Five Spiritual Gifts. (Leadership Gifts)

       Book : The Holy Spirit. 

(Chapter Five - Leadership Gifts)

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”. (Eph. 4.11-12)

The verses above, express the gifts of leadership that Jesus presented to the church. 

* Their purpose is also threefold: 

a) To edify the body of Christ,

b) To fulfil God’s work, 

c) To edify the body of Christ.

In the local church, we have five gifts of leadership: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. (Leadership Gifts)

1) The Apostle.

The title apostle is given to some Christian leaders in the New Testament. 

* The verb "apostello" meant "send away" or "send off," and it conveyed the idea of a personal representative who has the power and authority of the one who sent him.

* It is Christ’s title. 

Jesus is the apostle and high priest of our heavenly calling. He is the Father of our apostles who ever lived.

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest”. (Hebrews 3.1)

The twelve disciples chosen by Jesus (Matthews 10.1-2), were transformed in apostles of the Lamb and will sit on twelve judging thrones.

“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”.            (Matthew 19.28)

* The term “apostle” ou “apostello” (Greek) refers to the first Christian missionaries. 

Later, in the New Testament, the same term refers to a Messenger chosen and sent for a special  mission. 

* The Holy Spirit chose Saul and Barnabas as apostles of the Gentiles. (Acts 13.1-4)

“Sent on their way by the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13.4)

* Paul worried about the health of his churches. (2 Co.11.28)

* In the name of Jesus Christ, the apostles took risks to spread the gospel. In many cases, they endured trials and ordeals. 

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die inthe arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings."

"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! - To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless."

"We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; - when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment”. 

(1 Co. 4.9-13)

Unfortunately, some of the apostles today (not all) look more like  Hollywood stars and are far from the original message.

The apostles were and still are essential to God’s purpose for the church. If the churches stop to send off apostles, it will harm the dissemination of the Gospel in the world. 

We need to pray for the Lord of the harvest to choose and send his workers to the His harvest.

1.1) The Apostles of the Lamb.

The apostles of the Lamb are those first apostles who saw Jesus after his resurrection and were personally chosen by Jesus to preach the Gospel all over the world. 

(Mark 16.15-20) (Matthew 28.18-20)

* The first apostles such as Peter, James, John and Paul had complete authority in the church, in regards to the divine revelation and the original message of the Gospel. 

They were the firstfruits of the church. 

Peter, James John were with Jesus in the Mountain of Transfiguration. 

* Peter said: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

"He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

 "We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” 

(2 Peter 1.16-18)

Jesus said: “You are those who have stood by me in my trials”.              (Luke 22.28)

1.2) The first apostles of the church will have special thrones.

“Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”- Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”. (Matthew 19.27-28)

* Paul, “abnormally born”

Jesus appeared to Paul to make him the apostle of the Gentiles. 

Jesus PERSONALLY chose him when he was on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9.1-9)

* Paul, when speaking about his apostolate said he was abnormally born.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, - that hewas buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, - and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.'

"After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of he brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are stillliving, though some have fallen asleep. - Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles." 

"And last, of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. - For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God”.

(1 Co. 15.3-9)

1.3) Peter confirmed Paul’s apostolic authority and his writings when he said:

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that Godgave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking inthem of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction”. 

(2 Peter 3.15-16)

Until today, God is rising apostles. 

* This gift is not extinct as many erroneously teach!

However, the primacy belongs to the first apostles who Jesus called by name. 

* Barnabas, Andronicus and Junia were apostles with Paul.

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting.” (Acts 14.14)

“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. (Rom. 16.7)

The apostles are the ones who launch the church foundation, stablish the doctrine, supervise the herd and exert leadership amongst all ministries.

Our prayer should be: Lord, rise today the rightful apostles!

2) The Prophets.

The word prophet means advocate. The prophets use to say 

“...and so says the LORD!” That is the best definition of a prophet: an advocate of God’s word.

The prophets spoke under the direct whim of the Holy Spirit. 

* A prophet’s driving force is the Holy Spirit.

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. - For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”.  (2 Pedro 1.20-21)

* Sometime, anyone, by the charismatic gift of prophecy, can tell a prophecy. 

However, we must differentiate between a true prophet and someone who predicts sometime. 

Saul was amongst the prophets but he was not a prophet. 

I can sing sometimes but that does not make me a singer. 

Some men were specifically called to the ministry of prophecies. Such persons are always prophesying. 

2.1) They are the true prophets!

“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers”.       (Acts 13.1)

In the Old and New Testaments, the prophets were risen by the Holy Spirit and clothed by the Holy Spirit’s power to bring God’s message to the people.

“Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ” (Acts 21.11)

* The prophets’ main mission is to deliver God’s message of encouragement, edification, consolation, and Faith urgency. 

They do it through the Holy Spirit. 

* The prophet can also predict the future if needed.

“- One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)”. (Acts 11.28)

The true prophet must also inform the sins in the church, and in the city, and in the nation. He must proclaim justice, warn people of the coming judgment and combat worldliness in the church. 

