Every Memember Ministry - The Ministry of Small Groups

If you would take your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 2. We'll be there in verse 42 to 47 first. And I did say in our scripture reading that later on in the message will be in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 to 14. Now last week we started a four-week series, but much-needed series, about studying what I'm calling our Grace Life Wheel. I know it may seem like a simple handout or a simple illustration, but it is much needed and I believe when we get through studying, the Lord will show us this is very powerful.

So I encourage you to keep up with that handout, pray over these things, pray and ask the Lord to impact you and change you in these things. But last week I explained that here we have a simple diagram or a simple illustration and that is this diagram. It explains the basic structure and the basic function of our church. We have the basic structure and function of our church which is illustrated in the form of a circle or a wheel. And this is powerful because when we do these things well and when we are empowered with the Holy Spirit of God, our church functions powerfully, weekly, daily, and all that we do.

Now last week we looked at the center of our Grace Life Wheel and we saw that at the center of how we are structured as a church is the preaching of God's Word. We saw that at the center of what we do is the preaching of God's Word and everything else, everything else that we do is connected to and flows out of the preaching of God's Word. Now the title of last week's message was simple preaching the Word the center of church life. Preaching the Word the center of church life. Now if you missed that message I would encourage you to get that because all of these messages truly do go together.

But remember something extremely important that we learned last week. This can be the powerless preaching of the Word. Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit there will be no power in my preaching or anyone else's preaching to change a life. But this can be the powerful preaching of the Word. If I am empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit of God then the preaching of God's Word will powerfully impact so that law centers will come to faith in Christ and the saints of God will grow in their walk with the Lord.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, 4-5, "And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." I love that. I love that. Paul said that his preaching didn't come from him, human wisdom or his ideas. What did he say? My preaching, my message came in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Verse 5, "So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." Look folks, my faith rests in the power of God.

It was the power of God that saved me so many years ago when I was hopeless and helpless and it has been the power of God that has transformed my life little by little, day by day, day by day. So if Paul needed the power of the Holy Spirit in his preaching then I certainly need the same Holy Spirit empowerment. I thought about it this morning. I think I need a little more than Paul. And anyone who preaches God's word needs this same Holy Spirit empowerment. Now I thought about this last week. It really didn't fit into the message and I think it's something that I need to say. I think we're doing pretty good here.

What I mean is we don't have to make any serious correction here. God's taught me, God's taught our leadership, God's taught us that the center of church life must be the preaching of the Word. Whether it's on a Wednesday night in our study through Revelation, the seven churches of Revelation, or our study in Hebrews, or any time the Word of God is preached. Now this morning we moved to that which flows out of and that which is connected to the preaching of the Word and that is every member of the church ministering in and through small groups.

Coming out of and connected to the preaching of the Word, the church is to be organized into small groups and every member of the church ministering in and through those small groups. So what we're going to study today is every member ministry, the ministry of small groups. That's the title of the message. Every member ministry, the ministry of small groups. Notice a little redundancy there. Ministry two times. Every member ministry, the ministry of small groups because that's what this is all about. Ministry. Now this is how I want to approach the message. I'll do two basic things.

First I want us to see that dividing the church in the smaller groups for the purpose of ministry is definitely seen in the scripture. And then second I want to give us some particular teaching that I really believe we need to better equip us for the work of small group ministry. Now right here there could be someone that's thinking something like this. Wait a minute pastor. Hold on a minute pastor. You are telling me that Sunday school is found in the Bible? I am not saying that Sunday school as many of us have seen it is found in the Bible because much of what we have seen and experienced in Sunday school is not biblical.

Actually sadly much of what we have experienced in Sunday school has been terribly unbiblical and terrible. I have a long list folks. I've just about seen it all. And if we compare notes we probably would see that we've seen so much of the same thing. But I am confident and I am confidently saying that the church organized in the smaller groups for particular biblical purposes is certainly found in the Bible and I can prove it to you and I will. So number one the church organized in the small groups. That's the first major point of our outline. From the Scriptures we will see the church organized into small groups.

