Living Word Church with Ps Dwight Hicks - Brisbane Australia

The speaker discusses the biblical history and church history, specifically the fivefold office.

He emphasizes that being a pastor is a calling, not a job or a position that can be learned.

The speaker explains that the fivefold office includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

He also discusses the importance of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry and building the church.

Amen. You're doing well? Amen. Praise the Lord. Well, we're going to talk about the history as far as biblical history and also history in the church, not this week, but next week in relation to as far as offerings and how organisations have, not the organisations, but how churches have manipulated people to give and all of the programs that go around behind it that get your money out of your pocket and into the coffers. We're going to clarify a lot of things. And you might be amazed at some of the things that I might say. Because I would say that you probably haven't heard this in a particular way. But it's good for you to hear. I believe you're interested in that. I don't believe that you should just, when you're in a meeting, someone gives an offering time and they use wrong scriptures to prove a point. I think that's terrible because the scriptures are not to be perverted. They are to be used in light of scripture. But today I want to talk to you about the fivefold office. I did feel very impressed with the Lord to do this. And we're going to start from Titus. and we're going to see this here I need to get my phone up here so I can I've got some notes on here too wait a sec okay here we go in Ephesians 4 it's a very familiar passage that we have quite often read there it talks about the fire for office and in this passage here it says about what we are we who are pastors and teachers and prophets and apostles and evangelists and it says here in verse 11 of Ephesians 4, what we're talking about today is just finding really the place as far as what is the use of a pastor today. You know a lot of churches are not run by pastors, they're run by a corporate body in the church, a business structure in that. Yes the natural has to be done as a business structure otherwise it fails but as far as the spiritual is concerned the spiritual is what really runs the church it's not the natural the natural can't run the church natural ideas can't run the church good programs and good ideas can attract people but but you have to keep those going to keep the people there if people are not coming because they want to be fed and they want to hear what God's saying to them particularly and also as a church and fulfilling that promise of not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as so much more as you see the day approaching people will actually stop going to church good christians will stop going to church and uh and they'll flutter around all over the place and we'll find this in the scripture and it says here and he gave to some apostles some prophets some evangelists and some pastors and teachers it's interesting to note that it says some and I've said this before he does not he has called every pastor but he will not use every pastor it says he only uses some and there comes a proving as far as a five-fold office is concerned the proving is is that he says never a novice to be put within an office in a five-fold office you hear a lot just a number of years ago there were certain denominations worldwide and even in our areas, and that was saying that older pastors have to retire and let the young men come up and be pastors. If you're not a pastor, it won't matter if you're young or old. You won't be able to do the job of a pastor. You see, a pastor is a calling. You don't go to Bible school and learn how to be a pastor or a teacher or evangelist or prophet or apostle. You don't learn about those things. They're callings. God calls those things. We are who they are. We can't run from them. Not that I've ever wanted to run from them. I enjoy pastoring. Even in the midst of whatever happens to that, Gerald and I enjoy pastoring. That's why we're still here after 38 years. And we'll be here until Jesus comes back or something else happens. But we will be here in some capacity of that. Because we are called to be pastors. We're not going to give it up one day and then not be a pastor. Because you can't do that when you're called to be something. people say when we're at ministers meetings how come you've stayed so long we never intended not to stay long we never thought it was going to be 5 years or 10 years or 15 years or 20 years we thought as long as there were people that wanted to come and listen that we would teach them what we know we don't we don't run when there's a problem, when there's some issues and that we're not going to run away and leave the sheep the sheep get scattered and that because besides what we may be struggling with at whatever particular time we're not going to allow that struggle interfere with what we're called to do and that is to shepherd the people and to be pastors to people and that and if we are privileged to have a lot more which we are believing for i think that'd be wonderful but we will still be pastors even if there's only one person here because god's called us to be pastors and we will pass that we will fulfill that because at the end of the day there is a crown laid up for me and for geraldine geraldine probably is not called to be a pastor but she she she helps me in the ministry of the office