12/14/14 YEAR OF EQUIPPING TO SERVE

This Is It, Folks!!!

    We all have different skills and abilities.  I have often been amazed at the talents some people have.  Some folks have amazing skills and can pick out the slightest differences and details that most people can’t see.
Hitter Ted Williams Senses Weight of Bats
    Ted Williams, the last baseball player to hit .400 in a season, died July, 2002, at 83. “There is no joy in Red Sox nation, a.k.a. New England, or in any heart where baseball matters,” George Will reported in a column memorializing the star hitter.
    Mr. Will describes Mr. Williams as “an alloy of innocence and arrogance,” an obsessive player who gave the local sports reporters lots to write about. “He used a postal scale to check that humidity had not added an ounce to the weight of his bats”.
    “Challenged to find from among six bats the one that was half an ounce heavier than the others, he quickly did. He once returned to the maker a batch of his Louisville Sluggers because he sensed that the handles were not quite right. The handles were off by five-thousandths of an inch.”
“Quicktakes” World (7-20-02), p. 10
    He was a great baseball player.  Ted Williams knew what he was doing.  He was picky that the tools of his trade were perfect.
    Look at the title of this message, This Is It, Folks!!!  We have been talking about the theme of equipping all year.  Today we will give you an opportunity to sign on to something and be involved.  If you are already doing something, Thank You.  Awesome!!  Keep up the good work.
    Think about the various skills and abilities that people have. One time I was talking with a friend of my brother, Roger, who was telling me that he had the ability to tune and fix a piano. He said if anything is broken I can fix it. I just can’t play it. Oh how I wish I could play it like your brother plays it. This man had one skill and Roger had another.  Both skills were necessary to get value out of a piano.
    There are people with great mechanical skills who can fix a broken engine and make it run perfectly. Others have a hard time putting gas in the car.
    Some people have great insights as to why computers work and can fix them when you are greatly frustrated by them.
    Some people can cook a delicious meal with all the trimmings, while other people have a hard time boiling water.
    Think about when you have medical issues and you talk with your doctor. The doctor examines you and asks questions. He may order blood tests or x-rays. If you need surgery you are very thankful when your surgeon knows what and where to cut and what not to cut.
    There are so many different skills and talents that people have. A few people seem to be able to do anything they try. Most of us have abilities in certain areas and know that other things we should leave to someone else.  But the key is:  we all can do something and that God has given us all abilities and talents that we can develop. We need to use the talents that God has given us for Him and His glory.
    Having spent this year talking about equipping, today we are going to look at what we can do.  Everyone can do something for the Lord.  When we are through today, you are going to have the opportunity to look for something to do.
Acts 6:1-7 NLT
1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” 5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
    Another passage:
Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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.
    Hear this as we move on.  Many are already working hard.  We would not be where we are without the active involvement of many.  Again, thank you for all you do for the Lord.  We are looking to be sure that all have the opportunity to be involved in some way.
    Let’s go back and look at these passages.

What have we seen?  The early church understood that they all had to pitch in and work together.  There are so many things that need to be done.  There is only ONE who is superhuman who can do anything, and He is our Lord.  He has given us gifts and abilities to do a variety of things, but not everything. This is why we must identify tasks that we can do and then each person do what they can do.  We work TOGETHER and get the jobs done.
    We have prepared many job descriptions for tasks that need to be done. We are going to take time to look at them. As you see things you are interested in, please take one of the sheets of paper and fill it out. It would be good for you to look around at all of the options we have presented.
    When you look at the various sheets of job information, you may find one that you are already doing.  This is not saying you are doing a lousy job and we are looking for a replacement.  It means that this is a legitimate need and there may be others who would like to help.  Keep doing what you are doing. If you are currently involved in a ministry, please fill out that form so that we know you plan to continue.
    A key point: if you have an interest in something but don’t have the training/skills, we want to help you.  We all have to learn and grow in our abilities.  Don’t use the excuse, “I don’t know how”.
    If there is something that we missed, and there probably is, please take the suggestion page and write out what you would like to participate in that we have not yet developed information for.
DISCUSSION
What are the key points we have talked about today?
Why do you think it is so important for everyone to find something to do to be involved in our local fellowship?
Before we go and look at what is available, do you have any questions about what we are about to do?
We are going to pray for God to direct each of us regarding our involvement.