Ø Equip One Another with a Meaningful and Exciting Ministry in the Church

WELCOME TO

SERVING CHRIST

CLASS #201

GOAL OF THIS SESSION:

Ø  Equip one another with a meaningful and exciting ministry in the church.

Outline:

I.  All Christians are called to be ministers and servants of Jesus Christ.

II.  Why should we be involved in the work of the church?

III.  Discovering our spiritual gifts and talents.

IV.  How can we get involved in the work of the church?

I.  FIRST, ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO BE MINISTERS AND SERVANTS OF JESUS CHRIST.

1.  Below, are several verses that show that all Christians are ministers of Jesus Christ.

  "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me" (John 12:26).

  "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

a.  The Greek root word for "servant" diakones {dee-ak-on-eh’-s} can also be translated "minister or deacon." The word means "servant, table-waiter (John 2:5, 9 NASV), helper (BAG)." It is derived from the word "diako" which means "to run or hasten" (Vines). "One who serves…with responsibility to care for the needs of believers - one who helps the believers." The idea is of active service.

n  We are all ministers of Jesus Christ. When we made the decision to follow Jesus, we signed on to serve and minister in the church. Of course, as ministers, this doesn't mean that we all stand in the pulpit to preach. God gives each of us gifts and roles we are to use to serve one another and the church.

  "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever" (1 Peter 4:10, 11). Amen.

2.  As Christians, we need to embrace the fact that God has called us to be servants and ministers in His son's church. We are not called to sit in the pews and expect others to do the work. We are called to be actively involved in ministry.

II.  SECOND, WHY SHOULD WE BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH?

A.  FIRST, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD CREATED US TO DO.

  (Ephesians 2:10) “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

1.  One of the most basic questions a person can ask is “What is the purpose of my life?”

2.  Most people live their entire lives, year after year, with no idea of why they are here.

3.  For most people, the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness. Everyone wants to be happy. So some people spend their lives looking for happiness. That’s their purpose.

a.  Some look for happiness by acquiring possessions.

4.  The truth is that one’s possessions do not bring genuine happiness. In fact Jesus once said in (Luke 12:15) that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

5.  Real happiness comes from discovering what God's purpose is for our lives.

6.  God has a purpose for each and every one of us and when we discover that purpose, true happiness begins!

  "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

7.  One purpose in our lives is to serve the Lord, and when we serve the Lord and His people at this church, then we will be fulfilling one of our responsibilities as Christians, and this will bring us true joy. Being a servant produces happiness.

B.  SECOND, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE WE LOVE JESUS AND HIS CHURCH.

1.  Listen to statement that Paul made to the church of the Thessalonians.

  (1 Thessalonians 1:3) “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love…”

2.  The motivating factor that prompted the Christians at Thessalonica to serve the Lord and His Church – was love.

3.  If we love the church, the church that Jesus purchased with His blood, then we will serve the church.

4.  One reason why we should participate in some of the church ministries, like the visitation, evangelism, food, education, and other ministry areas is because we love the church.

5.  Some people are involved in ministry so they can work their way to heaven. However, we should be involved in ministry because we love God, not to strive to earn our salvation.

6.  If we truly love the Lord and His church that love will compel us to be involved.

C.  THIRD, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE THAT’S HOW THE CHURCH FUNCTIONS AT IT’S BEST.

1.  If the church is going to operate and function properly, we must all be doing our part.

2.  In (1 Corinthians 12:12-26), Paul compares the church to a human body.

3.  Paul’s major point in this passage is that everyone must be using his or her gifts and talents in the church, for the church to function properly.

4.  If all parts of the church are not functioning properly then the whole church suffers.

  “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.,.” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

5.  Every member of this church body must be putting his or her talents and abilities to work if we are going to function properly.

ILLUSTRATION:

One day a man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, “Come, I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.

“Come, now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said. They entered another room, identical to the first—the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well nourished.

“I don’t understand,” said the man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?”

The Lord smiled. “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”

6.  Brethren, if we are going to be successful as a body of Christ, we must all learn how to feed each other. We must all be serving one another.

III.  THIRD, LET'S DISCOVER WHAT OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND TALENTS ARE (1 COR. 12:1F; ROM. 12:6-8; 1 PET. 4:10F).

1.  The Bible teaches that everyone has a spiritual gift or talent.

  "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:11).

n  Everyone has at least one spiritual gift or talent. Some people have more than one. But everyone has something to offer to the Lord.

