SPEAKER_02 0:00

We're really called to use our gifts to equip the saints according to Ephesians for the work of the ministry. That's right. That the work of the ministry is really every believer. Every member of Christ is a minister to the world, however, God's designed him. Welcome to Beyond Sunday. Let's dig a little bit deeper into the theology and scriptures from the weekend so you can become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus. What a great message. Pastor Luke Barnett from Dream City. So good to have you with us at Calvary this week. Thank you. It's great to be here. And uh we learned uh a little bit today that uh we're all on the hook for the gospel. Yeah. That uh we don't just get to excuse ourselves and uh expect other people to do the work of the ministry, but but that's really for every believer.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

It really is. It's the hope of the church. And uh it's the way that uh Jesus uh envisioned for ministry to be done. You know, I told a story that for basically 70 years, our church, it was uh born, our church, in 1923, 1923 by a Native American pastor, and for 70 years, 60 years, it was it ran between 40 people and 100 people because the the pastor was a bottleneck. Yeah. He slowed the the rhythm and the growth of the church down because everything had to be done by the priest or the pastor. Yeah. So uh and the people were being ministered too, and he was a minister. But that's not what God saw after Pentecost. On Pentecost, they all had the little flame over their head, they all heard the sound, meaning they were all they all had access to the spirit the power of the Holy Spirit, and they were all called by God to do the works of the ministry. So when everyone is is working, you know, in the body of Christ, in their specific area of ministry, that's when you see the full potential of the church.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Yeah, and and church staff, preachers, pastors certainly have a gift and a calling. Uh but there are many other gifts and callings, and we're really called to use our gifts to equip the saints according to Ephesians for the work of the ministry. That's right. That the work of the ministry is really every believer. One of the ways we say it at Calvary with our growth track is that at Calvary, every member is a minister. That's right. But that's really true of the body of Christ, right? Every member of Christ is is a minister to the world, however, God's designed them.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Yeah. And that's the way the Lord saw it. Yeah. He knew, I believe, obviously obviously he knows everything, but he he knew that the church would be stifled if under the old priestly way of doing it pre-Pentecost.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Because, you know, praying public prayers and even reading, you know, uh the Word of God prior to that would never be done by a non-priest. Yeah. That was a priest's job. And so uh, you know, our church just exploded when my dad stood before them and said, You're all ministers, you know. And uh it's God uses some very unique people.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

He does. Well, and and uh there's a different type of explosion happening now as God's brought you into that role. Um just that uh generational anointing, but but in a different manner with different gifting. I I love that this church was founded by a Native American who, of course, you know that's close to Pastor Marty in my heart, but uh that it was founded by a Native American who couldn't reach very many when everyone was expecting him to do the work. Right. But then the Holy Spirit was poured out as people began to embrace their calling, their gifting, and now that church is reaching Native Americans.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yes, yes, that's our church began by a Native American, and now you know we're trying to impact the state of Arizona with regard to the Native people. Um they've been left behind. There's no real churches that are really uh thriving that are uh winning people to the Lord and uh challenging the the native communities to rise up. And so we began a church in uh San Carlos, Arizona, which is an Apache uh area, and so we have an Apache uh Dream City location, and now we have a Navajo uh Dream City location as well. So we we you know our our vision is to is to infiltrate the whole state of Arizona with the gospel, and to do that, most Arizona land is native land, most of it is. Yeah. So we said we have to get aggressive and and build great churches that impact these communities.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, and I I love that you're embracing the idea too that uh you know the church is first and foremost local.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

You know, yes, we have a calling as believers to, you know, Jerusalem, Jesus, Samaria, the ends of the earth. And sometimes we just want to skip right to the ends of the earth. Right. But God's put a mission field all around us. Yeah. And uh, you know, you talked about a mission field of Starbucks, and if we could just help people see, you know, this is our Beyond Sunday podcast. Our goal is to help people take what they heard this weekend in your message and then apply it beyond Sunday, dig a little bit deeper into the you know the truth from the scripture, but also in the application. And so what would you say to someone that's struggling with that? I I don't know how to be a minister. I I know how to be ministered too. I feel like I need ministry. I don't know how to necessarily be a minister at my job or my school or or just my community, Starbucks, you know, aisle five at Walmart. What what would you say to that person?

