Spiritual Growth Part 3: Ministry Gifts Help You Grow

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Pastors CF and Nicole Rady are here to share the Word of God with you each week, helping you grasp the fullness of God's plan for your life.

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And so we've been talking here for a few weeks and we're going to continue throughout the summer, at least for a while, talking about growing up spiritually.

So let's go over to Ephesians, chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And we'll just kind of pick up and see where we get.

I told first service every Sunday there's always a plan, right, I always have notes, I always have things written down.

We're going to go to verse 11 here in Ephesians 4.

But we always want to leave room for the Holy Spirit to move.

We always want to leave room for the Holy Spirit to say something he wants to say.

And sometimes and those who serve and are at both services sometimes will realize, although both services are similar, they're different.

Why?

Because different people come in.

Here's what's amazing Just by you being here today, god would have me say something different than I did first service.

Why?

Because someone different's in here and they need to hear something.

I find it so amazing that God loves us so much that he will stop a service or he'll alter a service, he'll change something, he'll give a different word.

Why?

Just because he loves you so much.

He wants you to hear something.

Amen, amen.

So Ephesians 4, verse 11, he himself.

Ephesians 4:11

So if you notice both those H's are capitalized.

So who's Paul talking about Jesus?

He says Jesus himself gave some.

So Jesus gave gifts before he left this earth.

So Jesus, we know right, death, burial and resurrection.

And then spent 40 days with those early believers and then there in Acts chapter 1, he ascended and he went up where we know he's now, seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting for God to tell him to come back in his return to gather up the church and then all the stuff that's there in Revelation starts to happen.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

So Jesus, before he left, it says he gave or left some gifts.

Boy, what if you were there and Jesus was going up and then you heard Jesus was in heaven and then someone told you hey, before he left, he left gifts for everyone.

What would you be thinking?

Ooh, what is it?

Is it like Oprah?

You get a car and you get a car, right, what is it?

Jesus left gifts.

What kind of gifts did Jesus leave?

Paul says here's the gifts he left Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.

Ah, those gifts, right, but the Bible says these are what Gifts?

Now notice this.

Here's what's interesting.

So these are those five ministry gifts that Jesus gave.

Now it's interesting, like I am a pastor.

Being a pastor isn't an occupation although, right, there is an occupation part of it.

But to be any of these gifts an apostle, prophet, evangelist, a pastor, teacher is a calling.

You don't just make yourself a pastor, right?

I didn't just graduate Bible college and we did.

We graduated in the pastor's group and make some business cards and just start going to people, pastor CF Rainey.

People are like, hey, cf, it's pastor, right, I still don't do that.

I've never demanded anyone call me pastor.

I'm thankful when people recognize that I am their pastor and that people call me that, but I would never be like it's pastor, reverend.

In fact, I went to speak at some other churches and they said how would you like us to refer to you?

I said however you want.

I said, look, I'm a pastor, whatever you want, right.

If you want a pastor, that's great.

If you just say, see it, that's fine.

Why?

Because I realized, while I am called to be a pastor, I was called by God.

I didn't make myself a pastor.

There are people who want to be I'm reverend, so-and-so, or I'm prophet or prophetess, so-and-so.

Well, who made you a prophet?

Did you just decide you want to be a prophet or apostle.

I'm an apostle, right.

Imagine just someone walking into church saying I'm an apostle over this church, like Paul was.

You're like.

First of all, I don't know who you are.

No, it's a calling.

Amen.

And so I answered a call.

When Nicole and I first came back to the area, we graduated Bible college, we were itching to go into ministry because you get filled up in two years.

Raymond was a two-year school at the time.

We got filled up and you're just bursting.

You're like man, I need to go preach somewhere.

I want to go preach somewhere.

Where can I go preach?

And you know what God told us to do.

He said I want you to go to the Assembly of God Church there in Bethany and I want you to serve that pastor and his wife.

And so we went.

And we went and talked to Pastor Todd and Sister Todd and I told him I said look, we're graduates, new graduates from Bible College.

I said but I'm not here for your job, I'm not here for your job and I'm not here for any job.

I said we are here to serve you in whatever way we can.

And so, right, I didn't walk in and say hey, I'm CF Rain, I should bea pastor.

You're associate pastor, you're youth pastor, you're this.

We said we just want to serve.

I said if you need us to cut the grass, we'll cut the grass.

You need me to wash your car, I'll wash your car.

