 going to be looking today at Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 16 as we continue our series here in the book of Ephesians. I need to confess in as much as we have communion tonight I want to be as careful as I can with my time and so I have a lot more notes than I'm probably going to give to you just being aware of the fact that we have communion. So I will be sharing a few things with you and you'll see that in just a moment that are basically just looking at previous verses and one thing in particular. You'll see that in a moment. Let's begin reading in chapter 4 here of Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 where we do verse 16 get into our study. Paul writes, He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting but speak the truth in love may speak in the truth and love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effect of working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Now Paul has been writing the Ephesians concerning what are called the grace gifts and he's writing the Ephesians concerning God's grace gifts to the church and last time we were together we noted two things and let me lay that as a foundation. Two things one we noted that each believer every person in Christ every one of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ has at least one spiritual gift and second we noted that Jesus obtained the right to give these gifts by his death and resurrection. Now I mentioned that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are intended for the benefit of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 7 makes that clear so you may desire a certain gift but it's God who determines which gifts he gives to you and the gifts he says in his word I distributed to each one individually as God wills 1 Corinthians 12 11. So let me share a little bit about the spiritual gifts this is not a thorough exposition related to spiritual gifts but let me share a little bit about it as I introduce tonight's study. In the New Testament there are various books that that speak of the gifts of the Holy Spirit if you take notes 1 Corinthians chapter 12 Romans chapter 12 and 1 Peter chapter 4 all speak of the spiritual gifts and even give us a list of what are called spiritual gifts. So in 1 Corinthians for example chapter 12 verses 4 through 11 Paul gave us a list of the various gifts he spoke of the word of wisdom so when you have the word of wisdom that that's insight that comes directly from God it's the ability to answer something very quickly with his wisdom so he gives you a word of wisdom the word of knowledge is knowledge of facts that are beyond our normal way of finding things out. He speaks of supernatural faith he speaks of healings he speaks of the work of miracles when he speaks of supernatural faith that is in saving faith it's not living faith it's not our walk of faith it's not even the faith that we exercise when we serve God when he speaks of supernatural faith it's a faith for the moment and it can also be part of what is referred to as a gift mix. So we can see faith and we can see healing we can see working of miracles in scripture we can see that in Acts chapter 3 for example when the the bible speaks to us about the apostles Peter and John and they're at the temple and they're there the scripture says in the hour of prayer and they encountered a man who had been born crippled and he was begging at a gate that was called the beautiful gate and in that particular portion of scripture we see that Peter exercised faith healing and the working of miracles we see a gift mix in operation in Acts chapter 3 verses 4 and 10 this man had seen Peter and John as they were about to enter the gate and they he looking up at them because Peter said look upon us was expecting to receive something from them and so when he's when he was looking at Peter and Peter was looking back at him in Acts chapter 3 verses 4 through 10 it says fixing his eyes on him with John Peter said look look at us so he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them Peter said silver and gold I do not have but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength so he leaping up stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking leaping and praising God and all the people saw him walking and praising God then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him we see there in operation a gift mix he had faith there was a miracle there was a healing all together so Peter exercised what we refer to as a gift mix in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 and Romans chapter 12 verse 6 it speaks of the gift of prophecy let me say that very briefly prophecy in the Old Testament primarily spoke of the revealing of future events it's also called foretelling but in the New Testament it can speak of foretelling future events it also speaks of what is called forth telling or revealing God's intentions speaking forth those things that God is going to do sometimes prophecy is revealed as proclaiming the gospel because in the proclamation the gospel when prophecy is occurring it actually exposes hearts in 1st Corinthians we see that in chapter 14 verses 24 and 25 when Paul said if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare so they will fall down and worship God exclaiming God is really among you so when the word is being used when prophecy is occurring people's hearts are opened up and God has an opportunity to save them now he speaks concerning in 1st Corinthians 12 10 a gift of discernment or the discerning of spirits that's the ability to distinguish whether something is spiritually true or if it's false all believers can have discernment because of God's word and by God's spirit and it can develop over time but the spiritual gift gives you an immediate awareness when I was a brand new believer hadn't been saved more than two weeks maybe three I was at my parents house and there was a knock on the door I was the only one home I'm a brand new Christian I don't know I don't know basically anything I can't even pronounce the books of the Bible properly yet I don't know anything I'm a brand new