Now before I get into the text that I really want to zero in on, that's Acts 2, I want us to see that God is a God of order and organization. And God desires that His church be organized and orderly. In Titus chapter 1 verse 5, the first part of verse 5, Paul says to Titus, "This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order." Now here we have Paul telling Titus why he left him on the island of Crete. Titus was to put things in order in those churches. There were certain things that were out of order so Paul appointed Titus as a pastor to put those things in order.

Another verse, 1 Corinthians 1440, Paul says, "But all things should be done decently and in order." Here we have Paul giving the Corinthian church some basic and much-needed instruction. The Corinthian church was played with many many sins but one that Paul was addressing was horrible disorder in the church particularly disorder in worship. So Paul wrote saying that all things particularly worship and worship services should be done appropriately. They should be done in an orderly manner. And he went on to tell them what was appropriate, what was orderly, and what was not.

Now what is my point here in referencing these two passages, these two circumstances? We need to see that God is a God of order. He is not a God of disorder. God expects his churches to be organized and to function in an orderly way. He expects worship and worship services in his churches to be appropriate, to be orderly. Now there is a lesson here that we need to see before we move on. The church, the structure and the function of the church, the worship in the church, these things should be appropriate, they should be orderly, not disorderly. And we know what is appropriate, what is orderly, where? From the Scripture.

A question, kind of an obvious question. What do we have here in our Grace Life Wheel illustration? What do we have here? Here we have the church in its basic structure and function. Here we have the church, our church, structured decently and according to what we see here in the Scripture. Why? Why? So as to function in an appropriate and orderly manner according to the Scripture. Now I want us to see that the New Testament church was definitely organized into smaller groups for the purpose of certain biblical ministry. And I'm gonna give us an example, really, really too. So let's go back to our Acts verses. Acts 2, verse 42 to 47.

"Now they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes they received their food with glad and generous hearts praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Now here in these verses we have a basic description of the church at Jerusalem just after the New Testament church was born. Some say that here we have the church in its infancy and I agree. But even in its infancy we see more organization, more structure than we may realize. Now let me give a bit of background here and this will help us more than we know. In Acts chapter 2 we see that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out as promised.

Then Peter stood up and he stepped forward and he preached the gospel to the great crowds of Jews that were gathered there in Jerusalem at the temple during Pentecost. In Acts 2 41 says that through these events about 3,000 souls were saved and they were baptized and they were added to the body of believers that would be the church. Now this reminds me of something in Psalm 1 that I knew quite a few years back. I knew this individual in the church and he used to say that when a church grew to 200 it should be divided into smaller churches. I guess he couldn't have been a member of the church at Jerusalem. See?

But I want to issue you a warning here. Beware of people who are smarter than God. Did you know there are people like that out there? Beware of people who are smarter than God and smarter than the Bible. They have a way that is better than what we see in the Scripture. So if you're scared of a large church you couldn't be a member of first church there in Jerusalem. But I have an opinion here. Some churches, really many churches need to close and combine with healthy churches. Let me explain what I mean. If a church cannot find a pastor who can preach the Word like we saw last week.

Remember last week's message is key to understanding all these things. If a church cannot find a pastor who can preach the Word like we saw last week what is their hope? Look there is no hope. It could be that they need to combine with the church who has a pastor who can preach the Word and God is using their preaching, their efforts to save the lost and grow the saints. So in Acts chapter 2 we have the birth of the church and particularly we have the birth of the local church there in the city of Jerusalem.

And even though we have the church in its infancy we certainly do see organization and structure in this basic description of the church in verses 42 to 47. Now notice verse 42 it says that they, that would be all of the believers, now how many were there? 3000 plus. They were constantly devoted to certain things. That is what this word devoted means. It means the constant continual devotion. They were constantly devoted to the teaching of the apostles to the fellowship of the believers to breaking the bread and prayer.

And verse 46 says that day by day, day by day they met together at the temple they broke bread in each other's homes and they did these things how? In gladness and in generosity. So notice what we see in these two verses. First they gathered faithfully in larger settings to be instructed by the apostles. Now scholars tell us that when the believers gathered there in the temple they used the temple as a place of assembling together for instruction and for ministry. And this teaching and instruction came from who? Came from the apostles. So it is obvious that as they gathered together in the temple the apostles taught them from the Word of God.

