Let My People Serve!: Provisions for Victory!

Copyright © 2010, 2012 Ronald E. Baird

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Scripture quotations marked NAS

are taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible: New International Version® © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture noted as (KJV) is from the King James Version © Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All right reserved.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible by Matthew Henry, copyright 1991, 1994 by Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

ISBN: 978-1-4497-5624-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/26/2012

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

One. What do you see?

Two. Getting From There to Here

three. The Foundation

Four. Trapped in Ministry!

Five. Discipleship

Six. Judgments and Rewards

Seven. Small Groups/Ministry

Eight. Supplying your needs.

Nine. The 80/20 Rule

Ten. Leadership

Eleven. More About Gifts

Twelve Odds and Ends

Thirteen. God, if you’re really there….

AFTERWORD The Beginning

Appendix 1 Commentary on 1 Corinthians 3

Appendix 2 Unwrapping Your Purpose- Provisions for Victory

Notes

To my wife, Karen and son, Jeremy.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank James Verzani for all the help he provided me in putting this book together. His proofreading, critiques, suggestions, and questions were of great importance. I also want to give a grateful thanks to Steve and Diane Ellerman, Ron and Robin Garcia, Doug and Sharon Wlasiuk and again, to James and Sue Verzani for their prayers, support and faithful encouragement throughout this process. The D girls, Doris Garrison and Darcy Tucker also gave me much encouragement, prayers and feedback and I want to thank them.

A special and loving thanks to my wife, Karen, for all the years she has been encouraging me to follow the vision He has given me.

Introduction

This book is about Spiritual Gifts not on Spiritual Gifts. There are books on gifts that cover that aspect very well. I am writing about how foundational they are not only individually, but Church wide. It is the culmination of over twenty years of being a Christ follower. It is twenty plus years of serving, ministering, participating, praying, studying, and listening to that still voice. I am writing to the leaders of churches. I am writing to those in seminary so their ministry may start out foundationally.

It is about God’s process of progressive revelation to me about my fit in the Body of Christ. The very first Bible study group I was in after my accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior was in the book of 1 Corinthians. It was there that I took my first gift inventory and found my predominate gift was teaching. As the years past, I would always come back to gifts! As I comprehended one truth about gifts, God, through the Holy Spirit, would give me another truth to work on until He had taken me from eternity past to eternity future! He has shown me a world-wide revival within the Church, and what may possibly lead to a world-wide outreach where local churches can and will have a huge impact on their individual communities!

A few years ago, my focus changed from the here and now to the then and forever! What a huge difference it has made in the here and now! What we are doing now resonates throughout eternity. I have literally wept when I see people around me who may not receive the full inheritance that Jesus wants for each and every one of His people! Faith alone allows us to enter Heaven, but what we do in the Body is where our rewards and full inheritance shall come from.

It is my prayer that through this book you will see how intrinsic gifts are in each and every one of us; that without a fundamental focus and in depth teaching, training and understanding of gifts, personal growth, church growth, serving and giving, and so much more are curtailed, missing, or non-existent. Serving in one’s giftedness fills and satisfies many of the needs God has created within us and brings an abundance of joy into our lives. I see where God creates at least two voids in us; one void can only be filled with a personal, experiential relationship with Him. The other void is filled by following His plan for serving Him through serving others in our giftedness.

We will be seeing how gifts affect eternal gains and losses, small groups, leadership, discipleship, the 80/20 rule, emotional and spiritual health and more. We will also see how gifts prepare us for the end times of the Church! In each chapter I’ll explain, as best I can, the progressive revelation that led to that chapter being included in this book. I’ll talk on how not to get trapped in ministry. And I’ll end with a talk about my conversion experience; from trying to kill myself to almost dying in an accident to becoming one of His!

Prayerfully by the end of this book you will see that Spiritual Gifts are God’s provisions for victory, for each one of us, the local church and The Church!

Roman 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

One.

What do you see?

When you look out into the congregation, before the service begins, what do you see? Your family, friends, and fellow saints? People who sit in their pews but you are not really sure what their purpose is in being there aside from singing, praying, and worship? Are these your twenty-year first time visitors?

I see, whether I’m up front or sitting in a pew, gifted, invaluable servants sent by God to help complete the work He has chosen your church to do.

There’s Bob, sitting in the front pew. And he’s a teacher and is waiting to hear and learn something new that will help make him a better teacher; paper and pen at the ready.

I see Mike way up in the balcony. Mike has the gift of service and for years he has been picking up the bulletins and other papers people have left behind. He puts the hymnals back in place and makes sure everything is neat and orderly for the next service. Nobody has ever assigned Mike this task; he just does it, week after week. But today, Mike looks sad, he needs some encouragement. You see, people just expect Mike to do this service and they don’t show their appreciation.

