a shepherd, you're a pastor. And Mike wasn't

a pastor. In fact, Mike was the district ODOT

director. Delaware if you're if you're familiar

at all with Delaware as you're going into Delaware

from Sunbury on 36 and 37 you go in and 36 go

straight 37 beers off right before that happens

there's the district ODOT garage there he was

an ODOT director there one of the most gracious

shepherding people I've ever known in my life

and so Mike's not a pastor he's never been in

that role but he was fantastic at caring for

people and like he could teach a master's level

course to pastors on how to take care of people.

So Mike was known, like he would do these kind

of things. So when the guys who are operating

the plows in the middle of the winter, when they'd

had an incredibly long night, you know what Mike

would do? He wouldn't sleep. And he would go

track down his plows and jump up on the side

of the plow and just say, hey, how you doing?

Are you doing okay? Do you need anything? Can

I run and buy you a cup of coffee? Are you doing

all right? And sometimes he'd say, hey, I'm going

to jump in the truck with you. And they'd be

like, hey, I don't like this. The director's

in the truck with me. And he'd be like, no, listen,

I'm not here for that. I'm not here to judge

how you're doing. I just want to make sure you're

OK. And just one of the best shepherds I've ever

worked with. And he cared for people in a way

that I have found to be very rare. And he just

was like, nothing I'd ever seen before. So what

am I getting at with all of that? We need to

be aware of false consensus effect. It's a cognitive

bias where people overestimate the extent to

which their beliefs, values, habits, and behaviors

are normal and typical of others. In other words,

we tend to assume that others think and act exactly

like we do. Does that make sense? We talked about

this over the weekend at our house. So I don't

know if you know this but these two beautiful

ladies it's their birthday today So we've been

celebrating because like when you this is a big

birthday. I won't tell you which one it is It

could be 25. You don't know any better. It's

25. Don't they look good for 25? So they look

good for 25 I don't know how we have a child

that's close to that same age, but hey, we don't

need to talk about that. 25 it is. 25 is a good

number. And we were talking about this over the

weekend, so everybody's in. And we all do this

to some extent, right? So how many of you, like

you just thought that whatever your family dynamic

was, that that's what it was like in every other

household that your friends were a part of. And

at some point you realize, no, it's really not

like that. And maybe it's better for me, or maybe

it's not better for me. But we start to realize

that it's not quite like that. But at least to

some extent, we all have this idea that whatever's

normal to me is normal to everybody. And here's

where we get in trouble with that. And here's

where it got me in trouble. So one of the things,

like if I took the test that I asked you guys

to take this week, one of the things that I would

score extremely high on, because I have a few.

And I score very poorly in a few of them too.

Which is the way it's supposed to be, by the

way, right? So sometimes we look at that, and

we're like, man, I wish I would be able to score

higher at this. Hey, listen, God wired you that

way on purpose. He knows what he's doing. It's

not a mistake. It's OK. That's the way that he

wanted you to be. So I would score very high

on any test that I was given about being a shepherd.

And we'll talk more about that when we talk about

shepherding. And one that I also score very highly

in is the prophet role. And I kind of, here's

the way that I best explain that, and we'll talk

more about this when we get to these two. When

the pressure's on, I kind of gravitate more to

the shepherd side. So when things are tough,

that's the part that kind of shines through,

is I become more of a shepherd. And it becomes

more important to me to take care of people.

When I'm resting and things are good, that's

where I tend to be more in the prophetic. Does

that make sense? But when things are tough, I

kind of default to being a shepherd. And then

like right under that is, and it kind of depends

on the role that I'm in, the one that's just

below that is apostle, and like what I do with

public safety, that's 100 % the role that I'm

in. So like with the highway patrol, with local

law enforcement and fire, that's kind of the

role that I'm in, and we'll talk more about that

when we get there. But so I'm a shepherd. But

here's where it gets me in trouble. Because I'm

a shepherd, my natural tendency is to assume

that everyone in a role that's similar to mine

is a shepherd. And when they don't respond like

a shepherd should, because I know how a shepherd

should respond, because I am one. So I know what

the response of a shepherd should look like.