2.  Why does God provide spiritual gifts?

a.  Gifts are for the strengthening of the church.

  "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church" (1 Corinthians 14:26).

n  Since strengthening of the church is one of the primary purposes of spiritual gifts, how can anyone conclude that they have been taken away from the church? If they built up the church in the first century, why wouldn’t they build up the church in the 20th century?

b.  Gifts are for serving one another.

  "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10).

c.  Gifts are necessary for the health of Christ’s body--the church.

  Read (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

n  Paul compares the variety of gifts within the church to a physical body. His point is that all of the gifts are necessary for the health of the church, just as all the various parts of the body are necessary for the health of the body.

d.  Gifts are necessary to confirm the message and messenger.

  "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31).

  "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders" (Acts 14:3).

n  Spiritual gifts are very important to the well-being of the church, and we need to discover which gifts we possess.

3.  At this time, we will examine some of the non-miraculous gifts that we know are available for New Testament Christians today. As we go through each gift, try to determine which gift or gifts you have been blessed with.

a.  Administration (1 Corinthians 12:28) “kybernesis” lit “steering, or pilotage."

n  Administration is the God-given ability to administer the affairs of the church. Administration involves three things. First, administrators set goals and then design a plan and budget to accomplish them. Next, they create an organizational structure around the plan and staff that structure. Finally, they monitor the plan and solve problems as they arise.

b.  Encouragement (Romans 12:8) “paraklesis” lit “exhortation.”

n  The ability to come along side and encourage, admonish, and comfort. The gift of encouragement may be aimed to win people to a higher way of life and to a deeper self-dedication to Christ.) (See 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25 ).

c.  Evangelism (Ephesians 4:11).

n  The gift of evangelism is the ability to communicate clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers either individually or in a group context with the result that a number respond and come to faith in Christ. People with this gift may want to participate in the evangelism ministry.

d.  Faith (1 Corinthians 12:9; 13:2) “pistis.”

n  The gift of faith is the ability to envision what needs to be done and to trust God to accomplish it even thought it seems impossible to most people.

e.  Giving (Romans 12:8) “metadidomi” lit. “to give or share.”

n  The gift of giving concerns the ability to give eagerly, wisely, generously, and sacrificially of God’s financial provisions to others. Giving has to do with the contributing to the needs of others. (See 1 John 3:17-18). Persons with this gift enjoy distributing material resources, often without anyone knowing about it, and with no thought of recognition or gain. People with this gift may want to participate in the benevolence ministry.

f.  Helping others (1 Corinthians 12:28) "antilempsis” (those able to help others).

n  This gift involves the capacity to recognize and provide assistance in meeting practical needs. Persons with this gift help those who are poor and sick (See Acts 20:35).

g.  Leadership (Romans 12:8) “proistemi” (to stand before others). (See 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Timothy 3:4, 5; 5:17).

n  The gift of leadership is found in people who have a clear, significant vision and are able to communicate it in such a way that they influence others to pursue that vision with a passion.

h.  Mercy (Romans 12:8) “eleeo” (have compassion, pity on, have mercy).

n  The gift of mercy is the capacity to feel and express unusual compassion and sympathy for those in difficult or crisis situations and to provide them with the necessary help and support to see them through these times. People with this gift often provides comfort and kindness to the distressed. (See Micah 6:8, Matthew 23:23, Luke 6:36), and enjoy helping those whom the majority often ignores. They are sensitive to people’s needs and hurts. People with this gift may want to participate in the visitation ministry or the ministry to the widows.

i.  Prophecy (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28) “propheteia” (Communicating God’s message to the people).

n  Prophecy is the ability to understand and communicate a message of God to His people. People with this gift may want to participate in the education ministry.

j.  Service (Romans 12:7) “diakonia” (See 1 Peter 4:11).

n  People with this gift feel moved to serve others, to respond when there is a demonstrated need or a call to action. People with this gift may want to participate in the visitation ministry or the ministry to the widows.

k.  Teaching (Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:11) “didaskalia” (giving instruction).

n  The gift of teaching is the ability to understand and communicate truth, such as Scripture, clearly. A teacher would provide instruction (II Timothy 2:2) to the local churches. Teachers are able to communicate clearly the truths and application of Scripture. People with this gift may want to be involved in the education or evangelism ministry.