At the age of 23, Jesus really did turn my life upside down.
Almost immediately, I had a desire to contribute to serve in the local church, synonymous for me with my conversion.
And I would hang around and sign up for basically anything that I could.
So I'd sign up to lead on camps.
It was one of the first things I ever did.
It was a fishing camp.
I remember it was this fishing camp that was being run up in the New England area.
I rang up the bloke and said, you know, I'd like to come and help.
And he said, you ever led on a camp before?
I said, no, but I can fish.
So I passed the qualifications for that.
Cutting the grass, do repairs or fixing pews, getting rid of feral animals in the ceiling of church and all kinds of stuff.
Eventually, hospital visiting, doing funerals even.
And it just grew over time.
I was given the task of starting a youth ministry and then an evening congregation and then a young adults ministry.
And that was all within the first six months of me being a Christian.
I was then given a two-year apprenticeship.
The job offer was this.
You're hanging around that much and you're eating my food that much.
I might as well give you a job.
And so I took an 85% paid cut and did a two-year apprenticeship to test my skills and my stamina for vocational ministry.
At the end of that, I entered formal theological education and the process of becoming a full-time minister.
After three years of theological education with a degree in theology and diplomacy and ministry under my belt in five and a half years as a Christian,
I was ordained as a deacon in the Anglican Church of Australia in Armadale Cathedral on the 21st of December 1998,
which means in about two weeks or so, it's 20 years since that happened.
Christian for 25 and a half years, I've been involved in vocational ministry for 25 of those years.
And God has given me many opportunities to serve him over that time in a whole different variety of ways.
And I can say that God has used me to impact people's lives in that time.
But for whatever he has done through me, it's what he's done in me that has been the greatest joy, I think, the greatest benefit of ministry.
It's one of the surprising blessings, what God does in you as you serve other people.
So it has been my joy with all the ups and downs.
It's been my joy in the darkest moments.
It's my joy to be involved in ministry.
I'm totally convinced that it's God's call on my life.
This is not just a job, a career thing.
It's not about promotion.
It's not about getting the next big opportunity.
It's his call on my life.
And so I'm really pleased to be able to talk about ministry today.
If you've just joined us today, we are week four into our five-part vision series called My Purpose, Our Purpose, God's Purpose.
It's an annual vision series.
In week one of this, when we kicked it off, we asked the question, what's the purpose of life?
And we saw that the purpose of life was that God created and saved us for his glory.
And we used the word magnification to summarize all of that.
Week two, we narrowed it down.
What's the purpose of church?
And we saw that God has gathered his people together in order to magnify him.
And we used the word membership to describe that.
Last week, week three, now that God's gathered us, what is his purpose for his gathered people?
And we saw that it is to transform us into the image of his true son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the word we used to summarize that was maturity.
Okay, so we've got magnification, membership, maturity.
He created us, he saved us, he's gathered us, and he's growing us.
Now the question is, what does God want us to do?
Is it just to grow up?
Is that it?
We're going to use the word ministry to summarize that.
And if you are sharp this afternoon, you would have realized they all start with an M.
Okay?
And next week will be mission.
And it is also an M.
So if you look at your service outline, same breakdown as what we've done in the previous weeks.
Firstly, what's God's purpose?
And then how can we pursue it on purpose here at St. Paul?
So what is God's purpose for his growing children?
The goal of spiritual growth is to become more like the Lord Jesus.
That's what we saw last week.
It's become more and more in the likeness of the image of the Lord Jesus.
And while this means becoming more like him in his character, and the Bible is very, very clear about that,
we must also remember that Jesus came to do a specific work.
And that was to do the will of his father.
On the eve of his crucifixion, he prayed this, John 17, 4,
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
So, which means that if God's intention is for us to grow up to be more and more like the Lord Jesus,
not just his character, but also it is to do the work that God has called us to do.
Ephesians 2.10 tells us that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So God intends for all believers to be active members in his kingdom.
And that's my first sub point here, every member ministry.
God's purpose is for every one of his gathered and growing children to be involved in ministry.
That is, ministry is not a special category of Christians.
It's not, they're an elite Christian or the suckers or something like that.
So what I want to do is to trace this out in the Old and New Testament just really briefly.
Looking at the role of the priesthood, the concept of priesthood is common in the ancient world.