So when people who are in roles like mine, they

don't respond like a shepherd, at best, I walk

away feeling disappointed. But if I'm going to

be completely honest, there are times when people

who are enrolled similar to mine and they don't

behave like a shepherd, I'm not just disappointed,

I'm disgusted. Because sometimes I look at it

and I'll say, how can you be so blind as to not

care for the people who have been entrusted to

you? And how dare you treat them like cattle?

You can't begin to understand how liberating

it was for me. This was a recent development

when I recently realized that not everyone's

like me. And the reason that God put me in that

situation is not so that I could look at them

and say, you know what, I can't believe that

they would do it that way. But the reason I'm

in the situation is because I am a shepherd.

So when I see those things, I just need to provide

care. Get over the fact that they're not doing

it. But if I'm aware of it, I can provide that

care. Does that make sense? So I just assume

that everyone's a shepherd. And man, it was liberating

when I realized that not everyone's like me.

And that's OK. I don't have the luxury of being

a shepherd when I'm at the church. And here's

what I mean by that. So once I come to grips

with my gifting and calling, it's irrevocable.

It cannot be stopped. It's not like it's something

that's a switch that I can turn on and off. So

here's what that looks like So yes when we're

here and things are good. I tend to be more of

a prophet It's just the way that God's wired

me. I don't make excuses for it. I don't apologize

for it That's the way that God wired me when

things are tough. I tend to be more of a shepherd

So let me ask you a question. Which one am I

right now? If I had to toss up between the prophet

and things are really good and when things get

tough, I tend to be more of a shepherd. Which

one am I right now? I'm a shepherd. In fact,

if I were to take the test right now, like you

wouldn't see the tension between shepherd and

prophet right now. You would see that, hey, this

guy's a pretty strong prophet. I mean, a pretty

strong shepherd. That's because things are a

little challenging right now, and that's fine.

Eventually realized that and here's the way that

that looks so I don't get to shut that off So

when I go to the bus yard, you know the way that

the Lord wires me I'm still a shepherd So it's

a common thing when I'm out driving school bus

I'm telling you it happens like all the time

like multiple times every single week people

will come up to me out of the blue and they'll

say things like Hey Phil, would you pray with

me? Like not in your prayers, but would you pray

with me right now about this particular thing

that's going on? Why is that? Because I'm a shepherd

And I don't have to find people people come find

me Because they understand that hey if you go

talk to Phil about that he's gonna care he's

gonna show up he's gonna do those things it's

because the way the Lord's wired me so at home

and you can ask the need afterwards if you want

you can ask her So what I want you to know is

that when I'm here, what you see is pretty much

what you get at home, right? So the way that

you experience interaction with me, that's pretty

much what Danita gets. And Danita would tell

you that at home, I'm pretty much a shepherd,

except for when things are really good and I

tend to be more of a prophet at things. I'm not

as much of an apostle at home because that's

more of like Danita's lane. And so anyways, we

don't need to get into all that. We will talk

about that at some point. So it's not something

we can turn on or off. When I'm in ministry,

I'm kind of a hybrid between shepherd and prophet

in my roles with public safety. I'm definitely

kind of a shepherd apostle, but shepherd's always

right there in the top of the list. So we need

all the fivefold in the church to function well,

right? So here's the reason that Christ has given

these gracious gifts. And this is back to Ephesians

chapter four, verse 12, for the equipping of

the saints. So it's a fascinating word that's

used there. You know that I'm a biblical language

nerd. The word that's used there is catturismo.

Catturismo, say that. Catturismo. And that word

that's used there means to make fully ready to

repair or to restore to proper function. And

it's used throughout the New Testament, but here

are a couple places that I think are super fascinating

to me. So this word is used in Matthew chapter

four, verse 21. We'll look at it in just a second,

but in Matthew chapter four, it's used to mend

nets. And I'll actually read the passage to you

in a second. You don't need to turn there, but

it's used to mend nets, to return them to their

proper function, to repair them, to make them

fully ready. Well, why nets? Well, because nets

catch what otherwise would be lost. Now think

about that in the context of Apostles prophets,

evangelists, shepherds, teachers. So why do we

use words like mend? Because if we don't get

this right, we're going to miss things that they're

going to be lost forever. So you understand what's

riding on this. So we're talking about the people

your loved ones your friends who do not know

the Lord if we get this right And we get the

net mended correctly. It's able to catch that

which otherwise would be lost And if we don't

get it right The lost are still lost You see

the connection So here's what it says in Matthew

Matthew 4:21

chapter 4 verse 21 and going from there. He saw

two brothers. He's talking about Jesus He sees

two brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and

John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee,

their father, mending their nets. There's the

word, mending their nets. And he called them.

