Therefore it says,
"When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also
descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who
also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the
prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body
of Christ, 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 in 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. (Ephesians. 4:8-16)
Many will say that they attend church regularly, give a large
portion of their income regularly, and that they pray and read their bible
constantly. Do you think this is sufficient service to the Lord? In these
activities you do, what spiritual gift are these? What ministry do you do and
what sphere do you practice these gifts? What have you accomplished for the
Lord in the past year for the Lord? What things are you planning to accomplish
to build this church, in 2013? What do you think you are unable to do now? Is
it because of age? Or your new family or job-related commitments? Do you wish
for the good old days? Anything that may hinder you from serving the
Lord more than you did serve Him in the past should be treated like an idol,
because they have claimed God’s place in your life.
Each one of us has a responsibility in the church
as long as he has been saved by the Lord and placed in a local church. It is
for us to ask ourselves, what is it that we are doing in service to the Master?
We should not be content in being spectators in the church. Eric Wright a long
serving missionary in Pakistan wrote a book that he called, ‘Church
– No Spectator Sport’ and it is an appeal to return to the priesthood
of all believers. He says that every member ministry is biblically normative
because when the Lord was ascending, He never proposed that His church become a
congregation of spectators, rather, when He ascended He gave gifts to men that
all may participate in ministry (Eph. 4:8).
A. Let us now
pay attention to the passage before us by noticing the following:
1) Christ gave gifts to men: He did not give to angels. He gave gifts to men
to serve in His church. Every believer has one or more gifts. It is for you to
discover them by working them out and bearing the necessary fruits in the
ministry or ministries the Lord has given you to serve.
2) He gave some specific ministries in the leadership of the church: He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
shepherds and teachers. The
apostles and the prophets are the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20) and
every church depends on the word that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to
write. The foundation having been laid by the twelve and the prophets these two
gifts and ministries are done in that there ought to be no addition for them –
the last man prophet is John the Baptist as Jesus said in Matthew 11:1314. The
last Prophet prophesied by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, 19 is Jesus Christ
(Acts 3:22-26) Hebrews 1:1,2 clarifies that there is only one way or method in
which God has spoken to us – by His Son (this is in contrast to the manner He
spoke in the past at different times by the prophets in diverse ways). He also
gave evangelists who continue to reach out to the lost with the message of the
gospel and the pastor/teachers who lead and feed the church.
3) He gave these gifts for the equipping of the saints: The purpose and reason for
the giftings is to equip each and every believer for ministry. This presupposes
that every one saint is involved in the ministry. This means that you are to be
involved with all in the church, not a group of people or individuals but the
whole church. He did not give them for the individuals to benefit from them and
do whatever they want. He did not give them to be hidden by the believers.
4) End result is unity and maturity into the fullness of Christ! The end to which He gave the
gifts to men, is so that they may be fully equipped and in turn equip others in
order to achieve three things in the church:
5)
Our spiritual growth
leads to the growth of the whole church! We are to grow in love in order to function
properly so that the whole body grows. The basic ingredients for growth is in
the manner of speaking and speaking the truth in love. You mark a person’s
maturity particularly in the manner of speaking – careless talking, coarse
joking, lies or deception, lack of communication etc. shows people who are not
mature. The particular conduct desired is the motive of love. Everything being
done in love. This leads to growing to be like Christ who is the head.
B. How would
you discover your gifts?
1. Providential preparation –
Natural abilities, our education and training, our ministry and
work experiences, along with any skills we have acquired, will furnish us with
a glimpse of the Spirit’s work in endowing us with gifts. Find out all the
jobs, education, jobs, hobbies, interests or talents you that could in any way
be used of God in the ministry. First think of yourself outside of your church
– in your home, at work the way you spend your leisure time. And invest these
skills into the ministries of the church.
2. Taking inventory of our sense of need –
Christians are people who meet needs. Take a moment and consider
what greatest concern that you have for the church. Things that you are
constantly praying for or thinking about as not met as you may want. Then
ponder some of the ways that you think you can help. You can as well ask, what
is it that I may want improved (removed, added to or something different) in
this church? What can I do to help in improving this need? What is lacking in
the life of my church?
