Okay, I'm going to talk to you this morning about recognizing,
whoops, start over, recognizing, regarding, and receiving the bodybuilding gifts, okay?
The bodybuilding gifts.
This is from Ephesians 4, 11, 16, all right, basically the five-fold ministry.
We're on the front end of a church plant trying to build a church,
co-labor with Christ.
Obviously, Jesus builds his church, but we build with him.
Paul was clear about that.
He said, you know, he talked about the different labors and how you take care how you build.
And so what we're trying to do right now is take care how we build,
because beginnings are important with building, as you know.
If you don't get the foundations right, everything is off.
Actually, I have a friend who's a builder, and the first house they ever built,
you know, they're new at all this stuff, but very knowledgeable what they're doing.
But the guy that did the foundation for the first house they built,
there were some things that were a little bit off.
And the entire rest of the build, they were plagued with this one mistake,
because the foundations affect everything above it.
You know, it's like, oh, now the framing is different,
because it's not totally the way it was supposed to be.
And then because the framing is different, the drywall is different.
And then because the drywall is different, this is, you know, it's just,
the roof is different.
It's just all kind of as it goes up.
So these are important times for us to take care how we build, like the Bible says, right?
Take care how you build in Ephesians 4.
But then the other thing is, I think sometimes we overcomplicate church planting,
and just the growing and multiplying of his church.
I actually think that if the church would pay more attention to God's ways,
it'd just be much simpler.
But we've kind of made these kind of modes and operations that we try to do all this weird stuff.
And at the end of the day, the Bible speaks very clearly about how to build.
The Bible speaks very clearly about how churches multiply.
The Bible speaks very clearly about what it looks like to be healthy.
Like there's ways, there's certain things put in place.
And unfortunately, so many problems are caused in the church by just ignoring those things.
It's, I mean, it sounds overly simplistic, but,
and some people might say, Josh, you're being overly simplistic.
But I just want to submit to you that maybe I'm not.
Maybe we've just made it way too complicated sometimes.
Maybe we just get back to, you know, do the old Francis chant,
I just don't see it in this book, you know?
If we just get back to the book and just look at what's in there,
it'd be a lot simpler, right?
So, add those three things.
These three things are important when it comes to all the gifts.
But especially if we're talking about gifts that build up the body.
Ephesians 4, 11 to 16, I'll read it for you.
This is the text that we're getting all this from.
It says,
He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers
to equip the saints for the work of the ministry
for the building up of the body of Christ.
Okay?
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 and 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.
Do you see how simple it lays that out?
Basically, it says,
hey, if every part is doing its work,
the body builds itself.
We say, oh, we have to do all this.
We have to make sure we do this and this and this.
And we gotta,
it's like, well, it actually,
it builds itself up.
Okay?
It's a living organism almost
because the church is alive with the people of God.
And when each part as a body,
a living body is doing its part,
we just focus on,
okay, what's my part?
Am I doing it?
And then we also focus
on recognizing,
receiving,
and regarding the parts
that were not.
As each part's doing its work,
it's gonna be built up.
And if there's certain gifts
that are given to equip others
to do the work of the ministry,
and there's certain gifts,
these five are given
as bodybuilding gifts
to build up the body.
Okay?
They're the ones
who are specifically gifted by God
to the church
to build up the church.
And so,
it's important we do these three things.
First is to recognize them.
Okay?
If you're going to be equipped by these gifts,
you have to first recognize,
number one,
that they exist.
some people,
and it's an atrocity
that people actually believe
that some of these gifts
are not for today.
I was at
Midwestern Seminary
for some conference
or something once,
and the president of the seminary
was talking about
what was giving us
the spiel for Midwestern
and why people should go there
and support it
and all that kind of stuff.
And it's like,
our mission is to raise up evangelists,
pastors,
and teachers.
And I'm like,
and then he kept going.
I'm like,
wait a second,
he skipped two of them.
What are you talking about?
He just kept going.
I was like,
oh,
I was so bothered.
I wanted to stand up
and be like,
hey,
you forgot to.
It's like,
this,
it says,
there's an until in this verse.
So it tells us
how long these gifts are in play.
Okay?
There's a shelf life
on these gifts
in this verse.
And people like to say
the shelf life is already done.
Apostles and prophets,
not for today.
Okay.
Well,
this one says,
until we all attain
to the unity of the faith.
Yeah,
that's happened.
I mean,
there's no way that's happened,
right?
We got some work to do.
Okay?
Until we're to mature manhood.
Has the church reached
a point of mature manhood?
I don't think so.
Okay?
Stature of the fullness of Christ,
not there yet.
We're working on it.
We're getting there.
So that we're no longer
children tossed to and fro
by the waves
and carried away
by every wind of doctrine.
Clearly,
that hasn't happened yet.
These gifts are necessary.
Okay?
So,
you have to recognize them,
which you're not going to recognize them
if you don't even believe they exist.
So let's start there.
