Equipped to Serve

Introduction

Thank you all for coming out this morning.

We are in our second message in a three week series on being Equipped for the work of the ministry.

Last week we saw that we are equipped to be unified by God’s grace through the gospel, the death burial and resurrection of Christ. With a focus on the gospel and all that it encompasses, it should lead us to have a heart like Jesus. A heart that desires to serve.

Serving can take on many different forms in the local church and fortunately God has gifted each of us with various talents to strengthen the body and preach gospel.

Today we are going to look at Romans 12 3-8 and see how we have been equipped to serve.

Now sadly, when you look across the spectrum at Christians in their relationships, oftentimes we see Christians that are more detrimental than they are helpful in their relationships. It seems as though even sometimes in Christian homes, and even sometimes amongst churches, you can see people who are not functioning one with another according to the teaching and the spiritual unity that we read about in the Bible. In fact, it's really sad, because it seems like sometimes we're better at dysfunctional destroying relationships than we are at edifying growing relationships.

And so this morning as we begin this series we want to learn from God's word: How can we have the kind of body life in the church and in our families that will bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's easy just not even planning to be a discouragement to your family, to say or do something that sort of undermines what you're trying to accomplish for God's glory.

I heard about a couple that was out shopping the other day, and somehow the husband and wife got separated from one another. And that's happened to me. You know, you're kind of looking at hardware and sports, and your wife is looking at cooking and this and that; and then suddenly you realize, "You know what; I don't know where my spouse is."

Now let me just ask: How many of you men have ever been maybe in a shopping mall, those of you that are married, and all of a sudden you realize, "I don't know where my wife is," and you became separated? Anybody else, or am I the only loser here? All right. That's happened to me a lot of times before, and you're like, "Where did she go?"

And this gal realized, "My husband's gone." She got on her cell phone, she called her husband, and she said, "Hey, we've got a lot of shopping to do. Where are you?" And her husband said, "Well," he said, "sweetheart, do you remember the jewelry store about ten years ago? We were in that jewelry store, you saw that beautiful necklace; and I couldn't afford it at the time, but I said to you, 'One day I'm going to get that necklace for you.'" And tears welled up in her eyes, and she thought about that store, and she said, "Yes, I do remember the shop." And he said, "Well, I'm in the gun shop right next door."

Now a lot of times that's kind of how it goes between guys and gals; we're just not real sharp at really edifying and encouraging one another. But God has called us to a higher, more distinctive relationship with one another and with the Lord himself than those, of course, who do not know God. It's God's will that the church would be a model for all that is related to functioning together and working together cross-generationally between baby boomers, gen x, millennials, and now gen z. If there's any organization that should show how to function well and work as a team it's the local New Testament church. It's God's plan for unity in message. It's God's plan for commitment to truth. And while we have diverse backgrounds, we have one blueprint with which we live and for which we live, and that, of course, is the Word of God.

Follow along with me as I read today

Rom 12:3-8

Romans 12:3–8 KJV 1900

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

PRAY

Our serving starts with being saved by grace through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we must make an honest evaluation of ourselves.

I. An Honest Evaluation

Paul starts here by saying “For I say...” Ever old someone something and they respond with “Who says?” I remember comments like that as a kid, I probably said comments like that as a kid.

Paul starts by identifying who is speaking and then he goes a step further to identify where the authority for his words come from.

“Through the grace given unto me” That grace was given to him by God.

While the Bible has human writers, it has a heavenly author. The words we read are not just the words of a man 2000 years ago that decided to write some letters to friends. We believe the 66 books of the Bible to be the very words of God.

In 1 Cor Paul again identified where the authority for his words was coming from…the Lord

1 Cor 14:37

1 Corinthians 14:37 KJV 1900

37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

When we come together as a church we are not seeking to here from the up and coming so called Christian authors or discussing a blog post by this guy or that guy, we should be seeking to hear from God Himself through His Word. Not the opinion of man.

It’s when we begin to examine the word of God we can begin to on our faulty thinking.

What is this faulty thinking? Great question, thanks for asking.

A. Faulty Thinking

Paul wrote that we should not think of ourselves higher than we actually are. An overestimation of ones self is an underestimation of Jesus Christ and the role he plays in your life.

We can all relate to this and understand it when we think of a person that believes they are something when in fact they are not.

Paul was very direct in Gal 6:3 on this one.

Gal 6:3

Galatians 6:3 KJV 1900

3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

What about the man that underestimates himself thought?

I recently read about two men in a church that had completely opposite attitudes about their gifts: The one man constantly belittled his gifts and would not use them, and the other man constantly boasted about gifts that he did not have. You see, both are guilty of pride. Both refused to acknowledge God’s grace and let Him have the glory.