Christian there's a knock on the door and and I opened the door and as I opened the door I kind of freaked out the people who were standing there because I was a hippie so my hair was kind of wild and I was wearing a Japanese robe with dragons and stuff on it so it kind of freaked him it freaked him out I was barefoot yeah I never realized until I just said that how freaky I must have looked to these Jehovah's Witnesses because they were Jehovah's Witnesses at the door and I'm a brand new Christian and so I opened the door I said hi how can I help you I mean God had changed my life I'm so filled with I was filled with joy and hi how can I help you well we're Christian how did they put it we are Christian workers sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and I said wonderful you know I didn't know him from Adam and I said wonderful I'm a Christian too I just got saved now this wild-eyed hippie kid with weird hair and a Japanese robe is scaring him but I'm telling him I'm a believer too because I'm thinking they may be well they start talking to me and they begin to share with me and I said well what are you here to share oh we want to tell you about the kingdom I said oh great let's hear it you know because I'm hungry let's talk about God I'm brand new they started saying things to me I can't tell you what it was that they were saying but I can tell you this I stopped them after about a minute or two and I said you know I said I don't think what you're saying is true I said but you know what that's cool because I was a hippie we didn't argue with anybody so I said oh so I said that's that's cool that's all right I said you know but no I don't think I don't think what you're saying is true how would I know that I'm a brand new Christian I'm just beginning to read the Bible the gift of discernment so you have probably had that happen in your life too where something is being said my mom used to say that sounds like Tim I don't know why she would say that but it was another way for her to say that doesn't sound true that doesn't sound right have you had that experience many of us have it's over spiritual things it's when someone telling you about God or something about the future whatever and you're listening it's the Holy Spirit it's the Holy Spirit giving you discernment and discernment of spirits it's the ability to distinguish whether something is true or false spiritually of course again all believers can have discernment by reading the word of God because it's the word of God that gives you wisdom and knowledge but there are times when God's Holy Spirit will give you an instantaneous awareness and that is something that would be of the Spirit it's like in Acts chapter 8 where Simon the sorcerer tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 8 verse 23 as he was speaking to the the apostle Peter and tried to buy the gift of the Spirit in chapter 8 verse 23 Peter said I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity and so there was this discernment and he saw exactly what was going on saw through it there's the gift of tongues which is unlearned languages earthly or heavenly tongues give praise to God there's the interpretation of tongues interpretation is not translation interpretation gives the sense or the meaning of what's being said there's the gift of helps the gift of helps is the spiritual desire to be of help to those who are in need there's a gift of administration which is the ability to organize and give information for more effective service there's the gift of prophecy which we saw in Romans chapter 12 6 through 8 it speaks of prophecy there's a there's the gift of ministry which speaks of service or serving in ministry there's the gift of teaching the word teaching speaks of directing it speaks of admonishing it speaks of instructing there's a gift a spiritual gift of teaching there's the gift of exhortation exhortation is encouragement the word literally speaks of coming alongside of someone to comfort them and so there's that gift of exhortation there's the gift of giving which very few people have and it's and that that speaks of sharing with generosity there's the gift of leadership which speaks of presiding or standing before and and it's you do that with a diligence you do that with enthusiasm you do it with earnestness there's the gift of mercy which is compassion it's it's a sense of pity it's the ability to weep at those who are weeping and you do so according to Romans chapter 12 verse 8 you do it with cheerfulness and then in 1 Peter 4 10 and 11 it teaches us to minister gifts to one another as good stewards of the grace of God so the one who speaks he refers to the one who speaks when he says the one who speaks that's with the knowledge that that he's giving out the divine utterances of God and the one who ministers as a deacon does so with the abilities that God supplies so I would encourage you to go through and to look at this in in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans chapter 12 1 Peter chapter 4 and begin to pray and ask the Lord what spiritual gifts he's given to you again I mentioned that each believer has at least one spiritual gift and I also mentioned that Jesus by virtue of his death and resurrection gave these gifts well tonight we're going to be looking at a third thing concerning the gifts that God gives to the church and that's something that might not be recognized for what it is because Paul points out that ministers are gifts that God has given to the church that's why Paul says he himself gave some to be apostles now the thought that ministers are grace gifts to the church is foreign to many people all too often pastors and leaders of the fellowship are looked at as being anything but a gift sometimes they may even be recognized as the problem within the church and sometimes that's true some who occupy the office of pastor have forfeited the the respect that is due the office and that can be because they're unqualified they shouldn't have been there in the first place and that's why in 1 Timothy 3 verse 2 Paul had said that the overseer must be blameless because his way of life can make