We are going to read from 2 Timothy 4:5. In the midst of that verse, there is one phrase we want to read:
Do the work of an evangelist.
Do the work of an evangelist.
Also, turn to Ephesians 4. We will read Ephesians 4:11-13:
And He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Let us pray.
Lord, together we come, and we have read Your Word. We cast ourselves upon You and pray that You would breathe upon this Word, that in our hearts it would become alive. We pray You would speak to us, Lord, and break open Your Word, that we may meet You today in this time. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The word evangelist occurs only three times in the Scriptures. Two of them we just read. The other is in Acts 21, speaking of Philip the evangelist. Actually, we are not going to speak only about evangelists today, or about evangelism. What we want to consider is that phrase in 2 Timothy: “Do the work of an evangelist.”
We want to borrow this phrase, do the work, and consider it in the light of Ephesians 4. Evangelists are mentioned there among apostles, prophets, shepherds, and teachers. If we can apply “do the work of an evangelist” to the evangelist, then we also want to consider the others mentioned in Ephesians 4 and ask whether we can do the work of these others as well.
Usually, we do not have a problem with this principle when it comes to most gifts. We understand that there are things we must do even when they are not our own special gifting from the Lord. After this time, we will have a meal, and many people will take up the grace to do the work of helps—setting up tables and doing other needed things. Some have already prepared chairs, cleaned the house, and prepared meals before this weekend.
We often take up the grace of the Lord to do things beyond our particular gifting. If we all stood around and said, “I do not have the gift of helps,” perhaps three or five people would be left to do all the physical tasks needed in the house of God. We would think that was a shame.
There are other gifts we never question in this way. Scripture says that not only are some gifted with mercy, but all of us should be merciful. Not only are some given a special gift of faith, but all of us should live by faith and walk by faith. We never say, “I just do not have the gift of mercy—sorry,” and then remain unmerciful. We take up the grace of God, and by the life of Christ, we are merciful.
The same is true of hospitality. It is a gifting from God, and some are especially able to be hospitable. Their grace is abundant and the anointing is there. Yet all of us can at times be hospitable by God’s grace, even if it is harder for us than for someone else. Still, there are times when the Lord will have us be hospitable.
But strangely, when it comes to the work of an evangelist, ninety-nine percent of us will say, “I do not have that gifting, so I am excused.” Yet this is not the case in Scripture. There are the Lord’s commissions to go and preach the gospel and to make disciples. Throughout Scripture, we see people witnessing. We are called to be His witnesses on this earth at this time.
Somehow this is a struggle for us. So we want to consider this concept of doing the work—not merely in a general way, though God has given each of us a measure of the gift of Christ. In the body of Christ, each of us has this measure. In some areas, when we serve, there seems to be an extra blessing. It seems to be the place where we should serve.
At the same time, if the whole body of Christ is going to minister to one another, we will often have to take up grace and serve the Lord in many other ways as well. There are giftings in which we should function, but what if we do not yet know our gifting? Especially as a young Christian, we may say, “I do not know, because I have never done anything, basically.”
As you begin to serve in this way, that way, and another way—always taking up the grace of God—eventually things become manifest. Consider Philip the evangelist. In Acts 8, while he is witnessing and preaching the gospel, he is not yet called Philip the evangelist. But by Acts 21, it has been proven. Everyone can look back and say, “Philip is an evangelist.” It is the same with us: we function, and then the saints recognize what becomes evident.
In Ephesians 4, what are these apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers called for? In this passage, the emphasis is different from other places. Not only has each one in the body of Christ been given a measure of grace, but God has given these servants themselves as gifts to men—to the body of Christ—for a specific reason.
The focus is not simply that they have certain gifts, though they do. The focus is that they themselves are given to the church as gifts. If we do not understand why they are given, we may sit back and let them become New Testament priests, letting them do all the work until they wear themselves out.
But if we see the purpose described in Ephesians 4:12, I think we will all rise up and function as the body of Christ. We all serve the Lord and take encouragement from these brothers and sisters. They are given for the maturing of the saints, with a view to the work of the ministry and the building up of the body of Christ.