You have to believe they exist.
And then you got to be able
to recognize them.
And if you don't know what they are,
how are you going to recognize them?
It's like,
hey,
did you recognize,
did you see so-and-star?
Did you recognize them?
And I'm like,
I've never seen that person before.
How would I know
that it's them?
Right?
We've had people over before
that we've never met,
which is always a fun thing.
You know,
we meet someone,
like maybe I meet someone
or Gina meets someone
and then we invite them over for dinner
and it's like,
oh,
someone's coming over for dinner
that I never met before.
Or you go to a coffee shop
and meet someone
that you've never met before.
They contacted you
via text
and it's like,
I've done that before
where I get there.
I'm like,
how am I going to know
who the person is?
I've never met,
I'm not going to recognize them
because I've never seen
a picture of this person
and I've never met them in person.
If you don't know
what you're looking for,
how will you ever recognize
these gifts?
But it's absolutely important
that you recognize these gifts
because these gifts are given
to build up the body.
So you have to be able
to recognize them.
But recognizing them
isn't enough.
Okay?
You also have to regard them.
Meaning you have to value them.
You have to,
there has to be weight
attributed to them
because of their importance,
because of their implications.
And there are some people
who recognize the gifts
but they don't value the gifts.
They recognize them
but they don't regard them.
They kind of dismiss them.
They think,
oh, that gift isn't important
because I'm not gifted that way.
Or that gift isn't important
because that gift
kind of annoys me.
You know?
And we have to not just
recognize them
but we have to regard them.
Because that's something
that you make effort
or focus to do.
Make sure you're recognizing
how people are gifted
according to the scriptures
because the scriptures
tells us how we can recognize them.
We're going to look at that.
Okay?
But then do you regard them?
Do you care?
You think,
oh, it's important
for me to value
these other gifts.
Because essentially
regarding them
is you saying
I need them.
Disregarding them
is you arrogantly saying
I'm good.
I don't need you.
And the hand cannot say
to,
what is the,
one of the other parts,
whoever it says
in 1 Corinthians 12,
I don't need you.
Right?
One part of the body
can't say to another part
I don't need you.
And yet,
that's what we do sometimes.
That's a disregarding
of the body.
And then lastly,
we have to receive
those people.
Okay?
You recognize them,
you regard them,
and then you receive them.
Meaning,
you're welcoming them.
You're not just saying
you value them,
they're saying
bear upon my
church
and upon my part
of the body.
I need your part.
Like,
I need to receive
what your gifting brings.
Even if what your gifting brings
is sometimes
uncomfortable for me.
Yeah?
Sometimes a prophet
might bring a word
that you're like,
you don't want to hear.
Okay?
Sometimes,
you know,
a pastor,
very lovingly and kind,
because that's what pastors do,
says a hard truth to you.
And you're like,
I don't want to hear that.
Right?
Okay?
Whatever it may be,
these different gifts.
Sometimes an evangelist
is like,
you've got to get off your butt
and get out there
and start preaching the gospel.
You're like,
I don't want to preach the gospel.
And so sometimes
those things rub,
but you have to receive
those things.
We need those people.
And sometimes you look at it,
you're like an evangelist,
and you're just thinking,
what?
Okay,
you're like a one-trick pony.
You're always talking
about evangelism.
It's like,
can't you think about
something else?
And in one sense,
no.
That's how they're,
that's the gift
they are to us.
Like,
receive.
Receive that gift.
Don't be annoyed
by that gift.
Don't condescend that gift.
Don't poo-poo that gift
or disregard that gift.
You have to embrace the gift,
receive the gift,
affirm the gift.
Tell those people,
hey,
we value you.
Okay?
If you're talking to Zemir
and he keeps talking
about evangelism
and you're just like,
all right,
I get it,
all right.
You just say,
no,
this is good.
Our church needs guys
like this.
And then you say,
I thank you,
Zemir,
for emphasizing this.
I appreciate
this part of the body.
Okay?
When Seth wants to blow up
the whole church
after we just got started,
you just say,
I love you,
Seth.
I appreciate
that you see
stuff's off.
You know?
I love that prophetic
part of you.
Okay?
Do you understand
what I'm saying?
Like,
you have to receive,
and part of receiving
is affirming.
And I think the church
doesn't do a good enough job
affirming people
in their gifts.
Hey,
you're gifted this way.
I receive that.
I appreciate that.
I recognize it.
Like,
just speaking those
three things out,
like,
I recognize that
you have this gift.
Being noticed,
being seen in your gifting
is encouraging
because sometimes
you wonder,
like,
do I really have this gift?
And you better be sure
the devil wants to tell you
that when you do have a gift
that you don't
because he doesn't want
you using it.
So when you say,
hey,
I recognize
you have this gift,
that's encouraging.
It's helpful.
When you say,
hey,
I value your gift.
I regard your gift.
That's helpful.
Because some people
know they have a gift,
but they don't feel
like it's value.