Generally, priests in the ancient world, their main function was to offer sacrifices to appease the gods.
And that can be anything from animals through to sacrificing people in order to appease the gods.
In fact, back in the ancient Incas, they sacrificed people because they believed the gods got their energy from blood of humanity.
And so you sacrificed humans in order to energize the gods, to swing them around into your favor, to get them to do things for you.
The animals would die in the place of those.
Sorry, sorry.
That's the ancient one.
The Old Testament, however, priests, they would offer sacrifices in a very different way.
The biblical idea of sacrifice in the Old Testament, animals were offered to cleanse the worshiper from their sin.
And so the animal would die in the place of the worshiper so that the worshiper could go away forgiven.
So as an Israelite, if you wanted to receive the blessing of God, the forgiveness of sins, then you would take your animal to the priest.
And these guys were known as the Levites.
You can read the book of Leviticus and you'll discover all about the priesthood.
Or you can just listen to the sermon series that we did in the last five years here, whenever it was, on Leviticus and you can listen to it all there.
So there were those in the Old Testament who were set apart for this special function as priests to offer sacrifices.
But we also read something really interesting in Exodus 19.
This is where God calls his children Israel to himself at Mount Sinai.
He's rescued him from slavery in Egypt.
And then it says this in Exodus 19 verse 4.
You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
Now, if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations, you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
So God's word to hear to his people Israel, who he's just rescued from Egypt, his corporate gathered children, is that you collectively will be priests.
That is, priests in the sense that you will serve me in the world.
Not like the Levites, who have a special function of priests, but you will be not sacrificial priests, but you'll be serving priests in the whole world.
And so both of these ideas, both the individual sacrificial, functional, formal priests and the corporate serving God in the world priests, the body of God's people, come to their climax and reach their fulfillment in the New Testament.
And that's the passage that was read out to us in Hebrews 10.
If you've got time, quickly run to Hebrews 10.
In verse 1, it says the law, that's a reference to the Old Testament.
It says the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming.
So the law, the Old Testament, is a shadow of the good things which are coming, which is a reference, a valid reference, if you like, to the gospel of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.
For this reason, it can never, and talking about the Old Testament, it can never by the same sacrifices repeat endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered?
For the worshipers would have been cleansed once and for all and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
So what it's saying there in Hebrews is that whole Old Testament sacrificial system didn't remove sin.
But it did serve to remind God's people of the seriousness of their sin.
And it reminded them that a representative was needed.
Something needed to die, if you like, in order to atone for their sin.
So let's just jump down now to verse 11.
It says,
Day after day, every priest, this is the individual functional priest, the formal Levites, stands and performs his religious duties.
Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
Okay, that's their job.
Feels like a kind of pointless job, really.
Then verse 12 talks about Jesus' sacrifice.
This is the New Testament.
It talks about Jesus' sacrifice of himself on the cross.
But when this priest, Jesus, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of God.
And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
So Jesus is what Hebrews 10 is saying.
Jesus is the true priest who offers the true sacrifice.
Once and for all, he deals with the sin of humanity.
He's the true lamb, the lamb of God, whose blood is shed and dies in our place so that we're forgiven and spared.
So Jesus is both the priest who offers the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself.
He perfects both.
Why?
So that we who are scattered from God because of our sin can be gathered to him as his much-loved and forgiven children
and be brought into a new humanity of priests set free to serve God in the world.
We see it again in Revelation chapter 1.
Verse 4, John introduces his letter and he says,
This is written to the seven churches in the province of Asia.
In other words, this is not just written to the church leaders.
This is not written to the...
This is written to everyone in the church.
And then we read this about halfway down through verse 5.
So the New Testament is clear.
The old formal, Levitical, sacrificial individual priest is done with in Jesus.
But the corporate priesthood of God's people is not.
All of God's people are saved and gathered to be a priesthood serving God in the world.
Every one of God's children is a minister.
And yet, this is interesting because the priesthood of all believers, every member ministry,
was something that was recaptured, if you like, or rediscovered at the Reformation 501 years ago.
In around about...
In there somewhere.
And yet, there are so many people sitting in Protestant churches today
who totally misunderstand the biblical idea of priesthood of all believers in every member ministry.
And in fact, what even ministry is.