It's also used throughout the New Testament,

it's mending nets, that's true, but also for

restoring a broken bone. So many, many years

ago, Kalen was just a tiny, tiny little thing.

She was about two years old. I was actually working

with my in -laws who are in town because these

lovely ladies are having their 25th birthday

and I was working with them. We were working

on this barn in the middle of nowhere and I was

putting sheeting on the top of this barn and

I have the nail gun in my hand and So I mean

we have to get these sheets all the way up on

top of this ladder and it's the very last sheet

up on the very top of the barn and we have to

get the sheet in the kind of the middle of the

ladder so you get everything squared up well

by the time you get it where it needs to go it's

not really in a great spot to get all the nails

in. So I needed to get one last nail on the very

top far side of that board. I'm right -handed.

So this left nail way up there on the very top

of the barn is the last one that I need to get

to. And I can't quite get there because I'm on

the ladder and if I get out there too far, I'll

lose my balance and fall off the ladder. So I'm

a little bit stubborn. I don't know if you knew

that, but I have a little bit of a stubborn streak,

a determined streak. It's a determination streak

is what it is. So my father -in -law said, hey

Phil, just wait a second. Don't do anything stupid.

Because how 40 feet up in the air, something

like that? 45 feet, something like that. We were

up there pretty far. So I'm like, he's like,

just wait a minute. Don't do anything stupid.

I'll come up through the inside of the barn and

I'll get that last nail. I'm like, that's ridiculous.

It's going to take you 10 minutes to climb up

through the entire barn. That's insane. I'm just

going to get it. So he's telling me, wait, don't

do anything. I'll come up and get it. And I'm

determined. Some people would call it stubborn.

So I laid out across the barn. And I'm like,

I can do this. He'll be happy if I do this. He

doesn't have to climb up to the barn. So I'm

laying out on the barn. I've got my feet on the

ladder. I've got the gun. And I'm like, OK, here

we go. So I'm stretched out. I've got this hand

at reach out as far as I can on the board. I've

got the nail gun in this hand. I'm like, here

we go. And I reach up and bang! And I'm like,

yes, except for now the gun recoils and comes

down on my hand, my middle finger, and put a

ring shank nail through my middle finger. So

I'm like, well, that's not quite what I was hoping

for. So I pretty calmly said, I just shot myself

with a nail gun. Now this might be a shock to

you, but I'm a little bit of a jokester too.

So they thought that I was just being funny.

And so he's making his way up through the barn

and he gets up there and he's like, he did, he

shot himself with a nail gun. He's got a nail

in his hand. So I'm like, it's okay. So I came

down off the ladder and I'm like, I'm just gonna

bandage it up. It'll be fine. And I'll go have

the doctor look at it later. So the plan was

they're gonna get off these shears and cut the

glove off my hand. And that was a good plan until

they bumped the nail with the shears. and just

shot pain all the way through my arm into my

neck and into my head. I did not know that you

could feel the bone in your finger in your head,

but I'm like, yeah, let's not do that. So long

story short, I was originally just going to drive

myself to the ER, and we asked the owner of the

barn, hey, where's the nearest ER? He said, it's

40 minutes if you know where you're going. I'm

like, that's fantastic. And being that I don't,

this is probably not a good option. So they call

an ambulance. So the ambulance comes out, it's

like, I'm like, this is amazing. I knew that

a day like this would come. I've waited for this

moment to come. So they get there, and I'm making

jokes about the entire thing, and I said, I'm

so glad that I put on clean underwear. I'm just

so glad. I mean, it's really the thing that matters

to me, because when they cut all my clothes off

of me, I'm glad that I have clean underwear on.

You know, I'm so glad my grandmother got it right.

I really am glad I have clean underwear on. They

didn't cut my clothes off, in case you're wondering.