And then when you say,
I receive what you're saying,
I receive that.
Like,
just saying that phrase
sometimes is helpful.
Like,
hey,
just want you to know,
I received the word
you brought.
I receive your input.
I receive your gifting.
It's valuable.
We love it.
We need it.
I admit sometimes
it rubs me the wrong way,
but I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you're a part
of this church.
Does that make sense?
Do you follow me on that?
So,
just,
can we remember,
I think this is really important
at the foundational level.
We're building foundations
into this church.
Be careful how you build.
Okay?
And it's really important
that hopefully you can build,
again,
the things you build now
get into the culture
and then what's,
culture is caught.
Okay?
And that's,
that's a really powerful thing.
Eventually,
you have to talk about things
way less
because it's just caught
in the culture.
What if we build a culture
and we all have to work,
any kind of cultural thing,
we all have to contribute.
What if the culture of our church
is one of recognizing,
regarding,
and receiving the spiritual gifts
in one another?
Wouldn't that be awesome?
And especially those
five bodybuilding gifts
to make sure that the church
is built up
and make sure that we're equipped
to do the work of the ministry.
Make sure we're not being
tossed to and fro.
Make sure that we reach
the unity of the faith,
the fullness of Christ.
That's what it says
in Ephesians 4.
It's such an important
verse when it comes
to building God's church
with him,
collaborating with him.
Okay?
So,
I want to look at
these five gifts.
Okay?
I'm going to point,
you guys,
if you guys want
to copy these notes,
because I'm going to mention
a lot of scriptures.
Okay?
So,
I can get you a copy
of the good one
just to kind of
look them up yourself.
I'm not even going
to read through all of them,
but I'll reference them.
I'm going to reference
a lot of scriptures.
A lot,
the vast majority of this
is going to be scriptures
and then a little bit
of it is going to be me,
just my experience
working with building the church
and recognizing different people
and what I've seen
in some of these gifts
that could be clues
to help you recognize them.
Basically,
I'm trying to do
the best I can
to help us recognize,
help us regard,
and then help us
receive these gifts
because that's going
to build up our church.
Okay?
So,
first one,
apostles.
Definition of an apostle.
Okay?
An apostle
is a father.
1 Corinthians 4.15.
Okay?
You have many,
10,000 boy leaders,
boy instructors,
but you have not many fathers.
I became your father
in the gospel.
One of my favorite verses,
1 Corinthians 4.15.
Okay?
So,
apostles are fathers
who plant
and water
and or water
churches.
Okay?
You know,
I've planted,
Paul said,
Apollos watered,
1 Corinthians 3.5-7.
So,
they establish and nurture,
they plant and water
churches,
and they possess
supernatural skill
and mastery
to build people together.
Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 3.10
that as a skilled
master builder.
Okay?
So,
apostles have this
unique ability
to build
like a supernatural
gifting
or ability
to build people together.
Okay?
An apostle is called
by God,
1 Corinthians 1.1.
Sent by men,
Acts 13.3.
They laid their hands
on them
and sent them
to specific people
or places,
Galatians 2.7-8.
Paul said
he was called
to the uncircumcised
and Peter was called
to the circumcised,
Gentiles, Jews.
Okay?
Apostles are male,
Acts 1.22.
When they had to choose,
when they chose Matthias
after Judas had died,
one of their requirements
was that he was a male.
Okay?
They're servants,
multiple verses
that talk about that,
workers,
1 Corinthians 3.9,
whom the church's foundation
is built on
along with prophets,
Ephesians 2.20,
the church is built
from the foundation
of apostles and prophets
with Jesus
the chief cornerstone.
And for those of you
might think that
that's only
the apostles and prophets
at the beginning
of the church,
like at,
you know,
Pentecost,
kind of that kind of time,
read on
later on in Ephesians
and it clearly speaks
that it's not referring
to the prophets of old
and the apostles then.
It's speaking of
a continual thing
if you keep reading.
So,
the seal of their apostleship
is the people
they've built together
as a church.
1 Corinthians 9.1-2,
he says,
the seal of my apostleship
is you.
That's what he says.
The people are his seal.
And they equip the saints
for the work of the ministry,
Ephesians 4.12.
Okay,
all these equip the saints.
But that's an apostle.
That's a kind of a
hopefully more fully
orbed definition.
And then I want to just
look at the distinctives.
I'm going to do this
with each one.
I'm going to talk about,
I want to talk about,
I think it's helpful
when you see
what these different gifts,
what their focus is,
what they love,
what they hate,
and then what they see
and what their weaknesses are.
And I think it can help you
discover if maybe
you have this gift
and it can help you
recognize it in other people.
Okay,
some of this is
right straight from
the scriptures.
Some of it is
stuff I've just seen
with people.
You can make
your own deductions.
So,
distinctives.
Apostles,
okay,
I started.
Apostles focus
on the church.
Okay,
that's kind of their
obsession.
That's like their focus,
right?
