Ordination Day November 2021

Ordination Day: Gifts To The Church

November 21st, 2021 / Riverside & The Lookout

Title: Gifts To The Church

Passage: Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Main Points:

1. The Goal of The Church Leader
   1. 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. NLT
   2. 11 And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, NASB

   3. Think of the gifts as both the person themselves and the supernatural gifting they have been graced with.

      1. “7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” - Ephesians 4:7 NASB
      2. As a leader in the church, you have nothing to boast but Christ alone. Any gift is only a result of His grace. Any responsibility is only due to His grace. As leaders, we are stewards of the grace given, not owners of our earned charisma.
         4. Gifts to the Church
      3. Apostle: Commissioned to pioneer and establish new work and new leaders. Many church planters have an apostolic gift. There are no more Apostles in the strictest sense, but we do believe in the apostolic gift. *Acts 1:21-22
      4. Prophet: Speaks the truth of God’s Word to inspire, encourage, and correct. Preachers are to operate in the prophetic when they preach God’s Word.
      5. Evangelist: Shares the “Good News” to the lost and equips others to do the same. All believers are called to be a witness, but not all have the gift of evangelism.
      6. Pastor: Shepherds, guides, and protects the people of God as they serve. This is the only place in Scripture where we get the word “Pastor” taken from the Greek word “Poimēn”. Other mentions of the word refer to Jesus as the Shepherd - Matt. 9:36/Mark 6:34, Matt 25:32. There are other references to church leadership shepherding, but none translated as the gift of “pastor”.
      7. Teacher: Feeds God’s people through the teaching and training in the Word of God. Some Biblical scholars believe that pastor and teacher are linked together, since there is not the word “some”, but others believe them to be two separate gifts.
      8. APEST for short, otherwise known as the five-fold ministry. Any Pentecostals in the house?

      9. Now this can get confusing, but I want to help bring as much clarity and simplicity as possible to something that is highly and often misunderstood. I’ll do my best. :)

         5. This passage is referring to church leadership. Culturally, we call church leadership pastors, ministers, or elders, and then we agree on a certain percentage of giftings to those individuals.

      10. Tom - he’s very apostolic and has a prophetic voice in this generation. He’s going to make an incredible church planter.

      11. Julie - she’s a profound bible teacher and really helps me understand what the text is saying and how it practically applies to my life.
      12. Billy - he’s an incredible evangelist. That man can straight up cast a net! I watched 50 people get saved at camp this past week.
      13. Tanya - she’s got a true shepherd's heart. I feel safe with her and she’s always speaking so much truth over my life and protecting my heart and calling.
      14. We don’t typically call people Apostles and Prophets, and rarely do we refer to church leaders as Teachers. Today we would generally use the terms Pastor and Evangelist, pastors stay at a local church and evangelists travel. Either way, I don’t believe the emphasis was as much on the title as much as the responsibility and goal.

      15. Question: How many of you know that just because someone calls you a pastor, it doesn’t mean you shepherd? Just because someone calls you an evangelist, doesn’t mean people are getting saved. The gifts are in the goal, not the title! Don’t get hung up on titles and pursue the gift you’ve been graced by God to use!

          6. Question: What is Jesus doing right now?

      16. “7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.” - Ephesians 4:7-8 CSB

      17. “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” - 1 Pet. 4:10
      18. He’s gifting His church by His grace to fulfill the mission He’s given us to make disciples and to be united together!
      19. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20 CSB
      20. The role of equipping, discipling, and multiplying therefore is not just for the Elites or the “Professionals”, but for the whole body of Christ! As we affirm and receive the gifts of the church leaders, the body as a whole is also striving to do likewise. To empower, disciple, and multiply.
          7. The goal of Church Leadership is to equip the saints and build up the church.
      21. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
      22. “Ephesians 4 isn’t calling teachers, ministers, and pastors to do the work of ministry for the church, but with the church.” JT English
      23. Question: How can you go from doing this FOR the church to doing things WITH the church?
      24. 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’ - Matthew 25:21
      25. Serving God is about being faithful with what is in your hand. Faithful in how you have been graced in this season.
      26. “I want to be a leader in the church.” Then start now, start small, and stay faithful. (3X)
      27. Not all followers of Jesus have the same calling or function, but we all have a responsibility to use the gifts God has given us.
      28. If you have an apostolic gift, then pioneer new things and empower new leaders, don’t wait till you have “authority”. If you have the gift of teaching, then grab a few people and begin teaching them. If you have the gift of evangelism, then share your faith with your neighbor.
      29. True servant leadership is about growing people, not getting promoted.
          8. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:45 NLT
      30. The Goal of The Body of Christ
          1. 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
          2. Grounded in Truth
      31. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
      32. When you are grounded you have the potential to grow and you can only grow as high as the foundation that supports it.

      33. “Truth is what God says about a matter” - Tony Evans

          1. If you want to be grounded in truth, what does God say? What is the Holy Spirit telling you through the Word of God?
             3. Growing in Christ
                1. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
             4. Christ is the head

      34. He tells us what to do, we don’t tell Him. When Christ is the head of the church then the church is submissive to His plan, His vision, His direction, His guidance, His leadership, His rule and reign.

          5. Growth doesn’t happen in isolation

      35. You know the saying “young leaders overestimate what can be done in the short term and underestimate what can be done in the long term.”? There’s a similar statement for people in the church… “Christians overestimate what they can do alone, and underestimate what can be done together.”

      36. Application:

          1. What gift is God calling you to utilize in the local body to equip the saints and build the church?
          2. How is God calling you to support church leadership on the mission of equipping and building?
          3. What is one step you need to take in responding to the gifts in your life?

Flow of Ordination Service: November 21st, 2021

Song: The Blessing

Tradition:

Jesus to the Twelve Disciples

“14 Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, 15 giving them authority to cast out demons.” Mark 3:14-15 NLT

The Twelve Disciples to the Seven Deacons

“6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.” - Acts 6:6-7 NLT

The Church at Antioch to Paul & Barnabas

“2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.” - Acts 13:2-3 NLT

Paul to Timothy

“14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.” - 1 Timothy 4:14 NLT

“6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” - 2 Timothy 1:6 NLT

Bear Witness of Their Character and Calling

Julian: Adam Gomez & Andy Estrella

Video: Ps Luke Humbrecht

Matthew: Jacob Cotten and Marcus Robinson

Video: Ross Bryant

Video: Pablo Ceron

Pastors Parker & Jess affirming the candidates

“And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,” - Ephesians 4:11-12

Charge:

From the song “Find Us Faithful” by Jon Mohr.

O may all who come behind us

Find us faithful,

May the fire of our devotion

Light their way.

May the footprints that we leave,

Lead them to believe,

And the lives we live

Inspire them to obey.

O may all who come behind us

Find us faithful.

Stay Faithful

“15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” - 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Giving of the Bibles:

“I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.” - Psalm 119:11

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” - Psalm 119:105

Preaching The Word:

“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.” - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Laying On Of Hands (Prayer)

Family First

Then close friends

Everyone else

Brian Carlucci, Jess Manuel, Parker Manuel

Please feel free to stay and encourage these new pastors.