When these servants function in their calling, the body receives and matures. They are given to the church to help the church grow and mature unto God’s purpose. But the body of Christ is also built up and equipped to function.
Ephesians 4 continues through verse 16. There we see all the members of the body of Christ functioning. Every joint of supply is connected, and the body builds itself up in love. The Lord has given these gifts to mature the saints and equip them so that they themselves may function.
Ephesians 4:7 says that to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Each one has grace; each one has a gift. Then, in verses 15 and 16, we see the body building itself up in love.
In verse 13, after describing the ministry of these brethren, it says, “till we all attain.” Their purpose and focus in maturing the body is definite: that we arrive at the unity of the faith and at the full knowledge of the Son of God. The church is to arrive at the full measure of the stature of Christ. The body is to grow up into the Head.
This is what is going on even today. The Lord is preparing and working in the church so that the whole church would rise up as a fully functioning body—not merely a few serving, but the whole body serving. The Lord is working so that the church would grow up into the Head and arrive at the unity of the faith.
Faith is also mentioned in Ephesians 4:5, where it says, “one faith.” There is a sevenfold oneness of the body of Christ. The exhortation in verse 3 is that we use diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit. This is where we all are right now.
Everyone here who is born again has the Holy Spirit. Today, we diligently keep the unity of the Spirit. I may be skipping around too much—it may get crazy on the screen—but hopefully we can all have our Bibles open to Ephesians 4.
If we diligently keep the unity of the Spirit, where will we arrive? We will arrive at the unity of the faith. The Word of God shows this. This is the way we are facing. It is not mentioned only here; it is throughout the Scriptures. This is what God is after.
There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. All of us as born-again Christians are one. We are stuck together, and the body of Christ is one. We may have many differences, different interpretations of Scripture, and different places of maturity, but we can remain together because we are one by the Holy Spirit.
This is why we gather together. At the Lord’s table, everyone in this room who has believed in the Lord Jesus has been bought by that precious blood—the one cup. Everyone who has received eternal life is able to partake of the one loaf. We are many, but we are one body.
Ephesians 4 gives us a pathway from verse 3 through verse 13. The pathway is like a tube: diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit, and at the end arriving at the unity of the faith. All the way through, the body of Christ travels in this unity of the Spirit, maturing, growing, and building itself up until we all arrive at the unity of the faith.
With this in mind, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are given to the church with their hearts focused on the arrival at the unity of the faith. Ephesians 4:1-16 is a little like a sandwich. At the beginning is one piece of bread: our oneness, diligently sticking together. At the end is another piece of bread: the body functioning.
If you hold on to both pieces of bread, you can eat the meat inside. If you pick up only one piece, you miss the whole sandwich. I have done it before. We must diligently stick together, but we must also be focused toward the unity of the faith.
We are not satisfied merely to stick together while everyone has his own way and does his own thing, no matter what is going on. We want to mature. This is on God’s heart, and we want to share His heart. But for that to happen, all of us must function. The church will be mature; we will arrive at the unity of the faith.
Perhaps these brethren who are specially given are like the tomatoes, onions, and lettuce in a sandwich. If there is only meat and bread, it can take longer to finish it. But these servants help the church arrive at the unity of the faith. They are very important.
Still, all of us are not evangelists. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? No. But all of us can learn from them. All of us can take encouragement, not only receiving from their ministry but observing it. When the Lord says, “Do the work of,” we can rise up and say, “Amen.”
I am encouraged when I see an evangelist function. Many of us may have been saved or helped to come to Christ through someone doing the work of an evangelist. Thank God that many Christians are doing this work.
In the New Testament, Philip is clearly an evangelist because he is called Philip the evangelist. Perhaps Peter also had such a ministry, though he does not bear that title. The Lord Jesus said to him, “I will make you a fisher of men.” In the beginning of Acts, Peter stands up and preaches the gospel.
