WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:04.019 I'm going to read verses 7 through 16. But to 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:07.400 each one of us, grace was given according to 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.880 the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:13.359 when he ascended on high, he led captive a host 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.359 of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Now this 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:21.320 expression, Paul says parenthetically, he ascended, 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:24.199 what does it mean except that he also had descended 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:27.260 into the lower parts of the earth? which probably 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:30.300 refers to his incarnation, his coming down to 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:35.000 the earth. He who descended is himself also he 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:38.719 who ascended far above all the heavens that he 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.960 might fill all things. Now he goes on to say, 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.659 and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:49.439 and some as evangelists and some as pastor teachers 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:53.719 for the equipping of the saints for the work 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.719 of service. to the building up of the body of 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:00.159 Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.859 faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:07.200 to a mature man, to the measure of the stature 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.159 which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.379 result, we are no longer to be children tossed 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:16.739 here and there by waves and carried about by 00:01:16.739 --> 00:01:19.840 every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.390 by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking 00:01:24.390 --> 00:01:27.530 the truth in love, we are to grow up in him, 00:01:27.689 --> 00:01:33.109 grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:37.049 even Christ, from whom the whole body, being 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:39.569 fitted and held together by that which every 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:43.030 joint supplies, according to the proper working 00:01:43.030 --> 00:01:46.489 of each individual part, causes the growth of 00:01:46.489 --> 00:01:50.290 the body for the building up of itself in love. 00:01:51.689 --> 00:01:56.849 All of us like to receive gifts, don't we? You 00:01:56.849 --> 00:01:59.629 and I who know the Lord Jesus Christ are on the 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:03.269 receiving end of things when it comes to our 00:02:03.269 --> 00:02:06.930 relationship with our benevolent Heavenly Father. 00:02:07.930 --> 00:02:12.870 He is the great giver. There is none who can 00:02:12.870 --> 00:02:19.849 out -give God. None who can out -give God. In 00:02:19.849 --> 00:02:22.210 the first place, it is God who gives us the very 00:02:22.210 --> 00:02:25.509 breath that we have. He gives us life. He gives 00:02:25.509 --> 00:02:30.689 us existence. It says in Acts 17, verses 25 and 00:02:30.689 --> 00:02:35.990 27, In Him we live and move and exist. He gives 00:02:35.990 --> 00:02:42.550 to all life and breath and all things. He gives 00:02:42.550 --> 00:02:46.669 us as well our daily sustenance. In Psalm 136, 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:51.969 verse 25, He gives food to all flesh. In God's 00:02:51.969 --> 00:02:56.629 providential care of His creation, He gives daily 00:02:56.629 --> 00:03:00.849 sustenance to all of it. And then our Lord gives 00:03:00.849 --> 00:03:04.090 strength. The Lord will give strength to His 00:03:04.090 --> 00:03:09.569 people. Psalm 29, verse 11. The Lord is the giver 00:03:09.569 --> 00:03:14.599 of understanding. In Psalm 119, verse 130, It 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:18.020 says that he gives us his word, which gives understanding 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:23.120 to the simple. You say, well, who's simple? We 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.120 are. Those of us who humble ourselves and come 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:30.759 to God and say, Lord, teach me. That's the simple 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.819 person in mind there. And he gives understanding 00:03:33.819 --> 00:03:38.199 to the simple, those who humble themselves. Then 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:42.439 he gives sleep. So he gives his beloved sleep. 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:46.259 Psalm 127, verse 2. You might not think that's 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:49.379 too important. But if you've ever suffered from 00:03:49.379 --> 00:03:54.960 insomnia, you will think it's important. It's 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:58.360 a terrible thing not to be able to sleep. But 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:00.560 the Lord gives sleep to his people. Not during 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:05.259 church. The devil gives it then. The devil gives 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:08.789 it then, but the Lord gives it other times. And 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.689 then the Lord gives us all things. As it says 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:18.709 in 1 Timothy 6, 17, He gives us all things lavishly, 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:22.769 richly to enjoy. That's why God has given us 00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:26.670 this beautiful creation around us, that we might 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:31.730 enjoy it and use it for His glory. Of course, 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:34.709 He is the giver of salvation, Romans 6, 23. The 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:39.079 wages of sin is death, but the what? The gift 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.060 of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:46.560 Lord. By grace ye are saved, through faith, and 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:49.519 that not of yourselves. It's the what? The gift 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.319 of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.100 And so he is the giver of salvation. All that 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:58.620 we do in salvation is receive by faith what God 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:00.759 offers us. We don't earn it. We don't work for 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:04.199 it. Then he is the giver of grace to the humble. 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:09.160 1 Peter 5, 5 says that God opposes the proud, 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:13.959 but gives grace to the humble. And then in our 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:16.500 text today, we see another aspect of our giving 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:22.660 Lord. It says in verse 7 that he gives grace 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:29.970 according to his measure to each one of us. The 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:33.290 Lord Jesus Christ is concerned about the church 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:39.990 maturing. Its maturation, its growing up is His 00:05:39.990 --> 00:05:46.810 work, and He has provided for it. He has provided 00:05:46.810 --> 00:05:50.029 in the first place individual spiritual gifts 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:53.610 for His people. That means if you are a Christian 00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:58.810 today, God has measured out to you some ability. 