You see, for a start, because of Jesus' finished work,
there is no such thing, there's no need, if you like,
for priests who mediate between you and God.
You don't need people to do that anymore.
People like me, who are ordained leaders of churches,
are not priests in the individual Old Testament sacrificial sense.
I don't have a special connection that you need to get by me to God.
That doesn't exist in the New Testament.
I am, like all Christians, a priest in the corporate serving God in the world sense, however.
All of God's saved and gathered children, like me, like you,
are called into the service of God in this world.
And so God's purpose for you, God's purpose for me,
and for all of us collectively, is to do ministry.
And you are ministers who are doing ministry, all of you, if you're a Christian.
So when people say, I'm going into the ministry,
or they say things like, let me introduce you to my minister,
you're actually reinforcing a category error.
Because you're the minister as well.
So, you know, next time we do that, a new person comes along,
brand new person in church, I'll bring them to you.
Let me introduce you to the minister.
It's one of the ministers.
Let's see how we go with that.
Okay, so the reason I say that is because ministry equals service.
Ministry is interchangeable with the word service.
The words ministry and minister simply mean service and servant.
That's all they are.
So the title Prime Minister of Australia simply means that Scott Morrison
is the first servant of the people of Australia, for the time being.
At least for now, until the next guy comes along.
And so this says quite a lot about the way in which we do ministry.
Our core value of servant leadership here at St. Paul's is so important
because it is about us ministering together, serving together
with identities which are deeply secure in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, it is so common to serve out of a sense of duty
in the hope of earning God's favor,
or it's so common nowadays, especially in our world,
there's a big push in a secular culture to serve less fortunate people.
A lot of that is driven by self-centeredness.
Just need to dig a little bit deeper.
A sense of superiority for cultures, not as sharp or not as good as ours,
and need to be able to serve those cultures so that they would grow up.
It's driven from a sense of my own fulfillment.
So we don't do it for personal reasons.
We don't do it in order to earn favor with God.
We must never forget that God saves his people out of Egypt.
Then he gathers them to himself as his treasured possession.
And then he says, I want you to serve me.
It's the same with Jesus at the cross.
He dies for our sins, gathers us to himself as his church.
He calls us to serve him in the world.
We don't serve God to gain his favor.
We do ministry because we already have it.
We serve others with the attitude of which Jesus served us.
Mark 10, 45.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
At the source of all Christian service of ministry in the world
is the crucified, risen Lord who died to set us free
into a life of service of God and of others.
It's the reason which you were created.
God has created you and saved you in order to serve
and to serve together the world.
And before you were saved,
you were enslaved to your own self-centeredness.
So you've been set free to pursue the very design God had on your life initially.
And serving the biblical sense is putting the needs of others ahead of your own
or putting the needs of the community ahead of your individual needs.
There's a paradox here.
And I mentioned it right at the beginning.
I feel like God has so blessed me over the years in service.
If you serve primarily for yourself when it suits you,
because it fits into your program,
it does stuff you just want to do,
it doesn't push you out of your comfort zone at all,
then it isn't actually serving.
And so therefore you'll never feel the benefits.
You'll never experience the benefits of serving.
Ever.
The only workable dynamic for ministry in the church is Mark 10, 45.
The Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
So having just, you know,
knocked down the hierarchy idea,
what's the relationship between church leaders and church members?
Or more specifically,
between those in vocational ministry
and those who are members of the church,
serving in the church.
I want to jump back into Ephesians 4, verse 11 to 12.
We were there last week.
Verse 11.
So Christ gave, himself gave the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers.
These, broadly speaking,
we can call these categories, if you like,
leaders within the church.
We're happy to go with that just for the time being.
So why did Christ give these to the church?
Verse 12.
To equip his people for works of service,
for works of ministry.
What's the end goal that God has in giving church leaders
to equip his people for works of service and ministry?
Verse 12.
So that the body of Christ may be built up.
And in fact, the word actually means built up and built out.
The whole idea here is
Christ gives leaders to equip the members
for the work of ministry in such a way
that the whole church grows up into maturity,
which is his design for his people.
We all have a ministry.
Church leaders have primarily an equipping ministry
and church members have primarily a doing ministry.
And there's obviously crossover there
with some of that stuff.
But we all are called to minister together
to build Christ's church.
This is crucial.