Now think about it. Where else could a large crowd gather? It was natural. And it was normal that these recently converted Jews still gathered where? At the temple. And it was here that these large gatherings were brought together and the apostles taught them God's Word and instructed them in ministry. But then second they gathered faithfully for prayer. Now scholars tell us that these recent Jewish converts still attended and participated in the appointed times of Jewish prayer. These were Jewish converts. So attending the appointed times of Jewish prayer at the temple was normal and it was natural definitely for a period of time.

But no doubt their prayers were much different because they had come to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God and they had savingly believed in Christ. Then third they gathered faithfully to participate in the Lord's Supper. Here we see that they were devoted to breaking the bread. Now this can refer to regular meals and I believe it does. But scholars tell us this also can refer to the Lord's Supper and I believe it does. And then fourth they gathered faithfully in one another's homes for food and fellowship.

Here we see that these recent converts and those original first converts they met in the homes of those Jews who lived in and around Jerusalem. This is simply the church breaking down into smaller groups for many of the purposes that are seen here in the verses. So isn't it obvious here? Think about it. This church of 3,000 or more they broke things down. They got smaller in homes. Wouldn't they have to break things down in smaller groups to gather in the homes? I think it's obvious. So out of verses 42 and 46 we see the organization. We see the basic structure and function of the church. Here we have a church of over 3,000.

They met in larger settings. The text says the temple they met in smaller settings each other's homes and they met in these settings to do the things that are listed here in the verses. So right here I believe we have proof that the church at Jerusalem was organized like us. I believe we have proof that we are organized like the church at Jerusalem. Now think about what we do. Think about what we do on Sunday mornings and on Wednesday nights. We gather together in Sunday morning worship and Wednesday night Bible study. Why? To hear the Word of God taught. To hear the Word of God taught.

I give you an exposition on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and when someone else fills in it's all about the Word of God. Well what do we do on Sunday nights when we gather? We have small groups. We break down. We break down into smaller groups. And what do we do? We do these things that we see here in Acts 2 and you're gonna see that more and more as we continue. And think about our church. We have great times of food and fellowship. Food's wonderful. I've been in churches around the world and churches gather around the table but around that food is wonderful wonderful Christian fellowship.

And what about the Lord's Supper like we see in Acts 2? We celebrate the Lord's Supper. We have a time of celebrating the Lord's Supper coming up in September. And a question before I move on. Do we meet in our homes? As we should? We used to meet small groups in our homes. I have had people ask me why did we quit doing that? Well it becomes difficult for some. I mean it can be difficult. Not everyone can open up their home on a weekly basis. All it takes is for one child to have the stomach virus and the whole thing comes apart. You see? We began to meet in our church really for practical reasons.

But the question do we meet in our homes enough? I believe we don't. I believe we should have one another in our homes. For fellowship. And really a lot of what we see here in the scripture. But look church for any who would oppose small group ministry like we have here at Grace Live Church. In my opinion they're opposing what we clearly see in the church in Jerusalem. I guess that those who oppose small group ministry like this are smarter than the apostles. The apostles were a part of this ministry. And look folks some of you will remember this. We have had some in our church in the past who resisted small group ministry. Did you know that?

They resisted it. Oh they had very very spiritual reasons. Seeming spiritual reasons for resisting small group ministry. But honestly their reasoning went beyond the boundaries of Scripture. Look folks always beware of people who have reasoning and convictions and ideas that go beyond the Scripture. And for the skeptic or anyone here that may be a little bit of a skeptic or maybe you need a little more convincing here. You go study Titus chapter 2. In Titus chapter 2 we see the very same thing that is described in Acts 2 but it's in a different way. In verse 1 of Titus 2 we see preaching and teaching from Pastor Titus.

And then from verses 2 to 10 you see a breakdown from the larger to the smaller. But it looks a little different because Paul addresses gender. You see the responsibility for the older to teach the younger specifically Paul addresses the older men to teach and influence the younger men and the older women to teach and influence the younger women. That sounds a little bit like small groups on the island of Crete. A question that sometimes people ask why do we have women with women and men with men? Biblically we see this in Titus 2. Practically women relate more with women. Guys have you figured that out yet?

