Ephesians 4: 7-8,11 – 13 (NKJV) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”…And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and 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 of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Because Jesus is God, He is perfect and complete. Only Jesus has the fullness of the Holy Spirit and can operate in the full spectrum of the fivefold ministry and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For example, Jesus can preach, teach, reach out to the lost, have the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, heal all kinds of sicknesses, and carry out miracles that cause people to marvel and give glory to God. While we can expect and have faith in Jesus for all things, we cannot expect His undershepherds, the appointed pastors, to be capable of everything. No matter how mature they are as believers, they are still imperfect in their ways and their character, nor do they operate in all the gifts. Therefore, we need to manage our expectations toward our pastor.
God is a God of order. We are amazed by how the universe is created and arranged, and how the body functions so beautifully. Likewise, there is an order and a system that God has put in place for the church to function effectively and efficiently. Once the church is set in order, she can carry out the mandate to reach the lost.
When Jesus ascended on high, God gave gifts to men to develop the body of believers to fulfil the work of the ministry together. No leader or pastor can fulfil the ministry alone because it is a body ministry. Sadly, most churches have less than 25% of the members serving in the various ministries, with the expectation and reliance weighing even more heavily on pastors in small churches that can’t afford to have more staff. As a result, many pastors are burnt out or on the verge of it because of the demand for cradle-to-grave ministry—it has become a one-man ministry instead of a body ministry!
Therefore, to be a blessing to the local pastor, church members should contribute to the growth of the church by serving the local church with their God-given gifts and talents. The body of Christ is made up of different parts and needs everyone to contribute to her growth. It is a body ministry.
Sermon Series: The Pastor
一个由肢体组建而成的事工
以弗所书4:7-8,11-13 我们各人蒙恩、都是照基督所量给各人的恩赐。 所以经上说、“祂升上高天的时候、掳掠了仇敌、将各样的恩赐赏给人。” 祂所赐的有使徒、有先知、有传福音的、有牧师和教师，为要成全圣徒、各尽其职、建立基督的身体，直等到我们众人在真道上同归于一、认识神的儿子、得以长大成人、满有基督长成的身量。
因为耶稣是神。祂是完美且完全的。唯有耶稣拥有从圣灵而来的全备的能力，因此祂能够在所有五重职事和圣灵的恩赐中运行。例如，祂能传道、教导、向失丧的人伸出援手，拥有智慧的话语、知识的话语，医治各种疾病，并施行神迹，令人啧啧惊叹，并归荣耀给上帝。我们可以在任何事上都期待并相信耶稣，但我们不能指望祂的下属牧人—也就是被任命的牧师—凡事都能做并且做好。无论牧师作为信徒有多成熟，他的方式、品格仍然不完美，并且他没有在所有的恩赐中运作的能力。因此，我们需要重新思考我们对牧师的期望。
上帝是秩序之主。我们对宇宙的创造和排列整合的方式感到惊叹，也对我们的身体的运作是何等的美妙感到惊奇。同样，上帝也为教会建立了秩序和系统，以有效并高效地运作。一旦教会井然有序，她就能执行使命，与失丧的人建立连接。
当耶稣升上高天，上帝赐给人能力来培养信徒肢体，共同完成事工。没有一个领袖或牧师能够凭一己之力完成事工，因为它是个由肢体组建的事工。事实上，大多数教会只有不到25%的成员在教会的各种事工中事奉，对于负担不起更多全职同工的小型教会，其牧师担负了更多的期望和依赖。结果很多牧师都因为这从摇篮到坟墓的事工筋疲力尽或濒临崩溃，因为本来的一个肢体事工却成了一个人的独角戏！
因此，教会成员想要祝福地方教会的牧师，就需要使用他们的恩赐和才能服事地方教会，为教会的成长做出贡献。基督的肢体由不同的部分组成，需要每个人都为她的成长作出贡献。因为它是一个由肢体组建而成事工。
讲章系列：牧师
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