MINISTRY GIFTS
11 And He Himself gave
some to be Apostles,
some Prophets,
some Evangelists, and
some Pastors and teachers,
We have a tendency to think of these as an office.
They are ministry gifts and the Biblical emphases is
FUNCTION.
Office
Function
For Instance, "Leadership is about influence"
It is portrayed as a noun but in practice it is a verb
It is not passive (office) it is active (function)
1. APOSTLES
Apostle literally means “to send away.” One sent forth to carry the gospel into a new place and build the church.
An apostle is one who goes into a new city, new country and opens up the way for others to follow. An apostle is one who goes into a new peoples group, a new culture and begins lays the foundation for others to follow in ministry.
2. PROPHETS
In the Old Testament a prophet spoke prophecies of the future and spoke the word of the Lord to a people who most of the time clearly were not listening.
In the New Testament a prophet speaks God’s message to people and explains the meaning.
A prophet brings challenge to some and encouragement to others.
There is a need today for the Lord to raise up servants with true prophetic voices who are committed to the edification, strengthening, and building up of the body, who will by spiritual discernment diagnose and remedy weaknesses in the body of Christ.
3. EVANGELISTS
All believers are to be evangelists.
However, evangelists who have the gift of ministry is different in some ways:
In Acts Phillip is an evangelist.
Acts 21:8, "we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist."
Evangelists means "one who announces good tidings."
Good tidings included three main points
(1) Christ died for our sins...
(2) He was buried
(3) He rose again...
While the Evangelists chief function is to tell the gospel he has another function: preparing God's people for the work of ministry...
4. PASTOR/TEACHER
This gift is may be viewed as one:
Though some have the gift of pastor
Some have the gift of teaching.
A Pastor with a teaching ministry.
Of the ministry gifts Pastor/Teacher is the most common.
Three books in the New Testament where written to and for Pastors:
1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus.
Here are the functions of the Pastor - Shepherd: (Ps 23)
1. Care for the Sheep
2. Feed the Flock
3. Protect the Flock
4. Lead the Flock
5. Increase the Flock...
Sheep produce sheep when they are healthy...
I believe Small Group leaders should have this gift...
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All these gifts are for a two-fold purpose
Ephesians 4:12 (NKJV)
12 for the Equipping of the saints
for the work of ministry,
for the Edifying of the
body of Christ,