the gospel attractive or it can undermine the work of the gospel so Paul is making it clear that church leadership is a gift to the body of Christ it's to be valued it's to be honored because of its eternal impact on believers now as I read this and as I have prepared this in the past it it always causes me to at least pause for a moment and to to out out loud will say today tonight to to give honor to to my own pastor to my pastor Chuck Smith Chuck Smith was my spiritual father and I loved him and I respected him but the one thing that I remember well about him is he didn't demand that he just earned it and so when a church has ministers who are doing the right thing by the Lord and for them they're honored in 1 Thessalonians 5 12 it says we ask you brothers to respect those who work hard among you who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you in 1 Timothy 5 17 the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor especially those whose work is preaching and teaching in Hebrews 13 17 he says obey those who rule over you be submissive for they watch out for your souls as one who must give account let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable for you so Paul is speaking here in Ephesians 4 11 following of grace gift the grace gift that God gave to the church the grace gift of the officers offices of the church and he begins in this way again verse 11 he gave some to be apostles some prophets some evangelists and some pastors and teachers notice this he himself gave some the calling and placing into service originates with God and not man spiritual leadership begins with the gifting of God not the selection of man and spiritual leadership is not something you call yourself to spiritual leadership is something God calls you to and Paul begins to speak of this and he gives various offices and these offices made up the foundation of church leadership first he begins by speaking of apostles notice and prophets now i'll speak on this for just a moment teach you a few things because there are those who have asked if there are modern day apostles you'll see it sometimes i mean if you watch tv at all if you ever turn on some of these religious channels and all sometimes you'll see uh you know uh in the heading or whatever apostle bob jones or whatever you know apostle and so there are people who have asked in the past are there modern day apostles and i don't know how many of you think that there are but there aren't but there aren't there are no modern and let me tell you why and i'll i'll share this with you for a moment because apostles is a word that is normally restricted to the original apostles including paul and there were certain requirements that applied to the office of apostle one they were selected by jesus in john 15 16 you have not chosen me i have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit in that your fruit should remain one the apostles were selected by jesus they were part of the first followers of jesus christ and they were witnesses of his resurrection in acts chapter one 21 and 22 it says it is necessary to choose one of the men who've been with us the whole time the lord jesus was living among us beginning from john's baptism to the time when jesus was taken up from us for one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection so one they were chosen by jesus and two they were part of the first followers of jesus witnesses of resurrection three they performed miracles and second carinthians 12 verse 12 truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance in signs wonders and mighty deeds so when paul was speaking of his apostleship he said the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you in romans 15 18 and 19 he said i will not dare to speak of any of those things which god has not accomplished through me in word indeed to make the Gentiles obedient in mighty signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of god so that from Jerusalem and roundabout to irilicum i have fully preached the gospel of christ signs and wonders and also finally they wrote scripture in second peter chapter 3 15 and 16 it says regard the patience of our lord to be salvation just as also our beloved brother paul according to the wisdom given him wrote to you as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to understand which the untaught and unstable distort as they do the rest of the scriptures to their own destruction so the apostles fulfilled all of these requirements and there's nobody today writing scripture there's nobody that fits this they didn't walk with jesus they didn't see as a witness his resurrection so no there are no modern day apostles and there's no biblical evidence that any of the original apostles were replaced when they died so with that said apostles and prophets served to lay foundations of the early church they did it by receiving the word of god and declaring god's word to the world we already saw this in Ephesians 2 20 where paul speaks about being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets in chapter three of Ephesians verses four and five he said you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of christ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed by the spirit to his holy apostles and prophets so you had the apostles you have the prophets now the prophets were initially used to communicate the mind of god to the church for example when you read your scriptures you meant you you meet a man by the name of agvas he's mentioned twice in the books of book of acts in chapter 11 verse 28 as well as chapter 21 verses 10 and 11 agvas prophesied a concern in a famine that would come as well as the imprisonment of the apostle paul but neither of these groups were what are called self-perpetuating god appointed both they no longer seems they no longer seem to function in the identical fashion found in the first century church then you have evangelists it's interesting to note that there's only one person in scripture ever referred to as the evangelist and that's a man by the name of philip in acts 21 verse 8 and so the evangelist is the one who goes