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:03.730 that He alone can give and which you can employ 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:08.689 in ministering to other people. That is a spiritual 00:06:08.689 --> 00:06:12.250 gift. Every Christian has them. To each one of 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:15.410 us, grace was given, says the Word of God. If 00:06:15.410 --> 00:06:18.810 you say you have no spiritual gift, then you 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:22.389 are a contradiction to what God has said. Because 00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:26.569 to each one of us, grace has been given. measured 00:06:26.569 --> 00:06:29.029 out by the gift of Christ so that we might serve 00:06:29.029 --> 00:06:32.230 him, be an active part of his body. God hasn't 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:34.230 just saved us so that we can sit here and someday 00:06:34.230 --> 00:06:37.430 go to heaven. He has saved us to serve. He has 00:06:37.430 --> 00:06:41.209 saved us to be a part of the body. We have a 00:06:41.209 --> 00:06:43.990 job to do. We have a function to fulfill. And 00:06:43.990 --> 00:06:46.149 he has enabled us to do it. He's given us gifts. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.439 But working together with those individual spiritual 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.779 gifts are individuals who are gifts in themselves, 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:58.019 according to verse 11. For it says that he also 00:06:58.019 --> 00:07:01.720 gave some as apostles and some as prophets. We 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.579 saw last week that those were part of the foundation 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:09.300 of the church. In those early years after our 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:11.560 Lord went back to heaven, the apostles who had 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:13.819 been personally appointed by the resurrected 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:18.660 Lord delivered his revelation. to his people. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:21.420 Many of them wrote down the words that we study 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:25.500 today in the Bible. In addition to them and working 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.500 with them were the prophets, those people who 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:31.680 received direct revelation from God and delivered 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.259 it to individuals and congregations. The prophets 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:37.220 were to keep track of one another to be sure 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:38.980 that they were delivering the word of the Lord, 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.360 but they had an important function of delivering 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.980 God's revelation in that day. And we said last 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:48.579 week, and we maintain that The prophets and the 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:51.379 apostles are no longer with us. Their purpose 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:56.579 expired, particularly with the receiving of the 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:59.339 Bible, God's written revelation. God has nothing 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:04.500 more to say than that which he has said, and 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:08.319 it's in his word. But he also gives evangelists. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.819 Evangelists began in that day, and they continue 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.120 right on through because evangelists are those 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:16.779 who declare the evangel, the good news. They 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:18.939 are involved primarily in planting churches. 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:23.120 I suppose missionaries are about as close to 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:27.079 an evangelist biblically as we could illustrate 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:30.519 it today. Those who go out planting churches 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:34.000 where the gospel has not been preached. But then 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.919 coming on their heels are these who are last 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:40.080 in the list, and there seems to be some progression 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:43.860 chronologically. as well as in other ways. And 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:46.120 the last and maybe the least on the list are 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.799 those who are pastor -teachers, those who come 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.919 along to build up the saints, to minister in 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:55.519 the churches that have been planted by the evangelists, 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:59.299 the pastor -teachers. One office is in view here, 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:02.500 so the grammar seems to indicate at the end of 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:06.399 verse 11. Pastor -teachers, those who are teaching 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:12.950 shepherds, those who feed. and lead and protect 00:09:12.950 --> 00:09:18.750 the flock of God. There are some men who are 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.590 more gifted at teaching than they are at shepherding. 00:09:23.029 --> 00:09:25.710 And there are some who are more gifted in shepherding 00:09:25.710 --> 00:09:31.450 than they are at teaching. All pastor -teachers 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:35.350 are different. They have different gifts according 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:38.629 to God's program for them, God's function for 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:41.570 them in the body. Not all pastors are alike. 00:09:42.649 --> 00:09:45.389 I think it's a mark of maturity and growth in 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:47.870 a church when they learn how to appreciate differences 00:09:47.870 --> 00:09:52.110 in pastors, in their shepherds, their teachers, 00:09:52.210 --> 00:09:56.970 and to not compare them for critical purposes, 00:09:57.090 --> 00:10:02.330 at least, because the Lord gifts His servants 00:10:02.330 --> 00:10:07.120 differently. When we invite someone else to come 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.179 to this pulpit, we expect them to be different 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:12.940 than I am. We don't need another me around. Juan's 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:15.840 all we can handle. Enough trouble with this one. 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:19.840 When we bring someone else in to preach, he's 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:21.559 going to say it differently. He's going to have 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:26.860 a different style. And we understand that. I 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:29.000 hope you understand that and that you appreciate 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:33.620 that variety of gifts. God does it that way. 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.259 We need to realize, too, that men who are called 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:43.240 of God to be pastor -teachers grow and mature 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:49.120 in that assignment of the Lord in his body. We 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.899 have young men who are on our staff who will 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:55.000 be in this pulpit occasionally. They will be 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.059 here by my invitation because they have something 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:00.440 to say to us that's important for us to hear. 