A Passion for MINISTRY

A Passion for MINISTRY

“A Passion for Ministry”

(Romans 12:3-8)

Series: The Pursuit of Passion

4-9-06 (AM) (2 of 5)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

First Baptist Church Henderson, KY

 

  • Please open your Bibles to Romans, Chapter 12.

We’re continuing our special emphasis this month entitled, “The Pursuit of Passion.”  On each of the five Sundays of April we are emphasizing one of the five reasons we exist.  We exist for the purpose of worship, ministry, evangelism, discipleship, and fellowship.  Last week, we renewed our passion for worship.  This morning, on our second Sunday of the month, we are renewing our passion for ministry, for ministry.

 

In the first 11 chapters of Romans, Paul has been expounding great theological doctrine and now he is telling Christians how to apply that doctrine.  So he gets real practical in chapter 12 and he begins with, in verse one, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

 

Every Christian is to present his or her own body to God as a living sacrifice, a holy, acceptable sacrifice.  We don’t bring animals with us to church and sacrifice them to worship God.  The Old Testament sacrificial system has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us.  We do, however, bring ourselves.  We bring ourselves as “living sacrifices.”  We die to ourselves and we live for God.  We say with Isaiah from last week’s passage: “Here am I.”  Use me, God.  Paul says this is your “reasonable service.”

 

Then Paul tells us how we serve Him by serving others.  That’s ministry: serving God by serving others.

 

  • Please stand in honor of the reading of the word of God.

 

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

  • Pray.

 

Introduction:

 

Every member of First Baptist Church is a minister designed for ministry.  Every member is a minister.  Did you know that?  Not everyone is a pastor, but ever member is a minister.  Someone has said the only difference between the pastor and the members is that the pastor gets paid for being good and the members are good for nothing!  Truth is, we’re all members and we’re all ministers.  God has graciously given you certain skills and abilities to use for His glory.  Our purpose is to serve God by serving others.

So, repeat after me: “I am a minister.”  You are.  And in this passage, the Bible teaches us how to minister for His glory.  There are three things we must do if we’re going to be effective ministers in the body of Christ.  First, as you serve the body of Christ, number one:

 

1. Watch Your Pride (3)

 

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

 

If only each of us would not think of himself more highly than he ought to think!  This is pride.  I am prideful when I think of myself more highly than I ought to think.  I like the way the New King James puts this.  Paul says, rather than thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think, “Think soberly.”  Sober up!  Watch your pride.

 

Paul gives this warning in the context of our service.  He goes on to say, “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”  God has graciously gifted each of us with unique abilities to serve Him through the church.  So we understand how service can lead to pride if we are not careful.

 

Christian service can lead to pride when I forget that God is the one who has graciously gifted me with the ability I have.  We’re going to see in a moment that each of us is gifted to serve the church in some way or another.  Paul teaches that, whatever gift you have, you have because God gave it to you.  So watch your pride and have a spirit of humility.  Remember that without God you are nothing.  It is God who blesses others through you.  If you have a special gift or ability, and others praise you for it, be quick to remind them and yourself that God gets the glory for it.

 

Even unbelievers have special abilities God has given them through His common grace.  King Herod failed to give God the credit for his ability to speak well.  Remember the story in Acts 12:20-24?  King Herod sat on his throne and gave a spectacular oration to the people of Tyre and Sidon.  It was so good that the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”  But the Bible says that King Herod, when hearing this phrase, failed to give glory to God.  Consequently, “an angel of the Lord struck him” and he died.  God demands no less of His children.  Watch your pride.

 

Christian service can also lead to pride when I forget that I am not gifted to do everything.  You may be gifted to exhort, but that doesn’t mean you’re gifted to teach.  You may be able to sing well, but that doesn’t mean you can lead well.  Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  You are not gifted to do everything.

 

Christian service can also lead to pride when we begin to think that some of our gifts are more important than others.  This takes us to the next point.  As we serve the body of Christ, we must watch our pride.  Secondly, as you serve the body of Christ, number two:

 

2. Know Your Part (4-5)

 

Paul teaches about the church body by comparing it to the human body.

 

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

 

Paul says, “Look at your human body.  Notice that there are ‘many members’ in your one body.”  That is, there are many different body parts.  Well that’s true, isn’t it?  You children know that.  You young people know that, don’t you?  I look at my body and I see two feet, two hands.  I have a head, two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth.  I have internal organs—two lungs, a stomach, a heart.  “You’re right, Paul.  I have ‘many members in one body.’”