Before Peter preached to three thousand at Pentecost, the Lord Jesus had said, “Behold the fields.” They were white and ready for harvest. He said, “Do not wait four months. Now is the day of salvation.” There was urgency in His heart, and He told the disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth workers.
As they began to pray, a change took place in their hearts. Those twelve were sent forth to preach the gospel. They went out two by two. This is something we can learn from the evangelist: many times, we may not see that the harvest is white, but if we get on our knees and pray, eventually we will see that it is white and ready.
As we pray for the lost and ask the Lord to send workers, we are praying for Him to send others, and that is right. But we also make ourselves available. We may not be evangelists, but opportunities may arise. We can pray freely that the Lord would save people and give us opportunities to share Christ.
We do not need to preach to three thousand and have three thousand saved. Perhaps within a month the Lord will give an opportunity to share Christ with one person. Many testify that they have the most opportunities to share the gospel when they are praying daily for such opportunities. Suddenly, the Lord is not only answering the prayer, but their eyes are open to see opportunities as well.
We should not wait until we can stand before a large crowd and know that thousands will be saved. We all begin praying. We all begin on a smaller level. Even if we never become evangelists, we can do the work of an evangelist. Let us take this encouragement.
At Pentecost, Peter shared a message full of Scripture and burden. Yet he did not do what we often do. Sometimes, when we share the gospel, we quickly pull in the net and say, “Now all you have to do is this.” We are not patient.
Peter finished his message and left the people with the reality of who Jesus is, the reality of their sin, and the truth that He is Lord and Christ. He gave room for the Holy Spirit to work. Like a master fisherman, Peter threw in the net and let it sit for a moment before pulling it up.
If we throw in the net and immediately rip it back out, people do not know what happened. The fish have not even seen the net; they only saw some bubbles. When you preach the gospel, do not assume that every time you share, someone must immediately fall on his knees in tears and repent.
Sometimes we preach the gospel and have to leave without being able to pray with someone. John the Baptist preached the gospel of the kingdom, and nobody was saved through his preaching in that immediate sense. Yet those who received his preaching were prepared for the Lord Jesus.
Much gospel preaching is like that. You are not always preaching so that someone will be saved in that moment. Often, you preach the gospel and the heart is prepared. Peter preached, and afterward the people asked, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Then he told them, “Repent, and be baptized.”
Sometimes there is the casting out of the net, and it takes a while. Sometimes we share with friends, family, and coworkers little by little. There may be times when the Lord puts urgency upon us, and we feel that if we do not speak boldly, that person may die that night. But at other times the Holy Spirit leads us to share a little here and a little there, always testifying of Christ.
Another time in Acts, Peter preached the gospel after someone was healed. The crowds gathered, and seeing the crowds, he spoke. It was not a planned crusade. The Lord led them to pray for a man, the man was healed, thousands gathered, and Peter spoke.
There is a readiness in the heart of an evangelist to share the gospel, a preparedness from God. Not all of us may have five gospel messages prepared, but in our hearts, are we prepared to testify of Christ, even in a small way, if the opportunity arises?
Every time I fly on a plane, I think, “What if the plane goes down?” Usually, some brief thirty-second message begins stirring in my heart. If we start going down, I am going to stand up and share. If we have only twenty seconds, at least I will share for twenty seconds. You can preach the gospel in twenty seconds.
Sometimes a circumstance arises, and you may have to preach to a crowd. A brother who meets with us told me about being at the airport while the luggage was delayed. There was a whole crowd, everyone was bored, and he felt the urgency of the gospel. So he simply said, “Well, I have some good news,” and he began to share.
We may think such a brother is foolish, but if the Lord led him, the Lord may use it for some of those people. This does not mean we go everywhere grabbing hold of everyone and trying to speak to everybody. It means that we are sensitive to the Lord. If a circumstance arises, there may be an opportunity.
When Peter went to Cornelius’s house, he was sharing with Gentiles when the Holy Spirit interrupted him. Suddenly those people were saved. Perhaps Peter still had two more points in his message, but he was free to let the Lord interrupt him.
