WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.580 Now we're going to go right ahead with our little 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:04.299 heart -to -heart talk, and I'm going to begin 00:00:04.299 --> 00:00:10.800 exactly where I left you when I walked out of 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.500 your home during the last broadcast, and we were 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:16.519 discussing that person, the Word of God, as found 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:20.739 in the fourth chapter of Ephesians. And Paul 00:00:20.739 --> 00:00:26.059 here is talking to members of the body of Christ. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.240 to you and to me, those of us who had been born 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:36.899 again, having been adopted of the Father, having 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:44.780 been baptized into His body by the Holy Spirit. 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:56.689 The Father, having given Jesus gifts to be Stow 00:00:56.689 --> 00:01:03.009 upon those of us who are members of his body. 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:13.950 And these wonderful gifts that are being operated 00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:21.170 by the Holy Ghost in the church today. Oh, to 00:01:21.170 --> 00:01:23.109 me, that's one that's marvelous. All right, here 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:27.680 we go now. We shall begin, if you will please, 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:33.579 with the 11th verse of the 4th chapter of Ephesians. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:40.340 And he gave some apostles, some prophets, and 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:45.640 some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:51.939 Now he goes on to tell the purpose of these gifts. 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:55.579 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:58.480 of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:02.239 of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:04.640 faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:09.840 unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:14.419 of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:20.689 be no more children. tossed to and fro and carried 00:02:20.689 --> 00:02:24.270 about with every wind of doctrine by the slight 00:02:24.270 --> 00:02:30.030 of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:35.669 in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in 00:02:35.669 --> 00:02:43.090 love, may grow up into him in all things, which 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:47.090 is the head, even Christ. for whom the whole 00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:53.189 body fitly joined together and compacted by that 00:02:53.189 --> 00:02:57.729 which every joint supplieth according to the 00:02:57.729 --> 00:03:01.629 effectual working in the measure of every part 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:08.650 maketh increase of the body into the edifying 00:03:08.650 --> 00:03:17.139 of itself in love Oh, that's beautiful. Pause 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:19.280 a minute and just remember to whom you belong. 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:29.280 No wonder he admonishes us to remember how we 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:36.360 act, how we live, what we do. We should constantly 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:42.419 remember the vocation into which we are called. 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:49.090 You and I be deemed members of his body. Active, 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:52.090 living, vital members of the body of Christ. 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:59.090 Now, let's go to the gifts which he bestowed 00:03:59.090 --> 00:04:04.810 and bestows today. And that's recorded in the 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:07.509 11th verse of this chapter. And he gave some 00:04:07.509 --> 00:04:12.539 apostles, some prophets, some evangelists. Some 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:16.959 pastors and teachers. And we see the purpose 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:22.000 in each one of these gifts. First, let's take 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.000 apostles and prophets. Do you want to know something? 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:29.680 We still have apostles and prophets in their 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:37.079 writings. Paul is just as much alive today through 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:42.370 his writings. as he was in person when he walked 00:04:42.370 --> 00:04:46.290 this earth. He's just as vital to all of us. 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:54.730 That's right. He's just as real. We've seen from 00:04:54.730 --> 00:04:59.910 former studies of the word that these precious 00:04:59.910 --> 00:05:03.990 apostles and prophets have laid down the great 00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:07.709 doctrinal foundation. propounding in their writings 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:09.649 in Christ and the doctrines concerning Christ. 00:05:09.949 --> 00:05:16.930 And in these inspired writings, today these precious 00:05:16.930 --> 00:05:24.370 prophets and apostles still speak to us. Take 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:37.089 the second gift, evangelists. of the evangel, 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:42.449 or the carrying of good news concerning salvation 00:05:42.449 --> 00:05:44.430 through faith in the shed blood of the Son of 00:05:44.430 --> 00:05:48.470 God. Evangelists are especially prepared by the 00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:53.310 Spirit of God to reach the unconverted, to reach 00:05:53.310 --> 00:05:55.970 unconverted men and women with the message of 00:05:55.970 --> 00:06:02.300 life. And I believe that if... Any man, any woman 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:06.379 who has the gift of an evangelist, who has been 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:10.079 called to be an evangelist in the true sense, 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:17.879 who has received that gift from Jesus, from the 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:22.639 Lord, I believe that that one will have a passion 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:28.899 for souls, a burden for souls as no other. other 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:33.779 living being on this earth today. Now, there 00:06:33.779 --> 00:06:35.240 are a lot of folks going around calling themselves 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.779 evangelists who've never been called of God, 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:44.420 who have never really received this gift. And 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:49.120 they're bringing an awful reproach upon the ministry 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:56.339 and upon Jesus Christ and upon something that 00:06:56.339 --> 00:07:00.810 is very sacred. and very precious in the sight 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:06.569 of God. When a man or a woman, I repeat, has 00:07:06.569 --> 00:07:09.290 received the gift and has been called of God 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:12.870 to be an evangelist, there will be with that 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:19.709 gift a burning compassion, a zeal, a burden for 00:07:19.709 --> 00:07:24.850 lost souls as no other human being has today. 