If you haven't you probably need some marriage counseling. Women relate more with women. And think about it what women go through in their walk with God is different than men. Men relate more with men. A question that sometimes people ask will we ever have coed classes? Sure as they're needed. I could see the day when we would have a pre-engagement class. That would be coed. I could see the day where maybe we would need a young married class. But it really depends on the need and of course the leaders will recognize and see those needs. But before we continue I want to share my position as the pastor here of Grace Life Church.

If we do not have small group ministry in my opinion we're not a healthy church. We're missing a very important part of the church. And if the church at Jerusalem needed small group ministry and the church at Crete and the churches on the island of Crete needed small group ministry well so do we. Now listen to our Grace Life small group strategy statement. Those of you who've been through our church membership class have seen this. We've studied this. And you tell me if this does not sound a lot like what we see in Acts chapter 2.

The church organized into Bible study small groups is to minister the Word, meet individual needs, equip the saved, provide fellowship as well as evangelize the lost. It almost sounds like it came right out of Acts 2. You know why? Because it did. But I want to continue in these verses. A little more. Acts 2 42 to 47. Now here I want to make just a couple of observations from the verses that we did not study. Verse 43 44 45 and 47. Now in these verses we see demonstrations of Holy Spirit power enabling these works. Now let me explain.

Here in these verses we see demonstrations of the Holy Spirit empowering the teaching and the ministry of the apostles. Here we see demonstrations of the Holy Spirit empowering their fellowship, their partaking in the Lord's Supper and their prayer. Here we see demonstrations of the Holy Spirit empowering them in their meeting together in the temple and in their homes. Really we see demonstrations of the Holy Spirit empowering them in how the church was structured and how the church functioned. Simply the Spirit was working in these individuals and in the church. Now notice the demonstrations of the Holy Spirit.

Let me just flesh this out a little more. First all came upon all the people. See this in verse 43 all came upon the people. This word all really means respect, it means fear and it even means dread. This was a great sense of reverential fear that goes well past mere respect. And this reverential fear fell upon those inside the church and those outside the church and this happened because of the great things the Holy Spirit of God was doing through the apostles and in the church. Second they enjoyed great unity.

Here in verse 44 we see that all those believers were together, they were unified as opposed to being divided or against one another. And this unity was because of a work of the Holy Spirit of God in them and a total work of the church, the Spirit of God in the church but especially in them as individuals. Third they met one another's needs sometimes sacrificially. We see this in verse 45. Here we see the next step in this great unity as each had needs they step forward to meet those needs and when necessary they even make great sacrifices to meet the needs of others. Fourth they enjoyed favor with all the people.

Verse 47 tells us that as a result of all of these things they enjoyed the favor of people outside the church but things changed. If you continue to study the book of Acts you'll see that eventually great persecution came from the people against the church. But then fifth the Lord was saving law sinners daily. Here we see something very simple but great. Verse 47 says that God added to their number those who were being saved. Simply God was saving the lost daily. Yes daily. Now question what do these things mean to us? More specifically what are these things mean to our small groups and small group ministry?

Look folks we cannot in any way do the work of small groups without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit of God to empower and to enable us in all that we do in small groups. Now listen to our small group strategy statement again. The church organized in the Bible study small groups is to minister the word. What happens if we don't have Holy Spirit power there? Well it's just a dry boring lesson. Meaning the needs of individuals. What happens if we don't have the Holy Spirit of God energizing us here? We won't even see individual needs. Why? We'll be focused on us. Equipping the saved.

If we don't have the Holy Spirit of God energizing the word in the teaching in the work of small groups it won't be about equipping the saved. It'll all be about us. Providing fellowship as well as helping to evangelize the lost. How can we have true Christian fellowship togetherness unity oneness if the Holy Spirit of God doesn't do that work in us? And how are we gonna reach the lost if we're not empowered by the Spirit? So what happens if? What happens if the Holy Spirit empowers and equips us in all of these things?