Sometimes the interruption may come from the person you are speaking with. You may have four things you want to say—your four points—and think, “If I do not finish this, they have not heard the gospel.” But perhaps halfway through they say, “What must I do to be saved?” Do not keep going. Help them. Share what the Lord leads, and be free to be interrupted.
Philip was one of the seven chosen in Acts 6 to help distribute food to the widows. The apostles had been handling this work, but they recognized that they were carrying too much. So they asked for seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to serve in this matter.
Philip was one of those seven, along with Stephen, the first martyr. We should take note of the requirements for these men and learn from Philip’s character. When we share the gospel, if our testimony is poor, our testimony will weaken what we say. Though our words may be good, the backing of our life does not match, and there is no power in our gospel preaching.
Philip had a good standing before men. He was blameless before men. This is tremendously important. Whether you are at work, at school, or among family, do you have a strong testimony that you are living by the grace of God? When people see you, do they see the life of Christ in you?
When you have such a testimony, then when you open your mouth and share, you have the backing of your life. But if you share while people have seen you living as an unbeliever, they will not listen, because your gospel has no power. Yet the gospel does have power. We need to cooperate with it, allowing it to work in us so that we can testify. We can have a testimony in order to testify; we can be a witness in order to witness.
Philip was full of the Holy Spirit. In Acts, there are a number of times when believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, even those who had been present at Pentecost. One time they prayed, and the house was shaken. Their prayer was, “Lord, give us boldness to proclaim Your Word.” Afterward, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must be emptied of everything else. Many of us are afraid of people. We think, “I will not preach the gospel. I dare not.” But pray that the Lord will fill you so that, in the boldness of the Holy Spirit, you are not thinking of yourself but of the Lord’s heart for that person.
If a cup is already full of liquid, or filled with rocks and other things, you cannot fill it. Empty it out. The deeper we empty ourselves of things that are not of God, the more we can be full of the Holy Spirit. The Lord does not want to mix. Water and oil do not mix.
The Holy Spirit is looking for empty vessels. We need to empty out the things that weigh us down and keep us from sharing in the Lord’s heart. Worldliness is not always obvious. If something distracts you from the Lord, then for you, at that time, it is the world.
This requires small dealings, not only obvious sins. The Lord touches little things in our hearts. Often this happens as we pray for the lost. As you pray earnestly for a relative on a deathbed, the Lord may touch an area and say, “This is something you must deal with.” As we deal with such things, the Lord is able to fill us.
When we are full of ourselves, the Lord may nudge us to share with someone, and we say, “No, I dare not. I will be so embarrassed.” We are full of ourselves. But if we say no to ourselves and say, “Lord, fill me,” then we can go in boldness. The Holy Spirit has been given to the church. We need only open the cup and be filled.
This is one major secret in sharing the gospel: are we full of the Holy Spirit? Not merely full, but overflowing. Then, even if we make mistakes, stumble, or stutter, a person may be touched because he senses the burden of the gospel.
Philip was also full of wisdom. As we mature in Christ, we become wiser, because Christ is our wisdom. In every circumstance, we can look to Christ: “Lord, this person is in this situation. What should I share?”
We cannot merely memorize one or two paragraphs and repeat them every time. There are many kinds of people and many circumstances. Proverbs speaks of being wise in winning souls. Every time you share, even if ninety-nine times out of one hundred someone receives nothing, you can receive something. Ask the Lord, “Is there something for me to learn?”
Perhaps you should not have stepped on someone’s foot to get his attention. We grow wiser if we ask the Lord. Do not become depressed and say, “They did not accept anything. I will give up. I am not an evangelist.” Rather, say, “Lord, teach me. Give me wisdom from above.”
When we share, we must remain in the presence of the Lord. We should memorize Scripture and be exercised in this, but we must allow the Lord to shift us here and there. Sometimes we preach judgment; sometimes we preach love; sometimes we preach the vanity of the world. Sometimes a person simply asks, “What must I do to be saved?” We need wisdom from the Lord.