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.840 And they may not say it as well as someone who's 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.350 had more experience. but that's all right. They 00:11:07.350 --> 00:11:10.669 have to get experience some way. We can learn 00:11:10.669 --> 00:11:13.809 from anyone if we'll just listen and have our 00:11:13.809 --> 00:11:17.690 hearts open to the Spirit of God. I'm thankful 00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:20.269 that Pastor Wiersbe, back at Calvary Baptist 00:11:20.269 --> 00:11:23.429 Church in Covington, Kentucky, gave me the opportunity 00:11:23.429 --> 00:11:26.470 to be in the pulpit occasionally. When he was 00:11:26.470 --> 00:11:30.350 out of town, usually, is when I preached. I remember 00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:33.629 when I was interviewed there that he told me, 00:11:34.889 --> 00:11:37.830 you're going to preach on Sunday morning, September, 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:41.529 I think it was 25th. And he said, that night 00:11:41.529 --> 00:11:45.889 Stephen Olford is going to preach. Well, I had 00:11:45.889 --> 00:11:50.509 never preached before 1 ,100, 1 ,200 people before, 00:11:50.610 --> 00:11:53.090 and to think that I was going to have to preach 00:11:53.090 --> 00:11:55.070 from the same pulpit that Stephen Olford would 00:11:55.070 --> 00:11:57.049 preach at later in the day, I'm telling you, 00:11:57.049 --> 00:12:00.929 that was scary to me. And I still think back 00:12:00.929 --> 00:12:05.200 on it and get scared if I think too hard. Stephen 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:09.659 Olford is a powerful Bible teacher and greatly 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:12.139 used of God all over the United States and the 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:14.899 world. I was surely glad I didn't have to preach 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:17.720 after him, I'll tell you that. I was glad I was 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:21.080 in the morning, he was at night. But you see, 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:23.759 the church there was gracious, and they understood 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.360 that I was just out of college. I was just learning 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.799 how to do this thing called preaching. I look 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:32.399 back on my sermons at that time, and I'm embarrassed 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:37.460 that I ever preached them. They were crude, to 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:41.200 say the least. About all I knew to do was to 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.820 take outlines from my theology class and preach 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:47.620 them. And the people were kind, and they listened, 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:52.559 and they said they learned something. But those 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:57.019 were years of my growing. And now we have young 00:12:57.019 --> 00:12:59.159 men here, and this is how they're going to learn 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:01.799 to do it. And so I appreciate the fact that you're 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:04.059 willing to come and to hear them and to listen, 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.980 to encourage them. That's important. We need 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:12.000 to mature other men along the way as they accept 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.240 the assignment of becoming pastors in the Lord's 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:19.480 church. There are some men who are gifted at 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.019 really shepherding and loving God's people. They're 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:24.509 not too terrific in the pulpit. I've had that 00:13:24.509 --> 00:13:28.409 kind of pastor before as I was growing up. They 00:13:28.409 --> 00:13:31.990 were not astounding Bible teachers. I didn't 00:13:31.990 --> 00:13:35.870 learn great new truths under them, but oh, the 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.570 heart of love that they had for their flock and 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:42.370 how they ministered to us as a people and encouraged 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:46.570 us and comforted us. On the other hand, I've 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:49.200 been under men who... knew how to teach, knew 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.740 were superb, and who every time they opened their 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:55.320 mouth seemed to say something profound, and yet 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:58.980 who were not greatly skilled at shepherding God's 00:13:58.980 --> 00:14:00.679 people. They really weren't comfortable with 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:04.980 people. They were more reclusive. I don't condemn 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:08.100 the one and justify the other. They are both 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:10.500 the servants of the Lord, and we appreciate the 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:14.320 emphasis that God puts in each ministry. Each 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:18.799 one is unique. designed by God to be placed in 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:20.980 a church for a period of time and then often 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:23.799 to be removed and sent on to another assignment 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:27.299 and someone else comes in to fill in. This is 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:31.399 not an announcement of my resignation. But that 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.980 happens, doesn't it? And we've all been through 00:14:33.980 --> 00:14:38.600 that. And it hurts. You know, it's painful. It's 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.220 a growing experience for both church and people 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:44.600 when that kind of separation takes place. But 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:46.700 that's part of God's process in all of this. 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.480 And so he gives some as pastor teachers, and 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.539 their purpose, it says, is to equip the saints. 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:58.320 Verse 12, and that brings us to the process of 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.940 maturity. There's a certain sequence that's involved 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:06.620 here in verse 12. It says that the purpose of 00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:10.720 these people gifts in the church is that they 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.139 might equip the saints. And the idea behind the 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:20.399 word equip is to complete or to mend. It was 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.159 used in that day of mending nets, fishing nets 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:26.659 that were torn, or to unite political parties, 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.539 or to furnish a home. It's a widely used word. 00:15:31.179 --> 00:15:34.659 The idea is that the purpose of the pastor is 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:38.440 to dynamically condition the members of the body, 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:42.580 the local body, to fulfill their God -given function. 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:46.840 How is it that those who are the pastor -teachers 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:50.620 of this church accomplish that rather awesome 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:55.309 duty to equip the saints? Well, the answer is 00:15:55.309 --> 00:15:57.870 that we must do that the way God has provided, 00:15:58.009 --> 00:16:03.450 and that is by teaching the Word of God. The 00:16:03.450 --> 00:16:07.169 Word of God is breathed by Him. It is inspired 00:16:07.169 --> 00:16:12.350 by Him so that we might be equipped and perfected 00:16:12.350 --> 00:16:17.830 as His people unto every good work. And so it 00:16:17.830 --> 00:16:20.049 is by the teaching of the Word of God that we 00:16:20.049 --> 00:16:23.419 accomplish that. We trust will always be the 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:26.320 emphasis in Grace Church, the teaching of the 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.820 Word of God. That was the emphasis in the Apostle 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:31.799 Paul's ministry. Would you turn to Colossians 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:34.159 chapter 1? Just look at his heart for a moment. 