So the medics get there, and they see the barn

and the ladder and the entire thing, and I'm

just going to have some fun with them. So they

say, ask all the normal questions. Do you know

where you are? What's your name? So I said immediately,

I said, I'm 53 years old. I'm the president of

the United States. And they look and they say,

did he fall off the ladder? I'm like, I'm just

making all that up. They load me in the ambulance.

We get to the emergency room. They think that

I'm going to have to have surgery. So they're

starting to prep the entire thing for surgery.

They give me a pain block for my hand. And that's

pretty amazing. I'm pretty happy with that. And

they're doing all the stuff they need to do to

get me ready to go to surgery. Contacts have

to come out the entire deal. Getting ready to

do all that and two deputies come walking in

and I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. So

they walk in and they said, hey, we need to ask

you a couple of questions. I'm like, you've got

to be kidding me. You're just making this worse.

You're adding insult to injury. And they're like,

it's technically a gun wound. So we need to question

you about that. I'm like, you've got to be kidding

me. So I'm like, you guys are just absolutely

making it worse. So they make everybody leave

and they're like, OK, so You shot yourself with

the nail gun for the hundredth time. Yes, I shot

myself with the nail gun. Did anyone tell you

to say that? Would you stop it? You're making

it worse. No one told me to say that. Did anyone

pay you to say that you shot yourself? Listen,

how can I explain this to you? I shot myself

with a nail gun. No one else was a part of it.

No one else paid me anything. I shot myself with

the nail gun. Are you happy? He's like, yes.

I just had to ask, well, for pity's sake, stop

asking. I shot myself. And now I just feel like,

not only am I at cluts, but I'm just like, man,

this is embarrassing. So they go through the

entire thing, and the surgeon says, he's like,

well, let's just hold off. I think we might be

able to pull the nail out, and I won't get too

graphic, but he's like, I think we can just pull

it out without surgery. So, I mean, hours have

gone by. So he comes in, and he's like, yeah,

we're just gonna... but we're just gonna pull

that nail out the way that it went in. So I'm

like, hey doc, I know you're a doctor and I don't

play one on TV, I'm not a doctor, but do you

understand ring shank nails at all? And he's

like, well yeah. I'm like, I don't think you

do. It's like, there's rings on that that are

made so that it won't pull back out the way that

it went in. He's like, yeah, yeah, I can see

that on the x -ray. I'm like, I don't think you

get it pal. He's like, I said, why don't you

just cut the nail off and pull it the rest of

the way through the hand. He's like, no, no,

no, I want to pull it out the way that it went

back in. And I'm like, man, you're crazy. So

he literally, he calls the guy from the maintenance

department and he's got a pair of pliers on his

tool belt. And he's like, those will do just

fine. I'm not making this up. They're not surgical

at all. So I don't know what he was just doing

with it, but he grabs these pliers off this guy's

tool belt. And he's like, okay, he has like a

nurse hold my arm down. He has another nurse

lay on my chest and he grabs the nail with the

pliers and he pulls the nail back out of my finger.

And it's extremely painful. So I'm like, whew,

I'm not doing so good. I'm white. And he's like,

listen, that's psychosomatic. That's just your

brain telling you that it's supposed to hurt.

And I'm like, dude, I'm going to hit you. I'm

going to hit you right now. And he's like, you

had a pain block, right? I'm like, yeah, when

I came in. First thing in the ER, they gave me

a pain block. And then he's like, oh, you did

feel that then. I tried to tell you that. I felt

every bit of it. And they bandaged my hand all

up. And it hurt like crazy. It's probably the

worst pain I've ever been in my life. In fact,

it was so bad when Danita went to get Kalen from

the the daycare place where she was hanging out

until we all got back. I called Danita and I

said, babe, I'm in horrible pain. I can't even

think. So they figured out something to get the

pain under control. And it pretty much hurt like

that. I think it was 10 days later, I had a follow

up, go back and see the surgeon who pulled the

nail out of my finger. And then I was able to

punch him. I didn't punch him. Yeah. So I go

back to see him, and he re -bandaged my hand.

He gave me another script for more pain meds.

And it was the craziest thing, because when he

got it re -bandaged, I never needed the pain

meds again. Because I don't know if it was just

pressure, or if it was just in a funny spot.