After the persecution of Christians in Acts 8, Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ to them. This is important. Some evangelists preach many things, but an evangelist of the Lord preaches Christ.
If you wonder, “What is the gospel? I do not know if I have the gospel down,” then preach Christ. It may come out in different ways, but preach Christ—what He has done on the cross, His work, His person. Preach Christ. If somebody touches Christ, he is saved.
In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus is the evangelist. If we are going to learn from someone, we should learn from Him. When we read how people came to Him and received salvation, it is varied and sometimes even confusing. We may think, “He did not follow all the steps I thought were necessary.” But they touched Christ. If people meet Christ, they are saved.
Philip preached Christ, helped people, and baptized them. Multitudes were saved. Yet the ministry of an evangelist is not his own. He preaches the gospel for the church to arrive at the unity of the faith.
What is on the evangelist’s heart? That there would be material for the building up of the house of God. His heart is that the church would be prepared and made ready for the Lord’s return. This is not a side task or a distraction from the Lord’s purpose.
The Lord is merciful and waits for more people to be saved. If He had returned fifty years ago, many of us in this room would not be saved. I would not have been born. He delays because the bride has not made herself ready, but one reason for the delay is His mercy, that more would be saved.
Philip’s ministry was not his own. He did not say, “Multitudes have been saved. Everybody gather around me now. I have my own crowd.” When Peter and John came to Samaria, Philip readily welcomed their ministry.
Not only that, Philip was willing to leave a great gospel work. The Lord spoke to him and said, “Go out into the desert, on the way from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So Philip went. He was led by the Lord.
He did not reason, “There are multitudes here. If I stay another week, a thousand more may be saved.” His question was simply, “Is the Lord leading me?” If the Lord leads him to one person rather than a place where he expects a hundred people to be saved, the way is wherever the Lord leads.
Philip went into the desert, not knowing who would be there. Then the Ethiopian eunuch came along, a treasurer under Candace, queen of Ethiopia. He was a man of high status, returning to Ethiopia and reading the Scriptures in Isaiah.
The Lord said, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip was not afraid. He may not have known what to say or what was going on, but he was faithful. Sometimes the Lord says to us, “Share with them,” and we answer, “But what? I do not know where to start.” Sometimes we simply have to open our mouths and begin.
Philip began where the man was. The Ethiopian was reading Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, except some one shall guide me?” This is the cry of perishing souls: “How can I understand unless someone helps me?”
How can people believe unless someone speaks to them? Faith comes by hearing, but how can they hear unless someone shares the Word? The Lord sends people to share the Word, and He sends all of us, in our capacity, to do the work of an evangelist.
We may not share in the same measure or strong capacity as an evangelist. Perhaps in one year one soul is led to Christ, whereas for an evangelist it may happen daily. Still, we should be faithful in our measure to testify of Christ.
Philip began where the Ethiopian was, and thank the Lord, he was reading Isaiah 53. That is a wonderful place from which to preach the gospel. Philip began from those Scriptures and led him to Christ.
Not only should we do the work of an evangelist; at times we should do the work of a shepherd-teacher. In Ephesians 4:11, shepherds and teachers are one combined calling. It says apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. They go together.
This is important in understanding the shepherd-teacher calling. It is one person: a shepherd and teacher. Sometimes the emphasis is more on shepherding, and sometimes more on teaching, but it is one package. Do not separate the two.
Shepherding meets a person where he is and helps him along. Shepherds are like under-shepherds. Christ is the great Shepherd. The work of shepherd-teachers is to shepherd people to the great Shepherd, so that they may meet Christ and find the help they need.
Those who are not strongly established often need help from the body of Christ to bring them back to the Shepherd. As people mature and become established, they learn to go to the Shepherd themselves when they struggle. Yet we receive much help from shepherd-teachers.
Can the rest of us also take up the work of a shepherd-teacher at times? The emphasis of teaching is the exactness of the Word. The unity of the faith includes all of God’s teaching in the Scriptures—not merely correct interpretation, but the full measure of life and maturity.