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.740 We can't spend a long time here. But look at 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:41.700 verse 28, where the Apostle says, And we proclaim 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:48.559 Him, Jesus Christ, admonishing every man and 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:54.169 teaching every man. with all wisdom, that we 00:16:54.169 --> 00:16:59.809 may present every man complete in Christ. The 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:03.789 word complete there means mature, grown up, and 00:17:03.789 --> 00:17:06.690 it ties together with the thought of Ephesians 00:17:06.690 --> 00:17:09.970 chapter 4. So the apostle says, what I am involved 00:17:09.970 --> 00:17:12.910 in doing is admonishing people. That means correcting 00:17:12.910 --> 00:17:19.839 them. It can mean rebuking. It's the idea of 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.539 telling people what's wrong and what to do right, 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.299 admonishing them, he says, and teaching them, 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:30.940 instructing them. Why? So that we might present 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:36.660 every man mature. You see, and God has impressed 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.180 this just in the last couple of days afresh in 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:42.279 my heart. You see, someday I'm going to have 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:45.019 to stand before the head of our church, Jesus 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:48.490 Christ. and give an account for the years of 00:17:48.490 --> 00:17:52.349 ministry that I've had in this place. Now, if 00:17:52.349 --> 00:17:54.309 you want to know the truth, that terrifies me. 00:17:55.130 --> 00:17:59.410 It terrifies me. And our staff is going to stand 00:17:59.410 --> 00:18:04.230 there, and so are all of us. But those of us 00:18:04.230 --> 00:18:08.009 who are teachers, who are pastor teachers, in 00:18:08.009 --> 00:18:10.329 a special sense are going to stand before him 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:13.130 to give account for the people that we've cared 00:18:13.130 --> 00:18:17.960 for. And the thing that's going to be measured 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:22.420 on that day is how mature you are, how complete 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:27.660 you are in Jesus Christ, how grown up you've 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:31.380 become. Now, it's not totally our responsibility, 00:18:31.380 --> 00:18:33.839 because you certainly have a responsibility to 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.359 respond properly to what we teach. And that'll 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:41.230 be your part of the examination, too. But we 00:18:41.230 --> 00:18:43.509 are going to be held accountable to our Lord 00:18:43.509 --> 00:18:46.210 who has given us to this body for this period 00:18:46.210 --> 00:18:49.170 of time that you might be equipped. And that 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:53.569 is an awesome thought to me. And that is why 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:56.509 I want to be dedicated to the Word of God and 00:18:56.509 --> 00:19:00.730 to the teaching of it in this church, that you 00:19:00.730 --> 00:19:04.349 might be equipped. Now, why are you equipped? 00:19:05.009 --> 00:19:08.349 So that you can appear at the judgment seat and 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:11.869 mature? Yes, in part, but something else is in 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:15.589 view back in our text in Ephesians 4. He tells 00:19:15.589 --> 00:19:17.730 us that the purpose of the equipping is that 00:19:17.730 --> 00:19:22.410 we might do the work of service. We need to get 00:19:22.410 --> 00:19:25.150 rid of this idea that pastors are the hired men 00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:28.329 of the church and that they're the ones who do 00:19:28.329 --> 00:19:31.769 the ministry. After all, they're in the ministry, 00:19:31.990 --> 00:19:35.829 aren't they? Well, yes, they are, but no more 00:19:35.829 --> 00:19:40.430 so actually than all the rest of us. We are all 00:19:40.430 --> 00:19:45.809 in the ministry. We are all to minister to the 00:19:45.809 --> 00:19:50.970 body. That's why we are being equipped. That's 00:19:50.970 --> 00:19:55.269 why we are being dynamically conditioned to function 00:19:55.269 --> 00:20:00.269 in our God -given capacity in the body. We are 00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:05.430 to minister in the work of service, each of us 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:09.500 functioning in a wholesome and healthy way. serving 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:14.279 in the body as God has designed. Those who are 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.960 pastors must concentrate on that which God has 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.279 called them to do. I talked about this last week. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.359 I'll just mention it this morning. I feel sorry 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:24.720 for those pastors who are expected by their churches 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.359 to do everything. Do all the calling, do all 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:30.799 the visitation, print the bulletin, sweep out 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:33.599 the bathrooms, straighten the hymnals, do everything. 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:39.509 And there are men like that. There are men like 00:20:39.509 --> 00:20:41.549 that. Sometimes it's because they want to be 00:20:41.549 --> 00:20:44.569 that way, and then I know it's because they've 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:46.210 misunderstood what their ministry is supposed 00:20:46.210 --> 00:20:50.849 to be. Pastors are to concentrate on the Word 00:20:50.849 --> 00:20:52.549 of God and prayer. You say, where do you see 00:20:52.549 --> 00:20:55.029 that in the Bible? Turn back to Acts chapter 00:20:55.029 --> 00:20:58.309 6 for a moment. We're going to take a look here 00:20:58.309 --> 00:21:00.509 briefly at the first ascension that occurred 00:21:00.509 --> 00:21:03.630 in the Jerusalem church. There were a few after 00:21:03.630 --> 00:21:08.430 this, to say the least. It says in verse 1 of 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:11.769 chapter 6 in Acts, Now at this time, while the 00:21:11.769 --> 00:21:14.329 disciples were increasing in number, a complaint 00:21:14.329 --> 00:21:17.869 arose. You can almost guarantee that when there 00:21:17.869 --> 00:21:20.829 is church growth, there's going to be some complaining 00:21:20.829 --> 00:21:25.509 going on. A complaint arose on the part of the 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:29.710 Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews because 00:21:29.710 --> 00:21:32.069 their widows were being overlooked in the daily 00:21:32.069 --> 00:21:35.210 serving of food. That is, in the care of these 00:21:35.210 --> 00:21:37.690 widows, giving them something to eat. And the 00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:41.569 twelve, these are the leaders now, summoned the 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:44.390 congregation of the disciples and said, It is 00:21:44.390 --> 00:21:47.269 not desirable for us to neglect the word of God 00:21:47.269 --> 00:21:51.750 in order to serve tables. But select from among 00:21:51.750 --> 00:21:55.710 you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, 00:21:55.970 --> 00:21:59.430 full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may 00:21:59.430 --> 00:22:03.009 put in charge of this task. But we will devote 00:22:03.009 --> 00:22:06.569 ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the 00:22:06.569 --> 00:22:08.750 word. And the statement found approval with the 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:12.410 whole congregation. What was the problem here? 00:22:12.490 --> 00:22:16.289 Were these 12 individuals too good to serve tables? 