You need us to clean the church, we'll clean the church.

You need something in ministry?

We'll do whatever you have.

And over time Pastor Todd saw the giftings in Nicole and I and started to allow us to do some teaching, started with teaching Sunday school class an adult Sunday school class, nicole.

He put over children's ministry.

They'd never had a children's ministry before she started a children's ministry in that church.

Children's ministry They'd never had a children's ministry before she started a children's ministry in that church.

Then there was a time when he turned over.

What was it?

Sunday evenings.

We were teaching on Sunday evenings, so he'd do Sunday morning and then I'd do Sunday evenings there at the church.

And they blessed us with that.

But I never went in saying, look, this is who I am, even though on the inside of me I knew I was called to preach, even though on the inside of me I knew I was called to pastor.

I needed to allow God to set me into his body in the right place, right.

Don't just come in and make room for yourself.

Allow God to make room for you.

Amen, and those times think about this.

So the Apostle Paul.

Thank you, lord.

The Apostle Paul in the book of Acts.

He was out arresting believers.

And then what happened?

A light shone from heaven and Jesus said Paul or Saul, why do you persecute me?

And then he had an experience.

He went blind.

He gets born again.

He goes into the city, he gets prayed for and all of a sudden, now he's born again, he gets filled with the Holy Spirit.

We know that because later he talks about it in some of his letters and he just shows up then in Jerusalem.

He's like hey, guys, I got born again, I want to serve.

What can I do?

They're like we don't want you here.

Why?

Because they knew him from arresting Christians, dragging people out of their homes.

So what did he do?

He didn't just push in and try to make place for himself.

He went back and spent some time learning, in fact a few years before he went into ministry.

Why, it's the thing I remember hearing at Rhema.

So Rhema was a two-year school when Nicole and I went.

They've since expanded that and when we went, they said Rhema told us this.

They said, look, if God called you to Rhema, he knew it was a two-year school.

You're going to get excited and want to go into ministry after your first year.

Stick around for that second year.

They said, look, we're not saying everyone, there's not some people that may be called after one year, but God called you to two.

And so we did.

And then when we got to the church there in Bethany, we wanted to do everything, but we realized it's got to be in God's timing.

We've got to allow God to set us into the body of Christ.

Right, I can't just proclaim myself an apostle and just start showing up places.

Right, I can't just proclaim myself an apostle and just start showing up places.

Just show up and be like hey, everybody, I want you to know I'm a prophet.

So let me give you a word.

You a word, you a word, you a word, you a word.

No, guess what, if you're a prophet of God, you're not going to have to tell anybody.

It'll be evident that you're a prophet of God.

Before I became a pastor, before I answered the call, before I came here, how many of you know, there are certain giftings that operate in my life now, that didn't operate in my life before I stepped into being a pastor.

Why?

Because, all of a sudden, where that call is, god has his giftings and things that come on you, that anointing, that comes on you, that allows you to do the job in which he's called you to do.

So it's not just I'm going to put myself there.

No, god Jesus gave gifts and these are the gifts, the callings that he gave Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.

Why, why did he give these gifts?

Look at verse 12.

And I know we've went over some of these before, but I just feel like we need to continue doing what God wants us to do.

You didn't learn anything the first time.

You heard it, right, you get a phone number, an address.

You didn't remember anything first time.

You had to hear it numerous times.

Look at this.

He gave those gifts why?

For the equipping of the saints.

You need equipped For the work of the ministry.

How many of you know?

There's work to be done.

There's work to be done at Lone Star that can't just be done by me and Nicole.

There's work that has to be done.

So sometimes we think well, you know, we'd reach more people if pastor just worked more hours.

Well, okay, right, I'm not saying I couldn't put a few more hours in to do some more things, but we'd reach more people if the saints would get equipped and realize there's work for everyone in this room to do.

That doesn't get anyone real excited, right, there's work for everyone in this room to do.

Here's the thing you have to understand.

The work of the ministry isn't just preaching, in fact, the preaching part.

Can I tell you the preaching part?

I spend less hours preaching per week than I do on other things in ministry.

And can I also tell you, for me personally, the preaching part is the easier part.

If I could just preach it every day, and that was what I did, that's the pretty easy part.

It's the other part of ministry that becomes more mundane.

You know what I had to do.

I was talking to and Jennifer's been a big help as our secretary treasurer, we're doing some stuff with some paperwork and they needed all this stuff, and so she compiled it all.