The knowledge described in Ephesians 4 is experiential. Truth is not merely something to understand. Truth brings us into experience and sets us free. Truth is not merely for doctrine’s sake. Therefore, a teacher is not a teacher by himself; he is a shepherd-teacher, because the heart is that people would be helped by the truth.
A teacher stands for the exactness of Scripture, but the teaching is meant to help people come into maturity. If shepherding is separated from teaching, a person may be counseled and helped to feel good, yet not be led to the Shepherd or helped toward the unity of the faith.
The Lord does not merely meet us where we are; He leads us unto maturity. He does not only help us come to Christ but points us forward. Without the exactness of where God is taking the church—His purpose and His truth—we do not know where to lead people. We do not know where the green pastures are.
Many of us may be called at times to do the work of a shepherd-teacher. We may not be teachers, but can we pass on the truths we receive from the Lord? At times, we have to teach.
Teachers stand for the correctness of God’s Word. They stand for truth, not swayed by human opinion or human feeling. As Christians, we should all have that character in us: an absoluteness for truth. If it is true, I want it, even if it hurts my daily life.
If I have preached an incorrect doctrine for ten years and truth comes to me, then I want truth, even if it embarrasses me. Only the truth will set us free.
When I was first saved, I did not understand the truth of assurance of salvation. The Lord showed me through a teacher, and it was embarrassing. I realized how many people I had taught wrongly. I had even spoken to a young man who had assurance of salvation and, through my misunderstanding of Scripture, made him doubt it. I was completely wrong.
It was difficult, but I saw the truth and wanted the truth. Are we absolute for truth, no matter how much it embarrasses us? We have to be. This is part of doing the work of a shepherd-teacher.
On the shepherding side, perhaps the Lord gives you one or two people to care for and pray for daily. A person especially gifted as a shepherd may help many people, but the Lord may connect each of us with someone. That person may even be more mature than we are, but can we lead him to the Shepherd here and there?
Perhaps someone is discouraged, and the Lord puts him on your heart to pray for. As you share with him, you can help lead him to the Shepherd. You can do the work of shepherding, even if you are not a shepherd.
I use the word shepherd because some translations use the word pastor in Ephesians 4:11. But the original sense is shepherd. The danger is that we make “Pastor” into a capital-P office, a priestly ministry in which one person does the work while everyone else merely receives.
That is not true in the church. The whole body functions. The whole body serves. The whole body does the work, even where it is not each person’s particular calling. This is body ministry.
These servants have the ministry of the Word, but Ephesians 4 also speaks of the ministry of the body. We need both. The ministry of the Word equips the body for the ministry of the body, and body ministry is the whole body ministering to one another.
We should also consider prophets. At times, the Lord may lead us to do the work of a prophet. In Scripture, the prophet proclaims and speaks forth what is on God’s heart for people at a particular time.
The prophet’s word is specific, direct, and very much what is on God’s heart. In the Old Testament, prophets often said, “Thus saith the Lord.” It is as though the Lord gave them a recording, and they simply played it. They did not want any hindrance.
In the New Testament, if we are not right with the Lord, even a word originally given by the Lord can become mixed when we speak it. The Lord works deeply in the heart. He puts the Word there, and it must work in us and deal with us so that there is no hindrance when we speak what is on God’s heart.
When prophets speak, we receive much. It is often the needed word that helps us mature. God gives prophets to the church, and we should pray for these servants. Their word meets us where we are.
In 1 Corinthians 14, prophecy is described as speaking for edification, encouragement, and consolation. Prophecy does not always come in a form where everyone says, “That is a prophecy.” It may simply be a brother at a Bible study or fellowship time sharing something that proves to be exactly what everyone needed to hear.
It does not always have to be like Agabus, who tied himself with a belt and spoke concerning what would happen to Paul. Such things may happen, but normally New Testament prophecy is more like speaking the needed Word of God to God’s people at that time.
