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TITLE: Gifts from God 1

TEXT: Ephesians 4:7-16

INTRODUCTION:

Gifts God has given to His church (11)

Apostles – inspired to guide the early church
Received Holy Spirit baptism – guided into all truth, revealed and inspired
Prophets – to teach the message from God
Before the Bible was reduced to written form – church relied on the oral message of inspired men.
Evangelists – those who proclaim the Word
Three terms – minister, preacher, evangelist (not titles)
All these terms apply to those who in public and in private teach and proclaim the gospel.
Pastors – shepherds to lead us, guide us in the way of God
Three terms – Pastor (shepherd, one who feeds); Elder (wisdom of age, mature); Bishop (overseer, manager, foreman)
All 3 are used interchangeably in Acts 20:17 & 28; 1 Peter 5:1-2
Teachers – to instruct, explain, make application for our lives

Why God chose these gifts for us (12)

Equipping the saints – We must be able to carry on the work.
To do the work, we need the tools.
Work of ministry – The church is about "ministry".
Everything we do is ministry – classes, benevolence, worship, nursery, fellowship, and Power Point, missionary support.
Everything this church does MUST be ministry – OR we need to stop it.
Edifying the body of Christ – In addition to serving our world, we must minister to the needs of the Christians.
Many churches focus on evangelism – baptizing – bring them in the front door.
Just as many leave out the back door.
Other churches focus on "status quo" – keep what we got.
BOTH (evangelism and edification) are important to the survival of the church
Summary –
1. We need the tools.
2. We need to use the tools.
3. We need to encourage each other to use the tools.

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