of a pastor so of course she is called a pastor if she wasn't married to me she wouldn't pastor she wouldn't be doing what she's doing today but we do what we do because of a calling and we don't run away we've never run away people have come and people have gone and people will probably still come and go and there are many reasons why but we're not going to run away from you you won't one day turn up and we won't be here because we're pastors instead of Geraldine you won't wake up one day on the side of your bed and go where's my husband gone he's left me I will never leave her and I will not forsake her we will never leave living word nor forsake living word because we're called to we are responsible I am responsible to be a husband to her we are responsible to be pastors to you and because of that and we're not patting ourselves on our back we just find a real privilege wonderful privilege and it says here the reason why he has given us to you is for the equipping of the saints you're actually called saints believe that so you can look in the mirror and say saint daphne safe cindy safe cindy saint cindy saint cindy saint cindy because you're a saint for the equipping of the saints so our responsibility to you is to equip you not so that you can go out and do whatever you do naturally but for the work of the ministry there is a work and and the great thing about living word and jeraldine said this to me just a couple of days ago she says you know what just about and i say this respectfully not disrespectfully just about everyone who comes to living word is actually involved in doing something Now, if you're not, I'm not talking about you. I'm just talking about it, basically. And what a wonderful privilege that is, to have your hand in doing something. So our job is to equip you for the work of the ministry, to build the church. That's what it means, for the ministry, to build the church. It's not to come and just put money or offerings in when you feel like it or when you come more regular or not regular. That's not what you're here for. You're here to hear us teach you, to equip you to build this church, to help you work the work of the ministry. So every one of you are called in the ministry. We are equipped to for the edifying or the building up of the body of Christ. That's what we do when we come together. When we come together, we are built up. If you don't come to church, or you don't, not you, but if people don't come to church and they're not in a church, well then they're not being built up and we have seen this so much through the years we have seen some of the strongest pastors and some of the strongest Christians through the years they not going to church today and they used to come here Why Well it a question to be answered Why Why is that It's not a job. It's a responsibility for people's lives. We are, you are responsible for people to be saved. and we are to teach you for the equipping, the building up, the edifying of the body of Christ and for how long? Just for as long as I'm on this earth and then maybe when I get to 65, which was three years ago, I'll retire. Or maybe I'll retire at 70. Maybe I'll stop pastoring at 70. If I'm here, I'll still be a pastor till we come, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So the fivefold office is called on this earth for that purpose. That's what we are called to do. We are not called to build a big church. We're not called to build a small church. We're just called to pastor, to shepherd. And the pastors don't have the sheep. The sheep have the sheep, the last thing I saw. And it says here, and this is the next one, that we should no longer be children, tops to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. And I've seen this with people through the years. They drop fellowship slowly. Then all of a sudden they're on to some topic, some issue, some main thing, and they get caught up within this, with every wind of doctrine or types of teaching. By the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness, of deceitful plotting, but speak the truth in love. And the reason why we speak the truth in love, not to control you, so that you may and we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, which is Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effectual working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. It gets edified itself in love. We edify people, people edify people. It is building up. It is edifying itself in the love of God. you know I think we have a good marriage I think we have a good marriage because I love Geraldine first before I love me but if I love me first and Geraldine second I don't think we have a good marriage and if I love me what loving me means is that it's all about me Dwight and my needs in my marriage in my life and not about her needs. So if I meet her needs, it builds her up and she is able to minister to me, to my needs. I'm not talking about physical, I'm not talking about sexual attraction or anything like that. I'm just talking about the relationship that we have with each other. But not only that that we have with each other, but what we have with you and what you have with us. we are to build each other up we are to love each other the one thing that COVID has done is taken away touch and taking away touch from people is dangerous it is the number one key that the enemy uses love them but love them from a distance you can't love from a distance love is only a touch it's an embrace it's the wholeness it's the fulfillment of God in us he says here that to