But then I was putting it all together and I spent two days this week on projected three-year budgets that the IRS needs to finish up some work on our 501c3.

I'm not an accountant.

I'm not a budget person and praise God for the internet and things that I made a proposed three-year budget and whatever right.

We got it sent off.

But I would have loved to have not spent a couple of days doing that.

We're doing some new stuff with some video, that we're going to have a different camera here in a few weeks and I spent two days installing drivers and running some cable and pulling I told Kent pulling what little hair I have left out of my head so that I could get this to work and network switches and things and I'm like that's part of the work of the ministry.

Three-year proposed budget is part of the work of the ministry.

Calling people is part of the work of the ministry.

Visiting people is part of the work of the ministry.

Preparing a message is part of the work of the ministry.

Preaching the message is part of the work of the ministry.

Someone being downstairs with the kids is part of the work of the ministry.

Someone being downstairs with the kids part of the work of the ministry.

Someone running our social media part of the work of the ministry.

Someone doing our numbers and accounting and keeping track of all that stuff is part of the work of the ministry.

Someone making sure the volunteers are where they're supposed to be part of the work of the ministry.

Someone holding an umbrella outside part of the work of the ministry.

Someone opening a door part of the work of the ministry.

Someone taking the youth down to Branson part of the work of the ministry.

Someone cleaning tables.

Someone putting out bagels part of the work of the ministry.

Someone buying bagels part of the work of the ministry.

Someone bringing water out here part of the work of the ministry.

That's just the things off the top of my head.

Part of the work of the ministry.

Do you think I could do all that?

And we have more things and we have more things.

So what's it going to take?

It's going to take the ministry gifts and, specifically, when we're talking about the church here, a pastor helping to equip you.

The problem is, as you grow up, you realize you need to be equipped, but when you're equipped, sometimes you don't want it right.

When kids are little and they're growing up, you know what we had.

We were with Chris and Shauna over the weekend and we went out to dinner on Friday night together and then we were staying at the same hotel, so we were splitting up, chris and I were going back to the hotel the girls are going to do whatever girls do go to Target.

And I were going back to the hotel.

The girls are going to do whatever girls do go to Target, right.

And so Chris and I are leaving, and so Nicole was going to take our car and everything.

And little Miss Kate's like hey, pastor CF, can I drive your car?

And I go, no, right, I don't know kids, right, they get to that certain age and they think, man, I want to drive, I want to drive Olive.

Right now.

She's like can I take the golf cart, can I take the range?

Can I take the mower?

No, you can't do any of that, right?

Unless I got time to be with you, you can't do any of those things right now.

Well, my friend drives her golf cart, whatever.

I don't know what her parents think I've seen her drive, and so right.

But kids are like, oh, I want to drive, oh, yeah, you want to drive until you get the keys.

Then it's like, hey, you need to put gas in that.

Hey, you need to check the oil.

Hey, you need to.

Right, if you want to be sick, pay the insurance Right Now.

We've been gracious with our kids and given them some room, but there comes a time right, and he was here first service.

But little Bo Smokey doesn't know.

There's going to come a time when he gets out of college, that last day, right, he's going to walk across the stage at Northwest Missouri State University, he's going to get that diploma and he's going to walk down.

I'm going to hand him all his bills.

Hey, here's your cell phone bill.

Kent and I were having a discussion about his daughters, right, and get to that point like, hey, it's about time.

You know.

Hey, you're married.

Now About time you start paying your own cell phone bill.

Right, all the parents like amen, praise the Lord, right?

So everyone wants right.

Well, I want to be equipped.

And then you're equipped, you get the keys, you get the stuff, and then you're like, okay, now you've got to do some more.

I didn't want equipped to do work.

I wanted all the good stuff without any of the work part.

What's that called Growing up?

Same thing in a church.

Spiritually, it's called growing up when you're a baby.

You're a new Christian.

We're going to take care of you, we're going to help you.

We're going to help you learn, we're going to help edify you.

Right, it says the edifying of the body of Christ.

That's the building up of the body of Christ.

I mean, the building up of the body of Christ isn't just man, isn't just building up of each individual Christian.

It's building this body.

What are we going to do next Sunday evening?

We're going to build the body.

What do we do every Sunday morning?

We're trying to build the body.

But next Sunday evening it's a specific thing to what Help you connect to the body of Christ?

It's not just about sitting in a pew hearing a message.

It's about man.

We're going to have some fun.

