Apostleship Intro Breakout

Introduction

Ephesians 4:7–12 (ESV)

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 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,

First of all, we see in the first 6 verses of chapter 4 that the overarching theme that Paul is working towards is how to cultivate unity within the local church and what purpose it serves. Verses 7-12 deals with many local bodies and the diversity of gifts that have been given to the saints in the church.

Common Gifts:

Faith, discernment, wisdom, and knowledge which come from the holy spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:8–10 (ESV)

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge (Discernment) according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

What would you say apostleship is if you had to give a definition?

The gift of apostleship is often confused with the office of Apostle

Office of Apostle: The office of Apostle is currently closed due to the requirements for the office were to:

Must be a witness to His ministry and resurrection

(Only the 12 disciples, Matthias as Judas’ replacement, and Paul fit this category. Paul also fits this category, though he did not meet Christ personally until after Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven.)

Acts 1:21–22 ESV

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

1 Corinthians 9:1 ESV

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?

You must be personally called by Jesus:

Mark 3:13 ESV

13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

The Apostles were given authority by Jesus to do many different things to establish the church, including writing Scripture and performing miracles (John 14:26, 2 Peter 3:15-16, 2 Corinthians 12:12).

2. Gifting of Apostleship: The gifting of apostleship can be defined as a spiritual entrepreneur and the task for those with this passion and gifting is to look to start new churches and ministries.

In other words, you have the gift of apostleship if you see something wrong or something missing, and you have a passion to do something about it.

James 2:17–18 ESV

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

But the call for those passionate about apostleship is to go beyond even the call for Christians to let their faith show, it’s to help other’s faith grow.

The mission for those with the gift of apostleship today is to plant new ministries and churches, go into places where the Gospel is not preached, reach across cultures to establish churches in challenging environments, raise up and develop leaders, call out and lead pastors and shepherds, and much more.  They often have many different gifts that allow them to fulfill their ministry.  These are leaders of leaders and ministers of ministers.  They are influencers.  They are typically entrepreneurial and are able to take risks and perform difficult tasks.  Missionaries, church planters, certain Christian scholars and institutional leaders, and those leading multiple ministries or churches often have the gift of apostleship. 

Can someone name an entrepreneur and what they did?

What about the guy that would take an “air bath” in order to sit and ponder? (Air bath meaning sitting naked in front of a window) Benjamin Franklin

Did you hear about the guys who has a “no morning meeting” rule and a “2 pizza” meeting rule. Jeff Bezos never schedule’s a meeting in the mornings and never wants meetings to be larger than 2 pizza’s will feed.

Biblical Entrepreneurs

Abraham - In Genesis 13, Abraham took the less desirable plot of land compared to his nephew Lot, but it was Abraham who was able to make the land thrive.

Solomon - 1 Kings tells us all about the wise king that took advantage to of the geographical location of his kingdom in order to leverage the two major trade routes of the time “The King’s Highway” and the “Way of the Sea”. Solomon was also able to bring peace to the land which allowed them to invest more into production rather than production

Church Entrepreneurs

Robert Raikes - Pioneered the Sunday School movement in England the 1780’s. The Ind =][-ustrial Revolution had resulted in children working all week in factories, thus preventing them to receive a proper education. So Robert formed a plan for a Sunday School that would promote literacy while teaching the bible. It wasn’t long before this concept took off for working class children and adults alike.

Rex Humbard - After years of radio broadcasting in 1952 Rex Humbard became the first to have a weekly church service broadcast on television. By 1980 the Rex Humbard programs spanned the globe across 695 stations in 91 languages and to date the largest coverage of any evangelistic program. Oral Roberts's broadcast by 1957 reached 80% of the possible television audience through 135 of the possible 500 stations.

What do all these stories have in common?

They were able to use the gifts, passions, and abilities that God had given them in teach people more about God and help them mature as Christ-followers.

Questions to ask yourself when thinking through the start of something new:

Why are you starting it?

If you are not sure of your why, it won’t last.

If someone else talked you into it, somebody else can talk you out of it.

2. Who does it honor

Colossians 3:17 ESV

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

3. Is it big enough?

In other words can you accomplish it on your own or do you need to depend on God for the completion?