Prophecy is speaking forth the Word of God; it is not fortune-telling. We are not fortune-tellers, and prophets are not fortune-tellers. The majority of prophecy in the Old Testament was not merely about the future.
Can we take encouragement from the prophets? Can we proclaim the Word urgently, in season and out of season? Prophets were not always received, but they were faithful to speak God’s Word. We cannot merely speak what we think everyone will be happy with. We must speak what pleases God.
Jeremiah spoke God’s heart. He wept when God wept and yelled when God yelled. Yet people rejected him. He said he would no longer speak God’s Word, because nobody listened. But the Word became within him like a burning fire, and he could not hold it in.
When the Lord gives us something to share, it may burn within us even when we do not want to say anything. We should have the spirit and faithfulness of a prophet. It may be out of season. You may be sitting with Christians who are talking carelessly, and you may feel the Lord wants you to share something.
It may feel so out of season that you think you will lose half your friends. But be faithful. Do the work of a prophet. Share what the Lord has put on your heart. In season and out of season, proclaim the Word.
Convict, exhort, and encourage with all humility and sound teaching. Do not act as though you are five feet taller than everyone else. The question is simply this: when you share, is it what is on the Lord’s heart?
Then there is the work of an apostle. We could expound much more on each of these ministries, and perhaps this should have been a long series. But the burden today is simply this: do the work.
If we catch this, then we can search the Scriptures, observe, learn, receive, and take encouragement. We ourselves can rise up and function even though a particular calling or gifting is not ours. We do not leave off the evangelist, the shepherd-teacher, the prophet, or the apostle. We need them. But we take encouragement from them.
The evangelist’s heart is that all God’s people would rise up and witness. The shepherd-teacher’s heart is that all God’s people would share the Word with one another and shepherd one another. There is too much work to put on a few people. Body ministry is needed.
What is the apostle’s heart and calling? In Acts, apostles are involved in raising up and establishing churches in different localities. To do the work of an apostle, we must have the heart of an apostle: that the church would be raised up, established, and brought to maturity until we arrive at the unity of the faith.
Where is the maturing ground of the church? Is it a Bible college or seminary? If that were where we all learned to function as the body of Christ, then we should stop everything and build Bible colleges for all Christians. But the maturing ground of the body of Christ is the church expressed in a given locality.
There was a church in Jerusalem—the one church expressed in that city. But the church could not remain only in Jerusalem. In Acts, many churches were raised up. After persecution, many believers were scattered, although the apostles remained in Jerusalem.
Many who had come to Jerusalem for Pentecost had been from Antioch, Rome, Crete, and other places. Perhaps after being saved and remaining in Jerusalem for a time, they returned to their hometowns during the persecution. What did they do? They preached the gospel.
They were not all evangelists, but they preached the gospel, and churches were raised up. They understood that God’s heart was not merely for one person to be saved alone, or for ten Christians to exist without gathering unto His name.
The church in Antioch was raised up before apostles came. Believers did the work of an apostle. They were not apostles, but they lived there, preached the gospel, and said, “Let us gather together. Let us break bread together. Let Christ Jesus be our Head.”
The church is like bamboo. I have bamboo in my backyard. A strong bamboo plant may have another shoot appear five feet away. It grows underground and comes up elsewhere, perhaps even under a shed or through your floor. Yet it is all connected, receiving life and source from the same plant.
The church is one and includes all God’s people. The church you belong to includes Paul, Peter, Martin Luther, and all who belong to Christ. In heaven, it is all one. When we break bread, that one loaf includes all God’s people. It is one very large body.
But because we live in time and in different cities, towns, and localities, God desires to express that great church here and there. He desires to express the church in Richmond, in New York, and in every locality. He wants to show the world, in time and in our cities, the glorious church that cannot be destroyed.
This is how God builds up the church. When we are saved, He does not immediately rapture us. When we come out of baptismal waters, we do not go immediately to heaven. He uses the church in the city where we live to help us mature and to give us a place to function and serve with our giftings.