What do they see?
Apostles see the big picture
and how everything
and everyone
fits together as a whole.
You see this with Paul,
like all over
the New Testament epistles.
He sees the big picture.
He sees the kind of
overarching plans of God
and how things fit together
and how the pieces
fit together
and has this anxiety
for the churches,
right?
That's what you can say.
That's what his focus is.
Apostles love order.
He told Titus,
who I believe is an apostle,
to put what remains
in order
and appoint elders.
They love building
something from nothing.
That's what apostolic work is.
You're starting from nothing.
They love family,
new frontiers,
the macro,
balance of appropriate emphasis,
and how people
and things fit together.
Okay,
you see Paul constantly
talking about body,
parts,
things fitting together.
apostles hate disorder,
small unholistic vision,
unbalanced emphasis,
impersonal programmatic church,
and devaluing the church.
Okay?
An apostle's weakness
is missing the micro
while focusing on the macro.
Okay?
Now,
it's important to know
their strengths
and their weaknesses.
Everyone has them.
Okay?
Because you have to be sensitive
of that
and sometimes you have
to remind them of that.
Hey,
I love this about you.
I appreciate this about you.
Just remember,
this maybe isn't
as much your strength.
Okay?
You need to be sensitive
to this.
This is why
you,
apostle,
need
profit guy
or profit woman
because they
see that micro.
You're Mr. Macro
and we need
Mr. and Mrs. Micro
here.
It's very important.
We can't just think macro.
Okay?
So that's apostles.
Prophets.
A prophet is
one who speaks
what they see
and hear from God.
Okay?
You see that
in 2 Chronicles 18, 13
that they,
he says,
I only speak the words
God puts in my mouth.
2 Peter 1, 21,
they spoke from God
as they were carried along.
Prophets spoke from God
as they were carried along
by the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
A prophet is a person
with supernatural ability
to hear what God is saying
and see what is naturally unseen.
Okay?
They see,
they hear
and they see.
All right?
And we're talking about
things that aren't
naturally seen.
They see supernaturally.
They see things
other people don't see.
They get vision.
You know,
these are the kind of people
that are always seeing things
and you're just like,
I just don't see
what you're saying.
It's like,
yeah,
that's because that's
the way they're gifted.
They see things.
It doesn't necessarily mean
they can build what they see
but they can see it
very clearly.
Prophets are servants,
Amos 3 verse 7,
whom the church's foundation
is built upon
along with apostles,
Ephesians 2.20.
They equip the saints
for the work of ministry,
Ephesians 4.12.
Prophetic giftings
include discernment
or discerning of spirits,
1 Corinthians 12.10.
Words of knowledge,
1 Corinthians 12.8.
Basically knowing things
you wouldn't know
on your own.
Seeing the future,
dreams and visions,
Numbers 12.6,
Isaiah 30 verse 10.
And then some prophets
are called seers,
S-E-E-R-S.
Okay?
So there's an element
of prophetic that hears
and there's an element
of the prophetic that sees.
And some prophets
are called seers.
You see that there's
multiple verses
that talk about these
and even have verses
where one is referred
to as a seer,
like Gad was referred
to as David's seer
and Nathan was referred
to as a prophet.
Okay?
So the seer,
there's some people
that just,
they see things
and then there's some people
who hear things.
Okay?
Distinctives.
Prophets focus on God.
Their orientation
is on God.
They're constantly
just like comparing
everything to this
plumb line to God.
If it's off,
you're going to hear
about it.
Okay?
Prophets see God.
Isaiah is a perfect example.
I saw the Lord
high and lifted up.
Right?
That's what prophets do.
They see right and wrong,
black and white.
They see the plumb line
from heaven.
They're constantly
looking at that.
They see small things
others don't see
and they see the future.
Okay?
Prophets love being
alone with God.
They love being true,
seeing,
hearing,
discerning,
inspecting,
and dreaming.
Okay?
Prophets hate
when people
aren't focused on God.
Prophets hate
fleshly,
independent ministry.
Prophets hate
when people
or ministries
aren't true.
Prophets hate
misrepresentation,
exaggeration,
deceit,
and falsehood.
Okay?
They can't stand
that stuff.
That bugs them.
A prophet's weakness
is thinking that
the micro
is the macro
and sometimes
having a difficult
time being with people.
Okay?
It's terrible.
Oh, I forgot
to give examples
of apostles.
Examples of apostles,
Matthias,
Paul and Barnabas,
Apollos,
Silvanus,
and Timothy,
Jesus.
Examples of prophets.
There's so many
in the Bible,
but Abraham
was the first one
mentioned.
Moses was a prophet
like none other,
it says,
in Exodus.
I'm sorry,
Deuteronomy 3410.
In Antioch,
it says there was
prophets and teachers.
Philip's daughters
were referred to
as prophets.
Agabus was referred
to as a prophet.
And Jesus is referred
to as a prophet.
Okay?
Okay.
