What Is YOUR Contribution?

"And He [Jesus] 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." Ephesians 4:11-12

Christians are not just forgiven, not just set free, not just heaven-bound, praise the Lord. The Bible also describes that we have been given a gift. Jesus gave gifts to men and women. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the promise of the Bible is that you have a gift. You say, "I'm not gifted." Yes, you are. This passage lists five gifts: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. But it's not a complete list of the spiritual gifts, the charismata, that God has given. Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28-31, 1 Peter 4:11, 1 Corinthians 7:7, Ephesians 4:11 — all of these passages together give us around 21 different gifts when you total them all up. And even then, none of those lists are exhaustive. God gives gifts to His children, and there is a purpose for those gifts.

Ephesians 4:12 describes the purposes of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher: to equip the saints for the work of ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ. All of us have a part to play. Every single one of us should have in our heart this desire to serve, this desire to minister to one another, to recognize that we have a gift and we need to use it for the glory of God. Just looking at this list of five, two gifts are clearly seen in today's church. We see pastors and teachers in today's church. They are easily understood and visible. However, the other three need explanation.

Now, some people say, "The gift of the apostles is no longer valid today - that was only for biblical times," and they are right that there will never be an apostle today like there was in the New Testament. There were twelve apostles, the disciples. You also have Paul described as an apostle, and Matthias described as an apostle to replace Judas. After the first century, no one has been an apostle like them. That gift was given for the establishment of the early church.

However, I believe there is an expression of that gift seen today. The word apostle means "one sent on a mission." That describes the work of a missionary. The missionary is someone who plows new territory, new ground where the gospel is not known. None of the gift lists use the word "missionary," but in the apostle, you see someone with this heartbeat to go and pioneer something that doesn't already exist. They are not in the category of the original apostles, but it is still a gift that today's church is benefiting from.

What about the word prophet? There is no prophet today in the same sense as in biblical days. But the word prophet or prophecy just means "to speak for God". Prophecy in the Bible related both to "foretelling future events" and "forthtelling a message from God." While I do not see the first area expressed today, I do see this prophetic gift evident today in people speaking a message from God - "forthtelling". This is to a lesser degree than what is in biblical days and is anchored to God's Written Word, but it is still "speaking for God." [See the book "The Gift of Prophecy" by theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem for a thorough explanation.]

What about the evangelist? Sometimes you hear people say, "There's no real gift of evangelism," or "Everybody's supposed to evangelize." Of course everybody IS supposed to evangelize. Yet here you have this gift of the evangelist listed. There is something special about it, a level of evangelizing above what all of us are required to do.

Who can deny the evangelistic impact of a Billy Graham or D. L. Moody? And there are others who are lesser known, but very effective in leading people to Christ. It is a vital gift.

Evangelism is the responsibility of all, but there is also a gift of the evangelist. This works the same way with the "gift of giving" in Romans 12:3-8. Some people have that special gift, but all of us are supposed to give. There is the "gift of service", but all of us are supposed to serve. There is a "gift of mercy", and you might say, "I just don't have the gift of mercy." That doesn't give you a right not to be merciful. All of us should be expressing mercy, and yet some people have a special gift. A strong church will have all of this diversity in spiritual gifts in its fellowship.

So what is YOUR contribution?

In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus is teaching a crowd, and He asks Peter, who doesn't know Him very well at this point, if He can use his boat to drift off a little so He can speak to the crowd better. Peter allows it. Afterward, Jesus tells Peter to throw down his nets. Peter obeys. Think specifically about the symbolism of this event in Peter's life:

• Jesus is not asking Peter to do what he cannot do. He is asking Peter to do what he can do. 
• He's not borrowing somebody else's boat. He says, "Peter, let Me use your boat." 
• He's not telling Peter to throw down twenty nets. Peter doesn't have twenty nets. He says, "Peter, throw down your nets."

And sometimes we get nervous and say, "What am I supposed to do? What does God want me to do?" The point is that God is asking you to do what you can do. You are a steward of your gift, not a steward of someone else's gift. You don't have to stress over all the gifts mentioned. Serve in your giftedness and rejoice in the diversity of the other gifts evident within the local church. Cheer each other on in their gifts.

I have taken mission trips regularly throughout my adult life and ministry. I see those trips as a stewardship of my gift. I feel I uniquely have something to offer in those settings, whether it is training pastors and church leaders or encouraging persecuted believers in difficult contexts. There's this feeling of responsibility that God has given me something that I've got to give, that I've got to share, and that I've got to serve with. In every Christian's heart and in your mind, there should be that same desire to serve with the gifts God has given you.

Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us to lay aside the weights that so easily beset us and run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Run your race. Don't run someone else's race. Throw down YOUR nets. Say, "Jesus, You can use MY boat."

What's our response to God's generosity to us? It's to say, "All that I have belongs to You. How can I minister with the gift that You gave me? You gave it to me, and because of that, I'm a steward of it."

You cannot earn your salvation, but you can show how grateful you are for your salvation by how you minister to one another with your gifts. Has He given you the gift of teaching? The gift of mercy? The gift of giving? The gift of evangelism? The gift of service? There is something you can do to expand His kingdom.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I have sat on the sidelines, convinced that I have nothing to offer. Help me not to covet the gifts of others, but to be faithful with what You have placed in my hands. You can use my boat. I will throw down my nets. I will use my gift to expand Your kingdom and build Your church. Thank You for the gifts You have entrusted to me. I pray You always find me faithful. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out the sermon "Our Part in God's Plan" (Ephesians 4:7-16):  https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/fpz7c66/15-our-part-in-god-s-plan-eph-4-7-16