If we're empowered and equipped by the Spirit then the word of God taught in our small groups will impact all those who are attending. If we're empowered when we work to meet the needs of those in our small groups the Holy Spirit of God will use those efforts to build great togetherness in unity among us. If we are empowered then an environment for true and meaningful fellowship will be built and maintained. If we are empowered then we will be equipped and empowered to help one another as we work to evangelize the lost in our families and even around the world. So the point I'm making here is this.

We desperately need a work of the Holy Spirit of God in this work. Otherwise it's just meeting. Otherwise it's just a lesson. Otherwise it's just coming to small group and I don't want that. So what do we do pastor? We pray. We pray this direction. We deal with sin in our lives. You know sin hinders the work of the Spirit. We live Holy Spirit controlled lives. Some of you need to go back and listen to how I have taught you about living a spirit-filled, spirit-controlled lives. We should expect God the Holy Spirit to work and we should depend on God the work of the Holy Spirit in this work.

So if you're a small group leader, oh you should be praying. You should be confessing sin. You should be living a spirit-controlled life. You should expect God the Holy Spirit to enable you to do the work and then you should depend on God the Holy Spirit to enable you to do the work. Small group leader, are you praying for your people? Are you praying for this work? And then those of you who are members of Grace Life Church, are you praying for your leader? That they'll come ready with the Word of God prepared in such a way that it will change you? Are you praying for your group?

Are you praying for the work of small group that you're a part of? Now I want to ask you a question. Are we looking for this kind of work in small groups? Or are we just coming to have Bible study talk about football and deer hunting and our children? Which is it? Oh, there's nothing wrong with talking about football and our children and maybe a deer hunting story or two, but that shouldn't be the preeminent thing. Now at this point I want to give some particular teaching that I believe will better equip us for this work.

And really and truly all through this week, praying over these things, these verses have really come to the surface for me. So number two, equip for the work of ministry. This will be the second point in our outline. Equip for the work of ministry. Now I want you to turn to Ephesians 4, verses 11 to 14. "And he," of course that's God, "gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." Now out of these verses I want to make several observations that you will see definitely applies to all of us in small group ministry.

First, God gave leaders to the church. Here in verse 11 we see that God gave certain named offices and men in these offices to the church. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, some translations may footnote pastors and teachers. Now we need to make sure we understand what we have here in these offices. First, God gave apostles, but the office of apostles ceased when they died. We do not believe in apostolic succession, but we do have the apostles alive here in our day. How? In the writings of the scriptures. So we do not have living apostles, but we have apostles in our day, in their teaching and in their authority in the scripture.

And then the New Testament prophet. In their day before the scriptures were fully given, the New Testament prophet literally spoke the word of God, the thoughts of God and the plans of God. And most respected scholars believe that the office of the prophet died off when the apostles died. There was and is no need for the New Testament prophet because God has spoken to us in our day through the completed word of God. But like the apostles, we do have what the prophet said that the Lord wanted us to see found in the scripture. So that leaves the rest.

Now, some debate if the office of the evangelist exists today, but I have no reason to doubt that the evangelist exists today. I have known a few. Simply, the evangelist is one appointed and equipped by God with a particular ability, and that is to preach the word of God, preach the good news of the gospel, preach salvation in Jesus to the lost in such a way that the lost come to faith. And then we have shepherds and teachers. Now, language scholars tell us that this phrase really refers to one person in one office, two gifts, two giftedness, but one office.

This is the one who is called and equipped by God to shepherd the church or pastor the church, as well as teach and preach God's word in the church to the church. So notice what we have here. Today, we have the evangelist and the shepherd, the teacher, but more specific to the local church. And in local church life, we have the shepherd teacher, or as we would say, pastor. The pastor is called and gifted to pastor the church and also to teach God's word in the church and to the church. And what does he teach? All of God's word, just like we learned last week.

See, a biblical example of the pastor teacher would be young Pastor Timothy, who was the pastor at Ephesus. So notice church, what God has given to Grace Life Church. And I said this last week, God has given me as your pastor and your teacher, and I'm either called of God and appointed of God, or I need to leave and you need to leave. But God has called me and equipped me to pastor or to shepherd you and to teach you God's word. And God gives other elders to do the same thing alongside the pastor. I'm thankful that Keith does that. But then second, God gave leaders to equip the saints. We see this in verse 12.