Thirdly,
evangelists.
All right,
what's an evangelist?
Definition of evangelist,
is a gospel
or good news
proclaimer.
All right?
Possessing supernatural
power and wisdom
to win souls.
Proverbs 11,
verse 30 says,
he who wins souls
is wise.
Evangelist has a boldness
to go where lost people
are and preach to them.
They're always wanting to,
this is where an evangelist
and apostle are very similar.
They're always wanting
to go out
into new territories.
Evangelist is focused
on winning souls
and apostles
are focused
on establishing churches.
Okay?
But they're very much
the more pioneer
kind of people,
apostles and evangelists.
They're always wanting
to go out.
They equip the saints
for the work
of the ministry.
Okay?
It's important to realize
that these,
oftentimes we think
that these gifts
are the ones
who do the ministry,
which they do,
obviously.
But hear what it says
and sometimes it just
kind of goes right
over our head
and we glaze over.
They equip the saints
for ministry.
So an evangelist,
you may think,
oh, an evangelist,
they're the ones
who do all the evangelism.
No.
Evangelists do evangelism,
but they equip others
to do evangelism.
Okay?
Apostles equip people
to build the church.
Prophets equip people
to hear God
and to recognize
right and wrong.
You know,
teachers equip people
to teach the word of God.
Pastors equip people
to care for the church
and care for people.
They don't just do the work,
which they do,
but they're equipping others.
These are equipping gifts.
Okay?
So it's important.
So,
what are the distinctives
of an evangelist?
Evangelists focus
on the lost.
That's their kind of,
their focus.
It's what they think about,
they obsess about.
Evangelists,
what they see
is they see souls
and they see harvest.
Right?
That's what they're
constantly seeing.
I see souls out there.
I see harvest out there.
We got to get out there.
Okay?
Evangelists love unbelievers,
soul winning,
preaching the gospel
and new frontiers.
Evangelists hate
indifference to the lost.
They hate people
not hearing the gospel
and they hate people
not preaching the gospel.
Okay?
An evangelist's weakness
is winning souls
without value
or regard
for maturing
or caring for souls
after conversion.
Okay?
It's like,
we just got to get,
we just got to get souls.
We just got to get souls.
Well,
you got to care for the souls too.
You know?
Again,
it's just,
these are good things
to recognize.
I appreciate this about you
but let's recognize
that this might be
an area
where you're not as strong.
Okay?
Examples in the Bible,
Philip in Acts 21,
he's referred to
as an evangelist.
Jesus is
an evangelist
constantly going around
and preaching
the good news
of the kingdom.
And
there are only
three verses
in the Bible
about evangelism.
just three.
Not a lot.
Okay?
So,
not a lot of material there
in one sense
but we,
there's other aspects
of that,
the meaning of that word
that would lead us
to help understand
what it is.
Like,
evangelist is someone
who proclaims good news,
preaches the good news.
We know that
that's the definition.
So,
it's in Ephesians 4,
11.
He gave someone
to be evangelist.
Acts 21, 8
when it talks about
Philip the evangelist.
And then
2 Timothy 4, 5
and Paul tells Timothy
to do the work
of an evangelist.
Okay?
So,
everyone has to do
the work of an evangelist
even if they're not evangelists.
That's a work
that we're all called to do
because believers
are all called
to preach the gospel.
But some
have a unique gifting,
a supernatural gifting
to equip others
to do it
and to do it themselves.
They have an uncanny,
unnatural,
supernatural ability
to win souls.
Okay?
Pastors,
shepherds,
definition of a pastor,
shepherd,
a faithful steward,
Titus 1, 7,
a steward,
someone who's
responsible for people,
an overseer
of the flock of God,
Acts 20, 28,
1 Peter 5, 2.
Okay?
They oversee the church.
They oversee people.
They care for people.
They shepherd the people.
They're a steward
of the people.
They have a supernatural ability
to take care of people well.
Okay?
Acts 20, 28
talks about taking care
of the flock
that God has given you
under your care.
Okay?
They're very good
at caring for people.
Pastor shepherds,
the office of pastor shepherd,
their fathers.
Why?
Because the Bible says
in 1 Timothy 3,
verse 5,
and the qualifications
for an elder shepherd.
So,
I would use
pastor,
shepherd,
elder,
overseer,
all in the same,
like,
synonymous.
Okay?
I believe that's what
the Bible is getting at.
You know,
the qualifications
for pastor,
shepherd,
overseer,
elder
is that they must
manage their own
family well
because if they can't
manage their own
family well,
how will they take care
of the church of God?
Assuming,
from the rest of Scripture
and what it says,
that the church is a family.
So,
if you can't take care
of your family,
how will you take care
of God's family?
And the people
who take care
of God's family,
I mean,
people who take care
of a family
are parents,
fathers and mothers.
Okay?
So,
and although
the office of
pastor,
elder,
overseer
needs to be a man,
we see it in the
qualifications of an elder,
but I definitely believe
that there are women
who have pastoral gifting,
who have that motherly
care and gifting.
