Jump Start # 3347

Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”

This past winter and early spring was very hard on many shrubs in our region. Driving about, one sees a lot of dead bushes in the landscape of homes. Mine was no exception. I had three that bit the dust. They were big. I got them dug up. But I had to bring out the arsenal of tools to get that done. Started with my shovel, a spade. Then I have a special shovel called, root slayer. It has jagged teeth on the edges. But those big roots were a real problem. Clippers. Then a special landscape saw. The job was done. I was a mess. I couldn’t have done it without all those tools.

And, that takes us to our passage today. God’s arsenal of tools for us. One can’t do a job effective without the proper tools. These “tools” of Heaven are for the equipping of the saints so we can get about the work in the kingdom.

Several things to notice here:

First, it is God who provided these tools. “He gave,” simply means, God gave. He knew exactly what we need to get the work done in the kingdom. You’ll notice, there are no coaches, motivational speakers, growth experts, cooks, counselors or many other things that modern churches believe are necessary to do the work in the kingdom. God knew.

Although there are major differences between apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, there is a similar thread connecting them all. They are all teachers. They teach God’s word. That’s what apostles did. That’s what prophets did. That’s what evangelists do. That’s what pastors do. The means to equip the saints was not a weekend get-a-way at the beach. It was learning from these godly men. It was being taught the word of God.

Interestingly, here is the only time the word “pastor” is found in the N.T. And, just this one time is all it takes for the religious community to get things scrambled up and confused. The pastor is not the preacher. A pastor is one who pastures. Properly, it should have been translated “shepherd.” That would have eliminated a lot of confusion.

Second, we are taught to then go and work in the service of the kingdom. We are not the end of the journey. We have been taught so we can teach. We have been given tools so we can use them. Showing up once a week to fill a pew with no intention of doing anything in the kingdom that week is missing the thrust of this passage. In fact, one must wonder if a person has truly been taught if that is his mindset. Equip the saints. Put the tools in their hands so they can work the fields of God.

The farmer has his tools. The mechanic has his tools. The cook has her tools. Even folks like engineers, writers, and musicians have their tools. I have watched many videos about various musicians. In the background, one sees rows of guitars. Why do they need so many? Each is a tool that helps him do what he needs to do.

I have two rooms full of books. Those are my tools. My beloved wife has never said, “Don’t you think you have enough?” Or, “Is it really necessary to buy another book?” She understands that those tools help me to do what I do.

Third, have you ever considered these Jump Starts as tools that can help you in your work? On the Jump Start website (jumpstartsdaily.com) are two search engines. One allows you to look up passages that I have written about. In the other, one can search a specific word and if I have mentioned it, those Jump Starts will be listed.

• Consider using these tools to generate ideas. You need an idea for a Wednesday invitation or a sermon. Ideas come from many places. Chase down some of these Jump Starts to help you.
• Consider using these for illustrations
• Consider sharing these with someone you are trying to help
• Consider using these for home studies or even the basis of Bible classes

Tools. Tools that can help you get your job done. I suppose I could have dug those dead shrubs out with my bare hands, but I expect I’d still be at it and I wouldn’t be able to type again for a long time. Having the right tools makes all the difference. So it is spiritually.

Equipping the saints…

Roger

Jump Start # 1485

Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”

  Something unique happened last evening. I got to spend the entire service in the pew, rather than standing behind the pulpit. I sat with my wife on one side and a friend on the other. My friend happened to have her Bible opened and I got to see something very special. Car guys like to raise the hood and look at engines. Cooks like to share recipes. Musicians are interested in looking at guitars and how fellow musicians play certain pieces. Artists are interested in how fellow artists paint a certain way. Writers are interested in what inspires fellow writers. Bible people are interested in Bibles and what others do with their Bibles.