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:21.309 Was it beneath them to care for the administration 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:24.430 of this important task in the church? And how 00:22:24.430 --> 00:22:27.289 did it all? You see, they recognized that there 00:22:27.289 --> 00:22:30.829 was a priority in their ministry. And they needed 00:22:30.829 --> 00:22:34.589 to allow others to minister, as God would call 00:22:34.589 --> 00:22:39.390 them. And so they said, our priority is to pray 00:22:39.390 --> 00:22:42.329 and to teach the Word of God. That was the priority 00:22:42.329 --> 00:22:45.230 given to them by the Lord. And they said, now 00:22:45.230 --> 00:22:48.009 you choose out among yourselves those who can 00:22:48.009 --> 00:22:50.710 be qualified in these certain ways to take care 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:54.710 of that administrative need. Now that is simply 00:22:54.710 --> 00:22:58.029 an illustration of what takes place in our church 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:04.640 today. When there is a need, we seek to raise 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:08.380 up people in the congregation that that need 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:12.240 may be met. And if people are not raised up, 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:16.519 it is not the job of the staff to do it, but 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:19.759 to pray and to seek people in the church to be 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.960 raised up to fill that need. Our priority must 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:25.880 be on the teaching of the Word of God and the 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:29.019 equipping of the saints. so that all of us together 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:33.420 then can do the work of service in various ways. 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:38.079 I thank God for the men on our staff who assist 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:42.519 me in this ministry. And I'm going to ask those 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:44.440 who are present to stand just so that you can 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:46.019 see them. Some of you don't even know who they 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:49.019 are because they're not up here in front like 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:53.180 I am on a regular basis. But they assist me in 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:56.359 important ways in carrying out this ministry. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.839 so that I have more time to study. That's why 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:03.480 they're so critical to me as well as to you, 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:06.640 so that I can spend time in prayer and in study 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:09.339 of the Word of God. The man who's been with us 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:12.059 the longest on the staff, began just three months 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:15.339 after we began as a church, is Dave Sulak. Dave 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:19.039 came as a coach to our staff. He was the co -chair 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:21.779 at Northwestern College, before that a high school 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:24.799 teacher. Dave, would you stand please over there? 00:24:25.369 --> 00:24:28.990 On my left, Dave is now the director of our adult 00:24:28.990 --> 00:24:31.450 ministries here at the church, such a critical 00:24:31.450 --> 00:24:34.569 position and does a lot of other things as well 00:24:34.569 --> 00:24:38.410 in terms of administrative help. Thank you, Dave. 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:41.309 Herb McDonald is out preaching this morning. 00:24:41.650 --> 00:24:44.369 He's not here, but Herb came on our staff next 00:24:44.369 --> 00:24:47.650 and is involved in assisting Dave in the adult 00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:52.069 ministries and hospital visitation and in overseeing 00:24:52.069 --> 00:24:57.519 our outreach. and doing counseling for us, assisting 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:01.200 in very significant ways. Herb has been a pastor 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:05.259 himself of a number of churches and is now serving 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:11.619 on our staff with us. And then Paul Hubbard is 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:14.339 down here in front. Paul is working with our 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:17.160 high school staff. You can never imagine anything 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:19.720 more disastrous than my working with the high 00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:24.180 schoolers. I've done that, and I enjoy it, but 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:27.299 I tell you, I'm too old for it now. I've got 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:30.920 too much arthritis or something, I don't know 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:35.960 what it is, at least in my mind, to run with 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:38.880 this crowd. They need somebody to keep up with 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:41.059 them, and we thank God for Paul being a part 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:48.349 of our staff, such a key person to us. Some of 00:25:48.349 --> 00:25:50.049 you have met Mark Kramer, who will be joining 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:52.910 us in a couple of weeks to oversee our college 00:25:52.910 --> 00:25:56.250 ministry, which is such a key opportunity for 00:25:56.250 --> 00:26:00.269 us in this area. We have seven colleges and universities 00:26:00.269 --> 00:26:03.329 within five miles of our church. Can you imagine 00:26:03.329 --> 00:26:05.809 that? Including the University of Minnesota with 00:26:05.809 --> 00:26:08.650 50 ,000 students. I would say that's a rather 00:26:08.650 --> 00:26:11.930 unlimited opportunity for us. And he's going 00:26:11.930 --> 00:26:14.190 to be coming on staff in a couple of weeks to 00:26:14.190 --> 00:26:16.130 help with that, as well as to do some preaching. 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:21.289 and we're glad for his ministry. And so these 00:26:21.289 --> 00:26:23.630 are some of the people who assist me most closely. 00:26:23.730 --> 00:26:26.750 Then I should introduce my secretary. I won't 00:26:26.750 --> 00:26:29.130 embarrass her that way, but our secretaries are 00:26:29.130 --> 00:26:32.089 so key. But then it goes out from there, our 00:26:32.089 --> 00:26:36.089 elders in the church, and it goes out to our 00:26:36.089 --> 00:26:38.890 pastor teachers in our small churches, and to 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:41.250 those who usher, and those who sing in the choir, 00:26:41.390 --> 00:26:44.470 those who teach Sunday school. You see, we are 00:26:44.470 --> 00:26:47.130 all a part of this thing of the ministry in our 00:26:47.130 --> 00:26:55.569 church. We're all a part of it. What is the work 00:26:55.569 --> 00:27:00.309 of ministry anyway? Well, it includes such things 00:27:00.309 --> 00:27:03.410 as visiting the sick and the shut -in. There 00:27:03.410 --> 00:27:05.349 are some of you that do that, and I thank God 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.750 for you. There are some of you that regularly 00:27:08.750 --> 00:27:12.869 visit people who... are a part of Grace Church, 00:27:13.130 --> 00:27:19.329 but who can't be out to our services. And you 00:27:19.329 --> 00:27:22.190 minister to them. You encourage them in their 00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:25.269 ministry of prayer for us. That's so important. 