Here we see that God has given these leaders these gifts to do what? Verse 12 says to equip the church, that would be individual believers. And to equip means to complete, to equip means to bring the members of the church more and more to spiritual completion. Well, how do I do this in the life of the church? Through pastoring you and teaching you God's word, all of God's word, you see? How does this happen in your life? Through God using me pastoring you and teaching you God's word. And he uses other elders as well. Now question, have you grown more and more spiritually?

Have you been equipped more and more through my preaching and teaching and through my pastoring you? And look, I see saints of God out in front of me and God is using me to equip you. God is using me to bring you more and more to spiritual completion, more and more and more. God is using me, God has been using me and I see it. And God's used Keith as our other elder as well. And look, it is my joy to see this take place. And if this did not take place, I need to quit. I'm ineffective. I'm not called to God and I'm not empowered by God. Have you figured it out? It's not about me. It's about him.

And then third, why does God do this work of equipping the saints? The second part of verse 12 says that God is doing this work in the saints in you so that you would be equipped for the work of ministry. You might say, I don't know if it says that. Look back at verse 12. I'm going to read verse 11. And he, thus God gave apostles, prophets and evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. Why? To equip the saints for the work of ministry. Look brother, look sister, Christ's life church, Brookhaven, listen to your pastor. God is equipping you. Why? For ministry. Who should minister and help and teach our children in our children's classes? You.

Who should minister in our greeting ministry? You. Who should minister to our teenagers? You. We need you. In so many areas in the life of the church. And look at the work of ministry that is before you, in you and through you through small groups. Listen again to our small group strategy statement. The church is organized in the Bible study small groups. Why? It is to minister the word, meet individual needs, equip the saints, provide fellowship as well as help evangelize the lost. You see church, it's my job to equip you for the work of ministry and then give you the biblical avenues, opportunities and places to get to work.

And your opportunity and your place to do the work of ministry is right here in Grace Life Church, Brookhaven and in your small group. Every one of you have gifts. Every one of you have abilities. Every one of you have talents. Every one of you have resources. Every one of you have time. How are you using all those things? But oh, if you are redeemed, every one of you have spiritual gifts. Every one of you have been given at least one. How are you using your gifts? And look, if you will assume your responsibility as you should, you will become more developed, more equipped and then look, you'll look up one day and you'll be leading.

You know our small groups are growing. We'll probably have to multiply soon who are going to be the leaders. Who are going to be the leaders? Then fourth, but for what purpose? Verse 12 says that the purpose of this equipping and working is to build up the body of Christ. The saints sort of work in the ministry so as to build up the body. That is this church. The body is the church. Individual believers, that's the church. Members of Grace Life Church, that's the church. Can I be honest with you here?

Some of the brothers and sisters at Grace Life Church are not built up as they should be because some of you are not working in the ministry of small groups that you should. Do you see? We believe in every member ministry. Every member ministry. Every member ministry, which means the saints are equipped for doing the work of the ministry so that the body of Christ is built up. That's the local church. This is every single one of us that we would be built up, built up, built up. Again, some of you need to see that there are brothers and sisters in the life of the church.

They're not being built up as they should be because some of you are not serving and working in the ministry of small groups and other areas of the church like you should. But some of you are working and you're working hard. Some of you are serving and ministering to the best of your ability and God is using you to build up the body, to build up the body, to build up the church, our church and one another. And I'll tell you as your pastor, when I look around and I see you working and working and working and serving, it builds me up.

My wife will tell you, we get in the car to go home and we talk about how you are doing things we used to do and we smile. Sometimes we're great tears because we see you working and you're building me up and others. But then fifth, for what goal are goals? And this is good folks. Take a deep breath and follow me here. Here in verses 13 and 14, we see the goals of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Here I want to look back at verse 13 and 14. Let me just go back and read them all.

"And he," that's God, "gave apostles, prophets and evangelists and shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ." Here are the goals. "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes." Now here we see several goals and I'll be quick here. First goal, until we reach the unity of the faith.