Because I think that too many,
in fact, I would suggest that way over 90% of churches
think of ministry in the local church
in the same way that you would think of the manly ferry.
On the ferry, you've got a few staff
who get you from point A to point B.
There's that bloke, whoever it is,
up the front driving the whole thing.
And there might be a couple of people there
who are checking your tickets
or putting out the ramp
so you can get on without falling in the water.
And there's someone selling you snacks.
I mean, who knows?
It might even be the same person doing everything.
I've got no idea.
And everyone else is sitting there passively in the seats,
working on whatever it is that you're working on
and your phones and taking photos and conversation,
just waiting to get to the destination.
And the people on the boat, the staff,
it's their job to get you to the destination
as smoothly as you possibly can,
as fast as you can,
to get on your own way.
And that is the way so many churches view ministry.
We pay people to do that for us.
And can I say that it's particularly,
and I've talked to ministers all over the place,
it's particularly prevalent
in places like eastern suburbs, North Shore,
where we're used to getting people
to pay for everything for us.
They cut our grass,
they clean our windows,
people do all that.
They walk our dogs for us, for goodness sake.
Pay a fortune to get this dog
and get someone to walk it for us.
We're used to people paying for all those things
and we treat church in exactly the same way.
The local church ought to be viewed
more like a sailing boat,
actually a bit more than a sailing boat.
Let's call it one of the yachts
in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
Everyone on board has a job to do.
There's no passengers there,
kind of, you know,
I'm just here to take the photos.
You know, that's just,
you know, the guy's not there.
You know, you don't have the person
sunbathing at the front, you know,
a couple of days to catch some rays.
Captain's job is to set the course,
to navigate the direction,
to get the crew operating together
and each part doing its work,
but making sure that we're doing it together
in order to get to the goal,
to get to Hobart.
Then you get to Hobart,
you go, what am I doing here?
We're going to get home again.
All of God's people are called
to a corporate priesthood,
either an equipping ministry
or a doing ministry,
but doing it together
for a purpose.
So that is what's God's purpose
for his growing children.
Second point,
how can we minister on purpose
at St. Paul?
So let me say,
first of all,
this is by way of a caveat,
if you like,
you can serve God
both in the church
and in the world.
You can minister
in a whole range of ways
through being citizens,
neighbours and friends
and colleagues.
And I'm very keen
for us to develop
that concept of
frontline ministry
as a church.
You can speak to Adrian,
our missions minister,
about that
and we'll touch on it
probably next week a bit.
But tonight,
I've got my ministry minister hat.
I oversee ministry,
this M for St. Paul's
and I've got that hat on tonight.
And I want to look at
what does it look like
for us to work,
to minister on purpose
at St. Paul's
and I want to suggest
three ways,
time, talents and treasures.
So firstly,
time.
Easiest way to serve God
with your time
is turn up.
This is profound.
Turn up.
Don't underestimate,
as I said two weeks ago,
don't underestimate
the role you play
by turning up
and just engaging
with another individual.
And especially an individual
who's not necessarily
a close friend
or anything like that.
Taking the time to talk,
to encourage,
to listen,
to be there.
As you speak
the truth in love,
as I said last week
from Ephesians 4.15,
speaking the truth
in love to each other,
you are ministering,
you are serving
another human being.
Now when we think
of ministry
at a local church,
we normally think of it
in the formal sense,
a position.
I'm on a team
and I've got my spot
in the roster.
It is possible
to fulfill your function
in a roster
and yet not do ministry.
I want to make that clear.
Because that is
such a small portion
of the ministry
that gets done
in this church.
And it isn't
the starting point
of ministry
and it's certainly
not the end point
of ministry.
The informal ministry
is what happens
outside of the formal structures
of the gathering
of St. Paul's
and it is extremely important
for service
to one another.
And it takes time.
People take time
and it takes effort.
Ministry doesn't stop
there though.
I don't want you
to just think,
well all you do
is turn up.
I want to encourage you
to do that
but go beyond that
and in fact
join a ministry team.
Again,
this is going to require
you using
the time
that God has given you
to serve Him.
There's preparation
for ministry,
there's coordination
of people,
there's training,
there's all sorts of stuff.
It all takes time.
And what's more,
once you join a team,
you're accountable
for your time
to others.
When you are part
of a team
and you don't put
the time in
then others need
to carry that load
for you.