And look! Over there is Joan. She lost her husband of 45 years last month and is missing him dearly. She just can’t seem to get going anymore; what’s the sense? And there’s Sam, sitting in front of Joan, fidgeting around, feeling there is something he needs to be doing, but doesn’t know just what it is. Sam has the gift of mercy and he feels someone’s pain, but he doesn’t know about his gift and Joan will go home, still wondering how she’ll get through another day.

Look! Look, over there. There in the back pew. See that young girl just sitting down? Kathy hasn’t been in a church since she was a little girl in kindergarten. She just gave birth to a baby boy. The doctors say they don’t believe he’ll make it. But there’s Ruth! Ruth has the gift of mercy and she sits down next to Kathy. Tears start rolling down Kathy’s face and Ruth takes hold of her hand. When Kathy leaves today, she will receive God’s comfort through Ruth. It may not be well with Kathy’s circumstances, but it will be well with her soul.

That is what I see!

Each and every believer in your church is put there to serve. The only problem is that many of them don’t know it! God has endowed each one with a gift or gifts to serve the body, but they have to be taught, shown, encouraged and trained to serve. God has given each one of us a purpose that only we can accomplish. No one else can do it as well and with the God-given perfection as we can. But unfortunately, many don’t know what their gift(s) or purpose is, so someone else has to get the work done.

Every resource that is needed to work out God’s plan for your church has been provided by God already. But you have to allow these resources to flourish. We are all parts of the body; you, me, Mike in the balcony, all of us. We, The Church, can not function properly or efficiently unless each part of the body is included in working together.

One of the hardest things for me to do is receive. I love to give. I love to help people out in whatever way I can. I have a real problem getting paid for hanging a door, painting a room or whatever. I have learned that by not allowing people to pay me takes their joy of giving away. Don’t take the joy of serving others away from your congregation.

The most rewarding, fulfilling, and delightful thing that I do is teach. If I am not teaching something from God’s Word, I’m miserable. The studying, researching, digging into the Word is so exciting! Seeing a light go on in somebody’s eyes can’t be matched. What it boils down to is serving in the body using what God has given me.

An example of serving or not being used to serve follows. A church I had attended decided to implement a course of instruction for perspective and current teachers. They purchased a video course and the workbooks that accompanied the course. The tape series cost somewhere between $250 and $450.00 and each workbook cost $10.00. There were between 30 and 35 people that attended the course so the cost to the church was $300 to $350.00 for workbooks and another $250 to $450.00 for the tapes.

One of the gentlemen attending the class was a retired college professor. He taught speech classes. A friend of mine was a Dale Carnegie course instructor. I can only imagine how powerful that the course could have been if these two people were allowed to teach it! Just think of the joy and blessings they would have had received being involved in training Bible and Life group teachers (This is what the adult Sunday school classes were called.). Instead we had video tapes, cartoons and a $10.00 workbook.

It seems to me that church leaders would welcome all the servants and helpers they could get! After all, isn’t that what it says in Acts, the beginning of chapter six? We will get into more about serving later in the chapter on small groups and ministries. He wants all of His people to be serving Him through serving others, building up the body, supporting, teaching, comforting, encouraging.

I believe that God has provisioned His Church and His people for victory! And these provisions are spiritual gifts! This book is not on the gifts; it is about gifts! I have quite a few good books on gifts that I used to put a gifts course together and they cover the gifts very well. What I saw as missing was a deeper, foundational aspect about gifts. What I have observed in churches has been heartbreaking! Gifts may be mentioned from a study series from the pulpit; a gifts course may be taught; but are the people serving? Is this type of approach effective in increasing your people’s awareness of the spirituals as Paul wrote? Has this approach brought about life change in their lives and the life of your church? If it hasn’t, change the plan! Change the approach. How different would your church look if you had fifty or sixty percent of your members serving consistently and with passion? I would imagine it may look and feel somewhat differently than it does now.

I have been experiencing huge bouts of sadness the past few years. What is causing much of this is seeing Christ-followers die without, as Paul says, being aware of their giftedness. They have been faithful church goers and I have seen them give when the basket is passed. I have never seen them in any way serve in the church. I’m not making a judgment on these people because they may be serving somewhere that I don’t know about. They may be involved in some ministry outside of the local church. I don’t know; that is up to God, to search a man’s heart. They very well could be huge prayer warriors but not on a prayer team! What I am talking about are those people, who I have known personally, who have not served. There is nothing that can be done for those people who, for whatever reason they may have, are not willing to serve. God can not go against their will, so neither should anyone else. You can’t force someone to serve!

I want to address those people who don’t serve because they just don’t know their gift(s) or their purpose! They are unaware of the gifts they have or the eternal consequences for not serving. We have an inheritance in Heaven. We are going to be rewarded in untold treasures for the service we rendered here in this lifetime. These people are going to miss out on all that God has planned for their eternity! They will have complete joy and peace way past what we can imagine joy and peace to be. It’s wrong to keep them in the dark! They should not be denied the knowledge that each man’s works will be judged and rewards given or taken away based upon the test of fire at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Every time I think of the thousands, perhaps millions, who have died since Christ ascended into Heaven not knowing about their gifts and the resulting consequences that I weep! Tears welled up in sadness for what may have been! I begin my gifts course with the Judgment Seat of Christ and what can be lost. I finish with the rewards for service! I have to do all I can do to bring a reawakening to The Church. I believe with all my heart that spiritual gifts are as important to the Christ-follower as salvation is to those who are lost!