00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:30.569 Counseling. You say, well, don't you have to 00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:32.829 be a professional to do that? No. There are some 00:27:32.829 --> 00:27:34.630 of you ladies that do a lot of that on the telephone. 00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:39.920 Isn't that right? That's true. There are some 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.940 of you who are given opportunities every week 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:45.039 to counsel with others, just on the telephone 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:47.720 or in a conversation that you have, encouraging 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:52.980 them or perhaps admonishing them, leading in 00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:56.220 various ways in the church. Ministry includes 00:27:56.220 --> 00:28:00.619 being an usher, passing out cards, passing the 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:03.940 plates. Ushers are terribly important in a church. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:08.079 The ushers set the tone for a service, don't 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:11.799 they? As you come in, if they're grumpy, you're 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:13.279 not going to get a whole lot out of that service. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:15.619 You're going to come in with a grumpy attitude. 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:19.079 But if the ushers are full of the Spirit of God 00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:21.359 and they have a smile on their face and they 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:24.480 welcome you joyfully, that sets the whole tone 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.400 for what we do here. And we encourage our ushers 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:30.279 that way. They are so important to us, even in 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:32.759 the passing of the plates, to do that in an orderly 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:36.160 fashion and in a smiling way so that helps you 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:40.369 smile as you give. Choir members are important. 00:28:40.670 --> 00:28:43.289 I don't know if choir members realize what a 00:28:43.289 --> 00:28:45.630 significant ministry they have even when they're 00:28:45.630 --> 00:28:50.789 not singing words. By the very look on their 00:28:50.789 --> 00:28:55.049 faces, their participation in the service, our 00:28:55.049 --> 00:28:58.430 choir does not sit here. In fact, our choir doesn't 00:28:58.430 --> 00:29:01.190 sit at all right now when they minister. But 00:29:01.190 --> 00:29:03.869 our choir does not stay on the platform for the 00:29:03.869 --> 00:29:07.349 whole service. I've done that before in churches 00:29:07.349 --> 00:29:08.789 where the choir has been there for the whole 00:29:08.789 --> 00:29:11.829 time, and I don't mind that at all. But it's 00:29:11.829 --> 00:29:13.950 especially critical then that during the message 00:29:13.950 --> 00:29:16.930 they be alert and keen to what's going on because 00:29:16.930 --> 00:29:19.009 there's nothing more distracting to a person 00:29:19.009 --> 00:29:20.930 in the congregation than a choir member who's 00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:23.529 sleeping up there and nodding, trying to stay 00:29:23.529 --> 00:29:29.950 awake, right? The ministry of music. What about 00:29:29.950 --> 00:29:34.549 teaching Sunday school? I don't know why it is. 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:37.599 that we think that that kind of ministry to the 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:40.559 Lord is not too important. After all, it's just 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:46.220 kids. Oh, my. What a twisted way of looking at 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:51.000 it. Because children have such tremendous potential, 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:55.500 and they are still moldable. They're still at 00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:57.440 that age where they look up and they believe 00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:59.440 everything you tell them. They don't question 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:01.980 it, like they tend to do as they get a little 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:09.529 bit older. They look up to you as a hero, almost 00:30:09.529 --> 00:30:12.089 as an idol. Not that you're trying to get them 00:30:12.089 --> 00:30:14.789 to worship you, but that's just the way kids 00:30:14.789 --> 00:30:17.789 are, isn't it? I cannot impress upon you how 00:30:17.789 --> 00:30:23.289 vital our children's ministry is. And we've got 00:30:23.289 --> 00:30:29.349 some holes to plug. This fall, in Awana, in our 00:30:29.349 --> 00:30:32.670 Sunday school, ministering to children. What 00:30:32.670 --> 00:30:38.630 about nursery? These are such vital ministries 00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:41.029 to our church. And we look at them and we say, 00:30:41.069 --> 00:30:44.210 oh, well, that's for those people who have little 00:30:44.210 --> 00:30:48.170 kids. No. It may be for them, but it's for all 00:30:48.170 --> 00:30:51.109 of us who are gifted by the Lord to serve in 00:30:51.109 --> 00:30:53.869 teaching little children. We say, well, that's 00:30:53.869 --> 00:30:55.789 for the young people. We've raised our kids. 00:30:55.910 --> 00:30:58.069 Now it's time for us just to sit back and relax. 00:30:58.349 --> 00:31:00.349 Listen, God doesn't have a retirement program 00:31:00.349 --> 00:31:05.339 in the church. There isn't one. Until the day 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:07.839 we get to glory, we need to be involved in some 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.180 kind of ministry. Now, it may change with our 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:13.420 age because we can't be as vital as perhaps we 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:15.920 once were and as active. But there's still a 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:18.660 ministry for us to do. You understand my point? 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:23.640 The work of service he's talking about here is 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:26.980 for all of us. And there's a place for all of 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:30.180 us to serve in some way. It may not be up in 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:32.539 front. People may not even see us do it, but 00:31:32.539 --> 00:31:35.640 there's a place for us. For someone, it may be 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:38.920 simply helping a teacher in a Sunday school class. 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:41.900 He may not even have the gift of teaching, but 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:44.319 he has the gift of helps, and he's able to do 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.539 certain things to free up that teacher so that 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:50.900 teacher can concentrate on teaching. For others, 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:54.079 it's sharing the gospel because they have a gift 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:58.119 of evangelism. All of us are to share the gospel, 00:31:58.119 --> 00:31:59.960 but there are some who are particularly gifted, 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:02.299 it seems, in that way. It may be the ministry 00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:06.690 of prayer. And we could go on, giving food to 00:32:06.690 --> 00:32:14.089 the poor, caring for them. The ministry of service, 00:32:14.450 --> 00:32:18.210 it's work. When he calls it here the work of 00:32:18.210 --> 00:32:21.710 service, he means it. I wish that we could really 00:32:21.710 --> 00:32:26.470 get a hold of this in Grace Church. John MacArthur 00:32:26.470 --> 00:32:28.490 has written a helpful couple of paragraphs. He 00:32:28.490 --> 00:32:31.029 says, the local church essentially is a training 00:32:31.029 --> 00:32:34.549 place. to equip Christians to carry out their 00:32:34.549 --> 00:32:38.849 own ministries. Did you get that? He says the 00:32:38.849 --> 00:32:41.109 local church is essentially a training place 00:32:41.109 --> 00:32:45.009 to equip Christians to carry out their own ministries. 