If you're part
of a team,
when you don't
put your effort in,
the rest of the team
takes that load.
And that's the case
anywhere.
It's work teams,
it's sporting teams,
you know,
all that kind of stuff.
So there might be
an opportunity
as well for you.
There's some very
broad categories.
It might be also
an opportunity,
when I'm thinking
about time,
where for some of you,
because of life
circumstances,
you are able to give
larger chunks of time
to the ministry
of St. Paul's.
In a previous church
that I belonged to,
a teacher
retired
at the normal
retiring age.
He went from his
retirement from a teacher
and spent,
you know,
all of his years
as a teacher.
He went then
and did some training,
got himself ordained
as a deacon
in the Anglican church
and now ministers
as,
in an honorary capacity
on staff
in the church
that he'd been a worshiper
in for 40 years.
And he realized
as he was heading
towards retirement,
because our ministry team
is running flat out
doing jobs
that I don't think
that they need to do.
But people expected
to do it
because they got
the mentality
that we're the manly fairy.
So he thought
the best thing
that he could do
was to take the load off
by getting himself
trained and ordained.
And therefore,
he could step in
in an honoring capacity
to serve in the church.
So don't buy into
our society's values
that when you retire,
the whole goal of life
is to get to retirement
with a secure nest egg
so that I can spend
the rest of my days
in self-indulgent ease.
That's not a retirement plan.
That's shooting yourself
in the foot.
We ought to be
congratulating,
in my view,
and celebrating
the fact that,
for instance,
Debbie Gould,
our membership minister,
she's one of our
purpose pastors,
one of the five
pastors,
leaders of
our leadership team,
has been ministering
at St. Paul's
three to five days a week
for more than 20 years,
longer than I've been ordained,
as a volunteer.
Okay, now,
let me just,
I do think,
when I said we should
celebrate that,
I didn't mean a pause
and,
okay,
let me just say it again,
I think we should celebrate that.
Okay,
so that took twice,
it took four times for me
to say it this morning,
twice tonight,
so that's good.
That's an improvement.
That,
that I don't think
means that we
undervalue you,
Debbie,
I don't think that was
what I mean.
Andrew Smith has been
giving at least
two days a week
for four to five years
or so
at St. Paul's,
doing a whole range
of things.
And there are others
who contribute
in a whole range
of other ways
in volunteer.
We've had,
one of the joys,
I think,
we've had a number
of young people
who have come through
over the years,
the 10 years I've been here,
have given,
you know,
one or two,
three days a week
for a year
as a sort of a gap year
and stuff like that
and which has just been
amazing to have
those opportunities.
We get more done
in those times
and ministry progresses
remarkably
when those things
are happening.
So that's the first thing,
with your time,
give of your time.
Secondly,
talents.
The Bible uses
the language of gifts here
when it talks about this,
1 Corinthians 12,
four to seven.
There are different kinds
of gifts
but the same spirit
distributes them.
There are different kinds
of service
but the same Lord.
There are different kinds
of working
but in all of them
and in everyone
it is the same God
at work.
Now to each one
the manifestation
of the spirit
is given
for the common good.
So every Christian,
that's what the each one
is referring to
in verse seven,
receives spiritual gifts.
Spiritual gift
is an ability.
Verse six calls it
a working
or it could also be
called a power.
And this ability,
this working,
this power
comes to us
as a free gift
from God.
They are gifts
from the spirit of God
according to verse four.
They are given
to every Christian
for the purpose
of ministering
to the needs
of others.
Verse five
calls it service.
And this service
is for the building up
of the Christian community
both in its size
and depth
because verse seven
calls that
for the common good
of the church.
So the bottom line
is that every Christian
is in ministry
through the church
and if you're a Christian
you've been gifted
by God
for that end.
No one,
no Christian
is ever
merely a consumer
of the services
of others.
They are also
distributor
of services
to others.
Now,
1 Corinthians 12
tells us
how the gifts
are distributed
in the church
and the answer
is diversely.
Note the
repeated use
of the word
different
in these verses.
Firstly,
there are
a variety
of individual gifts.
Some have
put the diversity
of gifts
into three broad categories
the prophetic gifts,
the priestly gifts
and the kingly gifts.
Prophetic gifts
are gifts
and abilities
based on understanding
and articulating
biblical truth.