Okay?
So,
pastors,
shepherds,
and that office
are fathers.
They're teachers
and instructors.
It says they must be
able to teach
in Titus and Timothy.
They're exemplars.
1 Peter 5,
3 talks about
being an example
to the flock.
And so,
not only do they
care for them,
but they're like
an example of,
hey,
this is what
you should aspire to.
Okay?
They have specific
qualifications,
1 Timothy 3
and Titus chapter 1
speak of specific
qualifications,
which is almost
totally explicitly
character qualifications.
Okay?
So,
they have to have
a character.
Why?
Because they're exemplars.
They're examples.
And they are
appointed by men.
Paul encourages Titus,
go appoint elders
in every town.
Titus chapter 1
verse 5.
And they're made
by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 20,
28 says,
the Holy Spirit
who has made you
overseers.
So,
made by the Holy Spirit,
appointed by men.
Okay?
which is kind of
similar to apostles
where it's the God
who calls them
and then men
who send them.
Right?
Which is kind of
a cool way
of looking at it.
They are leaders
who will give account
for your souls.
Hebrews 13,
7 says,
remember your leaders,
keep watch over you.
Essentially,
that's another word
for overseer,
right?
Keep watch over you.
They are caring
for your souls
as ones who will
have to give an account.
Okay?
So,
they're accountable
for souls.
They care about people
because they know
they're accountable
to them.
And lastly,
they equip the saints
for work and ministry.
Ephesians chapter 4
verse 12.
Distinctives.
Pastors focus
on Christians.
Pastors focus
on people.
They're just,
they're focused
on the flock of God.
Right?
What do they see?
They see individual
needs for care,
comfort,
healing,
and nurturing.
That's a pastor's heart.
What do pastors love?
Pastors love
caring,
comforting,
listening,
counseling,
and ministering
to individual Christians.
Okay?
Pastors hate
when people
aren't cared for.
That's what bugs them,
right?
They hate when people
aren't treated fairly
or aren't heard
or understood.
Okay?
A pastor's weakness
is caring for individuals
at the expense
of the whole church.
Okay?
Where they get so focused
on the individual needs
or needy people
or the individual
counseling needs
or whatever
that maybe they don't
see the bigger picture
whole.
Right?
But again,
another very valuable gift
to equip the saints.
Examples are
James in Acts 21,
17,
Peter,
1 Peter 5,
verse 1,
Jesus,
the shepherd
and overseer
of our souls
in 1 Peter 2,
25.
Okay?
Last one,
teachers.
Definition of a teacher,
an authoritative,
I love it,
said of Jesus
in Mark 1,
22,
he didn't teach
like the scribes
of our day,
he did what?
He taught as one
with authority.
Okay?
And that's the difference.
Those scribes
didn't have
the power of God,
they didn't have
that anointing
to speak with authority,
that's what a teacher does.
When you hear
a teacher speak,
you just kind of,
you stick,
you kind of
tune your ear like,
wow,
this person has authority.
And that's what
they did with Jesus,
right?
They speak in a way,
an authoritative way,
a teacher is a communicator
of truth,
possessing supernatural ability
in 1 Peter 3,
I'm sorry,
1 Timothy 3,
2 Timothy 2,
all speak of
one being able
to teach,
entrust to reliable men
who are able
to teach.
They have,
they're able,
they have an ability
and it's a supernatural ability
given by God,
it's a gift,
okay?
They are able to teach
and to speak
in ways that people
understand,
okay?
A good example
of someone
who's a teacher
is they take complex things
and make them simple.
Like when a teacher speaks,
people understand things.
If you're someone
who says you're a teacher
and people don't understand you,
kind of like,
eh,
probably not.
You know,
that's kind of
the distinguishing marker.
You're able to speak
in a supernatural way
where people understand.
Think of the teachers
you like to listen to
on podcasts
or YouTube.
They're people
who make complex things simple.
It's like,
that's why I listen to them.
They equip the saints
for the work of the ministry,
Ephesians 4, 12.
Distinctives.
Teachers focus
on the truth.
They focus,
they're kind of obsessed
with truth.
Teachers see truth
and lies.
That's the way
they see the world.
It's true
or it's not true.
It's true
or it's lie.
Teachers love truth.
They love good doctrine.
They love reading books.
They love listening
to sermons.
They love rigorous
study and debate.
Okay?
They don't get weary
with those things.
That energizes
the teacher.
Right?
Teachers hate lies.
They hate bad doctrine.
And they hate false teaching.
Okay?
Teachers weakness
is caring more
about being right
than love for people.
Okay?
Which can be very easy
to happen sometimes.
Examples.
In Antioch,
there was teachers.
Paul called himself
a teacher
and an apostle
and a preacher.
2 Timothy 1.11.
And Jesus clearly
was a teacher.
Again,
Jesus possesses
all these gifts.
