The Sunday News
Itai Chipunza
Ephesians 4:10-12
HE who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
The Lord has blessed us with many different gifts. The gifts from God are not limited to those mentioned in the above scripture. We have a lot more gifts that are very important. For example it says some have been made teachers. Teaching means to teach the word, yet one can be a teacher of the word teaching business using the word.
Another can be teaching Sunday school using the same word. Many gifts can be extracted from those mentioned there. Each of us unique in his own way, you are different from me and that is a blessing. The fact that we are different eliminates the need to compete with one another. We may both minister and ministering through music. But the way we minister in the music is very different. It should not be the same. This makes us depend on one another for our wellbeing. I need you as much as you need me. Yes you. You are very important.
You are an integral part of a brother’s growth to their destiny as much as they are important to your growth and wellbeing. Our interdependence is what makes us a body. If we did not depend on one another we would not be the body of Christ, we may as well be called parts of Christ. We need all gifts, no one single gift is more important than the other.
The fact that we are a body, this means we must meet each other’s needs by listening to God speak. This is how God is even able to send people to assist you in times of need. A few weeks back I was away from home and my wife found herself in sudden need of more cash than we had anticipated. Cleopatra a friend of mine just showed up in a hurry to drop of money and left. No one had communicated with Cleopatra to say there is a need. But God has the ability to listen to his children’s needs and meet them by instructing his children that are able to meet those needs. In the same way, listen to God when he tells you to do things, it maybe to use your gift, it maybe to do different things. I will need a particular gift at one point or another. It will not only minister to my spirit man but will impact on my physical life.
Thus fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord is very important. It is important to attend prayer meetings in church, it is important to attend Sunday service, it is important to visit others in their time of distress. All sorts of gatherings with saints are very important. You get to experience all the gifts that are present just as they experience yours. The point of these meetings being to encourage one another in the Lord through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We must speak the language of the Lord.
Ephesians 5 verse 19
19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.
I have seen people that despise other gifts and uphold others. This is a very wrong and ungodly view of the church of Christ. The pastor needs praise and worship to usher in the presence of God for him to preach in an ideal atmosphere that is full of revelation to add even to his original sermon. In such cases we may have the sermon you wanted to preach expanded into dimensions you had not prepared. I have actually had experiences when we go to listen to a particular sermon, but during worship, something totally different impressed upon the teacher’s heart to teach about.
Usually such sermons are explosive. This is because of the appreciation of each other’s gifts. One such sermon was when Rev C S Tuturu came to Hwange as a guest speaker at a conference. He mentioned in the middle of the teaching that he had intended to teach from one of his modules but he was failing. I clearly remember that the worship was very good on that weekend.
The teacher appreciates the ability of praise and worship to warm him up and the congregation. The congregation appreciates the teacher’s responsive heart to the Holy Spirit. If we all excel in our different gifts, we only become better as the body of Christ. Like I said the gifts in the church are numerous.
The praise and worship team would not achieve much without the business team to finance the instruments, stage and venues they use to minister. The evangelist himself would not go to most parts of the world, even those only reachable by a cart of donkeys without the business team. So everyone in the puzzle is important to make the next one fit into their spot perfectly. The church would be pandemonium without the ushers to keep everything in order.
Someone even jokingly said ushers are just religious bouncers keep order in the church and allowing all gifts to function without interruption. The main reason we where created is simple, for Gods pleasure. Our job is simply to worship God. Our lives should be an act of worship to God, our daily Jobs should be an act of worship to God. You must exist in the consciousness that you represent God in every place you God.
If you are conscious of this and are guided by His Spirit, you will represent God well.
So don’t despair, no matter what happens to you. You are a very import part of the plan of God for the lost and for his people. Stay put and do your best in all that you are given. Be blessed and continue to pray for our home Zimbabwe.
Facebook — Itai Chapunza