00:32:46.029 --> 00:32:48.329 Unfortunately for many Christians, the church 00:32:48.329 --> 00:32:51.369 is a place to go to watch professionals perform 00:32:51.369 --> 00:32:55.670 and to pay the professionals to carry out the 00:32:55.670 --> 00:32:58.670 church program. In many quarters, Christianity 00:32:58.670 --> 00:33:01.509 has deteriorated into professional pulpitism. 00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:05.940 financed by lay spectators. The church hires 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:09.579 a staff of ministers to do all the Christian 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:12.680 service. This scheme is not only a violation 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:16.599 of God's plan, but an absolute detriment to the 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:19.480 growth of the church and the vitality of the 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:23.079 members of the body. Every member needs to find 00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:26.220 a significant place of service. To limit the 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:29.000 work of ministry to a small, select class of 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:32.180 full -time clergymen hinders the spiritual growth 00:33:32.180 --> 00:33:35.200 of God's people, stunts the development of the 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:38.299 body, and hinders the evangelistic outreach of 00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:41.759 the church into the community. From the members 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:44.380 who give themselves to the work of the ministry, 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:47.839 God himself then will choose certain ones to 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:51.839 be his gifts to the church as a whole. He says 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.160 this is a never -ending cycle. And that's the 00:33:55.160 --> 00:33:58.279 way it is. And so often as people are involved 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:02.500 in ministry in a church, it becomes clear over 00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:04.880 the process of time that in fact God has laid 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:08.599 his hand on them and intends not to put them 00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:14.199 into full -time ministry so that they can equip 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:17.659 people in a full -time basis. And that's an exciting 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:21.460 thing when that takes place. I hope you understand 00:34:21.460 --> 00:34:24.320 that there can be no maturity without the rendering 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:28.639 of service of believers to one another within 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:32.739 the body. And that service requires the spirit 00:34:32.739 --> 00:34:38.940 of humility. I'm not talking today about seeking 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:41.579 up front positions, but I'm talking about doing 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:46.869 the work of service. There are people who are 00:34:46.869 --> 00:34:50.510 happy to do things if they'll be recognized for 00:34:50.510 --> 00:34:56.550 it or made prominent in a church. The Lord Jesus 00:34:56.550 --> 00:34:59.190 Christ gave us a wonderful example of service 00:34:59.190 --> 00:35:02.989 when on that night before he was crucified, he 00:35:02.989 --> 00:35:06.489 met with his disciples, and he left his place 00:35:06.489 --> 00:35:10.889 as the host of the meal, and he took the towel 00:35:10.889 --> 00:35:15.170 of a servant and girded himself. got a basin 00:35:15.170 --> 00:35:18.250 of water, and began to wash the feet of the disciples. 00:35:19.409 --> 00:35:23.210 That was the Oriental way. That was the Oriental 00:35:23.210 --> 00:35:30.010 way of serving and preparing that person for 00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:34.329 the meal. Normally, a slave would do that. Jesus 00:35:34.329 --> 00:35:36.989 took the place of a slave. Now, it's not only 00:35:36.989 --> 00:35:38.829 interesting that he did that, but it's interesting 00:35:38.829 --> 00:35:43.449 when he might have done it. We're not told in 00:35:43.449 --> 00:35:45.469 the Gospel of John, but over in the Gospel of 00:35:45.469 --> 00:35:49.269 Luke, it seems that there broke out at that meal 00:35:49.269 --> 00:35:55.369 a dispute among the disciples over who should 00:35:55.369 --> 00:35:59.849 be the greatest. They were up -to -date Christians. 00:36:01.409 --> 00:36:05.590 They should be living today, right? They began 00:36:05.590 --> 00:36:08.150 to argue among themselves as to who was going 00:36:08.150 --> 00:36:12.519 to be the most famous. The leader of the group. 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:17.280 And I can almost imagine that it was at that 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:19.679 point, without saying a word, that Jesus got 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:26.440 up, went over, and girded himself with the towel, 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:28.420 picked up the basin, and began to wash their 00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:32.179 feet. And how their hearts must have been rebuked 00:36:32.179 --> 00:36:35.440 as they saw that the work that God had called 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:38.199 them to was the work of serving. And that's the 00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:41.420 work we're called to as well. Now the purpose 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:45.420 of the work of service, it says here, is that 00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:48.159 the body might be built up. The edification, 00:36:48.599 --> 00:36:51.679 the development of the body. So that the body 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:54.159 might come together and function harmoniously. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:57.860 It results in more people being saved and then 00:36:57.860 --> 00:37:00.159 more people needing to be matured. And they mature 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:02.699 and they work in service in the church and then 00:37:02.699 --> 00:37:05.000 more people get saved. And it's just a cycle, 00:37:05.059 --> 00:37:08.059 you see, that goes on and on and on. We as a 00:37:08.059 --> 00:37:11.170 church, I hope, We'll never get to the place 00:37:11.170 --> 00:37:15.590 where everybody who attends is mature. If that's 00:37:15.590 --> 00:37:18.070 the case, then somewhere we have missed what 00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:20.329 our purpose is. We ought to be continually winning 00:37:20.329 --> 00:37:23.409 people to Christ and seeing them mature. That 00:37:23.409 --> 00:37:25.309 means that in our church, we are always going 00:37:25.309 --> 00:37:27.769 to have some people that are going to be immature 00:37:27.769 --> 00:37:32.429 and growing. Hopefully not just immature, period, 00:37:32.690 --> 00:37:37.070 but immature and developing. That's God's plan. 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:40.360 Now in verse 13, with this we'll close, we have 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:43.320 the goal of maturity. What are we after in a 00:37:43.320 --> 00:37:46.739 mature church? He talks about the mature man 00:37:46.739 --> 00:37:50.820 in verse 13. Do you see that? Until we all attain 00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:55.760 to the mature man. The idea behind that word 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.420 mature is the Olympic athlete. What an appropriate 00:37:59.420 --> 00:38:03.219 illustration on this weekend. The mature man 00:38:03.219 --> 00:38:07.929 in the Greek mind was the muscular. fully developed, 00:38:07.969 --> 00:38:12.550 well -built athlete. And what the apostle says 00:38:12.550 --> 00:38:17.309 is that our goal is a mature man, a church that 00:38:17.309 --> 00:38:23.070 is well -developed, muscular, getting its job 00:38:23.070 --> 00:38:28.289 done. What does a church look like that is mature? 