1 Timothy 4.13
says,
devote yourself
to teaching.
A teacher is devoted
to teaching.
It's something
that they're passionate about.
Okay?
So that's a teacher.
So,
I think it's important
like when you think
about these things,
especially when you just
think of like the focus.
You think,
oh,
okay,
apostles are focused
primarily on the church.
Prophets are focused
primarily on God.
evangelists are focused
primarily on the lost.
Pastors,
shepherds
are focused primarily
on people
and Christians
specifically.
And then teachers
are focused primarily
on truth.
When you see that
in people,
you can start to recognize,
okay,
I think I know
how this person's gifted.
Like,
I see the way
they're bent.
I see what they're
kind of obsessed about.
I see what they
just can't,
you know,
another way to put it
is something,
sometimes the way
to determine
how you're gifted
or someone else
is gifted
is to think
of what they
can't not do.
Like,
I can't help
but do this.
That's the,
like,
if you've ever
maybe thought
you had a spiritual gift
or one of these
five gifts
and then
you're kind of like,
ah,
I'm done with this.
I don't want to do
this anymore
because it's too much
pain,
too much trouble.
And then you keep
going back to the pain
and the trouble,
you may have the gift.
I mean,
Gene and I have said
that many times
we wanted to give up
on the church
and it's just like,
just keep coming back.
Keep going back
to things that are difficult.
And it's just like,
yes,
because,
like,
the way you're wired,
you're bent,
as much as you want
to get away from it,
it's like you can't
because it's what
God's gifted you.
It's like,
you know,
you just think,
you know,
Chris and Stacey
are very pastoral,
extremely pastoral.
You know,
they might sometimes think,
oh,
I can't do this anymore.
People are so,
there's so much
mess with people.
And then they're like,
I'm not going to do this anymore.
I'm not going to counsel
people on this anymore.
And I guarantee you
they'd be right back at it.
There's no way I would believe
that they would give up.
They couldn't
because that's how they're wired,
right?
I mean,
we could go,
there's so many different people
in here,
but it's good to affirm people
and say,
hey,
this is how I recognize.
I can see,
this is kind of what you,
like,
when you look at the world,
this is what you see,
right?
You see souls.
You see truth.
You see truth in laws.
You see a plumb line from heaven.
You see,
like,
how the church
and how people fit together.
You know,
those,
when you see those kind of things,
those are clues,
like,
oh,
that's how that person's gifted.
Now remember,
too,
some people could have more
than one of these gifts.
So sometimes you think,
well,
I think they're this,
but I think maybe,
no,
they're this.
Well,
they might be both,
right?
There's gift mixes.
Some people have two,
maybe three.
I don't know.
I don't know how that works.
Some people have more.
Some people have less.
But at the end of the day,
and some of you
might not have any of these
five-fold gifts,
okay?
That doesn't mean you're a lesser person.
That doesn't mean you're a lesser Christian.
It just means,
again,
you need those other ones
for us to be built up,
for the church to function
as it is.
But the other thing is,
if you do have one of these gifts,
you better use it.
You gotta use it.
You better get good at it.
You better figure it out.
You know,
if you think you have one of these gifts,
have you ever done a study
on that gift in the Bible?
If you think you have one of these gifts,
have you ever looked at every verse on it?
Say,
I'm gifted pastorally.
There's only one verse in the Bible
that talked about a pastor.
Good job.
You're done.
There's other verses on shepherding,
too,
okay?
So you can use those as well.
But do you study these things?
Or are you just kind of,
see,
this is the problem.
What I'm saying is,
it's like,
oh yeah,
that's good.
Yeah,
that's how I'm gifted.
Yeah,
thanks,
man.
I feel like,
I maybe,
after hearing you,
I'm maybe a little bit more
tuned on that a little bit.
Like,
what are you gonna do with it?
Study it.
Dive into it.
Figure it out.
Read about it.
Read other people who are gifted in it.
Seek out other people who are gifted in it.
Learn from them.
Why wouldn't you?
Because if you do,
the church gets built up.
We hear of all kinds of churches
that are doing the opposite.
They're getting what?
Tore down.
They're going away.
That church didn't make it.
That church has gone,
you know,
woke and weird and bad.
And then,
we talk about that all the time.
What about the churches
that are being built up?
It's no mystery how that happens.
You have to say,
man,
how come some churches do
and some churches don't?
How come that church didn't make it
and this church did?
It's not a mystery.
It's all in the book.
It's mostly in the second half of the book.
It's mostly in the New Testament.
Like,
it's laid out there.
It's not a mystery.
You don't have to wonder.
You can figure it out.
And if we are obedient to Jesus
and if we are valuing his ways,
this church will be built up.
Like,
even certain verses,
like,
I might do this next time I preach here,
but there's a verse in Acts
that says
that the church multiplied
and it just gives two reasons
why it multiplied.
And some people,
we have these church growth experts.