We're going to play some games.

Some of you are going to be teammates with other people in the church.

We're going to laugh.

Verse 13,.

Why do we need these gifts?

Till we all get to the place where there's a unity of faith, where there's a knowledge of the Son of God.

So knowledge is important.

That's why you hear a message on Sunday mornings to get knowledge of Jesus, so that we would get to the place where we are measuring ourselves to Jesus, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature, of the fullness of Christ.

Amen, verse 14.

That we should no longer be children.

I know children are easily and we've talked about this they are easily deceived.

Now you tell a kid anything.

Right.

It's like I saw this video the other day and these parents were were telling their kids is all these little video clips.

They're like hey, what happens if you're at the park and a man comes up and says help me find my puppy?

Yeah, I'll go.

No, you don't go.

This this one guy it they'd always been teaching their daughter like other languages.

He's like what do you say if someone says come with me and get in my van?

Yes, no, she goes.

We.

Am I speaking?

The?

wrong way.

He was like no, you don't go with them.

Right, kids are easily influenced.

That's why someone could just be like, hey, I got some candy, okay, I'll go with you.

Kids don't know any better.

So he wants you to grow up wise, so you'll no longer be children where you're tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine, trickery of men, cunning, craftiness of deceitful plotting.

Verse 15.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up.

Everybody say grow up, grow up in all things in him, who is the head, christ.

So we're supposed to grow up spiritually.

We're supposed to grow up when you're little.

You're easily confused, but you're supposed to get to a point where you're not.

We said this.

I'm going to close with this here in a moment.

The babies put anything into their mouth.

Baby Christians put anything into their mouth.

You have to be careful what you're ingesting.

Not everyone who says they're a Christian is, and even if they're a good Christian.

A good minister doesn't mean you're supposed to listen to every message out there.

Number one with the advent of the internet and YouTube and podcasts, you could literally every day, every waking moment, you could listen to some minister teach and preach, and most of it is good, most of it's very good, but it doesn't mean you're supposed to listen to everything.

Why?

Because if you're listening to all these voices it's very good, but it doesn't mean you're supposed to listen to everything.

Why?

Because if you're listening to all these voices, it's easy to get confused.

What do we got to look at?

Look, verse 16 talks about how God knit the body together, joined us together.

What's that mean?

God placed you in the body, so if you're part of Lone Star, god has placed you at Lone Star.

What's that mean?

God knew I was going to be pastor, so he's put me in a place to speak into your life as pastor.

Does it mean we're a cult and I'm going to tell you everything due?

Absolutely not.

I don't want to do that anyway.

Talk about the work of the ministry.

If I had to answer the phone every time you were going to buy something new or change your hair color, I've seen some of you ladies I'd be on the phone all the time Moving furniture.

Hey, pastor, should I move my couch to this?

No, I don't care, as long as it's not my couch, I don't care about that.

You deal with that.

But right, it doesn't meanthis is where I think the church has gotten off that we're so afraid of thinking we're going to set ourselves up as some sort of cult leader, or I'm in charge and I'm the boss that we, as a pastor, don't ever tell people.

Look, god, put me as your pastor for a reason, and there are words I have for you and there's a gifting on the inside of me, an anointing on the inside of me that's upon me to pastor you and to help you and to guide you and to direct you, not to tell you everything to do, not to live your life for you, not to be the boss of your life, but to bless you and be a blessing to you.

And we've been so afraid to say that because, oh, he says we're supposed to listen to what he says.

Well, if you think, just because I said, everyone's going to listen to it, then have a talk with my children, because I got three them and they don't do everything.

I say have a talk with students that I've taught in class Tyson.

Right, they don't do everything I say, and I'm supposed to be the boss in that classroom.

So if you think I'm just up here, big boss man, I want to be the boss of everything, I'll tell you what.

It'd be real nice sometimes to be a little Indian instead of the chief, sometimes at home and at church and different places.

Oh, it'd be real nice to be pastor, just telling everyone what to do.

Well then you do it.

I'll just sit there and listen.

I don't want to tell everyone what to do, but I know there's a call in my life and at times, right when we're like man, it's hard and it's tough, and I know that that's a call on my life and I'm called to do those things, called to pastor this church, and if you're here, you're here because God has placed you here.

So get planted, get involved, start growing, start looking for what can I do to help this church.

Do things and grow, amen.

Thank you for tuning in to the Lone Star Church podcast Amen.

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