I don't know what it was. But he got the bandage

off, re -bandaged it, and I'm like, no, I'm really

good. Now, here's the point with all of that.

I needed every last single one of those people

along the way. So who was the most important

to me on that day? I couldn't begin to tell you

So you do you mean to tell me that on that day

that the role that my mother -in -law played

Even though I didn't necessarily wasn't very

happy about it. She's like, you know, you need

to lay down. I'm like, no, I'm fine So they called

Donita in the midst of all that, and Donita's

response was, she's like, don't you die! I'm

like, babe, calm down, okay? I shot myself in

the hand with a nail gun. I promise I'm not going

to die. I promise I'm not gonna die. So I'm good.

So was that role most important, or was it the

doctor's role, or was it the people on the emergency

squad, or was it the people in the ER? Who was

the most important to me? I can't begin to tell

you. because every last person was important,

every last person had a different role to do,

and every last person was doing that to mend

a broken bone. Every last person did what they

did, and I was depending on them to do what they

did for me to be mended up so I could fulfill

the purpose that I was supposed to have. That's

this word. That's the word that's used there.

It's a picture of how we should be interacting

with a hurting and broken world. People are hurting

and broken. Yes, I understand sometimes it's

self -inflicted, like mine was. But just because

somebody's pain and brokenness is self -inflicted,

they still need and deserve grace. Amen. God

in his love and his mercy has put a system in

place for us to mend what's broken and for them

to be restored to right relationship with God

For them to fulfill their God -given purpose

and destiny and I can't begin to do that by myself

I need all the fivefold the fivefold parts of

the hand to be the hands and feet of Jesus to

mend what's broken so I'm gonna go ahead and

risk being misunderstood here. So if you're wondering

like, when is he gonna get himself in hot water,

this is probably the moment that I can get myself

in some hot water. So this year, the Church of

Nazarene in USA and Canada, and does anybody

know what we're focusing on? Like they have a

focus every year now. Does anyone know what we're

focusing on? What is it? Bringing others to Jesus,

very good. So bringing others to Jesus. And I

think that I can speak for everyone and say that

we can all get behind that. Right? Like, is there

anybody here who's like, I absolutely, I'm not

sure I wanna be Nazarene now. If that's what

we're gonna focus on this year, I'm out. Anybody,

like, we can get behind that, right? That hurting,

broken people would be brought to Jesus. We can

get behind that. That's a great thing. There's

nothing wrong with that. So how are we gonna

go about doing that? It's a great question. So

I think what we typically would do is this. We

would say that what we need to do is to train

everyone to be an evangelist, right? So we need

to talk about how we can share people with people

about Jesus and the good news and don't get me

wrong We'll do that when we talk about evangelism

and evangelists. We'll talk about that but hear

me I'm not opposed to evangelism training I'm

not opposed to it in any way I believe that every

believer should be able to help someone begin

a relationship with Jesus and I'm just gonna

take away all the stuff Here's here's what it

is. Do you know how simple it is? It's one beggar

telling another beggar where to find bread. That's

all evangelism is. You just tell somebody who's

looking for the hope and significance in life

that you have, this is what Jesus did for me.

If he did it for me, he'll do it for you. I mean,

I'm not special. If he did it for me, he'll do

it for you. That's all evangelism is. And we

will provide some opportunities for training.

I am not opposed to that. In fact, I'm certified

in three different evangelists evangelism techniques.

I'm certified in it. I'm certified as a trainer

in two of those. So I could actually, with full

endorsement from them, I could train you in these

evangelistic approaches. I'm not opposed to evangelism

training. But here's the problem. Not everyone's

an evangelist. He gave some to be evangelists.

I think it makes more sense, at least it makes

more sense to me, if we were to operate within

our gifts and abilities and callings, if we did

that and did that well, I think that makes more

sense. And I think that we have a better chance

of reaching the world if we did that than if

we try to play to what we're not called to. Are

you following me? Now, I'm not talking to people

who are called to be an evangelist. If you're

called to be an evangelist, then by all means,

you should go do evangelism. You should do it

really well. And you should help all of us with

that. You should help us to be better at it.