the edifying of itself in love let's have a look at another passage and it's in 2nd Timothy and it's an interesting passage in Timothy here Paul is instructing all of his all of the people that of course that he is one to the Lord through the years and helping them also it's in 2nd Timothy 4 and it should come up there I believe 2 Timothy 4 when it does come up and I'm going to start from verse 1 and it says charge you see it's right for me to charge you get your offerings bring your offerings into me charge you for my preaching no it's a free gift we give it freely charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead see just because we are people of grace and the church is a grace grace church the whole church not just this church it doesn't matter it doesn't mean that we'll not be judged or have to give an account we're forgiven but we still have to give an account but we're not going to talk about that today it says here who will judge the living which is us and the dead, which are those that are not saved. And he's appearing in his kingdom. And this is our responsibility as pastors. We are to preach the word. Not what's happening in COVID, not all of the doctrines and all of the scandals and all of the nonsense that's going on there about that which is biblical and it's going to change your DNA and it's a mark of the Antichrist and it's a program to kill people in the world and that's not doing a very good job. it says preach the word nothing else but the word and it says to be ready in season and out of season you see there are seasons after 38 years now we have seen a number of good seasons and we have seen a number of bad seasons at the moment it's an out of season people don't want to hear the word of god christians don't want to hear the word of god because they can stay home and hear it they can stay home and hear it preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke that's a bit hard sometimes some people don't like being rebuked and we try to rebuke in the nicest and gentlest way exhort with all long suffering and teaching we want people to love us and to embrace us and care for us and feel the way we feel and that but if someone tells us you shouldn't be doing that should we do it this way? We don't like that as Christians. The human race doesn't like that because it doesn't like to be told. You know what the saddest thing in the Christian church is? The saddest thing in the Christian church is that the young people in the Christian church and young you can just, I don't mean teenagers, the young people in the Christian church do not go to the old Christians for the wisdom and instruction. I talk about the Frank and Marys and that. So they sit in a church and they're faithful in their old age, never being able to share the wisdom that they had. They must have some wisdom. They've been married for a while and Frank's not dead. Well, now I know he looks like he's wasting away, but it's a slow death. Because I know that Mary and Frank could actually tell us younger ones, all of us younger than them that how we can do some things a little bit better. But we don't because we don't like being told. But they can help us a lot. And the Bible does say that. It says that the younger wives, the younger women to go to the older women so that they can be told how to love their husbands and how to order and to do their house correctly. That's what the Bible says. So in this passage here, it says in season and out of season. And it's interesting here because it says for the time. Say time with me. What time? Okay, so for the time will come, will they not endure a sound doctrine? What time? So there must be a time when people will not endure a sound doctrine. It's not just talking about then, but it's talking about a time in the future. and that is this time now it's in every time that we live but there will be a time when people will not endure a sound doctrine the trouble with Christians not you the trouble with Christians is that they interpret the Bible for themselves their opinion of the Bible and how they should act in the Bible instead of allowing the Bible to interpret to them how we should act in our lives of that it's just safer I think it's easier to go to God and say it's your mess up you fix it I say that respectfully not disrespectfully We don't try and fix problems in the church. You might say, why? We don't run and chase people if they don't come to church at that. Why? We may call them. We may see if they're okay or whatever. Why don't we do that? Because we're not the head. We're not the head of the church. Jesus is. He is the head of the church. We are the members. So we say to Jesus as the pastor, we say, Lord, these are your people. Susie and Bill are your people. We know they're struggling. We know they're going through whatever they're going through because it shows. But they're your people. It's our prayers prayed the right way that allows the Lord as the head of the church to minister to those people because he has given them to us and trusted us with them, them to us so that we can take them to the Lord and say, Lord, you're the head of the church. we let the Lord do what he does in the church because it's actually his responsibility to build the church and add to the church not mine it's him talking to you to witness to people to share your faith with people to bring people to church the eagerness of first being saved disappears and it should never disappear that's the reason why he says you have left your first love. You're still with your first love, but you've