PART OF THE FAMILY (SERIES)Discover your gifts and walk in your lane

God created us and called us for a purpose. From the beginning he knew he would have to

redeem us, so he sent his son to bring us into the family. He wants a relationship with us where we will be able to come boldly to him. He’s not looking for a reason to reject us and he’s not ashamed of the negative things that have happened in our lives. God doesn’t discard anything.

He will use every part of our story for his glory. He wants to share his love and wisdom with us so we can become whole. When we are whole we are attractive to broken people. God wants to use us as an example of what he can do in people’s lives when they trust him. He wants to disarm and disgrace the dark spiritual forces of this world.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. Romans 8:28-30 NLT

God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Ephesians 3:10-12 NLT

The world wants to tell us who we should be but God is the one who created us. He knows who we really are and what our purpose is. He knows exactly what gifts he placed inside of us. He gives each of us gifts and a particular lane to operate in. We work like organs in a body. Each organ works with the other organs to keep the entire body healthy. If one organ shuts down then it affects the rest of the body. When we become part of Christ’s body God begins to reveal to us where we fit. Our job is to learn how to be what God calls us and help others do the same.

The enemy can’t create, he can only corrupt. He doesn’t want you to know who you really are.

He doesn't want you to become who God created you to be. He wants you to operate in other people’s lanes and be jealous of the gifts they were given. He doesn’t want you to appreciate what God’s already given you. Or he wants to instill fear in you so that you are afraid to use what you already have. If he can corrupt you and get you to become someone you’re not then you won’t help others become who they're supposed to be. And that hurts the entire body of Christ.

The world wants us to believe that success is about how much money we make, how much stuff we own, and how many followers we have. God doesn’t measure success the same way.

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT

In a kingdom, the king appoints the most important jobs to his capable family members. We are not just God’s children, we are his servants. In order to serve God well we must know what he really wants. We must have a relationship with him first. And that’s how God wants to build his kingdom. He wants the foundation to be a relationship with him before we focus on service.

When you have a healthy relationship with someone you do a great job to make them proud not because of what they will give you. In order to serve God properly we have to change our values.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

When people build something they have to use certain tools to get the job done. In the same way God has given us certain gifts as tools to help build his kingdom.

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the

other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:11-16

These gifts; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are known in the church as the five fold ministry. These are not necessarily titles or job descriptions but ways in which people function to help grow God’s church. You don’t have to speak from a pulpit to have a pastoral or teaching gift. In fact, the church calls people pastors who are actually evangelists, teachers or apostles.

An apostle is a messenger. The term apostle means one who is sent. They operate as a

representative or diplomat for Christ’s kingdom in an area where there is no church presence. In the new testament the apostles were the people who were close to Jesus during his earthly ministry. Some wrote letters which became new testament scripture. Others were sent from Jerusalem to other nations to establish and build churches. Today there is no need for new scripture to be written but there is a need for builders. Apostles today build up leaders who start churches and wage spiritual warfare to claim territory for God’s kingdom. There are those with an apostolic gift for building who may operate in the secular realm. They build leaders and organizations. They can build a team from scratch or they can rehabilitate a failing team and help it grow to the next level.

A prophet is one who speaks for God. They are inspired by God to give wisdom and warnings.

They receive visions, dreams, and secret knowledge. They have access to the information God shares with them whether it be people’s thoughts and emotions or ideas about the future. In the old testament God spoke through his prophets to remind people to repent and come back to him. In the new testament prophets would work with apostles to give them direction. Today prophets are mistaken for psychics and fortune tellers. But what a prophet is able to do is see the spirit behind a person or situation. They can see the direction of a person or organization based on the spirit behind them. In the secular world a person with a prophetic gift would be a visionary. They may even be artistic. They help us see the world in a different way. Their prophetic gift allows them to see trends ahead of time and they can make drastic changes in direction of an organization or culture. They are not afraid of breaking from tradition.

An evangelist is someone who shares the gospel with the hope of converting the person to

become a new Christian. They are preachers who proclaim the Good News. Evangelists can be great storytellers and they have great people skills. They can talk to anyone and they are great at networking. A person with the evangelist gift is a promoter. When they are convinced of the value of something they promote it to as many people as they can. Whether it is an idea, a product, a service, a brand or an organization. Evangelists are also great recruiters. They have the ability to consistently bring new people into a group or organization so it can grow.