But I think it makes more sense. Like, if I'm

a shepherd, doesn't it make more sense for me

to be a good shepherd? And doesn't it make more

sense for me to allow evangelists to be great

evangelists? And doesn't it make more sense for

me to allow the prophets to be prophets and the

teachers to be teachers? Because this is what

God's called me to. It's not that he's just called

it to me and I can flip it on and flip it off

and in this moment I can be an evangelist. That's

not the way that it is it gets stamped into your

spiritual DNA So this is who I am and Doesn't

it make more sense just to allow me to be who

God's called me to be It doesn't make more sense

for you to be who God's called you to be And

I'm not saying that we shouldn't help people

to know how to evangelize. We will. We'll talk

about that. I'll give you some tools. I've given

you tools. I'll continue to give you tools. But

sometimes I think it just makes more sense and

I think we're more effective if we do what God's

called us to do. So I already told Danita that

I have like tons more material, but I want to

be done before you are, so I will be done before

you are. We're only going to talk about all of

the fivefold today, and then I'm going to start

with the Apostles next week. So I've got a couple

different graphics I want to throw up just so

you can see what I'm talking about. So Apostles,

that's what I'm going to talk about first. We'll

take them in the order that they are in Scripture.

Apostles, they're pioneers, they're innovators,

they're catalysts. They start new movements,

cast vision. That makes sense, right? So prophets,

they're truth tellers, they're reformers, they're

cultural architects. They speak truth, seek justice,

challenge systems. Evangelists, they're connectors,

influencers, storytellers. They build relationships,

spreads ideas passionately. I don't know how

many of you know this guy, James Smith. I know

that some of you know James Smith, one of my

friends. We worked together on staff at Findley,

worked for Mount Vernon for a while. James Smith

is an evangelist through and through. Like everything

that you see there, he is every last one of those.

He's a connector. He's an influencer. He's a

storyteller. He's incredibly passionate about

what he does. He's an evangelist through and

through. shepherds, nurturer, mentor, community

builders, cares for people's foster belonging

and health, teacher's guide, their educators,

system thinkers, brings clarity, structure, and

understanding. Now, even that, that's not bad,

but sometimes we see things like that and we're

reluctant to say, hey, I am an apostle. And some

of that's because of the abuse that has happened

in the body of Christ, right? So because, I mean,

let's face it, we've already talked about this.

Not all of the times have these been gracious

things. And there have been pastors who have

abused that, and they've abused their people.

And so we're reluctant to say, because we don't

want to be associated with that. And I get that.

So this next slide actually gives us just some

other ways to think about those things. So apostles

are sent ones. They can be church planters. They

can be entrepreneurs. I just feel smarter saying

the word entrepreneurs. I just want you to think

about that for a second. And the reason I want

you to see that is, so business people, people

who start their own business from nothing, people

like Bob Robbins, they start a business from

nothing. That takes a special kind of calling

to do that. The calling that that would be is

we would say that they're an apostle. They take

something and make it from nothing. People who

can start a company from nothing in my, like,

you tell me you started a company from nothing

and I automatically start thinking, okay, that's

an apostle. That's somebody who can take something

and make something out of nothing. They can do

things in new places. They can replicate that.

That to me is an apostle. So they are church

planners, they're entrepreneurs, prophets, they're

truth tellers, artists. Sometimes we think about

artists in all of their forms. We think about

artists and we would not ever say, okay, I think

of that person as a prophet, but that's what

they are. Is that making sense? Things like intercessors,

evangelists, they're gospel bearers, they're

storytellers, they're bridge builders, shepherds

are caregivers, coaches, mentors. Kevin Deming,

he's a football coach. He's been a part of what

we do at camp for, oh goodness, well over a decade.

And a lot of our students at camp, they just

call him coach. And it's not something that he

says, hey, call me this. It's just because that's

who he is, right? It gets stamped into his DNA.

And people, like, Kevin doesn't have to say,

I am a football coach, right? So if you're around

Kevin for five seconds, you'd be like, dude's

a coach. I don't know what he coaches, but dude's

a coach, right? It gets stamped into his DNA.

So, like you understand how, like I see that

and I say, okay, Kevin's a shepherd. Because

he cares for, he guides, he invests in the youth

of our culture, teachers. truth organizers, educators,

curriculum developers and I just wanted you to

see that because I think it helps us to see like

it sometimes it's difficult for us to say with

these biblical titles that's what I am and I

just want to flesh it out a little bit so that

you can see that there are other expressions.

