A United Body
The Priesthood of All Believers • Sermon • Submitted
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Happy 4th!
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 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,
Sermon Series: The Priesthood of All Believers
I am going back to this text of scripture because I want to continue on the APEST ministry — apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, teacher. (Importance)
APEST is a cool way of remembering this so-called fivefold ministry. Mention each.
Everyone of you has a place in ministry in the church of God. verse 12 (To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry)
Recap of APEST - raise awareness, we need to become a church characterized by the APEST
APEST slide here.
Caution on image shared last Sunday - thank you Sarah (call me out)
APEST is affirmed by the current best practice in leadership and management theory and practice.
The genius of APEST is that it is analogous to the leadership competencies of the world, but everything can be redeemed for the Kingdom of God - do you believe that?
Leadership Competencies:
The Entrepreneur
The Questioner
The Communicator/recruiter
The Humanizer
The Systematizer
The entrepreneur is the groundbreaker and strategist who initiates an organization’s mission.
The questioner disturbs the status quo and challenges an organization to move in new directions.
The communicator/recruiter takes the organization’s message to those outside and sells it to them.
The humanizer provides the organizational glue by caring for the individuals inside it.
The systematizer organizes the various parts into a working unit and articulates that structure to the other members.
In leadership management theory it is assumed that the conflicting agendas of these different leaders pull an organization in many different directions..
Imagine however if we allow the Holy Spirit of God to help us realize Jesus’ dream for the church:
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Jesus is big on unity.
Although this is a prayer that is part of His high priestly prayer in John 17 that is geared towards the unity of the global church ==> this principle definitely applies to the local body of Christ.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Note the imperatives of commands in this passage:
a. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you were called.
The what of the imperative: You have been called.
You have already been separated from the world to fulfill a calling..
Newsflash: Christian is not just a title that you carry.
Being a Christian is a calling you have responded to.
You were saved for a reason —
Remember the main passage from 1 Peter which is the theme of this sermon series?
You are… THAT you may proclaim the praises or excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
You have a calling and Paul urges us in Ephesians 4 to walk in a manner worthy of that calling… not legalism --- I will explain, it is still by grace.
How? With all humility and gentleness. With patience. Bearing with one another in love.
And also:
With an eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. In another translation it says: “Make every effort to keep the unity”.
What is this bond of peace?
The bond of peace is the work of the Holy Spirit that keeps us one.
The bond of peace is the eternal force of love that makes the Three Persons of the Godhead --- ONE.
I always say this verse from the Bible as a benediction but here lies the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ — practical examples
The Love of God —
The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the glue — His presence in our lives teaches us to be the most loving and gracious people on earth.
The Holy Spirit in our lives that makes us burn with passion for the souls of men
Now if that unity of the Spirit in the Bond of peace is at work in an organization.. God will turn the leadership qualities I described into a powerful force for His Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit will transform the qualities of the entrepreneur into Apostolic giftings.
The Holy Spirit will temper the qualities of the disturber type into the prophetic giftings.
The Holy Spirit can repurpose the recruiter type into an Evangelist.
The Humanizer will become the gifted Shepherd.
The Systematizer will by the work of the Holy Spirit become the teacher.
APEST - instead of these different ministries conflicting against each other or pulling the church in many directions, the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace will enable them to work together.
The entrepreneur will be demonstrating the apostolic giftings that will break new ground, imagine if he is able to work with a spirit guided disturber of the status quo.. the disturber will not be just a disrupter or a dissenter but will become a prophetic voice to encourage and to warn, his message becomes well received== Imagine that both the entrepreneur and the disturber are in active collaboration with the recruiter, the one who will take the message beyond the organization (evangelism) ==> APE is outward facing ==> Inward nurturer.. humanizer (social cement) ==> Systematizer ( The communicator, the one who articulates the message within the church).
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
The Holy Spirit’s Design for Leadership in the church is the Biblical APEST. This should be in the DNA of the church, never to be tampered with.
Biblical APEST leadership
Apostle (Entrepreneur) ==> Prophet (Disturber) ==> Evangelist (Recruiter) ==> Shepherd (Humanizer) ==> Teacher (Systematizer)
Do you find yourself in any of the leadership competencies?
Are you a.. entrepreneur, or more of a disturber, recruiter,, compassionate humanizer, or are you more a systematizer/facilitator..
Now look at your natural abilities in light of the mandate — to equip the saints for the work of ministry..
The Holy Spirit will enhance those natural giftings and turn them into Spiritual Gifts. For the purpose of Building UP the Body of Christ.
At our new place, we have great opportunities to reach the community — huge apartment complex,, we’ll do evangelism work of city ministry — community barbecues — grant
Another good thing is that it is not going to be hard to draw people.
the place itself, that strip mall has a lot of foot traffic,, people from all over the Metro Denver area go there.
that is the outward facing work of APEST - the APE part —
Now God is also building us up through the ST- Shepherd and Teacher — through discipleship, equipping and nurture. MATT Cubisson.
You would see the genius of the Holy Spirit in the interplay of these fivefold gifts..in missions, during my FO to the Middle East, preaching the gospel
The disturber, the questioner — we have to reel him in.. the Apostolic among us came up with a way, instead of waiting for our next meal let’s buy a loaf of bread and some Mediterranean sandwich spread.. when this guy is full, he is the encourager, kept our spirits high, sang songs along the way.. the evangelist finds the person to preach the gospel to (describe), the teacher engages from the word, you have to have an answer from the Bible to the Islamic talking points — the shepherd, relates to and sympathizes with the need — our most successful engagement is when this taxi driver opened up....
There has to be unity to be effective.
Unity is not just the absence of conflict.
Unity is not only embracing a common vision and purpose.
Unity is the synergy found when we function together through the gifts of the Spirit.
13 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,
Dear Father in Heaven.
Thank You. That You have given us Gifts
through Your Son Jesus Christ My Lord.
In the Name of Jesus. I receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
By these gifts, use me as a powerful minister of Yours.
To proclaim the Gospel to everyone.
To share the love of Jesus.
In the context of a United Body of Christ.
Build Up Your Body through me.
For Your Glory.
In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
My final prayer.