A pastor is a shepherd. They watch over and guide people. In the new testament pastors watch over the emotional and spiritual well-being of their people. A pastor has great leadership and people skills. They make people feel safe and all kinds of people are drawn to them and would be willing to follow them. They can also teach. This is why they are great at building churches.

Where they shine is their ability to counsel and motivate. A person with a pastoral gift is a great listener and counselor. Talking to them feels like therapy and they can help you climb out of your emotional pit. Pastors care for you like a parent or an older sibling.

A teacher is someone who brings clarity and helps people grow in their understanding. They help people have a deeper appreciation for things. They can help people understand the bible, or God, or this world that God created. Teachers also help people develop skills. This means they are not only educators but they are also good coaches. Teachers want to make sure that you not only learn the information but that you apply it. They have a strong pull towards discipleship.

Paul describes himself as having multiple gifts so at any one time he is operating in different

lanes. When he is going to different areas to preach the gospel he’s an evangelist. When he’s establishing new churches and writing letters he’s an apostle. And in some of his letters and with different churches he’s also teaching.

And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

1 Timothy 1:11 NLT

Based on the descriptions, which lanes do you think you function best; apostolic, prophetic,

evangelist, pastoral, or teaching?

Everyone is not called to start a church or even do their ministry within the four walls of a

church. When God calls you he may not make your job a ministry. That means he may not have you work for a church full time. But he will have you do ministry at your job. For some people, ministry won’t look like being a deacon, it may look like being a doctor, soldier, chef, business owner, director, school teacher, encouraging parent, coach, musician, or even an athlete. Your ministry is the place where you have a sphere of influence to be able to reach and serve people.

The way you serve them is based on the gifts you were given and the lane God has called you to. God calls you to function in a specific way to make the whole team better.

Jesus tells a parable about a man who has several servants. He gives his servants a different amount of talents or gifts based on their ability. He gives one servant five talents and they grow it to ten. He gives another servant two talents and they grow it to four. But the last servant only received one talent and instead of growing it he buried it.

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. Matthew 25:24-28 NLT

Success for God is about growing based on our ability. He didn’t chastise the person who grew from two gifts to four. He celebrated them the same way he celebrated the person who went from five to ten. If the person who had one talent went from one to two then he would have been celebrated also because it’s based on ability. The person with one may not have been able to handle five initially. But because he was afraid to fail he did nothing. God doesn’t care how we grow, even if it’s through failure. He just wants us to do something with what he’s given us.

Sometimes God is silent and we can’t tell what’s the next direction we should go. That can

either mean it’s time to rest or that we can spend time developing our gifts or our character for the next assignment. God provides the opportunities but it’s our responsibility to acquire and develop more gifts so that we have greater influence.

Remember ministry starts with our relationship with God. If you neglect that relationship then you will start to go empty and you will try to pull from the people you are meant to serve. If you don’t have a good relationship with God then you won’t point people to him you will point them to yourself. Don't use your ministry gifts for personal gain and don't manipulate the people God has assigned to you.

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he

offered them money to buy this power. “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that

when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.” Acts of the Apostles 8:18-23 NLT

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 1 Peter 5:2-3 NLT

God designed us to operate with authority and power. The power and authority the holy spirit gives us is so that we can live a holy life on earth and be an example to other believers about how to grow to maturity.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have

received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his

marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us

great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

If you don’t already know your lane, ask God to reveal it to you. There’s a good chance that you are already operating in it and you don’t know.

If you are apostolic, remember it’s about passing the torch. Develop other leaders to be able to raise up new churches and ministries. If you are prophetic, help others to hear God in their own way so they don’t treat you like a fortune teller. If you are an evangelist, remember that your job is to point people in the right direction and connect them to the people and resources to go deeper. You may not be able to fully disciple everyone but your job is to continue to bring in new people. If you are a pastor, help people process their pain so they can move on. Don’t let them sit in it forever. Part of healing is being able to adapt to each new season as it comes, and not getting stuck in the past. If you are a teacher don’t let your students become philosophers. Don’t teach them things they only think about but never put into practice.

Have there been times in your life where you were frustrated because you were operating in the wrong lane? How can you grow in your gifts to become more effective in your lane?