Paul’s apostolic journeys were not merely gospel campaigns. He preached the gospel, people were saved, they gathered together, and they broke bread together. Then he returned to establish the churches and recognize elders. He was not satisfied that Christians merely existed. His heart was that the glorious church would be expressed and shine as a light in each city and town.
Perhaps you find yourself somewhere without a gathering of Christians that comes under Christ’s headship, keeps the unity of the Spirit, welcomes every believer, and seeks the unity of the faith. Then the Lord may put it on your heart that Christians should gather simply unto His name.
Today, there may be many Christians in a city, but they are scattered like living stones across the grass rather than built together as a house. Even in a time when Christians are divided, the Lord has His heart. He calls people to gather unto Christ—not to take a second name, but simply the name of Jesus.
This is our calling: be the body of Christ. Where you are, stand for the body of Christ. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul speaks of a great house with vessels of different kinds. Some are honorable and some dishonorable. But each of us should seek to be a vessel precious and useful to the Master.
The work of an apostle may involve praying for other localities, praying for a stronger testimony where you are, and caring that a church is not merely barely existing but established. Paul travailed for the Galatian believers that Christ would be formed in them. His concern was that the testimony would be strong through and through.
Perhaps there is a small group gathering unto the Lord’s name and seeking to stand without division. The Lord may put them on your heart. Pray for them. Perhaps the Lord will use you simply to visit, hug them, encourage them, and say, “We are with you. We are praying for you. How can I pray for you?”
The Philippian believers shared in Paul’s apostolic work through prayer and financial support. They were not apostles, but their hearts were one with the work. Their fellowship in the ministry meant that the fruit of Paul’s ministry was also connected with their support.
Consider Epaphras in Colossae. Paul had not visited Colossae at that point, but a church had been raised up there. Paul had ministered in Ephesus, and all Asia heard the Word. It seems that Epaphras received help and then returned with a burden for his own city. Though not necessarily an apostle, his heart was for the saints in Colossae to be perfected and mature.
Sometimes there is an established group nearby, but the Lord gives you a burden for your own city—that Christ would be expressed there also. Do the work of an apostle. Begin to pray. Perhaps others will come to help. Perhaps the Lord will open opportunities. Churches in the New Testament were raised up through apostles and through the rest of the saints sharing in apostolic work.
Hopefully, we can see this concept of doing the work. The Lord may apply something specific in our lives—this area or that area. It may not be for today. At another time, suddenly the need rises up, and the Lord says, “Do the work of.”
Then the excuse may arise in our hearts: “I am not this.” But the Lord may call us at certain times to do the work. If the body of Christ is to mature and be prepared for the Lord, all the saints must do their part—not only in their particular gifting but in the general functioning of caring for and supplying life to the body.
In the parable of the talents, one received five, another two, and another one. The ones with five and two functioned with what they received. The person with the smallest amount also had something. Perhaps we all feel that we have the smallest measure of grace, but we do have grace.
The functioning of that grace is needed in the body of Christ. Even the smallest parts of the body, when broken, can cause great pain. A broken toe hurts the whole body. A finger that does not function means you cannot type anymore.
We all have our measure of the gift of Christ. We all have grace. I feel this is on the Lord’s heart today: do the work. You may not know your gifting. You may not know a definite way to serve—or perhaps you do. But at the least, we can take encouragement from these servants of the Lord and learn from them.
We do not merely receive from them. We are equipped to go forth and function. Let us pray.
Lord, we come to You again as the body of Christ, on the ground that You have given each one of us grace. We truly thank You that You have called us all to be priests in Your house. We thank You for this universal priesthood of believers.
We thank You that we can take encouragement from one another. If one serves, we can learn from him. If one is hospitable, we can learn from him. If one is witnessing, we can learn from him.
Lord, we pray that in our own lives You would make this real to us—that this word of exhortation, “Do the work of an evangelist,” and “Do the work” in general, would become solid in our hearts. We pray You would take this Word and touch it down into our lives, giving us the specific ways in which You are encouraging us.