Equipped to Grow and Serve

Welcome

Kids

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Well, I’m glad we are all here and getting ready to look to Scripture to see how it impacts our own lives individually, and as a church. It is encouraging that we get to come here together and worship every single Sunday. We should all make every Sunday a priority to be here because we genuinely don’t know what the future holds…especially with the culture fighting against Biblical values every day.

Now, does anyone remember our memory verse for this series?

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Good! Let’s keep working on this so that be the end of this series it will all be a big blank slide.

Now, I’d like to have everyone do something for me this morning. Imagine walking into a workshop filled with tools—saws, hammers, drills, and screwdrivers—all perfectly designed for specific tasks. Now picture a craftsman trying to build something extraordinary with only one tool. It wouldn’t take long for frustration to set in, and the job would seem impossible.

In many ways, the church is like that workshop. You see, God has designed each of us with unique roles, spiritual gifts, and talents. The problem is, frequently we find ourselves either unaware of our God-given role or hesitant to embrace it?

So, as we continue our Rooted and Ready series, we’ll discover that God’s plan for His church involves every one of us. He has equipped us with a diversity of roles and calls us to grow together toward spiritual maturity. And all of this is done in love—a love that reflects Christ Himself as the head of His church.

Today, we’re continuing in Ephesians 4:11-16 to explore how discovering, growing, and building each other up transforms the church into the thriving, united body God intended. Together, I hope we’ll see how embracing our unique role not only strengthens our faith, and our church, but also prepares future generations to continue carrying the faith.

So, as we begin, I want to challenge you to think about this: What is the role God has designed for you in this body? And how can stepping into it help us grow stronger together in Him?

Just as every tool has a role in the craftsman’s work, every believer has a role in God’s work. Paul elaborates on this beautifully in Ephesians 4, let’s go ahead and read that passage today

.Ephesians 4:11–16 (ESV)

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Let’s start off our conversation this morning by

Discovering Diverse Roles

In this passage we just read we see how Paul is writing about the unity and maturity of the Body of Christ. God had a plan way back in the very beginning of the church to mature and grow his church to be what He wants it to be.

Specifically God has uniquely equipped his church with a diversity of roles to build up the church. Discovering and embracing those roles is essential for our own personal growth as well as the fulfillment of the church’s mission here in Leaf River.

So, let’s take a look at the roles that Paul wrote about here in Ephesians.

Apostles: Sent ones, pioneers of the faith, foundational builders. These could be similar to visionaries or church planters today.

Prophets: These are those who speak God’s truth, offering guidance and correction as needed. This would be those discerning and applying God’s word today, maybe Biblical Counselors.

Evangelists: These are those that are gifted in sharing the Gospel and bringing people to Christ. A modern day church planter could fit into this category as well.

Shepherds (Pastors): This is those that are caring for the flock spiritually and relationally. This not only speaks of modern day pastors, but of elders.

Teachers: Those that are eager, and willing to be instructing and equipping believers in Gods word. This is your modern day Children's leaders, small group leaders, Sunday school leaders, anyone that is actively teaching others.

Now we see something really important when we look at these roles. These roles are all different, but they all serve one unified purpose. That purpose is to join together to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and building up the church.

Once you recognize these roles, It is necessary to discover your role. Remember earlier I asked you to begin asking, what is the role God has designed for you in this body? That’s an important question. However, there are a couple of other questions that may be pretty important as well. For instance, Where do I see God working through me? God has gifted people to the church to be able to equip others to continue growing.

The question to ask isn’t, what do I enjoy doing, because many times God is leading you to do something you don’t think you’ll enjoy…The question is, where is God leading me. How do you discover the answer to that question? Well, first of all you will not discover the answer to that question when you are guarded by pride. You can only see that when you are willing to humble yourself enough to see how God is working in your life.

What about the purpose of these roles? I mean, what does it mean to equip the saints? Well..Equipping the Saints means preparing and training believers for ministry. Ministry is not a one man job, it’s not about just a few people doing all of the work…Ministry is about active participation. There are no spectator’s in God’s church. Then you have this idea of building the body. Building the Body isn’t about personal recognition, but strengthening everyone. A functioning, well equipped church reflect Christ and fulfills the Great Commission.

As we begin to discover our unique roles, we see that it’s not just about our personal calling—it’s about growing together in Christ. But understanding our roles isn’t enough; we must think about how we grow together in those roles, which leads us to our next point.

Growing Towards Maturity

Spiritual growth leads to unity, maturity, and reflecting Christ’s fullness.

There is a unity that will grow deeper than the surface-level, but is rooted in shared belief and trust in Jesus. This is Unity in Faith and Knowledge. There is a maturity that is not measured by physical years, but Christ example. That is the maturity of the believer where we see mature manhood. The Stature of Christ’s Fullness is the maturity measured by Christlikeness.

Of course, another word for all of this growth is discipleship. Even though this is a commonly used word, many still ask questions like, “how can I grow?” Growth happens through intentional discipleship and spiritual disciplines. That is why the church is so important. A Mature church reflects Christ and strengthens the body.