00:07:25.329 --> 00:07:32.699 I believe that. That's right. For how can you 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:35.579 win men and women of the Lord Jesus Christ without 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:42.759 a great compassion, without the burden for their 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:48.680 lost souls? The two go together. Now the work 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:53.379 of a pastor, the work of a pastor is not the 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:57.569 same as that. of an evangelist. It is a separate 00:07:57.569 --> 00:08:04.029 gift. A pastor is a shepherd, and God especially 00:08:04.029 --> 00:08:08.189 prepares certain members of his body to shepherd 00:08:08.189 --> 00:08:11.670 the flock, to minister to them in sickness, in 00:08:11.670 --> 00:08:16.850 sorrow, in death, in bereavement, as well as 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:21.790 to feed them on the bread of life. Oh, a good 00:08:21.790 --> 00:08:29.170 pastor. A good pastor is the most precious, the 00:08:29.170 --> 00:08:33.490 most vital thing in the world. The shepherd of 00:08:33.490 --> 00:08:41.370 the sheep. And to be a good pastor is literally 00:08:41.370 --> 00:08:48.850 a gift that Jesus bestows on certain men. A precious 00:08:48.850 --> 00:08:53.330 gift. Now we come to the gift of that of a... 00:08:53.610 --> 00:08:59.889 teacher. Now, a pastor may not have the gift 00:08:59.889 --> 00:09:07.889 of a teacher. Neither is a teacher a pastor or 00:09:07.889 --> 00:09:10.470 an evangelist. You know, some people expect all 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:13.629 of this in one person. They're looking for the 00:09:13.629 --> 00:09:16.350 whole thing in one person. You'll never find 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:20.190 it in one person. Each of these is a separate 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:26.330 gift. given to one individual in exactly the 00:09:26.330 --> 00:09:28.610 same way that we have the Trinity, the Father, 00:09:28.610 --> 00:09:34.850 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are a whole, 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:40.590 a unit, yet the work of the Father is separate 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:44.049 and apart from the Holy Ghost. And the work of 00:09:44.049 --> 00:09:49.190 Jesus is not the same work as the work of the 00:09:49.190 --> 00:09:54.539 Holy Spirit. Yet one never works separate and 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:57.899 apart from the other. Neither should the evangelist, 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:03.919 the pastor, the teacher, work separate and apart 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:08.100 one from the other, yet each has a distinct and 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:12.059 separate work to be done. One just as vital, 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.639 just as important as the other. A teacher is 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.899 one to whom God has given special insight into 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:23.659 great... truths of the word of God, one to whom 00:10:23.659 --> 00:10:31.080 God has given the gift of imparting the same 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:35.720 to the members of the body of Christ in order 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.519 that they might become rooted and grounded in 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:45.960 the doctrines whereby they may be shielded from 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:50.730 false teachers and false prophets. And I'll tell 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:53.009 you, that's certainly one thing we need in the 00:10:53.009 --> 00:11:00.169 church today. We need teachers to whom God has 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:03.629 given special insight into the great truths of 00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:09.590 the Word of God. We need to be taught these deep 00:11:09.590 --> 00:11:15.649 truths where members of His body know what they 00:11:15.649 --> 00:11:17.990 believe. A lot of folk don't know what they believe. 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:21.429 That really, that's the reason they're swayed 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:27.230 by every wind of doctrine. They become so deceived. 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:31.230 Somebody can come along with a false doctrine 00:11:31.230 --> 00:11:34.330 and they fall for it, hook, line, and sinker. 00:11:34.370 --> 00:11:39.049 Why? Because they have never been taught. They 00:11:39.049 --> 00:11:42.269 have never been rooted and grounded in the truth, 00:11:42.509 --> 00:11:48.220 in the word of God. It's just like that. And 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:53.379 God has called certain folk and have given them 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:59.460 the gift of a teacher. He has revealed to them, 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:02.440 by the power of the Holy Ghost, the secret to 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:06.059 the deep truths of the Bible, the Word. They, 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:11.120 in turn, are to impart these deep truths to members 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:14.919 of the body of Christ. order that the members 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.759 of the body of Christ might become rooted and 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:24.460 grounded in the doctrines whereby they may be 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:27.820 shielded from false teachers and false prophets. 00:12:28.820 --> 00:12:35.460 God has thought to make every provision for members 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:39.960 of the body of Christ. Oh, to me that's marvelous. 