Calling For Works of Service

Calling

For Works of Service

It is so important you and I serve.

God gave us 5 gifts to help guide us.

Their direction helps show us where to serve.

Five gifts from God to you and I.

Some say that there are no more apostles and prophets;

that they are a part of a past dispensation.

I would disagree and find we have

 just given them different names.

But in doing so, we have limited

the effects of their ministry to us.

My point is not to find disagreement, but to point

 out that these gifts from God to us have a purpose.

The first thing we see is

they are to prepare us for work.

They are equipping ministries.

You and I are to learn how to serve from their ministry.

It is not their job to do the work, but

to equip us to do the works of service.

These 5 gifts help us see what we need to be doing.

They work with us on personal

levels and bring us together so we

can accomplish greater things.

The church leadership is to mobilize the people

to accomplish great things for God.

If you are not serving,

you are not listening or your leadership

is missing the point of their responsibility.

This was one of the hardest

responsibilities for me as a pastor.

Why? Because I saw how busy 

the people of the church were.

But the church could not grow,

unless we worked together.

What I come to realize is

we all have more discretionary

time than we want to admit.

We call it “me time”.

It might be to watch a favorite TV show,

 play a video game, sports, etc.

We see the “me time” as our right.

Between our work and the “me time” God gets the leftovers.

Don’t you think God should get our best?

So next time, one of the 5 gifts God has given us asks us to serve,

put a smile on your face and say here I am - use me!

If we are to walk worthy of our calling

which is to be like Jesus, we should remember..

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,

Philippians 2:5-7 NIV

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 4:7-12 NIV

7 But to each one of us

grace has been given

as Christ apportioned it.

8 This is why it says:

"When he ascended on high,

he led captives in his train

and gave gifts to men."  

9 (What does "he ascended" mean

except that he also descended

to the lower, earthly regions?

10 He who descended is the very one

who ascended higher than all the heavens,

in order to fill the whole universe.)

11 It was he who gave

some to be apostles,

some to be prophets,

some to be evangelists,

and some to be pastors

and teachers,

12 to prepare God's people for works of service.

Isaiah 6:8 NIV

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

"Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?"

And I said,

"Here am I.

Send me!"