Now this speaks of a unity or a oneness when it comes to the body of revealed truth, which is the gospel in all of God's Word. So one goal of this work is so that all of the church would be one in the gospel in all of God's Word. Second goal, until we reach the unity of the knowledge of the Son of God. Now this does not speak of salvation, but of a deep and a personal knowledge of Christ personally. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church would be unified or one in their personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the next goal, until we reach the stature of the fullness of Christ.

This speaks of the fullness or a greater and greater fullness of the qualities and the characteristics of Jesus in the life. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church would possess more and more the qualities and characteristics of Jesus in their personal lives. And then the next goal, until we become mature, reaching the maturity of spiritual manhood. This speaks of growing to a place of maturity that is grown up, much like a little boy grows into a man. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church reach a spiritual maturity that is seen as all grown up into spiritual Christian maturity.

And then until we leave behind spiritual immaturity. Here the one who is tossed to and fro and carried about is the immature believer who is not grounded in Christ and in God's Word. That means they are prone to be influenced by bad doctrine and bad teachers. So another goal of this work is so that all of the church, all in the church leave behind spiritual immaturity which makes them prone to bad doctrine and bad teachers. Now I want to ask you a question. Have all of the members of Grace Life Church, have we all reached a oneness in the gospel and in God's Word?

Have we all reached a unity or a oneness in our personal knowledge of Christ Jesus? Have we all reached a oneness in our maturity which means all of us are growing up, growing up and have grown up in our Christian maturity? Have we all reached a unity or a oneness in our maturity so that none of us are tossed here and there by bad doctrine and bad teaching and bad teachers? Has the entire body, the entire membership of Grace Life Church, attained these goals? Sounds like we got a lot of work to do. Oh we're doing good. I'm proud of where our small groups are but what I'm trying to show you is, oh we've got a lot of work to do folks.

As long as one in the body has not reached these goals then we've got a lot of work to do. And look as your pastor I have work to do and that is equipping you for the work of ministry. I'm the teach, I'm the teach, I'm the pastor and the pastor and another responsibility of an elder the pastor is to govern. I'm the teach, I'm the pastor, I'm the govern. And some of you would raise your hand and say, "Yep, Pastor Chris has been pastoring me through my bumps, through my struggles. He's been pastoring me.

I have a job to do." And as the saints, the believers of Grace Life, Brook Avon, you have the work of ministry to do in all of the work of the church especially small groups. And look folks, this work is never completed. These goals are never attained because we're all sinners. We're all sinners so we must keep up this work and also because God brings new believers and young believers so we must keep up the work for them. So God gave and gives certain leaders. The pastor teacher using the writings of the apostles in all of God's Word so as to equip or complete the saints for the work of ministry in the body which is the church. Why?

For what purpose? To build up the body until we all reach and maintain the goals. Oneness in the faith, that would be the Word of God and the gospel. Oneness in our knowledge, personal knowledge of Jesus. Oneness in the fullness of the characteristics and qualities of Jesus and our personal lives. Oneness in Christian maturity or spiritual manhood. Oneness in maturity where none of us are swayed by bad doctrine and bad teachers. You know I thought about it like this last night and this morning. If we start attaining these goals, wow, what a church will be. You thought about that?

I mean if we start seeing this fleshed out more and more and more, what a church will be? Will be like the church at Jerusalem. You might say, "Pastor, that's a tall order." We could be like them and I believe we are becoming more like them. Now notice what we have been seeing here this morning. First, the biblical example and standard of what I see as biblical small group ministry. I think this is a standard. I believe that a church without small groups like we see here is an unhealthy church. Second, our responsibility and responsibilities in the work of the ministry.

The work of this ministry is in many different places in the church and especially in our small groups that are before us. Now as I close, I want to call your attention back to our Grace Life will. You got your copy? I want to close by reminding us again that we cannot do any of this ministry as God desires unless we are spirit-filled, spirit-controlled as a people. In Luke Church, the only way the ministries of this church will be spirit-filled and spirit-controlled is if we as individuals are spirit-filled and spirit-controlled. And I can't wait to see what God continues to do.

So title of the message, Every Member Ministry, the Ministry of Small Groups.