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:42.220 Now, pause just a minute, and let's go a little 00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:43.720 deeper into something that I hope will be as 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:47.500 thrilling to you as it is to me. The gifts to 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:50.100 the church, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:54.919 are beautifully set forth in type in the service 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.679 and worship of the tabernacle and Solomon's temple. 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:02.779 The buildings, of course. The tabernacle and 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:06.980 the building of Solomon's temple. as we've already 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:13.299 seen, were shadows of the church. The present 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:17.440 inhabitation of God through the Spirit. Everything 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.840 about these two buildings was in keeping with 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:26.519 what we have in Ephesians as shadows of the body 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:31.460 of Christ. There were three divisions in the 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:38.450 tribe of Levi. Let's say, and it's more understandable, 00:13:38.710 --> 00:13:45.049 that there were three families of the tribe of 00:13:45.049 --> 00:13:51.450 Levi. To each, a part of the tabernacle was entrusted. 00:13:52.090 --> 00:13:56.710 The first family cared for the silver sockets, 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:01.769 made of atonement money, the boards, the pillars, 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:09.210 and the bars. cloudy pillar rested, meaning that 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:14.769 the twelve tribes were to camp, to cease on their 00:14:14.769 --> 00:14:19.870 journey toward Canaan. The members of this family 00:14:19.870 --> 00:14:23.389 were called upon first to erect the tabernacle. 00:14:23.649 --> 00:14:26.909 They were the ones who laid the silver sockets. 00:14:27.129 --> 00:14:32.009 The bars were then put upon the boards, thus 00:14:32.009 --> 00:14:36.820 holding the tabernacle together. Now, we'll see 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:40.080 the work of the second division, or the second 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:47.480 family of the tribe of Levi. They were the ones 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.500 who carried the beautiful curtains, the coverings, 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:55.519 the hangings, and the cords to spring them. Oh, 00:14:55.539 --> 00:15:00.080 they had a very marvelous work to do. Then we 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.179 have the third. family or the third division 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:11.460 or the tribe of Levi. They followed the second 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:16.500 family carrying the holy vessels, the ark for 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:20.519 the holy of holies, the table of showbread, the 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:24.940 candlestick, the golden altar of incense for 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:29.159 the holy place. They had a very definite work 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:34.440 to do. Their work was separate and apart from 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:38.799 the second family. And the second family had 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:43.120 a work separate and apart from the first family. 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:47.919 But watch something. To me, this is very beautiful. 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:55.399 In these three families of Levites, we have foreshadowed 00:15:55.399 --> 00:16:00.799 the evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher. 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:07.220 The evangelist carries the silver sockets and 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:10.820 by the spirit of God causes men to be built upon 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:17.419 that redemptive foundation. The pastor strengthens 00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:22.259 and beautifies the work thus accomplished. Oh, 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:31.870 sure. Watch. And here comes the teacher. bearing 00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:37.809 the vessels of the sanctuary, foreshadowing the 00:16:37.809 --> 00:16:42.210 great doctrines of scripture. There you have 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:45.669 the three, each one with a very definite and 00:16:45.669 --> 00:16:51.129 distinct work to do. All working together for 00:16:51.129 --> 00:16:55.610 the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness 00:16:55.610 --> 00:16:59.710 until it was completed and sold the gifts to 00:16:59.710 --> 00:17:02.299 the church. the evangelists, the pastors, and 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:07.619 the teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:11.599 saints, for the work of the ministry, for the 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:17.759 edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:23.200 into the unity of the faith and the knowledge 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:29.319 of the Son of God unto a perfect man. unto the 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:33.700 measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:41.440 Testimated, it is worthy of notice that these 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:48.420 three families of Levi did their work under the 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:55.680 supervision of God's high priest, Aaron. He was 00:17:55.680 --> 00:18:01.589 their supervisor. All their work was done under 00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:06.710 his supervision. Aaron, God's great high priest, 00:18:06.869 --> 00:18:13.849 and so beloved, the avengers, the pastors, and 00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:20.369 the teachers today are to work under the supervision 00:18:20.369 --> 00:18:28.400 of our great high priest. The one who stood at 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:34.000 the right hand of God the Father. Aaron is no 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:39.680 longer in position of great high priest. Today 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:46.720 we have in person the very son of the living 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:51.779 God in position of man's high priest. And all 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:56.670 of us, whether he be evangelist, pastor or teacher 00:18:56.670 --> 00:19:04.109 are to work under one supervision, the supervision 00:19:04.109 --> 00:19:10.589 of that one great high priest, the son of the 00:19:10.589 --> 00:19:16.690 living God, Jesus Christ. Make this real, I pray 00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:18.809 to our waiting hearts. Amen.