Church: The Way It’s Supposed To Be, Part Three

“Service”
Ephesians 4:7-16

No one can do everything but everyone can do something.

Father Son Holy Spirit – thank you for the Church. Imperfect as it is, you are committed to its success. Today open our eyes to the importance of service – no one can do everything but everyone can do something. I pray that you will begin to do things in our church that we are not used to. In Jesus’ name, amen.

1. Eugene Peterson says that when it comes to following God we often do the right thing in the wrong way. He shares an example from his own life. Evangelism.

When he was 8 or 9 years old the school bully used to wait for him after school and beat him up. He tried going home different ways but the school bully always found him.

One day things changed. The school bully tried to hit Peterson but Peterson struck 1st & knocked him to the ground. Than he sat on top of him. He pummeled his face with his fists & gave him a bloody nose. Suddenly he realized that he was stronger than the school bully.

He told this kid he had to cry ‘uncle’ if he wanted Peterson to stop hitting him. The kid cried ‘uncle.’ Next thing Peterson knew he told the kid, if you want me to leave you alone, you have to pray & accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord & Savior right now. And the kid did. And Eugene Peterson had his 1st Christian convert! He did the right thing in the wrong way.

2. I think we often do the right thing in the wrong way when it comes to church. Example – we view the church as consumers. How will this church meet my needs? How will this church serve me & my family?

3. in contrast, when it comes to the church the thrust of Scripture is almost always service-oriented, not need-oriented. We are to be servants not consumers.

4. The more focused I am on getting my needs met, the more likely I am to grumble & complain. The more I’m focused on serving others, the more I will grow to maturity in Christ.

5. Read Ephesians 4:7-16. I want to break down this passage into 3 sections: 1st, what Christ gives to the church; 2nd, what the church gives to Christ; 3rd, what Christ does with what the church gives him.

What Christ gives to the church (4:11)
1. this verse identifies 5 people who are given as gifts to the church. No spiritual gifts – we find those in Romans 12 & I Corinthians 12 – but people who are gifts. Romans 12 & I Corinthians 12 describe God-given abilities - Ephesians 4 describes God-given individuals.

2. apostles – apostle means ‘sent one.’ Apostles are visionary. They like to pioneer new churches or ministries. They often come up with new, innovative ways to do kingdom work.

3. prophets – is one who hears & listens to God. They have a sense of what needs to be challenged or changed. They come up with creative solutions. They understand the times & what the church should be or do. They challenge the status quo.

4. evangelists – they love to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Love spending time with non-Christians. Their passion is to see people accept Christ.

5. pastors – care for people. They shepherd others toward Jesus Christ. They get involved in the messes in people’s lives. They hold hands, hug & speak words of hope & encouragement into the wreckage of life.

6. teachers – they love to study, think, love to package truth, ideas & concepts. They believe that Biblically-based teaching is a catalyst for life transformation. They look for ways to explain & apply Scripture.

7. pastors & teachers are often combined in the same gifted person. More than anything else I am a pastor-teacher.

8. Christ has gifted his church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors-teachers. But why? For what reason?

What the church gives to Christ (4:12)
1. to prepare God’s people for works of service.

2. to prepare. This word could also be translated ‘equip.’ This word has a rich background:
* medically it is the technical term for setting a broken bone
* fishing-wise it describes what fisherman do to prepare their nets for fishing – they clean the seaweed from them, sew up torn sections, untangle them – Matthew 4:21
* educationally it describes the act & process of training someone to teach – Luke 6:40
* spiritually it describes the process of growing to spiritual maturity & wholeness – 2 Corinthians 13:9,

3. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors-teachers are charged with:
* seeking to heal what is broken in people’s lives
* repairing, cleaning, untangling what is being used in people’s lives
* training people to act, serve, teach
* shepherding people to spiritual growth

4. This is my job description & Jeff’s & Kyle’s. To love you, teach you, train you, correct you, point you, free you, & empower you. For what?

5. Works of service. We are saved to serve. We are all servants. We are all ministers. We have a job to do!

6. Works. Sometimes serving Christ or his people or the community is hard work. Work means that it will cost you something – time, energy, money. Sacrifice is called for. Ephesians 4:12 is a call for all of us to get to work!

Harry Lee Kwai
1. a few months ago I asked Harry Lee Kwai to encourage you to step out & start serving God through our church. God used Harry in a big way. Over 100 of you signed up to serve. Some of you are wearing your “You Can’t Say No” T-shirts today.

2. I want to thank you for not saying no. It’s not not saying no to Harry – it’s not saying no to Christ. You’ve:
* cleaned the church kitchen
* defrosted the freezer
* worked on bulletin boards
* put up the new church mailboxes
* landscaped the new office grounds
* helped get Sunday School started back up
* worked to make the Recker’s basement the new youth center for our students
* painted & cleaned & pruned shrubs
* provided food & hospitality
* called people.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

3. and thanks to all of you who have served so faithfully down through the years – 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. This church wouldn’t be here without you.

4. I thank-you BUT you need to know something – this is the way the church is supposed to be ALL THE TIME. Not just after a fire. Not just after Harry inspires you to step forward. ALL THE TIME.

5. Once we are saved, God calls us to start serving. We do it for him. We do it out of obedience. We do it out of gratitude. We do it in order to be apart of something far bigger than just ourselves.

Works of service
1. there are 3 areas where we are going to need some works of service in the next few weeks. 2 have to do with reaching out beyond our church.
* set-up this room for the Habitat dinner-auction Saturday evening – this is to help those in our community who can’t afford housing – if you can help see Jim Brands
* lend your hands to help make the Helping Others Sale a success – this is to help the needy in our community as well as NW Medical Teams – fill out the insert
* we moving our office again this month – we love the house on 2nd but its too small – we’re moving to the old District Office on Knight’s Bridge Rd across from Canby Grove – we need people to help us pack up, clean the new offices, and move

2. God does not want me to do everything. Or Jeff. Or Kyle. We’re here to empower all of you to do the work of ministry. And the more of you who step up to the plate, the more kingdom impact we are going to make in our community.

3. nobody can do everything but everyone can do something!

What Christ does with what we give to him (4:13-16)
1. when we “prepare” you & you respond with “works of service” we can count on at least 6 outcomes:
* Christ will build up his body, the church (12)
* Christ will unite us in faith (13)
* Christ will bring life & renewal to our relationship with him (13)
* Christ will bring us to maturity in him (13)
* Christ will establish our stability (14)
* Christ will link us in love & truth ( 15-16)

2. what we find is that ministry is closely tied to maturity. Serving Christ leads to growing in Christ. Being a servant produces spiritual growth in our lives. If you are not growing, maybe you’re not serving. Getting your hands dirty for Jesus & his kingdom leads to growth.

3. I see this in those who go on short-term missions – those who join the youth staff – those who serve on the worship team – those who take plants & meals & love to the needy in our congregation – those who run the Food Pantry – those who pour their lives into our children by teaching. And on it goes. Your life of following Christ is incomplete without works of service.

4. This has been a good weekend for Oregon football. The Beavers upset the Cougars in Pullman! The Ducks stomped Stanford in Palo Alto! The players who played are the ones who made a difference. The more they play, the better they play. The longer they stand on the sideline, the longer they have to wait to improve as players. Playing leads to better playing – service leads to spiritual growth

5. Don’t wait to be asked – ask to do something – make something happen.

6. Nobody can do everything but everybody can do something!