 

Then Paul says, “But all of the members do not have the same function.”  And he’s right again.  My feet don’t have the same function as my hands.  With my feet, I run.  With my hands, I write.  My eyes don’t have the same function as my ears.  I see with my eyes and hear with my ears.

 

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul even gets a little humorous about this.  In 1 Corinthians 12:17, he asks, “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?”  Can you imagine a human body that consisted of nothing more than one big eye?  Or one big ear?

 

Okay, Paul, we get it.  The human body has many different members—many different parts—and all of the parts have different functions.  They all work together, each having an important role, to make up the human body.  How does this apply to the church?

 

Paul says, “Look at verse 5.  ‘So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.’”  That is, we, being many—many different parts of the church—are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.  We all work together to make the body what it is.  We use our individual gifts in the body in order to complete the body.

 

So we each have a part in the body of Christ.  We each have a part.  And as we come together as the body of Christ, all these different parts (sweeping the congregation) come together to make up the body.  Apart from the body we are like a severed body part.  What good is a hand without an arm?  An arm without a shoulder?  A shoulder without a torso?  We need one another.

This biblical teaching helps us understand why it is selfish and self-centered to say, “I don’t need the church.”  Or, “I don’t have to go to church or be a member of a church.”  You do if you want to be biblical.  “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”  Without each of us here, we are an incomplete body.  We are missing some of our body parts.  We can’t see completely if one of the eyes is missing.  We can’t run completely if a toe sleeps-in on Sunday morning.  We can’t be as evangelistic as we should be if even a finger or two decides his part is not important.

 

We need one another that we might properly minister to one another.  Again, comparing the human body to the church body, in 1 Corinthians 12:26, Paul says, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it,” and, “if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

 

Several of you have back trouble and you know what I mean when I tell you that back in November I had back pain as I’ve never had before.  It got to the point where I could not even put on my shoes and tie the laces.  I was walking around like a 600-year-old man.  And when you get back pain like that, you feel it everywhere.  It may start as a little pain in the lower back, but it runs through the sciatic nerve and before long you have a backache in your big toe.  Because you clench your teeth in pain, your jaw hurts, and then your head hurts.  That’s true of the human body.  “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.”

 

That’s also true of the church body.  We minister to one another.  “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it,” and, “if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”  It’s a bit like what Paul goes on to say in Romans 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  You see this particularly demonstrated in our Wednesday services together.  Some of you have never been to a Wednesday night service.  You need to come.  After our meal, at around 6:30, we share prayer requests and praises.  We rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.  We minister to one another, one part ministering to another part.

 

The gospel song says it well: “I’m so glad, I’m a part of the family of God.”

 

You will notice we say “brother and sister” around here

It’s because we’re a family and these folks are so near

When one has a heartache we all share the tears

And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear

 

Know your part in the body of Christ.  You are an important part of this body.  Remember the bricks we hand out to the graduates of the BodyLife Journey workshop?  New members receive bricks to remind them that, just as each brick is vitally important to the overall health of a building, so each of them is vitally important to the overall health of the church.  Each person is an integral part of the body of Christ.  Know your part.

 

So, as we serve the body of Christ, we must watch our pride and we must know our part.  Number three: as you serve the body of Christ:

 

3.  Use Your Passion (6-8)

 

That is, use your gift for the glory of God.  One of the best ways to identify your gift is to ask, “What do I really have a passion for doing?”  In all likelihood, that is going to be your gift.

 

In verses 6-8, Paul lists about seven different gifts different church members may have.  He says:

 

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

 

Prophecy, in the most general sense, is the public proclamation of biblical truth, boldly proclaiming biblical truth.  Some are gifted this way.  Verse 7:

 

7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering;

 

This gift is best translated as “service” or serving.  Some are particularly gifted in helping others, of “being there” for others, of having a servant’s heart for others.

 

he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts (or encourages), in exhortation; he who gives (that is, someone who is especially gifted to earn money and give money—above the tithe—to Christian causes), with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

Now, this list is not an exhaustive list.  There are four places in the Bible where spiritual gifts are listed: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4.  Two 12s and two 4s.  And when you look at these four passages, you find variation from one to another, which I believe means that these spiritual gifts are dynamic, they differ with respect to each church and what each church needs.  The different lists of gifts also reflects the fact that the gifts mentioned are not the only gifts there are, but are a representative sample of an untold number of gifts.  Putting it in the imagery of an artist, John Macarthur says that spiritual gifts, “are like a palette of basic colors, from which God selects to blend a unique hue for each disciple’s life.”