left your first love. Your love becomes lukewarm. It isn't hot anymore. You know, when Geraldine and I first got married, all we wanted to do was go fishing all the time. I'll leave that with you, okay? It says here, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. This is an interesting word. Endure. It means put up. For there will be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine. And it is proven through this COVID time, people did not know sound doctrine because they ran off of every sorts of nonsense teaching and going on that was going on. And it was going on and still going on. But it will disappear. in a few months time it won't be that anymore because it won't be the in thing anymore the news anymore for the christian world and it says but they will not endure a sound doctrine it's an interesting word this is what it means it means causing sound health so sound doctrine sound teaching which comes from we believe from pastors teachers evangelists prophets and apostles but pastors because we are pastoring you sound teaching causes causes us to have sound health it also means to be well in the body it also means to be unoccupied with other things it's where we get the English word hygiene from isn't that interesting COVID was here they brought out washing our hands. Why? Because it was more hygiene to do that. If you washed your hands there was a more chance that you wouldn't catch COVID from someone. That the disease wouldn't be spread. Put a mask on because there was less chance then that you would catch something from someone else. It was an act of hygiene. so we have this here sound doctrine good teaching good faith teaching for believers sound doctrine there's a less chance of you being sick there's a less chance of you being unwell or uncorrupted as the word says so what does the bible do what does listening to sound doctrine do it causes us to know that if we if there is a need if a need arises and we need help the church will pray with us the church will believe with us but if we're not in a church the church can't believe with us oh I can ring a few believers you can do that but we're talking about the five file office the five foot office presents to you to the church, to the believers of the church good hygiene when you come, you're washing your hands when you come, you're putting your mask on they go out there into the world so that the world will not affect you because you have been washed clean with the blood of Jesus Christ sound doctrine, good hygiene so he goes on here and he says this and this is what he says and it says but according to their own desires so you see rebuke, exhort of all long suffering and teach it for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires they'll listen to doctrines according to their own desires they'll run to and through oh they're talking about COVID over here and what it's an attachment of the enemy Look, everything that happens outside of the church is an attack of the enemy. The world is out there. It's an attack. Not an attack only on the church, but it's an attack on the Muslim faith. It's an attack on everything. So, you know, they say, oh, this is an attack on Christianity, our freedom of our rights. But they're taken away from the Muslims too and everyone else too. So let's not become single-minded and think that it's all about stopping the Christians from going to church because they weren't allowed to go to church. Not only that, you weren't allowed to go to nightclubs. And I hope you don't go to nightclubs. So the devil was attacking his own church to stop them from going to the nightclubs. I mean, hello. Now think outside of the square. It says here, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, or they're saying this down there you know we're believing this and it's all on the Christian television not much wholesome stuff on the Christian television they will heap up for themselves teachers they will tell you that if you sow into our ministry if you tithe into our ministry then you'll get a hundredfold return in 30 days and if not 30 days it's because you haven't sown enough you haven't so you should put more in so that more will come i love what brother hagen said once when he's confronted this teaching i don't know anyone that's received the hundredfold return because it would mean that every christian are billionaires multi-billion trillionaires it just compounds so much but it's interesting if you use that passage where it says that there's no one who has left, you know, houses, land and all of this, and I'll teach about that in context, why the King James brought that up to interpret what Jesus was saying there, or translating what Jesus was saying, was that Ila soffrendo baicayana asha fednesa, ba kummanjana lakatini kesi antorobota, daiti elenando don't let your eyes look inward but let your eyes look outward lift up your eyes and see the needs of others and don't just see the needs of others but go and meet the needs of others for you will experience truly a blessing that is not of this world so in this passage here and I'll get back to where I was going it says that they were heaped for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears they turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables but you be watchful in all things endure affliction this is the time when there is an affliction endure it do the work of evangelists why do you do the work of an evangelist in a time of affliction because people want answers and you have an answer. You might say, well, I haven't gone