00:38:28.710 --> 00:38:32.889 Three things. He mentions them in verse 13. Until 00:38:32.889 --> 00:38:37.150 we all attain to the unity of the faith. A mature 00:38:37.150 --> 00:38:40.250 church will, number one, be a united fellowship. 00:38:41.570 --> 00:38:45.809 A united fellowship. There will not be disharmony 00:38:45.809 --> 00:38:50.010 in the church. If the word is being taught and 00:38:50.010 --> 00:38:52.510 the members are responding in obedience to God, 00:38:52.590 --> 00:38:56.670 that will produce growth and unity. Oneness of 00:38:56.670 --> 00:39:03.289 heart, singleness of purpose. Listen, if a breakdown 00:39:03.289 --> 00:39:08.980 occurs, If a division takes place, it's either 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:11.920 because the pastor is failing to feed the church 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:16.420 and thus equip the church, or the members are 00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:19.519 not fulfilling their responsibility in the work 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:22.460 of ministry. Now, you can just mark that down. 00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:26.880 That is the case. It's one or the other. A mature 00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:29.559 church is one in which there is a united fellowship. 00:39:29.780 --> 00:39:31.800 You see that in the early church, Acts chapter 00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:35.380 2. They were a united group. And the impact upon 00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:38.000 the unregenerate society around them was tremendous. 00:39:39.219 --> 00:39:42.159 Thousands of people came to Christ because they 00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:44.739 were a church that was growing and developing 00:39:44.739 --> 00:39:46.940 and maturing, and they were united. And that 00:39:46.940 --> 00:39:51.940 unity made an impact. And it always does. It 00:39:51.940 --> 00:39:57.579 always does. characteristic of a mature church, 00:39:57.820 --> 00:40:02.639 is the knowledge of the Son of God. The word 00:40:02.639 --> 00:40:05.780 here means the full knowledge of the Son of God. 00:40:05.900 --> 00:40:09.440 It's more than just knowing Jesus Christ as Savior. 00:40:09.500 --> 00:40:14.480 It's the idea of deep, rich fellowship with Him. 00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:18.960 It's heart knowledge of Him, not just intellectual 00:40:18.960 --> 00:40:22.900 knowledge. He's talking about theology here that 00:40:22.900 --> 00:40:27.610 worships. theology that worships the knowledge 00:40:27.610 --> 00:40:32.289 of the Son of God. When I think of a church that 00:40:32.289 --> 00:40:34.610 is the opposite of this, I think of the Laodicean 00:40:34.610 --> 00:40:39.349 Church, a church which in many respects was successful. 00:40:40.829 --> 00:40:43.269 If you would have the Laodicean Church in the 00:40:43.269 --> 00:40:46.250 United States of America today, it would be posted 00:40:46.250 --> 00:40:48.630 as one of the most successful churches in America, 00:40:48.789 --> 00:40:55.760 undoubtedly. It was rich. had need of nothing. 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:02.300 On the outside, it seemed to be going great guns. 00:41:03.659 --> 00:41:08.519 But when Jesus gives us the heart of the church, 00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:14.000 it lacked one thing, and that was himself. He 00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:16.119 was on the outside of the door knocking to get 00:41:16.119 --> 00:41:25.889 in. I fear that that can happen in churches today. 00:41:26.909 --> 00:41:29.690 That we can get the programs going, the gears 00:41:29.690 --> 00:41:31.949 turning, the things happening, the people excited, 00:41:32.289 --> 00:41:39.590 but somehow we lose sight of this most critical 00:41:39.590 --> 00:41:42.230 thing, and that is our fellowship with Jesus 00:41:42.230 --> 00:41:46.010 Christ. That we do not develop an intimate knowledge 00:41:46.010 --> 00:41:49.269 of Him. A mature church will. It will be a spiritual 00:41:49.269 --> 00:41:53.980 fellowship. A spiritual fellowship. Jesus Christ 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:56.460 will be the center, the focus of all that is 00:41:56.460 --> 00:42:03.039 done. And then a mature church is also a transformed 00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:07.239 fellowship. He talks about a mature man, the 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:11.079 measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness 00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:16.920 of Christ. That word stature could mean ripeness 00:42:16.920 --> 00:42:21.050 of age, that kind of stature, maturity. But however 00:42:21.050 --> 00:42:23.309 you take it, it's talking here, it seems to me, 00:42:23.409 --> 00:42:26.369 about a church that is more and more like the 00:42:26.369 --> 00:42:28.889 Lord Jesus Christ, a transformed fellowship. 00:42:32.849 --> 00:42:38.570 Spiritual maturity makes us more like Him. We 00:42:38.570 --> 00:42:40.909 measure ourselves so often against ourselves, 00:42:41.210 --> 00:42:44.769 don't we, instead of what Jesus is like. But 00:42:44.769 --> 00:42:47.710 the more we mature, the more we will be like 00:42:47.710 --> 00:42:51.980 Him. Filled with his likeness, we arrive at his 00:42:51.980 --> 00:42:57.800 stature. The Lord wants us to be mature and to 00:42:57.800 --> 00:43:03.320 be like Jesus. Are you like Jesus? Does your 00:43:03.320 --> 00:43:07.900 life reflect him? You say, well, not perfectly. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:13.639 Neither does mine. You see, sin still indwells 00:43:13.639 --> 00:43:17.519 us. There are no perfect Christians on the earth. 00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:22.659 None of us are perfect reflectors of what he's 00:43:22.659 --> 00:43:26.559 like. But the point is that that's our goal. 00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:30.079 And the point is that we are developing and growing 00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:35.699 in that direction, becoming more like him, more 00:43:35.699 --> 00:43:41.860 like the master I would ever be, said the old 00:43:41.860 --> 00:43:48.920 hymn. Oh, to be like thee. Oh, to be like Thee, 00:43:48.920 --> 00:43:57.219 blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art. Is that your 00:43:57.219 --> 00:44:00.500 heart's desire today? If you're a maturing, growing 00:44:00.500 --> 00:44:04.019 Christian, I know it is. I know it is. And that's 00:44:04.019 --> 00:44:06.900 the desire of our church. Folks, let's press 00:44:06.900 --> 00:44:12.300 on to maturity. Some of us have been too long 00:44:12.300 --> 00:44:16.960 babies. We need to get on with this thing of 00:44:16.960 --> 00:44:21.980 growing up personally and as a church. Let's 00:44:21.980 --> 00:44:27.840 do it. Our Lord, we understand that to be your 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:30.400 will, and our prayer is that we might in every 00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:35.019 way cooperate with you, that there would be no 00:44:35.019 --> 00:44:42.159 sin that would beset us, no hindrance that would 00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:48.480 keep us. from growing up and maturing in our 00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:54.039 spiritual walk father i pray that i as the pastor 00:44:54.039 --> 00:44:56.260 of this church that our staff our elders our 00:44:56.260 --> 00:45:00.760 pastor teachers that every one of us may be in 00:45:00.760 --> 00:45:04.360 obedience to the word and functioning within 00:45:04.360 --> 00:45:07.539 the body doing the work of service so that the 00:45:07.539 --> 00:45:10.820 body can be built up we pray that grace church 00:45:10.820 --> 00:45:16.079 roosevelt will be a mature man To that end, we 00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:19.820 commit ourselves to you. And today, Father, if 00:45:19.820 --> 00:45:21.460 there are some of us that need to get some things 00:45:21.460 --> 00:45:25.099 straightened out, some sins confessed, some attitudes 00:45:25.099 --> 00:45:28.599 corrected, we need to make some steps of being 00:45:28.599 --> 00:45:31.519 right with others so that you can work in our 00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:36.219 lives. Then bring that to pass, I pray. Not just 00:45:36.219 --> 00:45:39.199 for our sake, but for yours. For the sake of 00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:42.380 your body. In Jesus' name, amen.