forth proclaiming the word of god with the intention of giving the gospel message in such a way that people will hear it be convicted by the spirit and be drawn to christ that's what the evangelist does and there are people who hold that office today very often missionaries would be actually holding the office of evangelists because they go out through the world and they preach the gospel with the intention of drawing people to a saving knowledge of jesus christ now not everybody is called an evangelist but every one of us do the work of an evangelist see the church is intended to take the message of the gospel to live it and when given opportunity to to uh we we uh receive it and we give it and so as we've been given the word of god we take what we have been given and we give it out and so all of us are called to do the work on evangelists all of us are being called to be witnesses to go forth and to take the word of god out so you have apostles you have prophets you have evangelists and then we're going to spend some time now looking at the pastor teacher you might find it interesting here but when he speaks of pastors and teachers that's really the same kind of office and we're going to look at that for just a moment you see the word pastor is often translated shepherd the shepherd is the one who feeds and cares for god's sheep the teacher refers to how feeding takes place it's through the teaching of the word of god so god gifted certain individuals to feed his people his word and the intent is to bring people to full spiritual maturity so the pastor teacher is given to the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry notice that it says in verse 12 he says for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of christ i want to talk to you about this for a moment hopefully i'll be able to do so briefly which is really just not true but i'll try i really will the word equipping is an interesting word when it says in verse 12 for the equipping of the saints that's an interesting word and let me share with you a little bit about that to equip the church and to edify the body of christ well the word equip speaks of restoring something to its original condition the word equip speaks of mending or making something complete the word equip is a word that is used when referring to mending or repairing nets that the fishermen used in mark 1 verse 19 it says when jesus when he had gone a little farther from there he saw james the son of zebedee and john his brother who also were in the ship mending their nets the word mending is the same word as equipping they had spent the night attempting to catch fish sometimes the nets would be stretched perhaps broken and they would repair it so the work of the pastor teacher this is very important i could stay here and i i really am tempted to because it's that important the work of the pastor teacher is to equip the saints for the work of ministry the work of the pastor teacher is to bring healing and mending to broken lives and the way that takes place is through god's word and i've had people over the years ask me why i only teach the bible and i teach the way i do which i try to take my time and bring you because the only way broken lives will ever be healed is by the word of god and that's what pastor teachers are intended to do that's that's what we do and the pastor teacher restores people through the word of god and equips people to serve god you see the evangelist brings people to jesus christ but pastors equip them for the work of service so by giving out god's word healing and restoration can occur and people can be used by god you see the pastor teacher is equipping them for the work of ministry no one person can do all ministry anymore than one person can make up a team for a church to be healthy the entire church is to be equipped and they are to serve the lord together and the pastor's main concern should be the word of god and prayer so the pastor must teach the entire word of god which equips the saints and the fruit will be that the church is healthy and service oriented you see verse 12 says for the edifying of the body of christ edifying refers to developing fruitful maturing believers who serve the lord and so if we can concentrate on giving out what god's word says then those with a hungry heart to receive are going to be restored their broken hearts are going to be healed their broken lives will be repaired and they're going to be used by god to bring the same word that healed them to other people and so the pastor's ministry and the importance of a pastor is that he teaches the word of god so that people will be built up edified by the things that the word of god says to them and the result is going to be the unity of faith and the knowledge of jesus christ he says in verse 13 till we all come to the unity of faith the knowledge of the son of god to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of christ so that's god's purpose for us the unity of faith and the knowledge of jesus christ when he speaks in verse 13 of being a perfect man the word perfect speaks of perfectly mature it doesn't speak of of sinless perfection it speaks of a maturity that grows over time god's intention is for us to become mature to be developed in christ and the knowledge of jesus when received and applied is going to result in spiritual maturity and god is forming us he's forming us into his son's image and he does it through an internal transformation that comes through the word of god in chapter 3 verse 17 he said that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith so as we live in jesus we're being transformed and we begin to reveal the image of god to people because it's god's design that we would be conformed to jesus's image in romans 8 29 it says whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren so unity and and and true experiential knowledge of jesus christ in a progressive spiritual maturity in him reveal that god is in work in us at work in us as well as in his body in the church now when he speaks about unity because we're to be united till we come verse 13 i'll come to unity polysans speaking only