The prophet tells what people need to hear and not what they want to hear.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ”. (Gal. 1.10)

Many people reject what a prophet has to say in times of monotony and apostasy. 

* Jeremy’s life is a classic example of people’s rejection.

 “When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord’s temple”.  (Jeremiah 20.1-2)

A prophet’s message should not be taken as full proof. 

He and his message are subject to the church’s judgment. 

The congregation has the right to discern and judge the message’s  content and the prophet’s life.  (1 Co. 14.29-33)

2.2) False prophets.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world”. (1 John 4.1)

I have seen many false prophets deceive entire congregations. 

I know people who have been destroyed by false prophesies.

 I have also seen true prophets make mistakes. It happened to Samuel.      (1 Sam. 16.6-7). 

* All prophets are human.

- You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.

"Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure”.  (Psalms 39.5)

In the meantime, the prophets are still rising. They are essential for the purpose of God’s church. 

* God still rises and mantains His prophets.

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”          (Amos 3.7)

2.3) Jehoshaphat and the prophets.

“Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said: 

“Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” (2 Chr. 20:20)

* A church that rejects God’s prophets will fail and fall. Where there is no prophecy, there is corruption. (Prov. 11.14)

* The opposite is also true:                    

A church that values and accepts a true prophet’s message will be driven to spiritual renewal. 

* Sins willrelinquish, God will be present, and the Holy Spirit will guide the congregation. (1 Co. 14.3)

“Do not quench the Spirit.- Do not treat prophecies with contempt”.      (1 Thes. 5.19-20)

3) The Evangelists.

The evangelists are the announcers of good news. The word Gospel means good news or good tidings. 

Light dawned in the darkness of evil!

“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4.16)

* Jesus began his ministry as an evangelist.

“-The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, - to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lucas 4.18-19)

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. - When he saw the crowds,he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without ashepherd.”   (Matthew 9.35-36)

The evangelists announce the good news of salvation to the helpless and help implemente churches in a city. 

* They act with power and signs such as Philip did.

“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. - When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said." 

"For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city." (Acts 8.5-8)

* The evangelist is also essential to the purpose of God’s church. 

According to God’s requirements, a church that does not support and promote the evangelist’s ministry will cease to win converts. 

Who does not win souls is out of God’s will.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.” (Prov. 11.30)

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” (Prov. 24.11)

The church that recognizes the evangelist’s spiritual gifts and loves the helpless will proclaim the message of salvation with power and authority! 

* Everyone can and should evangelize. 

However, some are natural evangelists. 

* I know two natural evangelists, José Inácio dos Anjos and pastor Adauto Resende.

They are natural souls’ winners!

4)  The Pastors.

The pastors are the ones who direct the local congregation and take care of their spiritual needs.

Pastors are like Jesus, our good shepherd. They take care of the herd having Jesus as their model of genuine keeper. (John 10. 11-16) 

(1 Peter 2.25 And 1 Peter 5.2-4).

* When a Pastor is Born?

“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, - I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it’.”                         (1 Sam.17.34-35).

* It is God’s Project to raise pastors.

It is still one of His priorities to raise them and send them off to heal the wounded souls and the broken-hearted. 

4.1) I ask then: when a pastor is born? 

* A pastor is not born after graduating from a Theological Seminary, nor when he receives his Ordination and the Laying on of Hands.

* Some men maybe directing a church, but in their core, they are not pastors. 

If the pastoral ministry is dragging you out of bed every day, you are in the wrong field of work.

“So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel thenwent to Ramah” (1 Sam. 16.13)

4.2) Samuel anointed David.

When Samuel anointed David, he was just making it official what God already knew back in Bethlehem.

In the well-known story of David and Goliath, I found the details of David’s pastoral calling. Before Saul, David said:

“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,      - I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it’.”                         (1 Sam. 17.34-35)

* Notice that David was his father’s (Jesse) shepherd. 

* He struck a lion or perhaps a bear and rescued the sheep from its mouth because of his pastoral nature.

Seeing David’s courage to save an innocent sheep from the claws of a mighty predator, I think God thought to himself:

“Oh! This is the pastor I need for Israel. If he is capable of confronting lions and bears to save a sheep, he will do great things for a nation. Here is someone who I can finally use his DNA to create the messiah who will come in the future”. 

Now I understand why God was mad at Samuel when he insisted in keeping Saul as the king of Israel.

4.3) Saul and David.

“The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king’.”(1 Sam. 16.1).

There was a pastor and a king amongst Jesse’s sons who was willing to fight and even lose his life to save his sheep. That is the pastor’s attribute, to give his life for his sheep. (John 10.11)

God is the one who calls someone to be a pastor. No one can self-ordain and become a pastor. It is God who calls, who equips, enables, and sends off his pastors.

• God sends off apostles.

• God raises pastors.

• God seeks worshipers.

David had the heart of a worshipper. 

* David. Man after my own heart

God said during his tireless pursuit:

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’.” (Acts 13.22)

May we find new Davids who will be raised in our days!

4.4) Ro'eth and Poimen.

The word pastor in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word RO’EH. And in the New Testament from the Greek word POIMËN.