 

So I don’t make a hard and fast distinction between the lists of spiritual gifts, nor do I believe they are exhaustive lists.  Furthermore, I believe that every gift, tendency, talent, skill, or ability comes from God and is to be used for His glory whether God gave the gift before I became a Christian or after I became a Christian.  As James says in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.”

 

The survey that the BodyLife folks take is called, “A Spiritual Gift Tendencies Survey.”  The survey allows folks to answer several questions that help them identify how God has uniquely shaped them for service.  It is not meant to be a mechanical tool to be followed legalistically.  It is simply a survey used to help people identify and then use their passion through the church.

 

I said a moment ago that one of the best ways to identify your gift is to ask, “What do I really have a passion for doing?”  In all likelihood, that is going to be your gift.  You may have a passion for teaching children, for greeting people and helping them find their way around, for cooking in the kitchen, for cleaning, for working with computers, for helping people come to know Christ.  Think about your passion and then use it for the glory of God.

 

Imagine if every member used his or her passion for the glory of God!  We are ministers.  We are shaped to serve and we serve God by serving others.  As we serve the body of Christ, we must watch our pride, know our part, and use our passion.  Do you know your passion?  Do you?  Are you using it?  God wants to use you to bless others.

 

Take out that little flyer entitled, “Plug into Your Passion.”  This morning at 11:30 you’ll want to take a few minutes and visit the Ministry Fair in the New Fellowship Hall.  There are several tables set up emphasizing over 20 ministries where you can get connected.  This little flyer tells you a little bit about some of the ministries, like men’s ministry, women’s ministry, first impressions—which is our greeter ministry, jail ministry, music, and others.  I want to encourage every single one of you to take just a few minutes at 11:30 and check out the Ministry Fair.  You will be blessed.

 

Before we stand for our invitation, I want to invite you to commit to using your passion for the glory of God.  Will you just bow your head right now in prayer?  If you want to use your passion for the glory of God, I want you to pray this prayer silently with me.  “Dear God, I believe you have created me to serve You by serving others.  I commit to discovering my passion and using my passion for your glory.  Show me where You want me to serve in this church and I will serve You with my whole heart—it may be singing in the choir, greeting others, teaching a class, praying during the worship service, pre-enrolling in FAITH, driving the church van—whatever it is, I commit to doing it for Your glory.  With your heads still bowed and eyes closed, if you just prayed that prayer, will you raise your hand?  Praise God.  I raise mine with you.  Dear God, as we follow through, may You magnify Yourself in us and through us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.”

 

  • Let’s stand.

 

We’ve been talking about serving the body of Christ.  You cannot serve the body of Christ until you become a part of the body of Christ.  And the only way to become a part of the body of Christ is to be saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Saved from what?  Saved from our sin.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We have all sinned.  Our sin separates us from God.  If we die, we remain separated from God and spend eternity in a terrible place called hell.  The Good news is that God will forgive us of our sins, but that forgiveness is not automatic.  Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”  How do we receive God’s forgiveness?  We must repent.  We must turn from our sin.  Jesus says in Luke 13:3, “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.”  We must turn away from our sin and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We look up to Him and reach up with our hand of faith and receive Him into our lives.  The Bible says in John 1:12, “As many as receive Him, who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God.”  This morning, if you have never by faith received Jesus Christ into your life, do so now.

 

You are not saved by being good.  You are not saved by being baptized.  You are not saved by joining a church.  Those are all good works, but the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “By grace are you saved, through faith, not of yourselves.  It is a gift of God.  Not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  If you’ve never been saved, come this morning as we sing our hymn of commitment, come to the front and simple say to me or one of our ministers, “I want to go God’s way.”  Only by being saved can we know for certain that when we die we will go to heaven.

 

Some of you need to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ.  You received Christ some time ago but you haven’t lived it lately.  God is convicting you of your sin.  You feel like a hypocrite and you want to make a fresh go of it this morning.  The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  You come in a moment and rededicate your heart to Jesus Christ.

 

Others of you may have made a decision recently to follow Jesus Christ and you want to take the next step.  You want to get baptized and join the church.  You come this morning.  Still others of you have been visiting this great church and God has impressed upon your heart that He wants you to unite with the brothers and sisters here at First Baptist.  You know this is where He wants you.  You want to serve Him here by serving others.  God has designed you for service and He wants to use you through the local church.  Our church doors are open to receive you as you come this morning.

 

“Dear, heavenly Father, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, draw us to You.  Give us the wisdom and urgency to follow You as You lead us during this time of invitation.  Lead us to be obedient and to follow you right now, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

 

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