They are gifts
that represent God
to others
that are marked
by things like
boldness and clarity,
evangelism,
teaching,
speaking,
discernment,
prophecy.
Priestly gifts
are abilities
based on understanding
and supplying
basic needs
for people.
They represent
others to God
and the world
and are marked
by things like
sympathy
and sacrifice
and care,
encouragement,
helping,
pastoring,
mercy,
that kind of stuff.
Kingly gifts
are abilities
based on understanding
and direction
and people groups
as a whole,
what they need
as a group
as a whole.
they represent
Christ's vision
to others
and these gifts
are generally marked
by things like
wisdom,
practicality,
leadership.
Often you look
at the apostles,
founders of ministries,
leadership,
administration,
wisdom,
faith,
courage,
that kind of stuff.
That's how
the gifts are distributed,
all kinds of different gifts
and no individual
has all of those gifts.
As much as we might like it,
no one has all of those gifts
and you tend to have
one area
that you're really strong at,
maybe two areas
that you're fairly strong at
but you'll never have
three areas
that you are
supremely strong at
where your passions
are for all three areas.
You might be able
to function in all of them
but one or two of them
will dominate.
Secondly,
there are different kinds
of service in verse 5
which means our gifts
are better suited
to some places
and context
over others.
Some work better
with children
than adults.
Some prefer
a small setting
rather than a large setting.
Some work with
blue collar
and some can work
with white collar better,
that sort of stuff.
Thirdly,
there are different kinds
of working
in verse 6
which most likely
means there are
different levels
of capacity.
every Christian
has an almost
unique collection
of gifts
and on top of this
there are different
seasons in our lives
where the context
where those gifts
are called out
in us
are called out
in us
in different ways.
When you put it
all together
it may be
that each Christian
has a personal
gift setting
which is totally
unique to them
in a way that
even a thumbprint
might be unique.
The implication
of that is
that there is
ministry
that most likely
only you can do.
Spiritual gifts
fit you
for the mission
in life
that God
has given you
wherever
he has placed you.
So how do we
discover the
spiritual gifts?
Let me just
clarify this point
really clearly.
I think I need
to make this.
It is interesting
that there is
virtually nothing
in the Bible
at all
about how to
discover spiritual
gifts.
Virtually nothing.
Very, very little.
Which means
there is a problem
with every single
prescribed process
that you'll pull
off a book
in Kurong
or whatever
off the shelves
in Kurong
and say
here's how you
discover your
spiritual gifts.
There's a problem
with every single
process.
There are at
least three
factors that
seem to come
together in
discovering gifts.
Affinity,
ability and
opportunity.
There is
pretty much
this is pretty
much the process
we go through
I think in
all of our
major decisions
in life.
Finding jobs
and every other
major decision.
Affinity,
ability,
opportunity.
Affinity,
what human
needs do I
vibrate towards?
What interests
me?
What are my
passions?
Ability,
what am I
good at?
What do
people say
I'm effective
in?
Opportunity,
what doors
of service
are open,
what needs
to be done?
They're the
three of them,
affinity,
ability,
opportunity.
When I first
got involved
in ministry
there was
opportunities
and it
connected
with ability.
Steve,
that pew
needs to be
fixed.
We need
people sitting
on these
seats on
Sunday
and they
need to be
fixed.
I can do
that.
That's
connecting
with an
ability
that I
had.
Steve,
after several
months,
today,
pews are all
fixed,
grass is cut,
we're going to
go visit the
hospital.
Dunk,
dong.
That's not
something that I'm
have an ability
at.
Affinity,
I think so,
but there's an
opportunity there,
so let's have a
crack.
So what I
would suggest
is the
place to
start is
opportunity.
Find the
ministries in
the church
that need to
be done
and just
do them.
Just
serve.
Don't ask,
first of all,
whether it
fulfills you.
When,
after we've
had a
supper out
there and
there's
crumbs all
over the
floor,
don't ask,
will I be
fulfilled if I
vacuum the
floor tonight?
I'm not
naturally
vibrating across
here in this
direction.
Just do
it.
There's an
opportunity to
serve,
just do it.
And if you
need to know
how to work
a vacuum
cleaner,
I'll
willingly show
you how to
do that.
We've already
been told
tonight,
there's a
working bee
next Saturday.