Does that all make sense? So we need all of those

in the body of Christ right? We need every last

one of those and if we're going to mend a broken

world It's gonna take all of those people doing

what they do and We want to get out of their

way and let them do what they do amen So I told

you I would be done before you are and that's

the point that I need to land the plane so In

2007 which how many of you think that seems like

forever ago, I mean 2007 so what? 18 years ago,

18 years ago, there was a band by the name of

Blue Tree. Has anyone heard of Blue Tree? I hadn't

really heard of them either. But they were performing.

They're a Christian. Let me back up. So Blue

Tree is a Christian band, a worship band. They

were performing in a bar in Patea. And it was

part of this outreach place. They went there

on purpose because Pataya at the time was one

of the darkest places, the darkest communities

in the world. And they intentionally wanted to

find the darkest places in the world. And they

went on tour to all of these really dark places

where some awful things happened. This particular

one, they were known for... Pataya at the time

was one of the leading cities in the world for...

human trafficking and sex slave trade. It's one

of the largest places in the world at the time.

So during their concert in Patea, Aaron Boyd,

who was the lead singer, he felt stirred in his

spirit by all that was going on around him. I

mean anywhere that you would look you just saw

brokenness and exploitation and spiritual need

and in a moment he just began to sing out a spontaneous

prayer really over the city of Patea. prayer

went like this greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done in this

city now you probably recognize those words because

chris tomlin heard the song that blue tree did

in patea and then he recorded it and everyone

knows um god of this city because chris tomlin

heard it he began to sing it So those words weren't

rehearsed. They weren't pre -written. It was

something that was almost a prophetic declaration

that was birthed from the band's heartache and

hope for what God could do in a place called

Pate. So it is a prophetic declaration. I won't

dispute that at all, but in my mind that's that's

the heart of an apostle. A heart of an apostle

sees past what is to what could be and begins

to to get the heart of what God wants to do in

Patea, and what God wants to do in Parma, and

what God wants to do in North Royalton, and what

God wants to do in Independence and Brexfield

and Burlington, and what God wants to do in your

town. And I think at some point, like we need

all five right and i understand that we need

all of the fivefold doing their thing to reach

a broken world to mend the brokenness that's

in the world around us but we're going to sing

that song that they that they they wrote over

patea and this morning i want you to make a declaration

over your town the place that you live here's

some things i want you to think about as we do

that I want you to think about the theme of the

song is very easy to figure out that it's talking

about hope in the midst of the worst kind of

darkness that you can imagine. So I don't know

what the darkness looks like in your life. I

don't know what things are dark and seem like

they're bleak and hopeless. But as we sing this,

I want you to know that in the midst of that,

that there's hope. Amen. And maybe you even need

to like... stir up some prophetic stuff in you

and you may need to make this a declaration just

like they did in Patea and say you know what

greater things are yet to come this isn't the

end of the story greater things God's gonna do

in the midst of all of this stuff than what I'm

seeing right now and the song speaks about God's

sovereignty over our cities and our nations and

And maybe this morning you want to make that

kind of declaration, that God's sovereign over

your town, that God's sovereign over your city.

Maybe some of you, that's not what God's calling

you to. Maybe what God's stirring up in you apostolically

today is that you want to declare that over our

nation, that greater things are coming, that

this isn't the end. We're not going to be known

for this. That God's going to do something greater

than this. And the song speaks to a call for

us to intercede and believe for transformation.

That when things are dark and they're bleak,

that we don't just roll over and say, I guess

that's as good as it's gonna get. But that we

begin to intercede and we lean in and we pray

and we don't quit. We keep leaning in until things

change. The chorus of the song simply says this,

you're the god of this city. You're the king

of these people. You're the Lord of this nation.

You are. And whatever your circumstance, whatever

your situation, I want you to declare that over

your circumstance. You're the God of this. I

think that we can do that and almost make that

a prayer. Amen. That's what I want you to do

with me today. When we're done singing it, don't

leave. I do have an official benediction that

I'll give you. But I want us to kind of corporately

pray this over some dark things together. Will

you do that with me?