They're studying
and they're reading,
writing all these books
and they're just like,
well,
you got to do this
and you got to do this
and it's the global shed church movement.
You know,
like,
we're figuring it out now.
It's shed churches.
You know,
but that's what people do.
They're like,
no,
it's house church.
No,
it's cell church.
No,
it's mega church.
No,
it's micro church.
No,
it's,
it's just like,
oh my gosh.
Like,
really?
Do we need another model?
And then you see in the Bible,
it says,
the church multiplied
in the fear of the Lord
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Oh,
really?
That's it?
That's what it says.
And then you think,
how many churches
care about the fear of the Lord
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit?
How many churches
do not hate evil
and find their comfort
in everything but the Holy Spirit?
And then we wonder,
why isn't this church multiplying?
It's not complicated.
Now,
there's other factors,
okay?
There are other factors,
but God is so gracious.
He's not,
he's not like hiding this stuff from us.
It's hidden in plain sight.
It's right there.
It's in the book.
And we got to study it.
So,
all of us need to be zealous
about these things
and say,
hey,
I want to know how a body is built up.
We all need to be bodybuilders
in the church sense,
okay?
A bodybuilder knows
how muscles are built.
Bodybuilder knows
what supplements to take,
what food to eat,
what exercises to do,
okay?
A bodybuilder knows
what not to eat.
A bodybuilder knows
how to sleep.
Like,
nowadays,
more than ever before,
people are obsessive about this.
There's experts,
podcasts,
all this stuff
on how to build
a muscular,
healthy body,
right?
The Bible talks about
bodybuilding
when it comes to the church.
You can know all kinds of things
about the human body.
What do you know about
building up his body?
What do you know about
building up the church?
You're part of a church plan.
You're just going to sit back
and let everything happen?
You're going to sit back
and watch other people
do the work
and build the church?
Or are you going to dive in?
Are you going to study?
Are you going to be
really good
at recognizing
these five full gifts,
regarding them
and receiving them,
affirming them,
pointing them out,
seeking them yourself,
asking God
to give you these gifts,
okay?
You might say,
well,
I can do that?
Yes.
1 Corinthians 14, 12
says,
so with yourselves,
since you're eager
for manifestations
of the Spirit,
which he says,
you should eagerly desire
spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 14, right?
He says,
eagerly desire spiritual gifts.
That's a command.
It's not an option.
But then he says,
since you are eager
for manifestation
of the Spirit,
strive to excel
in building up the church.
So it's okay to say,
I want to excel
in the gifts,
period,
but then I also want to excel
in these five gifts
that build up the church.
Why not ask the Lord
for these gifts?
When's the last time
you asked the Lord
for a spiritual gift?
Do you feel weird
asking that?
Do you feel like
that's presumptuous?
Why?
What does it look like
to be eager
in your desire
for spiritual gifts?
Does it not look
like asking?
Does it not look
like saying,
God,
we need these gifts?
If there's gifts
in this body
you see that are missing,
is anybody asking for them?
Lord,
either give them to us
or bring someone else
who's got them.
Right?
I remember doing this
in the early days
of Bellicose,
praying for specific gifts
to come in
and then watching God
do that.
That's a fun thing to do.
Right?
Again,
that's co-laboring
with Christ.
So,
we're building this thing
with Jesus.
We're co-laboring
with Christ.
To what degree
are you doing that?
To what degree
are you recognizing,
regarding,
and receiving
these five
bodybuilding gifts?
Amen?
Amen.
Father,
we just ask,
we pray for Christ's church,
Lord,
that you'd build up
this church.
I pray that we'd be
better recognizers
of all the gifts,
especially these five.
I pray that we would
regard the gifts,
that people would feel
valued in their gifts,
and I pray that as a church,
there would be a culture
of receiving the gifts
of the Spirit,
Lord.
That we would receive them,
we'd welcome them,
we'd celebrate them.
And Lord,
we pray for more gifts.
Give us eager desire
for gifts.
And in our eager desire,
we pray for more.
We pray for greater
anointing in the ones
we have.
We pray for you
to bring people
who have the gifts
we don't have.
And we pray
that you would do
what you said you'd do.
We pray that you would
build up your church,
Lord.
Help us each
to do our work,
Lord.
I pray that we'd be
skilled and masterful
in the part that we
play in building.
In Jesus' name,
amen.
That's one of the
challenges I want to
leave you with
just as a practical.
You know,
Paul said,
I'm a skilled,
I was a skilled
master builder.
Let me ask you
that question.
Are you skilled
in your part
of the building?
Paul said he was.
Is that just for Paul?
Or is it for all of us?
Right?
You have skill
in your area
of building
and have you
then go a step further.
Are you seeking
for mastery?
That's a different
kind of skill,
right?
Like,
you're going
the extra mile
and I'm not just skilled
but I'm seeking
mastery in it.
We should all seek that.
And if each part
does their work,
the church will be
built up.
Amen?
Amen.