Both words mean: To shepherd. 

Etymologically speaking, the shepherd is the one who protects the herd by exposing himself to all kinds of danger to fulfill his mission. 

* This profession is old as man himself. 

In the Garden of Eden, we find Abel, son of Adam and Eve, tending his parents’ sheep. 

* The late Pastor Bernardo Johnson described the importance of the pastoral work and mission:

“Pastors are supervisors and always ensure the good of the herd. They know, through their experience, the precipices, the thorns on the way and even the polluted water. Pastors serve the Church to guide and protect the herd."

"You should never take a lifelong decision without consulting the man of God, your pastor”. 

The profession of a shepherd was amongst the most dangerous,  stressful and underpaid professions in Judea. 

Some shepherds left their home in March, migrating through the fields and hills of Israel, to come back only in November, in the beginning of the winter. 

To be a shepherd you had to smell like sheep, be sleep deprived, and take turns with other shepherds to watch the herd during the night against nocturnal predators. A shepherd had to keep his herd day and night, literally. 

He had to deal with the heat during the day and the cold during the night. 

He had to be willing to struck wolves, hyenas, bears, and even lions, like David.

The shepherds were selfless men who loved their herd. They lived in isolated fields moved by one single passion: to keep and feed their flocks.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” (Luke 2.8) 

Shepherd was the only profession that Jesus praised publicly. 

Our master entitled himself as the good shepherd who knows and gives his life for the sake of his flock. 

4.5) Life in the Time of Jesus.

Henri Daniel Rops, in his book, Daily Life in the Time of Jesus wrote the following comment about the direct relationship between a shepherd and his flock:

“The sheep and the shepherd continually lived together and this bred up a real affection… shepherds loved their sheep and the sheep loved them” (Page 265). 

“For a lost ewe, the shepherd would feel the same anxiety as Christ for a soul in danger of perdition: he would be in dread for it, would hurry out in search for it, and having found the ewe, would carry it back on his shoushoulder (Page 266).

* In this well-known parable, Jesus describes the relationship between shepherd and his sheep:

 A hundred sheep.

“Then Jesus told them this parable: -‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? - And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders - and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’’’.            (Luke 15.3-6)

4.6) He Shepherd as the Flock Leader.

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10.4)

The shepherd is the one who leads his sheep, who takes them out, who goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Usually, an Asian shepherd would lead his flock out around four in the morning. After opening the cote, he would take out one by one. It was very common for a shepherd to play flute or a harmonica when leading his flock out. The sheep, by instinct, know who their shepherd is and follow him. 

* They follow him by his voice. Sheep do not obey strange voices.

Around tem in the morning, under a scorching sun, the sheep are already tired and thirsty. The shepherd, then, looks for a shade along a creek.

The whole flock drinks fresh water, lies down and rest.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters”. (Psalms 23.2)

This beautiful image teaches us the importance of letting go of our daily stress, and dive into a time of tranquility and rest at the Lord’s feet. 

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth”. (Psalms 46.10)

This daily time is a time for reflection, for praising and praying the Word of God. It is also known as devotional time. 

* The most beautiful messages of God happen when we stop to listen to his voice.

4.7) Jesus’ words to Peter are still worthy to be revered today.

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter: ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said: you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ - Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

* Jesus said:  ‘Take care of my sheep.’"

 (John 21.15-17)

* OUR PRAYER:

“Oh, Father! Strip from my soul all the tension and stress, and I will contemplate your Beauty and enjoy your Peace”

5) The Teacher’s Gift.

Teachers are the ones who have the special divine gift of teaching and explain in a way that everyone can understand. 

The mission of a biblical teacher is to defend and keep the Gospel in its true form. 

He does that with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Teachers are the pediatricians of God; they form the spiritual  character of the newborn, teach the doctrinal foundation, train the disciples in the Word of God and send them off under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul”. (Acts 13.1)

The teacher has the duty of faithfully lead the church in its biblical  revelation and the courage to refute, with biblical facts, the false teachers.

- I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false”. (Revelation 2.2)

5.1) Teachers are essential for the growth of the church. 

A church where teachers are silent or unable to speak will not have a firm foundation. It will sway from time to time, without root or doctrinal foundation. 

Such church will accept new doctrines and even heresies without objection.

On the other hand, a church that welcomes and recognizes the teachers who God raised and approved, will grow strong and healthy. 

The heresies will be exposed and unraveled. The integrity of God’s Word will be known and lived by all.

I give grace to God because He called me to teach His Word. (1 Tim 1.12)

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, - to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Eph. 4.11-12)

May God keep anointing, raising, and thriving the genuine leaders, which He called to edify the body of Christ and to serve Him, so that we grow in Jesus Christ.

* May God help us to fulfill our mission.

Pastor Venilton de Jesus  

Amém!

* Read too Chapters: Four, Three, Two and One.

* The Baptism in the Holy Spirit.(Chapter Three)

http://prvenilton.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-baptism-in-holy-spirit.html

* Adress Blog.

www.prvenilton.blogspot.com

Pastor Venilton de Jesus.

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