There is no person that is worthless. There is no person that can’t be used for God’s glory. The question is will you allow Him to use you?

Charles Spurgeon once said

Do not desire to be the principle man in the church. Be lowly. Be humble. The best man in the church is the man who is willing to be a doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who (listen to this) does not mind what happens to him at all, so long as God is glorified.

A person who has died to self, carries their cross, and gives God the glory.

When we overcome our faulty thinking, we must overcome our forgetful thinking.

B. Forgetful Thinking

It’s been said that the older we get the better we were.

There's a young man on the Pelican; his name is Lonzo Ball. And his dad's name is LaVar Ball. If you've ever heard the sportscaster, if you've ever heard about this family, LaVar Ball is just a talker, and he just talks big all the time. And I heard about an article where he was being interviewed on one of the sports stations, and this LaVar Ball said, "Look," he said, "back in my heyday, if I would have played Michael Jordan I would have killed him." So I did a little research into his heyday. He played one year of college basketball, he averaged two points and two rebounds per game.

Men like Mr. Ball have fsome forgetful thinking. We can often have the same and forget where our gifts and abilities come from.

James 1:17

James 1:17 KJV 1900

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

We often apply that to good things that happen to us but lets not forget the great gifts that some may call “natural” to us.

You have been gifted by the almighty God of the universe to serve in they body of Christ.

Pastor Paul Chappell said it this way

Our Heavenly Father does not burden us with gifts for which he does not provide every spiritual resource we need to successfully exercise them.

I believe the primary and most beneficial resource to exercise our spiritual gifts, is the local New Testament church.

We can only use those gifts after making an Honest evaluation of ourselves in light of the grace of God. It’s then we can engage in faithful cooperation.

II. Faithful Cooperation

Romans 12:4

Romans 12:4 KJV 1900

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Notice the Uniqueness of Each member

A. Uniqueness of Each Member

We are not all supposed to do the same things but we are all supposed to be doing something.

God’s plan for utilizing the gifts of each believer is through the local new testament church.

All the things that God accomplishes on earth, I believe he wants us to be apart of. Just as he called on the disciples to move the stone in front of Lazarus’ tomb, he gives us the opportunity to be apart of something bigger than ourselves.

Think about this for a moment. Do you remember or know the story of Lazarus?

Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, followers of Christ. Jesus was with his disciples and heard that Lazarus was sick. When he heard that he said “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

He wait’s two days and then goes to Bethany where Mary and Martha were. When he gets there, Lazarus has been in the grave four days. Martha comes out and says “if you had been here, he wouldn’t have died.” Jesus says “ Thy Brother shall rise again. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in my shall never die.”

He then goes to where Lazarus was laid and told the disciples to take away the stone that covered the grace. He was most likely buried on a mountain side or the side of a hill with a large stone in front of the opening.

Then He prayed “Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou has sent me.” Then with a loud voice He cries “Lazarus, come forth!”

Then from out of the tomb a man who had been dead four days walked with the living again.

What happened after that?

John 11:45

John 11:45 KJV 1900

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

So what was the greatest thing the disciples were apart of that day when they moved that stone away? Lazarus’ being revived? Was that Jesus’ prayer that Lazarus would be revived? kind of…but not really.

He prayed

John 11:42

John 11:42 KJV 1900

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

He prayed for people to have faith. The work, the miracle if you will, was not for the sake of the miracle, it was for people to believe?

The disciples were not just part of the work…they were part of the miracle of people believing on Jesus and we have the same privilege today to be apart of what God is doing in the hearts of people around us.

Whether it’s cleaning, teaching, assisting in a classroom, serving at an event, your not just apart of making that day happen, you are apart of the bigger picture of seeking to help people know Jesus and put their faith in Him.

Neil Armstrong years ago was talking about his famous moon walk; and as he talked about his walk on the moon he said in an interview these words. He says, "As I stepped on the moon I was aware that this was a culmination of the work of three hundred, maybe four hundred thousand people over a decade." And he and Jim Lovell were able to say that their favorite part of walking on the moon was knowing that they were a part of a great team effort.

And that's how the body works. As I’m preaching this morning there are ladies that make the nursery operational, the worship team sang and played music, deacons helped with ushering, our av team made things happen in the back.

All apart of one mission, one goal, and that’s the work of the ministry, edifying the body of Christ, and getting the gospel out.

That’s the unity of the body.

B. Unity of the Body

Last week focused on this so I won’t spend much time today but know that while we are many people we are united around our focus on Jesus Christ and the good news of His death, burial and resurrection.

Our relationships to one another are a distinctive mark of Christianity

John 13:35

John 13:35 KJV 1900

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

When we love one another are proving our faith in Jesus.