We are supposed to pursue this line of
reasoning because there is a possibility of repressing some spiritual gifts to
the detriment of the church. Unmet needs in the church cry out for ministry. As
we obey the Lord as Christians we discover our gifts. For example as we help
the needy, fill up for people, we discover that we have been gifted in those
areas as time goes.
3.
Discovering the effectiveness in specific areas
Needs that are met show that there is a
spiritually gifted person present. When there is ineffectiveness in the church
in particular ministries it shows that there is someone who is not exercising
his spiritual gift. People led by the Spirit exercise their gifts and inevitably
produce spiritual fruit. Think over your own life. In what areas can you
recognize some degree of some spiritual effectiveness? Whom have you helped
through witnessing, teaching, encouragement, mercy, giving, etc.? Do others
seek you to talk over your problems? Are there practical things you do like
witnessing to your neighbors with other church members, taking food and the
gospel to those in prison, counseling young people for marriage etc? Where are
you most effective in serving Christ? Where do you see fruit from your labours?
4.
There is enjoyment and
fulfillment in ministry!
God did not create us for misery. When we
glorify God we find a deep sense of fulfillment, joy and satisfaction. As much
as Christian life calls for suffering and self-denial there is a lot of joy and
fulfillment for those Christians who suffer for their faith. Paul was bitten up
several times in his endevours to evangelize to the Gentile
world and yet He was very happy in Christ. Our desires and aspirations are
vital in finding out what one can do for the Lord. You can ask yourself, “if I
could be assured of success, what I would most likely want to contribute to my
church fellowship?” What would you really love to do if you could? As a rule God,
God prepares us to find satisfying niche of ministry where we can use our
gifts. Are there moments when we find that our minds are a fountain of ideas
and methods about how to engage in a certain project or service? Our potential
gifts must yield a certain measure of enthusiasm. As much as every ministry
must have its share of sacrifices those who find ministry in the areas of their
giftedness find greater satisfaction.
5. Listening to the counsel of other believers
Wise Christians always welcome the counsel of others. When we face
difficulty or important decisions that require subjective choices we would be
wise to seek counsel from others. In a healthy church pastors and deacons ought
to be readily available for counsel. Therefore you should be apt in seeking
counsel from the leaders in order to develop your gift. Look at the example of
Paul to Timothy who realizing Timothy’s timidity gave him wise counsel in order
to make sure that he was helped. He urged him to stir up his gift (1 Tim.
4:11-14). I do not think I would have become a pastor where it not for an
overseer who appointed me to the position even without my approval!
6. Taking adequate time to discover your gifts
Gifts develop in a climate of prayer and submission, obedience and
love. Spurgeon demonstrated powerful preaching gifts at an early stage which
was an exceptional, though God can do it again. Usually considerable time
elapses before many Christians know their spiritual gifts. Time produces the
necessary humility, and love so essential in service. Time also helps us to
experience a broader range of Christian activities so that we are also able to
work with others in the service.
C.
Applications
What part of your Christian life are you most proud of? What is it
that if the Lord came now you would want to tell Him about? Is it the way you have been evangelizing or the way you have been
making disciples? Is it the way you have been faithful in your duties or the
way you have delighted in the Lord? Or is it NONE OF THE ABOVE?
How would you account for your time before the Lord? Would you, with a good conscience say, that you have looked carefully how you have been walking, not as unwise but as wise, and
that you have been making the best use your time? Eph 5:15-16
How would you account for the gifts, abilities
and skills that you have before the Lord? Have
you made the best use of them? Would you with a clear conscience be able to
acknowledge the gifts that the Lord has given you and confess that you have served faithfully with cheerfulness
so that if speaking you have spoken the oracles of God; if serving by the
strength that God has supplied, if giving then cheerfully?
How will you account for your money before the
Lord? How much shave you invested in the ministries of the church?
D. For Prayer:
- 1. Lord help the leadership of this church to deliberately work towards raising disciples and leaders for your service
- 2. God grant each one of the members of this church a desire to serve in the church
- 3. God open up their eyes to discover their gifts, abilities and skills and inspire their zeal to serve in the context of this local church.
- 4. Lord give them a passion, enjoyment, and fulfillment in the ministries you have called them.
- 5. Grant unity, maturity into the fullness of Christ.