Just be
here.
turn up,
be involved
in the
working bee.
For those
of you who
have certain
affinities and
abilities,
there's an
opportunity right
now to be the
treasurer of
St. Paul's.
We're looking
for a treasurer
right now.
Talk to
Andrew Smith
who's our
acting
treasurer
right now.
Okay,
having seen
all about
that,
there is a
distinction.
The last bit
about talents
is the
distinction
between gifts
and fruit.
Spiritual
gifts is
something we
do.
Spiritual
fruit is
something that
we are.
No one
but Jesus
has all
the spiritual
gifts.
But every
Christian is
to have all
of the
spiritual
fruit.
And the
list is there
in Galatians
5, 22
to 23.
The fruit of
the spirit
is love,
joy,
peace,
forbearance,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self
control.
Spiritual
gifts
can often
be honoured
ahead of
spiritual fruit
or even
be mistaken
for it.
There's a
reason for
that because
in our
Western culture
we value
production.
We value
getting things
done,
the task
resolved.
And so
when we
see people
doing tasks
and resolving
them well
with skill,
we just
assume that
is a higher
order for
us than
the character
of the person
doing it
in our
culture.
Spiritual
gifts can
often be
honoured ahead
of spiritual
fruit or even
be mistaken
for them.
And it
shocks us
to realise
in the
spiritual
realm that
it's possible
to touch
the lives
of individuals
even masses
of people
with a
spiritual
gift
while at
the same
time your
own spiritual
life is in
a downward
free fall.
That's
possible.
In fact,
Matthew 7,
in Matthew
7 there are
unregenerate
people exercising
gifts for the
benefits of
others.
you can
lead a
crusade
and see
people
converted
but at
the same
time be on
the way to
hell yourself.
That's
possible.
If God
can use a
donkey
to bring
about his
purposes,
he can use a
non-Christian
to bring about
the conversion
of Christians.
don't ever
use the
success that
you have in
ministry in
any way as
the gauge of
where you're
walking with
Christ in
that moment.
Don't ever
be confused.
Our church
needs people who
clearly demonstrate
both the fruits
and the gifts of
the Spirit,
which is why our
discipleship pathway,
growing up to be
like Jesus,
sits right beside
our ministry
pathway,
growing up in
my responsibility
and my
leadership.
So the
third and
final way we
can serve
God in
this world
is with
our
treasure.
And I'll
finish with
this one.
Next Sunday,
it's Commitment
Sunday.
It's the
Sunday each
year where we
ask our
regular members,
those who call
St. Paul's,
their church
family,
to make a
financial pledge
for the
ministry of
St. Paul's
in the
next year,
2019.
And also,
next Sunday,
we're looking
to raise
$55,000 for
the internal
and external
projects that
you have heard
about tonight
as well.
No less than
five times in
the New
Testament,
the language
of supporting
missionaries
or supporting
a church
financially is
described as
a ministry,
an act of
service.
And it's a
key ministry
that all of
God's people
are involved
in regardless
of gifting.
You don't
have a special
gift of
radical generosity
per se.
It's to use
our treasure
to serve God
in this world.
Like our
gifting,
it is something
that we will
use to
differing
degrees.
That is,
we don't
give according
to what
we don't
have.
We give
according to
what we
have,
not what
we don't
have.
The principle
that we use
here is
unequal giving
equals sacrifice.
Equal sacrifice
is that whether
it's $2 that
you're giving or
whether it's
$2,000 you're
giving,
it's a
gulp factor.
I need God
to help me
fulfill this.
Our act of
giving is an
act of worship
and that is
why the
Bible calls
us to give
from our
first fruits
and to live
on the rest
rather than
giving God
what's left
over.
Wow,
God,
I've just
eaten this
massive roast
dinner and
there's a
potato,
there you go,
you can have
that one.
If God
has saved
you in
Jesus,
gathered you
to himself,
his purpose
is to grow
you to be
like Jesus
in both
his character
and the
work he
came to
do,
which is
the will
of the
Father.
So pursue
God's
purpose for
your life,
get behind
the vision
of this
church and
serve it
and God
with your
time,
your talents
and your
treasures.
And within
a week,
within the
next week,
you've got
opportunities to
do all of
those things
just by the
pledging and
by coming to
a working
bay or being
our next
treasurer.