to Bible school. I'm thankful for that. But you have a testimony. What has Jesus done in your life? You could share that with someone else. You can win someone to Jesus. You can disciple someone to Jesus into the church. Just like you have been discipled and into a church. Don't forget to learn how to love. So he goes on and he says this here. For I am ready, for I am, verse 6, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race, Paul speaking. I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. There is a crown for us laid up, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day when the crowns are given out. And not to be only, but also to all. How many? To all who have loved his appearing. So there is a crown of righteousness. There is a crown of faithfulness that will be poured out. let's have a look at Acts for a moment I think Acts 20 we must be getting pretty close to closing let's have a look at Acts this is an interesting passage here this is talking about the fivefold office about the ministry he says there in verse 27 of Acts 20 he says there for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, I want you to take heed to yourselves. This is to pastors. This is to fireful office. This is to leaders. I want you to take heed to yourself. I want you to make sure that you build your faith up, leaders, church people. Not only are you built up by coming to church, but you build up your faith. I want you to take heed. I want you to be aware. I want you to take heed to yourself and to all the flock. Pastor Dwight, Pastor During, I want you to realize I want you to take heed to yourself. I don't want you to wear yourself out. I want you to take heed to yourself. I don't want you to be mentally strained. I don't want you to be physically strained. I want you to take heed to yourself because if you're mentally strained and physically strained, you can't minister to the people effectively. That's true, isn't it? and we should be like that to each other. We should take heed to ourselves. We should look after ourselves mentally and physically. I don't mean we all should run out and join a gym. And to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you an overseer, to shepherd the church of God. So our responsibility is to shepherd you, which he has purchased with his own blood. Last passage. Let's just have a look at Hebrews 13. and then we'll finish up right then let's read from wow man okay let's read from verse 14 for here we have no continuing city we're allowed to enjoy things here but we have no continuing city but we do seek one to come Hebrews 13 verse 14 therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips you see coming to church and singing muttering is not praise thinking the song is not praise whispering it is not praise therefore by him let us offer continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips that's why we sing that's why we do have such an we do have such anointed musicians and that Brad and Sylvia do a brilliant job and the team with them too giving thanks to his name. But do not forget to do good and to share. Don't forget to do that. For with such sacrifices, God is very well pleased. Then he says, obey those who rule over you. We don't do that in a domineering way. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive. and we don't ask for obedience and we don't ask for submission but we know the word of God has declared that to you because you're here for they watch over your souls it's our responsibility we have to give an account for your soul Geraldine and I when we get to heaven we have to give an account for your souls and all those souls that Jesus has had with us at that time and have an honest answer to him when they left and why they left. As those who must give an account, we have to give an account. Let them do so with joy, not with grief. We want to be joyous. We want to be joyous, as sad as it is when people leave. We want to be joyous in Christ about that. Some people, and I'll finish with this, through the years, some people are only here for a very short term. because that's just who they are. Some people are here for longer. Some people are here for longer, longer. And some people are here for longer, longer, longer. Longer. Longer. And people that have left have got themselves tangled up. Some, not all, have got themselves tangled up. In other things, some are not going to church. Even leaders have not gone to church today. That's sad. it's terribly sad. But some also have left because it has been God, because that's how it is. That's how the gospel is spread. That's how our ministries are spread. So he says this here as we finish. Let them do so of joy, not with grief. When people leave sometimes, there is a grief, there is a sadness. but it's got to be turned to joy for that would be unprofitable for you to carry that sadness pray for us for we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things declaring to live honourable but I especially urge you to do this that I may be restored to you sooner now may the God of peace and this is our prayer for you. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is well-pleasing in his sight. Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. it's just his words that he has given to us as he is leaving the earth Paul has left us knowing that he may have left just as Geraldine and I will leave this earth one day but the fivefold office will stay on until Jesus Christ comes isn't God good in Jesus name Thank you.

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