God Gives July 20
Ephesians 4:11-12
And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
These are the order of the callings in Christ. Jesus starts with the calling of the apostles, being the most challenging call attracts the least number of persons called and for a good reason. The apostle is an Ambassador for Christ. This person should demonstrate the miraculous powers of Christ, for they are sent out as a messenger for God to establish new churches.
The enemy will do everything possible to stop this work. The few apostles that I have met have suffered from extremely harsh conditions on the missionary field, sleeping in chicken coops, beaten and robbed, harshly treated, and dependent on Jesus for their very survival.
Next is the prophet. A more significant number are called, but here is what a true prophet of God goes through. Mostly they are loners’ people don’t like to hang around them a lot unless they are successful in the ministry. Often misunderstood, typically they’re not great with other people. When they give prophetic words, you can be sure that people will scream that they’re false prophets. The prophetic word makes no sense. There considered fools by others in the church because God has done away with the office of prophet and apostle, but in the same paragraph, they believe in evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
Next is the evangelist, to me, this was always an elevated position, but many believe it is below the office of pastor, yet that’s not how the Bible sees it. To be an evangelist, you will spend hours on the road driving to a church 1000 miles away, preach your heart out and receive a $50.00 offering, or no offering at all, and out of love for the gospel, you will donate to their ministry. Evangelists quickly learn to trust God for their finances. But they get to sleep in run-down hotels and eat at any restaurant that has a cheap buffet. Loneliness is your closest companion. Sometimes churches and congregations treat you like gold others have no etiquette for caring for their guest.
Pastors, well, get ready to have your heart broken time and time again, you will learn how to forgive, and you will learn how to intercede for others. Anytime someone leaves the church, you can be assured it was your fault. You will be constantly asked for money by many people that don’t even go to church. People you give to the most will provide the least in return, and your phone will ring at all hours of the night. And then, there’s your staff, and your volunteers will all bring their problems to you.
Next but not the last is the office of the Teacher. Teachers have it made! As I chuckle to myself, to be a teacher in the ministry must be filled with love and an extreme amount of patience. You start a class, and 5 minutes later, another child arrives, and out of love and concern, you start the course over so they can participate, and then 5 minutes later, another group of children shows up. Now a child must go to the restroom, another asks a question, interruption seems to be the theme of the class, time is up, and the parents wonder why their children aren’t learning the Bible which, should be taught at home.
They sacrifice their time and some of their lives, next time you want to shake a hero’s hand, start with your pastor.
He is: El Chaiyai
God of My Life
Blessing’s