I am one of those Bible people. So I picked up my friend’s Bible and flipped through some New Testament passages. She had circled some words. Other times sentences were underlined. She written comments in the margins. I flipped through several pages. Her New Testament was filled with such markings. Now what is especially interesting is to know the person who owned that Bible. It wasn’t too long along ago that she rarely came and even more rarely brought a Bible. She came from a religion that didn’t promote reading and knowing the Bible. We had many, many hours of Bible study together. Her faith grew. She not only obeyed the Gospel, but her two children did and later her husband did as well. You can’t keep her away now. She loves the Lord with all her heart. And now, that Bible has become a constant help and companion to her faith. In just a short time, she has read and thought and made notes all over that Bible. She knows so much now. Every worship she comes with that Bible, a pen and her notebook. She writes and writes. She’s still learning. I can call on her in a Bible class and she knows the answers. She knows that Bible.

And all of that takes us to our verses today. God gave. God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors. Each of those words involve different roles and responsibilities in the kingdom. They are not the same. However, there is one thread that connects all of them together. Every one of them taught. The apostles were commissioned to go into all the world and preach. Prophets taught. Evangelists were told to preach the word. Pastors are specifically tied to the word teachers in this verse. God gave teachers. God didn’t give entertainers. God didn’t give counselors. God didn’t give church growth experts. God didn’t give PR men, nor motivational speakers. God gave teachers. God gave those who would teach His word.

These teachers were to equip the saints. These teachers couldn’t do all the work on their own. They had to prepare others. Equipping means to supply. The saints, that’s all of us Christians, have a job to do. But to do our jobs well, we need the right tools. A ditch digger needs a shovel. A mechanic needs a wrench. The tools that God’s people need comes through these apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors. What those men did was to teach God’s word. In teaching, God’s people were now equipped. They now that shovel in hand and were ready to go get busy.

There are two more statements in this passage. It’s progressive. One leads to the next, which takes us still to the one after that. Each are necessary. And each must follow the one before. The teachers equip the saints. This allows them to do the work of service. And that leads to building up the body of Christ. Do you see all of that? Teachers teach. Saints learn. Saints then apply what they learn. And the church grows. That’s the way God intended for this to happen. The church didn’t grow because somebody had a Bar-B-Que out back. The church didn’t grow because the teens got together one Saturday and washed chariots for the community. The church grew because the members were informed and knew God’s will and they taught their friends and neighbors. A strong church comes from strong members. Strong members come from those who are spending time in God’s word.

God is interested in you and I learning. He wants us to learn His will. He wants us to know His word. In any format, learning involves some doing on the students part. Light years ago, when I was at Purdue, I took a lot of biology classes. That was the direction  I thought I was going to go. Zoology, botany, chemistry, biology, dendrology, forest soils—tough classes. We had to know the Latin words for specific trees and be able to identify different kinds of soils. One thing for sure, the kid that never brought his book or never came with a pen and notebook, didn’t last long. There was too much to remember. There was too many difficult words and principles that he had to learn. Notes and notes were taken. Those notes were later read over and over before tests were taken. That’s how it is in school. That’s part of the learning process. The better the notes the better one learned. It’s that way for math class. It’s that way for high school. That’s part of the education process.

Now, why is it that some show up on Sunday without a Bible, printed or electronic, no pen, nothing to write on and they sit there and stare at the preacher and hope to learn something? The same happens to some in Bible classes? They just come and sit and stare. Where’s their Bible at? Why don’t they have a pen? Aren’t they coming to learn? Then there was my friend’s Bible  I looked at last evening. She was a student. It showed. What she does shows that.

God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors—but the equipping for service and the building up of the body comes from the saints who are ready to learn. There is a role the teacher plays. He must be serious. He must do his homework. He must think things out carefully. But the student has a role as well. Come to learn. Come equipped to learn. Come with a Bible, pen and paper. Come to grow. Come to change.

My friend is Becky. She is one of many, many Christians that I know world wide that have learned from others and is now able to teach others herself. God gave and she took. God gave and she became. That’s just the way it ought to be. A well played guitar shows the marks of being used. A well studied Bible shows the marks and the wear of being used.

It’s been said that a Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person whose life is not falling apart. Something good comes from those years of reading, thinking and chewing upon the word of God.

What’s your Bible look like? More importantly, what does your heart and soul look like? Do they reflect a life that has been taught the word of God?

God gave…are you taking?

Roger