As we grow towards maturity, we not only deepen our faith but also prepare to build each other up in love, which brings us to the final section:

Building in Love

The church grows strong when every member speaks the truth in love and works together in unity, reflecting Christ as the head.

Of course now we are all called to do something in light of what we have read so far. First of all, we have been called to Leave Spiritual Immaturity Behind

What does that mean though? Well, Immaturity leaves believers vulnerable to being “tossed by waves” of false teaching and deceit. Immaturity leaves believers vulnerable to believing that they have it all figured out in their limited view of church and believe that their limited passions are all that matters. Immaturity allows pride to block the Spirit of God from healing past struggles. However, the Church has been called to pursue growth and stability in Christ, standing firm in truth.

As a church we have also been called to Speak the Truth in Love.

What does it mean to speak the truth in love? Well, simply put it means that truth and love are always unified. You see, truth without love can harm, and love without truth can mislead. Therefore as the body of Christ, we have been called to marry truth and love and engage with our fellow brothers and sisters. When a fellow believer corrects us out of love, it may sting, but it ultimately leads to growth if we respond humbly. If your brother or sister says something to you, listen to them…don’t get defensive. I know we all want to be defensive, but we cannot grow if we are all always defensive. Listen to your brothers and sisters and encourage honest, loving conversations with each other so that we can continue to grow as the church God has called us to be.

Let’s keep going here folks because if we are the body of Christ, then we need to be Growing into Christ, the Head.

Just as the head gives the body all of our directions, we should be looking to Christ to give our directions. Christ is the head, no one else. I, as your pastor, seek to give you the Word every week in an effort to help direct you to growth. However, that growth is your responsibility, and it is your responsibility to look to Christ, the head. Only when that happens will we be able to grow in unity and purpose and our collective mission will grow more and more clear.

Finally, we need to put all of these truths together here and see that Each Part Works Together.

Every member has a role to play, contributing to the church’s health and growth. Every member of LRBC, every attender of LRBC has a part to play in the story of LRBC. We are each responsible for the health and growth that occurs in this place. God has, and is using this place to cause much spiritual growth…the only real question is, what part are you playing in that growth? Maybe you are one that is growing, and maybe you are one that is helping others to grow. real growth only happens when all parts of our spiritual family here work together and are motivated, not by pride, but by individual love for Christ and one another.

So, again I ask…What part are you playing in that growth? Listen, I know some of you guys here may wish I would just go ahead and move on to another topic and stop talking about the fact that we are all called to work together, but the reality is that I’m not going to do that! I’m not going to do that because I actually care about each and every person in this room right now. You see, God has called you to participate with his body. For many of you, that means doing something you’ve been telling God “no” about for a long time.

Here’s what I want you to remember though…I don’t want you to serve each other because I told you. I don’t want you to serve each other because you feel like it. I want you to serve each other because God is calling you to serve others, and it’s time you get to it.

Building in love ensures the church is united and prepared to reflect Christ to the world. When each of us fulfills our role and grows in maturity, the church becomes a beacon of His truth and grace.

Closing

Every believer has a role to play in the body of Christ. Discipleship is what tells each person to contribute to the church. The call for each person to contribute to the church signifies that discipleship is not just about individual maturity, but about building up the body as a whole. Listen, as a church we have been so blessed in the past, and I believe we will be incredibly blessed in the future. That is why we should both individually and corporately have a desire to step up to see what it is that God is leading us to do. Do you know what else though…

Spiritual growth is both a personal and communal responsibility. I’ve played football, way back in the day and I even ran track at one point in my life. That was clearly a very long time ago. Anyway, here’s is what I learned doing those things. A team is only as good as it’s worst player. I’ve been on various corporate and company teams and again the same thing is taught, the team is only as good as it’s weakest teammate.

When I struggled running in football, teammates ran alongside me to help me finish strong. Why don’t we do the same in the church, coming alongside those who need encouragement in their walk with Christ?

The health of the whole body depends on every part. As a church, we grow strongest when we invest in each other, especially those newer in their faith. We should be constantly seeking to find new beleivers to disciple into full followers of Christ.

Listen, believer, one of your roles, whether you like it or not, is to run along side your team mate and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. After-all…aren’t you glad others have done that for you?

Jesus is the ultimate example of a disciple-maker who calls His followers to grow in faith and to go forth in service, thereby fulfilling the Great Commission. Ephesians 4 highlights that Christ Himself gifts the church with leaders to equip believers for his mission. That means that Christ has gifted LRBC with leaders to equip believers for his mission.

This morning I want you to think about your own discipleship journey. Think about how your spiritual growth contributes to the overall health and mission of this church. Find your role within the church, and commit to the Lord to serving others. If you are curious about how you could potentially be used to build into ministry here at LRBC, just reach out and let’s have a conversation.

When we embrace our roles and grow in Christ, we fulfill His Great Commission—making disciples and building His kingdom.

Listen, let me just end with this… Discipleship is vital for personal growth and the corporate mission of the church. This year you will see more opportunities for discipleship growth, but maybe you will see more opportunities to come along others and help them grow as well.

Let’s pray: pray that we will all have a heart to think of others as more important than ourselves, and include others in every discipleship opportunity.