of agreement that we agree and we don't argue he's not speaking of just a basic kind of unity he's speaking of the unity of the faith and the unity of the faith speaks of the bond that exists between all of us who are born again someone said the unity of the faith speaks of all believers sharing the same faith in god through jesus as well as sharing the same level of conviction to the same revealed truth he wants us to mature together the body of christ to grow together to mature and to work together and serve the lord together to love one another to become like christ so that the world will see us and know that god is at work in the church and that's what we're to do we're we're to we're to grow in the knowledge of the lord jesus christ and and the understanding of what the faith is now when he speaks of the faith he's not speaking of again faith to live or or faith to be saved he's speaking of the of the entire doctrine of god the faith is used to speak of doctrine or teaching that is understood as being god it's under god's truth it's recognized in that way it speaks of revealed truth that has been passed on through proper teaching it's like what paul said in 2nd Corinthians 13 5 when he said examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith test yourselves do you not realize that christ jesus is in you unless of course you fail the test in Colossians 2 6 and 7 so then just as you received christ jesus says lord continue to live your lives in him rooted and built up in him strengthened in the faith as you were taught overflowing with thankfulness first peter 5 8 and 9 be alert and of sober mind your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour resist him standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of suffering it's not that you resist to my saying I believe I believe I believe is what jesus did when he said it is written when being tempted by Satan it is written it is written it is written and the only way we're going to know what is written is if we read the word ourselves memorize it and understand it and to get taught it and that's why the pastor's responsibility is teaching the word of god the lord hasn't called me to be a comedian he hasn't called me to be an entertainer he hasn't called me to develop light shows up here and and fast fantastic musical productions he has called me to teach his word so that we together may grow to be maturing christ and the church can reflect and reveal what god really is about because we live for him in a proper way through proper teaching that's how it works that's how it works some people say well i like a lot of entertainment who doesn't i like being entertained too some people say i like to be amused well you know just think about what that word means the word amuse is is an interesting word i'll say it quickly but it's an interesting word the word amuse is actually to be without thought or without thinking because the word muse means thoughtful or thinking when you put the word the letter a in front of it it means without without thought without thinking that's what amusement is is that we don't think we're simply entertained and so some people go to church to be amused they want to be entertained so they don't think but the bible doesn't teach that worse the eye as a pastor i'm supposed to entertain you the pastor is to teach you and it takes a long study hours a lot of time in order to rightly divide the word of truth and that's what paul said is a gift to the church that they actually have shepherds who care about them to teach them the truth and the teacher is a gift in jeremiah chapter three verse 15 i will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding these shepherds give god's word feeding them with his wisdom and with his understanding in acts 2032 paul said it like this he said brethren i commend you to god and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified why are we to be built up verse 14 that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting teaching equips us to serve and it also protects us from from unhealthy teaching the result of proper teaching paul is saying is that we will no longer be tossed by error like children if we're to have the unity of faith it needs to be built upon the truth of the word that unity is that we have agreed on the various things that are of the lord and so false teachers will introduce error and will manipulate and they give error disguised as truth and then the false teachers undermine the gospel and what they're doing is they're bringing people into bondage so what is the antidote well the antidote for this is reading and remaining in god's word in first peter it reads in chapter 2 verses 2 and 3 as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that lord is gracious and so when he speaks concerning the fact that we are not to be tossed to and fro and carried about many years ago now i somebody contacted me and said that they were aware of a particular pastor in a particular city distance from here and they said you know i'm concerned for this fellow because he's he's doing odd things they said really what is he doing well he's well he's he wrote his motorcycle up the middle of the church just wrote up from the back of the church up to the front went up the steps of this motorcycle to draw attention to the point he was going to make in his sermon i said really he said yeah on another occasion he repelled from the ceiling and came down and at his pulpit and it just drew a lot of attention but he's doing outlandish things he said like but he said well he was teaching on being mature in the lord and so he went to got behind the pulpit and stepped out and he was wearing a baby diaper and he said you're not to be children and he was wearing a diaper i said really so this is true these are things that he actually did because i contacted him and i said to him i said listen i said i went to your webpage and i opened up some of your messages and i said to him you're not a bad teacher you gave a good study you applied the scripture properly rightly divided it why are you doing these outlandish things can you tell me why i said