SPEAKER_01 5:21

I I would say that ministry happens on the road of life. It's the Good Samaritan. Yeah. You know, he's uh on the road of life and he sees a man that was beat up. Most of you know the story, and uh, but he stops on his way to go in somewhere to meet the needs. So I think that every single day uh we see needs, we know they're there, and now it's just the realization that we are on the hook. Yeah, that we are God's ministers. And you may not have a pastoral license or a seminary degree, but what you do have is you have the whisper of the Holy Spirit prompting you. Yeah, you have the calling of God, you're on the hook to minister, and you have a specific gift that God has given to you, a spiritual gift, that he wants to empower in that moment to be used for his glory. So I think it's just a matter of doing good works wherever we are, where we see good works need to be done. Yeah, and that's every day.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

I mean, I'm what I'm hearing is uh I'm hearing faith and and faithfulness. Yeah. I'm hearing trust God that he's gonna give you what you need, that he's actually gonna do the work, that that if you pray for somebody, he's actually moving in that. Yeah. And then you just take that step of faith of I'm gonna do what I'm called to do.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

I I made the the statement uh today that God took the box of what a minister looks like and he blew it up. Yeah. He smashed it. Uh, because many people don't minister because they don't see themselves as a pastor or as clergy. Right. And I made the statement, I've never seen myself that way. I was a guy who was planning on going to the business world, and God put me on the hook for my leadership gift and asked me to use it, you know, in the Christian world to move the kingdom forward. But uh it's just a realization that uh uh that we we have that calling of God and to keep our eyes and ears open every single day because there we never run out of needs. It's like the the waves of the ocean that keep coming one after the one after the other.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Yeah, I know Pastor Marty has a similar story. You know, he was headed into the business world and uh God did something in him. I I remember being feeling a call to ministry very early, but then I tried everything I could to do something different because I was born and raised in a pastor's home. And so, you know, it's like uh you you know what this is all about. But at the end of the day, it's just great to see that, you know, as we align with God's purpose for our lives, whether that is in ministry as a as a full-time profession, uh, that's career, or whether that's ministry as a full-time in your profession, whether that's business or education or wherever God has you, we are all called to full-time representation and ministering of the word of God. Yeah. And and that really that was uh that reminds me of Deuteronomy 6, you know, that these words are to be in your heart. That ministry on the way that you mentioned. And you shall speak of them when you rise up, when you lie down, when you walk in the way. Yes. I mean, that's been the calling for every family and for every individual that uh as the you know God's as a child of God from the very beginning and then fulfilled at Pentecost and now carried out in us.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

So I I would say to all those who are listening who are non-pastors, non-clergy, um God really sees no distinction between what you are doing and what I am doing. Right. Um I'm I'm a pastor, so that's a different office in the church world. And you know, pastors are are to be respected and they hold a you know a you know a higher office, and the Bible speaks about how they're to be honored, and we understand that. But as far as the distinction, God sees no distinction between what I do and what lay people do. Yeah, we're all on the hook. Yeah, and uh we're all gonna stand before God one day and we're gonna give an account for how we uh how we use the gifts that God gave us in our lives. So we all need to have really good answers for that.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Yeah, I I remember I was talking with Mark Batterson one time, and he was he was talking about people that have a creative gift and you know have a desire to do something in the arts or something else, and uh he said at some point your delay becomes disobedience. And whatever it is God's called you to do.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

That's good.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

Just know that he equips you to do. Yeah, and what we're here to do is is further equip. Yeah, that's our role, but the work of the ministry is a calling of every member of the body. That's exactly right. Thanks so much for sharing that debate with us. And remind us, we're on the hook. Yeah, we're on the hook. Thank you guys for joining us. We'll see you back soon on Beyond Sunday. Pastor Luke, God bless you. Thank you. Me too, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Hey, thanks so much for joining us today. We do this to help you grow in your faith journey. And if you ever have any questions, see the link below, fill out the QR code, and we'll get back to you soon. And if you like this content and want to see more, feel free to follow, like, and share. But most of all, we want to encourage you to take the word of God and apply it to your week beyond Sunday. We can't wait to see you back soon.