I was talking with some friends after I had put my gifts course together and one of them loaned me a book by Tommy Barnett entitled, There’s A Miracle In Your House.¹ This book confirmed much of what I came to understand in my studies! I know that there is nothing new under the sun, but sometimes just a different perspective can change the whole dynamics of a subject! Just as this book confirmed much of my perspectives, God has continued to supply confirmations to me from the time I first started formulating a gifts course of instruction on through to the writing of this book. I receive a daily devotional and I cannot count the number of times God has, through this devotional ministry, confirmed the path I am on! In his book, Pastor Barnett talks about how each and every person has a miracle waiting inside of them to be born.

Years ago I was introduced to Russell Conwell’s speech and later book, Acres of Diamonds² while I was in a networking marketing company. It is about a man who owned a farm who heard about people discovering diamonds. He sold the farm, gave enough to his family to survive for a while, and then went out diamond hunting. He ended up destitute and walked into the sea never to be seen again! The man who bought the farm found diamonds all over the property and became immensely wealthy!

Both of these books point out that everything you need to accomplish the mission of your church is already there! That’s the way God planned it. He alone causes the growth. He alone knows just who you need to reach your goals. And He has placed them there, in your church, to see the vision He gave you become a reality! It is up to you to see all provisions including the people He has sent to you and train them, equip them, and let them serve!

My vision is to see the members of the Body of Christ receive their full inheritance and all the rewards that Jesus wants to pour out on them. My mission is to reawaken the manifold Grace of God within the Body of Christ. As I will explain in another chapter, I truly believe that world-wide revival will take place when Spiritual Gifts become foundational in churches. Prayerfully, I can accomplish some of my vision and mission through these writings. Each chapter is about what and where I see spiritual gifts as foundational in the working out of each subject, from small groups to leadership to discipleship, to breaking the 80/20 rule!

God usually chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him. I believe what God does with these ordinary people is to put a burning desire into their hearts to serve Him in a way that can’t be extinguished. He then puts them in the right place at the right time and life changing events start happening. Everything from revivals to huge ministries to new movements mostly comes from ordinary people. A year or so ago a huge healing revival took place in a town near us, started by a man who God picked up from the ashes of life. It was the first time an event like this was sent around the world over the internet! First Place started out as a small group in a church twenty-eight years ago and now has over 12,000 groups nationwide!

All it takes is a spark from God, obedience from the person who received this spark, and a wildfire can begin! Someone once said that God and one person become a majority. Has God put a spark in anyone in your church? It may have already happened. It may happen soon. You can never tell until you ask, Has anyone here received a spark from God? You may be amazed at what can take place in your own church.

When you find that person, fan their spark! It may be up to you to get the fire going! Allow and give them permission to explore where God is leading them. As long as you know that it is truly from God let them serve in the way God has purposed for them. You are the person of ultimate responsibility, but don’t discount that something wonderful can start in your church!

I remember the day that one of the pastors at the church we were attending called and asked me if I would officiate at a funeral service. I said yes as long as he sent me an outline or something to go by. I talked with the family and found out as much as I could about the person the funeral was for and went home to start putting together the service. I struggled for quite a while trying to find the words, the verses, etc. that would be appropriate for this family. Early on the morning of the service, I finally gave up and cried out to the Lord, Help!!! Once I turned it over to Him, the words just flowed! The family thanked me for the service, and I told them it wasn’t me, it was Him who actually performed the service; I was only willing to be used by Him. I went through this same process several more times, until I finally realized that I had to go to Him first! It takes a while for things to sink into my brain sometimes!

I started this book eight or ten years ago, on my own! It didn’t work. Like the funerals, I had to give up me and let Him speak through me. I have gotten stuck for a while at times, and realized I was trying to write the book, not allowing Him to take part in its writing. And, as I’ll explain later, I wasn’t ready to write what He wanted me to. Over these years, He as been teaching me, leading me, molding me, and correcting me! I’m saying this because I don’t want you to think that this is my book. It is what the Holy Spirit has illuminated over the years, or the progressive revelation of the Word. Once I could grasp one concept, He would expand on it or I would run into another concept. And the years went by.

One of the really big delays in the writing of the book was my heart attitude! I had a lot of problems putting the words down in a teaching way, rather than from a prophet point of view! God has softened my heart so much I can’t watch Hallmark commercials without tearing up! This is a huge difference from even just a few years ago. I had a lot more things to learn to be prepared for this book. Some of this learning was pretty intense and painful. Other times