and let me tell you something that isn't something a man of god is to do and i went on to tell him why so as a pastor to another pastor i contacted him he wrote me back and he said you're the first pastor who has actually approached me and addressed this with me and i want to tell you i'm sorry i was wrong in doing these things i need to repent from these things you see people will come for the weirdest stuff you know motorcycles repelling diapers i mean come on but that's what happens today and i i have to be careful because not because i i'm afraid to say something i just we're gonna have communion and i have to finish this passage but i have seen outlandish things one of the things i have discovered about jesus is that jesus was unbelievably normal unbelievably normal he didn't do weird things he didn't float in the air and spin around and yell and do weird stuff he was he was perfect humanity didn't need to draw attention through theatrics he just gave his word and when the word goes forth and people are hungry their lives are changed and that's what paul is saying he's saying the church needs to be built up in the most holy faith be careful for the false teachers but instead and i'll close verses 15 and 16 speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who was the head christ from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effect of working by which every part does it share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love so instead of being tossed about by winds hurricane gales of doctrine mature believers are to speak the truth in love they speak and they preach the truth resisting the deceit of error and by receiving god's word through the gifts we are to spiritually mature and as we grow we grow to love the truth and as we love the truth we speak the truth with boldness he says in verse 16 that ultimately we all do our share and we all pull our own weight he says from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effect of working by which every part does it share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love every part does it share and i'll close with these words we'll pick up next week and as is my way i normally will go back and touch a few things in development um let me close by saying this when our church first began as as foundational scriptures and there are certain scriptures our churches as foundational scriptures one of them was this he gave some to be apostles prophets evangelists pastors and teachers for the equipment of the saints for the work of ministry going on down for every member every part of the body to do its share i was in india i spent on two occasions i i spent 16 days once in 12 days another time did ministry in india did it from um you know from the north to the south had opportunity to go various places and do various things and i was in the south i was on a seashore and as i was in the in on the seashore in a place i believe was called carola carola it was in the south and it was a seashore i was standing there it was six in the morning and i looked out and i saw a line of indian men they were there's several of them on the shore and they were all stepping where i was i couldn't really see clearly it was early but i saw they were all stepping back in unison and they were in the water and they were stepping back in unison and i had no idea what they were doing because i couldn't really see clearly and so one of the men who was with me was an indian who lived in that area and i said what are they doing and he said oh those are fishermen i said really because i couldn't see he said they're drawing the net i said oh really he said yeah he said they dropped a long net it was a it was a long net he said they dropped their net he said and each one of them is taking the steps he said they step in unison each one and they were doing that you'd see them at the same time stepping back because as they work in unity they're able to draw in the harvest of fish and i looked at that i said really he says yeah he says they're all standing in line each one is holding one of the edges of the net and they're pulling back and as they're pulling back they're catching fish which they did they eventually drew it up to shore and the nets were full of fish and i've never forgotten that it's been a number of years now because that's ministry every member doing its share every member ministering by the grace gifts god gave to them pulling their own weight every member doing what that member was designed to do which is the work of ministry all of us and so the lord taught me that and i shared it with the church when our church was brand new i said i can't do everything i don't have the ability to do everything that needs to be done there are churches that have pastors i've seen where the pastors in the worship team pastor uh does the the word the pastor at the end of the service goes up in praise for everybody the pastor does all the ministry i said i can't do that i want to equip the saints for the work of ministry so that we together can do our you know pull our weight do our share so that we together can see god move and we can all rejoice together at what he has done through us and accomplished through us that wasn't something i invented that's what paul said the church is intended to do he gave some to be apostles prophets evangelists pastors teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry that we would no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and slight cunning of men so that we would grow up into full maturity in jesus christ so that the world will see that we actually are his servants and working together in unity we may pull that net draw people in so that enter they enter into the kingdom of god so that not one person is doing everything but we do all things together and together we rejoice and together we glorify god because together we have been equipped there's no superstar in the church other than jesus himself we're all laborers who do the work of ministry and that's how i brought the church up from the very beginning and that's why this passage is very important to me our father we bless