When we work diligently at keeping the bond of peace, we are fulfilling our responsibility as Christians.

Eph 4:3

Ephesians 4:3 KJV 1900

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

This is what leas us to loving participation

III. Loving Participation

Rom 12:6-8

Romans 12:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let’s talk about gifts for a moment.

it’s first important to know there are two types of gifts. There are sign gifts and permanent edifying gifts.

Sign gifts were given for a confirmation of the new revelation of God. These signs were given to the Apostles as they preached to the Jews and those of the 1st century about a risen Savior.

2 Cor 12:12

2 Corinthians 12:12 KJV 1900

12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

Heb 2:3-4

Hebrews 2:3–4 KJV 1900

3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

These sign gifts were not given for the edifying of the body of Christ. They were not given for the perfecting of the Saints. They were given for one specific purpose and that was so that those who did not beleive would believe.

1 Cor 1:22

1 Corinthians 1:22 KJV 1900

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

1 Cor 14:22

1 Corinthians 14:22 KJV 1900

22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

1 Cor 13:8

1 Corinthians 13:8 KJV 1900

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

So gifts such as those are not ones that we, as 21st century American Christians possess or should be looking for.

However, There are permanent edifying gifts that we do have.

And they come from God.

1 Cor 4:7

1 Corinthians 4:7 KJV 1900

7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

They are gifts that are intended to be a work of gracious service.

A. Work of Gracious Service

Romans 12:6 KJV 1900

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Paul goes on to list these gifts and I believe we can break them into two categories. There are gifts for educating and gifts for edifying.

The Gifts for Educating are:

Prophecy

This deals with forthtelling the Word of God, having discernment about the things of scripture.

Teaching

Pretty self explanitory. Both usedd as a means of rightly dividing the Word of Truth

Exhorting

This is a natural encourager.

The Gifts for Edifying:

Ministering

Heping and serving

Giving

King James Version Chapter 12

he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity

Having the gift of giving is evidenced by those with a heart to give toward the things of God.

Ruling

This is administration and strategic thinking. This is a person who can lead a ministry and organize things to make them happen.

Mercy

This is a person that is quick to forgive and show mercy to others.

All gifts different and used by different people but meant for the work of the ministry. And we as Christians should choose to work with a Gracious spirit toward that end.

B. Work with a Gracious Spirit

For this last point I’d like for you to take your phones out and go to

lbcbristol.org/serving

It’ll stay on the screen for a minute while you go there.

I believe all preaching should lead us to a decision that helps us be more transformed to the image of Christ and leads us to take the next step of faith.

While your going there I wan’t to bring a couple more things to your attention.

1 cor 13:1-3

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Paul said it doesn’t matter what types of gifts I have…if I do them without love toward others, I’m an annoynace.

Then john wrote

1 John 3:18

1 John 3:18 KJV 1900

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

We say we love Jesus but when we say we love Jesus but love not those around us, James called us a liar.

As individual Christians apart of the body of Christ we have been equipped to serve the Lord in various ways and as we are looking to the next 6 months of how we can launch out into our community and continue to serve them for the purpose of getting the gospel to them, we will need as many as we can involved.

As we seek to host events that edify the body of Christ, we will need people willing to attend and make time for the things of God and serve others that will be here.

At that web address, lbcbristol.org/serving you’ll find a laundry list of ways you can serve on a regular basis here at LBC. You’ll also find a couple of links to pages that speak of specific events we are having that require volunteers to serve in.

This is your time of response. This is the purpose of the message.

You have been equipped to Serve…but are you serving?

Conclusion

If everyone would please take a momemt and bow their heads. I’d ask you to clsoe your eyes but hiopefully your looking through that web page.

If your here today and have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, this message was for you. It was for you to see that as a body of believers working together committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can see Revival Come. We can be apart of the greatest thing God accomplishes in our lives, the miracle of salvation in someone else’s life.

Are you here this morning and haven’t accepted this free gift of salvation?John 3:16

John 3:16 KJV 190016 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

rom 3:23

Romans 3:23 KJV 190023 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 6:23

Romans 6:23 KJV 190023 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 10:9, 13

Romans 10:9 KJV 19009 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:13 KJV 190013 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If your a Christian here today, are you willing to give time out of your week to serve in some way? would you be willing to email us at [e-mail] and let us know.

If you are here this morning and would like to trust Jesus as your savior, can I help you commit that in prayer. You can say these words but remember the words mean nothing. What you believe in your heart means everything.“Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner, I believe you came to die on the cross and rose from the dead. I put my faith right now in you and ask you to come into my life and change me from the inside out. Amen.”

PRAY

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